The moment the shuttle's ramp touched the ground the squad of Stormtroopers rushed out and formed a defensive formation. Vas and Zero followed more relaxed, they were just here to oversee the operation.
They had landed in view of the largest refinery on the planet right next to its warehouses. Several corporate security officers stood in their way but wisely made no move to reach for their weapons. The tense atmosphere threatened to escalate the situation, so Vas stepped out of the ring of Stormtroopers and raised his hands.
"We are here to confiscate some materials on orders of Captain Setaro. Stand aside and we won't have any problems."
Now in his distinctive black uniform with a silvery breastplate and the protective helmet, he was immediately distinguishable as an Agent of the ISB and thus he garnered respect from the troopers and security forces alike. They stepped aside without protest, though one retrieved a comlink, probably to call a superior.
Vas led his troops into the big room only to find himself surrounded by an enormous amount of storage crates.
Why did they store their materials in such small containers? It would significantly increase the storage volume and make everything more expensive.
"Sergeant, focus on refined doonium and processed steel."
The trooper approached one of the inventory droids who pointed them to the right sections and his troops grabbed repulsor lift platforms and slowly but surely moved the precious metals outside.
"What are you doing? Stop that! We are a lawful company. We have done nothing wrong. I am the chairman of this company, I demand an explanation."
The Rodian wasn't stupid enough to actually block the troopers. Instead, he ran into the warehouse, singled Vas out as their commander and berated him. After weathering the first storm of words, Vas spoke up, "We are here to confiscate metal on orders of Captain Setaro. You will of course receive compensation at a later date."
"I know how that goes. If we're lucky, we get half the market value paid in a year at the earliest."
"We are glad your company is so patriotic and does its part to help the Navy fight these insurgents. The Emperor thanks you for your service."
"I don't give a wet crap about that. I want to be paid properly for my wares."
"Your company is easily profitable enough to sustain a small loss."
"Small loss? Do you know how valuable the doonium is your troops have already carted out of here?"
"I am aware of that, yes."
"And?"
"Nothing. Later today you will receive a certificate for the confiscated metals and someone in the Imperial administration will contact you about the payments."
The official's eyes lit up as he seemed to have a new idea. Vas already knew that look, whatever he said, it wouldn't be on the right side of the law.
"What would it cost me if you would … let's say spare me and harass my neighbours instead? There is a company who has been our rival for some time now. If -"
"Are you sure you want to finish that sentence?"
The official gulped, then turned around on the spot and stormed out of the building. Seeing that his troopers had everything in hand, he walked over to the shuttle where he found Zero lounging on a pile of storage crates like a hawk overlooking the surrounding area. Although Vas still had a lot of paperwork to do and had planned to work from the shuttle, he didn't want to be in the way and now that he was alone with Zero, he wanted to use the opportunity to talk to him.
He sat down next to him and for a minute they sat in companionable silence.
"Our squad seems to become smaller and smaller," Vas said and when Zero didn't say anything, he continued. "Creed is still occupied with interrogations of the local garrison forces and Ace … he has his own special assignment. I hope it bears fruit soon, I really miss his bullish presence."
Silence fell over them again and they watched the Stormtroopers working for a while.
"I read through your file and that of TK-429."
Zero looked at him and he wished he could see the man's face. With the helmet on it was impossible to see how he was feeling.
"Just as the ISB always does," he said bitterly.
"Why are you part of the ISB then? If you don't like it?"
"When High Command gives you an order, you can't really refuse. Especially if such an influential Moff has his fingerprint all over it."
"My father was involved in this."
"Of course, have you ever heard of any other Agent having his personal squad of special forces? Even such relics as Ace. Usually, you also can't choose which case you're assigned to and you should have definitely chosen something less career-endangering so early in your career."
Quite wordy for the Scouttrooper, so he seemed to be quite invested in the topic.
"Don't you want to be here?"
"As I already said, there isn't much choice involved but to be honest, this job is better than most. I have crawled through the Felucian jungle for long enough to enjoy some peace and quiet –however brief it will be."
"So you don't believe we'll succeed in this mission?"
"We have better chances than usual but the situation is tricky. Only a small fraction of hostages is ever recovered. Just enough to keep the relatives' hopes alive."
"If these rebels would kill the senator, hell would break loose on this world."
"Maybe that's exactly their point. Force the Empire to employ ever harsher measures until the planet eventually rebels," Zero said. His gaze was wandering absently over the courtyard, missing nothing and always prepared to fight.
"If that's their plan, they have done an excellent job. We have stopped all traffic in a system that relies on trade, have put a massive garrison in the capital and are now stealing from local companies. Not the best impression so far."
"And we still don't have any solid leads."
"That's why I want to listen in on the comms. You know it is helpful despite what happened with TK-429."
"We were just talking on a ten-hour march through friendly territory. There was no risk of getting attacked, none at all. A bit of talking couldn't have been harmful."
"You know it was more than just a bit of talking, Zero. He was thinking about defecting."
"The hell he was. We were just exhausted and after thirty hours without sleep your mind comes up with weird ideas. Have you never stood atop a bridge thinking about what would happen if you took the next step? Just take one more step and everything would be over."
"That's different."
"No. TK-429 never intended to defect. He just voiced a thought that at some point had crossed through any of our minds. He was loyal to the Empire and would have never betrayed it. But one overzealous ISB Agent and he was gone, never to be seen again."
"You know I don't want to monitor the comms for idle chat. I want to find real traitors and fight corruption in the local garrison."
"Then what would you do if someone thought about defecting but ultimately decided against it."
"I would … give him a warning and put him on a watchlist."
"Destroying all chances of him ever getting a promotion. It is a well-known fact that once you attract the ire of the ISB, your career is over. You are just waiting to die as you're sent on the worst missions they can find."
"I am not like that." Vas looked around so that no one could overhear their conversation. "If someone would listen in on us now, I would be thrown out of the ISB immediately. Not even my father could protect me then."
Zero sat up straighter and looked around as well.
"The Empire is flawed. Flawed as every government is and I don't presume to know if it is better or worse than all the others. But right now it is the government we have and despite all its shortcomings, it is still creating order in the galaxy. There has been relative peace for almost twenty years now."
"A peace enforced by a massive military oppressing its people."
"Only for those who don't abide by the law. Take a look at the Clone Wars. During that three-year conflict at least a million clones died and several times that number of local defence forces or civilians."
"But how do you justify the existence of the ISB? They are an organisation built on fear."
"The Navy might be able to crush enemy fleets but that's not the war we're fighting right now. Captain Setaro always complains about the size of her task force. The Challenger is the symbol of Imperial power but it can only be in one place at a time. Instead of one Star Destroyer and its forty thousand crew, how many operations could the ISB set up and control the galaxy much more effectively."
"That might be true but how can you live with oppressing the people."
"I don't oppress innocents, just the people who deserve it. I will use the full might of the ISB to crush the rebels in this system. They have kidnapped children to use them for their sick agenda. These monsters belong behind bars and I will not rest until I find them."
"Innocents, like this factory?"
Vas' argument collapsed on him as Zero with only four words tore a hole through his beliefs.
"It's desperate times and they are still paid for it. They have received enough of the Empire's subsidisation to make up for it."
"That doesn't make it right. What about their competitors? They will have an advantage."
"Depending on how long this operation will take, we will pay them a visit as well."
They sat in silence as they thought about the repercussions their actions would have. If they continued on this path, it wouldn't be long before they would have to crush riots in the capital which would only escalate the situation even more. They just had to find these rebels but he was stuck here playing errand boy and collecting materials. Suddenly his mind jumped back to their previous topic.
"You mentioned, you never heard of TK-429 again. You probably don't have the authority to access his files. Do you want to know what happened?"
Zero looked at him for a long time. No emotions visible through his visor but he sat stiff and his hand moved restlessly over the armour on his thigh –something he had never seen him do.
"No," he said eventually and an uncomfortable silence formed between them.
Vas struggled to think of anything he could say but his mind was blank. Thankfully his commlink buzzed at that moment.
"Yes."
"Agent Flennic, we need you in here. The administrator is making a fuss."
Vas sighed and climbed down the pile of crates.
"Keep an eye open out here," he said to Zero. As expected he didn't get a reply. Nonetheless, he felt better after having the discussion with Zero. They might not agree on every point but at least they understood where the other was coming from and this would hopefully dissolve some of the distrust between them.
In the warehouse, the troops had stopped taking crates because the Chairman was blocking their way with a handful of his security officers. Vas stepped next to the Stormtrooper Sergeant, recognisable by his white pauldron.
"Situation."
"The Rodian was just standing nearby but suddenly he got agitated when we tried to take the remaining doonium from this small room," he said, pointing at a room that looked more like an office through the one small window. "The inventory droid says there is half a ton in there still."
"Thank you, I'll take it from here."
Vas stepped past the line of Stormtroopers, their hands on their weapons.
"Chairman, why are you making a fuss about the metal now? Doonium might be rare but not worth risking an incident like the one you're provoking right now."
Without waiting for an answer, Vas shouldered one of the security guards out of the way and walked to the small office. Before he could enter, he was grabbed by the wrist. Vas whirled around, a blaster in hand, pointing it at the Chairman's belly who paled visibly.
"Don't."
The Rodian let go and stepped back, raising his hands in defeat. Vas watched him for a moment and waited until a couple of Stormtroopers had caught up to him. Only then did he put away the blaster and enter the room.
Several smaller and uncharacteristically long crates stood among the usual crates that stood all over the warehouse. He opened one of the longer crates and whistled as he looked at half a dozen DC-15A blaster rifles, the main weapon of the Clone Army.
"I guess you don't have permits for these," Vas asked the Chairman who had entered the office as well, flanked by two Stormtroopers.
The metal completely forgotten, the Stormtroopers got to their new task with determination. The regular crates in the office revealed carefully dismantled weapons encased in a layer of metal to fool a cursory inspection. Vas ordered a second shuttle to transport the confiscated weapons away and send reinforcements they would need dearly.
The Stormtroopers opened every crate and would search the entire facility, including the personal quarters of the higher-ups. Vas resigned to stay here for at least the rest of the day when his commlink bussed again.
"Agent Flennic," Captain Setaro said. "Our luck has finally turned."
"Same here, by accident we stumbled into a weapons smuggling operation."
"I have heard. Good work, not long and we will have this sector under control again. However, the reason I wanted to talk to you is a curious call I took earlier. An anonymous informant called, claiming to know the base of operation of the rebels."
"Anonymous. Have you tracked him down by now?"
"Yes, I wanted to give you the opportunity to take him in."
"That's very generous of you. Don't you want the credits for his arrest?"
"Don't worry. I will claim my share of this operation but right now, you need a victory more than I do."
For a ship captain from Coruscant –judging by the accent– this was incredibly thoughtful and unlike the Aristocracy would usually act.
"We found him on one of the outlying mining colonies," she continued. "A Twi'lek called Boc'seca."