Interlude

The countryside of Alderaan was spectacular. The mountains and the ambiance were truly fantastic, and Terran Tiac could not remember a time that he had felt this healthy. His apartment was a nice little hole in the wall in an old-fashioned skytower made completely of metal and glass. The largest window gave him a beautiful view every time he woke.

He ate breakfast and had a hygiene rinse, before getting dressed and leaving the apartment. Walking through the glass sky-bridge, he reached the nearest elevator and pressed the button just in time to catch the turbocar. Once inside, he pressed the button that would take him to the ground level of Tellasor. The trip was short, and he quickly made his way down a few streets, following a familiar path until he found himself at another sky-tower, though this one was far more modern. Again, he climbed into a turbolift; this time he travelled to the highest level, the penthouse offices. This was where he did his work now, surrounded by views of Alderaan's mountains. He loved it on Alderaan. Definitely preferred it over Menach.

His personal droids, three RQ-series protocol droids, stood ready and waiting as he exited the car. In the lower cubicles, visible through a glass floor, were his workers – a mixture of droids and humans, each enhanced with a device that wrapped around their head to assist with calculations. In the corner was his personal security, a modified HK-8 droid with a sharp vibro-blade across his back.

Unfortunately, he wasn't here today to condone his usual business. Terran made his way to the security of his private communications room, entirely encased in solid durasteel. The walls and floor were melded with state of the art intrusion detectors. He reached the desk and pressed a button on the surface to activate the glass dampeners. The few windows tinted immediately, and he tapped a few keys of the transmitter.

An image appeared above the table, a life-sized image of the man who would probably meet his brother soon. The Kaleesh stood tall, his war mask hidden amongst the shimmering black cloth that wrapped around his body. The man's voice was nearly as deadly as the twin electro batons strapped to the man's left thigh. "What do you want, scum?"

"I was hoping for the whole Triumvirate, Kolraresh. Why am I only getting you?", Terran replied, crossing his arms. His own voice was kept level despite the warrior's disrespectful tone.

"Tarrok is still returning to a safe position. As for Rellus…", the Kaleesh let the sentence hang for a moment. "Who knows? Why are you calling?"

Terran smiled thinly, adjusting his tie as he spoke, "I have information about the doctor you need."

Kolraresh's mask leant in closer to the screen, a tactic that would be more effective in person. "Then tell me exactly where he is, or feel my wrath! We need that man now. My brother doesn't have long."

Thankfully, Kolraresh wasn't here. He was still lightyears away on Pantora. "Before I answer, I need to know how effective your demonstration was?"

Pride made the Kallesh's chest swell, and he brought a clawed appendage up to his mask, the metallic claw scratching the yellowed metal, "Three out of four relief ships destroyed, a good number of Republic staff with them. Most of the supplies burnt. The Jedi are in complete disarray. I say that we go in quietly and take them out."

"Not yet.", Terran said, "Do not forget why you are there, Kolraresh. You do Rellus' dirty work, then he pays me for the information you all need."

"Your so-called precious asset.", the yellow eyes glared out through the hologram, "Why don't you just find another alien and strap him to your cybernetwork?"

"This alien can help me in ways that others cannot.", he answered simply, "Sinisteen brain power will be perfect for my experiment. Beside that, it sounds that Phase One is having the desired effect. Cho's militaristic views will convince him to round up every criminal he finds and overcrowd the prisoners. Are your men in position to harass the surviving relief forces?"

"Both Tarrok and I have men and the battle droids you supplied awaiting in safehouses near the Republic relief sights. We can deploy them at a word.", Kolraresh nodded his head, gesturing to something off screen. "Don't worry, Terran. I have everything under control."

"And what of our spy?", he tried to get the man by surprise, and it seemed to have worked.

To his credit, Kolraresh only paused for a moment, "I am keeping him in reserve until we have need of him. But you and I know that he is really Rellus' pawn, not ours."

"A good point.", Terran frowned at that. Rellus did have his hand on their spy's leash, "Now go and do your job."

The transmission flickered out and he slumped in the chair. The plan was proceeding. He typed in another command to the holotable and another transmission began. This one had no image; a security measure. Instead, a navy hexagonal symbol hovered above the table, with three lines intersecting in the middle. Soon, that symbol would tear through the Republic and decimate them. His brother would be brought before him in chains. For now though, it was a closely guarded secret.

"What can I do for you, Raven?", a woman's voice asked, "Trouble?"

"I need you to send two of your ships to wait just outside of the Pantoran System, Admiral.", he answered, "Tell them to wait for my command. I need to draw the Jedi away from the city's and prisons, to distract them while we extract resources from the surface. Can you do it?"

It was Terran's personal policy to never ask more than anyone could give. Unfortunately, he normally saw that they had more to give than they were willing, and had to force it out of them. Thankfully, the woman was not one of these people.

"Of course.", she answered, "What kind of ships do you need? We have plenty here."

"The answer to that question is simple, Admiral.", Terran replied, "This is to be a distraction. We need cruisers at least. More importantly, you need to be prepared to lose these ships."

A noise from the other end of the transmission, and he knew that the woman was chewing her lip thoughtfully. He pictured the fleet he had seen only once before, when he had visited the Blue Vein Shipyards. Thousands of different ships had been made there. Battle cruisers, light destroyers, Lucrehulk super-freighters, even frigates and transports, all being retrofitted into an incredible fleet that could decimate star systems. He knew that the Admiral would be going through a mental list of everyone she found expendable.

Apparently, she found a few, because she said, "I know just who to send, Raven. I will give them their orders immediately."

"Thank you, Admiral.", he smiled and ended the transmission.

Laying back, he rubbed his fingers into the temple of his brow. Then he hit the button to summon one of his droids. While he waited for it to arrive, he grabbed a small communicator and typed in an untraceable, encrypted message to his employer, the mystery man known only as Sidious. Of course, Terran had known the man's real identity, but he knew that fact could never be revealed. He preferred his head on his shoulders, not sliced off.

Everything on schedule.

The doors hissed open and one of his three droid's entered, holding a tray with a drink on it. Terran took the bottle, noting the vintage and year, then nodded up at the droid. The mechanical assistant placed a glass on the table, and Terran poured liberally from it. He had just brought it to his lips when he heard a sound chime from his private transmitter. Sidious had replied already.

He brought the screen up to his eyes and felt the alcohol in his stomach churn as he read the words.

Prepare to leave Alderaan. My plans have expanded.

Terran would miss Alderaan. He hoped the next place they sent him had views nearly as nice.