Uriellien leaned on the table that displayed a holomap of Astarrax in Ophun's office in the Governor's Palace. Each red dot indicated an airfield that had been hit. Each attack had the same pattern; a rebel force would make their way onto the field, or already be on the field through a mole, and take out the air strips in quick succession. There couldn't be more than 5 people at each strip. But 5 people was enough to destroy entire air stations, to stop commerce from one station to the next.
There was a pattern to it. He could tell by the look of the airfields that were knocked out, but he couldn't discern the pattern enough to know where they were going to strike next. It wasn't always a major export hub. Some were rather small, with only one or two export ships a week.
His next thought was, Sola is better at this kind of thing than I am. But she isn't here at the moment.
Not for the first time, he felt a stab of jealousy at Sola's family back on Coruscant. They kept her planetside, when she could have been on the Crimson Asp with him. He had a room especially made for her, one of the dignitary suites. No one else was allowed to use it, no matter who the dignitary was. And she should be in it. Instead, she was on Coruscant decoding secret messages in flower arrangements.
He made a noise of frustration and pushed himself away from the map.
"What are you going to do about this?" Ophun demanded, gesturing to the holomap.
"Shit on it, what do you think I'm going to do?" Uriellien snapped. "I'm trying to figure out how to stop it."
"We need to find the rebel base and eliminate it," Ophun argued.
"That isn't how this works," Uriellien told him. "There might not even be any bases. It might be simple cells. But in order for them to be this coordinated, they have to be communicating somehow." His eyes ran over the map again.
"Your men aren't doing their job," Ophun continued as if Uriellien hadn't spoken. "This keeps happening."
Uriellien was silent a moment, his eyes on the map. "If you have a better idea of how they can do their job, I'm' all ears," he finally said, his voice lethal.
Ophun stood up straighter, pursing his mouth together.
Uriellien turned to him. "I didn't think so." He put his hands behind his back and began to pace in front of the table. "We need to figure out how they are communicating and disrupt it."
"Are you talking war or politics, cousin?" A deep woman's voice drifted into the room, followed by an older Astarraxian female standing tall and proud. Her long, black hair was up in a braid twisted about her head, allowing full view of the two red swirls wending their way up her cheeks to her temples.
"Senator Lysenter." Uriellien gave a small bow to the woman. "I did not know you on planet."
"This is my planet, is it not?" she asked, approaching the two men.
"Indeed, it is, Senator," Uriellien conceded.
"As I asked, are we talking war or politics that you must disrupt communications?" She approached the table with the map, looking at it.
"War, Senator," Ophun said. "Each of these is—"
"I know," she waved her hand at the Governor. "Each is an airfield." She turned back to Uriellien. "I take it you are scouring the jungle outside each one, Grand Admiral?"
"Of course," he replied. "Though we haven't found much yet. Remains of camps is all."
"I hear Lothal is having the same problem we are," she said, her black eyes flitting from Uriellien to Ophun. "Their airfields are getting taken out, but not their spaceports."
Ophun's eyes went wide. "You think there is a connection?"
"Of course, there is a connection," Uriellien replied. "The question is, what?"
"And why?" Senator Lysenter added.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ophun asked. "To disrupt trade within the planet."
"But how does that help them?" Senator Lysenter held up a long, skinny finger.
"It puts our attention elsewhere, besides them," Ophun huffed. "Exports and imports need to run smoothly, especially for our cities—"
"The senator is right," Uriellien interrupted. "It has to help them in more ways than just disrupting commerce. We can always reroute to ground transport."
"Where things are easily stolen," Ophun pointed out.
"Has anything been stolen yet?" Uriellien asked.
"Not more than normal," Ophun admitted. "But that doesn't mean it won't."
"You're right. It doesn't mean it won't. I suggest you tell travelers to go in groups and encourage ground transportation of goods to be guarded." Uriellien looked at his timepiece. "I have things I need to attend to." He bowed his head slightly to Ophun, "Governor," then to Senator Lysenter. "Senator, I'll take my leave."
"I will walk with you," the old woman said as she turned around to follow him.
Uriellien stopped and waited for her to catch up, and then held his arm out in a gentlemanly manner for her to take. She chuckled and looped her arm through his and they began walking down the hallway.
Lysenter sighed and said quietly, "I know that Ophun can be difficult sometimes, but he means well."
"I have never doubted his intentions," Uriellien noted. "His competency, that is another thing altogether."
"Those are strong words, cousin," she said with a smile.
Uriellien ignored the familiar honorific with which she referred to him. "I have strong feelings, Madame Senator."
"You always have, as I recall," she said, regarding him with hard, black eyes.
It made his neck crawl and he resisted the urge to squirm under her gaze. "It is one of my many talents," he told her with a wide smile.
"Is eliminating terrorists from my planet one of your many talents?" she asked.
"Your planet?" Uriellien did not stop his walk, but slowed it considerably as he gazed down at her coldly. "I was unaware that you owned the planet, Madame."
Lysenter pursed her lips, then opened her mouth to speak, but Uriellien cut her off.
"It is my planet as much as it is yours," he continued. "Or have you forgotten that little fact about me, Senator?"
She smiled up at him maliciously. "How could I forget that, Grand Admiral, when your mother is one of the only member of the royal household to marry an alien?"
Uriellien resisted the urge to trip the old woman and send her sprawling to the floor. Laughing, though the mirth didn't make it to his eyes, he said, "It has been many a year since I've been called an alien. Remember, this alien is entrusted with your planet's safety, Madame Senator." He reached the end of the hallway and unlooped his arm from hers. "Good day." He opened the door and slipped outside.
Once the door behind him closed, he stopped, his hands in fists at his sides. It had, indeed, been a long time since he'd been called an alien, by either an Astarraxian or a Human. Taking a deep breath, he berated himself. Why let a bitter old woman get his riled up? They were jealous of his accomplishments. He was able to actually eliminate terrorists. They hadn't been able to do that on their own.
Reminding himself of that calmed him down some. He resumed walking, keeping his breathing even. He had bigger fish to fry than Senator Lysenter and Governor Ophun. He had rebel communications to figure out.
Lysenter had mentioned Lothal was having a similar issue with their airfields being taken out. Were they part of the same group of rebels as Astarrax's? When he got back to the Crimson Asp, he would have to make some calls.
A/N: I hope you're enjoying the story so far! If so, don't hesitate to leave a comment, tell me what you like, what you don't, and what you want to see more of, since this is a work in progress. Also, I'm hunting for a beta reader (as I am sure you can tell from all the little mistakes that I miss), hit me up if you're interested.