ABANDONED CEC WAREHOUSE, CORONET CITY, CORELLIA
He sat alone in the center of the warehouse, watching the live broadcast of the Unification Summit on the Confederate Holonet. Small beams of sunlight, seeping through the decaying ceiling, cast shadows on the holoscreen, darkening the images of the galactic leaders. While the warehouse had once been a storage facility for starship components being used by the Corellian Engineering Corporation, it now served little purpose. Other than the purpose he had chosen to use it for today.
"Is everything in order?" a voice behind him asked.
He turned, facing the man on the hologram. Dressed in the uniform of a Confederate officer, the man sported dark hair with a brown beard across his face. "Yes sir, the men are outside ready to go."
"Very good, Commander. When the smoke clears, the galaxy will thank you for the actions you commit today."
"I hope so, sir."
The man beckoned forward. "Go then, and begin our plan to bring order back to the galaxy." The hologram disappeared, replaced by the figure of a man walking towards him from the warehouse door.
"Jerik?" the man walking towards him said.
"Good to see you Mason," he said, walking to meet him. "Are the rest ready to go?"
"They are, along with the entire arsenal."
Jerik showed a small smirk. "Good," he started to walk towards the entrance, "It is time. Are you and the others ready?"
Mason shrugged. "Of course I'm ready, and you can ask the others yourself." They exited the warehouse into the mid-afternoon Corellian sun. Skyscrapers towered overhead, blocking the view of the Corellian skylanes. Directly in front of them was a large, military grade speeder. Outside it were twenty men, mostly dressed in old CorSec uniforms. They held BlasTech A280s and E-11s, and had a sidearm strapped to each of their thighs. Most bore little expression on their faces, while the ones that did projected confidence.
"Thank you all for coming," Jerik said, opening his arms in greeting. "Today is the day that we finally put our plans into action, after so many weeks of anticipation." The group extended their right arm in confidence. "Today, we strike at the core of the Galactic Alliance, and take revenge for what occurred during the Second Civil War. Today, we send a message to Denjax Teppler and his weak minded government officials, that the Corellian people will not tolerate our continued concessions to their government in the name of peace. Today, we put an end to the Unification Summit, and all other efforts to keep the galaxy united. Today, we win. And when we win- Corellia wins.
"Many of us will not live to see the effect our actions today will have on the galaxy. But know this. The cause that all of you, all of us, will sacrifice our lives for, is worth it. We sacrifice our lives for those living on Corellia, on Adumar, on Fondor, on Commenor, or even on Bothuwai. Our actions today are for the Confederation, and for the destruction of the Galactic Alliance. Long live Corellia, and long live the Confederation!"
As the men gave a final salute to him, Jerik walked down the steps to the street and stepped inside the speeder. In the center of the hold lay the device that would cause so much harm, and yet cause so much good. He took solace in that as he climbed into the cockpit, sitting down next to Mason as the men climbed into the speeder's hold. They soon lifted out of the warehouse lot, heading for the skies above. It would not be long now.
WYNN DORVAN'S SUITE, CORONET CITY, CORELLIA
While the penthouse that served as Wynn Dorvan's home during his stay on Corellia was nowhere near as grand as his one on Coruscant, it still rivaled many of the most expensive homes available for purchase on the Alliance capital. A large, center dais was surrounded by rooms on all sides, with the master bedroom located on the second floor overhead. The dais was equipped with two large sofas, as well as a four meter wide holoscreen. Behind the holoscreen was a large, transparisteel window, which gave Dorvan a birds eye view of Coronet City.
Dorvan stood on the right side of the window, gazing out at the Corellian horizon. The sun was setting, casting gorgeous pink and orange hues across the evening sky. The city remained active despite the dusk. Speeders crossed the skyways, and starships rose and fell from the city ports. Dorvan glanced down at his wrist watch. 18:00. He had to be at the Capitol in thirty minutes for dinner. He turned away from the window, walking up the stairs into his bedroom.
Pocket sat on his nightstand, eating food inside of his cage. Dorvan waited for the Chitlik to finish, before opening the cage and allowing Pocket to climb up his arm. Pocket knew where he belonged, climbing down Dorvan's shoulder and into his coat pocket. Smiling, Dorvan walked into his refresher, where he combed his hair in the mirror. It was growing longer now, with his bangs reaching all the way down below his eyes. He made a mental note to get it cut once he returned to Coruscant. When he was satisfied with his hair he exited the refresher, heading to his desk to check if he had received any notifications on his holo transmitter. There was one, and he smiled when he saw who it was from. He activated the transmission, and watched as a small hologram of his fiance appeared on the device.
He listened to her minute-long message with a smile on his face. After the message finished, he sent back a short response telling her he would call her later that night, before setting the transmitter back on the desk and walking out of the bedroom. The sun had now set completely, and the pinks and oranges of the sunset were beginning to fade away. As Dorvan walked through the dais, his comlink began to chirp from his pocket. Grabbing it, he raised it up to his face and answered. "Dorvan here."
"Chief of State? Your cab has arrived," Desha Lor said.
"On my way!" Dorvan replied, turning off the lights in the penthouse. He stepped out into the hallway, and started towards the lobby. He reached it quickly, and saw Desha waiting on the platform outside with Admiral Bwua'tu. They smiled at him, and he returned the gesture. Two guards standing by the door to the platform gestured him forward, and he walked out towards the platform.
He never made it outside.
Orange flames blossomed out from the lobby, engulfing the stark white building in scalding heat. Desha Lor was tossed backwards by the explosion, landing on her back at the edge of the platform. Breathing heavily, she pulled herself up, and was horrified to see the Alliance Suites Building lit with orange flames.
"Wynn!" she screamed, as the few Alliance guards that survived came rushing to help her. Next to her, Admiral Bwua'tu regained consciousness, and was helped up by two of the guards. The Bothan's fur was standing on its heels, but he was unharmed.
"Sir, Ma'am," one of the guards said. "We need to get you two to safety."
Desha shook her head, pointing back towards the inflamed building. "The Chief of State! He-"
"A rescue team will recover him, our job is to protect the two of you."
Desha looked to Bwua'tu, who wore a somber expression on his face.
"The soldier is right. We need to get out of here, the troops will find Wynn."
Desha looked down, shaking her head. How could they abandon Wynn like that! He could still be in there, injured and alone, and it was her duty to aid him no matter the cost.
Two Alliance gunships touched down in front of them, dropping off two squads of Marines. Two medics approached them from one of the gunships, carrying first aid equipment in their hands. "Admiral, Chief of Staff, come with us."
The guards gestured forward, leading Desha and Bwua'tu into the gunship. As more ships roared in from overhead, the gunship left the platform behind. Desha watched the burning building move further and further from view, tears welling up in her eyes. The truth had begun to set in. Wynn Dorvan, her mentor and friend, was gone.
DENJAX TEPPLER'S OFFICE, CORELLIAN CAPITOL BUILDING, CORELLIA
The lights were dimmed within his office, allowing for the final few rays of sunlight to cast long shadows across it. Teppler sat at his desk, writing a message to Commemorian Prime Minister Fyor Rodan. Like usual, Rodan was angry with Teppler for his desire to remain close with the GA. Despite Teppler assuring him time and time again that he would never advocate for integration, Rodan never seemed to listen. So his message was, once again, laying this out for Rodan. Teppler doubted he would take it seriously, but it was the best he could do.
Then the door to his office burst open, and six CorSec officers came running in, followed by Teppler's Chief of Security. "We have a problem, sir."
Teppler frowned. "What sort of problem?"
The Chief of Security's face was solemn. "You'd better see for yourself."
He followed them to the situation room, where General Phennir was looking at a hologram with two of Teppler's chief military officers. As he got closer, he realized the hologram showed a burning building, with dozens of Alliance vessels swarming around it.
"What the hell is going on?" Teppler asked.
Phennir looked at him, his face blank. "The Alliance Suites were bombed. Dozens are dead, including-"
"Dorvan!"
"Yes."
Teppler's mind raced. The Alliance Chief of State! Dead on Confederate Soil! Relations between the Alliance and Confederation are already tense enough, this will only further push them over the edge. "Do we have any idea of who is responsible?"
The man across the table from Dorvan, General Intigo, looked grim. "Nothing concrete. It's likely this was the work of one of those radical Centerpoint Party militias, but we can't know for certain. Once we are able to thoroughly investigate the scene we will know more, but that's not gonna happen unless the GA clears out."
"Which I doubt they will do," said Admiral Delpin, who stood next to Intigo. "GA capital ships have moved into a shallower orbit, and multiple fighter squadrons are in the sky overhead."
Teppler bit his lip, shaking his head. "So in other words, everything is falling apart."
"You could say that, yes," Phennir agreed.
Teppler thought for a moment, his mind racing. "If we don't respond quickly, and forcefully, I fear this attack may drastically increase tension between us and the GA. When the riots occurred at the last Unification Summit hosted here it caused some stirrup within the GA, but it wasn't enough to sway the Senate. This time, with the Alliance Chief of State dead, I fear they will not be so hospitable. Our best course of action now is to work to defuse the situation as fast as possible.
"Admiral Delpin, I know that standard protocol calls for our own military units to be dispatched to counter the GA's infringements into our airspace, but I want you to hold off on that. General Intigo, have CorSec units pull back from the crime scene for one hour, to allow the GA to have time to collect and evacuate their personnel from the building."
"Are you sure that's the best course of action? We can't just allow the Alliance unfettered access to a crime scene committed in our territory," General Intigo argued.
"Normally I would agree, but the current situation gives us no choice. The last thing we want is to look like we are deliberately trying to keep them away from the crime scene. That would only serve to incriminate us further."
"But once they clear out-"
"Yes, then your forces will have full control of the investigation. He nodded.
Teppler continued, General Phennir, you and I are going to make
statement to the media." He raised his wrist to his face, activating his comlink. "Haja, inform the Imperial delegation to return to their fleet, and to be on high alert for another attack."
"Understood," came his Chief of Staff's reply.
Then Teppler turned and walked out of the room, with General Phennir and his security detail trailing behind.