Of the Worst 3: Ahah, ahah... but what do you say? Rin is not always in trouble. Sometimes, everything goes well according to her plans… but it is purely accidental (whistles gullibly (?) looking at the ceiling).
The Capture of Coh Veshiv
(Part 3)
Brentaal (Bormea Sector)
It was an ordinary, poorly maintained technical room filled with battered metal boxes and tool cupboards. Near the door, there was a coat hanger with orange jumpsuits. These coarse fabric outfits were decorated with a logo surrounded by a few letters in an arc of a circle: Brentaal 4 spaceport.
Space Ishtar worked on a crate used as a table. She wore an orange jumpsuit with sleeves rolled up because they were too long.
Had any of her companions seen her, they would have been amazed. The galaxy held many wonders, but no pirate or spacer had ever seen anything like this. Space Ishtar cupped her hands, focusing on a block of clay placed on flimsiplast sheet adorned with a six-pointed pentacle within a circle of magecraft glyphs.
The clay began to convulse and change shape... morphing in a mere instant into an owl carefully sculpted in a realistic way, the least of its feathers being delicately chiseled. But... Strangely... there were no beak nor eyes on the front of the head... just a hole that left an impression of incompletion.
Ishtar sighed and rubbed her forehead while looking at the sculpture with a content smile. Opening one of her tool belt's pockets, the goddess of space took a purse whose contents she poured into the palm of her hand.
A dozen gemstones of all colors!
Ishtar had used her stay on Starforge Station (at least before the local authorities forbid her to leave her quarters) to trade her share of Celis Mott's 'treasure' for the gemstones needed for the version of the Flowing and Transferring of Power magecraft used by the Tohsaka family.
Initially, her experiments with gemstones were not very conclusive.
With her power greatly diminished by the catastrophe that brought her to this foreign universe, she had very little prana to transfer. Storing enough magical energy in a gemstone to power an A-rank spell could take years.
But one day, while she was transferring prana into a precious stone... Space Ishtar had a kind of mystical revelation. Through the gem, she came into contact with some kind of energy field that had first made her think of mana... Except that this energy field was emitted by living beings, plants, and animals, interconnecting every one of them at a very deep level. And this network spread far and far, appearing to encompass the whole galaxy! More than that, she had felt a presence, a harmonious whisper, an incentive, as if someone was trying to convey a message.
It was as fascinating as confusing. Ishtar assumed that she could use her gems to tap into this energy, but she was still wondering how to proceed when the Far Orbit boarded Starforge.
Once a crew member of this privateer starship, the doctor on board examined her... he was particularly interested in her midi-chlorian rate... Midi-chlorians are microbes whose presence in the body is linked to the ability to control what is known as the 'Force'.
This is how she learned that the field of energy she had discovered by filling her gems with prana was known for a long time by the inhabitants of this universe. Ultimately, it was unsurprising. Humans crave mystical answers to their problems, creating philosophies and religions about even trivial matters. In this galaxy, the answers were not even at hand, they were whispered from any of their cells, and they had only to listen.
According to legend, some individuals are said to be able to use the Force to perform extraordinary feats.
The Far Orbit's crew members were unable to provide her with any additional knowledge. Most did not know anything, the others knew only legends or rumors. Before the Empire, the Republic had been defended by a Force user order, the Jedi Knights. But all the Jedi had been exterminated in an event called the 'Jedi Purge' or 'Order 66'. According to some, Darth Vader the Emperor's enigmatic enforcer, his lieutenant and heir, would be a renegade Jedi and the last survivor of that order.
One thing was certain, less than a generation after their disappearance, the Jedi had already become myths. Such a quick passage from history to legend seemed unnatural to Space Ishtar... Someone must have worked to eradicate all traces of the existence of the Jedi and succeeded in doing so brilliantly. The identity of the culprit was hardly in doubt, only Emperor Palpatine had both the means of a disinformation campaign on such a scale and a reason to erase all traces of Jedism (if that was indeed the name of this strange religion).
That said, once aboard the Far Orbit, research on the 'Force' was no longer Ishtar's priority. The former Imperial frigate contained a significant portion of her prana since her catastrophic arrival.
In theory, it should be possible to reabsorb the prana present onboard the Far Orbit but... Space Ishtar realized that the body she was in, the body of Corianna Corvell, could not contain so much prana.
Of course, she could recreate a prana body using an altered version of the Servant's invocation ritual and then transfer her consciousness into the summoned receptacle...Nevertheless, leaving Corianna's body presented enormous risks... When she arrived in this universe something had immediately detected and attacked her! The ritual to recreate her prana body would not go unnoticed and would undoubtedly lead to an equally violent response. However, during the transfer of her essence to her new prana body, Ishtar would be extremely vulnerable!
On the contrary, Corianna's body was an ideal hiding place precisely because of the presence of midi-chlorians that connected her with the Force's energy field. Differentiating one bird's song from another in an aviary filled with hundreds of singing birds was challenging, right?
Finally, in the short term, Space Ishtar had at least found a use for all the prana that filled the frigate... the basis of the Tohsaka magecraft was to transfer the magus' prana into gemstones for use as an energy reserve for spells. And Ishtar transferred a small part of the energy filling the Far Orbit into her stones.
Realizing that she had spent at least two minutes contemplating the sparkling gemstones in the palm of her hand, Space Ishtar shook her head violently to get her ideas straight.
"Ah! But I have no time to waste reminiscing. I have a familiar to finish."
Selecting an amethyst, she carefully repocketed the other gemstones and then placed the mauve gem in the hole left in the head of the owl statuette.
Immediately, a slight trembling ran through the figurine as the clay flowed spontaneously and closed on the gemstone fusing with it.
The Amethyst Owl Familiar still had no beak, but with the inclusion of the gemstone, it was completed. Like a real bird, the familiar flapped its wings and took off, going around the room several times before returning to land on a crate.
"Perfect," says Ishtar throwing one of her pigtails behind her shoulders.
But was perfection not the anticipated outcome, since she had created this familiar? So, Ishtar smiled smugly... before sighing. Regrettably, there was no one present to witness her achievements. She was not suited for spy missions because she needed a public for her exploits and their cries of admiration to reward her efforts.
After hiding her hair crossed by red streaks under a cap adorned with the same logo as her jumpsuit, Space Ishtar left the technical room, confident in her technician disguise (and above all in her Hypnosis magecraft) to move without attracting attention.
The technical rooms were in a building adjacent to the actual landing area. Through the Transparisteel windows, Ishtar could see a huge canyon-like avenue. This floor was to be halfway up a deep Plasticoncrete and Durasteel ravine illuminated by strobe flashes of holo-neons and holographic advertising posters. It was daylight, but the weather was grey, it was pouring. Despite the advertisements and glittering spots that indicated the presence of cantina and... Twi'leks strippers in the nearby streets, this planet's capital was bathed in a morose atmosphere.
Streets alongside the skyscrapers facilitated the movement of Landspeeders and accommodated a large number of pedestrians traveling on moving sidewalks. However, airspeeders formed true aerial rivers and stepped at different heights between beacons on repulsors which regulated the circulation, the population rushed, seeming to run after time and money. Nobody strolled and almost no one stopped to look at store fronts. Brentaal IV was a galaxy-wide trading hub, dominated by money-hungry megacorporations and... the Empire's iron grip. While looking at one of the streets, Ishtar saw a duo in white armor busy controlling the ID of aliens. The latter, hands on a wall, legs apart, were under threat of an armed soldier while the second was searching them. Ishtar had no trouble understanding what had happened. Aliens were treated as second-class citizens in the Empire, facing constant humiliation.
At the same moment, an ITT (2) passed just below the spaceport building and Ishtar distinctly saw the Stormtroopers standing on the side door platforms busy inspecting the crowd, their blaster carbine ready to fire. The Empire was not only racist, but it also hated freedom of expression and demanded blind obedience. The imperial patrols were instructed to shoot at protesters and strikers... and not with their weapons set to 'paralyze'!
Brentaal was effectively under martial law. No disturbances to the established order and prosperity were permitted -the order maintained by those in power, and the prosperity enjoyed by the richest, naturally.
Through Puullo the Hutt, Space Ishtar had learned that Coh Veshiv was about to leave the planet. She planned to spy on the Imperial Advisor's departure, hoping to learn his destination
After exiting the employee-only section of the building through a magnetically locked door using a badge obtained from an employee under hypnosis, Space Ishtar entered the terminal's public area.
She had no trouble walking through the maze of corridors, boarding rooms, and automatic locker boxes' halls because R2-C9 had downloaded the complete spaceport's plans on her datapad.
The goddess of space headed for a gate guarded by two Stormtroopers.
"Hello, gentlemen, it's a beautiful season, isn't it?"
Surprised to see an adorable 14-year-old girl holding a strange statuette, the two soldiers in white armor looked at each other. Then...
"Access prohibited."
The left soldier answered with a flat voice filtered by the vocal modulator included in his helmet.
"I dare to say I very very love your sense of dialogue and your spirit of conciliation but… Look at that, I have a perfectly valid permit."
She held out her datapad. Thanks to R2-C9, Ishtar had valid access authorization... Although access to the mainframe was achieved through hacking, the entity from another universe did not depend exclusively on this method to overcome the challenges. As a precaution, she looked at the two Stormtroopers one after the other and focused her Hypnosis magecraft on them.
"I have important work to do, and I should not be disturbed."
"We'll make sure you're not disturbed," said the first soldier.
"Yes," added the second.
"Everything is in order, right?"
"Everything is in order" confirmed the left Stormtrooper by returning her datapad.
His neighbor used a magnetic key to unlock the blastdoor.
"Thank you and have a good day," Ishtar said, in a great mood.
As she walked through the door, she had to struggle with a desire to hum... It was so easy to influence these clone soldiers, they were genetically designed for blind obedience. Manipulating their minds was as difficult as stealing a lollipop from a four-year-old.
Ben Kenobi would not have contradicted.
The place looked like a long grey Plasticoncrete trench between two rectangular technical buildings. It was a docking terminal designed for medium-sized capital vessels.
A spacecraft was presently docked at this location, linked to the technical structures by an array of multi-colored pipes and cables. With her hammer head-shaped bow, long-range laser turrets that also served as escape pods, and her eleven tubular thrusters joined in three rows at her rear, it was easy to recognize a CR-90 Blockade Runner.
But it was not just any Corellian Corvette, she was the Empire Forever, a diplomatic ship (as indicated by the red stripes on the hull) chartered by the central government of the Empire.
Escorted by a group of Veterans Stormtroopers and followed by two aides (Vestig and Pich), Coh Veshiv was a fat man, of medium size, but above all he was of a sickly pallor, with a large pustule under the left eye and heavy eyelids that veiled his gaze. He was dressed in precious robes and a cylindrical hat with side flaps.
In a bad mood, the Imperial Advisor quickly crossed the tarmac without even noticing the soldiers of the planetary garrison in grey uniform, blast helmets, and armored chest plates; the Stormtroopers in white armor who presented their weapons; the TIEs fighter pilots at attention. He even completely disregarded the squadrons of TIE fighters passing over the terminal.
The roaring music of the "Imperial March" was played by loudspeakers as AS-TT Walkers paraded across the tarmac.
Upon departure, Coh Veshiv was once again receiving accolades. However, he appeared indifferent to the ceremonies held in his honor. Veshiv focused solely on the corvette, his expression marked by anger and disdain.
As the officers of the Empire Forever were at attention on both sides of the boarding ramp, Veshiv turned to Captain Annance.
"I'm tired of this shabby corvette, I'm the Emperor's counselor! I deserve a ship that matches my rank!"
"I am sorry to hear that my ship is not to your liking, Imperial Advisor Veshiv. Believe me, my crew is doing everything they can to please you."
"I am constrained to travel aboard a ship hardly worthy of a mere Old Republic's senator. A man of my rank deserves a cruiser to properly convey my importance. After all, that black-hearted lackey, Vader, has a Star Destroyer under his personal whim. While I see no need to divert a Star Destroyer, a cruiser really isn't so much to ask, is it…"
"It will be done as you ask. I will send a message to the Imperial Center as soon as you are on board."
"I have already asked you several times! Why didn't you grant my wishes if you really want to be agreeable to me, Captain Annance?"
"My apologies, Imperial Advisor Veshiv. I do not have authority over the Imperial Navy Headquarters. I'm just an Imperial Navy Captain assigned to assist you." The Imperial officer responds formally, "May I suggest that you direct your inquiries to the High Command?"
Behind Veshiv's back, the other officers tried to remain neutral, but they were visibly angry and disgusted to be so openly scorned by their august passenger.
Neither the officers nor the soldiers deployed on the tarmac paid any attention to a strange bird that was looking at the scene, sitting on a roof. A clay bird with an amethyst eye…
Due to the Shared Sense magecraft, Space Ishtar witnessed the entire scene as she was the Amethyst Owl Familiar. Spying on this dispute was not a great risk because the familiar was protected by a crude magecraft called Perception Distortion... sometimes dubbed 'Invisibility for the Poor'. As a result of this spell, the familiar became challenging to detect due to an induced hypnotic constraint that diminished curiosity directed to the object protected by the spell.
Of course, as a magecraft (an inferior form of magic) it only affects living creatures, not droids and detection systems. However, the familiar was diminutive in size and resembled a benign animal. In addition, it emitted no detectable energy and contained no metallic components. There was little chance that it would trigger an alarm.
But, despite all the goddess's cunning and sophisticated espionage spells, the whole operation was a mere blow to the wind. Ishtar had only witnessed an argument without learning anything useful.
Ishtar sighed, now that she had food for the Gamorreans and Veshiv was gone, there was no reason to linger on Brentaal IV.
The return journey was notably brief and uneventful. The old freighter exited from light-speed into the planetary system where the Far Orbit was scheduled to await their arrival. Upon establishing radio contact, the crew of the Jumper experienced a sense of fear in hindsight as they were informed that they had narrowly missed being caught between two imperial fleets involved in a simulated battle. Fortunately, the exercise had concluded two hours prior, and the respective wings had returned to their designated galactic sectors.
Of course, as soon as she settled down, Space Ishtar told Brock how she had managed to spy on a conversation between Coh Veshiv and Captain Annance (hiding some… 'trivial' details, naturally).
Ten minutes later, Ishtar repeated everything she had learned in Vedij's Ready Room. The commander of the Far Orbit listened carefully without interrupting.
Arm crossed on the chest, Ishtar turned her head away and blushed. Ashamed of having so little to bring.
"... in the end, all I learned is that Veshiv is a vain, arrogant, unbearable, and mean man... ah I also learned the name of the captain of the Empire Forever. But it's not much."
Commander Dhas Vedij smiles kindly.
"You are mistaken, Ishtar, you have taught us something very interesting."
With hands clenched on her chest, Space Ishtar was bug-eyed.
"Oh, what?"
"The Imperial Advisor Coh Veshiv believes that a corvette is too small a ship to carry someone of his importance."
Ishtar agreed.
"Yes, he even said that he deserved a cruiser."
Baron Brock laughed.
"A cruiser? As a pleasure yacht? He got a lot of nerves."
Captain Vedij gathered his hands under his chin, acting goody-goody. However, his eyes shone with irony.
"I sympathize, poor poor boot-licking sycophant... certainly I can't offer him a cruiser... but The Imperial Advisor Coh Veshiv will no doubt be very happy to learn that Imperial High Command sent a Nebulon-B Frigate to pick him up from Esseles."
At first, astonished to hear these strange words coming from their commander's lips, Ishtar and Brock shuddered while understanding the plan devised by Dhas Vedij.
The orbit of Esseles, galactic calendar 34:5:9 (two days later) Jump Point 180:45:115
The orbit of the planet Esseles was under stringent surveillance. Transitions to and from light-speed were permissible only at designated locations. Jump point 180:45:115 was one such location, marked by green and red buoys. This area was within firing range of a 2,600-meter-long orbital fortress with a lenticular shape, composed of ringed armored sections equipped with Turbolaser Batteries, Proton Torpedo Launchers, and Tractor Beam Projectors.
Although it had limited movement capabilities and could only move within a planetary system – and very slowly – Platform 8127/121 was barely inferior to an Imperial-class Star Destroyer in terms of firepower and armor, and its shields were even twice as powerful.
After a three-day stay on Esseles, the Empire Forever departed from the Imperial Spaceport and proceeded towards Jump point 180:45:115. Within a few minutes, the Imperial Advisor was set to continue his journey, scheduled to visit another world in need of inspection by an individual possessing such invaluable expertise.
Suddenly a ship came out of hyperspace... a Nebulon-B frigate.
Immediately, on Platform 8127/121, an officer leaned over a radio-assigned crewman. Over the man's shoulder, he looked at the screens. The computer had picked up the newcomer's transponder codes and identified her as the Dark Vampire, an Escort Frigate under the command of Captain Pelislav Gallon. This ship was normally assigned to anti-contraband patrols in the planetary system of Coruscant... sorry, the Imperial Center.
He pressed a key on the console and raised his hand to the earpiece he wore on his left ear.
"Imperial Escort Frigate Dark Vampire: this is Esseles Space Control. You are entering a controlled space. Transmit your orders and code clearance."
Far Orbit, Deck 2, Short Range Communication
Dressed in an imperial lieutenant's uniform whose tight collar made her want to scratch, Galiria replied with a slightly nervous voice.
"This is Imperial Escort Frigate Dark Vampire. Codes send."
The young pirate pressed a button on her console as cold sweat ran down her spine. This plan was completely insane! The Far Orbit was within shooting range of a Golan III NovaGun platform... She did not even dare to think of the destructive power of a barrage of Turbolasers of this caliber. Each energy projectile can produce an explosion equivalent to several megatons of TNT. She had spent two days modifying the Far Orbit transponder to issue the Dark Vampire codes and create a false mission order from the 'Imperial High Command, Imperial Center' affecting the Dark Vampire under 'Coh Veshiv Imperial Advisor to His Majesty the Emperor'.
Galiria was quite proud of her work. She had used as a base the message they had intercepted during the Imperial Navy's maneuvers. The hacker had copied the wording and reused the coding they had deciphered to read it. The result looked like an authentic message. The imperial officers of Platform 8127/121 had no reason to suspect a scam. However... she was not stupid enough to believe that the Imperials would forget to ask Coruscant for confirmation of the order they had just received. It was the ABC of military communication, always getting an order confirmed by the source that sent it.
Far Orbit, Deck 17, the Bridge.
Only Mutineers in imperial uniform were behind the Bridge consoles and Dhas Vedij (in full dress uniform) was seated in his command seat, seemingly perfectly relaxed.
The seconds passed and the hands paled visibly. Anyone who didn't have an urgent job was looking at the front screen, the Corvette CR-90 Empire Forever... and especially the Golan III Space Defense Station.
If their leader had made the slightest mistake they could die instantly, transformed into light and heat... the lives of everyone were in balance because of a foolish bet.
The comlink integrated into the armrest of Vedij's chair started beeping.
"Bridge, Captain Vedij."
Shiraz's voice resounds in the small loudspeaker.
"They take an incredible amount of time to answer. I think it's gone wrong; we have to run fast."
"No, you forgot what I said about friendly fire. Shooting at a friendly ship can cost an officer his career. As long as we don't get the customary warnings, we can be sure they believe we are the Dark Vampire."
After a long pensive silence, Shiraz resumed the speech.
"I thought the Imperials were guys who liked well-waxed boots, orders applied to the letter and bureaucracy... and now you're playing our lives on one card. You're the kind of crazy guy who deserves to be a pirate captain."
"I take that as a compliment."
"It is, Vedij... but, if we die, I'll take it back!"
"Duly noted."
Prince Shiraz again remained silent. When he spoke again, his voice expressed a mixture of doubt and hope.
"Do you really think this will work?"
"I know how the hierarchy works. Contacting the High Command is Captain Annance's duty, as Veshiv is under his responsibility. But he is a human being, and he has reached the limits of his strength."
"What do you mean?"
"Shiraz, think... If you had a passenger like Veshiv on your ship, would you waste time checking if you could get rid of him immediately?"
But the Mandalorian's response took a back seat.
"We are hailed by the Empire Forever," says the Com Officer, turning his head to Captain Vedij.
Vedij did not consider it unexpected; he would not have brought his ship within range of an orbital fortress unless he was confident in the outcome. Nevertheless, he pretended to be surprised and promptly stood at attention as a hologram appeared in the holopod before him.
"Your Excellency the Imperial Advisor, it is...an honor to speak with you directly, I..."
However, his interlocutor interrupted him before he could complete his sentence.
"Finally, you have arrived. How many times must I request a vessel that befits my status? This is truly unacceptable," said the holographic image of Coh Veshiv as he shook his head in disapproval. "I say, at last, a ship that meets my expectations, yet it is only a Nebulon-B frigate. While it is an improvement over a Corvette, I must continue to petition the Imperial High Command for a cruiser deserving of my rank. As His Majesty's Advisor, my importance should be recognized. Do you not comprehend my value?"
Seizing the moment when Veshiv paused his complaints to glare at him, Vedij began to speak.
"Sir, I am only obeying orders."
The Imperial Advisor shook his head.
"Prepare everything for my arrival, I demand apartments worthy of my rank and meals of the best quality."
"Certainly, Your Excellency."
... a prison cell and K rations, would that work?
Without a word more, Veshiv turned off the holocom.
Dhas Vedij fell back into his chair and breathed a sigh of satisfaction, realizing that his heart was beating like a drum
Shiraz's voice from the speaker embedded in the armrest informed him that the pirate prince was still online.
"Incredible, he came of his own accord into the trap set to capture him ..."
Far Orbit captain smiles.
"Do not tell Ishtar but it is thanks to her that I understood that this could happen. Coh Veshiv is superficial, he judges things on their appearance, without giving credit to the substance. And I gave him the choice between waiting for a confirmation by staying on board a 'shabby' corvette or to get on board the Far Orbit... and he chose to get on board immediately. Veshiv does not want to wait, his appetites must be without delay satisfied!"
The detection officer turned to the captain.
"Sir, a Lambda shuttle has just taken off from the Empire Forever."
The communications officer confirmed.
"I am receiving the transponder code for the Lambda-class shuttle Myrenia. Advisor Veshiv is on board."
"Direct the Myrenia to Docking Bay 2. Prince Shiraz, please come to the bridge; I am assigning you command of the Far Orbit. I will welcome our guests. Ensure that passageways are clear of any pirates while we are not in hyperspace. Veshiv should only see Mutineers in imperial uniform. We must avoid any last-minute missteps due to oversight."
(1) The Star Wars equivalent to paper. Note that paper once existed and was used in the Star Wars galaxy... at the time of the Old Republic (4000 BBA) the process of making paper was still known to a few groups with archaic habits and its use has become infrequent. The paper had disappeared completely at the time of the Galactic Civil War, only museums still have books.
(2) ITT: this Imperial Troop Transport is a Repulsorlift ground assault vehicle used to deploy troops in battle but also control crowds and deal with small-scale threats. Built by Urbikkian Industries (Model K79-S80), it is a heavily armored vehicle although without shields, armed with two frontal laser guns (controlled by the co-pilot) and a turret rotating on top (controlled by one of the Stormtroopers). It is primarily a troop transport characterized by a large rear door and six small doors (three on each side) that also serve as firing stations for the embarked Stormtroopers.