“Karma come over
Lean on my shoulder
Tell me what’s good
I’ve been thinkin about ya.”
Years & Years
Corellia
Surface: Coronet City
Della busies herself in the daily activities of the People’s Council.
Helping the citizens of Corellia has always brought her joy and she needs it now more than ever. Her mounting aggression toward the Republic has begun to impact her attitude which she does not want to influence her work. She tries to take a few emotional steps back, despite the growing alarm surrounding the Director’s attack and the Infiltrator’s escape. The pieces are all there but she hesitates to connect them, fearing it will unravel everything they have built over the years. She knows the doctor must have freed the Infiltrator and the Infiltrator, in turn, helped her escape. The motive and fate of doctor Cross in relation to the deaths of the young Jedi fill her with almost oppressive anxiety, one that is only lifted through her work.
People are frightened and they have every right to be. Corellian’s may have swagger but they are also deeply empathetic and proud of their culture. They have built an inclusive environment, rising from the ashes to heal the scars of their droid-laden past with the Trade Federation. All walks of life are welcome here, Force-sensitive or not, but this position has continually put them at odds with the hardened Republic. She does her best to comfort and support them, redirecting to the wide variety of services offered for relocation and asylum. As one of the many worlds not in full compliance with the F.U.R.A., others have emigrated to Corellia to escape persecution. While they have been accommodating, she knows the window is closing under increased Republic scrutiny and enforcement. They had coasted on the backburner for too long with the battle over the F.U.R.A.’s legality and application was hashed out in the Senate. As Della processes these thoughts, she glances at the chronometer on the wall and realizes she has usually heard from Artemis by now.
She had been consumed all afternoon without so much as a break. Taking a breath, she stands as “Octavia” enters her office with a somber expression. It is striking how much different she looks even after all this time. Circe Prescott was a natural beauty who seldom needed or utilized many of the trappings to enhance one’s image. In contrast, Octavia Valles is dazzling with the bright blonde hair, colored contacts, contouring makeup, and tailored wardrobe – a far cry from the boxy pantsuits and layered robes of the Republic capital. The transformation, along with her forged files, had fooled everyone but Della has always worried the day would come when she and Master Donovan were discovered. The Kor Vella bombing resurfaces those fears, giving them new life and the desperate urge to keep them both from the Republic’s clutches.
“Octavia. Is something wrong?”
She nods, waiting for the door to close behind her.
“I am afraid I have some disheartening news,” she says, struggling to keep her voice neutral. “The Senator’s office reached out to inform the Council of Artemis’ arrest.”
“Arrest?” Della gasps, rising quickly from her chair. “On what grounds?”
“It is not a short list and it aims to implicate Corellia in a conspiracy and treasonous acts against the Republic.”
“Let me guess, failure to enforce the F.U.R.A.? They so predictable, it is sickening.”
“That is the central focus, it seems.”
“Those bastards,” she hisses between clenched teeth. “I knew our resistance to their tyranny would come back to bite us but I did not expect them to go after the Senator so directly. I see decorum and due process has been thwarted by the whims of the Speaker. The RSB has gone too far this time. Corinthos will eat them alive in court!”
Octavia’s eyes fall and she shakes her head slowly.
“That is the thing. The firm was attacked and nearly the entire staff murdered.”
“Nearly?”
“Counselor Corinthos was seriously injured but survived. She is hospitalized and recovering.”
It is impossible to conceal her shock and horror. This cannot be a coincidence, not when all individuals are linked through their associations. It is a complex and winding path that leads back to the Jedi…and The Four. The sound of the door chime prevents her mind from spinning out and she quickly composes herself.
“Enter.”
The door hisses open a moment later and a young female CorSec agent walks into the room with a confidence far beyond her years. Nodding politely to Octavia, she bids Della a good afternoon. There may be warmth in that smile but it does not disarm her.
“Agent Belasiss,” she says. “What can I do for you?”
“The last time we spoke, you asked that we keep you updated. As it turns out, we do have a few questions. Would you mind joining me?”
“May I ask where?”
“Down to the Plaza.”
“Is this a formal request?”
Sixta’s smile never falters, “Consider it a continuation of our previous conversation.”
*
Coronet City: One CorSec Plaza
After a short ride provided by Agent Clay, they arrive at their destination. The building is quieter than she would have expected on a weekday afternoon. However, the presence of additional agents stationed at entrances and exits is difficult to miss. Neither Clay nor Belasiss engaged her further yet remained attentive and respectful. This may not feel like a formal inquiry but she knows better given everything that has happened. Her mind drifts to Artemis and the horrors he may be facing at the hands of a prejudiced RSB but she snaps herself out of it. Della must remain focused on the here and now. She may be just as culpable in events that set these terrible things in motion.
Della is shown to a casual interview room. It is missing the trademark tinted transparasteel and minimally yet stylishly decorated as if to project a sense of safety. She can imagine a victim feeling quite comfortable here. A detective, roughly her age if not a little older, waits patiently while scrolling through a datapad. He stands when she enters and offers her a seat before introducing himself.
“I am Inspector Claes Thekla, assigned to the Kor Vella case. I understand you were on the scene shortly after the incident occurred. Is that correct?”
“Right down to business,” she says evenly. “I appreciate that. I cannot say when exactly the incident occurred but it appeared to have been recent when I arrived.”
“Agents Clay and Belasiss reported you told them the Director sent you.”
“They did ask but that was not my response. I disclosed the attack on the Director and concern for their safety, given their previous academic and now professional relationship.”
He considers this, “That is…kind. I admire the work of the People’s Council but surely you see how your appearance at a crime scene could raise some eyebrows. Can you tell me how you came to arrive at that platform?”
“Of course,” she says, leaning forward slightly. “After I received word of the attack on the Director, I came to the medical center. Elon and I have been friends and colleagues for many years. As he was too unstable for visitors, I inquired around. You understand the feeling, the need to help. To serve. I do have clearance which I am certain you already know so I sought out the two agents and went to check on them.”
“Alone?”
“I can handle myself, Inspector. It was the least I could do for the Director.”
“He will appreciate the thoughtfulness, no doubt. What about your relationship with Doctor Tivoli Cross?”
“Professional although more distanced since her return.”
“Do you know why she was gone or where she went?”
“That I do not know. The Director never discussed it and, as it is work-related, I respected those boundaries.”
“Do you know where she is right now?"
Della frowns, finding the question oddly phrased, “Has she not been found?”
“You knew she was missing.”
“I was told they were looking for her as the attack occurred in her office. I had hoped she would have turned up by now.”
“She is dead, miss Avers. Hers was one of the twelve bodies discovered in the shuttle.”
Della blinks, thrown.
“Oh, I…am sorry to hear that. Do you know have any idea as to why or how this could have happened?”
Thekla leans back in the chair, “I was going to ask you the same question.”
“I do not understand. What is it you think I know?”
“I am going to share something with you,” he says, glancing down briefly at the datapad. “As head of the People’s Council, you are a trusted presence within CorSec, one that has afforded you access and knowledge not shown to most civilians. After the attack, we searched for meaning and motive through the tools available to us.”
“And did you find it?”
“Most of the cam photage was missing, at least from the select areas which would have revealed the perpetrator and their actions as they moved throughout the complex. Do you know what we found instead the moment one of these cams cut back in?”
She does not want to ask but feels compelled to anyway, “What?”
He turns the datapad around and slides it across the table, “You.”
Her image is frozen as she leaves the lift cab that once served as the gate of the Infiltrators prison. Della’s eyes move from the datapad back up to his face.
“That is a restricted area, an area that I do not even have clearance for. Given that I do know about your own minimal clearance with CorSec, I am going to ask the obvious question as to how you somehow do.”
“That is a question only the Director can answer.”
“The attack left him in a coma so he may never get that chance.”
“What are you saying?"
Thekla speaks slowly, watching her closely, “Stranger than the missing photage is you leaving a restricted area only to wind up at the shuttle explosion in Kor Vella.”
“Circumstantial, perhaps but hardly conclusive of the kind of sinister intent you seem to be alluding to.”
“What were you doing there, miss Avers?”
“I told you, that is not for me to disclose.”
He holds her gaze for an excruciating moment before pivoting hard in hopes of a telling reaction.
“Does this have something to do with the Jedi?”
She blinks, “The Jedi? Inspector, the People’s Council holds the same sentiment as the Corellian system. All are welcome here. Tell me you are not subject to the paranoia that has so plagued the larger Republic. Force-sensitives cannot be the scapegoat for everything.”
“I do not believe you,” he admits flatly. “There is a theory forming that Corellia may be more sympathetic than such a blanket and noncommittal statement. Inclusion and belonging may be trendy terms among the naïve but you, miss Avers, are anything but. You know what is at stake here and if Corellia has been infiltrated or found to be harboring Jedi in direct defiance of the F.U.R.A. then the Republic will come after us with everything they have.”
There is another unbearable pause and it forces her toward the same sobering thought.
“If Director Veritaas was attacked and Doctor Cross and a handful of others were killed as a result of keeping those secrets then if I were you, well, I may start to worry.”
-TBC
