[^] LEVIATHAN SQUADRON [^]
1st Imperial Expeditionary Force
Primus Et Optimus | The First and the Finest
Commanding Officer: LORD GENERAL Lucidius Hale
CHANGING TIDES, Part V - The Explosive and Exciting, Five Scene SL Series Finale!
With the transition of the planetary defenses officially carried over to the command of the 1st Imperial Expeditionary Force, Hale had no reservations about making the VSD
Shogun the new flagship of the Imperial Defense Force (IMPDEF) of Corulag, as he wanted to give the citizens of Corulag the impression that the Imperial Remnant was heavily invested from the very beginning. But now, more important matters were at hand. While the defense accords had gone over smoothly, the challenge of getting the bureaucrats to hand over control was another matter. Just two days after the Peace Treaty Banquet, Jana - under the cover alias of Natalya - had unearthed some important information.
Jana knocked on Hale's door to his quarters, holding a datapad. Hale answered and let her in. There was another banquet scheduled for the evening, one in which Moff Rhenquist was expecting to grill Hale regarding his administrative capabilities and options for the potential successor to Corulag's governance. Jana was hoping to get in a few words before they had to leave...
"Good evening, General."
"What's the news, Jana?"
"Not good. It appears our friend Moff Rhenquist is not entirely clean..."
"Go on."
Handing him the datapad, Jana continued, "these are pictures of Rhenquist with a one Ms. Breiana Celeste, a covert operative."
The pictures were very compromising, "how did you come about these?"
Jana smiled.
"Right... I don't need to know. How do you know Ms. Celeste?"
"I was privvy to a great deal of Imperial Intelligence reports when I was working for the Empire, Ms. Celeste is - get this - an Imperial agent who was imbedded with the Rebel Alliance, who was then re-imbedded back into the Empire as a double-double agent."
"A double-double? What's the point?" asked Hale.
"Sometimes double-doubles are planted to root out other doubles in an organization, but that's not even the start of it General... it seems Ms. Celeste has been working Rhenquist for quite some time..."
"Shit."
"When I was working on uncovering the Rebel smuggling ring in Nar Shaddaa, my sources keep pointing a Tenloss Syndicated ring leader who was in the Empire, and so last night I searched Rhenquist's files, financials, and shipping statements in the last 90 days for Corulag. It was a lot to go through, but I filtered the imports and exports with known material the smuggling ring was using and found several matches. It seems Rhenquist has been supplying parts and supplies to the Tenloss Syndicate using the Empire's own logistics network and his authority as a Moff to cover it all up."
"But where's the overall connection here? You said Celeste was embedded in the Rebel Alliance right?"
"
Was in the Rebel Alliance. After the Battle of Endor, Celeste was cut off and left stranded. That much I've discovered from hers and Rhenquist's electronic correspondences. She then did the only thing a double agent knows how to do... play a side to their advantage, and so she sold out to Tenloss and dragged Rhenquist along with her for the ride. This is common for men like Rhenquist. They get greedy, and with the Empire in shambles I'm sure the offer to sell-out to the Tenloss Syndicate was an attractive prospect, especially if it meant certain
benefits came along with the ride."
"Benefits?"
"Celeste for starters. Rhenquist's wife died over a decade ago in an unrelated accident, so some part of him is probably lonely as well. The pictures I showed you all but gaurantee that. Rhenquist is probably also aiding and abetting smugglers on every front as a Moff, perhaps by getting a slice of the action himself. Plus... you know how restrictive the Imperial Law is when it comes to imports. Smuggling gives men like Rhenquist a backdoor to use in order to acquire contraband for themselves. He's living life up."
"This is good work, Jana. With the galaxy reconnecting on a lot of fronts, it's only a matter of time before government becomes more consolidated and networked on other systems as well - and that's typically when criminal organizations thrive. It's possible the Tenloss Syndicate could be working Rhenquist to get a foothold into the Core Worlds, and maybe even Coruscant itself," replied Hale, who was just hypothesizing.
"That's a good guess, especially since Black Sun is out of the picture. I'm sure the incident at Kessel right now is only a part of the picture..."
"Kessel? Don't tell me something's happened," replied Hale, rhetorically. "I've been swamped with this Accession Treaty."
"No worries, that's why I'm here, General," Jana paused to gloat a little. "A major battle has begun for starters. Only initial intelligence reports are available right now, but the analysis would suggest that the Tenloss and Hutt Syndicates, along with some other periphereal criminal entities, have made a move against Kessel and The Maw itself. A single Star Destroyer
escaped prior to the battle, where to we don't know yet... unless..."
"What?"
"Hand me that data pad."
Hale handed Jana the pad as she asked. Jana then began searching Rhenquist's files again for other items: fleet movement requisitions. "Just as I feared. Rhenquist ordered the ISD
Basilisk to report to Core Sector Inner Deep Space Station 19 for 'emergency diagnostics and power core replenishment' using Moff Emergency Protocol 319-66... a little convenient, don't you think?"
"This Rhenquist is nothing but dirt, and Tenloss scum," responded Hale. "I've never been a fan of Kessel or the Hutts either, but that's the least of our concerns now. We still have Phase III of the Remnant Expansion Plan to implement before I can consider allocating Expeditionary assets to the northeast region of Oversector Outer. The question is what do we do with Rhenquist now?"
"Going after him now might be premature. It would be best for me to arrest Celeste quietly, and then once the Accession Treaty begins we can publicly denounce Rhenquist. That should all but gaurantee reunification under your leadership."
"This is also why the Moffs need more checks and balances. I've been a quiet advocate of this for years now, ever since Moff Kolumus tried to get me killed at Chandrila. They get consumed by their power," responded Hale.
"Checks and balances? You're starting to sound like a Republican," teased Jana.
Hale gave her a friendly glare, "I need to get going."
Later that evening, during the Accession Treaty Banquet, Hale was properly schmoozing with Corulag's elitist bureaucrats to socially convince them that he was the right man for the job. Meanwhile Jana was busy hunting Breiana Celeste down, who was sleeping in Rhenquist's bed. Jana was wearing a customized special operations uniform, which was an all-black body glove that had a layer of reactive gel that was used to control body temperature and provide refractive defense against small arms blaster fire. Jana was also wearing tri-ocular goggles that allowed her to split her field of vision into three different spectrums: electromagnetic, infrared, and nightvision. Carrying only a small touchscreen computer interface on her wrist and a lightsaber, all other tools were left behind in favor of maintaining a stealthier profile. Jana's training and designation as the Emperor's Shadow also afforded her techniques to use the Force to minimize her own sound and create audible disturbances in order to distract others, but her connection to the Force had yet to be regained and so she was left only within the frame of her normal performance levels.
Stepping through the window located at Rhenquist's balcony, Jana quietly entered Rhenquist's quarters and discovered Celeste laying in the Moff's bed as expected. Walking up to the foot of the bed, Jana removed her tri-ocular goggles and ignited her orange-beamed lightsaber. The somewhat loud *BEWN* noise woke Celeste up.
"What... what is this... who are you!?" asked Celeste, who was feighning panic so she could quietly reach for the blaster pistol under her pillow.
"Breina Celeste, you're under arrest for crimes against the Empire. Please, step out of bed and dress yourself, then come with me," answered Jana. Holding the lightsaber and using it as a lethal tool was giving her an adrenaline rush, and she could feel whispers of the Dark Side compelling her to take Celeste's life. "Don't make me ask you again!"
"Hmph. Judging by that lightsaber you must be one of the Emperor's former whores. That'll make this difficult!"
Celeste then pulled the blaster and cracked off a quick 3-round burst against Jana. One of the blaster bolts missed completely, while the second was luckily deflected by her lightsaber, the third nailed in her the side and although was refracted into and off her bodysuit, the plasma still caused a major 2nd degree burn. The damage
was enough to give Celeste a quick advantage as she lept out of bed and wrestled Jana to the ground, which knocked her lightsaber out of her hand.
Kicking Celeste off her, Jana got to her feet as did Celeste and the two squared off. Although Jana was an expert in hand-to-hand combat, the last time she sparred with an opponent was too long for her skills to be sharp. Celeste on the other hand was a trained Imperial agent and knew martial arts almost intuitively.
Jana began by throwing a quick right jab, which was met with a quick snap block and an immediate left jab to her side where the blaster bolt hit her. Wincing in pain, Jana backed off slightly, but Celeste kept attacking by delivering a series of strikes to Jana's midsection.
Jana then started feeling the Dark Side returning to her, and so she gave into her anger and felt a surge of energy and speed, which she used to over
power Celeste with a series of kicks and an uppercut that sent Celeste to the ground.
Celeste crawled to her feet, "looks like the Emperor's whore isn't going to back down, is she? Hahahah.."
This angered Jana more, which only increased her connection to the Dark Side, but even with Force enhanced skills, the two were evenly matched. Celeste and Jana began landing a combination of punches, elbow strikes, blocks, grabs, and other holds in such a rapid manner that an onlooker would think they were rehearsing a staged fight. Indeed, their training was very similar and so all of their moves and techniques mirrored the other's beautifully. As the two began reaching for improvised weapons, the fight got even more deadly as each inflicted a number of flesh wounds.
Jana managed to land a powerful torso kick to Celeste, which knocked her back, but the 10 foot slide put her near the blaster she had dropped earlier. Struggling to reach the blaster, Celeste crawled for it, inching closer to it with her hand. Jana quickly snapped her head towards her lightsaber and reached out to it with the Force. Her temporary surge of Dark Side power gave her all the connection to the Force she needed as she slowly began feeling the lightsaber pull closer to her, all while Celeste was finally getting a grip on her blaster.
"Come on..." sighed Jana. Eventually the lightsaber started to rattle and then it immediately snapped to her hand. Just as she ignited the orange blade once more, Celeste snapped a shot off towards her head, which Jana responded by slashing her blade instinctively at the bolt - reflecting it back to Celeste's head.
Letting out an exhausted sigh, Jana deactivated her saber and holstered it. Although she was happy to have felt the Force return to her in a powerful way, she lamented internally that it was the Dark Side. Wether it was a manifestation of the Dark Side or just a psychological delusion, Jana began hearing the Emperor's joyous cackle and words of praise for Jana outside of her head...
"Goooood Jana... Gooood. See how the Dark Side has made you powerful? See how it has returned the Force to you? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha... your anger has made you stronger."
"SILENCE! I'M NOT YOUR SLAVE! AND I DON'T NEED THE DARK SIDE!"
"You will always need the Dark Side... just as you will always be mine! Mwahahahaha!"
After the laugh faded to silence, Jana feel to her knees and began weeping.
Meanwhile at the Accession Banquet, Sergeant Rajput rushed in to meet with Hale.
"Lord General! Urgent news: the
Venator has arrived!"
"Thank you Sergeant Rajput," replied Hale. This was good news ineed. Giving the Sergeant a salute, he dismissed him.
The powerful bureaucrats around Hale seemed delighted as well, "is this not a Venator-class Star Destroyer, Lord General?" replied the ederly Lady Elizabeth Grey, chairwoman of GreyCorp - one of the largest conglomerates in the Core Worlds. "I haven't seen one of those since I was a wee little girl. Quite a vessel!"
"Indeed, Lady Grey. The conflict raging across the galaxy has seen a return of a number of older designs come to the forefront again. Some classes of ship are just better suited for the right roles," replied Hale. "This one will be the new flagship of the Imperial First."
"Have you named the vessel yet?" interjected Moff Rhenquist.
"The official christening ceremony is scheduled for another time, but I'm naming it the
LEVIATHAN, a mystical creature of lore from my home planet."
"Ahhh the
Leviathan..." replied Lady Grey. "Isn't that from Alderaan?"
"Yes. Alderaan..."
Moff Rhenquist's eyes widened. "Excuse me Lord General, but in your Service Record your home planet is listed as Ralltiir. I'm confused."
"No need to be, Moff Rhenquist. I was born on Ralltiir, but grew up on Alderaan."
"I see," replied the Moff. "One might think being from Alderaan is a black mark... and one might also question your loyalty to the Empire."
"I joined the Empire because it was the Rebel Alliance who destroyed the planet - not the Death Star! Had Princess Organa given the location of the Rebellion's first base, then its destruction would've been prevented. Her betrayal cost the lives of billions. If there was no Rebellion, Alderaan would still be standing where it was!"
"Well said, young man!" replied Lady Grey.
"Well then, Lord General, it appears you have passed the test on all marks. Might I invite you to my private office to sign the Accession Treaty?"
Hale nodded, "Indeed," then turned to Lady Grey, taking her hand, "my lady it was a pleasure meeting with you. I'm looking forward to discussing future economic prospects with you for Corulag."
Lady Grey smiled, "you have my vote of confidence, Lord General, and as I follow, so do my peers. We haven't had such a youthful and charismatic leader among us in years, so I hope you can give us old people a good jolt!" after a short and pleasant laugh, Hale departed with Rhenquist.
