| abstract | - Free from the Coruscant gravity well, the Republic cruiser Averre sailed away from the planet. The red Consular-class space cruiser, which measured 115 meters long, was a new release designed exclusively for Senators and diplomats of the Republic. Standing alone at the front of the bridge was a man of tall stature, hair graying. Even though he stood with his feet apart, his military stoicism chilled the room. His arms were joined behind his back as he stared forward, out the transparisteel window and into empty space. Immediately in front of him was another male, piloting the craft away from the planet. The pilot acted dutifully, preparing the vessel for hyperspace and entering the proper coordinates into the navicomputer. After finishing his preparatory procedure, he turned to the man behind him and nodded. No signal was given to the pilot for action and both remained in the cold silence. The remainder of the vessel was all but empty. Other than an array of supplies for travel and tools which populated the storage areas, only one other individual and two droids were on board. The other lone individual was meditating in the privacy of an upper deck state room. A utility droid was working in the navigation room, and lastly, a maintenance droid was cleaning a lonely lower deck corridor. Eerie silence filled the remaining areas of the cruiser, which normally housed a crew ranging from four to eight and carried upwards of twelve other passengers. After two minutes of silence, the tall man spoke to his pilot. "Danstari," he said in a matter-of-fact manner, "I do not believe our exit has piqued anyone's interest. Proceed with the jump to hyperspace. We have work to do." "Yes, Senator Valorum," the pilot replied without turning around. He then reached to his right and engaged the hyperdrive. The cruiser promptly obliged and entered hyperspace without fanfare. Safely in transit, Danstari engaged the autopilot system and tended to a few other matters on the control panel. A few moments passed before the pilot finally stood, feeling secure about the vessel's status, and walked past the still stoic Senator. He neither addressed nor even regarded the Senator as he passed him. Rather, he swiftly exited the cockpit and entered the adjacent navigation room. Senator Valorum remained, standing, peering out the cockpit window into the hollowing glow of hyperspace. Inside the navigation room, Danstari saw the small MR-series utility droid accessing the vessel's central computer. The droid, officially named MR-A7, stood around one meter tall, with a body that was nearly identical to the long-successful T3-series models. The T3 model had been upgraded to include a better processor and programming along with stronger structure, without sacrificing size and versatility. In appearance, however, the MR droids were nearly identical to their T3 predecessor. MR-A7 turned its head clockwise, acknowledging Danstari's entrance, but continued working in silence. Glancing at the screen, the droid was browsing Republic records that documented Senators and their associates. After three minutes of daydreaming, Danstari's boredom got the better of him. "We're on our way to the Moddell sector, Emra. What are you up to? Need help?" The small droid beeped quietly and undocked from the central computer's access port. Turning around, it moved toward Danstari, stopping a mere finger width from his feet. It tilted its quasi-cylindrical head upward, looking at the young man who was responsible for piloting the ship. At around thirty standard years of age, he had with dark brown hair, deep brown skin and a rugged complexion. He sported the standard dark blue outfit for Republic security personnel who were a part of the Judicial Forces. "What do you want Emra? I wasn't trying to stop your work," He spoke to the droid. Emra beeped cheerfully, indicating that everything assigned had been completed. Now, the droid needed to report to the Senator. "Oh, so you want to see the Senator. He's still in the cockpit. I hope you know what's going on, because I have no idea. Why were we trying to leave the system so discretely?" The MR-series droid simply responded with declining tones showing its lack of knowledge on the matter. Senator Valorum was commanding this vessel's mission, but he had not divulged any information to the others on board. Rather, he remained silent, promising to explain the mission later. Danstari moved from the doorway, allowing Emra to freely access the cockpit. The utility droid dutifully approached the Senator, circuits quietly whirring and whizzing. The stoic Senator appeared unfazed by Emra's approach, but he eventually turned and knelt before the droid. He put his left hand upon the droid's head and spoke, "Thank you, Emra. Now, I want you to gather everyone. Tell them to meet in the salon. I think it is time we have a quick meeting about what we are doing." Emra beeped affirmatively, but did not move initially. Once the Senator stood and resumed his prior stance, Emra turned and left the cockpit. It traveled down the corridor, past the navigation room, and into a computer room. There, it plugged into another access port for the Averre's central computer. Using the computer as a translator into Basic, the droid had messages sent via comlink to the other two passengers. The message was simply, "Senator Valorum requests your presence in the salon pod for a briefing." The droid understood that this mission was of utmost urgency and secrecy by the Senator's actions. It had been asked to search for information in Republic records and the Senator's personal files regarding select individuals. Now, it was undoubtedly needed to relay that information which had been retrieved. Also, other than Danstari and the lone maintenance droid, the other two passengers were not regulars to the Senator's staff. Emra belonged to another individual but had been "borrowed" for about five days to help the Senator gather information. Regardless, it dutifully acted for the Senator. Emra undocked from the central computer and exited the room. Strolling down the eerily calm corridor, it beeped and whirred, haplessly breaking the stillness and silence. After meandering through the vessel, it arrived at the salon pod. The droid unlocked the entrance to the pod and entered as the doorway whisked open. It engaged the lights in the salon meeting room, illuminating the expanse, and allowed the doorway to close. The meeting room was round, with a dome-like ceiling and had chairs and tables that were configurable for small or large meetings up to sixteen people. When Emra entered, there was one large vaguely rectangular table surrounded by sixteen chairs, with a hologram projector at the far end. The room used only ambient lighting rather than direct lighting and had transparisteel windows on the forward end of the room which were sealed by secondary, durasteel doors. As Emra took a position at the far end of the room, the door to the salon whisked open again. Danstari strutted into the chamber, looking around. He stalled a moment, then moved toward a seat near the back end of the table. He reclined and propped his feet up onto the solid table surface. "Maybe we'll get some answers, Emra," Danstari chirped. Emra beeped a response of affirmation. "I can't wait," he continued. "This might be the reassignment I was told about last week." Suddenly, the door whirled open again. A pale-blue skinned figure wearing a brown and beige robe entered. She had white feathers that appeared almost like the hair of a Human and deep blue eyes. Stepping into the light, Emra recognized the female being: She was an Omwati, but most notably, she was a Jedi and acquaintance of the Senator. Emra excitedly produced an array of sounds at her arrival. "Someone's happy," Danstari said, looking at the droid. "Hello, Emra," The Jedi said as she walked forward, smiling. Then, extending her right hand toward Danstari, she pushed his legs off the table through the Force. "Bored, Lieutenant?" She smarted with a broad, mischievous grin. "That's not fair, Shalli. You can't use the Force in the salon." Danstari retorted with a chiding smirk. Suddenly, the door whisked open again; Senator Valorum had arrived. Emra moved closer to the table, plugged into the holoprojector, and prepared for the meeting. The Senator, stoic yet visibly troubled, took a seat next to Emra at the head of the table. Shalli then sat a couple of seats down, on the opposite side as Danstari. "I'm going to get directly to the point…" the Senator began, his voice trailing into a momentary pause. "As you know, part of my duties as Senator has been to serve as chair for the Senate Ethics Committee. In doing so, I uncovered evidence of substantial corruption among a couple of our government officials. Much of it was given through anonymous sources that have since proven factual or trustworthy. I reported all of my findings to the Director of the Government Investigative Network and have turned the investigation over to his leading. The Director, in turn, has assigned his top investigator to the case." "This must be big-time, then," Danstari interjected. "It is, Lieutenant. It is," the Senator replied. "Now, Emra, please pull up Senator Hanik Regueny." Emra beeped and an image appeared on the holoprojector of Senator Regueny. The droid also prepared information for Senator Valorum, and it appeared below the image. Valorum scratched the back of his head, then continued. "Senator Hanik Regueny: he is a senior senator from Commenor. He was elected thirty-two years ago and is one of the longest-termed officials in our government. He has never been accused of bribery or other corruption charges during his tenure, thus far, and is widely thought to be clean by other senators. In fact, he was part of a group that uncovered the Commerce Guild scandal a few years back, as you might recall. I have strong reason to believe, however, that he has his hand in quite a few dirty deals. While nothing can be confirmed, it appears his hand might be in as many illegal operations as a spice ring, a weapons smuggling scheme… and… let's just say 'possibly even more sinister actions.'" "Wait…" Shalli asked, her face with a crumpled expression. "He is smuggling weapons? What military could he smuggling for?" "Not quite sure," Valorum responded. "Commenor has a menial defense force like most planets." Shalli was unsatisfied. "Military forces were intentionally downsized almost three hundred years ago." Senator Valorum continued, "That is true. The Ruusan Reformation did cause military forces to be designated for planetary defense only. And, the Republic military was all but dissolved. So, your conjecture is as good as any, Shalli. The evidence is strong, though." "Perhaps," Danstari interjected, peering at the holo-image, "he has no intent of using them himself. Perhaps he is planning to sell them to the Hutts or anti-Republic dissidents." Emra created sounds of shock and sorrow, then changed the holo-image from Regueny to a list of his known contacts, most of them other senators. "That is what we need to find out, Danstari," Valorum remarked. "I have long believed that Regueny was in the Senate to better society and the people of Commenor. If he is smuggling weapons or participating in illegal weapons transactions, then he needs to be punished. The problem is that nothing is concrete that links him to anything, at the moment. Anonymous sources and tips given to me indicate his wealth has increased substantially from various places across the galaxy in the last standard year. He has received a substantial number of credits from Fondor, Kuat, Nar Shaadda, Outer Rim crime havens, and, most surprisingly, Eriadu. We do not know what these credits are for, but he has also paid a substantial amount out, as well. Most of the money has gone to mercenaries and suspected drug smugglers." "Why don't we arrest him on charges of funding drug smuggling?" Shalli inquired. The Senator sighed and sat back in his seat. Soberly, he responded, "At this point, it seems to be a minor deal compared to the larger weapons ring he appears to be involved in. Strictly speaking, any weapons ring greatly concerns the G.I.N. Director." "So, Senator, how do we fit into this?" Danstari asked. "I take it we left Coruscant because we have this information." "We are meeting with the top investigator in the G.I.N. on Qina, in the Moddell sector," the Senator answered. "The G.I.N. Director directly assigned her to this case, at my request. A new team is being formed under her command, and it includes both of you." "Do we know her?" Shalli inquired. "I do not believe so." The Senator paused. "Only Emra does, of course, since this investigator owns her. Still, this investigation is completely top secret. Other than the Director of the G.I.N., myself, and those involved, no one knows about this information or the investigation. Not even Chancellor Eddicus." Emra let out sounds of curiosity and beeped wildly. She noticed the Senator quietly place his hand on her head while he continued. "I am meeting with other members of my security detail, including my new pilot, on Qina and will return to Coruscant after you both have been dispatched. I will make certain Emra contains all the information your lead investigator will need when you disembark from this ship. Danstari, you already knew that you were going to be reassigned to G.I.N., and this is now your reassigned status. Shalli, the Director of G.I.N. wanted a skilled Jedi on the team. You were chosen, should you be willing to accept." Shalli did not appear shocked. Rather, she sat back and responded plainly. "The Jedi Council informed me yesterday that you would be providing me another mission and that I should comply. I suppose this is it. I have no objections to taking it." Danstari shrugged then his expression changed to confusion. "So, who is this lead investigator?" The Senator rose and made a motion toward Emra. The small droid, knowing the signal, turned off the holoprojector and undocked from the machine. "Ironically, an old friend of mine. So, I will be forfeiting any further involvement in this investigation unless it is absolutely required of me." As the Senator began walking toward the door, Emra followed his steady gait. The Senator strode to the doorway, and opened it. As he was about to leave, he turned and said, "Special Agent Evening Delwynn. I highly suggest you address her 'Agent Delwynn.' Anything else would be… quite unacceptable."
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