For all its boundless emptiness, space was anything but quiet. Thane stood—his arms ever folded across his chest—near the sensor array. The instruments flashed their various lights, blinking away without a care as the screens displayed so much information and yet nothing at all. The Justicar tried to pay it all no mind. He wouldn’t make much sense of it anyhow. Sensor readouts weren’t exactly where he had aimed his considerable intelligence.
No, there were people for that.
People that were presently failing him.
“Tell me again,” Thane stated flatly, despite his lilting accent, “how we lost a ship?”
The Justicar’s question hung in the air for a tense moment. A nervous-looking male Zeltron wearing Inquisitor armor broke the silence, “the vessel was waylaid and seized on its way back from the Zsoldos system by Collective forces posing as pirates. We are still trying to ascertain precisely how.”
A low growl rumbled from the corner of the room where the Fist was brooding, “They had insider information is how. It was my ship and I was supposed to be on it.”
“Yes, we are currently investigating any possible intelligence leaks as to the Lord Fist’s travel itinerary,” the Inquisitor added. “Thankfully the Salt Shaker‘s security systems kicked in and transmitted its location to us before purging its communication encryption keys.”
Rajhin swallowed his wounded pride as he moved closer to the center of the room, “the theft of my official yacht is of limited tactical impact but it is an insult we cannot let stand. We cannot allow the Collective to become emboldened by this.”
General Bes'uliik stood with this arms folded near his fellow Councillors, head bowed slightly and the only sound emenating from him the breathing through his sealed armor. Up until this point, the Mandalorian hadn’t said a word regarding the yacht… but he was sour, and this was a situation that needed to be rectified quickly and quietly.
“It doesn’t matter how it happened, why it happened, or who was supposed to be on it at the time,” he looked over to their furry colleague, who shot him a quick glance, “No offense. The only thing that matters is that it was stolen, and as it is a yacht belonging to a councillor, is no ordinary yacht. It doesn’t provide any real tactical advantage in a fight, that’s true, but it’s systems are heavily encrypted because of the data transferred through our various networks. If that encryption is broken, it becomes a huge problem - for all of us, and the Brotherhood at large.”
Zxyl raised a hand to the chin of his helmet, rubbing it for a moment as he pulled up a holo-projection of the yacht’s last location.
“We need to retrieve the Shaker immediately and as quietly as possible, lest word reach the Clans and they vie for it themselves. This is a job only we can do… I will prepare for departure, immediately.”
The Regent’s words and voice sounded the same, but there was something… different, about him. His demeanor had shifted from its usual rigid self to something a bit more fluid,.
“They knew what they were doing,” Idris said. “To pull that off they not only had to know when and where but how to disable the multiple redundant tracking systems we have.”
He paused a moment.
“We are still following protocol and installing those right?”
The Voice shifted his stance slightly rocking side to side as he altered which leg he was leaning on, an eager tick after spending too many days away from being in the field.
“It’s not just our encryptions that are on the line Zxyl. They certainly picked the right target for that but given it was taken at all… the need to be quiet is an understatement. You are right, it has to be us, this can’t leave this room, or the Collective will know we are coming,” Idris rapidly sped up his words in excitement.
Idris tilted his head to the side in response to the several quick glances he received. He shrugged.
“We represent some of the best of the Brotherhood. And it’s been ages since I got to shoot something. Talk about honor, duty, need all you want, this is going to be fun,” he emphasized.
“Fun is secondary,” Thane reminded Idris. Not that he really needed to. The man was, after all, a professional. “Only the goal matters.”
Would be quicker to blast the damn thing instead of retaking it, but… The Justicar turned his black-gold gaze towards Zxyl as he worked through his thoughts. He sighed before turning back to the sensor array.
“We need to develop a plan of attack,” Rajhin paused for a moment, “but Idris is right, it’s been too long since my blade has been soaked with Collective blood.” He punctuated his statement by brandishing his Sith Sword for a moment.
He’s going to put someone’s eye out with that thing, Thane thought to himself grimly. “I presume we can depart, then?” he asked, loud enough for Zxyl to hear as he prepared.
“Of course,” responded the Regent, turning his head to Thane.
There was a pregnant pause that turned into an awkward silence as the men stood in the cabin. Thane’s eyes flit briefly between each face before he made a ‘well then’ gesture. Like, what were they waiting for?
“Let’s go, then.”
Clearly, it was a ‘say less’ scenario. No sooner had Thane started to speak than the nav system acknowledged the entered coordinates. The ship lurched as it entered hyperspace.
They were now en route.
“Eta?” Thane inquired. He could feel Zxyl’s growing annoyance at Thane’s micromanaging.
“Another ten minutes,” the helmsman answered before Zxyl could.