Their hovercar waited in the air, queued up in a line of hovercars waiting for their chance to alight their decadently dressed passengers. The local star was setting over the horizon over a planet largely covered in verdant pine trees painting the sky a brilliant pink-orange that was quickly darkening into the blue-black of night. Lights illuminated the landing pads and the red carpets leading from them to the Gala’s main entry. Each passenger was helped from their limousine by two attendants who waited on each landing pad, who assisted them in gathering their gowns and belongings and then ushered them in the direction of the entrance. Their hovercar would then take off and would be replaced by the next in queue. One by one their hovercar advanced forward towards the pads giving Shanree Argentin plenty of time to observe the exterior of this operation from his plush seat.
Beside him sat a woman who was by now very well known to him. Cassandra Oriana Taldrya wore a striking black gown trimmed in gold and red with a plunging neckline; She struck an even more show-stopping figure than usual given her exceptional height. It would be hard for the Ex-Consul to blend in given every eye was going to be following her. That suited the aging Colonel just fine who was dressed himself in a well-fitting but unremarkable tuxedo and bowtie. Shanree was professionally practiced in blending in, looking forgettable, and going unnoticed in a crowd of people. The louder Cass dressed the better his own disguise as just another boring diplomat came off. The people they met would remember the gorgeous nearly 2m tall Epicanthix woman, but they’d hardly remember the man who had stood beside her.
As Shanree looked out of the window of their limousine he noted how the mountain top palace reminded him of the various Imperial installments he’d assaulted or infiltrated throughout his lengthy career. There was no mystery here given the Principate’s pedigree as another Imperial Remnant, but the sight both sickened the old soldier and filled him with the confidence that this mission was no different than dozens of others. The only real difficulty here was that the Principate was, ostensibly, an ally of the Brotherhood so they’d have to be exceptionally careful not to upset them.
Apparently lost in his own thoughts he was brought to by Cass shaking his shoulder. Shanree observed the area around them in his own Miralukan way and realized their hovercar had at last settled upon the landing pad. The door on Cassandra’s side opened and a gloved hand reached in, which she took and used to exit the limo with lithe grace. Shanree waited respectfully for her to fully exit the vehicle, to give anyone watching a good long moment to ogle her before he climbed out himself. Their hovercar took off as the Valets smiled and welcomed them, indicating for the couple to follow the carpeting towards the party’s entrance.
Shanree smiled warmly and thanked the gentlemen as he offered his arm to Cass. She hooked hers through his and leaned to the side to whisper in his ear, “You have the invitations, Darling?”
“Of course, Dear”, Shanree used his free hand to pat his chest where their official credentials rested in a gold colored envelope, “Everything is exactly where it should be.”
Cass nodded knowingly. She wasn’t concerned about the invitations at all but rather the tools they’d had smuggled into the Gala via service deliveries in the past days. Shanree and the Special Activities Group had spent a great deal of time making that happen. As they approached the entrance two suited men stopped them.
One kept his hands calmly clasped in front of him, his eyes hidden behind a black wrap-around visor, while the other reached out and welcomed them, “Welcome, Sir and Madam. Your Invitations please.”
Shanree reached into his tuxedo and pulled out the envelope from his breast pocket, and presented it to the man who took it and scanned it with a device held in his other hand. There was no need to open the envelope as the electronic credentials inside interacted with the device announcing them as the official representatives of the Taldryan Republic as part of the Brotherhood’s Delegation. Satisfied, the man handed the envelope back to Shanree and stepped aside, followed by his companion, and welcomed them in.
Music that from outside had been muffled and growing louder as they approached suddenly crescendoed as they entered. At full volume the energetic music filled the palace’s entry hall and the rooms off in each direction giving the event an energy that didn’t require a connection to the Force to feel. People spoke in little groups, clustered closely so that they could hear one another as they chatted and ingratiated themselves to one-another. Despite the noise it leant an intimacy to the setting filled with hundreds of guests.
“Dear, I’m parched”, Cass flitted a hand in the direction of the open bar, “would you be a doll and get us something to drink?”
Shanree snerked quietly, knowing Cass well enough to know the blue-blooded act was about Night and Day from her actual demeanor, “Absolutely, my Dove. Anything you’d like in particular?”
She made a show of thinking about it, but Shanree had his doubts the woman needed any time at all to consider what she wanted, “Something colorful. Something strong.”
“That sounds about right, dear.” Shanree said with a feigned smile. Suddenly he pointed at her with both of his index finders with an opened mouth smile this time. “Let me guess, blue right? With hints of berries?”
Cassandra laughed a bit, touching the outer shell of her breathing apparatus with the back of her hand, eyes closed. “You know me far too well.”
With that, he gave a nod before he turned to walk towards the bar. It felt strange for her to act this way towards him, more so since there wasn’t a spark of anything between them. She hoped, at the least, the people there were buying it.
She glanced around, seeing dozens of unfamiliar faces. All well-dressed, most standing in groups talking with each other, some even laughing. Most, she noticed, had drinks in their hands. Not knowing any of them would prove to be a downfall, as it would be difficult for them to insert themselves into the groups to try and blend in.
While Shanree waited for the drinks, now ordered, she decided to take a deeper examination of the area. There were doors in the far back, with two humans standing on each side of it quietly. Over towards the left was a large staircase going to the level above. Over to the right was an elevator with a single button, but a windowed room next to it with more humans inside watching what was going on outside.
Taking the elevator and going through the door wasn’t an option. The stairs, perhaps…
It was then that she noticed a fuzzy-looking Ewok in an Iron Legion uniform talking to several humans, with a glass of blue liquid in his hand. The Ewok turned to look at another person who was speaking to it, which let her see its face. Now, that was a surprise…and a welcome one at that.
Shanree returned with their drinks and handed a red and blue swirl colored one to her. “Here you are, dear. See anyone familiar from your Chancellor days?”
“Yes, in fact.” she remarked as she motioned towards the Ewok. “Rear Admiral Rundlek of the Iron Legion.”
He glanced over and took a sip of his drink as he thought for a moment. “Thran’s pet, right?”
“Yeah,” she confirmed with a nod, “I didn’t expect to see him here, but being the Arx Capital Exchange’s Director of Tactical Engineering it honestly doesn’t surprise me.”
“That fuzzball really does get around. He was just on Kasiya a few weeks ago overseeing several retrofits for the Allegiance Battle Group.” he replied as he looked over at her now with a smile. To fit in, he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. Given her typical serious nature, he wanted to see just how far he could push her.
Much to his surprise, and based on her reaction even hers, this action caught her drastically off guard. She stammered several stutters of her voice as she glanced around, as if in a daze. If not for her breathing apparatus, her blushed cheeks would be obvious to all those around them. That, and Shanree being a Miraluka, were her only defense at this stage. “I, um…uh…I, yeah..”
Shanree just laughed, the first time he had ever seen her flustered by someone other than her ex-wife Zuza. “So, thinking what I’m thinking?”
After a moment of composing herself, feeling a sense that she wanted to murder him at this point, she gave a nod. “Bug the Ewok?”
“Bug the Ewok.”
Shanree excused himself for just a moment longer then returned from the bar with a third drink. He smirked at his partner, “Let’s go introduce ourselves, shall we?”
The two Taldryanites ambled across the crowded floor to where the diminutive Ewok stood. Cass took the quick opportunity to let the Colonel know what she’d seen, and the door she’d seen a number of ranking officials disappear into. They approaced the furry ewok had been in conversation with several other uniformed men who, upon seeing the well-dressed delegation from the Taldryan Republic, excused themselves and made him available. The creature’s human-like eyes appraised them as they walked up.
“Former Supreme Chancellor Oraina, are you not?” Admiral Rundlek grinned as he offered his paw.
Cassandra did not offer hers in return, but the gesture was taken up by Shanree who grasped his paw in both hands. He was all smiles, “That she is, and you’re the distinguished Director of ACE’s Tactical Engineering Division, Rear Admiral Teebu Rundlek. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The Ewok was caught off guard and shook the man’s hand, giving Shanree to fill the momentary silence, “Oh excuse me. Colonel Shanree Argentin, Republic Army.”
“Ah!” Rundlek smiled warmly, “It’s always a pleasure to meet a customer.”
Cass’s eyes implied she was smiling behind her mask, which perhaps emotionally disarmed the short Director when she dropped especially low in a curtsy, “It’s always a pleasure to see what brilliant minds are behind ACE’s considerable catalogue.”
Had the Ewok been capable of blushing he would have been glowing red, “Well. I must admit while I do play an active hand in many of our on-going projects, it’s something of a team effort. I assembled the team and lead it, of course.”
“Of course”, Shanree said, chuckling in good humor, “Listen, I’m a field agent and I’ve some holes in the inventory on offer. Perhaps we could bend your ears for a time and discuss it?”
Teebu looked uncomfortable, his eyes darted around the party, “I don’t know Colonel, the night is young and so am I…”
That was when Shanree produced the drink he’d gone back to the bar for. He’d been holding it in his other hand, along with his own drink. Blue in color and emitting faint wisps of colorless gas, it was the same drink he’d retrieved for Cassandra, “I’m sure you could spare the time to share a drink with us?”
Admiral Rendlek hesitated, his eyes locked on the drink, “I– I suppose I could hear you out. What are we drinking this evening?”
The short Research Director eyed the drink he was handed with some curiosity before he put it up to his face. Shanree waited until he’d taken a sip to answer, “Something a friend told me about, they called it a Jasper Martini.”
The Ewok tasted the concoction and nearly spluttered at the first sip, “Good grace, that’s strong! What’s in this?”
Cass sipped easily at her drink, smiling inwardly. Colonel Argentin took a swill of his own, “Essentially everything in the Well, with something blue for color! Hah!”
At that they all had a good guffaw. Shanree clapped the Director on the back, leaving a trace-bug there, like an old friend. With the ice broken the Colonel led into a long winded and not-all entirely unfounded complaint about some of the ACE equipment he’d used and what he’d like to see made available. The Ewok listened, feigning interest, but neither could help but notice his eyes constantly wondering to Cassandra’s lithe figure. As their conversation wore on the effects of the strong drink began to work their way into the insubstantial Admiral’s constitution. It wasn’t long at all until the little alien was leaning one way and then another. Shanree gently encouraged the Director to continue to sip his drink until the alien lost his footing.
Cass caught the small bear-like Director as he fell, “Oh dear, you seem to have had a bit too much. Love, would you fetch some help?”
She easily played off Rundlek’s protestations as Shanree excused himself, notified a server a patron had had too much to drink and was feeling unwell. The Server spoke into a comlink and told Shanree that someone would be along to collect them shortly. He returned to Cass and Rundlek about the same time that two suited Human men arrived. They assisted the Director to his feet, assuring him they were there to help him and that they’d usher him to a quiet room where he could recover.
Cassandra lightly grabbed the arm of the men, “We can accompany him? I fear we encouraged him to drink too much and I’d feel terrible if we weren’t there to apologize when he’s recovered.”
The man nodded, “Yes, that would be fine. Please follow us.”
Shanree and Cass followed the two men who gently carried the Ewok Director from the gala’s main room to a side door that led to a service corridor. They were let into a well-appointed room from the Service Entrance. It had the looks of an old fashioned personal library complete with paper books and animal leather bound covers on wooden shelves. It was opulent and antiquated in the extreme, setting an atmosphere that the oversized fireplace and plush leather chairs only served to accentuate.
“Please remain here as long as you need. The Director has been given a light sedative and he’ll awake, entirely refreshed, in about an hour or so”, one of the men told the two Taldryan representatives, “I must ask you not to leave this room, and if you should need anything please do not hesitate to summon us. Someone will be with you momentarily.”
Shanree thanked the gentleman and watched him, and his companion, depart. When the coast was clear, and with Rundlek gently snoring in a leather chair, he looked at his partner, “We need to get our gear from the Service Area.”
Cassandra stared at Shanree with a surprised look. “You seriously drugged the Director?”
“What? It got us where we needed to be, didn’t it?” he retorted with an equally surprised expression back at her. If he had eyes, his facial expression would clearly convey them being in awe. Cassandra just shook her head negatively.
“You do realize when he wakes up, he’s going to be a problem for us.”
“How so? He’s loyal to the Brotherhood like us.”
She leaned closer to his face. “Exactly. Not to Taldryan, the Brotherhood. Who wants to maintain relations with the Principate.”
“You know you’re cute when you are angry, right?” He commented as he leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek as a way to change topics. She stumbled backwards again completely flustered and caught off guard.
“Will you stop that?!” She angrily protested against his laughs. Just as quickly she turned and proceeded to the door of the room. “Let’s just find our stuff and keep moving, before I kill you.”
“That’s just love talking, dear.” He said with a smile, keeping in character as he approached behind her. With a simple dismissive grunt, she opened the door and the both of them walked out.
It was a long corridor with quite a few people dressed up, but far less security than the area downstairs. They knew their gear was around here somewhere…
“There.” Shanree said as he pointed to a room that had its door closed. While others had come and gone from nearly every other door they saw, this one remained unused. “Maybe that one.”
Cassandra understood the assignment, and with a flick of her finger a vase on the other end of the hall fell over. It gained the attention of everyone around. While they were distracted, Shanree quickly slipped into the room and closed the door.
It was a simple office. Several storage lockers on the far side, but also a desk and computer. After grabbing his gear he made his way over to it.
Outside, Cassandra was watching around quietly. Suddenly a Zabrak began to approach who had an earpiece in his right ear and a golden code cylinder on his belt.
“Stupid furniture, I’ve told them we need to replace it for months now…” he grumbled as he moved towards the door. Her attention was raised, they couldn’t afford to get caught now.
“Hello there, you said you need new furniture, right?.” Cassandra said with a smile. Though he could not see her lips, the smile was evident through her cheeks and eyes. “I know a few who design some really rustic style stands and other things that could probably do it for a reasonable cost.”
His hand paused on the access button. Shanree was completely still for a moment, listening to the two. After a moment of confirming the newcomer was distracted he went back to it.
“Sithspit.” He thought to himself, projecting it to Cassandra telepathically. “I need a login device…there’s a special security lock on this computer.”
The Zabrak seemed interested. “Really now? Anything of a Lothal style?”
She pondered for a moment, raising her index finger to her cheek. “Let me think…”
The movement of her finger had carefully dislodged the code cylinder from his belt. If this was his office, this might be the key Shanree needs.
“..I think some of them do. Would it match the decor over there though?” she responded as the cylinder landed on the ground slowly before it rolled under the door. She motioned towards where the vase had broken.
The Zabrak nodded. “It should, I think there’s a good number of artifacts and designs from Lothal and Naboo over there.”
Together they started to walk off, giving Shanree the opportunity he needed. He stood up and retrieved the cylinder.
Shanree shoved the data cylinder into the receptacle beside the terminal and waited. Once in he quickly patched his Reading Device into the computer so that he could actually parse what was on the screen, a necessity without eyes. He quickly scanned through files and folder trees until he found something that piqued his interest. There was a large reception room in the castle and for some reason the Major Domo, whose office Shanree was apparently in, had been instructed to keep its preparations to a minimum. In fact, even more oddly, catering and service was subcontracted out to another organization that the Major Domo was merely supposed to facilitate and stay out of the way of. Odd that the chief man servant would be kept from his job during a major event.
The Cipher Agent quickly poked through some additional files and found a guest list of those who were to be admitted to the reception room. His eyes, had he any, would have bulged. There were officers and bureaucrats from the Principate, from some minor outlying powers, a few Brotherhood names he thought he recognized, and not a one of them ranked below Colonel or its equivalent. This had to be what they were looking for.
A tingle ran down his spine shortly before he could hear the voices of Cassandra and the Zabrak returning. Shanree began closing the windows he’d been accessing and was preparing to shut down the terminal when one last file caught his interest. It was labeled ‘Rusted Iron’ while sitting in a folder of laundry service receipts. It was odd enough he felt compelled to quickly move it to his own device before he shut down the terminal. He moved out from behind the man’s desk and pressed himself up against the wall beside the door to the office just as it opened.
“That’s fascinating. Do you really have that sort of connection? Wroshyr Wood is exceptionally difficult to get a hold of, the Wookies just won’t be reasonable about it.”
Cassandra followed the man into the office, both of them failing to see the Colonel who slipped out silently into the corridor behind them. Shanree pressed a comslink into his ear, “I’m out, I got what I needed. You can stop playing interior decorator at any time.”
“Oh, no! I seem to have lost an earring!”, Cass could just barely be heard inside the office, “You stay here, I’m going to retrace my steps. Perhaps it fell somewhere.”
The former Consul slipped out of the office while the Zabrak within picked at his nails, feeling like if he played his Sabaac cards right this night he might end up with more than a business card in his hands. The look Cass gave Shanree was visible through the force– exasperation and relief.
Shanree smirked as he took her by the elbow, looping his arm through hers, and discreetly pressing a small package into the small of her back that she deftly concealed, “I’ve got good news”.
Cassandra listened as Shanree pulled her to the side and started rambling on quietly in her ear like an excited partner, his drink in his hand again. Her eyes glistened as she gave a smirk under her mask.
“So there’s a meeting of some principate leadership going on, here, tonight?” she asked, to confirm everything she had just heard.
Shanree nodded with confirmation.”Right. We might be able to figure some things out, potentially. It doesn’t look like the highest levels of leadership either, just a direct invite-only.”
Raising her hand to her chin, she tapped the underside of her mask. “At the same time, we aren’t leadership. We’ll be spotted.”
“Leave that to me.” Shanree said as he shifted his head to his right and started moving. The Epicanthix started following just beside and behind him. They went through several more hallways before reaching a balcony section. This area seemed a lot quieter compared to the rest, and only had a few well dressed individuals walking its length. Cassandra was quick to notice that similar to the Zabrak, they each had an ear piece in.
Just as Shanree began to ask if she could distract them again, she was already ahead of him. With just a flick of her pinky finger, an edge of the carpet that laid upon the floor raised up just as one of them was about to walk onto it. Their foot slipped under which caused them to trip and fall forward onto the floor face-first. This caught the attention of the rest who immediately shifted their focus. Some went over, others just watched.
Shanree swiftly opened one of the balcony doors and pulled Cassandra inside. There were dozens on dozens of people on the upper level, with everyone in general very quiet. Murmurs could be heard from the lower level, however. Both of them approached the balcony that overlooked the large room.
Down below sat a giant table with roughly twenty people sitting around it. At the front of the table sat no one, only a large screen that was hanging above. On it was a simple grey background.
“…and our quarterly results have proven to be in excess of expectations after project sales.” a woman at the table was saying, now being able to be heard by Shanree and Cassandra. “I anticipate that to further increase after our newly acquired merchandise sells, and we receive more from our agent within the Brotherhood.”
“It is a risk, Vanessa.” a Gammorean spoke from across the table with dissent in his voice. “Already we have heard that there are rumblings within their ranks that the last shipment went missing, which we already know is due to negligence on your part. Your agent was careless and-”
He had wanted to continue but paused as a dark human-like silhouette entered the screen from its left side. Everyone around the table stood up. Once the figure sat down, they all did the same.
“Please,” the figure spoke with a modulated voice, “continue.”
“As I was saying…your agent was careless and left a trail.” the Gammorean finished. “For all we know, there may not even be additional merchandise.”
On the edge of the table, a Sullustan tapped his fingers on the table itself. “I predict we will. That fool of a Regent is easily distractable, and already we ensured that their dear Dacien is going to be chasing his own tail for a while.”
Cassandra stood there listening as the discussions continued. She didn’t recognize anyone here, despite her years of diplomacy both on Taldryan’s part but also with their contacts within the Principate. Carefully one by one she examined them, taking down as many mental notes as well as any names that were spoken.
Shanree, however, was busy at work with a datapad he had swiped from the office to try and figure out more details on the key person that was there…the one hidden by the screen. He didn’t care much about the others, as this one seemed to be the mastermind of it all. And if he was right, potentially the single most greatest future threat to the Brotherhood. Where was everything being funneled to? How deep did these connections go?
Suddenly the figure raised his hand and everyone stopped speaking, directing their attention to him. “It would seem…there are some among us that do not belong. There is a trace occurring from this very room.”
Those words caused Shanree to freeze instantly. Several on the balcony looked towards both him and Cassandra, knowing they were the last to enter. Others began to do the same, and then those on the floor looked up and noticed as well who was being looked at.
“Dear…” Cassandra started as she took a step back from the balcony. “I think we need to get out of here.”
Just after she said it, the door opened and in came Teebu with an armed entourage. She gulped.
“I think you’re right.”