Why Not?
“You can’t be serious?” Nelani signed at him. She had a look of disappointment in her green eyes and her locks of hair bobbed as she shook her head.
“It’s the only way to get through to them,” he waved back dismissively. It was difficult to convey some emotions through hand-talk, the native ‘tongue’ of the self-imposed mute Lorridians; however, a lifetime of mastering body language aided Pike le Trenne in this discussion. Nelani rolled her eyes and looked over to Aryn D’Nan, a dark furred bothan with white striping running down the back of his neck. He bristled under her gaze and shrugged.
“What do you want me to say?” he growled. “He’s in charge. More importantly, the Provisional Council has given him leave to do execute this as he sees fit,” he mumbled. Pike flashed Nelani a smile and motioned back to the images on the holo-table in front of them. Four hazy figures, three humans and a verpine, were floating above them table. Their images had been reconstructed from a network of holo-footage that the Alliance had sliced. They were far from perfect but they were enough to be identifiable. Beneath each figure was a name in Aurbesh: Bren Novar, Malcolm Starfall, Nate Reynolds, and Ferrous. The famed Kajidic Hunters who, most recently, had waged a particularly violent blood feud against the Jiramma Kajidic of the Hutt Cartel. Although their war was short, it managed to result in quite a large pile of bodies, a few million credits either stolen or lost in destroyed equipment and ships, and most importantly – left the four of them with quite a sizable reputation in the galaxy.
Pike motioned for the Bothan to begin and sat back down in the comfortable chair behind him. Aryn stepped forward and keyed a button on the table which caused the figures to wink out and were replaced with a live feed from the Imperial Holonet. New stories about a brutal rebel attack at Hosnian prime which cost the life of hundreds of loyal Imperial Soldiers flashed across the screen. There were crying men and women watching caskets being taken off a Lambda-Class shuttle and salvage crews trying to remove the wreckage from space.
“This, is the fallout from the Battle of Hosnian Prime. As you can see, the Imperial Politicos are actively spinning the attack to their advantage; however, we are noticing a different response from the people,” he said and tapped his datapad. The holofeed was replaced with a series of intercepted messages with phrases and keywords highlighted.
“A bold strike against the heart of the Empire”
“Unknown heroes take on the Emperor” “They are the Rebellion’s best hope for victory,”
“Who are these freedom fighters?”
The display continued and slowly faded and Pike smiled. it had been a while since the general public really rallied behind anything. The Rebel Alliance has garnered considerable momentum after the destruction of the first Death Star three years ago. They were beginning to lose steam and this was enough to help reinvigorate the masses. Unfortunately, one of the vessels that fought at Hosnian Prime, a Corellian Corvette called the Thunderstrike, suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Hoth. The Rebellion was reeling from the loss there and the Provisional Council had launched a pretty aggressive campaign to quell any rumours. The loss of some of those war heros, so recently too was a crushing blow. Captain Micha "Howling Mad" Evon and his new XO, Dia Suvan, had perished aboard the ship. They hadn't made those deaths public yet but word was getting around pretty quickly. The Rebellion needed a win and these "Kajidic Hunters" may be the best options. He looked back to Aryn and his presentation.
"-this attack, was carried out by an unknown group of individuals which we have identified as the Bren Novar, Malcolm Starfall, Nate Reynolds, and a new addition named Ferrous. They were previously joined by a Gank assassin named Lo'kas who was killed during their escape from Hosnian Prime," he said. "This group, colloquially called the 'Kajidic Hunters' in the underworld, has recently been joined by the famous '42nd Fast Attack Squadron from Corellia under the leadership of Major Rogan Alder. The entire Squadron defected with a series of E-Wings from CORSEC and are now reportedly working for this group. Their connection appears to be to Bren Novar, a former CORSEC ace who was dishonourably discharged after an incident with the Imperials," Aryn continued. The image of Bren Novar faded to that of a Gank in custom laminate armor.
"This here is Beast of the Tardet Gank Clan. Formerly of Executive Outcomes," he said and took a moment's pause to let that sink in. Pike saw Nelani nodding in appreciation. Executive Outcomes was a splinter group which ended up garnering considerable power in the galaxy. A massive conflict during the civil war of Glee Anselm had left Executive Outcomes in pieces but with the Imperial backed shadow group, the Star Cabal, eradicated. They had gone their separate ways, with both the Rebels and the Imperials watching them closely.
"Beast's Battlecruiser, the Ghosts of Ylesia, was sighted over Hosnian Prime after the destruction of the Imperial Corvette and it's fighter complement. There was some exchange between the Hunters and Beast and then they parted ways. It is unknown what was exchanged there; however, what is known is that Beast is allegedly connected to a shadow operative which neither the Alliance or the Imperials can get a bead on known only as the Benefactor. Very little is known about this individual or collective other than it is incredibly well resourced and funded," Aryn said. The image changed back to that of the Kajidic Hunters.
"We still do not have a location on their base of operation. All data from the Thunderstrike was wiped from its memory. General Craken and his teams have had little luck turning the crew and without resorting to more Imperial tactics of information extraction we are at their mercy. Our only connection to them is through one of our own. A new pilot into Starfighter Command, Myn Donos, is a cousin of Crix Donos who is flying with the newly reformed 'Silver Wing'. We can use Myn to reach out to his cousin and request a meeting. From there, we can present you proposal...whatever that may be," Aryn finished and Pike noted the annoyance in his voice. He knew that the Bothan had been frustrated about not knowing what Commander le Trenne's intentions were with the group. Bothans were incredibly nosey, part of the reason they made such good intelligence operatives. Aryn was an asset to the team but he knew that if he had shared his plans earlier, the Bothan would have tried to circumvent the plan given its 'creativity'.
Pike nodded and waved a thank you to Aryn. He stepped towards the center of the room and turned to address everyone as a group. A few more members of the Espers support staff had come into the briefing room now and there was roughly 20 or so personnel in the room. He waited for the protocol droid to shamble next to him before starting. Although most of the team understood Lorridian hand-talk, some still struggled. For any sort of briefing of import, Pike used a protocol droid to speak through to ensure everyone understood.
"Thank you all for coming. I know each of you have been eagerly waiting to hear my plan," he signed with a special nod towards Aryn. The protocol droid began to chant off his words in its metallic voice. "Before i get into the details, I believe it's important we understand our subjects,"he finished and motioned back to the holo-images behind him.
"These are resourceful and influential people. If their energy and motivations are not managed effectively, they have proven that they can become quite dangerous. They display a fervent disrespect for authority as noted by former Alliance Commander Virai," he signed and noted a few people scowl in the room. Exeden Virai had been one of the most influential members of the Alliance and by far the most successful leader. Noble Squad had been almost legendary, before they were betrayed by Virai. Some of the members had been killed, others were absorbed back into the Alliance. It wasn't widely spoken of given its negative effect on morale but Pike didn't believe in withholding hard truths. This was war - people would die.
"The issue with Virai's approach was that he tried to control them rather than employ them. I believe that the Hunter cannot be controlled or used. They instead need to be provided some guidance, funding, and resources and they can become an effective partner of the Alliance rather than a tool," he signed and used forceful gestures to emphasize his closing point. He received a series of nods and murmurs of agreement from the room. "I intend to meet with them on Commenor to discuss this agreement. We will provide them funding and resources, in return they hit the targets we designate. How they accomplish their tasks is up to them," he waved quickly.
"You can't be serious," Aryn guffawed. Pike, who had anticipated the outburst shrugged."They could undermine everything we stand for. Commit acts of genocide in our name? They must be controlled," Aryn protested. Pike shook his head.
"If they had wanted to fight for the Empire or start killing innocents, we would have already seen that. Instead they hit the Hutts, a corrupt blight on the galaxy," he signed back.
"They went after them for greed not for the greater good," Aryn countered. Nelani stepped in.
"Who cares why they did it? They killed a bunch of those slimes and made the galaxy a better place. That's a win in my book," he signed back and received a chorus of agreement from the room.
"So what, we provide them opportunities and hope they don't take our funding and run or get themselves killed in the process?" Aryn said.
"Essentially yes. This deal is all built on trust. We need to hope that their own ethics helps them to stay true to us. We believe, that we can present them some lucrative opportunities which they won't want to turn down. As I said, they are an incredibly effective group. They just lack the resources to be effective. I intend to remedy that," Pike signed back.
"How?" Aryn said disdainfully. Pike keyed the terminal and the image changed to a planet with a metal ring in orbit around it. Aryn's eyes widened and his fur bristled. There was a hush in the room as everyone collectively breathed in.
"You can't be serious. Why there?" Aryn asked.
"Why not?"
"It's suicide. They'll die for sure. What do you expect them to get from this other than a blaster bolt in the head," Aryn pleaded.
"That," he signed with a grin on his face and pointed to the image of a dagger-shaped ship on screen.
"-this attack, was carried out by an unknown group of individuals which we have identified as the Bren Novar, Malcolm Starfall, Nate Reynolds, and a new addition named Ferrous. They were previously joined by a Gank assassin named Lo'kas who was killed during their escape from Hosnian Prime," he said. "This group, colloquially called the 'Kajidic Hunters' in the underworld, has recently been joined by the famous '42nd Fast Attack Squadron from Corellia under the leadership of Major Rogan Alder. The entire Squadron defected with a series of E-Wings from CORSEC and are now reportedly working for this group. Their connection appears to be to Bren Novar, a former CORSEC ace who was dishonourably discharged after an incident with the Imperials," Aryn continued. The image of Bren Novar faded to that of a Gank in custom laminate armor.
"This here is Beast of the Tardet Gank Clan. Formerly of Executive Outcomes," he said and took a moment's pause to let that sink in. Pike saw Nelani nodding in appreciation. Executive Outcomes was a splinter group which ended up garnering considerable power in the galaxy. A massive conflict during the civil war of Glee Anselm had left Executive Outcomes in pieces but with the Imperial backed shadow group, the Star Cabal, eradicated. They had gone their separate ways, with both the Rebels and the Imperials watching them closely.
"Beast's Battlecruiser, the Ghosts of Ylesia, was sighted over Hosnian Prime after the destruction of the Imperial Corvette and it's fighter complement. There was some exchange between the Hunters and Beast and then they parted ways. It is unknown what was exchanged there; however, what is known is that Beast is allegedly connected to a shadow operative which neither the Alliance or the Imperials can get a bead on known only as the Benefactor. Very little is known about this individual or collective other than it is incredibly well resourced and funded," Aryn said. The image changed back to that of the Kajidic Hunters.
"We still do not have a location on their base of operation. All data from the Thunderstrike was wiped from its memory. General Craken and his teams have had little luck turning the crew and without resorting to more Imperial tactics of information extraction we are at their mercy. Our only connection to them is through one of our own. A new pilot into Starfighter Command, Myn Donos, is a cousin of Crix Donos who is flying with the newly reformed 'Silver Wing'. We can use Myn to reach out to his cousin and request a meeting. From there, we can present you proposal...whatever that may be," Aryn finished and Pike noted the annoyance in his voice. He knew that the Bothan had been frustrated about not knowing what Commander le Trenne's intentions were with the group. Bothans were incredibly nosey, part of the reason they made such good intelligence operatives. Aryn was an asset to the team but he knew that if he had shared his plans earlier, the Bothan would have tried to circumvent the plan given its 'creativity'.
Pike nodded and waved a thank you to Aryn. He stepped towards the center of the room and turned to address everyone as a group. A few more members of the Espers support staff had come into the briefing room now and there was roughly 20 or so personnel in the room. He waited for the protocol droid to shamble next to him before starting. Although most of the team understood Lorridian hand-talk, some still struggled. For any sort of briefing of import, Pike used a protocol droid to speak through to ensure everyone understood.
"Thank you all for coming. I know each of you have been eagerly waiting to hear my plan," he signed with a special nod towards Aryn. The protocol droid began to chant off his words in its metallic voice. "Before i get into the details, I believe it's important we understand our subjects,"he finished and motioned back to the holo-images behind him.
"These are resourceful and influential people. If their energy and motivations are not managed effectively, they have proven that they can become quite dangerous. They display a fervent disrespect for authority as noted by former Alliance Commander Virai," he signed and noted a few people scowl in the room. Exeden Virai had been one of the most influential members of the Alliance and by far the most successful leader. Noble Squad had been almost legendary, before they were betrayed by Virai. Some of the members had been killed, others were absorbed back into the Alliance. It wasn't widely spoken of given its negative effect on morale but Pike didn't believe in withholding hard truths. This was war - people would die.
"The issue with Virai's approach was that he tried to control them rather than employ them. I believe that the Hunter cannot be controlled or used. They instead need to be provided some guidance, funding, and resources and they can become an effective partner of the Alliance rather than a tool," he signed and used forceful gestures to emphasize his closing point. He received a series of nods and murmurs of agreement from the room. "I intend to meet with them on Commenor to discuss this agreement. We will provide them funding and resources, in return they hit the targets we designate. How they accomplish their tasks is up to them," he waved quickly.
"You can't be serious," Aryn guffawed. Pike, who had anticipated the outburst shrugged."They could undermine everything we stand for. Commit acts of genocide in our name? They must be controlled," Aryn protested. Pike shook his head.
"If they had wanted to fight for the Empire or start killing innocents, we would have already seen that. Instead they hit the Hutts, a corrupt blight on the galaxy," he signed back.
"They went after them for greed not for the greater good," Aryn countered. Nelani stepped in.
"Who cares why they did it? They killed a bunch of those slimes and made the galaxy a better place. That's a win in my book," he signed back and received a chorus of agreement from the room.
"So what, we provide them opportunities and hope they don't take our funding and run or get themselves killed in the process?" Aryn said.
"Essentially yes. This deal is all built on trust. We need to hope that their own ethics helps them to stay true to us. We believe, that we can present them some lucrative opportunities which they won't want to turn down. As I said, they are an incredibly effective group. They just lack the resources to be effective. I intend to remedy that," Pike signed back.
"How?" Aryn said disdainfully. Pike keyed the terminal and the image changed to a planet with a metal ring in orbit around it. Aryn's eyes widened and his fur bristled. There was a hush in the room as everyone collectively breathed in.
"You can't be serious. Why there?" Aryn asked.
"Why not?"
"It's suicide. They'll die for sure. What do you expect them to get from this other than a blaster bolt in the head," Aryn pleaded.
"That," he signed with a grin on his face and pointed to the image of a dagger-shaped ship on screen.
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