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Posted On:
Mar 9 2005 11:22pm
Generis
“Alright, let’s get moving. We have to get back to base by dusk or they’ll report us.”
A trickle of sweat ran down the face of Jori Cardas as he held up a support beam for the sensor tower him, and two other Coalition officers, were setting up, about a kilometer away from the newly established Coalition Alpha Base.
His muscles were straining, and his arms were getting tired. He had been holding up this beam for over twenty minutes now, and they were almost done setting up the tower. It was the seventh one they had constructed today.
Recent scouting reports had claimed strange movement and noises coming from the jungle. While Generis was uninhabited, it did have a teeming jungle full of different forms of animal life, all of which had not been documented.
Actually, almost none of the probably millions of species of animals had even been sighted.
Cardas had been on Generis for over a month now. He had been stationed on Onyx with the Coalition Engineering Corps. Captain Joren Logan had called up a few hundred members of the Corps to go with him on his expedition to Generis.
Lieutenant Irkus, who was Calamarian, fastened a large bolt in the appropriate place, then, with the other officer, Sergeant Bredij, a Quarren, lifted the beam Cardas was holding into its place, securing the tower.
With the recent movements of unknown animal predators near the base, they had been installing these towers as a sort of early warning system of any threats.
“Alright,” Irkus said, heading back to their speeder bikes, “Lets get the hell out of here.”
One month prior – Coalition Star Destroyer Sentinel
“I don’t think that is a very good idea, Jan.”
Joren Logan frowned at his orders, displayed prominently on a datapad. Jan Dondana, who sat on the other side of Logan’s desk, spread his hands, indicating he was just as agitated.
“I know. But Regrad thinks we need a presence in that region, to ensure it remains under our control.” Dondana said, looking over his own data pad, “I personally don’t think that it is very smart either. But we do have to do our duty.”
Logan stood, pointing at the large map of the galaxy on his wall behind his desk, indicating the current borders of the Onyxian province, “We will overextend ourselves. We were pushing it with Esfandia! But this?”
Jan looked like he wanted to shrug, “I know, Joren. But these are the orders.”
Logan shook his head, “No.”
Dondana sighed, “What?”
“I will not do it. We are inviting conflict. I will not do that and invite an attack on Onyx.” Logan replied, folding his arms across his chest.
“What do you suggest then?”
“If we are going to put a base on Generis, we need to put one on a nearby world, so they can support each other.” Logan said, looking at the map, “In this day and age, position is everything.”
“What planet do you suggest?” Jan asked, looking dubiously at the map.
Logan pointed.
“Ankus.”
“The Cragmoloids live there. It isn’t uninhabited.” Jan said, shaking his head.
“It is in the perfect position to support Generis, Ankus is the world I need. We can send a delegation to the Cragmoloids, and bring them into the fold. But I will not conduct this Generis operation without the permission to establish a presence on Ankus.” Logan said defiantly.
Jan didn’t want to argue, but he stood his ground, “The ruling council will never agree to this.”
Logan narrowed his eyes, “Jan. You know I’m right.
…make it happen.”
“Keep the guns silent on this one, Logan. I want everything to go nice and smoothly, without a hitch.” Dondana said, standing up.
Logan smiled, “You got it.”
“You had better be right about this. Or it’s both our heads.” Dondana said, leaving.
***
“What was that?”
Cardas stared into the dark jungle. He was frozen solid to the spot he had been in when he had heard the sound.
He had been stowing his equipment into the small compartment of his speeder bike when he had heard it. It was something that he had not heard many times… it sounded like….
…a growl.
Irkus, who was about to turn the ignition on in his speeder bike, looked back to him, frowning, “What is it, Cardas?”
“You didn’t hear that? Something growled.” Cardas replied.
“It’s probably nothing.” The Quarren, Bredij, said, climbing onto his speeder bike.
”I just heard it.” Cardas said, not moving from where he had stood for over five minutes, “Something growled at me.”
“It’s probably your stomach.” Irkus said as he and Bredij began chuckling.
A branch broke. It sounded like it happened only a few feet in the dense foliage.
Irkus looked behind him, where the sound originated from.
As he did so, another one snapped, very loudly.
“I heard that!” Bredij said, turning on his bike, “Lets get the hell out of here…”
Irkus nodded, “Yeah… I think you’re right. Come on Cardas!”
Jori Cardas couldn’t move, he could barely breathe.
“Come on!” Irkus yelled as something very loud, very close, and growled suddenly.
Cardas wanted to. He really wanted to, but his legs wouldn’t work. He saw his speeder bike less than a meter away, ready and fueled and waiting for him to speed away from this dark place.
But he couldn’t move.
Irkus pulled his blaster, pointing it to the direction of the growling, which was now getting closer, “Cardas. Get on the bike, and let’s go. That is a direct order!”
Cardas’s eyes widened as he looked beyond the Calamarian. Something huge loomed up. Bredji screamed.
The…thing… struck out at the two other officers.
Bredji screamed.
And Jori Cardas suddenly found himself very alone as he fled blindly into the jungle.
-
Posted On:
Mar 12 2005 3:58am
Ankus
The camp was well-lit, lighting Logan's face with a cheery glow. He smiled broadly as the Iemus, the Cragmoloid chieftain enveloped him in a huge bear hug.
A protocol droid stood nearby, ready to translate as Iemus spoke, his voice booming across the camp, and making Logan want to cover his ears.
"We, the Wattati Tribe welcome our honorary tribe members, Joreen and his men into the tribe!"
Logan kept his smile on his face, ignoring the fact that Iemus got his name wrong, "And we, the Galactic Coalition welcome the Wattati Tribe into our great family."
Roars went up across the Wattati camp as the droid translated.
For the next few hours, Logan barely managed to avoid dancing around the fires (citing age as a reason), trying to stomach the still-bloody meat he had been given (he ate only a few bites, enough to not offend anyone), and the loud celebrations.
He let his mind wander over the events of the past month. He and a few dozen of his crew had come down to the planet, and had met the Wattati tribe, after weeks of watching them. They had walked into the Wattati camp unarmed, much to Mahk, and his first officer, Commander Foster's chragrin. They had then started a months worth of dialogue and trade. Logan brought food, water, heaters and blankets.
The Wattati had met offworlders before, and even used severely outdated blasters to hunt with. They had been originally contacted by the Old Republic, which had been conducting exploration missions into the region. Then the Clone War started, and the Republic explorers were called back to Republic space, leaving the Wattati with a few blasters and the sight of a space vessel rocketing into the atmosphere.
So it didn’t surprise the Cragmoloid tribe all that much. But it had taken some time before they had accepted the offworlders. Logan had told them about the Coalition, and had formerly offered to make them, the Cragmoloids and Ankus members of that Coalition.
But Iemus was crafty, and declined until he got assurances from Logan that in exchange for the Cragmoloids granting GC permission to put a garrison, and possibly a colony of offworlders on Ankus, the Cragmoloids were to receive more supplies, as well as new technology. Logan had agreed, and Iemus immediately decided to have a great feast and party to celebrate the signing of the accords.
Finally, after several hours, Iemus strode up to Logan, grabbing him by the arm, “Come, Joreen, we have much to talk about.”
Finally, Logan thought. He and Iemus could discuss details.
He ached to get back to the comfort of his ship, the Star Destroyer Sentinel. In his retirement on Onyx, he never believed he would ever actually want to go back to space. During that time, he just wanted to relax on a planet. Enjoy the breeze, the sun, the stars, the fresh air…
Now we just wanted to get into space. He liked Iemus and the rest of the Cragmoloids… but one could only take so much of them before needing a break.
The headed into the grand tent, Iemus personal chambers. Iemus sat on his thronelike chair, while Logan took a lower one across from him. A great fire burned in a fireplace nearby, providing the only light in the room. Mahk stood less than two meters from Logan.
“Now that we are members of your Coalition, there a few things that you must know about Ankus.” Iemus said through the protocol droid that stood at his right side, “The Punjab tribe of the northern mountains has been reporting strange occurrences.”
Logan frowned, leaning back in his uncomfortable chair. He knew that there were many other tribes of Cragmoloids on Ankus. But the Wattati tribe was the biggest, and held all power over the other, lesser tribes. Years earlier, the Cragmoloid tribes were involved in great wars with one another, until Iemus took charge of the Wattati. He then conquered all the other tribes and forced them into one alliance.
It was safe to say the Iemus was the most powerful being on the planet. This was why Logan had dealt with him. By getting the Wattati tribe into the Coalition, Logan effectively brought the entire Cragmoloid race into the Coalition.
Regrad would be proud.
“What kind of ‘occurrences’?” Logan asked.
“The Punjab has heard of your arrival, as has all the Cragmoloid people. But the Punjab says that you are not the only offworlders here. They have reported offworlder sightings for three days now.” Iemus said.
Logan quickly consulted his datapad, where a map of the northern mountains was displayed. As far as he knew, the Coalition had sent nobody to those mountains. So ti was either a false alarm, or…
“Thanks for the information. We will check it out.” Logan said.
“And Logan,” Iemus said, using his last name, and saying it correctly (which was rare), “We are allied with you. You are our protectors, as we are yours. You are our blood brothers, so if there are other offworlders, make them leave.”
Logan nodded, “Oh we will.”
t
Star Destroyer Sentinel (in orbit of Ankus)
“Finally.” Logan sighed as he stepped onto the cool flight deck of the Sentinel. His face was gritty, and red from being in the direct sunlight for several hours. His usually pristine uniform was smeared with dirt and who-knows-what.
Commander Foster stood at perfect attention a few meters away, “Captain on deck!” he shouted. Every mechanic, soldier, and crewmen in sight stood at rigid attention.
Perfect, Logan thought.
From the moment he had taken command of the Sentinel, he had drilled the crew constantly until they knew each drill by reflex. As a result, the Sentinel’s crew had the distinction of being one of the best disciplined in the entire Coalition fleet.
Logan saluted to Foster, who fell into step with the Captain, Mahk trailing behind at a decent distance, giving them room to talk, “Sir, the engine repairs are complete, as you ordered. Colonel Greer had finished updating the Army drill section, and has formulated a dirtside drill schedule for his troops…”
Logan let his mind wander as Foster went through the day-to-day reports of different activities on the ship. Instead thinking of the sightings of other offworlders by the Punjab tribe.
He made a mental note of it to check it out first thing in the morning.
-
Posted On:
Mar 15 2005 4:38am
"I will never understand humans. Why do you insist on endangering your life time and time again?" Mahk asked.
Logan did not look at his Noghri protector, instead preferring to look outside, as the Lambada-class shuttle flew gracefully through the clouds of Ankus. It looked so peaceful and Logan found himself wishing all things were the same.
"Because I choose to." He replied to Mahk.
The Noghri began pacing the small passenger cabin, "But this is a reletively unknown world. We don't know what is out there. We don’t know the dangers..."
"It doesn't matter. I wish to set an example to my men. I am not one to sit quietly on the bridge of a Star Destroyer, protected by hundreds of weapons and shields. I like to get my hands dirty, to do things for myself." Logan replied.
"This is foolish." Mahk said.
Logan did not reply, instead smiling slightly. Mahk was the one and only person in the galaxy he allowed to criticize his actions. Mahk knew this, but he did it very rarely, only speaking in such a way when he felt it was absolutely needed. He spoke out of fear for the old Captain’s life.
Logan let his mind wander over the years Mahk had been with him. The two had originally met on Myrkr, where the New Alliance, led by Logan, had saved the lives of a Noghri colony. As a reward, the Noghri maitrakh (leader) had ordered Mahk, her grandson to swear a life debt to Logan. Mahk had faithfully protected Logan ever since. Logan still was amazed by the dedication in the small, but deadly being.
The voice of the pilot cut into his thoughts, and his argument with Mahk, “Sir, we are reaching the landing zone. Squad beta has already secured it.”
He touched the comm. panel, “Very good. You may start the landing now.”
He and Mahk buckled in as the shuttle started its sharp decent. After a few moments of turbulence and some shaking, the shuttle touched down softly. Logan stood, checking the powerpack in his blaster as he headed down the landing ramp.
They were deep in the northern mountains of Ankus, where the Punjab tribe held domain. Logan took a deep breath of the thin air, noting they were far above the tree line. The clouds seemed to be only a few hundred meters above, and Logan suddenly was glad he had worn his trench coat, as the temperature was far below freezing.
At the bottom were six armed Coalition soldiers, who had formed a small perimeter around the landing zone. One of the soldiers, whose rank identified him as a Captain, saluted smartly, “Captain Logan. I am Captain Idan of the Eighth Calvary. We have secured the immediate area.”
Logan returned the salute, “Good. Have you spoken with our Punjab contact?”
“Yes sir. He identifies himself as Carpan. He is waiting for you.” Captain Idan replied, pointing to a lone Cragmoloid standing off to the side.
Logan strode up to him, “I am Joren Logan.”
“Yes. I know.” Carpan said, “You want to know where the offworlders are. I can take you to them.”
Logan frowned, “You know where they are?”
“Yes. We spotted one last night and followed it about half a kilometer from this location.”
“Lead the way.” Logan said.
Carpan turned and started off, leading Logan, Mahk and three Coalition soldiers off to the west. Three Coalition soldiers, including the pilots, stayed behind to watch the shuttles.
Mahk walked out ahead of Logan as the men moved. The Cragmoloid started out in a brisk jog, causing Logan and the others to struggle to keep up.
After about an hour of jogging, Carpan stopped, and suddenly dropped to the ground when he came to a small cliff overlooking a valley. Logan and his men did the same, with Logan crawling up beside the huge Cragmoloid.
Logan gasped as he looked at the valley. Sprawled out ahead of him was what appeared to be an old abandoned settlement. It was small and compact, with all the buildings grouped together, with one main road cutting the entire settlement into two equal halves.
Carpan spoke, “The offworlder went into that town.”
“And disappeared.”
Logan looked over at the Cragmoloid, “What do you mean?”
“She went into one of the buildings, and when we followed, she was gone. We wanted to capture her.” Was the reply.
Logan glanced uneasily back at Mahk before replying, “We have to go down there.”
Carpan shook his head, “I was commanded to show you the way. Not to follow you. I will await you here.”
“Fair enough.” Logan replied.
“Captain Idan, instruct one of your men to stay with Carpan. The rest of us are going down there.” Logan said, standing.
Pulling his blaster from its holster, and accompanied by Idan, two Sergeants, and Mahk, Logan made his way down to the abandoned town.
***
Generis
“What happened?” Commander Breen asked angrily.
Jori Cardas flinched, leaning on the cane that now helped him to walk, “We were setting up the sensor array, when we were attacked…”
“I know that already. I read the damn report. But what happened to you? How did you get away when Bredji and Irkus were killed?”
“It killed them first! I was a few meters away. I saw it leap from the jungle and attack Lt. Irkus… then I ran into the jungle. Bredji screamed. So I just ran and ran and ran. I don’t remember what happened next…” He let his voice trail off.
Breen checked his datapad, “Patrol three-eight found you, half dead about a kilometer from the base. But what I need to know from you, Jori Cardas, is what the hell killed two of my best engineers?”
Cardas felt like throwing up, “I don’t know! I didn’t even see it. It happened so fast…”
“Was it human? Alien? Animal?” Breen pressed.
“I don’t know!” Cardas shouted, “It made a lot of noise. It growled before attacking.”
Breen narrowed his eyes, “That isn’t enough.”
Before Cardas could reply, an aide ran in, rushing to Breen. The two spoke in low tones for a moment, before the aide left. Breen slumped in his chair, letting his hands fall to his desk, “Two more engineers were killed. Bafor and Hellan. Their bodies were found about twenty minutes ago…”
Cardas slumped as well. He had known Bafor for three years and had worked with him several times before. Hellan he did not know as well, but knew him as a highly skilled engineer, who excelled at all his classes back at the academy.
Breen stood and began to pace the room, “We cannot set up an effective garrison like this. Whatever it is needs to be eliminated. It is probably some predator whose hunting grounds we have trespassed on…” He mused, ignoring Cardas.
“Why did it attack the engineers?” Cardas suddenly asked.
“What?”
“Has it attacked the soldiers? Or any of the construction droids?” Cardas asked.
“No.” Breen said, “Why?”
“So far, in two separate attacks, it has killed four men. All men assigned the task of setting up those sensor networks. Why?”
“How the hell should I know? Just shut up, Cardas and let me think…” Breen replied angrily.
Jori Cardas fell silent, and felt very tired.
***
Ankus
“This is no town…” Captain Idan said from behind Logan.
Logan was forced to agree, as the four moved past the military-style buildings. One held a sign over it that said “BARRACKS”. Another read, “COMMUNICAIONS”.
“But who would set up a military base here?” Logan asked.
His question was almost immediately answered.
“Sir! A body!” Idan said, crouching next to a corpse that lay in the dirt about four meters away. The Coalition soldiers gathered around it.
It was the body of a man, lying face down.
“Help me turn him over.” Logan said to Idan.
After turning the body over, Idan sighed, “Well at least we know who built this base…”
Emblazoned on the chest of the uniform the body was wearing was the symbol of a scorpion.
“Soverignty.” Logan said, looking around the deserted base, “I never knew they were on Ankus. But why would they care about such an out of the way world?”
“Freeze!” Someone shouted.
Logan turned around, drawing his blaster pistol at the same time. The others did the same. Facing them were about thirty men in jungle fatigues pointing blaster rifles at them.
Mahk suddenly leaped forward, in front of Logan, his assassin blade in his hand, ready to fight.
“Stand down. Drop your weapons and get on the ground.” One of the men with the rifles said.
“Do it.” Logan ordered.
Mahk turned to him, and Logan looked directly at him, “Cun’ta dad domi thea.” Logan said in the Noghri language.
Mahk screamed.
It was a piercing howl that split the tense silence, causing everyone to cover their ears.
By the time the scream ended, Mahk was gone.
“Find him!” Ordered one of the blaster-wielding men. Several broke off from the main group and began searching for the missing Noghri.
Logan and his soldiers were rounded up quickly, handcuffed, and ordered into one of the buildings. Logan assumed it was the same building that the Punjab had followed the mysterious offworlder into. The building was completely empty. It looked as if it had once served as a hangar for fighter craft.
Logan and his group were led to a far wall, which looked barren. One of their captors touched a specific space on the wall, causing a hidden door to open.
It was a turbolift.
They were ushered in, along with six of their captors.
Logan found himself fervently hoping Mahk was completingl at the mission Logan had given him.
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Posted On:
Mar 15 2005 7:03pm
When Joren Logan awoke, he was greeted by darkness.
He was blindfolded, with his hands chained to something above him. He felt a great pain in his arms, which told him he must have been hanging like this for several hours. His last memory was one of the men who had captured them walking up to him and blasting him with a stun bolt.
He had felt no pain from the bolt at the time, and its effects on his nervous system were wearing off.
He felt weak, a weakness that permeated his entire body.
He felt it in his bones.
His age suddenly weighed heavily on him. He was fifty-five years old.
Too old to be hanging from a chain like this, on a world he barely knew.
He was so weak he couldn’t even struggle against his bonds, and he knew that even if he did, it would be to no avail.
“How sad you look…” An oddly familiar voice spoke up from the darkness.
It was Logan’s first sense that he was not alone. From the echo of the voice, he could tell he was in a room, possibly a holding cell of some sort.
“Where are my men?” Logan asked. His voice was hoarse from hours with no water, and he ended up slurring his words.
“Oh they’re safe. They are nearby.” The voice said.
“Who are you?” Logan asked.
“Oh… now that is a question I have heard so many times…asked by so many people…” The voice said. Logan thought he detected a hint of amusement.
“How about you answer it?”
“Well. For conversation’s sake, call me Ecks.”
“As in the letter, X?” Logan asked sarcastically.
“As in that is what you will call me.” Ecks said.
“What do you want?” Logan asked. He got the impression Ecks was circling his hanging body slowly. The other’s footsteps reverberated off the walls loudly.
“Yes… we’ll get to that. First I have some questions for you, Joren Logan.” Ecks said.
“Well, you obviously know who I am, so that gets pleasantries out of the way.” Logan said, “Now what do you want to know?”
“What are you doing on Ankus?” Ecks asked.
“Stopping for supplies. We are headed to Generis and we ran out of togo fruit.” Logan stated.
“Ah yes Generis! We are well aware of your little base there. But I want to know about Ankus. Don’t give me those jackshit little lies. If you don’t tell me the whole truth, some very terrible things could happen to your little soldiers in our control. Not to mention the pilots at your shuttles.” Ecks said.
Logan frowned, “I was ordered to make contact with the Cragmoloids. I did. End of story.”
“Why?” Ecks asked.
“Why don’t you ask the Coalition? I am just following orders.”
Ecks laughed, “Now that’s a new one. The great Regent Logan, taking orders from an Azgaurd!”
“My rank is Captain.” Logan said.
“No! I know who you really are. You are Regent Joren Logan of the New Alliance. I should know better than anyone else. You were my benefactor, after all.”
Logan’s frown deepened, “You served in the New Alliance?”
“Not exactly… but myself and my… faction received aid from you.” Ecks said, his voice trailing off.
“And that aid ceased and now you are out for revenge?”
“Revenge is such a trivial concept. It is a hollow emotional response. I care not for these things.” Ecks said, his voice echoing loudly off the walls, “I care for something much greater than myself.”
“And what is that?’ Logan asked.
“Have you ever heard of anything called ‘Project Scorpion’?” Ecks asked.
Logan had. During the days of the Outer-Rim Sovereignty, Logan had served as President Griff’s personal advisor. He had heard of the Project many times, “It’s supposed to be this shadowy group of rogue agents whose sole duty is to protect the Outer-Rim Sovereignty.” Logan said.
Ecks laughed again, “You sound like one of those pitiful Imperial recruitment advertisements. But yes, you have most of that right, more or less.”
“Are you part of the Project?” Logan asked as his arms began developing a cramp.
“You could say that….
….I am its leader.”
Realization hit Logan like a thunderclap. Griff had pursued Project Scorpion until the dying days of the Sovereignty. The ORS President considered it to be his personal bane. He blamed every defeat on Project Scorpion, and had even offered private bounties on the heads of any of its leaders. And now, standing before him was the much-sought after leader. At one point, Ecks was the most wanted man in the entire Sovereignty.
Logan laughed.
“Laugh all you want, Joren. But you know it to be true.”
”The great and mysterious Project Scorpion leader!” Logan laughed, “And here you are, interrogating an old, lowly Coalition Captain!”
Ecks said nothing at first. The silence was deafening, but Logan knew Ecks was till in the room with him, “If you re so all-powerful, perhaps you will show me your face.” Logan said.
Nothing.
Logan nodded, “I knew you were a coward.”
A stun bolt was his only reply.
Darkness took him.
Again.
-
Posted On:
Mar 16 2005 4:14am
Logan awoke again to darkness.
But this time it was different.
He noticed immidiately that his blindfold had been removed, as had the chains, which for hours had suspended him in the air.
He was slumped against the wall of a small windowless cell, with the only exit being a single door.
Now that door opened, and a man of about Logan's height and build walked in. he was shrouded in a long, black robe, with the hood over his head. Covering his face was a thin black mask. Logan thought he could see a little white hair under the hood.
"Sleeping late as usual?" The man asked. Logan immediately identified the man as Ecks.
"Oh you know. Just catching up on some rest. Your cell is very comfortable." Logan replied.
Ecks leaned against the wall on the other side of the room, "Sarcasm seems to be your forte.” He remarked.
Logan simply shrugged, not moving from where he had been sleeping, “Where did Project Scorpion come from?” He asked.
“From you.” Ecks said. When Logan did not answer, he continued, “The Outer Rim Sovereignty used to be the Outer-Rim Federation, which used to be the Outer-Rim Trade Co.”
He smiled, “Which used to be Rivermore Trade Co.”
Logan knew Rivermore. It had been a New Alliance Intelligence front company, that had “gone under” about ten years before when the New Alliance merged with the New Republic, “So you are saying ORS was born from the New Alliance.” Logan said.
“Exactly. I was a member of TNA Intel at the time, and I stayed with Rivermore when you moved in with the New Republic. After it became the Outer-Rim Federation, they set up shop on a little, out of the way world. Which was later attacked by still-unknown hostiles. The entire ORF base was obliterated, forcing us to flee for our lives.
“With the help of a few “co-conspirators” I formed Project Scorpion. It was us who inserted agents into N’zoth and forced the Yevethan Duskhan league to seek outside assistance from The Outer-Rim Federation. After that merger, it became the Outer-Rim Sovereignty. I gave the Sovereignty life.”
Logan sighed and sat back, “So you view the Sovereignty as your creation.”
“It IS my creation. I am the reason it existed. Except for you, of course. We couldn’t have done it without TNA.” Ecks said, folding his arms across his chest.
“But it looks like you have failed. The Sovereignty is dead.” Logan said.
Ecks snorted, “No. It is merely a part of the cowardly Coalition now. But it exists within it. We have agents on ever single former ORS world, merely waiting for my signal to foment uprisings. It takes a simple command from me to give me back my Sovereignty.”
“You would plunge the Coalition into civil war!” Logan said.
Ecks shrugged, “So be it.”
The masked man turned to leave, slamming the door behind him, plunging the room into the darkness again.
“WHO ARE YOU!?” Logan screamed.
No reply.
-
Posted On:
Mar 22 2005 4:00am
Commander Breen!"
The aide snapped to attention and saluted as he entered Breen's office. The Commander had been sleeping in his office as of late, usually just falling asleep at his desk when he could not keep his eyes open any longer. Stress had taken a serious toll on him ever since an unknown entity had been attacking and killing engineers assigned the task of setting up sensor towers around the bade. He awoke from unpleasant dreams as the aide loudly intruded into his sleep.
He took a moment to regain his composure before responding, "Yes, Melville? What is it?"
"Sir, Major Tomas wanted me to inform you that the last of the heavy construction has been completed. We are at full operational status now." The aide, Sergeant Melville said proudly.
"Good, good. Have Tomas report to me as soon as possible. And please contact the Sentinel and patch the transmission to my office terminal." Breen replied, getting his desk's scattered surface into order.
"Yes sir." Melville said, saluting again before leaving. Breen turned to his computer monitor, and after a moment, it came to life. Breen fully expected to see Captain Joren Logan on the other end, but instead it was the younger features of Logan's second, Foster.
Not one to waste time with pleasantries, Foster got down to business, "Commander Breen. What is your status?"
"We are fully operational. But as my previous reports explained, we are experiencing some serious difficulties with the environment. I have already lost eight men." Breen said, clinching his teeth at the thought. He recalled the day before when he had learned their "ghost" had killed more engineers.
“Eight? Your last report indicated only two had been killed. That was two days ago.” Foster said, looking obviously disturbed.
Commander Breen nodded, “Yes. It has moved quickly. I have been very much occupied with the base construction, but now that it is complete and we are fully established here, I can concentrate all my resources on finding and eliminating whatever it is.”
“Very good. Report when you have whatever it is.” Foster said.
Breen got the feeling that the other Commander was preoccupied with other matters, and he decided to vocalize his thoughts, “Commander Foster, where is Captain Logan?”
Foster looked directly at him, “I do not know. He went down to Ankus yesterday to investigate some human sightings. We believed we were the only people on the planet, but the natives believed we were not. The Captain went to find out. He has not reported in since then.”
Breen frowned. He had not known Logan for long, but the aging Captain was legendary for insisting that his officers went strictly by the book and he enforced that discipline on all of his men. It was highly unusual that he would fail to report in for so long, “What are you doing?”
“We have dispatched a search party. We found the pilot of the shuttle that ferried him and his bodyguards down to Ankus. The pilot has had no contact from the Captain. We fear he may have had some sort of accident.” Foster replied.
Breen’s frown deepened, but he gave no reply.
“Anyway,” Foster said, “Keep me posted.”
***
Ankus
“I am starting to enjoy our little talks, Joren.” Ecks said as he entered the cell for the second straight day.
“Really? Me too. I am learning so much.” Joren said.
Ecks chuckled, “So glad to hear it. I feared you were getting bored of me.”
“Your voice is familiar. Have we met before?” Logan asked.
Ecks seemed to smile from under his hood and mask, “You could say that. You and I have a deeper history then you know, my friend.”
Ecks laughed loudly, “Project Scorpion!” He yelled at Logan, “You must know it! Doesn’t that ring any bells?”
Logan thought hard, back over his entire tenure as founder, and leader of the New Alliance. He had never, ever heard anything about a “Project Scorpion.”, “I had never heard it until I joined the Sovereignty.”
Ecks strode up to the sitting Logan. He pulled a blaster from a hidden holster in his flowing black robe and pointed it right at Logan’s face, “Get up.” He said gruffly.
Logan stood, and stared down the barrel of the blaster.
He prepared himself to meet his fate.
But Ecks wasn’t ready to kill him yet, “Fearsons had you targeted, Logan.”
Joren frowned, “What?”
“Back before the “Great Eclipse War”, as that old fool Fearsons called it, New Alliance Intel received word from an informant that Fearsons ordered your death by a Rogue Imperial operative. Someone by the name of “Jaina” or something.”
Logan knew Jaina. She was one of many Fearson mistresses, and also a highly skilled assassin. Last word he had heard, she was dead.
“Yes you know her,” Ecks said, reading Joren’s eyes, “Anyway, TNA Intel decided it needed a back up plan. War with the Rogue Empire was on the horizon, and they knew you were the heart and soul of TNA. They knew that if you were killed, the Alliance would crumble, making it an inviting target for Fearsons.
“So they decided on a very ambitious plan that would be enacted in the likely event of your death.”
Logan frowned. He had never known any of this.
He was becoming very disturbed.
Ecks glared at Logan from behind the mask, “And that backup plan was me.”
Logan stared at the other man.
“You remember Myrkr?” Ecks asked.
Logan nodded. That is when he had helped that Noghri colony, and discovered some leftover information on Palpatine’s old Spaarti Cylinders-
And then it hit him.
He knew who Ecks really was.
Ecks now laughed at him, and then he took the mask off.
Logan sighed quietly as he stared into his own face.
A clone face.
“Yes. I am you.” Ecks said, “In the event of your death, I was to take your place and no one would ever be the wiser. But something happened.”
“I didn’t die.” Logan said.
“Exactly!” Ecks shouted, “So they sent me to Kessel! To rot away in the spice mines. They figured I would die there. But they were wrong. I am a lot stronger than they thought I was. I escaped that hell and joined Rivermore.”
“So what? You want revenge now?” Logan asked, regaining his composure even as Ecks threw the hood back revealing his full head of white hair – identical to Logan’s own.
“I told you before, revenge is so trivial. I am merely here to bide my time before I take back what I created. Take it back from the cowardly Coalition. You were stupid enough to stumble upon the base. The only reason you are here now is because you are a threat to me. Or…you will be when I make my move.”
Logan sighed again, “And when will that be?”
“When the timing is right. Right now, Regrad is making it difficult.” Ecks replied, walking to the door, turning his back to Logan.
Joren knew in that instant he had a chance, probably the only one he was going to get. He leaped forward, grabbing Ecks by the draped hood and yanking him backwards, causing the clone to fall.
Logan jumped on the blaster which had fallen to the ground.
Ecks jumped up, ready to fight, but froze as Logan pointed the barrel between his eyes.
Ecks grinned, “What now? You going to kill me?”
Logan thought about it. He seriously considering shooting this…clone. But then he held back. He had no desire to murder anyone. Instead he switched it to stun and shot Ecks in the chest.
“Not yet.” He replied to the knocked-out clone as he searched Ecks’s robes. After a moment, his search was rewarded with a key-card. It fit into Logan’s cell door.
Finally. Freedom.
-
Posted On:
Mar 25 2005 2:08am
Generis
“What the hell was that?” Breen exclaimed as a sudden explosion jolted him from sleep.
He had fallen asleep at his desk again, and was sleeping peacefully until several explosions thundered only a few dozen yards from his office window. He stood hurriedly from his desk and yanked down the window coverings.
He saw dozens of camouflage wearing people – human and alien alike – surging from the surrounding jungle, all around the Galactic Coalition compound. They were armed with all kinds of weapons, including blaster rifles, pistols, hand-thrown thermal detonators, grenades, and rocket-propelled thermal detonators.
And they were all firing.
Quickly grabbing his blaster pistol from his desk he ran through the anteroom, past his frightened secretary, who had taken cover under her desk, and into the control center, which was full of commotion.
Everyone was shouting orders, papers were flying, people were furiously typing into their consoles, and everyone was running every which way. They were rapidly panicking.
“Stop!” Breen yelled. Days of pent-up frustration were released, giving his voice an added force. Everyone stopped in their tracks.
“We will have order. Personnel, call everyone up and send them to their assigned positions, they are to fire at will. Supply, get the droids working, and empty the base armory and make sure we are using every weapon available. Communications, call the Strider in orbit and get us air support. Defense, target only the rocket-launchers and fire at will. They enemy is NOT to get into this base. Prepare to fight hand to hand if you have to.”
No one moved, so Breen shouted “GO!”
This time, the command center was calm and quiet with his specific orders being given out in a calculated manner. Breen placed his second in charge and headed outside.
***
According to standard GC policy, bases were arranged in a rectangular pattern with wire-fencing surrounding them. Turrets were located at the four corners of the rectangle.
This was not his Generis Base was set up.
Logan specifically ordered Breen and his engineers to adhere to the old New Alliance base-building policy of old. The base was built in a hexagonal shape with no fence. Turrets were located at each tip and a trench ran along the perimeter of the base. Also, about a hundred meters of the jungle had been razed around the entire base, forming a “kill-zone” which was lined occasionally with razor-wire. Now, the attacking enemy, whose identity was still a mystery, was trying to navigate that kill-zone, which gave the GC forces enough time to set up a proper defense.
Breen, standing in one of the trenches, was busily yelling instructions as the enemy advanced, “One soldier ever two meters. Hold your fire until ordered! Wait until they have almost cleared the kill-zone!” he shouted.
About a hundred GC soldiers were deployed in the trenches. The turrets were manned, and already Breen could see the Strider’s small compliment of X-Wings flying low over the jungle.
He aimed his pistol at an attacking soldier, “Wait!”
The X-Wing pilots began their bombing runs.
“Wait!”
They set their targets.
“Wait!”
“FIRE!” Breen bellowed over the base loudspeaker as the six X-Wings flew over the base, releasing their payloads, which were just small torpedoes, into the kill-zone.
Dozens of huge explosions lit up the base, sending tons of dirt flying every direction.
Every GC soldier began firing.
The attackers didn’t seem to be worried about the X-Wings even as they released their bombs. They simply continued running and dodging the fire. The bombs actually killed only a few of them.
As the dust from the bombs cleared, the attackers rushed headlong at the base.
The battle was short as the well-defended base easily put down the mere dozens of attacking soldiers. Blaster fire flew every direction as each individual GC soldier targeted and fired in a calculated manner.
Breen pulled his macrobinoculars out, and aimed them at the attackers.
“CEACE FIRE!” He yelled after a moment.
“They’re gone…” Whispered a nearby soldier in his trench.
He was right. Before, dozens, maybe hundreds of soldiers were attacking, and now that the dust was clearing, there was no one in sight. In actuality only three enemy soldiers were wounded. He entire “battle” lasted no more than five minutes.
***
“What is your name?”
Breen circled the young man sitting at the table. He was one of the soldiers who attacked the base, and had been captured after he had been wounded by shrapnel.
“Devon, Trius C. Private, PS. Serial Number zero-nine-three-six-eight-oh-eight.” Was the only reply.
Breen frowned at him. The kid was no more than twenty, but already his face was marked by scars, and his eyes were as hard and cold as durasteel.
“What is “PS” ?” Breen asked.
“Devon, Trius C. Private, PS. Serial Number zero-nine-three-six-eight-oh-eight.”
Devon, if that really was his name, stared straight ahead, not moving from his chair. Finally, after several more unsuccessful questions, Breen gave up.
Outside the base interrogation room, where Devon was sitting, was Breen’s second, Lt. Granger.
“Nothing.” Breen reported.
“I wonder what “PS” means…” Granger thought aloud, “But it looks like we have discovered the source of our engineer-killers.”
“Perhaps we have. Have you checked his equipment?” Breen asked.
“Yes. Tech has succeeded in breaking the code encrypts on his data pad. The information on the pad was partially deleted; I assume he did it when he was wounded. But we have found remnants of a map. Again, it has been partially deleted, but I think we have located where those attackers came from. It is about three clicks west of here.”
”Send eight squads.” Breen said, “But I want zero body count. Surprise and stun them quickly. Bring them here. We’ll hold them until we receive further orders.”
Granger nodded, “I’ll go myself.”
“Be careful, Lieutenant.” Breen replied.
***
Granger tapped his COM link headset once, which ordered his entire force to surround halt. He and three other commandos, part of the GC Third Special Operations Taskforce, crept forward through the jungle silently.
“Holding position.” The other squads, spread out in a huge semi-circle behind his own, reported.
They could see dim blue lights a dozen meters ahead. He and his three scouts spread out, their blaster carbines at the ready.
They came upon a small encampment, filled with about a dozen large tents and unlit campfires. Around the perimeter of the camp were blue light poles which provided the camp.
There were no visible being in sight. Granger clicked his comlink three times, which ordered all eight squads to surround the encampment.
“Attach infrared.”
He placed his infrared goggles over his eyes, which lit the entire encampment up. The camp itself was extensive, but Granger could not make out individual beings. But from the mass of red heat, he assumed their numbers to be in the dozens.
Time to go.
He clicked his comlink twice, which was the signal to attack.
***
“Lt. Granger reports. They have secured the enemy camp, and have taken thirty-eight captive.” An aide spoke up from the other side of the command center.
Breen frowned, “Thirty eight? That’s it?” He fully expected it to be well over seventy. Which is why he sent eight squads.
“Yes sir.”
“Put him on.” Breen said, turning to the holopad. A mini version of his second soon appeared.
“Sir, the operation was successful.”
“Only thirty-eight, huh?”
“Yes sir. But we have also found something that will explain why there appeared to be dozens of them. We have captured about eighty holoemitters. I believe these were used in the attack on our base. I think only a few of them were actually real, which explains our captives.” Granger said through the static.
Breen nodded slowly, “Do you think there are any more on Generis?”
“Unknown sir. But there is a kind of rudimentary landing pad here. And it looks like a shuttle took off recently. We also have no discernable leader of these guys. Their ranks are all Sergeant or below.” Granger said.
“Think the commanding officer fled?” Breen asked.
“I think so sir. Still no clue as to who these guys are other than the letters “PS” are everywhere, on uniforms, supply boxes…”
“Alright.”
“Suffice it to say, Generis is secure. We are returning to base.”
“Good job.”
-
Posted On:
Mar 27 2005 6:03am
Ankus - Project Scorpion Base
drip....
....drip.....
...drip...
Logan moved slowly down a dark, and dank corridor, stolen blaster pointed ahead, ready to fire at a moment's notice. He was in combat position, slightly crouched, staring right down the barrel of the weapon.
he could faintly hear water dripping from somewhere, and the whole place smelled like a sewer and he even occasionally stepped through small puddles of dirty water as he made his way.
But, he figured, this base probably was constructed from the sewer systems of the old Soveregnty base above.
Logan knew that every Sovereignty base was state of the art, and Griff always spared no expense when it came to new technologies.
The base on Ankus, from what Logan saw, was a Black Hand base. The old Black Hand was run by a man named Jorai Kovel, who had dissapeared two months before, when Logan's forces had encountered Kovel leading a small contingent of ex-Sovereignty soldiers. Kovel had been directing attacks on GC convoys and institutions, and Logan had been tasked with locating and destroying him.
Kovel's forces had been defeated, but it was soon revealed that Kovel had been answering to none other than Xander Griff, ex-Sovereignty President. Griff and Logan had made a deal, Griff would cease the attacks on GC, in exchange for Logan letting him go.
GC Intelligence had found no trace of Griff, or the ever-elusive Kovel since the confrontation with Logan. Peace had settled over the Onyxian Province.
Until now, of course.
The Sovereignty was like an onion. Every time you think you had reached the bottom, another layer would peel back, giving you more and more problems.
But in Logan's case, insight.
Insight into...who?
As he walked down the corridor, he realized that while Griff had led the Sovereignty, he had not created it. Logan strongly believed his clone - Ecks (or 'X') was telling the truth. The Sovereignty had been created from a NAI front corporation. Ecks acquired the company when it was sold, and then built ORS.
Logan now wondered if Griff knew. Why didn't Ecks just lead the Sovereignty? Why did he place a pawn in his place?
And with a sudden realization, Logan knew.
...because it was what Logan himself would have done....
Right at that moment, the doors ahead of him opened, revealing two massive shapes.
Assassin droids.
Logan let off two shots as he rolled to his right, flattening himself to the wall. As he rolled, he could feel his bones creaking under the stress - another reminder for him of his age. He was much to old to be doing this.
But his reflexes and old combat training were still with him as both of his shots struck the droid on the right, sending it flying backwards into the room beyond. The left droid raised its blaster, aiming presicely at the aging Captain. Logan raised his blaster as well.
Logan pulled the trigger....
...and was greeted by the clicking of a jammed blaster.
He never had time to swear before the droid fired.
As the droid squeezed the trigger of its huge blaster rifle, a sinewy gray arm shot up from behind, hitting the rifle's stock with a force strong enough to break through durasteel. This caused the droid's aim to be off by mere milimeters.
As the blaster bolt struck the wall milimeters from Logan's head, a skinny Noghri flipped over the droid as the thing swung around, searching for it's attacker. Logan did not even see Mahk throw his twin assassin blades, which struck the droid in the face, instantly destroying it's positronic brain.
Logan smiled slightly, standing as he discarded his useless blaster pistol, instead opting to pick up one of the fallen droid's rifles, which were huge and rediculously heavy, But Logan made it work as he and Mahk ran down the corridors.
"What took you so long?" Logan asked as Mahk led the way.
"It was difficult to get down to this location because there is not much traffic on the elevator, which happens to be the only way in or out, and they always came in pairs. it took me a little while to fine one of them come up alone to the surface." Mahk said, turning a sharp corner as Logan struggled to keep up.
"Air vents?" Logan asked, but Mahk shook his head.
"I could find none." Was the reply.
They came upon several more assassin droids, but Logan made short work of them with his oversized blaster rifle.
Finally, they reached a small hallway, that had a door at the very end.
Mahk pointed, "That door is the detention wing. It is where the GC soldiers who were captured along with you. I also saw them moving half a dozen Cragmoloids into there as well."
Logan started walking, "Lets go."
They both crept up to the door, and Logan saw Mahk getting his assassin blades ready. After a moment, Mahk nodded and Logan moved forward, causing the door to open.
There were two guards, and eight cells. Mahk rushed in first, throwing a dagger straight into the shoulder at the surprised human sitting at the security desk. logan stepped in and fired a stun bolt into the other, who was tanding across the room talking with one of the GC soldiers. The daggered guard fell off his chair as Logan pumped a stun bolt into him as well.
"Sir!" Captain Idan exclaimed as the two secured the room. Logan walked up to the security desk, opening all the cells, "its good to see you are alive."
Logan nodded, "The same, Captain."
As Idan directed the other two GC soldiers to gather weapons from a nearby locker (handing a smaller blaster pistol to a grateful Logan), Logan noticed the six Cragmoloids sitting in their large cell, noticeing one in particular.
"Carpan!"
Their guide jumped to his massive feet at the sight of Logan, "Logan! Good to see you!" He said in broken basic.
Logan released the Cragmoloids, who picked up weapons of their own from Idan, "We are all from different tribes," Carpan explained, "I was captured shortly after you. The offworlders here have been asking us questions about our induvidual tribes for several days."
Logan looked over his team. Six huge Cragmoloids, three human GC officers in tattered uniforms, one Noghri, and an old man. T
hey must have been a motley sight indeed!
"Lets go. Mahk, lead the way to the turbolift." Logan instructed.
The ten escapees all moved out, following Mahk as the diminuative Noghri lead them down numerous corridors. And after a few minutes, they were stopped as deafening alarm klaxons sounded, followed by an announcement over the loudspeakers.
"ATTENTION! WE HAVE ESCAPED PRISONERS WITHIN THE BASE. THEY ARE ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! INITIATE S&D PATTERN THREE-EIGHT-FIVE. I REPEAT..."
"S&D?" Idan asked.
"Search and destroy." Logan replied, "It looks like we just became expendable."
Amazingly, they made it to the turbo lift without incident, managing to cram all of the escapees into the small elevator.
After a few minutes, they made it to the surface, and they all piled out, and into the small dusty building that once served as a barracks for Sovereignty soldiers.
“How are we going to get out of here?” Idan asked, “They are bound to come looking for us here. And we are all too weak to make it back to the shuttles. And on top of that, we have no way of signaling the Sentinel …”
As soon as he said that, a large booming noise could be heard just outside. The group carefully opened the barracks doors, revealing a GC Lambada-class shuttle in the middle of landing just outside the old ORS base.
As it landed, twelve GC commandos jumped out, securing the area. Logan and his contingent strode up to the shuttles, as the commander of the shuttle and the commandos moved out to greet the Captain.
He saluted, “Sir! We’ve been looking for you for two days! Glad to see you!”
Logan nodded, “Get me up to the Sentinel!”
-
Posted On:
Mar 28 2005 10:47pm
"Captain on deck." the deck officer shouted as Logan stepped onto the cool, black surface of the Sentinel 's hangar. Commander Foster was waiting for him a few feet away.
Foster saluted, "Captain Logan. We are so glad to see you alive and well."
Logan returned the salute, "Order the crews to their fighters, I want a defensive perimeter created now."
Foster nodded, pulling his COM link from his belt and giving the order before looking back at Logan, "Sir may I ask what's going on?"
Logan explained the situation quickly before saying, "I believe they will try to evacuate their base and try to make a run for it. Order the 4th Regiment to load up. I want the old Sovereignty base secured immediately."
They entered a turbo lift and soon arrived on the bridge. Lt. Commander Porter, the third in command, stood from Logan’s command chair when the Captain exited the turbo lift, “Sir! We have completed scans of the Sovereignty base. Thermal scans indicate pre-ignition startups below the surface.”
Logan nodded, “They already have escape ships ready to go. We should expect them to take off within the hour.”
Logan prepared to head back into his office.
“Captain! I have three transports on my scopes!”
“Already?” Logan asked, turning around and looking down at Foster’s readouts. It was true, already, three transports of unknown design were moving through Ankus’s atmosphere.
Logan was about to order an ion cannon strike, when he was interrupted, “Captain. We have a transmission from the planet. Audio only.”
“Put it through.” Logan said.
He expected to hear the voice of a determined soldier, who wanted to gloat or rant, but instead as greeted by a familiar voice, “Captain Logan. Will you join me in your office?”
Logan frowned at Ecks’s words, but remained silent and headed for his office, Mahk in tow.
As he entered, he was greeted by a life-size hologram of an uncloaked Ecks, smiling broadly at him, “Joren… Joren…Joren...”
Logan went to his desk and sat. Mahk took up position inside the door.
“What do you want?” Logan asked.
“I want to save your life.” Ecks said.
Logan did not answer, so Ecks continued, “If you want to live, I suggest you allow all my ships to evacuate Ankus.”
“And how will you kill me if I don’t?” Logan asked.
“You don’t seem to understand our organization at all. We are everywhere . We had agents all over the Sovereignty. And now that the Coalition has absorbed those worlds, we have people all over the Coalition. If you take a single shot at those transports, you and your entire ship will be destroyed.”
Logan shook his head, “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?”
Logan stared into his clone’s face. Ecks grinned right back at him and Logan had to wonder if he was telling the truth.
“I am you, Joren! You know I’m telling the truth.”
His comm. bleeped once at him, “Captain.” Foster said, “Those transports are entering weapons range. We have targeting solutions. Awaiting your order.”
Ecks folded his arms, his characteristic grin still on his face. Logan remembered Jan Dondana’s words, ““Keep the guns silent on this one, Logan. I want everything to go nice and smoothly, without a hitch.”
“Hold your fire.” Logan said to Foster.
“Sir?”
“You heard me. Hold.” Logan replied.
Ecks grinned
“Ta.”
***
Three Days Later – Ankus
Logan had to fight a yawn as the protocol droid droned on and on. The silver droid seemed to be able to go on forever, and must have been speaking in its dull tone for hours.
“We, the Wattatti Tribe of Ankus, hereby make a pact with the Galactic Coalition…”
Logan tried to tune the rest of it’s rattle out, instead turning his mind to other things, such as Ecks, and Project Scorpion’s escape three days earlier.
He was still trying to get over the fact that he even had a clone. Ever since Ecks revealed himself, he had been wondering when and how TNA Intel had created this plan to “replace” him. Sure, Fearsons had been a threat to his life, but did that justify creating a genetic clone of him?
He tried to remember who had been in charge of Intel back then, but found he could not think of the name.
TNA’s short life was complicated by constant battle, with The New Order and their sworn enemy, The Rogue Empire, and TNA Intel was a poorly set up organization that was not up to the task of gathering quality intelligence. TNA concentrated fully on its fleet and not the other aspects of warfare.
Iemus, the Cragmoloid chieftain, cut into his thoughts as he loudly said something in his own language, which the protocall droid translated, “The Cragmoloid people welcome you, Joren Logan, as our brother. And we wish for nothing than the pursuit of peace between us and the Coalition.”
Logan smiled broadly, “We welcome the Cragmoloid people into our great family. Let us work together to create peace and stability on Ankus.”
A few more words were spoken, and the proceedings were completed, with Iemus and Logan signing a peace accord, as well as a document that officially brought Ankus into the Galactic Coalition.
The Cragmoloids held a huge banquet and party to celebrate the accords, with huge bonfires, and lots of foof. The GC Diplomatic Corps people mingled with each other, and pretended to be interested in the food (the Cragmoloids preferred raw meat).
But Logan moved away from the main proceedings, and headed off about a little ways to sit by himself.
“I wish I hadn’t let him go…” Logan said into the air.
“You did what you had to do.” A familiar voice spoke up from behind him. Logan did not turn to greet Mahk as the Noghri walked up behind him.
“You really aren’t my bodyguard anymore, are you?” Logan asked sarcastically.
Mahk shook his head, “No. I am not just your bodyguard. Then what am I?”
Logan shrugged, “A trusted advisor.”
“Then as your advisor, I will tell you that it is in your best interests to let Project Scorpion go.” Mahk said, sniffing the air as he scanned the immediate area for threats as he did thousands of times a day.
“Why?”
“Because you cannot neat them yet. And it will consume you.”
"Consume you."
