The Past...




Ortho Gutt’s estimation of Simon Kaine not only suddenly sprang into existence but it grew, much of that estimation based on the fact that his superior recognized his own inherent value and worth as an Imperial Officer.

Outside the Lift

The woman let her head be guided upward, and her eyes gazed up on the face of Captian Gutt. Her first impression of the Imperial- dominated by his damp forehead and oversized frame- vanished in an instant. The move had struck a cord with her; and a smile came over her pretty face.

Gutt had displayed his confidence, what she read as a sense of power and assurance. As his eyes narrowed, the women began to form a new opinion of the Imperial captain, and listened intently.

“First, I would like to know your name...

Gutt's voice washed over her, and she was drawn to his tone instantly, though she wasn't sure why.

and second, what exactly do you do for Security?”

This question put her off guard; despite he uniform she had nothing to do with the comapnies security, with the exception of filing breifs by guards and others.

“Your uniform matches those of your Chief Executive Officer’s security. Is this a security wing of your headquarters?”

The Imperial captian touched her collar as he explained, a move she would have normally been affronted by, but in this case she took special note of.

Before she could answer however, the Captain lowered his voice.

“Rest assured you have nothing to fear with regards to reprisals from your company.”

Her smile changed slightly, though it would have been difficult to interpert its meaning. As she answered, she watched Gutt intently.

"My name, is Bobbi Byllard."

Reaching up to her collar she continued.

"My uniform actually isn't security- its the standard secretary outfit."

As she said that, her hand fell back to her side, but "slipped" and knocked loose the top most botton on her blouse. Watching with an odd gleam in her eye, she reached up to refasten it.

Captain Marlicos

“So what company were you purchased from? From your words, you were hired as a… ” Sansa groped for the right word, “..team. I do not mean to say that you were taken from the security detail of another company but typically, for hiring purposes, security personnel are handled by company handlers who usually negotiate and go thru all the red tape leaving you to do your jobs.”

Marlicos listened as the Imperial carefully choose his words. His orginal feelings about the man seemed to be correct; and the fact he had not yet been able to communicate them to Hilter was rather annoying.

"Actually, there is no real parent company." Marlicos began, wondering exactly how much he should tell the Imperial. Or more, correctly, exactly how much did the Captain already know?

"We were hired as a group- a team like you said. I put together the men from around the galaxy, major ties in the outer rim, but from all over."

Marlicos stopped, collecting his thoughts.

"I would best equate us to mercenaries: my men are professional soldiers. But we're not typical mercs in that sense of the word. We're trained in numerous other areas besides merc style combat."

"My father was a CORSEC officer and later a teacher at the academy on Correllia, back before the Empire was their. I was also CORSEC breifly, as were some of my men."

Marlicos gestured lightly.

"This makes more money... besides..."

He stopped.

"Anyway, that's the short version of the story."

He paused for a moment but spoke before Sansa could say something.

"I didn't catch your name."

Captain Gutt


Captain Gutt heard the words. He heard her name and her explanation as to why her uniform was the same as the security guard's who escorted Captain Sansa, but his focus had shifted.

Shifted with the slight "slip" of the woman before him and his heart pace quickened. His breathing almost stopped and he felt a sort of giddy feeling that left him weak at the knees.

The realization that the woman was flirting with him had hit him with the full tonnage of an Imperial Star Destroyer.

"Bobbi Byllard." He murmured almost half to himself. "A strong name." he concluded and his mind was awash with thoughts...

And smart.

That she had shown favor to him.. HIM! An Imperial Line Captain! He felt was nothing less than due to her correct perception of the situation. Her employer obviously did not know the value he had in the woman which was why she stayed on as a mere secretary.

I will make you Queen of Garqi!

Ortho almost laughed in giddy enjoyment over the revelations happening within his mind.

Then his mind turned to his purpose and he 'need' that had been growing within him slowly subsided.

"Ms. Byllard. I will require all the briefs you have on file for the time of the terrorist attack on your company. The fate of Agro Incorporated could very easily rest in those documents."

Then, before he directed them back to the lift, he turned somewhat awkward and he cleared his throat.

"I am heading to a meeting with your employer and several board members of this company. After the meeting, and after we've been settled in appropriate quarters, there will be some sort of dinner in our honor.

I would like you to attend by my side."

His eyes gleamed.

"I would like it very much."


TK-84224 remained silent the entire time.





Captain Sansa


"I didn't catch your name." Captain Sansa smiled a disarming smile and held out a hand to shake. He allowed his grip to be only a little firmer than limp. It did not do well to get into some sort of pissing contest in an elevator with the Head of Agro Security.

"Captain Sansa" he replied. "Of the ISD Necleas." Then he smiled, "Pleased."

As he turned his gaze back to the lift doors as he felt the lift slow, "CORSEC eh? Under the Republic banner or the Imperial?"

The lift doors opened and Sansa figured they had arrived at their destination floor. His eyes moved about with an air of disinterest though taking in little points here and there.




Ironside - Cmdr ISD Necleas

"Sir! Receiving tight beam transmission from Yaga Minor. The Second Fleet has arrived and are holding on station."

Captain Ironside nodded at the report and simply stared at the planet below.

Hilter Afdol

The turbolift had tried repeatedly to shut its doors, and Hilter Afdol was becoming slightly irritated at the annoying chime that sounded as the doors moved a few inches, then sounded again as the doors collided gently with the hard plasteel of the stormtroopers armor. Suprisingly, the Imperial shocktrooper hadn't flinched once, despite being hit by the doors numerous times. Hilter had relinquished his post after being jostled uneccessarily the first time the doors attempted to close- only one person was required to stand in the way to activate the lifts saftey catch- but he of course didn't have the luxury of protective battle armor. Still, Hilter was impressed with the soldiers dedicated to his duty, as menial as it was.

The chime rang again, was followed by a soft clank, and then sounded once more. Sighing audibly, Hilter restrained himself from stepping out of the turbolift, and kept his face stony. He wasn't going to offend Gutt by appearing to be annoyed by his tardiness..... at least not yet. The personal satisfaction of remanding the Imperial was not nearly worth the serious consequences it might have brokered. And so he leaned back against the wall of the lift, and waited...

Bobbi Byllard

She watched as Gutt's eyes were drawn to her as she refasted her collar. As her fingers nimbly replaced the button she had knocked loose, she felt awash in his reaction. She said nothing, but let her eyes say volumes.

Gutt wasn't a paticularly attractive man; however physical appearance was not the quality to which she was most attracted to. It would pique her interest of course, but she could live without it. Besides, her own physique usually attracted those of the same quality. Gutt however had a bonus that catupulted him into her league.

"Ms. Byllard. I will require all the briefs you have on file for the time of the terrorist attack on your company. The fate of Agro Incorporated could very easily rest in those documents."

Gutt seemed confident and self-assured, and she nodded, her mind consumed by the authority in Gutt's words.

She fell in step as the Imperial captain began walking back toward the lift, but stopped as Gutt turned and cleared his throat. She expressed some doubt, wondering why the the Imperial seemed cautious.

"I am heading to a meeting with your employer and several board members of this company. After the meeting, and after we've been settled in appropriate quarters, there will be some sort of dinner in our honor.

I would like you to attend by my side."

His eyes gleamed.

"I would like it very much."

The gleam in Gutt's eye shooed away the doubts that had danced in her mind only moments before.

"So would I Captain."


Marlicos

The turbolift opened with the soft chime, giving him a moment to compose his answer to Captain Sansa's question. He had sensed from the beginning that Sansa much more of a "player" then the other Imperial captain's whom had come down for the investigation. His handshake had been firm but not overly so. His questions were intellegent but not obviously probing. He was reserved and polite- as well as articulate. The most important thing however, was that he had the potential to be dangerous, a point Marlicos knew he needed to get across to Hilter.

However, as he stepped out of the lift, hed decided that while Sansa had the oppurtunity to be dangerous, he could also be a valuable ally, if the oppurtunity presened itself.

"Both actually. Mostly with the Republic, though he was active under Imperial flag for about 3 months."

Then he was fired and...... Marlicos put the thought away from his mind. That was all he had to tell the Imperial- it was all he had asked for.

The others began exiting the lift. With Hilter gone, the responsibility of guiding the Imperials fell to him. The Agro men and the stormtroopers parted like oil and vinegear, seperating into two hetrogenous groups, filing around their superiors. The tension was compounded by the fact that Gutt and Hilter, with whom most of the men were assigned to protect, were out of their hands.

"This way."

Marlicos took charge and led the group of to the left, the opposite direction of the Garqi execs. The hallway was carpeted and adorned with some lightly themed decor, but nothing extravegant. Their destination was just around the corner anyway, and so the hallway would soon be out of mind.

Captain Gutt



"So would I Captain."


And inside, Ortho preened. Let Yatta bore himself out at the shield generator and canon! He... He! Would be dining with a very fine specimen of a woman.

He directed her back to the lift with his hand against her back. "I shall look forward to those documents and forward to seeing you tonight." he whispered out of earshot of the CEO.


They entered the lift.




Captain Sansa


"Both actually. Mostly with the Republic, though he was active under Imperial flag for about 3 months."


A short tenure, Sansa thought. Usually means one of two things and both bad. Generally.


Still: professional = mercenaries. Sometimes the term was contradictory and sometimes not. Previously Imperial?


Yes, Sansa thought the chances of there being no love lost between the mercs and their former employers were high.

It complicated matters but did not necessarily derail them.


And as he walked through the hallway he felt his sixth sense crawling. Something seemed... odd.


He kept his thoughts to himself.

Marlicos

The doors to the conference room came up quickly. They were shiny and metallic, adorned with imprinted scenes of a cloaked figure wielding a long jagged scythe. Marlicos personally liked the imprint- but his opinion was in the minority- even though the image conjured up thoughts of violence and death. The cloaked figure was obviously swinging his tool, but the orientation of the imprint did not show at what, or whom, it was swinging. Marlicos liked the metaphor, a lethal tool frozen in perpetuality at its prime position to strike.

He reached forward and opened the doors, grasping a surprisingly plain door handle.

The door flung open to reveal the conference room. A huge table lay before the security team, highly polished, but empty. Stepping forward, the bodyguards felt themselves gain an inch as they treaded upon a thick carpet, a deep maroon in color. The room had a very high ceiling, from which was affixed numerous ornamental light fixtures. The ceiling tapered off toward something like a dome, but the architecture required one to be near the center of the room to view what lay on it.

The walls were highly decorated- a large landscape fresco covered a majority of the walls, while the rest was a dark black color and appeared to be some sort of plastic or glass. In the far corners of the room, two doors could be seen, almost tucked away, and if one looked closely they could see lines in the dark wall, indicating possible openings.

Marlicos stepped further inside. The room was empty. As the stormtroopers and other security personale filed inside, the husky correllian wondered what the point was. With the exception of Sansa, none of the meetings crucial members were present. Hilter and Gutt had waited behind, and the Agro Execs were obviously not yet present. Looking around Sansa and the mixed platoon of soldiers, he gestured grandly to the empty expanse of room, and plastered a smile to his face, as if to say "Violia!!"

Hilter Afdol

The fat Imperial finally walked back into the elevator, pretty secretary in tow. He leaned over and whispered something to her, and she nodded, then smiled. Pretending he didn't notice, and supressing a sigh (Gutt's tardiness was rather annoying) he smiled at the captain and the secretary.

Taking a second look at her, it dawned on him jow gorgeous the lady really was- he must have seen her a dozen times without really paying attention. He was always thinking too much while going from place to place in the building and seemed to run on autopilot- polite and complimentary even funny when among his employees, yet he didn't really pay much actual, dedicated attention to them.

Though this lady definatly deserved the attention.

The turbolift started upward, and Hilter was suprised it didn't open its doors again out of habit.

"We should be there shortly, Captain. The others are no doubt arriving as we speak."

The Meeting...


The woman had gone on her way but Captain Gutt's thoughts were never far off from the possibilities that would be provided by the dinner Hilter and his ilk were to throw in his honor.

Be that as it may, he found himself forcing his mind back to the subject at hand as his gaze moved to Captain Sansa. His eyes shifted every so slightly from his Captain to Hilter and his security leader and as Sansa's opening words of formal greeting and once again laying the groundwork for their investigation, he leaned forward in the rather plush conference chair causing it to groan under his weight and flat out stated, "This is what we have, gentlemen:

We have a half assed terrorist organization blowing up buildings on planets from the Rim to the Core. They make their boasts known on the holonet and the governments and organizations that they strike respond in like manner all denouncing these terrorist for the hacks they are!"

Gutt stopped dramatically, eyeing Hilter, "At least most do."

Sansa picked up the ball, "The damages done to Agro Incorporated were widely publicized by the terrorists but Agro's silence is strange. Especially in light of the fact of a growing coalition of governments spearheading coordinated responses."

Captain Sansa also eyed the Agro representatives. "We find this strange."

"..and not a little suspicious." Growled Gutt.

"So what we want right now, is a detailed account of what happened. How did the terrorists cause that publicized damage? How did they circumvent company security measures?" Sansa then smiled, "And what measures are in place to prevent the same thing from happening again?"

"You see, Agro Incorporated is quite the supplier in the region and such attacks on a major supplier can cause destabilizing factors in the entire sector."


Gutt's forehead began to sweat as he waited for Afdol Hilter's answers.

"This is what we have, gentlemen:

We have a half assed terrorist organization blowing up buildings on planets from the Rim to the Core. They make their boasts known on the holonet and the governments and organizations that they strike respond in like manner all denouncing these terrorist for the hacks they are!"

Hilter Afdol silently took offense to Gutt's words, but ignored the Imperial's ignorance and listened carefully to the Imperial captain. Hilter had put in far too much time and effort into the GLF to let anyone tell him that the organization was half-assed;but to to continue playing his part of a somewhat subserviant host, he kept his eyes glued to Gutt and listened with rapt attention (which was only partially feigned).

"At least most do."

Hilter pretended to miss the obvious intention of the statement, and let an expression of mild suprise come across his face.

"The damages done to Agro Incorporated were widely publicized by the terrorists but Agro's silence is strange. Especially in light of the fact of a growing coalition of governments spearheading coordinated responses."

Hilter turned his attention to the other Imperial, Sansa, and focused without any acting. Hilter had spoken briefly with Captain Marlicos, who had told him to watch Sansa. As he spoke, Hilter began to undertsand why.

Sansa had turned to the other Agro representatives, a group of about seven high ranking members of Agro Incorporated.

"We find this strange."

Then Gutt cut in:

"..and not a little suspicious."

Sansa continued,

"So what we want right now, is a detailed account of what happened. How did the terrorists cause that publicized damage? How did they circumvent company security measures?" Sansa then smiled, "And what measures are in place to prevent the same thing from happening again?"

"You see, Agro Incorporated is quite the supplier in the region and such attacks on a major supplier can cause destabilizing factors in the entire sector."

Hilter's eyes had shifted to the Agro reps, and could see their mixed reactions. He expected all of them, because he knew the men (and one woman) very well. A couple seemed intimidated, another was fuming (Hilter knew that he would be recieving several poignant questions from him later) and the rest were still listening, and glancing in his direction, awaiting his response.

Sensing the eyes of the room gravitating toward him, Hilter leaned back in his seat.

"Excellent questions, Captain Sansa."

Hilter was about to start and then remembered that complimenting Sansa and ignoring Gutt would be a poor decision.

"And you are correct, Captain Gutt, in your assessment of our terrorist enemies."

The comment was rather vague but hopefully would subdue Gutt's rampant ego.

"The attacks on Agro Inc were fiendish, and financially damaging. The fires heavily effected our profit margins and destroyed many irreplacable fields for that growing season. The manner of the attacks were magnifed by the fact of what they targeted- unlike other bussiness, Agro can not merely produce more products to replace destroyed goods, at least not immediatly- but they also achieved a goal of creating an air of insecurity and fear in an among this company.

Thankfully, the attacks did not kill any Agro employees, a fact for which I remind myself everyday. I consider us very lucky. Others, have not had that luxury... of bloodless encounters. I always remind people of that fact when I discuss this topic, to put things in perspective."

The Agro representatives nodded, somewhat unconsiously, in agreement.

"To answer your questions, Captain Sansa, there is a datafile on the datapads provided in front of all of you, with the full report and investigation held jointly by Agro and Galactec Securities, our security consultant, along with a detailed list of the security upgrades which Galactec has put in place since the attack.

You can peruse the full document at your convinience, but its a very lengthy and detailed reports, so if you don't mind I'll give you the shortened version and try to answer and questions you might have?"

Hilter glanced at the Imperials, who voiced no objections. Sansa had opened the data-file, while Gutt sat, engulfing his chair, unmoving.

"As far as has been ascertained, the attackers gained acess to the planet via public transportation, though it is possible that they used personal craft. Our fields cover massive expanses of the planet and provide excellent makeshift landing zones that at the time could not be even close to be even routinly monitored. In fact, I don't think anyone even thought that such measures were even necessary. Either way, once the attackers gained acess to the planet, the attack itself was an elementary matter. The logistics for guarding and/or securing every field we plant are impossible: as well as being prohibitivl expensive. Our Garqi production areas cover spaces that could easily hold all of the water on other temperate worlds. We're talking about atsronomically large areas. Using combustible materials; teams recovered everything from detonite charges to a residue from hydrogen based liquid alcohols, the set approximantly 15-30 large fires, predominatly in highly flammable grain fields, and then left.

It wasn't raining, and the attack conisided with a new moon, so there was little chance anyone saw the perpertrators, and the infernos burnt up basically anything that could have been used for evidence."

Hilter shrugged his shoulders

"Frankly we were an easy target. We had very little in the way of security protocols set up, at least protocols dealing with a event of this magnitude. We never suspected anything like this would ever happen, but obviously it has."

Pausing he said

"Before I go on are there any questions?"

Captain Sansa took clear interest in the expressionless mask of Afdol Hilter until Gutt gave his ominous threat. In some circles, expressionless masks more often than not covered anger.

Was this the case?

"At least most do."

..and Agro Incorporated CEO's expression changed to one of surprise.


Why would there be surprise at being called out for not publicly denouncing the terrorists and their heinous actions?


Hilter's eyes moved to his other executives and Sansa followed his gaze across each of the men and the woman. Their emotions were written on their faces.


Captain Gutt had a look of triumph on him as he too noted the reactions of the other executives.

Hilter's next words though threw a black cloud on the questioning, or at least appeared too at first.


"Excellent questions, Captain Sansa."

Sansa hid his amusement at Gutt's suddenly red features at being complimented first. It was a gesture not lost to Sansa and he took noted of Hilter's shrewdness.

And as smooth as butter melting off a stormtroopers backside, Hilter turned to Gutt and said, "And you are correct, Captain Gutt, in your assessment of our terrorist enemies."

Gutt's expression began to calm and Sansa almost laughed at the man's superficiality.

But the man, fool that he was, still retained some sense that showed why he commanded an Imperial Star Destroyer.

"Question 1." he started, "Why did this GLF ignore body counts in other strikes but take care with you to avoid casualties?"

"Question 2. On what planet is Galactec Securities headquartered?"

"Question 3. Did you have any security on the 'highly' flammable grain fields?"


Sansa stepped in before the executives could take offense, "What my Captain is asking, gentlemen and woman, is that is seems reasonable that you would have the fields at least under some form of remote survelance in lieu of the expense of housing guards or other physical barriers barring tampering or sabotage (given the range of those who benefit from your products). May we see these survelance footage, if so?

And, with the chemical residues you found, were there any derived from chemicals you keep on planet for agricultural purposes, peticides or fertilizer or something similar? Or were these chemicals brought from off planet?"


Both Captains waited for the end of the inquiry.

Hilter listened as Gutt leveled his questions, and Sansa diplomatically stepped in to smooth Gutt's rough edges. Hilter's eyes flitted briefly to the left, and he saw Captain Marlicos leaning forward on the table. The questions were in the merc's area of expertise, and so Hilter decided to defer to his security expert.

"Captain Marlicos?"

Hilter's hands moved the focus of attention to the bulky correllian with an introductory gesture. Marlicos rested forward on his elbows, his presence only slightly downplayed by Gutt's own similiar size.

"I've studied the GLF's attacks somewhat in-depth, due to my line of work, and then because it has become my primary job to prevent them from striking Garqi again.

The GLF attacks have been mainly carried out with explosives, usually remotly detonated but not always. Other attacks have involved traditional geurrilla tactics- sniping, rioting, suicide assualts, etc. The targets have varied: banks, military personnel and bases, but only a few direct attacks on civillians. The notable exceptions being the hostage takings in the Anthos Republic and Outer Rim Soveringty, and the several attacks on the Vinda Corporation.

I've thought about this for awhile- why didn't the attacks target civillians? My simplest answer is because that attack was easy and effective. It's purpose was to hurt profit- and burning crops was an easy way to do just that. Plus, the fires themselves sent a powerful message- maybe even as much as some sort of explosion might have."

Marlicos's delivery was steady, but he wasn't the smooth speaker like Hilter. Still, his voice was crsip and commanded attention.

"As for your second question, the best answer is Garqi. I am the head of Galactec Securities, and wherever my men are I am. We have an office on Corellia, and one on Dubrillion. We also have a training facility on Pzob. Still, if you want to talk to the man in charge, you don't even have to leave this room."

Marlicoss paused, and came off his elbows. After a moment of thought he continued,

"I can't recall seeing any footage of the attacked fields..."

Hilter interjected,

"There isn't any. We employ hundreds of quality control experts who roam our fields looking for parasitic or insect infestation as well as fungi and diseases- they were also tasked with security measures for the fields they patrolled. Of course, you can't spot insects in the dark, so they didn't patrol at night.

I can assure you that since hiring Captain Marlicos, our security has drastically improved. In fact, unless you have any more questions, we have time for him to explain exactly what has been done to improve our security."