A long figure stood upon a lone mountain.

Mount Tantiss had changed little over the years. Once it had housed the Emperor’s private ‘collectors items’, it had been a storehouse for a fully functional cloning facility, yeas later, it had been a New Alliance garrison. Now it was just another dot on the map. It could have been called beautiful at one time, however.

To Jobath Tilera, the mountain and surrounding terrain looked bleak.

Wayland could be called ‘picture perfect’ to some. It had lush forests and jungles, beautiful oceans, lovely mountain ranges. But for others, it was merely a bland sight. The Outer-Rim Sovereignty Congressman surveyed the landscape with no emotion, this was merely another name on a star chart. To him, the green, and white mountains looked like nothing more than a geographical formation.

He came from the Sovereignty world of Bakura, where he had been a member of the Bakuran Senate. As a senator, he had been in the position to vote on new agendas, and had been one of the key voters that gave the Prime Minister enough support to petition President Griff for Bakura’s membership.

He was a single parent, his wife of twenty years had died of Mencati syndrome four years earlier, leaving Tilera with a young eleven-yr old daughter, Miri. His girl was pride and joy, all he had left in the galaxy. She was one of the best students at her school, and had been practicing Bakuran martial arts for the past 4 years. Now she was safe and sound in Salis D’aar, on Bakura.

He sighed and glanced down at his chronometer.

Late. He thought darkly.

A flock of native mangai flew past, squaking at each other. Tilera watched, trying to kill time. His eyes swept the top of mountain, again there was no one. He looked down at his chrono again.

“You keep staring at that watch as if it is ticking down to the end of your life, Congressman Tilera.” A deep voice spoke up from behind.

Tilera whirled.

“You are fashionably late.” Tilera muttered.

The Black Hand Director looked at him, the hint of a smile forming on his face, “A spy must keep in training. You never know when you might need it.” Director Jorai Kovel said.

Tilera almost snorted, “Why did you want to meet here?”

Kovel remained emotionless, “Wayland is a desolate place, besides the Noghri colony and a Sovereignty garrison, there is nothing here.” He said flatly.

“Shall we get down to business?” Tilera asked.

”Perhaps. What would you like to discuss, Congressman Tilera?” Kovel asked in a cheering tone.

“Why am I here?” Tilera asked.

“Why are we here? Now there is a good question. Why are we here…?”

“Kovel, the vote on the war with the Kathol Protectorate is in three days, I do not have time for games.”

“The galaxy is a stage, Congressman. And the galaxy is one big game.”

Tilera sighed slightly. He had met Kovel once, the year before. He had just moved into his office after being elected one of Bakura’s representatives to the Sovereignty, when he had turned around suddenly to see the Black Hand Director there. Kovel had been a much different person, although he had heard the Director was notorius for keeping you off balance by his sudden change of attitude.

“You are in position to be elected as the next President.” Kovel said.

“Yes. I only have a fraction of the support President Griff has, though.”

“Eighteen percent, actually.” Kovel stated flatly, “The Black Hand, as well as other agencies, are going to be watching the vote for whether or not the Sovereignty shall go to war with the Kathol Protectorate, very carefully. I wanted to know your stance on the matter.”

“The very prospect pf this war is enough to make me sick. It is pathetic and borders on being classified as ludicrous. The Kathol Sector wants it’s independence, and are willing to fight for it, I think we should just let them have it and then back off.” Tilera said.

Kovel paced, glancing around at the scenery, “Oh come now Congressman. The Old Republic granted a significant portion of it’s member worlds a certain autonomy, These worlds decided to secede from the Republic, and then hence the Clone War. The Sovereignty utilizes clone soldiers, if we give the Kathol sector colonies complete independence, it is just another name on the threat dossier. This could spawn a new Empire.” The Director said.

“The Old Republic was around long enough with plenty of member worlds. The Sovereignty will endure.”

Kovel’s face remained unreadable, “I will tell you once, and only once. It is in your family’s best interest for you vote yes for the war.” He said.

Tilera scoffed at the other as the wind whipped at them both, “Oh come now. You don’t scare me with that Imperial Intelligence crap.” He said confidently.

Until Kovel pulled out a datapad.

“Name, Tilera, Miri J. Age, eleven years old. Height, four-six, homeworld, Bakura – Salis D’aar. At age eight she won the school geography trivia contest, excels in numerous subjects, the foremost being history, mathematics, and martial arts.” He said, not taking his eyes of Tilera, it was almost as if he had memorized the statistics.

The Black Hand Director turned the datapad around, where a large picture of Tilera’s dark-haired daughter was prominently displayed next to scrolling text.

“Kovel…I swear…if anything..”

“Save your threats, Congressman Tilera, I am beyond them. With a mere hand signal you would drop dead, so I suggest you be careful with your choice of words.”

Tilera glared at Kovel.

“Vote yes, Congressman.” Kovel said as he glanced at the picture again, “She really is a beautiful girl. I’m sure you wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, now would you?”

If looks could kill, Kovel would have been incinerated by Tilera.

Tilera turned to gaze out at the landscape bellow, his thoughts going out to his daughter, thousands of light years away.

“If you..” He stopped.

Kovel was no longer there.

"Thank you, Jen." Griff said to his secretary, who handed him his messages as he headed into his office.

He idily glanced through the datapads as he walked into his spacious office. He sat down at his desk, looking through progress reports, intelligence reports, and military briefings.

The Kathol Protectorate was casusing even more problems as of late. Griff had had Black Hand Director Kovel anylize their military and strategies. And then he had asked Sovereignty Congress for a declaration of war on the remote, trouble some sector.

The Protectorate was ruled by a female Chancellor, someone called Helena Exoer. Griff read through her intelligence file, it was surprisingly small. She had been in government all her life, as well as having secret ties to the black market and various terrorist organizations. She had obviously used those connections to her advantage to gain her title, and possibly to aquire the Kathol Protectorate's modest defense/offense force.


Griff read on, as he reached for his cup of tea. Instead of grabbing it, his hand closed around a elongated handle. He looked up at what he had grasped.

Startled he drew his hand away, staring at the object.

He didn't even hear the cup of tea shatter.





"Director Kovel, the President has been awaiting your visit." Griff's secretary said as Kovel walked into the antechamber. He nodded once to her and then knocked on the door. He heard a muffled 'come'. He entered the large, office, scowling as he thought of how small his office was.

High ranks get you big offices.

He hid his annoyance from the President as he walked into the room. Griff's back was faced to him, as he looked out the window overlooking Salis D'aar and other Bakuran landscape. Kovel waited, knowing that Griff would get to him in due time. He looked around the office, Griff had a few holos spread moderately on the walls. There was a table, a few chairs, a bookcase, and of course a large desk and a comfortable chair. There was also another door leading to a small bedchambers near the rear of the office in case the President merely wanted to sleep here or work through the night.

Kovel straightened his jacket and clasped his hands behind his back as the President turned around. Kovel knew something was wrong the instant he saw Griff's face. He saw only one thing.

Fury.

Kovel also noted that Griff held something in his hand. But he couldn't make out what it was. As Griff turned, he tossed the object to Kovel, who plucked it out of the air.

"I thought you might want to see this." Griff said.

Kovel looked at what he had caught.

A dagger.

The double-edged blade was razor sharp, and could have probably cut through durasteel. The most striking thing about it was it's handle and the way it was shaped. It was shaped like a scorpion, with the blade coming out of the claws. Kovel glared at the thing, he knew exactly what this was and what it meant.

"Well?" Griff prompted after Kovel finished his examination.

"Where did you get it?" The Director asked.

"I found it, stuck in my desk this morning. Someone was able to penetrate my security, get into this very office, perhaps one of the most protected and guarded places in the whole Sovereignty, and stick a knife into my desk. What do you know of it?"

Kovel turned the blade over in his hands, "Mr. President this is a message. A message from Project Scorpion." He said.

"I am so tired of hearing that name. They move freely wherever they wish, doing whatever they want, how they want. They ignore the rules we have set." Griff said, angrily.

"Sir, it just goes to say this was not an assassination attempt. This is a message to be careful with your choices." Kovel told the other.

"Oh, so they control me now? Is that what you are saying, Kovel?" Griff asked, begining to pace the length of the office. Kovel stood stock-still.

"What could they possibly wish of me? They are merely a rogue organization." Griff said.

"The vote." Kovel said with certainty.

"They actually want to prevent this war?" Griff said.

"I would say they want it to happen."

"Why?"

"It is possible that they have enemies within the Kathol Protectorate as well that they wish to get rid of." Kovel suggested.

"The Black Hand is to find this 'Project Scorpion' and destroy it. Wipe them out. No traces." Griff said.

Kovel looked pained, "We have been trying to do that very thing for a year now. We managed to uncover a few of their operatives, including the late Captain Jones, but everyone we have found has inexplicibly died after suffering fatal injuries to their hearts." Kovel said.

"I don't care what you have to do. I want control of the Sovereignty back. And it is your job to do it." Griff said.

Kovel frowned, "I will try. But I can give you no assurances." He said.

Griff took the scorpion dagger back from the Black Hand Director and walked over to his desk, where he picked up a piece of flimsiplast from a stack of papers.

"This is an interrogation report from a smuggler we captured near Endor." Griff said, handing it to Kovel, "He claims that he set up shop in the old Imperial Garrison, to smuggle illegal weapons and supplies out of the Sovereignty to the Kathol Protectorate. He says that while he was there, a group of mysterious people, using Sovereignty military equipment, to set up a transmitter and observation post on Endor. I checked, there have been no incursions to Endor by the Sovereignty, ever, and this equipment was reported to be state of the art."

Kovel nodded, "And you think that this smuggler inadvertently discovered a Project Scorpion group on Endor."

"Has Black Hand done anything there?"

"No. But I was planning a scout mission to there. Perhaps set up a garrison on the planet, and maybe a new Black Hand headquarters."

"Sounds good enough for me. You have a starting place, Director. Destroy the Project." Griff said.

Kovel nodded and left the office. Griff turned back to his desk and stabbed downward with the blade, sending it deep into the desk.

"Before they destroy us." He whispered.

Kovel watched carefully as a man dressed in black, wearing a rancor-skin jacket and a blaster pistol slung low at the hip, walk into the seedy cantina. The man sauntered up to the bar and sat down on a stool next to the Black Hand Director. Kovel pretended not to watch the man as he sipped his ale.

The cantina he was in, was galaxy-famous as the place where Han Solo met Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi all those years ago. Tatooine had changed little since then, as had the cantina. It was still dingy, dirty, smelly, and so forth. The same bartender, Wuher, still made the drinks, as he now did, handing the man next to Kovel a dark liquid.

Kovel was dressed in the local garb, a sand-colored tunic, with a hood. He actually looked like an oversized Jawa. He wore no weapons visibly, his only defense was hidden safely in his heavy robe.

He leaned heavily over the bar, as if he was trying to sleep, or die... both were normal. The man next to him noticed.

"Hey old timer." He said.

Kovel grimaced for a moment, he was actually quite young, but the Black Hand contact in Mos Eisely had applied decent-looking age makeup to make him look ten years older.

"Yeah...? What do you want?" He asked, making his voice sound gruff.

"Oh I am just passin' by. Thought I'd start up some friendly conversation." The man next to him said in a accented voice.

"I am just passing by as well." Kovel said, "Names Janus."

"Dacc Jemon." The man said, "You live here?"

"No," Kovel replied, "I live on Coruscant. I was running ice from the ice rings of a moon in this system back here, to Tatooine. It's a decent living." Kovel said.

"Yeah, so I hear. I just recently returned from a trip out of Bakura." Jemon said.

Kovel pretended to look surprised, "Bakura? What are you a smuggler?" He asked.

"Shh. Keep it low. I like to keep some anonymity." Jemon said.

Bingo Kovel thought.

He knew all about Dacc Jemon. The man was the one, in Griff's report, that the Sovereignty had captured near Endor. He had been sent to a Sovereignty penal complex on Bakura, knocked up on smuggling charges. Kovel had recently ordered his release, and had followed the man here, to gain information on a potential Project Scorpion sighting.

"Oh. I have done a little of it myself in my day. As a matter of fact, I was around that planet Endor lot so long ago, running guns for that Kathol Sector milita." Kovel said, watching Jemon carefully.

The man grinned, "I was doing a little of that myself, not a week ago. I had to outrun some Sovereignty watchdogs and then made my way here." He said. Kovel merely chuckled silently.

"Yeah. I heard there was some weired stuff up there on Endor recently. When I was there, I saw a few people settin' up some high-tech equipment." Kovel said.

He saw Jemon's eyes shoot up, "Really? It just so happens that I saw something of the same thing. Scary stuff actually, radically advanced. I bet that transmitter they set up could spy on people three sectors away." Jemon said.

Kovel supressed a grin, "How would you know?" He asked in his gruff voice.

"I took some holo images of the whole operation."

Now Kovel was surprised. That wasn't in the report. He let his surprised and curiosity show.

"Really? I don't suppose you could let me see that. Maybe it is the same stuff I saw." Kovel said.

Jemon looked hesitant for a moment, before apparently decided the old man was no threat. He produced a datapad, and said the imaged were on there. Kovel looked, and sure enough, the smuggler was correct.

He made a small hand signal, and suddenly five heavily armed Sovereignty clone soldiers rushed in. Jemon drew his blaster but was knocked down by Kovel. As the troopers took him into custody, Kovel grinned at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Jemom. It is true what they say, smugglers do have big mouths. You know that the Sovereignty does not let enemies of the state go free. Thank you for your time." Kovel said as Jemon was dragged out. He headed toward the door. But then a thought struck him.

He turned to Wuher and tossed a credit chit.

"Sorry for the mess." He said, and then left.

"These are holo images taken by our smuggler friend." Agent Murmansk said, pointing to three holo's on President Griff's desk. The President said nothing, waiting for the young Black Hand agent to continue as Director Kovel looked on.

"Here, there is a blurred image of three people setting up a highly advanced transmitter. Now we suspect it is going to be, or already is being, used to spy on other worlds that could span several thousand lightyears. In other words, they could just sit back in their bunker on Endor and watch ships come out of hyperspace over Bakura." Murmansk said, indicating one holoimage.

"The second, is an image of what appears to be the entrance to an underground bunker. This is most likely where the power source of this transmitter is located. It is also possible this is where they hide."

He paused for a moment, then pointed to a final image.

"This is a heavily disguised landing zone. Two blast doors open up, a ship drops inside, below the surface, and then the doors close. These doors use holo-masking technology. You wouldn't even know you were standing on the doors until they open underneath you." The Agent concluded.

Griff clasped his hands behind his back, "This is interesting. But what will be done about it?" He asked Murmansk, who was at a loss.

"I am preparing an assault team." Kovel said, stepping in for the young agent, "But if Project Scorpion is as extensive as I think they are, they already know we are coming. This is almost a futile exercise. They will be able to sabotage the vehicles, including our new Samurai Gunships." The Director said.

"I don't care. Take whatever naval and army assets you need. Just get the job done." The President said with a sigh as he sat back in his comfortable chair.

"Yes sir. I will be requiring the use of a Bird of Prey, three Samurai Gunships, and a handpicked crew and ground force." Kovel said.

Griff nodded, "By all means Director. Now I have an appointment with the Director of Investigations." He said, offering his hand to Kovel and Murmansk. They both took it and left.





Two days later, the Bird of Prey Avatar 9 approached the quiet planet Bakura, silently. It ran on very low power, it's weapons and all but the most essential weapons systems powered down. If Project Scorpion had that transmitter working, they might be able to detect even the most fleeting power signature.

"Captain Jakker." Kovel said, entereing the quiet bridge. The captain of the cloaked ship stood and made his way over to Kovel. He was an elderly man, of about sixty or so with a long history of service to The New Republic, Empire, and the Outer-Rim Sovereignty. He had moved from faction to faction. First from the Empire because of their methods. Then from the New Republic because of their incompetance. And then had found a home commanding one of the Sovereignty's most reknown ships.

"Director." Jakker said, shaking the other's hand.

"Please report." Kovel said.

The captain pointed to the main viewscreen to Endor, where three small metalic objects could be seen floating in a low orbit.

"What are they? Some sort of satelittes?" Kovel asked, recognizing the function but the design was completely alien to him.

"It appears so," Ensign Ferretou, the Avatar 9's Science Officer said, studying the objects on sensors.

Ferretou continued, "They are no normal satelittes. They are signal boosters. Probably for some type of military-grade sensor net. A signal, containing precise coordinates would be sent from a transmitter on the ground to the satelitte net in orbit. The net would boost the power of the signal and send it to the coordinates, where information could be gathered." Ferretou said.

Kovel's mind was whirling, "What would the capabilities of this sensor be? Could it penetrate security nets to listen in on privete conversations?" He asked.

"I would have to examine the equipment more closely? But it is a possibility." Ferretou said.

"Ensign, get your field gear. You are coming with us."

Ferretou nodded.







"Check your weapons!" Kovel shouted over the wind.

The soldiers packed into the Samurai-class Atmospheric gunship all nodded and checked and rechecked their various weapons.

Kovel looked out the open side door at the lush forest vegetation of Endor. Somewhere down their were the furry little Ewoks that had had helped the Rebel Alliance defeat the Imperial Ground forces to destroy the shield generator.

Those little things were the epitome of underestimation. He had read old Imperial reports on the planet, dated before construction on the Second Death Star began. A few scouts had reported problems with the natives upon landing on the forest world. They had labeled the Ewoks a potential danger to the Death Star project. But Imperial High Command had ignored these few people and went ahead anyway.

Big mistake.

"Sir, we are approaching the landing zone." One of the clone troopers said to him. Kovel nodded, ready to jump off the gunship as it landed.

He felt a lurch and jumped off, blaster rifle in hand, sweeping the area for threats. The five other troopers, Ferretou included, jumped off as well, lugging a large crate with them, full of sensor equipment.

The two othewr Samurais discharged their cargo and headed off to the evac zone, where they would wait untill air support was needed.

"Let's move!" Kovel shouted, and the seventeen-strong assault force moved into the jungle silently, making their way to the Project Scorpion base camp.

Night in the forest.


The Sovereignty cloned special forces soldiers moved through the forest, invisible to all but the most trained eyes. Their armor was crafted to gather information on the color scheme of the soldier's surroundings and then change color to match.

It was around midnight when they arrived at the small Project Scorpion camp. Kovel gave a hand signal and the Special Forces dropped low to the ground, aiming their blaster rifles ahead at them.

The camp was set up with a single building, built low to the ground, in the center, and three other, smaller, buildings set up around it. Guards, dressed up in the same armor as the Special Forces soldiers, patroled the area in a tight perimeter, armed with heavy compression rifles. Kovel also noticed they were equipped with a sort of night vision sensor system, so he ordered his forces, through hand signals, to keep still.

He crouched next to two of the soldiers.

"Take out targets four and five, use stealth. Move." He said, pointing to two soldiers having a quiet conversation in the dark.

The two soldiers stood silently and crept forward.





"Do you know about any of this?" Farcaster, a Project Scorpion Agent asked.

Agent Landers, the other on guard, frowned.

"No. All I heard was 'they are coming, get ready and do not leave that perimeter'" Landers said.

"What do you think it is?" Farcaster asked.

"I would put my money on the Ewoks. Those little trolls have been giving us alot of trouble lately. They seem to think we are the bad guys." Landers said.

Farcaster yawned, and glanced out at the darkened forest, "Still. This place gives me the creeps. How long are we going to be here?" He asked the other. He was completely unaware of the two shapes that silently detached themselves from the surrounding forest.

"Yeah. I know what you mean. Sometimes, if you listen carefully, you can hear those Ewok things moving through the underbrush. It's like they are watching us..."

"Yeah. We all know what those things did to a legion of Stormtroopers..." Farcaster said, his voice trailing off.

"Yeah. Scary stuff." Landers said, turning away from the other Agent to glance behind him.

"What would you think the Director would-" He heard Farcaster say before a slight gurgling sound cut him off. Landers spun around, weapon drawn and ready to fire, when a shape detached itself from the forest as well. He saw Farcaster, a vibroblade jutting out of his neck and blood dribbling down his uniform.

The last thing he saw was a vibroblade, heading towards his neck area.





Kovel stepped out of the forest quietly, keeping low as he swept the visible Project Scorpion compound with his blaster rifle. The two cloned special forces soldiers returned, dragging the two limp bodies into the forest, before rejoining Kovel and the rest of the team, which was slowly spreading out.

Kovel raised his right hand, for all of the spec ops soldiers to see. He pointed quickly to his right, then to his left. He did not have to look behind him to know that twelve soldiers split up and spread out on either direction. Six to the left, and six to the right.

The compression rifles they carried were not blaster rifles, which gave of a lot of light and a lot of sound. Instead they were compression rifles, which fired a silenced metalic projectile, ideal for the use by special forces in a covert operation.

Kovel looked to his left and saw the six spec ops soldiers firing their silent weapons at more patrols. The ones on the right side of him were doing the same. He took the five remaining soldiers, including Ferretou, towards the main building of the camp. There were two guards flanking the doorway, Kovel dropped one as another spec ops soldier shot the other.

Kovel lowered his rifle and pulled out a thermal detonator. He tossed it at the door, where it rolled to a stop. Five seconds later it exploded, taking the door along with it.

Then all hell broke loose.

The resonating flash and sound from the detonator spread through the compound. Alarms went off, whistles and yells were heard. All the patrols made their way to the central building. But the units Kovel had dispatched created a distraction by opening up with their compression rifles at them. The explosion Kovel had created also alerted the calvary. Already he heard the distinctive whine of the Samurai Gunships.

He entered the building just as the three gunships, in hovering position above the camp, began to fire it's missiles and blaster cannons at the Project Scorpion agents.






"Ferretou, what do you need?" Kovel hissed at the engineer.

"There." The Ensign said, pointing to a door. Kovel, with another spec ops soldier entered the room, sweeping it with their rifles. Kovel gasped at the sight.

It was huge, probably the central chamber of the building. Lining the walls, all the way to the ceiling were computer consoles, camera nets, security report screens. It was virtually a command center.

Ferretou went to work immediately as Kovel posted two soldiers to stay with him. The Director then headed for the stairs to the second level, accompanied by two more spec op commandoes. He saw a door at the top and headed for ot

"Ah, Director Kovel." A female voice greeted him as the Black Hand Director opened the door.

He raised his compression rifle and swept the room. There were two people in sight.

Kovel's eyes narrowed.

"Chancellor Exoer." He said.

The ruler of the Kathol Protectorate smiled at him.

"Welcome to Project Scorpion's Delta Base, Director Kovel." She said, smiling broadly.

He glanced at the other being, who smiled as well.

"My name is Talja Curince, I am like you." The man said. He was of average build, with greying hair a goatee, and a solid black uniform with a scorpion emblazoned on his chest.

"What is this place?" Kovel asked.

Curince spoke first, "This is an information gathering base for Project Scorpion." He said, matter-of-factly.

"Why is she here?"

"Because I asked her to come. She is Project Scorpion's newest agent, actually. She performed quite well as the leader of that backwater band of hicks." Curince said.

"Kovel. I was recruited by Project Scorpion a year ago, around the time the your precious President Griff and vaunted Vice-President Meer were cleaning up the last vestiges of the pathetic Federation rebellion. I was a political idealist in the Kathol Sector." Exoer said.

"We needed a qualified agent to carry out our plans, plans for the Kathol Sector." Curince added.

Kovel gave another hand signal and the soldiers behind him left the room. The Director lowered his rifle.

"What is Project Scorpion?"

"You want the honest truth?" Curince asked.

"Yes."

"We are a highly secret shadow organization, who's sole purpose is to protect the Outer-Rim Sovereignty at all costs, and to help the Sovereignty expand and make itself greater. We have been around since the days of Outer-Rim Trade Inc. We were there when Griff declared the creation of the Outer-Rim Federation, we were there when the civil war erupted, and we were there when Griff declared the creation of the Outer-Rim Sovereignty. Every single time when it looked like Griff or ORS would fail, we have been there to help then along.

"We are the first, and last line of defense."

Kobel glared at the both of them, "But what about her?"

"A year ago, with the expansion of the Empire, the dwindling of the Jutraalians, and the Coalition, we knew that something had to be done, we had to prepare a contingency plan. We looked toward the farthest reaches of civilization and that is when the Kathol Sector came into play. It is remote, so if all other Sovereignty worlds fall, Griff and the government would have somewhere to go, somewhere to retreat and rally his forces to himself to strike back at their enemies.

"But we knew that we could not simply walk into Griff's office, tell him to go take worlds in the Kathol Sector. We had to coax him into doing it. So we recruited Exoer here, helped her gain power, and form the Protectorate. She, under our orders, then provoked Griff."

Curince smiled.

"And he took the bait, just as we had planned. Now, a war is soon going to face The Sovereignty and the Kathol Sector. And Griff will take those worlds, and we will have our contingency. You, Director, even helped us do this." Curince said happily.

"The Black Hand knows that the Kathol Protectorate is a threat, and must be destroyed." Kovel said, reluctantly. He had been working tirelessly to convince key Congressmen to vote yes on the war vote.

"Indeed." Curince said.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, we are always in need of new agents in high positions."

"I discovered you."

"And we would rather not kill you. It is much more profitable to have you on our side."

"You planned this." Kovel said, bitterly. He was angry at how easily he had been manipulated.

"Yes, even the good Captain Jakker is with us. As is Captain Xexes."

"Xexes?" Kovel exclaimed. Captain Xexes was the Faleen Director of Construction for ORS.

"Yes, also key crew members of the Avatar 9 are with us as well. We went to a great deal of trouble to get you out here, Director. So I leave the choice up to you.

"You can be against us, or with us." Curince said, smiling.

Kovel stared at him, and Exoer for a long while.




"Well Director, what have you found?" Griff asked, in hologram form.

"You would be surprised, Mr. President. We beleived Project Scorpion is hiding on Endor, but it is actually nonthing more than old Imperial Technology, and crashed and destroyed AT-STs. The footage that we retreived from Jemon was nothing more than some scavengers sifting through the remains of the Imperial occupation force." Kovel lied.

"What!?" Griff exclaimed.

"Yes sir. I will be returning to Bakura shortly, after leaving a team here to conduct further investigations."

"Very well."

"Endor out."