Dreadnaught-class Cruiser Battle Axe, somewhere in the Senex Sector


“It's really falling down to him captain?”


The men all gathered around the slate gray conference room of the Battle Axe, an aging Dreadnaught older than many of their own parents. Yet then Commodore Gevel had been quick to press the warship into service after its capture from the Yevetha. Still, Captain Antón wondered if it was the wisest choice, tying up so many men on such old ship. Yet if things were to progress as planned, he had little doubt that the native of Coruscant would make a fool of him for ever doubting. He kept his thoughts of his ship's capabilities solely to himself. At least the officers are all good. Gevel knows how to pick and keep the men the Empire needs in these trying times.




Paul Antón stroked his chin, “I really hope not, but it is a moot point. The Emperor will appoint the appropriate officer, or one of his subordinates will. We have more pressing concerns to discuss. Lieutenant Gomex?”


An olive-skinned man with a jagged scar running up his hand clicked a button on a comlink, activating the holo-projector built into the table to display a starry field that represented a few light years of the Senex sector, along with several colored in orbs representing politically controlled planets. Yet the man ignored them. The man half-cleared his throaty voice.


“Two lightyears from the Boro-borosa III system, there are reports that a prison ship belonging to House Garronin headed to Atron at a nav point just disappeared. Command wants us to take a look into it to help placate House Garonnin, and possibly buy some of their influence in the sector. The vessel was an Invincible-class Dreadnaught, a ship massing over six times of our own, and probably a dozen times older. It's a remarkably inferior warship in any way to our own, but if thousands of criminals got a hold of it, well, it could still do a lot of damage.”


“Signs of Reaver activity in the area?” questioned a stout man from Carida.


“Unlikely sir,” replied Gomex, “There have been no Reaver ships known to make it this far west and towards the Core.”


Antón cleared his throat, “While I do not like to make judgements without information to back it up, this affair most likely is political in nature. It is not as if the houses have all been made friendly terms with each other. We should know the most. We exploited...”

“Or somebody new could be exploiting it just as we had. Perhaps the Alliance, the Confederation, hell, maybe the Coalition,” offered Lieutenant-Commander Dev, fiddling with his datapad stylus.


“Well, it's not all we know,” sighed Gomex, “if I may play to you this broadcast picked up by a PLEXUS vessel traveling nearby...”
 

A garbled voice emanated out of the holo-projector's monotone speakers, “Mayday mayday....starboard bow....approaching fast...we....”


Gomex tapped a button on the datapad, “And that's all we were able to get. The PLEXUS wasn't able to get a complete message packet, but the coding matches what Imperial Intelligence has found House Garronnin has been using in the past.”


Anton frowned, “Our target would not seem to be in hyperspace then. Where was the Plexus when it picked up this signal.”


Gomex glanced to the left, “I don't know.”


Captain Antón stared down the lower-ranking officer, “Is that so, lieutenant?”


“Sir, I asked. They told me they couldn't disclose its location because of an ongoing operation.”


“By who?”


“They didn't say.”


Antón frowned, “Things are going to get a little bit messier if we are not even communicating with other commands nearby.”


Commander Granis, the sturdy Caridian sitting to Antón's left cleared his throat, “Are you suggesting this isn't Gevel's operation?”


“I doubt it,” replied Antón.


“And how do you know that?” questioned Gomex.


“I can't reveal that,” sighed Antón, “but I doubt Gevel will take this interloping any better than any of us.”


“If he's still alive,” suggested Gomex, “perhaps someone is making a move...”


Antón frowned, “He's either a fool or genius to do that now. But gentlemen, I would have you focus on the task at hand. Devise plans with your leaders and department heads to begin the search. Lieutenant Gomex here will serve as the incident commander in my stead. It'll be a good experience for you Gomex, just don't jack it up. Commander Granis and myself will look into this PLEXUS vessel a little more closely...”
 

Some minutes passed as Gomex concluded the meeting and put out the operations orders to get the mission rolling. As the men shuffled out of the room, Antón hung back with Commander Granis, a former stormtrooper before ambition swept him into the commissioned ranks of the Navy. Antón watched as a fellow lieutenant finally lured Gomex and a protocol droid with the lure of new messages and a cup of hot caf. Antón tapped a button on his comlink, causing the slab-like doors to the conference grind shut and lock, just leaving the two senior officers. Granis plopped back down in his chair.


“I'm not sure what's more stupid, putting a know-nothing soldier like Gomex in charge, or you promising to them that we'd track down that PLEXUS vessel...”


Antón eyed the other man, “I did not make my moves without forethought, Granis.”


“But you made them with your ideals...”


“I would not conflate ideals with emotions,” rebutted Antón, sitting back down, “Gomex has the possibility of pulling this off right. He shouldn't be too far away from pulling this off on his own, he may just need a little guidance and an extra hand now and then. Although, I'll admit that I think everyone will be thinking in your line of thinking.”


Granis's mouth dropped, “You bastard. You expect him to struggle, floundering about beyond his abilities...he's going to wet his diapers...”


“I expect him to keep the rest of the staff's attention off of us so we can freely move onto bigger and better things.”


“So if we're not navigating a mass of red tape, what are we doing?”


“You will officially be taking leave to visit an acquaintance, I don't care who you want to put down on the paper work. Hell, we might even make it look like you're just trying to get out of the red tape that you're supposedly going to be working on. But in actuality, I want you to traveling to Boro-borosa III. I have a friend there I want you to meet.”


Granis scowled, “Just what kind of friend?”


“A certain noble of House Garonnin. Scott, I wasn't lying when I implied that our Empire has another hand in the area, but I doubt we'll ever know what is going on if we stick to official Imperial channels and red tape.”


“But this noble will somehow know?”


“Not directly,” admitted Antón, “but I think she may be able to point us to some clues...”


“You know, you just could have told me it was a lady...”


Paul scowled, “Because womanizing has never been a concern with you.'


“By gods, you'll just keep rubbing that in.”


“I will until you learn. I bring you up with me, and I have brought you this far, but just one indiscretion could not only wreck your career...”


“Right, right, I got lucky that one time. But tell me this, while I'm off romancing this lady friend of yours, what exactly will you be doing?”


Antón narrowed his eyes, “Some internal networking...”