<u><b>Yavin 4</b></u>

"I sent the Rendili files to your datapad, sir." The voice of Morgan burst through the comlink.

"Thank you, Morgan. Have you prepared for my departure?" Marin asked as he sat there reviewing a number of files on his desk.

"Yes, sir. You are cleared for takeoff at your convenice."

"Thanks, Morgan."

"No problem, sir." Morgan replied, ending the comlink transmission.

"Shit!" Marin exclaimed to himself, realizing that he had not prepared his dress uniform. It was one thing to run around the Yavin 4 jungle in his dilapidated fatigues, but quite another to wear it on a trip to meet the CEO of Rendili.

"Sir." The voice of Morgan came through the comlink again.

"Yes, Morgan?"

"I sent a few of the new dress uniforms to your cabin."

"Thanks, Morgan. You're a life saver."

"Of course sir." Morgan said as she began to end the link.

"Wait." Marin said, surprised at her last comment. "Morgan?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Did you say, the <i>new</i> uniforms?"

"Yes, sir. Vance saw to it that all the officer's uniforms were redesigned." Morgan said.

"Oh, OK. Well... good then. Again, thanks a million Morgan."

"My pleasure, sir." She said, ending the comlink transmission.

The task at hand was no small feat, the planet Rendili was home to Rendili StarDrive; a large starship-manufacturer that made everything from <i>Dreadnaught</i>-class heavy cruisers to <i>Republic</i>-class Star Destroyers.

Rendili StarDrive was the parent company of Rendili Star Systems and was associated with several smaller companies including Rendili Vehicle Corporation, Rendili/Vaufthau Shipyards LTD, and Rendili-Surron.

Each company catered to unique markets, Rendili Vehicle Corporation was a vehicle-manufacturing corporation who dabbled in starship design but were better known for their line of top-notch boulder-dozers. Rendili Vehicle Corporation was based on the planet Corellia, but when the Empire took over they moved their base of operations back to the planet Rendili where they became a subsidiary of Rendili StarDrive.

Rendili/Vaufthau Shipyards LTD was the name of the collaboration between Rendili StarDrive and Vaufthau Shipyards Limited when they teamed up to produce the <i>Invincible</i>-class Dreadnaught. Rendili-Surron was the product of Surron StarTech signing on with Rendili to produce the <i>Starlight</i>-class Light Freighter. The joint project between Rendili and Surron wasn't a major move for Rendili but did provide a major boost to Surron StarTech who leveraged their position to produce the L19 Heavy Freighter.

Rendili StarDrive was one of the "Founding Shipwrights", which were the starship manufacturers at the inception of the Republic over 25,000 years ago. Most of the other Founding Shipwrights, which included Core Galaxy Sytems (which was later purchased by Kuat Drive Yards), Alderaan Royal Engineers, and Corellian Engineering Corporation still produce ships to this day; with the exception of Alderaan Royal Engineers which was destroyed along with the planet Alderaan before the Battle of Yavin.

Rendili clearly had a rich history providing starships to the Republic for over 25 millennia. However, the rise of the Empire spelled decline for Rendili StarDrive who lost favor with the Imperial Navy which heavily favored the products of Kuat Drive Yards. Though Rendili's older designs stayed in widespread use, sales of their newer vessels saw a sharp decline. It wasn't until the formation of the New Republic that they began construction of the <i>Republic</i>-class Star Destroyer.

Then, following the dissolution of the New Republic, Rendili faded into obscurity once again. With no major buyers for any of their designs, Rendili had to rely on their subsidiaries to continue to maintain a profit margin. Though Rendili did not see the profits they saw during the Golden Age of the Old Republic, the company was still a highly valuable multi-national conglomerate with astronomical assets. After 25,000 years of prosperity, a few years of decline were not enough to truly deter Rendili StarDrive.

So this was the information Marin Faulker was studying, in preparation for his meeting with Sullivan Freeman the President and CEO of Rendili StarDrive. Freeman was a very rich man, in fact the term <i>rich</i> applied to Sullivan Freeman didn't even seem fitting. It seemored more appropriate to come up with another label to describe his level of wealth, <i>disgustingly</i> rich perhaps? Several generations of Freeman's family had served as officers for the Rendili company, if every member of the Freeman family were to cease working from here to eternity, the vast fortune they already accumulated would easily sustain them for another 10,000 years before they went broke.

This particular situation made Marin's job as representative of the Alliance to Restore the Republic a tricky one. How do you appeal to a man that is no longer concerned with accumulating wealth? Of course it would be profitable for Rendili to work with the Alliance, being a large supplier to the Alliance's burgeoning fleet. But profits were an afterthought to Sullivan Freeman, merely retaining profit margins would not set him apart from the other hundreds of CEOs in the history of Rendili StarDrive. To merely provide a profit would be to seal Sullivan Freeman's legacy as an ambiguous one, without much to speak of.

So Marin Faulker had his work cut out for him. How to appeal to a man, to a world, that has everything?

<u><b>Aboard the <i>Serenity</i> Marin Faulker's Command Ship</b></u>

Marin Faulker took a deep breath as he sat there in his leather chair. In the center of his personal quarters aboard the <i>Serenity</i>, Marin relaxed as he realized that this was the first time he'd been away from Yavin 4 in several years. Looking around at the large, spacious quarters aboard the <i>Serenity</i>; Marin realized that this space was much larger than his quarters back on Yavin 4.

The large white room was luxurious as well as spacious. Marin seemed out of place in his faded fatigues. The datapad in front of him begin to beep, indicating he received a transmission. He had already received several, as that would no doubt continue to be the case as units from across the Galaxy updated him on their respective statuses.

This one was similar to the rest, it appeared that Vance had finalized the acceptance of Arkanis into the Alliance. This was great news, Arkanis was going to be home to the Alliance's Flight Academy - something they were lacking up until this point. With the prospect of Rendili joining the Alliance, which Marin was confident they would, soon the Alliance would have a fleet to be reckoned with, along with capable officers to lead it.

Another transmission Marin received indicated that Bandor Kre'fey would now be known as Commodore Kolir Dha'tey, Marin wasn't sure of the reason for the change but had confidence that Kre'fey, or Dha'tey as he would now be known, knew what he was doing. Another message received from Dha'tey indicated that plans with Inferno Fleet were exceeding earlier expectations, which was good news.

Admiral Matthias Woods also sent word that they were making their way to the Kalaan system and he would send further update once there was something to report. Marin had reservations about the Kalaan invasion, but knew in the end that it was the right thing to do. The situation within the Alliance was beginning to escalate, things were starting to happen. Everything was coming together, Rendili's entrance into the Alliance to Restore the Republic would play a huge part in the Alliance's success.

As Marin poured over the information which was streaming through his datapad, the comlink beeped indicating an incoming message. Marin tapped the console allowing the message to go through.

"Commander Faulker, we will be making our approach to the Rendili System shortly. We should reach Rendili within the hour, sir." The voice of Admiral Kelly came through the comlink.

"Thank you, Admiral. Are they prepared for our arrival?" Marin asked.

"Yes sir, they have a shuttle in orbit which will escort us planet-side."

"Excellent, thanks again Admiral."

"Yes, sir." Admiral Antwaan Kelly replied as he ended the comlink transmission.

Rendili

The offices of Rendili Star Systems, the intergalactic holding company that managed (among other very lucrative firms) the famed Rendili Star Drive, were the beacon of the planet whose name they shared. Rendili had a planetary government in theory: every five years the world's citizens elected a parliament that would govern their world. But despite the planet's population, in each election there was only one vote that mattered. The party that was endorsed by Rendili Star Systems won by a landslide victory year in, year out. On a few occasions in the distant past, the people of Rendili had voted in another party, one not endorsed by Rendili Star Systems, and those periods are remembered for the downturn of the world's economy and deep recession as Rendili Star Systems reacted to the government it did not want.

Rendili quickly learned that elections were only for show, and it was commonly said that the only reason that the owners of Rendili Star Systems, the Rendil family, did not do away with the democractic process and govern Rendili themselves was because they had very little interest in politics (outside of those that affected them directly) and only in business. Leave the politics to the politicians, so long as they did not try and distract us from our own goals, was the feeling in the family.

The result was that Rendili was far from a beautiful world. Ravaged by millenia of abuse by its vast manufacturing industry, few people would chose to live on the planet. The draw that brought so many to this barren and desolate world was the salaries offered by the Rendili corporation: engineering graduates were gobbled up by the firm's headhunters, with fierce competition between Rendili, Kuat Drive Yards, and the dozen other leading firms in the galaxy, and as a result top students could earn incomes far surpassing their wildest dreams on Rendili.

Nim Endorop was one such young man. A student of the Imperial Academy of Applied Sciences, he had entertained offers from Kuat, Fondor, Corellia, and even the Imperial Fleet, before settling with Rendili. He was young, single, and the compensation package offered by RSS easily made up for the drudgery of life on Rendili. And there were other perks, besides. Like the occasional visit of an Imperial Star Destroyer (a line of ships that Nim considered to be the best designs in the entire galaxy), ensuring that Rendili was staying within the letter of the Empire's law in its manufacture of ships.

Rendili might not have been an Imperial territory, but it was as afraid of the Empire's wrath as anyone. It would only take a tiny effort for the Empire to nationalize RSS and take every cent of profit from Sullivan Freeman, the company's CEO, and the family that owned the business, and for that reason they were determined to give the Empire no reason to doubt their integrity or their dedication to the rules. Part of that meant bending the rules, like when the Imperial Captain Smart brought his Reign class Star Destroyer Corrupter to Rendili and demanded payment for not informing the Empire of Rendili's alleged skirting of the rules.

It was a complicated game, but Rendili played it very well. The Empire was kept happy, and the Rendil family was kept rolling in more wealth than could be spent in a thousand generations.

What Sullivan Freeman did not expect was an unscheduled stop by the Corrupter in the same day that Marin Faulker was supposed to be visiting. Freeman had no idea who the hell Faulker was, but in his experience, unknowns who managed to get meetings with him were either the dependents of some messy affair between some galactic royal and his stylist, or criminals. Grimacing at the thought, he sincerely hoped that Faulker was the latter - the children of royals were so demanding.

The Serenity, Marin Faulker's personal command ship was a modified Republic Engineering Corp Warrior-class Corvette. A small vessel which didn't draw much attention, of course that was the point. The Serenity's registration was untraceable to the Alliance, allowing the Commander-in-Chief of the Alliance to travel throughout the galaxy in relative anonymity. Though, it had been years since he left the jungle of Yavin 4.

Marin Faulker stood in the middle of his large walk-in closet aboard the Serenity. The ship was docked, and escorts were waiting to take Marin to meet with Sullivan Freeman, the CEO of Rendili. The new officer uniforms which Vance Taesch commissioned were quite impressive, Morgan had placed about a dozen of the new uniforms in Marin's closet, though Marin passed them all and grabbed another off the hanger. It was a dark red uniform which bore the symbol of Ordnance/Regional Depot designation Radama (more commonly known as Ord Radama).

Marin, clothed in the red uniform left the Serenity escorted by a few of his own security personnel along with the escorts Rendili had sent. They made their way from the docking bay through the grand halls of the Rendili StarDrive facility, to their final destination; the office of Sullivan Freeman. The reception area of Sullivan's office alone was larger than most, Marin figured.

"Welcome to Rendili, Mr. Faulker." The woman who greeted Faulker and company said, no doubt Sullivan's assistant. She was a beautiful young woman, who looked to be in her late twenties. She flashed Marin a smile and for a moment he forgot what he was there for. Then the door opened, and Sullivan Freeman came to greet Marin Faulker, which immediately set his mind back on track.

"Mr. Faulkner, I presume." Sullivan said, though Marin smiled internally at the slip, he wasn't about to correct him.

"Mr. Freeman, a pleasure to finally meet you." Faulker said as he extended his hand, as the two men shook hands firmly.

The two men entered Sullivan Freeman's office, it was a contradiction in terms; large and luxuriously spacious, yet cluttered and somewhat messy as a result of a busy CEO who worked round the clock.

"So, Mr. Faulkner what can I do for you?" Sullivan Freeman asked, as the two men walked over towards Freeman's desk. Directly behind the desk was a panoramic view of the planet Rendili, it wasn't the type of natural beauty you'd see in a place like Yavin 4, but there was definitely something serene about it. The multitude of Rendili ships in the background, the hubbub of spaceships criss-crossing in the horizon.

"Please Mr. Sullivan, call me Marin." He said, as he had a seat in the comfortable leather chair opposite the Rendili CEO.

"Of course, and feel free to call me Sullivan." Freeman said as he sat down at his desk, and paused for just a moment before rising again. "Where are my manners? Can I get you anything to drink, Marin?"

"I'll take a Breath of Heaven, if you've got it." Marin requested.

Sullivan Freeman paused, "Top shelf, eh? I do, actually. And that sounds like an excellent choice. I think I'll join you." He said as he walked over to a bar on the side of his office, picking up a carafe of teal blue liquid with the gold Breath of Heaven label.

"So, back to business." Sullivan said, as he raised his glass and as he did, Marin did the same before both men took a sip of their clear blue concoctions. "What can I do for you, Marin? I apologize in advance, I haven't been able to review the files your office sent over. It's been a busy month."

"No need to apologize Mr. Freeman... Sullivan." Marin corrected, as he leaned forward slightly.

"So what can I do for you?" Sullivan asked, as his eyes narrowed in focus on Marin.

"Well Sullivan, I represent the interests of Ord Radama." Marin began.

"Ord Radama... I've heard of it, vaguely. But I can't place it." Sullivan interrupted.

"That's not uncommon, Sullivan. It's off the Hydian Way out in the Outer Rim, towards the Tingel Arm." Marin explained.

"I see. Go on, Marin. I apologize for the interruption."

"Of course. Well, the outpost has turned from a military outpost into that of a trading outpost. We import and export goods from all across the Galaxy. Everything from repair parts to wrist-chrons."

"I see, I see. So what is it that Rendili can do for you?"

"Well, we've nearly outgrown our operation. We as the Ramatech corporation which represents the outpost's interests must grow to meet the increased demand, or our customers will look elsewhere for someone large enough to meet their needs. We're nowhere near the largest competitor in the Galaxy, but we've got a niche and we'd like to keep it. In order to do that, we need to replace the Towing Frigates which we've used for salvage. The Frigates we have now are grossly out of date." Faulker explained.

"So, what type of ships are you using now?" Freeman asked.

"We've got a fleet of Frigates designed by Alderaan Royal Engineers."

"You weren't kidding when you said archaic, were you Marin?"

"No, sir. And therein lies the problem. The ships just aren't worth it to maintain anymore. It's nearly impossible to find repair parts, let alone mechanics who can work their way around the things. The cost of operating them is far more than the headache associated with them. So we've ran the numbers, and it's clear that purchasing a brand new fleet of Towing Frigates would be cost-effective in more ways than one."

"For one, you'll have ships that spend more time towing salvage and less time in dry dock getting repaired. I definitely see where you're coming from, Marin." Sullivan explained, pursing his lips as he looked up, appearing to be deep in thought.

"Well, we have a new set of Towing Frigates that just hit the market. Based on what you've told me, I think they'd be more than ideal. The maintenance costs on them are relatively low, and they're as fuel efficient as anything on the market. One moment here, I'll pull up the specs and you can see for yourself." Sullivan said, as he entered some information into the terminal on his desk. The image of the Frigate emerged from the holoprojector on the corner of Sullivan Freeman's desk.

Sullivan slid a datapad over to Marin across the desk which detailed the pricing structure and options on the Towing Frigates.

Marin went over the information for a moment before speaking. "On this model, the D12.. how soon can these be delivered?"

"Ah, the D12. That's a top of the line ship. We're just finishing up a production run on them, and depending on the exact specifications required we can have them out to you within a month." Sullivan said, "Of course, that depends on how many you need."

Marin hesitated for a moment, as he looked over the information. "Our Alderaan Engineering ships proved inadequate in more ways than one, and Ramatech has come up with some specific requirements as far as specifications go to overcome those inadequacies. Assuming that isn't an issue, I'd say 8 of them would do; to start at least. Depending on how those do, I'd say another 4 within six months."

"A man who knows what he's looking for, I can appreciate that. As far as your required specifications go, that shouldn't be an issue. If you get them to my engineers, I can let you know whether it'll affect our one month timeline or not." Sullivan said, as he punched the information into the datapad Marin was looking at just a moment ago. After entering the data, he returned the datapad to Marin which detailed the pricing structure for all 8 vessels.

Marin nodded, looking at the numbers before him. "So, where do we go from here?" Marin asked, wanting to finalize the deal.

"Well, you can pay the complete amount up front... or you can finance the purchase with a nominal down payment. I took the liberty of approving you for the purchase before you arrived, I hope you don't mind." Sullivan said, and Marin nodded his approval. A true businessman, he didn't take a moment to find out who Marin "Faulkner" was or where he was from, but he made sure he was approved to purchase a starship beforehand.

"We're prepared to pay this amount now, and we'll be more than happy to make monthly payments according to whatever schedule you prefer." Marin said, as he entered the information into the datapad.

"Excellent, I'd be weary of anyone who walked in here with enough creds to buy a fleet of vessels of this size." Sullivan said, smiling.

Marin nodded, returning the smile.

"Should I have the vehicles registered to..." Sullivan started.

"Ramatech, will work." Marin quickly interrupted.

"Of course." Sullivan said, entering all the information into the datapad as he finalized the contract.

"Take a look at that, and if everything is agreeable you can sign, here." Sullivan said, pointing to an area towards the bottom of the datapad.

Marin looked over the information for a moment, ensuring that everything was up to par. Then signed the contract which would make Rendili the supplier of Towing Frigates to Ramatech, a corporation which represented the interests of Ord Radama, a tradiing colony in the Outer Rim.

"Well Marin, I can honestly say that it's a pleasure to do business with you. And believe me, that isn't always the case." Sullivan said, as he finalized the deal with a handshake.

The two men sat there for another twenty minutes, discussing nothing in particular from shockball to galactic politics.

"Nim, how are those new designs coming?" Nurse asked, poking his bald head over the top of Nim's cubicle wall and eying the young engineer with interest. "Boss said he wants them on his desk by the end of business today."

Nim glanced up from his work, taking the opportunity to scratch his head take a sip from the cup of caf on his desk. He swallowed it and grimaced - it had gone cold.

"Still having some trouble with the couplers. I talked to the boys in development and they're still not sure why they're not fitting - looks like it might be a problem with the supplier."

Nurse chuckled.

"'Tween you and me, Nim, I don't know why Boss is so eager to keep going back to old Shitbreck. We've had nothing but problems with their components."

"They give us a good price, though."

"Aye, on the second set of components. After they charged us full price on the full set and bought them back for less than half what we paid in the first place."

"You think Boss is getting a kick-back from Shellbreck?"

"Hey, I aint saying nothing. Just wondering, that's all. They're not the most ethical company I've seen around lately. And I worked with supply sourcing parts from inside Imperial Space."

"Yeah, well. Tell Boss I'll throw together what I've got and get it on his desk within the hour. He's not going to be happy to hear it, though. Word just came down that Sullivan made a deal on this batch, with a contingency for the next batch."

"Jesus Christ. Who the frell buys their tow frigates brand new, anyway? They just get beat to hell."

"Someone's gotta buy them new." Nim pointed out, sipping (and grimacing) again. "Otherwise there'd be no used ships to buy."

Nurse laughed.

"True, that. All right, I'll talk to Boss. You see if you can't make those damned Couplers work, though. Might get you a promotion."

"I doubt it."

"All right, all right. But you might get to go home on time for once."

"Thanks, Nurse."

Vance Taesch was in the last days of his vacation on Abridon spending time with his wife, Cylla and his three children; Michael, Alek and Emilia when he got the call from Morgan. Marin's visit to Rendili had gone well, Marin had completed what he had sought out to do, and now it was time for Vance to step in. They had timed Vance's arrival so that he would arrive shortly after Marin Faulker's departure.

Aboard a Nondescript Shuttle Outside Rendili

Vance had forgone the use of his personal transport, the Illustrious Dream in favor of something a bit more inconspicuous. Mostly as a precaution, but this would ensure that his visit would go unnoticed.

"Mr. Taesch, we'll be docking in 25 minutes." The voice of the pilot came through the comlink system.

Vance stared out the viewport of the small shuttle high above the planet Rendili. From this vantage he could clearly see the oceans mixed with the landmasses that extended from one pole to the other. It seemed like an odd sight from space, like a chaotic mixture incomplete. It were as though the landmasses had never been given the chance to develop into the large continents they wanted to become. Always fighting in some un-winnable battle against the relentless seas, which would cause them to forever continue in a state of flux.

In many ways, Rendili from this view reminded Vance Taesch of the Galaxy itself. For so long the Republic had prospered, sure there were wars and setbacks, life itself is a trial wrought with perils. Yet, the Galaxy always had a way of working things out. All in all, the Republic was solid; stable. Which is ironic considering the propaganda generated by the newest incarnation of evil in the Galaxy, the so-called New Order. The New Order might have the Galaxy believe that they were the foundation of stability in this Galaxy.

Yet, it was the Republic that stood for millenia after millenia. This New Order, is just that; new. Having already been overthrown once in the course of its less-than-century-long existence, it was the Empire that was providing a breeding ground for instability. Vance caught himself as he almost let his thoughts wander too far off the beaten path. As he glanced out the viewport again he recognized that they were just moments from docking on Rendili.

"Mr. Taesch, we're docking now. Your escorts will be waiting for you as soon as you step off the shuttle." The pilot said through the comlink.

As Vance stepped off the shuttle, the breeze of fresh air hit him as he made his way down the ramp.

"Vance Taesch, I presume." The greeting came from a silver-colored protocol droid.

Vance nodded in agreement. The droid was followed by a trio of the facility's own security forces which would provide protection however unnecessary for their guest; Vance Taesch.

Vance and his newly-acquired security detail followed the protocol droid through a long hallway which ended in a turbo lift which they took down several floors in a ride that seemed like it might not ever end.

The turbo lift stopped at a floor with restricted access, the droid placed his hand on the console which beeped a few times as some transmitter within the droid's metallic casing caused the doors to open with an audible woosh.

The protocol droid ushered them down a somewhat dimly lit hall which was smaller than its counterpart several dozen floors above. The footsteps echoed throughout the barren halls as the boots of Vance's security detail clicked against the porcelain tile surface.

The droid escorted them to a small waiting room, where Vance's security detail waited patiently. The droid then pointed Vance in the direction of a door which lead to a small conference room. The protocol droid entered a six-digit code which flashed green, as the doors slid open revealing a conference room which sat nearly two dozen at a large rectangular table. As Vance entered the room, the doors shut behind him. All the seats at the table were occupied, save one. As Vance scanned the room, there was a variety of middle-aged (and older) men, and a few women as well.

"Mr. Taesch." The man at the head of the table said, as he removed the cigar from his mouth. The assembly of men and women was a seemingly casual one, as the smoke-filled room and abundance of alcoholic beverages indicated. "How goes the business of saving the Galaxy?" The white-haired man said with a smile.

"Well, Marty.. apparently it doesn't pay as well as your job. So, are you guys hiring or what?" Vance said returning the smile, as the assembly began to laugh.

The group of men and women were in fact, members of the Rendili Parliament. They together, represented the ruling party of Rendili. They controlled the majority vote in the small Parliamentary Government, and they held sway over Rendili StarDrive. Many of them had served several consecutive 5-year terms, and they had all been re-elected in the past months which would ensure they would continue to serve for another 5 years, but in reality they knew they would serve as long as they chose.

The complement of men and women rose to shake hands with Vance as he made his way around the room.

"Please, have a seat." Martin Schottenfleur the Prime Minster of Rendili said, holding his cigar at his side as the smoke streamed towards the ceiling.

"Of course, thank you." Vance said as he made his way to the seat opposite Marty Schottenfleur. "Where are your manners, Marty? What does a guy have to do to get a drink around here?" Vance joked.

A service droid walked over with what had apparently been pre-assigned as Vance's drink of choice. As the droid set the wide-bottomed snifter in front of Vance, he quickly rose the drink above his head, which the members of parliament met in kind before taking a sip of the Luranian Brandy.

"So, back to business Mr. Taesch." Marty said at the opposite end of the table.

"Marty, please. Call me Vance."

"Of course." Marty replied with a nod.

"Well, as you know we need your help. And I believe our partnership will be a mutually beneficial one. I mean, you guys hate the Empire as much as I do. Unless of course, the Reign-class is a new design of yours." Vance said, referencing the Star Destroyer present at Rendili.

"Ha!" Marty guffawed.

"We have a defense fleet that could wipe that destroyer out in the blink of an eye!" A thin, dark-haired man interjected.

"It's insulting that they come knocking on our door as though we owe them some type of penance!" A pale-skinned female with shoulder-length blonde hair offered.

"Listen, I hate the Empire as much as anyone here. That's not the issue. They show up, we allow them their wide berth and in return we go about our business." Marty interrupted.

"Of course, Marty. And I'm not advocating that you openly protest the Empire. On the contrary." Vance said.

"Well then what exactly are you advocating, Vance? You know that we'd like to support you, but doing so openly would at minimal draw extra attention from the Empire. That's not the kind of attention we want. Worst case scenario we'd be thrown into a state of war, we've got the ships for it and the defense stations, so no doubt we'd be hard to take down. But if the Empire had their sights fixed on us, we wouldn't be able to hold them off indefinitely." Marty clarified.

"I understand that, and I'm not asking you to put yourselves in harm's way unnecessarily. As of now, the Empire visits what? Once in a blue moon?" Vance asked, before continuing but he was interrupted.

"What if we offered them an increased sum of credits, maybe that would get them off our backs for good allowing us to operate with full autonomy?" A blonde-haired man sitting caddy-corner from Vance asked.

"No, that's unnecessary. That would just draw more attention. Instead, what I'm suggesting is, as far as the Empire is concerned you don't change a thing. In all honesty this is just a precaution, we shouldn't even be worried about this in the first place. The Imperial representative may come, he may not. If he does, then all I'm saying is to do what you've always done. Play their game." Vance said, smiling.

"And behind the scenes?" Marty Schottenfleur the Prime Minister asked.

"Behind the scenes, is another matter entirely. We've setup a front corporation, Ramatech based on Ord Radama. Sullivan Freeman has already setup an account with Ramatech to deliver Towing Frigates. Based on that relationship, and similar relationships we create in the future, you can funnel resources and even ships into the Alliance." Vancenti Taesch said.

"Interesting, it seems as though you've thought this out, Mr. Taesch." A black-haired man with a round face and glasses observed.

"From as many angles as possible. You could help bolster the Alliance fleet, greatly. In turn, once the Alliance has achieved enough of a foundation, which by our calculations will be soon, we can make our arrangement public and insure that Rendili will receive no further interference from the Empire. You've already got your own defense fleet, your own defense platforms, and you'll also have our support should any power choose to interfere with you." Taesch concluded.

Marty Schottenfleur pursed his lip as he considered Vance's proposal. He wanted to help the Alliance in any way he could, but he wanted to ensure his people's safety and protection.

"Of course there are thousands, likely millions here on Rendili who would gladly have us join the Alliance, but the fact remains that this relationship must remain a secret. How can we possibly do that?" Marty questioned.

"Actually, sir. If I may?" One of the men asked, he had an athletic build with short brown hair and blue eyes.

"Of course, Mr. Scott." Marty replied.

"We already have clients who wish to operate with a certain amount of... discretion, shall we say. So often times our engineers are only given the most basic of information about the clients they're designing vessels for. This situation could fall into that category, the engineers don't need to know who they're designing the ships for. And as for the actual construction of the ships, that will be nothing new. We build war fleets here, it's what we do, so that would draw no extra attention." The brown-haired man known as Scott said, as he was quite proud of himself.

Marty nodded, as he considered the possibilities to himiself silently.

"If I might also add." Another man said, without pausing to wait for permission. "Tomlinson and I are members of the Corporate Oversight Committee, we could easily arrange for orders to be assigned to different corporations after the orders have already been sent out, making them impossible to trace." One of the younger delegates added.

"Yes, Jenkins; but what if the orders are checked in retrospect? Surely any changes made would be noticed, and seem peculiar." Marty questioned.

"That's the beauty of being a part of the Oversight Committee, sir. Jenkins and I are the oversight. Besides, once the records have been changed the change is permanent and erases any previous entry, so it would be impossible to see if they were changed. As long as the buyer was legitimate and the ships seemed appropriate they would not be questioned." Tomlinson pointed out.

"Right, if we changed the orders to reflect say... several Republic-class Star Destroyers being sent to some mining colony in the Outer Rim, then it might look suspicious. But as long as the orders make sense, there would be no reason to doubt them." Jenkins added.

"Hmmm..." Martin Schottenfleur, the Prime Minister of Rendili said as he sat there contemplating the arrangement.

"Well, Vance..." Marty began, "It looks like you've got yourself a partner. Or, partners I should say." The Prime Minster corrected as he looked around the room at the other Parliament members who would be helping Rendili StarDrive funnel resources to the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Vance let out a deep sigh at the most excellent news.

"Thank you, Marty." Vance started, "You won't regret it." Vance said, wearing the largest of smiles as he made his way around the room shaking hands with the various Parliament members. As the hours went on they would discuss several ways in which the Alliance could help Rendili and its holdings, and how Rendili could help the Alliance. It would be a beautiful friendship.

So it was unofficially official, Rendili and all its holdings would be at the full disposal of the Alliance. Though outside a smoky room in the lower levels of the Rendili StarDrive corporation, none would be the wiser.

The Corrupter

Captain Gavin Smart thought of himself as a smart man. The joke was a favourite of his, one that never failed to amuse the women at the parties he attended regularly (in between bouts of doing real work). Smart was convinced they laughed at his clever wit, though in reality they would later shake their heads and whisper about the sooo intelligent Captain Smart. In spite of his ineptitudes with the ladies, however, Gavin Smart wanted for very little: his area of patrol was small, and barely anything at all happened in this part of the Empire. The most exciting events of the year were usually smugglers who decided to make a run of it instead of paying Smart's "discretionary fee", or the pirates who tried to set up shop nearby without bribing the appropriate officials.

Rendilli was the gem of Smart's patrol: it was a famously rich world, and single-handedly paid more in bribes in a single visit than the rest of his contributors did in a year. The cost of doing business in the Imperial era was high, though judging by the work Rendilli was doing, their owners wanted of little, either.

Perhaps it is time I increase my fees... The captain reflected, sighing and sinking deeper into the luxurious chair he had fitted into his quarters. The bottle of Alderaan brandy on the table beside him was almost empty, and he realized with a pang he should have had more ordered by the Rendilli leaders. He would have to ensure he was amply supplied on his next visit: the stuff was getting damn hard to find. It almost made him wish they hadn't blown Alderaan up, if it meant there would be more of the brandy around.

On the wall, the intercom lit up and a voice said, "Captain, the Rendilli StarDrive representative has just landed."

Smart responded, then stood quickly and returned the rare liquor to the hidden cabinet behind a portrait of the Emperor. He would offer the RSD representative a drink, as decorum demanded, but certainly not anything more expensive than Breath of Heaven.

Moments later there was a knock, and then room's door slid open and two Stormtroopers entered, escorting a man Smart did not recognize.

"I thought I knew all of Sullivan's crones." The Imperial Captain said with disdain, eying the newcomer. "New to Rendilli, are we?"

The man, shaking free of the Stormtrooper's grip on his arm, brushed himself off and frowned.

"Hardly, Captain Smart." He said. His manner of speech conveyed aristocracy, something distinctly not-Coruscant, but not Rendilli either: Smart had been around Freeman Sullivan long enough to learn some of the basics of Rendilli formal speech, and this man had none of them.

"Ah, well, welcome, then. Can I get you a drink?"

"I am quite content, thank you, Captain."

"Suit yourself, then." Smart responded, mixing himself a drink from the bar and taking a seat at the small conference table. "Well? Sit!"

The man did. He clasped his hands on the table in front of him and looked intently at Smart, who frowned.

"You have the money?" The Captain asked.

"I have your money, Captain, yes." The man replied, removing a datacard from his breast pocket and placing it on the tabletop. Smart looked at it, barely concealing his grin, but did not take it yet. "Is there anything else?"

"Yeah." Smart said argumentatively, irritated with the representative's demeanor, "what's old Sullivan so busy with these days that he can't even come and visit an old friend? So busy that he sends some prune I've never even met to do business with me?"

If the man was offended, it did not register in his face. He merely cleared his throat, and (as though repeating what he had been told), said "Mr. Sullivan has a very important meeting today with a high-profile customer. I was available to meet with you, so I volunteered."

"High-profile customer, eh? And who might that be?"

"I assure you, Captain, I do not know. I do not follow Mr. Sullivan's every move. If you would like, I am sure I can find out who he is meeting with."

"Yeah. You do that. And what they're buying, too."

The man stiffened.

"That sort of information would be classified, Captain."

Smart laughed.

"Do not expect to hide things from the Empire. Your guide will show you back to your ship. I expect the information on my desk before we leave the system."

The man nodded, and moments later Smart was alone. Activating the com unit, he was connected with the ship's XO, who was quick to alert him that the man's shuttle was clearing for departure, and then the Corrupter would be free to depart.

"I think we will be staying a few days longer, Commander. I want you to find out who it is that Freeman Sullivan was meeting with today, and what they talked about."

The XO confirmed, and with a smile, Gavin Smart settled back into his chair, sipping at his last glass of Alderaan brandy.