The files were exactly where Kroth had said they would be. A lengthy explanation to several members of the admiralty, and a letter regarding the situation to the Grand Marshall himself, resulted in the full reinstatement of Theren as Commodore and Governor of the Bastion Conclave.
The victory, however, had been strangely unsatisfying. Kroth’s uncharacteristically honorable meeting of his death had left a sour taste in Theren’s mouth; a man that he’d always considered an irreconcilable monster had shown himself to be nothing more than a human with a sincerely different set of values than Theren. Instead of the victory being one of good over evil, it seemed to Theren to be a victory of one rival over another.
Admiral Kroth had been a man with a very different vision of the Empire from Theren’s own. This was a vision, in a way, wrought of a certain personal greed and over-ambition. But, in another, it was as legitimate as Theren’s. He was no less confident that his view of the Empire as a restorer of order, a bringer of peace and organization was correct, where Kroth’s vision of the Empire as an overlord and tool of power was wrong. But it called him to question whether these views were so incompatible. Perhaps incompatible, yes, that was the wrong word; but were their goals the same? Had Kroth been fighting for what Theren had once believed he was fighting for – a particular version of the Empire – would he have been so quick to surrender his cause to an honorable death?
In the excitement of the days he’d been demoted, Theren had almost forgotten about Vice-Admiral Vikar’s surgery. When he’d remembered, it had not been on his own, but because his office door had slid open and Nokat Quentin Vikar, hobbling on a cane, limped in.
Theren nearly fell from his seat, as he rushed to get to his feet. Vikar offered him his hand, and, smiling, Theren took it. “I heard what you did,” Vikar said, in a voice that was only somewhat diminished. “It’s about time someone took care of Kroth.”
Theren waved a hand. “It was nothing. The surgery succeeded? You’re okay?”
Vikar nodded. “Never felt better in all my life. And I hear that they’ve offered Vikar’s old position to you.”
“Not exactly,” Theren replied. “The way I dealt with Kroth’s treason wasn’t exactly… in accordance with Imperial protocols. It would look odd, they say, if I occupied a position that I’d just forcibly had vacated.”
Vikar raised an eyebrow. “So you get nothing for dealing with a traitor?”
“Well, not exactly. They’ve given me permission to select the next occupant of Elansivek’s post, so that I can… ‘avoid any future obstruction’. The Grand Marshall wrote the fuckers and ordered them to do it.”
“So, who is it going to be?” Vikar asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well,” Theren said, a slow smile starting to form on his face. “I understand that you used to be an admiral, before pricks like Kroth busted you down.”
“How did you know that?”
“I can read, can’t I? I’ve rectified one problem in the fleet… and now, I’d like to rectify another.”
“You couldn’t,” Vikar said, shaking his head, though his wizened old face was now, too, smiling. “They’d stop you. I have –”
“They can’t stop anything. They owe me.”
And so, Nokat Quentin Vikar became the Executive Commander of Fleet Organization, and was promoted to his rightful position of admiral.
With the help of a taskforce organized by the new E.C.F.O. and Theren, Byblos was taken shortly thereafter, and Xerill was quite pleased to see the Empire holding up their end of the bargain. The Genoharadan transferred their headquarters there almost simultaneously – yet somehow managed to utterly avoid notice by the still-present Imperial fleet.
Bastion
A week following Theren’s reinstatement, Tornel entered Theren’s office looking somewhat nervous. Tornel’s brother, Charles Tornel, had been banished to the same prison as Commodore Shyle before him. And Dayvid, ostensibly to replace him, had been promoted to Captain himself. “There’s someone here to see you. Says he’s an associate of Vinda Corp.”
“Send him in,” Theren said.
Into the room walked a sharply-dressed man, dragging on a cigarra. Even though the room was perfectly lit, he seemed to have a supremely shadowy aura about him, as if he was used to blending into the background and not being seen. Theren offered him his hand across the desk in greeting. “And you are…?”
“No one,” the man said quickly, shaking Theren’s hand very briefly and taking a seat.
“Funny,” Theren said. “I know the names of most of the Vinda Corp executives, but I’ve never heard of you.”
“Charming,” the man said, smiling slightly. “Even if I’d told you my name, I doubt that you’d have heard of me. I’m not from a division of Vinda Corp… generally spoken of.”
“Oh, really. And what would that be?”
“That would be the… ah… Population Management division. I personally represent –”
“Population Management? As in, riot control?”
“Riot control has such… harsh connotations. As I was saying, I personally represent several clients from a pair of governments currently in need of my services.”
“And those are?”
“The Anthos Republic, and… ah.... well, Vinda Corp itself. Either way, I believe that we have certain… common friends.” The man eyed Tornel nervously.
“If you mean the Genoharadan, he knows.”
“Ah, yes, excellent. Well, they have informed me of recent events, and I believe I have concocted a solution that will be mutually beneficial for you, as well as the Anthos Republic and Vinda Corp. I trust you know that civil unrest has, recently, been on the rise in the Core Regions? Yes? Well, I trust you also are aware that the Anthos Republic has recently secured Balmorra. And that Vinda Corp now has certain… interests, on Brentaal.”
“Yeah.”
“Both of these worlds have experienced certain elevated levels of civil disobedience in recent weeks. They are used to being under the control of the Empire, and are displeased with being under our respective influences, especially with the New Order currently on the rise, such as it is.
“It has also come to my attention that the Empire now has the worlds of Dorthal – in the Anthos region – and Kalla, in the Corporate Sector. I trust you can see where I am heading with this.”
Theren raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I want a pair of worlds filled with riots?”
The man chuckled. “I am prepared to make this deal more plausible on your end. Ever heard of the Darktrooper project?”
“Vaguely. Something about droid battle suits.”
“Indeed. When General Mohc abandoned the project, we at Vinda Corp Population Management saw the potential of the droids, and bought the rights to it. The current incarnation of Darktrooper droids are considerably improved, and designed specifically to act as battle suits, with the droid itself developing a relationship with its operator similar to that of a Basilisk war droid with a Mandalorian. Are you familiar with the Basilisk technology?”
“I once served with a Mandalorian,” Theren said, nodding.
“Good. They have proven most effective at riot control; agile, intimidating, and equipable with disruptor cannons and a variety of other heavy weaponry.”
Theren sat forward. “If you don’t mind my asking, why not just sell this shit to the Anthosians and use it yourself?”
The man chuckled. “The Anthosians don’t have the stomach, and Vinda Corp doesn’t have the manpower to build an army of them.”
Theren nodded. “Alright. You have a deal.”
“Excellent,” the man said, standing and turning to leave.
“Wait,” Theren said. “I think there might be something else you can help me with. Have you ever heard of E-2 miners…?”
The victory, however, had been strangely unsatisfying. Kroth’s uncharacteristically honorable meeting of his death had left a sour taste in Theren’s mouth; a man that he’d always considered an irreconcilable monster had shown himself to be nothing more than a human with a sincerely different set of values than Theren. Instead of the victory being one of good over evil, it seemed to Theren to be a victory of one rival over another.
Admiral Kroth had been a man with a very different vision of the Empire from Theren’s own. This was a vision, in a way, wrought of a certain personal greed and over-ambition. But, in another, it was as legitimate as Theren’s. He was no less confident that his view of the Empire as a restorer of order, a bringer of peace and organization was correct, where Kroth’s vision of the Empire as an overlord and tool of power was wrong. But it called him to question whether these views were so incompatible. Perhaps incompatible, yes, that was the wrong word; but were their goals the same? Had Kroth been fighting for what Theren had once believed he was fighting for – a particular version of the Empire – would he have been so quick to surrender his cause to an honorable death?
In the excitement of the days he’d been demoted, Theren had almost forgotten about Vice-Admiral Vikar’s surgery. When he’d remembered, it had not been on his own, but because his office door had slid open and Nokat Quentin Vikar, hobbling on a cane, limped in.
Theren nearly fell from his seat, as he rushed to get to his feet. Vikar offered him his hand, and, smiling, Theren took it. “I heard what you did,” Vikar said, in a voice that was only somewhat diminished. “It’s about time someone took care of Kroth.”
Theren waved a hand. “It was nothing. The surgery succeeded? You’re okay?”
Vikar nodded. “Never felt better in all my life. And I hear that they’ve offered Vikar’s old position to you.”
“Not exactly,” Theren replied. “The way I dealt with Kroth’s treason wasn’t exactly… in accordance with Imperial protocols. It would look odd, they say, if I occupied a position that I’d just forcibly had vacated.”
Vikar raised an eyebrow. “So you get nothing for dealing with a traitor?”
“Well, not exactly. They’ve given me permission to select the next occupant of Elansivek’s post, so that I can… ‘avoid any future obstruction’. The Grand Marshall wrote the fuckers and ordered them to do it.”
“So, who is it going to be?” Vikar asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well,” Theren said, a slow smile starting to form on his face. “I understand that you used to be an admiral, before pricks like Kroth busted you down.”
“How did you know that?”
“I can read, can’t I? I’ve rectified one problem in the fleet… and now, I’d like to rectify another.”
“You couldn’t,” Vikar said, shaking his head, though his wizened old face was now, too, smiling. “They’d stop you. I have –”
“They can’t stop anything. They owe me.”
And so, Nokat Quentin Vikar became the Executive Commander of Fleet Organization, and was promoted to his rightful position of admiral.
With the help of a taskforce organized by the new E.C.F.O. and Theren, Byblos was taken shortly thereafter, and Xerill was quite pleased to see the Empire holding up their end of the bargain. The Genoharadan transferred their headquarters there almost simultaneously – yet somehow managed to utterly avoid notice by the still-present Imperial fleet.
* * * * *
Bastion
A week following Theren’s reinstatement, Tornel entered Theren’s office looking somewhat nervous. Tornel’s brother, Charles Tornel, had been banished to the same prison as Commodore Shyle before him. And Dayvid, ostensibly to replace him, had been promoted to Captain himself. “There’s someone here to see you. Says he’s an associate of Vinda Corp.”
“Send him in,” Theren said.
Into the room walked a sharply-dressed man, dragging on a cigarra. Even though the room was perfectly lit, he seemed to have a supremely shadowy aura about him, as if he was used to blending into the background and not being seen. Theren offered him his hand across the desk in greeting. “And you are…?”
“No one,” the man said quickly, shaking Theren’s hand very briefly and taking a seat.
“Funny,” Theren said. “I know the names of most of the Vinda Corp executives, but I’ve never heard of you.”
“Charming,” the man said, smiling slightly. “Even if I’d told you my name, I doubt that you’d have heard of me. I’m not from a division of Vinda Corp… generally spoken of.”
“Oh, really. And what would that be?”
“That would be the… ah… Population Management division. I personally represent –”
“Population Management? As in, riot control?”
“Riot control has such… harsh connotations. As I was saying, I personally represent several clients from a pair of governments currently in need of my services.”
“And those are?”
“The Anthos Republic, and… ah.... well, Vinda Corp itself. Either way, I believe that we have certain… common friends.” The man eyed Tornel nervously.
“If you mean the Genoharadan, he knows.”
“Ah, yes, excellent. Well, they have informed me of recent events, and I believe I have concocted a solution that will be mutually beneficial for you, as well as the Anthos Republic and Vinda Corp. I trust you know that civil unrest has, recently, been on the rise in the Core Regions? Yes? Well, I trust you also are aware that the Anthos Republic has recently secured Balmorra. And that Vinda Corp now has certain… interests, on Brentaal.”
“Yeah.”
“Both of these worlds have experienced certain elevated levels of civil disobedience in recent weeks. They are used to being under the control of the Empire, and are displeased with being under our respective influences, especially with the New Order currently on the rise, such as it is.
“It has also come to my attention that the Empire now has the worlds of Dorthal – in the Anthos region – and Kalla, in the Corporate Sector. I trust you can see where I am heading with this.”
Theren raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I want a pair of worlds filled with riots?”
The man chuckled. “I am prepared to make this deal more plausible on your end. Ever heard of the Darktrooper project?”
“Vaguely. Something about droid battle suits.”
“Indeed. When General Mohc abandoned the project, we at Vinda Corp Population Management saw the potential of the droids, and bought the rights to it. The current incarnation of Darktrooper droids are considerably improved, and designed specifically to act as battle suits, with the droid itself developing a relationship with its operator similar to that of a Basilisk war droid with a Mandalorian. Are you familiar with the Basilisk technology?”
“I once served with a Mandalorian,” Theren said, nodding.
“Good. They have proven most effective at riot control; agile, intimidating, and equipable with disruptor cannons and a variety of other heavy weaponry.”
Theren sat forward. “If you don’t mind my asking, why not just sell this shit to the Anthosians and use it yourself?”
The man chuckled. “The Anthosians don’t have the stomach, and Vinda Corp doesn’t have the manpower to build an army of them.”
Theren nodded. “Alright. You have a deal.”
“Excellent,” the man said, standing and turning to leave.
“Wait,” Theren said. “I think there might be something else you can help me with. Have you ever heard of E-2 miners…?”