The Prince of Profit (Star Wars x 40k/Rogue Trader)

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 18;
Education Camp Primaris

Aya Sei sat in a comfortable couch, nestled in blankets as she sipped at the hot drink, her interviewer coming into the room with a small smile for her, someone who actually saw her. She had noticed that most of the people that she met amongst this Von Hydraxius dynasty all really did see her. But there was a reason she was granted all these snuggly comforts, because it was going to be a bad day. The interviewer's sad smile only confirmed it as he brushed a strand of hand from her eyes. She felt something then, not for him though it had not been unusual for some of her companions to form unhealthy attachment to their rescuers.

The something was within her. A metaphysical hand on her shoulder. The Interviewer was something the others didn't like to talk about. A being called a psyker. When you talked about things to him you saw them all over again. Felt them all over again... and he did too. That was the other reason for being rugged up. Ice rime climbed the walls of the room as he touched the unmentionable place. "Tell me about the day you came to Zygerria."

Aya crashed through the mountains of memory, the tug of ethereal fingers plucking at the strands of recall. Packed into the hull of a transport with ninety nine others who had been captured by the Zygerrians. She knew she was speaking even as she experienced it all over again, the terror, the smell of people who had soiled themselves, the crack of the Zygerrian's whips. The feel of the collars against naked flesh. She tried to cover herself reflexively, but of course she was not actually there. The sensation as the drives cut out, the increase in terror of people who knew that they were at a destination they would never have chosen to be. The blinding light as the main bay cracked open and peeled apart....

Pain. She wailed the words. Pain as the scourging touch of the whips drove them into the arms of more whip wielding zygerrians, the crackle of skin under the lash. The feel of burning pain in their feet from the sunburnt sands of the landing pad, the cold indignity as she was dragged, with four others, from the group and forced to endure humiliating touches as they assessed the value of their property. Violations of her flesh as they checked her teeth first then other places. The humiliating treatment not as a person, but as livestock. She had known that, though she was condemned to the pleasure markets, she was fortunate, most of the men were simply bought in bulk by a man who owned a mining consortium. Including her husband and twelve year old son. She had seen neither of them again.

"Calm your thoughts please Aya, keep them focussed on the day. Show me the place you landed. What security and defences they have." The words intruded and she calmed, refusing to allow herself to fall down the trauma hole to the trigger that had lead to her being near catatonic for three days after her last session...

But did she refuse to allow herself? Or had something, someone, else laid a hand on her psyche to forbid her? She did not dwell on it long. She relived her arrival in detail again, but this time, with an ethereal hand guiding her, she focussed on elements that had not seemed important to her at first.

She had seen no surface to orbit weapons, for who could realistically afford such opulence. Perhaps there had been smaller anti-air weapons, but her place had been down within a landing pit where her vision was limited. As for the masters, they had no army she remembered, only guards against slaves with whips and maybe blaster pistols. A light touch explored that thought and she was swamped in a remembrance over almost as soon as it began, she threw up. Reliving too much too quickly, but she could not recall any army of Zygerria at all. The cold went away and the vision fell from her minds eye, and she was revulsed to discover she truly had vomited all over herself. But the interviewer was carefully removing the soiled blankets as he lightly kissed her forehead, like a father comforting a child. "I am sorry we asked you to relive that Aya, I understand it was painful for you." His words were comforting, this time he asked a few questions without the sensation in her mind, without the reliving. "Aya, did you remember them to have any capital or larger vessels?" He asked and she shook her head slowly.

"No, I don't remember anything like that... I was... I was not allowed out very often. But surely something like that would be visible from the surface..." She answered. He nodded with an encouraging smile. She only ever looked at his smile. Only ever saw the greying moustache and hint of the tip of a nose. She never looked higher.

Nobody did, twice. The blackened burned out pits where eyes should have been was too much. He could see she knew. Perhaps they saw as the Miraluka did? She had known one once. "Were there many human slaves on Zygerria?" This was a question she could not answer for she didn't know enough to answer.

"I don't know, there where many where I was quartered, but more Twi'leks and som Falleen. But there were many humans on the transport I was brought in on, and many more in the pens." She answered.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Leonid was tired, even with the walk breathing calmly there were dangers in what they did, and he had been drawing on his talent for a long time now. They had returned to the homeworld with the half a million slaves gathered piece by piece over a month, only when the certainty of pay made it clear there was profit to be had did the xenos slavers come from the woodworks to sell their products to the Hutts, who were in turn paid. Little did the foolish creatures know what was happening.

But now was the first time that he had been called before the Rogue Trader. "Give me the broader picture, I will examine your reports."

"We have interviewed many, there are two primary sources of slaves, Zygerria and the Hutts. The Hutts have what appears to be a more highly developed empire, mostly underground and far from the observation of others. Acting against them now would be premature. Zygerria meanwhile appears to have been reduced to a single world through which their operations depend. They have no standing army unless the Republic or CIS have provided one, no anti-orbital defences, no capital ships of any kind. Our maps are far from being complete, or even mostly complete, but we feel we have a signfiicant grasp on the slaving infrastructure. The only other location mentioned is some sort of processing hub on a world called Kadavo."

Arthurius nodded, processing the information. He activated the vox system. "This is Von Hydraxius. We are sending all relevant data to the Hermes, Mercury and Plundering Intent Squadron. They are to commence immediate assault on Zygerria. The Profit from Hubris and Seekers of Purity will also be joining for the attack to provide communications jamming. Highest priority is the recovery of as many slaves as possible. Once a the Profit from Hubris and all other fleet elements have saved as many humans as possible, commence orbital strikes on all slave infrastructure. Leave a message."

 

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 19;
Falling Skies

Vol played another bet on the game of Sabacc that he was engaged in with the crew when it happened. Space cracked open like some malevolent demon hole, violent reds and violets and all other colours of the spectrum who had no name or natural hues. The orbital station over the capital of Zygerria ringing like a bell as its alarms went off. What they had never expected was an entire fleet to appear in high orbit over the world through holes in reality. They could never have known that typically a warp jump that close would have been dangerous. That only the conditions within the galaxy prevented it from being a complete disaster.

All they saw was eight craft nearly a kilometre long spear from the rents in reality, two more a one and a half kilometres long, another two fully three kilometres long and then there was the monster. Twelve kilometres long it shouldered into the system like a splinter of absolute darkness, becoming shrouded in a colossal expanding field of what looked like black smoke. "That's not possible!" Vol barked having run over to the sensors. "That thing just disappeared from sensors!"

"Bringing turbolasers online. What are those things doing here?"

It was then that their questions were answered. As every spaceborne vessel in orbit was crushed under the weight of ultra-massive jamming signals that were drowning out all communicatons traffic. Moments later space was filled with death as the turrets of the fleet, small and difficult to see sent out waves of high explosive shells and walls of laser light, streaking laser fire co-ordinated to catch the small Aurora class ships and other visiting craft in a sphere of annihilation that captured the entirety of the planets orbit as they fell. No.. the smallest ships did not fall. The Hazeroth class Raiders and Viper class scout sloops fell into a focussed orbit. And the vast shadow retained its position in orbit. "Doesn't matter! Warn the city! Warn!!.." His words fell off as the gunners began firing at the closest of the ships. Vol cheered as the blasts seemed to bring down the shield of the closest of small craft.

It's own plasma weapons returned fire with firepower far far more intense than anything it had been using on the smaller ships visiting Zygerria and their shields collapsed instantly under the weight of the barrage, each further shot blasting through the turrets and the nearest fifty metres of hull like a lightsaber through a youngling. The station was never military issue, now it was as useful as so much military tissue instead. And then the fire stopped. Their defences destroyed. The ship showed them no further interest.

"They're ignoring us?"

The internal comms channels came alive. And the turned to look out over one of the large cargo bays the command centre was built in overwatch of. Terrible red light filled the compartment before what looked like crimson lightning cracked and when the lighting cleared there were twenty creatures hunched over in the epicentre of the effect. Humanoid in only the most base sense, they were hunched over and their heads fronted by a skull mask. Vol felt his bowelsquiver at the sight of them. And then they moved. Faster than most people they surged into the crew working in the cargo bay moving various cargos for collection, not living cargo of course, those transactions were performed on the surface.

Vol dived for a blaster rifle and surged onto the balcony taking aim and pulling the trigger.... then disengaging the safety and pulling the trigger. The monsters moved like murder blenders and were carving apart men and women who were simple labourers, mono talons pulling out a females insides before a roaring chain weapon that was one limb ripped up through her. It's armour absorbed many of the blasts and then... blinding light once more. There were only ten figures in the aftermath this time.

That was a source of immense comfort to Vol until one of them pointed and raised their weapon. The barrel on it was very very big he noticed before it flashed, and at two kilometres per second of self-propelled death his head exploded, a mere hundred metres from where the bolter had fired from.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Miraj Scintel, Queen of Zygerria felt a terror deep in her soul as she looked up into the skies, smaller turbolaser emplacements had come online and begun to fire at the craft descending from orbit. The monstrosities could not have descended by any natural means in so controlled a fashion. Their very structure seemed to work against them in that. But descend they did. Precision low powered fire from their keel turrets flashed and with each shot a turbolaser battery was annihilated. Massively powerful thrusters roared as the three kilometre long craft crashed down through the skies.

"Prepare everyone for a defence!" She screeched. Every hundred metres they got closer she felt a noose tightening around her. Attempts to launch fighters simply provoked a point defence grid on them coming to life and filling the area with waves of laser energy that cut down anything that tried to get airborne. And she knew that they would be killing many on the ground as well.

They were only a dozen kilometres away now and she realised what was holding them up. Absolutely crushing waves of repulsor energy were hammering out as colossal thrusters burned to keep them up as wroshyr tree trunk sized landing gear unfolded from the monstrous ships.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Vantai moved through the streets with his blaster rifle held in quivering hands. The two ships towered over the fortress like mountains of their own, entire districts had been crushed under the crushing gravity waves that allowed them to land. But he, and the forty other men around him had been dispatched to deal with the invaders. He knew that there were many other units also dispatched, but they had no formal army and their agreement with the Confederacy had yet to yield any significant aid in that arena, though he knew there were B1 Battle Droids being mobilised. And... he realised they had emerged from the city streets into a plaine where buildings were crushed to powder, a fine red paste was visible in places...

Vantai threw up when he realised what they were. Massive ramps had extended from the enemy ship and airgates opened and he raised his rifle and opened fire on full auto. The blaster bolts were ignored by the void shields he could not see, their velocity too low to pose a credible threat to the ship and trigger its defences.

But they didn't mean anything when it came crashing down onto the ramp.



Following it came six more vehicles, they lacked the main gun turret, but had a fixed weapon and a bay filled with troops. And then the lead vehicle came to the base of the ramp and crashed off. Vantai ran away from his unit for a half-collapsed building. His timing had been impeccable as the sponson weapons and one on its glacis plating turned on his unit and roared with fire for twelve seconds. When had it started raining? Vantai wondered not having turned from his hiding place... holding up a hand he realised it wasn't rain. It was raining blood from the vaporised and thoroughly detonated bodies of the men he had just been part of the group of. Now there was a sound getting close. Terrifying and terrible. The roar of justice denied over so many years. It pierced his ears like a nightmare made flesh.

And then the left track of a three hundred and sixteen tonne tank crashed through a wall near where he was cowering and the terrible terrible guns on its left sponson tore through more of the rubble and spun to face him. It stopped. The entire mountainous edifice of the tank. He tossed away his rifle and held his hands up in the air. A hatch on the turret opened and a man emerged, a device on his chest translating his speech. "I am Colonel Myke Vahren of the 12th Bombastus Astra Militarum Super-Heavy Regiment. You, where is the primary slave holdings? Answer and you will be left in piece."

Fear burbled in Vantai's soul. He pointed. "Ten streets you will come to the primary slave markets and holding pens." He saw the man raising a pistol. "WAIT you said you would leave me in peace!"

"No. I said you would be left in piece. It's a very technical distinction, but important." The lasbolt punched through Vantai's brain. Leaving just a single piece. "Onward driver."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

They cowered as they monstrous vessels had slammed down through the atmosphere, they cowered when they fired on surface emplacements. They cowered often at the sounds of weapons fire. And now they cowered when four massive tanks surged through the wall and from each of them forty men disembarked, weapons held in coldly professional hands and a firefight with their masters lasted for almost fifteen minutes. Loro felt his fear intently but watched. He didn't know who they were, or why, only that their weapons did terrible things to their targets silently.

Another five minutes and there was silence as, on a balcony above, the surviving Zygerrian slavers had managed to build a group of hostages. Two dozen slaves held between them and their attackers. "Cease your attack or we will kill the hostages!" The barked order rang out.

One of the vehicles that had breached the walls turned marginally towards the standoff and a hatch opened. Loudhailers on the hull squealed before going silent. The man who was standing half out of the hatch looked up at the standoff. "I am Lieutenant Marcus Aurevellius of the 12th Bombastus Super Heavy Regiment. I am in command of this particular site. To those men and women being held hostage..." The slaves turned to look at the tank. Noticing that the hull mounted weapon had elevated towards them. "You have been held slave to the monsters who inhabit this world. The animalistic creatures who would hold you in bondage in their thinly veiled skin of supremacy. I bring you an end to your suffering. I give you the Emperor's Peace."

All other sound ceased as the Vulcan megabolters fired for a single second. When sound returned, it was high pitched, a terrible keening in his ears that went away with a terrible slowness. Ringing from the sound of the monstrous weapons firing... of the balcony, the slaves, slavers and ten metres beyond, there was nothing at all.

And then he heard the man issuing orders. "Ok. Begin erecting the teleport beacons." He ordered, and then the loudhailers turned off.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Colonel frowned as he studied the data. "There is less than we expected." His words were measured as he settled back into his command tank. The reality of the situation was surprising. Each of the city-fortresses on the planet were smaller than even the smallest Imperial Hive city, and the populations were also surprisingly low.

"Yes sir, insofar as we can tell, there is only about thirty thousand slaves in the entire city, and maybe three percent of them are human. Hell this entire planet has less than half a billion people on it, including the slaves." Came the vox transmission from another point. "Hold one. Yeah, our prisoner is being encouraged to talk, and he says there isn't more than thirty, perhaps forty thousand... maybe ten percent of them are humans at best?"
That shocked the Colonel, that felt wrong. Their orders had two compartments.

To rescue as many slaves as possible. And when as many humans as possible were saved to begin orbital bombardment. The Hubris could fit a million or more slaves on board, the Herrmes and Mercury could fit another hundred thousand each in cargo holds if they packed them in. "Ask him how many slaves are on the planet."

There was a long period of silence. Then the vox opened once more. "He doesn't know. One, two million at most. The Zygerrian people have only just re-established their slaving practices after coming to agreements that the Confederacy would not prosecute the practice. I suspect that they were counting on security assurances."

"One to two million humans..."

"No sir. Slaves, of all races."

That didn't make the decision any easier. But then, he was only responsible for the ground contingent. He did what all military men did when the opportunity presented itself. He bumped it up the chain of command.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Her city was ruined. And she watched through security cameras as slaves were escorted into the holds of the ships, or disappeared in terrified groups within the slave quarters. Her blood ran cold at the sound of cold bangs as she tried to ignore the blaster fire responding to the attackers in her palace. She flinched as bangs sounded somewhere below her. Her own slaves were cowering in the corners, uncertain as to their fate. Her current attackers, those in the palace, were not the same as those attacking the city below. These were different. They were mechanical men who surged into her chambers. Their weapons held high. She stood proud and unbowed. "Begone from my world invaders." She snarled at them, a blaster pistol in one hand, a whip in her other.

"Secure the slaves to the guard below." One of the attackers ordered as he marched towards the Zygerrian queen. She looked down and saw one of the ships lifting, its drives pushing it into the skies before it began to head for the next city. "Queen Miraj Scintel of Zygerria?"

She hesitated, "I am she." Her bodyguards acted. Seeing the opportunity to secure her attackers while he was separated by his men. His men fired at them and she saw a strange sticky web engulf her people. She noticed the pistol in his hand was a smaller version of their rifles.

"Congratulations, you will get to live. With people being too valuable to waste, it has been decided that servitors would now only be from vat-grown bodies, or the enemies of the Dynasty. As an enemy of humanity you qualify. She snapped around and fired at him only for a blinding flash to accompany her shot striking home before she felt a sticky web engulf her.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Count Dooku sat in the command throne of a Lucrehulk that had arrived at the edge of the Zygerrian system to plot their final jump into orbit over the planet with a payload of battle droids in exchange for whatever the planet had to offer. It did not move now. Hovering there a light hour away as they watched the sensor data. The scale of the operation shocked Dooku, the blockade was almost mathematically precise.

He was rooted in place for almost a week monitoring the activities on the surface as the mid-sized ships continued to move from city to city assaulting it and..... and he did not know, but given his apprentices information, were likely rescuing the slaves. "Do we not have any more information?"

"No master." One of the B1's replied immediately. "All probes we have dispatched that enter the jamming fields they are projecting are unable to penetrate the jamming and report."

"Master. Something has changed."

Dooku turned to the monitors and studied what they were showing. The jamming had ceased. The two mid sized ships, hah! the idea of a three kilometre long vessel being mid-sized was only possible in the wake of the behemoths that had been seen for the Von Hydraxius dynasty. And what he saw paralysed him in indecision.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Hermes and Mercury took place on opposite sides of the planet, their BG-15 Assault Scanners coming live to full power as they took on a co-ordinating role across the entirety of the small fleet. The Hubris would not participate, remaining shielded by the shadow field. But the Plundering Intent and Seekers of Purity slaved their Ryza class plasma batteries to the two Orion class clippers. All of the restrictions on the weapons were lifted. Power levels built to maximal.

And hell rained on Zygerria. Every city with slave processing facilities ceased to existing in waves of plasma and laser fire. Factories that produced slave collars and electro-whips were annihilated from orbit, the hundreds of gigatons of firepower falling on the planet ensuring that there were no more fortress cities on the plateaus for tourists to visit. What the Jedi had begun in putting the Zygerrian slave industry to the sword, the men and women of the Imperium of Man put the final chapter to alltogether. Glowing craters emitting a cherenkov blue in every spectrum from the plasma batteries contrasted only slightly to the bright white molten craters the Straravar laser batteries had delivered.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Loro had been saved, or thought he had been saved. The terror as they were dragged into a square where the previous group had disappeared in a flash of red light had faded only after they had arrived after their own extraction. Massive monitors showed what was happening on the surface as slaves were saved from lifetimes of horror at the hands of cruel masters, not all had found their way into cargo holds and passenger quarters, the Zygerrians had learned far too slowly that taking hostages did not protect them. And without any way to pass that message, they had to learn it the hard way, each and every time.

When the fire began to fall from orbit. When the skies began to be filled with ejecta from the destruction. Clouds of flame and fire filling the screen as bombardment annihilated entire cities simply because they held infrastructure for the taking or keeping of slaves... they all cheered.

It took Loro to realise what he was witnessing wasn't just their freedom.

He was witnessing the effective genocide of a people. Many smaller settlements and towns would have escaped the falling fires, not being made to support the slaving industries, several other cities had escaped the fires too as they produced more banal things, starship components, blasters. Though they too had been plundered of any slaves they had held.

But most died. An entire culture was being murdered as he watched. The gravity and reality hitting home like a hammer.

But they had enslaved him. In almost a numb horror, at the actions of his rescuers, and a naked terror at himself, he continued to cheer, smothering the small part of himself that he crushed viciously under a mental heel. His conscience.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dooku leaned back in his throne. Feeling the tension bleed out of him in a shocked reaction. As the Hydraxius vessels crashed out of the system in their strange faster than light travel he ordered the Lucrehulk to approach the planet and they hurtled into hyperspace. Arriving at the planet they saw the storms created, the unnatural winters that were being sparked into life by the bombardment. There were some settlements left unharmed on the surface. Most broadcasting weak distress signals.

"Do we have sufficient sensor data?" He asked calmly. This was information that could be useful in future.

"Uhm... no sir." This from one of the Nemoidian crew. "Their jamming... we have nothing except long ranged visuals."

Force choke.. or force lightning? Difficult choices to be made, if he could combine them maybe? "What about their jamming?"

"They were blanketing everything, at this range we could not even attempt to penetrate that level of jamming. We can confirm the blockade ships killed no less than three hundred ships that had attempted to escape the surface." The Nemoidian answered and Dooku restrained himself. Perhaps he wouldn't choke or zap the guy. "Lord Dooku, the Zygerrians had signed onto our charter... what... what are we going to do?"

Dooku leaned back. "Nothing. I will lose no sleep over the slavers. And I would rather not provoke them. But maybe, just maybe, we can sway them to look even harder at the Republic." The Nemoidian blinked at his answer.

"How my lord?"

"Who has the largest army of slaves in the galaxy?"

 

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 20;
The Velvet Fuckening

His apprentice had become more reticent in his communiques, at first for operational security reasons, and now... because he had been incommunicado for a week. And while his inclination to punish it heavily was still there. This package that had been sent had arrested it entirely. He could use the newcomers. With their stance on slavery and their response to it he could, with the right words at the right time and place, sway them over to his side and b... the doors to his office hissed open and Mas Amedda entered.

"Chancellor... we have an, issue." He passed a datapad over to Palpatine and he felt his anger spike. Word had escaped Zygerria and the worthless peaceniks were already pressing against the actions. And the doors hissed open once more and he felt his anger rise, if his secretary was proving useless that was one thing, this was bordering on his guards also being incompetent. And so he was faced with Senators Amidala, Bail Organa, and two Jedi Masters, Yoda and Mace Windu.

"I see the Vice Chair has brought our concerns before you Chancellor Palpatine." Amidala said her voice full of worry, he shelved his opinions and put on his public persona.

He stood and smiled at her, taking her hands warmly. "Indeed I have Senator Amidala, it is such a pity that there is nothing we can do about it." The instant response actually made Amidala pull back, surprised. "The Zygerrian people had announced their participation in the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and these outsiders prosecuted an action that, based on all the intelligence we possess, tell us that they were putting an end to the practice of slavery that the Jedi Order had attempted to stamp out and self-evidently failed to achieve."

"Chancellor, they committed nothing short of a genocide against a people. They killed nearly a hundred million people, to rescue perhaps a few million, and while laudable, there was no justification for the subsequent orbital bombardment of the planet. There was no need for tens of millions to die over an objective that they had, by all accounts, already achieved."

He frowned, and put on a saddened expression. "This is perhaps true Amidala, but they are outside of our jurisdiction, much the same as Hutt space is outside of our ability to legislate."

"I want to be attached to the mission to negotiate with them." She said and that shocked Palpatine enough to look back at her. "If the Republic is going to do business with an unknown quantity. I want to be there to represent the voice of reason and peace." The idea tempted him. But it wouldn't put her in a position to be removed, to manipulate Anakin further.

"I cannot sanction that Amidala, they are an unknown quantity yes, but this is a diplomatic mission to establish trade connections with the House Hydraxius and their worlds, we cannot afford to endanger those talks. And my dear, can we be honest with one another and admit that your interest in the matter is that of chastising an action you find distasteful." He said plainly. Why were Yoda and Windu here?

"Need that, perhaps we do." Yoda said in his infuriating cant. "Know our values they should."

Palpatine bowed slightly, "Perhaps Master Jedi, but do our values not meet theirs? They acted where the Republic, and Jedi Order, were unable. As terrible as it is, our own actions only pacified them for a time, and given the first opportunity they returned to their ways. Can we condemn them for something we may well have done ourselves if this terrible war went on and we needed to stem the tides of slave labour fuelling the industries of the Confederacy?"

That drew a furrowed brow from Yoda, Amidala and Bail, though Windu, clearly disapproving, nodded in acceptance of the argument. "Perhaps you are correct, we might have if this war became much worse." He said, "But maybe it is a point that we should raise, that such a wanton genocide is unacceptable to us, it speaks more to the Sith Empire of old than the Republic."

He examined them all. "You are agreed that this is a message we need to present at these talks?" He wondered how he could spin and use this. He daren't endanger his own plans by driving this newcomer to support the CIS, even with his puppet manipulating the CIS that kind of power might turn the balance too much.

Bail Organa spoke. "We are Chancellor. I don't believe we can honestly engage in talks if we are too careful to voice our concerns." Palpatine sighed. "Very well, Senators Amidala, Organa. I will arrange for Senator Amidala to join the talks, with a Jedi at her side for security."

"You woul..." Mace began.

"Yes Master Jedi, if Senator Amidala insists on going to chastise an unknown quantity who just effectively ended civilisation on Zygerria, I am going to prohibit her going without adequate security. I trust you can keep a dear friend alive?" The challenge was directed straight at Mace.

"I will personally accompany her." He said, picking up the gauntlet. Good. Gooood.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When he found out he had three separate and entirely contradictory reactions. The first reaction he had was wondering if he could fit all his toys on a transport and make a run for Nal Hutta. That thought flitted away like a debtor hearing a bounty hunter was being sent after them. The second was that he should take revenge for the destruction of a trading partner, a source of slaves and... and that was what assassinated his second thought.

The Hutt Cartels were the largest practicioners of Slavery and its trade in the galaxy, not even the Zygerrian Slave Empire had reached the level they had, only newly returned to the industry. Damage control. Damage control was the thought that Jabba had been forced into since the revelation of what happened on Zygerria. Every time he looked at his dancing girls he wondered in a corner of his mind whether that today would be the day that a move would be made against him.

The question was what they could, would or should do about it. Unfortunately, that was also the reason for the holoconference that was now underway, Marlo, Oruba, Arok and Gorga. Marlo was the first to speak. "What do we plan on doing about your... playthings... Jabba! They cost me everything I had invested in the Zygerrian markets. Ties I deepened to help facilitate YOUR trade with them and aid in providing half a million slaves! Do you actually comprehend the cost involved in that endeavour Jabba!?" The anger was real, borderline enraged. Give the Hutts great age, that much of a response was borderline dangerous. He was not without influence.

"I demand the respect I have earned Marlo." Jabba answered calmly, refusing to be riled into argument, "Their actions were unexpected and unprecedented. Do you expect I would inconvenience your finances at the cost of exposing myself to attack? Remember," this was addressed at all the Hutts present, "I and the heart of my operations are fully exposed, the very first system the strangers discovered, if they choose to act, I will be the first to fall."

That last had all the leaders of the council silent as they considered the evidence brought before them. These strangers had successfully blockaded a world with a much larger population than Tatooine, and the close in defences were shown to be able to strike out to a thousand kilometres or more with enough accuracy to destroy a ship attempting to lift from the surface. Escape was far from gauranteed. "You speak truly," This from his newphew Gorga, "but Uncle, the error was still made, and our reaction to it must also be made."

Talks stalled for a minute there as each of them considered the situation. "Well I'm not giving up my slaves." Marlo snarled. And all the other Lorda snarled back that they would not either. Jabba echoed the sentiment. He had a reputation.

"Perhaps we should be more... direct." This from Arok. "The animal Grievous is swanning around in a flagship of his own it is told. If we were to arrange for it to be stolen, and turned upon the Imperials with whatever superweapon it possesses, then maybe we can strike a blow back, and even deflect the attention of the action upon the separatists."

"Why not simply employ assassins?" Marlo asked.

Jabba snorted in contempt. "Because they would never get close." He answered, "I have met their leader twice. Not only could I not find my way back around those corridors, but if I tried, I would not even survive to leave the airlock I found to try and board it. Do you have an assassin who is willing to try and sneak past a hundred thousand men and women?"

"I do." Marlo snapped.

"Let's see if we can't steal a ship first, let someone else take the fire."

 

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 21;
Republic Greetings

The Venator nestled into the Spacedock piers of the Imperial vessel and Amidala kept her cool as they were drawn through the same tour that the Confederacy was drawn through. The music rolling through the ship in unceasing pattern. She enjoyed the small plaza at the centre of the luxury quarters and sat down next to the burbling fountain as she considered the situation. Representatives from various military coporations were in talks with one another at the moment to advance their own causes, then there were the senators that had been sent, neither of them were liable to be considered allies.

Mee Deechi and Halle Burtoni, both pro-war advocates of the strongest kind. However, they were balanced to a degree by the Jedi Masters Plo Koon, Aayla Secura and Mace Windu. The morning light that washed over the plaza was of course artificial, and yet it felt as lovely as the morning rays of naboos own capital. A skull zipped past her on an errand and she shuddered in internalised horror. And a lifeless eyed cyborg was conducting maintenance on one of the air filters. The novel of standing on stone, and being reminded acutely she was actually on a starship.

Mace moved over, looking very much on edge as he had since he boarded. "Senator. I am not sure this was wise." He said plainly, and she sighed. He had discovered it then. She had requested a private audience with the Rogue Trader as soon as she had been able to get a quiet, and private, word with their hostess.

And now Amidala realised why he had come over. Lady Vanessa had just entered the boulevard with a pair of men flanking her. "I must do what I must do Master Windu. You may well accompany me, but I must have this interview."

As for why Master Windu was out of sorts. As with the other Jedi Masters, their weapons had been confiscated for the duration of the talks, with assurances made for their safety. "I will not leave you alone with them. But without my lightsaber, my options are reduced if I have to defend you." He said, quietly as the woman approached.

"Senator Amidala, my father has consented to meet with you at this hour. Please follow us." They passed through the rear passage and clambered into another train, this one smaller than anything they had moved in before. And it moved deeper into the ship before ascending levels.

The tour hadn't taken them through any of these levels.

"Where are we going?" Amidala asked finally. Vanessa turned slightly to look down at her, tall bitch, and smiled. "The Forum is far too large for a private audience, my father has secured the Captains personal library. He would have considered using the office instead, but felt a more informal setting might be more comforting for you." Eventually the train stopped and the woman leaned down as a security system took her biometrics before opening.

They stepped into a palatial private library, Arthurius was there with a thick leather bound tome in hand, reading it as he sipped from a glass in one hand. "Please, take seating, Senator Amidala, you look well if troubled. Master Windu, an unexpected guest for a private audience, but not an unwelcome one."

"I am told that you like to be plainspoken." Padme said taking a chair... she almost felt enfolded in a hug by a grandparent, warm and welcoming...

Arthurius had not put down his book, "Many people are told many things, I do not like or dislike being plainspoken, I can baffle with groxshit with the best of them, turn a flowery phrase, or be overly formal and restrained. I am a Rogue Trader of the Imperium of Mankind, a successful one, I adjust my manner as befits the occasion and individual. You desire to be plainspoken, you want to make a point or ask something bluntly. So let us skip the niceties, please speak."

She nodded, considering his words and deciding to take them at face value. And so she broached the topic plainly. "The genocide of Zygerria."

To her surprise there was no reaction from the man at all, no widening of the eyes, not even the most marginal trace of guilt or regret. "What of it?" The phrasing of it was just that, a simple question. It wasn't even of personal interest to him.

That actually flustered Amidala, leaving her confused on how to proceed, surprisingly, Mace Windu picked up on the thread. "What the Senator means to ask is how you could commit such an atrocity, you had already liberated the slaves of that world, what reason was there to bombard it, what right did you have to take their lives?"

"What right did I have to let them live? The Republic, via the Jedi Order, had allegedly put paid to the practice of slavery by the Zygerrians once before. And as soon as able they returned to type. I liberated the slaves. And ensured that they could never repeat their error again." The sheer lack of emotion in the delivery was driving a spear of ice through Amidala's heart. "And in turn, I put out the message that we would not allow it to continue where our influence could reach."

"Yet you do business with the Hutts?, you bought slaves from them according to rumour." Amidala queried.

That drew a smile from the man, and she wished it hadn't. "The fastest way to find out how, and where, a criminal is doing business, is to enter into business with them. Learn what you need, and then act. Tatooine has less population than I liberated slaves from Zygerria. Attacking the Hutts to liberate a couple thousand slaves on a world of no value except for its central nature for the crime syndicates would have meant nothing." Arthurius turned his eyes back to the book. "The Hutts will act sooner or later, of that I have little doubt. I am curious to see how they do."

"You would do well not to underestimate the Hutts." Mace said with a cautionary tone.

Amidala did not let that slip however. "So what then, you plan to kill millions more, do you not value life, would you bomb a house to kill a thief?"

"I have done so before, so yes." Arthurius frowned marginally and placed a cloth marker at the page he was on, slowly closing the book. It was ancient. "I feel like we are at some sort of cultural difference here. Please, be more plainspoken."

That made Padme blink. "You killed tens of millions of people for the crimes of the few. You... killed tens of millions of innocent people... you committed genocide!?" She didn't know how to explain it further.

He blinked at her. "Aaand?"

"That's wrong. It is wrong to kill so many over the actions of a few... its wrong to take life like that." She said, trying to vocalise something that was simply common sense to her.
And yet, she could see with crystal clarity that the same thought did not occur to this Rogue Trader. He was genuinely confused by her words. "You proclaim that it is wrong to do this, while your Republic started a war against people who felt the Republic was no longer effective and chose to secede and form their own independent governance? While you use a significant army of clones, who I would wager are not being paid for their services and may well be slaves in their own right?" Arthurius shook his head. "No. I liberated two million people from the bondage of slavery, and provided a clear demonstration of what we are willing to do to those who oppose such a liberation."

"Killing is wrong Lord Hydraxius." She replied with conviction.

"Why?" The word was like an assault on Padme's senses. Not just because it seemed ludicrous, but because she saw that he really didn't understand her position at all.

"Because life is precious, rare and should be protected, having to take a life even to preserve your own should be a decision that is difficult to make, and difficult to live with, an action only taken in defense of yourself and others. You didn't do it in defence, you took what you wanted, and blew up the rest." Arthurius actually snorted.

"Life isn't precious. Life is more common than stars in the skies. Valuing the lives of your people is important, but valuing it too highly can lead to decisions that will cost you more than you might be willing to pay. The Republic, rightly, prosecuted slavery through Zygerria. As soon as able they returned to type. Through my actions, Zygerria will never again be a slave empire." Arthurius sighed and leaned back. "Let me ask you a question."

Amidala hesitated. "Please do."

The words flowed over her with ease when he spoke them. "Do you actually believe in this war at all?"

She smiled, "No, I do not. I believe that diplomacy failed, and that we are now making things worse. I am working to put an end to this war. To get both sides talking once again." He looked surprised and she wondered why.

"How odd..." He said, "It is... strange to hear. But I commend you for sticking to your principles and guns, metaphorically speaking." He almost seemed to disengage with the conversation, enough that Mace decided to chime in once more.

His words were calm and measured, "And what do you plan to do then?"

"Speak with the representatives for the Republic, and engage in trade." Arthurius looked puzzled and confused.

"What do you plan to do about your actions on Zygerria?" Mace clarified.

This time Arthurius looked even more confused. "Do about them? What do you mean?"

"Reparations for your crimes." Mace said.

"I have committed no crimes Master Windu. All my actions on Zygerria were performed in full accordance with my rights, responsibilities and legal authority as laid out in the Charter of Trade issued to me by the Imperium of Mankind as part of my dynastic inheritance." The words flowed clearly. "I owe no reparitions, and if you mean to argue I have broken your laws then I will make this very clear Master Windu. I am not a member of your republic. My worlds have never been members of your Republic. My remit was not issued by your Republic. Nor have we ever been members of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. I am, very much, a distinct legal power from your own. And before casting stones, was it not the Jedi Order and Republic that invaded Geonosis over a handful of hostages, of which the good Senator here was one, and you performed as a General during."

Both of them went silent. Padme wondered how they could have learned so much on the subject. The Rogue Trader continued. "Your holonet is a font of information when you know who to hire to help you learn. The Republic staged an assault against a world that was seceding from the Republic with no other justification than the Geonosians were about to execute several Jedi and a Senator for their acts of espionage on their homeworld."

"We were acting in defence o.." Mace began but stopped when Arthurius held up a hand.

"Master Windu, I don't bring this up because I disagree with your actions. I bring it up because, there is no meaningful difference between them. You stormed an entire planet with an invading army over a handful of hostages. I acted over nearly two million. I am willing to conceed that we are very different cultures, and if you feel that makes us too different to do business, then I will regretfully take that business elsewhere. But I will not apologise or pay reparitions for dispensing the justice that it is well within my right to dispense." Amidala felt a boiling anger within her, who could be so callous and careless as such.

"I see, thank you for your time Lord Hydraxius, I am sure you have more important things to be doing, we would not wish to keep you from them." She said standing rather more quickly than looked dignified.

"It was an honour Senator, and if I may, please stick to your values, maintain your strength and conviction. I may not agree with you, but perhaps with more people in the universe like you, a galaxy like mine need never happen again." He turned back to his book.

That made her hesitate. "Excuse me, what do you mean?"

He turned back to her. "You chastise me for my actions on Zygerria. Where I come from, I would have been chastised for not completing the job, for not bombing the towns and settlements far from the epicentres of their heretical activities. I would have been criticised for not hunting down every one of them and putting them to death." He stood and hesitated. "Forgive me a moment." He clapped twice and an older woman came in, augmented and hunched over like a birdlike figure. "Please get one of the digitized copies of the Lex Imperialis, the Spheres of Longing by Gideon Ravenor and the Xenographica Universalis by Cynus Wolfenbüttel."

"May I ask?" Amidala said.

"They are several significant texts to the Imperium of Mankind, far from complete of course. Across ten thousand years of history there is far too much to include. Oh, Dahrine, a digitized copy of my Warrant as well." The woman, who had headed for a door, bobbed her head twice. "You will not believe everything you read, and you may discard many parts of the Spheres of Longing or Xenographica as propaganda. But maybe you will understand us a bit more."

"Not the Lex Imperialis? That won't be unbelievable or propaganda?"

"No, that is the Federal Legal Code of the Imperium. Individual worlds may have others, but that is the legal code all citizens of the Imperium are bound by with very few exceptions, the Mechanicus, Inquisition and Rogue Traders chief among said exceptions." Arthurius smiled.

"So if I find something in it prohibiting the Genocide you partook in I could revisit this conversation." Amidala relished the chance of finding such.

"Dear Senator, I welcome you to try." He smiled and she had a very dark feeling.

 

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 22;
Talks in Technology

Kuat of Kuat, the current bearer of that title, sat down in the forum as he studied the files in front of him. The performance of ceramite exceeded that of durasteel, it was more effective against energy and thermal weapons. But heavier, and more expensive. "According to this data, which I am told a demonstration later will support, your Ceramite appears to have better properties defensively than durasteel, but I am concerned about the weight and cost involved."

Arthurius did not even glance at his documents to see to what Kuat referred. "That is true noble Kuat, however Ceramite is surprisingly malleable and effective at being alloyed with existing materials. If you were to purchase ceramite plating whole in the quantities you might need to say, armour a Venator class vessel, the cost and mass debt would be significant. More efficient would be to arrange for contracts to produce alloyed durasteel/ceramite. Our initial testing suggest that it would reduce the weight while actually improving protective qualities."

Kuat blinked. "You can alloy ceramics and metals?" The surprise was evident.

"Ceramite is often alloyed with other materials for all manner of purposes, the thermal resistance properties of ceramite that make it so effective against energy weapons also serve all manner of civil properties, such as superconductor manufacture, internal cladding to help starships protect their own drives against their own exhausts. Or combined with our own plasteel for high grade powered armour. Though for all our capacity, we do not have the volumes necessary for production on a scale that could replace those materials in the Grand Army itself." There was a hesitation, a consideration as Kuat considered the wording.

"What would be required to develop that scale of manufacture, for replacement armour panelling for our capital ships for example?" Kuat asked.

"A new forgeworld." This answer came from Margaretta who was running the numbers, "Sourcing some new mining deposits, a seed population of one to two billion. Of course, co-operation by the Mechanicus in such an endeavour."

Kuat frowned, "I understand, a difficu.."

Arthurius intervened. "Margaretta, I want the Free Trade Gambit to begin survey works with the Cheap Trick and Discounted in escort, identify a viable local system to our own with the appropriate resources we need. Bombastus Primus and Tanakred can provide the seed populations. The Long Haul and Evergreen's Folly can be turned to colonisation duties. I will assign eight of the Carrack class transports to assist. How would that effect our timetable?"

Margaretta plugged in numbers, ran them through simulations. "With sufficient hyperdrives to remove warp travel risk, and full co-operation between all elements. Initial Hive and Forge stacks could be erected within three months of a suitable candidate being located, manufactoriums and refineries no more than another two months, twelve months for a full migration of the seed population."

"And defences?" Arthurius asked.

"Hive and Forge Stacks would include void shield generators and defence batteries as part of the three month calculation." Kuat was utterly floored. Kuat, including the Drive Yards, had a population of three point six billion.

"If I may... you speak of moving billions of people, in but a year... how many people does Bombastus Primus and Tanakred have to make that a reality?" Kuat asked.

"Between the two worlds, three hundred and sixteen billion at last census. Likely higher if you include the Underhive." Arthurius answered, not really showing any concern about the response. "Margaretta, see about a new founding of Guard for the planet too. I wouldn't want it left without security."

"Of course. I will also speak to the Fabricator General, we may want to lay the keels for an escort squadron as well." She answered. Kuat felt a small sense of awe.

"Of course, if we are going to go to the trouble of setting up a new colony for ceramite alloys production for Kuat Drive Yards, we are going to require a degree of investment." Arthurius said. "To arrange for this to happen as quickly as possible, I would need, according to our calculations, eight class one Hyperdrives for the Venator for the Long Haul and Evergreens Folly, another eight for the Carracks assigned to colonisation."

"Sixteen class one hyperdrives rated for a Venator class Star Destroyer..." Kuat examined his own data. "That is a not inconsiderable expense..." He turned to his aide. Leaning in, "Can we afford to juggle our production schedules to free up hyperdrive units and reactors for them?"

"Do they need the reactors?" That response from the aide brought up a very good question.

Kuat turned back to the table, "Would you be requiring the hypermatter reactors to power them?" He asked plainly. And Arthurius shook his head no.

"We do not, our own superluminal system requires temporarily stellar levels of output to operate normally, our calculations based on the units from the pirate Lucrehulk indicate that we have sufficient power to handle the Hyperdrives without noticeable impact on other systems." Came the answer and Kuat leaned in once more.

His aide was quick to speak. "If they don't require the reactor units, it becomes much more achievable, we would end up delaying a number of Republic projects as they would have to wait for new units to be produced, but if those delayed units are supplied with improved armour I think we can swing it past the Republic Senate without censure."

He agreed, turning back to Arthurius, "Very well, we are interested in the project, however that will delay several commitments we have to the Republic, to sway opinion against censure we would need to provide a justified reason why they were delayed, should we be able to secure enough alloy plating for the sixteen Venators that will be forced to wait for new drives, we might be able to make this happen."

"These systems are supposed to be an invesment in the provision of those armour plates," Arthurius frowned, "if you will need some of those plates to justify the investment, we are going to need payment for that plating separately. We are willing to do so, but if you can get your subsidiary company Kuat Systems Engineering to provide us with six hundred Firespray-31 Patrol Craft and perhaps, the technology for 20-T Railcrawlers which would allow us to set up better rail infrastructure for the new colony."

He ducked down to his Aide once more. She was running the numbers through her own datapad. "The CEO of KSE wouldn't be happy at having to produce so many patrol craft at short notice, but it won't provide any significant shift in our production schedules. What do they want them for? As for the rail, I don't see why not. It's just an armored train."

Kuat leaned up, "If I may, what do you want the Firespray's for?"

"Our own law enforcement divisions, they would make for a fast, effective and capable police dropship. And that number would allow us to assign patrols for anti-piracy against smaller pirate vessels than we are used to facing."

"Kuat Drive Yards, and Kuat Systems Engineering, would be happy to accept this agreement with rights to exclusive access to armour products produced by the new colony as soon as it is able to deliver on its promises."

"You will have exclusive access to negotiate 10% of its armour production capacity. You're only investing the hyperdrives, we are happy to provide larger volumes and access, but those will be on a contractual basis written only once they are up and running." Arthurius said plainly.

Some whispering and nodding with his aid and Kuat sat up. "Deal."

 

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 23;
The Dark Times

Mace sat in the room with Amidala and her entourage, as he helped her study the documents that had been provided, translated into basic for their own ease and comfort. And the picture those documents was providing was a frankly terrifying one, the Imperium that this man had been part of at its most basic level made the ancient Sith Empire look positiively friendly. It was less comforting when moments later Amidala echoed his own thoughts.

"I... I don't know what kind of power he served." Amidala stated before continuing, quoting directly now, "There is no end to the abomination of the alien. Do not allow any guise of sentience to stay your hand – there can be no hesitation when the survival of humanity as a species is at stake."

Mace nodded. "It is very clear Senator... the nation he served is violently xenophobic."

"Xenophobia is literally the law of their Imperium, and anyone who is too different is an enemy to be destroyed. How could such a power have survived for ten thousand years. Surely it should have been crushed by an allied effort?" She asked.

Mace scrolled further. "If this Xenographic is to be believed, because there is no unity in that galaxy." He could not believe what he was about to say. "I examined his 'warrant of trade' first... and his warrant specifically excludes him from the law most Imperial citizens live under... he was being serious when he implied his action on Zygerria was lenient."

He saw Amidala shudder. "... Master Windu, their legal systems calls for culling their underclasses." She sent him the pages of the Lex Imperialis.

"It does." The voice out of nowhere made Mace leap from his seat and search the chambers. And when he turned, he saw a droid in the shadows of the room. Studying him with glowing emerald orbs. When it moved, it was too natural for anything that Mace was comfortable observing. Mace leapt into action leading with a fist and a sound like a gong rang through reality and he found himself passing through a bubble of slowed time. He realised he hadn't even seen the stave it carried slam into the deck. "Please don't do that again. I am Apo'phis, a Chronomancer of the Necron peoples, of the G'wa'uld Dynasty." The bubble of slowed time disappeared, and momentum that should have had Mace break his leg against the bulkhead was arrested only with the applications of force.

"You are... Xenos. Why would you support such a regime?" Amidala asked.

The Cryptek cocked its head. "Because I do not. The Von Hydraxius dynasty is atypical. Due to the hardships of our region of space Arthurius has worked very hard to build alliances with the races typically condemned as Xenos, the same way he does not waste time on purging underhive populations when he could build opportunities for them to build new lives for themselves."

"Oh so he is one of the 'good ones'." Amidala said, stressing the last two words with a degree of sarcasm.

"In a word, yes. He encouraged freethinkers to come to his domain where he would shelter them from organisations that would normally execute them. Make no mistake, he is ruthless, but he has little interest in suffering for its own sake, or persecuting those who want to learn." The machine moved with unnatural grace.

"Then why did he burn Zygerria as he did." Amidala asked studying the machine.

The Cryptek shrugged. "You may as well as why he demonstrated as much lenience as he did. He is a good man for a human, but he is still human. Those xenos who held humans in bondage deserve to be purged, a lesson scorched into the soul of every Imperial, no matter how highborn."

"How does that justi..." The Cryptek put up a hand, halting Amidala mid sentence.

The machine turned to face them and an orb emerged from under its robes, floating towards the centre of the chamber. "You value lives Padme Amidala of Naboo. I know well that you cannot understand what he has experienced, the same way he cannot understand the concept of peace you champion. Despite his better ways, he is Imperial, the product of a system and galaxy that has held humanity in thrall to a war economy for ten thousand years. What you are about to see are glimpses."

Mace Windu watched as the world disappeared into a hologram so lifelike that he felt like he was falling. And then he was on a wall. The machine was with him, and so was Amidala, there was... curiously, no sound. "I have severed the audio." The Cryptek said, "I will be bringing it back shortly, it may sound muted as I will have to restrain the volume to preserve your hearing."

And then the sound came crashing back in like a tidal wave, not so loud as to damage their hearing, but chronically present. Mace looked out over the wall and his expression turned inwards. Remembering the assault on Geonosis. And how that conflict had paled before this. Tens of thousands of tanks manned a wall of earth, before which were lines of trenches stretching into the distance with hundreds of thousands of men. A wall of light crackled out into the distance as millions of creatures surged forwards.

"The Arch-Bomma of Orrokor attacked this world some seventy of your standard years ago, Arthurius was a young man then. But there he is." A golden nimbus highlighted a figure. A product of the hologram?

"How could they sustain a war like that." Padme asked.

"To you, this is a war unlike anything you've ever beheld. To them it is tueday." The image changed. Another world. Another war. Another shift. Another war. "The Imperium of Mankind was... no, will be, an Empire of a million worlds in a galaxy far far away, and in ten thousand years since its founding by the Emperor of Mankind, who exists in a chronostasis upon the Golden Throne the Imperium will never know a single year of peace. It's greatest export is soldiers and war material, and greatest import enemies without number."

"So why help him. You say he is different, but?" Amidala asked.

"Because he saved my Phaeron and our Tomb World from being destroyed by the ruinous powers as it slumbered. He did so by convincing an alliance of our own ancient enemy, the aeldari, the Votann and Kroot to act together in a war that ravaged the surface of my world while, against all prescriptions, their xenarites worked to wake us. They would have failed." The machines voice went flat. "We very nearly slaughtered them out of hand, but I observed what they were holding back, I heard the pleas of the Xenarite who tried to wake us."

"If aliens were so much his enemies. Why would he do that? I... I don't understand." The confusion was audible.

"Many reasons. He wanted a pocket of peace in the galaxy and was willing to disobey laws that could see him and his entire family executed for his crime. He wanted the power that an alliance with our races would bring him. He wanted to open trade networks that had never existed before." The machines eyes turned, transfixing Mace, and then Amidala in turn. "You ask how he can do this to Zygerria. Tell me honestly Senator Amidala, do you understand his motivations at all."

She considered the words given to her by the man himself, and now this strange alien droid. "I don't agree... but yes, I can see how he sees it as preventing the Zygerrians from being able to be a slave empire ever again... but..."

"No buts," the Cryptek said plainly, "You can, in some small way understand his reasoning. Now I will say the part that might shock you. Look at what I have shown you." She did, looking out over the holographic war being waged. "He doesn't understand your position at all. You chastise him for taking precious lives, for killing those who may be innocent. And he is pathologically incapable of understanding you. His culture, his people, are raised with the concept that innocent lives are either a fiction, that all are guilty of something, and that, innocent lives are an acceptable price to pay. He, like all Imperial Citizens don't see life as precious. They see lives as numbers on a balance sheet, people who belonged to an Empire so utterly vast that human lives were considered infinitely expendable, that more people are born each year than the enemies of mankind can kill so long as their armies hold firm." She paled under the concept.

Then she fell back in her chair and Mace went to move towards her before she waved him off, light headed as she was. "I thought it was arrogance. A rich mans power going to his head."

The Cryptek shook his head. "In truth, part of it is, but that is a cultural trait of the Imperium." Suddenly he held up a hand, and in it was one of the floating skulls. "You have seen these flying around the ship?" She nodded. "These are honoured citizens who died in service to the Imperium. Whose actions or method of death was held with enough respect that, even in death they can serve. Their skulls used to make these drones."

Mace felt a hint of anger and worked to suppress it, the preachy teacher tone was annoying him greatly. "Why would you tell us this?"

"Because Senator, Master Jedi, he is above all a Rogue Trader. Above all things his arena is commerce and trade, in building his merchantile empire above and beyond anything that has been before. There are no limits to his ambition in this arena, if you allow your prejudices to colour the trade and negotiations, then he will simply find another buyer. And in a civil war, there are only two sides." The holographic war fell away and darkness engulfed the machine, when the darkness passed, it was gone.

Mace felt a hitch in his own soul as he saw Padme. And saw the haunted expression in her own.

"We cannot let the CIS gain a monopoly on trade with them, if we can, we should ensure the CIS get none of their trade... when needs must, a deal with the devil will do." Amidala said.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Eleanora watched the banks of monitors as the darkness resolved into the necron cryptek. She sighed and took out a crystal tossing it to the Necron. "What did my father promise you for that story, I know how rarely you tell of our intervention." The words barely left her lips when she felt the blazing frown of the Necron.

"They needed to understand... and some territory on the nascent Forgeworld. There is some kind of barrier around this galaxy, so I have been unable to leave it to attempt travel to our own and verify the status of the tomb worlds. As such, I requested territory to attempt to rebuild." He sighed at last. "With some... technical... assistance of course, it wouldn't be right if agreements with him didn't include trying to pry some of our secrets from us."

Eleanora chuckled. "My father could pry blood from a stone if he turned his mind to it."

 

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 24;
Civil Markets

The three executives from Corellia representing CEC and its subsidiaries were in a large lounge area with the Rogue Trader and his seneschals, the drinks in their hands being quaffed sociably. "It's not Corellian Whiskey, but damned if it isn't close!" One of them said appreciably.

"Raenka, I'll see if I can spare a barrel for you when we are done here." Arthurius said with a smile turning to his wife. Gwendolyn came and planted herself on his lap and whispered something in his ear. None of the Exec's caught the momentary angry expression. He whispered something back, not in a language the elucidators could translate, which was fortunate as he wasn't as quiet as he thought. A deep kiss and Gwendolyn stood. "Apologies for the interruption. Sometimes I have to remind my husband what waits for him when the raenka is in use." She marched from the room.

The Execs did not miss the concerned expressions of the Seneschals before they were wiped. "Is there a problem?"

"There is, but nothing to do with our business." He grinned at them. "I am told you make the fastest modular light freighters in the galaxy, maybe not just the light freighters either. Well, I am planning on stepping up business with people, and not all of it needs to hang on military trade."

The woman leading the delegation smiled. "You heard right, no finer producers of civilian trade vessels in the galaxy, and our military equipment is nothing to complain about either. What sort of needs, or solutions, did you have in mind?"

"A few, C-ROC Gozanti Cruisers, VCX Light Frieghters... we also have a particular interest in fast FTL courier ships, I have heard the HWK-290 class might fit my interests in this regard?" A datapad was passed over and the woman's eyes went wide.

"That is a tall order, we might have to commission several yards to get the work done in the timeframe you want, in addition to securing all the already completed units awaiting their orders to be executed. With the scale of your own vessels, I had not imagined you would have an interest in our lighter craft?" The question was clearly an element of curiosity.

"Our standard transport ships are approximately two kilometres long, and transport considerable megatonnage, we also only have fifty two of them at this time, and while our universe class mass conveyors add considerable tonnage as well, that is a significantly limited field of operation, especially given the size of the galaxy. Of course if you're not interested."

"Oh we are definitely interested, but such a large order would not be cheap to afford, I would be most interested in hearing the proposed payment for that." She said drinking from the whiskey again.

"Three hundred and thirty point seven five billion." She choked on her whiskey, spluttering it. "That is our approximate population, a population that has never heard of the Corellian Engineering Corporation. That has never purchased a Corellian Engineering Corporation Product. A market untapped by any company in this galaxy except for my own." The idea of an entirely virgin market. Albeit, one that was, as yet, not connected to the galactic finance markets. "For now, we will offer enough raw material to purchase the requested material at cost, with exclusive market rights for CEC and their subsidiary corporations to have the first rights to establish markets on my worlds catering to my peoples, with a fifty-fifty share value exchange for local offices."

If it had been biologically possible for credit signs to appear in irises they might have, the three execs huddling close together and discussing matters before turning their attention back to the Rogue Trader. "You are asking us to absorb a degree of risk here, forsaking profits up front in exchange for the potential profits of opening branches in virgin markets, branches that you want a fifty percent stake in."

"Would you like me to tell you the odds of such an enterprise failing?" The Rogue Trader said plainly.

"I am Corellian, never tell me the odds." A flash of expression crossed Arthurius' face. "Very well, this batch will be provided as soon as possible, though we will require delivery of the materials within a week." She said, hoping to give him an unachievable deadline.

He nodded. "Samuel, I want one of our Carracks to begin loading the materials immediately. I want word that the cargo has been secured and dispatched by end of day."

"It may have to be tomorrow sir, it is seventeen hundred already, loading several megatonnes of raw material will take up to fourteen hours if we get the ship a priority berth on Bombastus Prime Orbital Elevator Three." the Seneschal Secundus answered.

"Very well, end of day tomorrow. Executive Whyren, do you have a destination where you intend to receive the material?" Arthurius asked forcing her to rush her deliberation.

"Ah, yes, how large is your Carrack class?" She knew of Damorian's manufacturing company who made one three hundred and fifty metres long, but the Rogue Trader was talking about megatonnes of cargo.

"Only two point one kilometres, If you have any receiving yards capable of receiving a Lucrehulk it should fit in those just fine. If not it has its own bulk landers that can move the cargo from the ship to dock." Arthurius looked down, "If we are agreed on the terms, I can have my seneschals write out the contracts in high gothic and galactic common for signing?"

There was a quiet conference. "We accept. Four hundred C-ROC Gozantis, Six hundred VCX Light Freighters. A thousand HWK-290. At cost. The developer of the HWK is going to be happy at least. In return, we receive a hundred and seventy million credits worth of raw materials. Here's a bill with the current values of materials."

The rogue trader blinked in surprise. "Samuel, cancel the Carrack."

The exec grew horrified. Imagining the deal of a lifetime slipping away. "I am sure we can negotiate."

"Have no worries madam, Samuel, I want one of the Seekers of Purity to pick up the cargo. It's overkill, but until we start receiving the vessels it's the smallest tool we have for the job..." Arthurius said plainly. "We'll pay with eleven point three three tons of gold."

They ran the numbers and nodded. "That's agreeable."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Arthurius frowned as he moved into the quarters he had sequestered for his duration on board. "This is... bizarre." He said and Gwendolyn lifted her head.

"What is?" She asked putting down her datapad.

"We are purchasing two thousand ships, sure they are barely worthy of being called dropships at their scale, but they are faster than light capable. Come with a degree of armament and... it is costing us under twelve tons of gold. Gold is not that uncommon. When I first began trading with these powers I felt that there was something wrong, and the more we get a hold of material values, the less it makes sense to me. How is gold rare enough that under twelve tons can buy two thousand ships? Back home if I wanted to by two thousand Marauder Bombers to trade elsewhere I'd have had to put up thousands of tons of gold." Arthurius crashed into the couch next to his wife. They both adjusted position so they sat back to back, holding each other up and sharing the warmth of each others company.

"Is gold that rare? Or are ships simply that common? I have been studying our intelligence data love, and the Venator that the Republic has put so much stock in to defend itself? By its design specifications, it holds somewhere between two hundred and fifty to five hundred starfighters, including FTL rings." She shrugged, letting him feel the motion. "They're so common that civilians frequently are private owners of faster than light capable ships. Is gold rare? Or are ships just that common?"

The question struck him like a bell. If that were the case, then they would have to consider the situation from other angles. He reached out his right hand and took her left, squeezing it. "In short love, ships aren't money." He chuckled.

"Not for our time. It would cost us more in plasma to send a ship with their twelve tonnes than to simply load one of the vessels we have bought from the CIS and deliver it that way." She said.

"Perhaps, but we do need to make a statement. First impressions are forever." Gwendolyn let go and returned to her files. "As for the other issue..." He said "Tell me more."

"Eleanora has been working very hard on her work. Her little circles have become more developed than ever, the death cultists that were given to Jabba have been minimised in their proximity to the real decisions of course, but they are competent men and women." The datapad she had been studying was pssed over. "The vox-thieves and pict-thieves have been installed steadily over the time they have been there." The footage and transcript showed a holographic meeting between Jabba and other Hutts. They were reacting poorly to the events on Zygerria.

Arthurius stood and moved towards the table. Stabbing the vox. "Celdona, Basilicus please report to the den." It took fifteen minutes before the Explorator Magos joined them, Celdona had been present in the room for three. They looked at each other cautiously, with a slight degree of contempt.

The look on Arthurius' face stalled their friendly animosity. He simply played the intelligence footage. "That is... informative Lord Hydraxius, if I may I don't understand why you've asked for me?" Celdona said.

"We have you a hyperdrive as soon as one was available, it has been fitted to the Aethyrium yes?" The words did not leave much for interpretation and Celdona simply nodded. "Thank you. Magos, I want you to prepare an assault force."

"I am no general Lord Hydraxius, perhaps your guard forces have...." A sharp hand gesture silenced the Magos.

"I want you to prepare a unit of Sicarian Infiltrators, two of Ruststalkers and one each of Skystalkers and Sterylizors. Take a pair of the C-9979 Landing Craft. Send a Marshal and unit of Vanguard as well as backup." The Explorator's one good eye blinked. "Celdona, I want you to take the two transport ships and the Skitarii contingent to Nal Hutta, maintain stealth as long as you can, I want the strike team to hit the compound of this Hutt, Marlo. Rescue slaves, but the priority is to kill everything in there that belongs to Marlo the Hutt. Make an example... but don't leave any evidence except security footage of the landing ships landing, make it look like poorly scrubbed data."

Gwendolyn cocked her head. "Why that last order dear?"

"The only thing better for money than running arms to two sides during a war, is running arms to three."

 

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 25;
Training Session

Aayla Secura found herself in a large training bay. She had felt the need to head there an hour ago, and the time it took to find it had been almost troubling. Several hundred men and women were practicing fire drills on a range while on other mats people fought with blades. And most incongruously of all,... an orange furred alien sat there with her lightsaber. Around it was an array of tools it had pulled from pouches on the overalls it wore, a cybernetic eye zoomed in and hour as it studied her weapons. A tutting sound was uttered as it pulled something from her blade and tossed it over its shoulder. "Be careful with that." She said, moving up to it. "How did you even get that?" It didn't answer. Or even look at her. Continuing to study and tinker with her weapon. "Excuse me?" She said moving closer to the alien. "Do you understand me?" It continued to ignore her as it tinkered with the weapon.

Her presence seemed to attact some attention. She knew she was attractive for her kind and the attention of men and women so inclined was not something she found unusual or taxing.

But most of those beholding her seemed to radiate a feeling of revulsion, and that sensation was utterly alien to her. A tremendously short man in an extremely fine cut of clothing... and hollow dark empty eye sockets... was approaching her. "Master Secura, it is quite pointless."

She felt a wrongness about the man, it was nothing so crude as the dark side. The sensation of a dark side user was spectacularly clear next to whatever radiated from this man. She felt like her hands were soiled just beholding him. "Master..."

"Astropath Transcendent Edwin Livingstone, and it is quite pointless tryign to commune with Tinkertek." He indicated the alien, "The Jokaero are enigmatic even to us, there is significant debate onto whether they are even sapient."

Aayla frowned, she knew of the Imperium's somewhat dehumanising attitude for others, Master Windu had been very astute on the pace in which whe informed them of his findings. And yet, there was no scorn or hatred in the Astropaths eyes. "It is working on my lightsaber, yet you question his sapience?"

"In ten thousand years, and longer if the Aeldari are to be believed, nobody has ever managed to open communication with one in a traditional sense, though Tinkertek can do rudimentary commentary using a cogitator, it is difficult to parse the data, and beyond me thanks to my visual impediments." The Astropath said, Tinkertek turned to look at the Astropath, and Aayla spotted a marginally disdainful feeling or expression.

"Tinkertek.. what are you doing?" Seeing that the conversation had attracted the aliens attention Aayla tried again.

It waved her lightsaber for a moment. Then resumed tinkering with it. "Tinkertek is Jokaero, they have a supernatural skill with technology. It is trying to improve your weapon."

"I would prefer it did not mess with that which it doesn't..." It snapped closed her lightsaber, having replaced most of the casing. It cast the device across towards her and she plucked it from the air with the force. It looked nothing like the saber with which she was used to, and yet it fit into her hand as if it had grown there every measurement perfect for her grip. Thumbing the activator sent out a blue so bright it was nearly white, and it crackled with apparent lightning discharge up and down the length. It was the exact same length as her old blade and... she nearly dropped it when she thought about the size and the length changed with her thought. And despite the magnetic field, she could feel heat radiating from the weapon. Not enough to be dangerous, but enough to indicate that it was hotter than lightsabers were designed to be.

She couldn't speak. "Did you come here to train?" Edwin asked plainly.

"I felt a call... my blade." She turned to see that others had heard the remark about training. "But it would be good to practice."

"Very good." Edwin said. "I have heard tales of the Jedi, and I wish to measure my own power with your own."

Aayla felt uncomfortable at the idea, the small man was thin and looked almost malnourished. And then, with one hand held out she watched a weapon hurtle across the chamber into the mans hand. She felt nothing at the action except a sense of wrongness. And the empty sockets were now glowing a cool blue. He moved for one of the mats and lifted one hand, raising pillars that began to crackle with power. She followed him, uncertain. The heat from her saber vanished and it cooled to an almost dark blue that she knew was a training setting, her unwillingness to harm him detected by her weapon and.. acted on. The temperature fell as she joined the Astropath and the crackling towers were linked by walls of force.

"This is a shield cage. So that we do not endanger anyone else." He said, and she held her weapon in a ready stance.

And then she was moving sideways, instinct and force causing her to hurtle across sideways as a blast of lightning cracked from somewhere beyond reality carrying more power than anything she had expected from the small man. And she moved to close the distance as he brought up his sword and... she felt reality twisting around him as she brought her saber to bear and he began to move in response to moves she hadn't made yet, even as she was starting to make them.

He had used his own power to sense something of the future and was reacting to her own future moves as she was using her own connection to the force to warn her of his own. But it was not perfectly reliable. The nature of his own power had nothing to do with the force and she could not predict his actions with the reliability she might expect for another duellist. He did not move as quickly as she did.

Could not. She saw even as she battled him that his own body was unfit and unready for sustained combat, and he was using whatever powers he called his own to supplement and manage the differences between them. He smiled, never quite looking at her with empty eyes. "Come now, I was told you are telekines." And she frowned, moving her blade in the quick arcs that kept his blade from reaching her.

It was challenging in its own way. But she moved quickly and moved to push him off balance. Trying not to hurt him and... backflip. Blades of telekinetic force fanned out from the tip of his sword at her and only that movement had prevented them striking. It was then that she decided to stop treating it as a normal practice bout and take it for what it was, someone trying to get a measure of her.

And she returned the measure. "So where exactly does your power come from I wonder. You do not use the force." She said as she moved in blade flashing, being met by the also prescient movements of the astropath who was proving to be a surprisingly capable combatant.

"And your power is not sourced from the warp." He said as she saw her opportunity. And launched herself through his defences bringing her saber up to his throat when there was a sound. S̵͈̲̍t̸̲͐͜ó̸̬͜p̶̧͍͑̈́ Her mind felt a crushing weight slam against it like an irresistable force. She called on the full strength of her will to try and resist, but the compulsion was an order of magnitude stronger than any mind trick she had ever experienced.

And her eyes widened in horror as she realised she had no control over her body. The crashing spear of mental force was far more complex than that. He moved a hand and hers moved her saber moving against her will. She crashed agains the wall in her own mind and he smiled.

And stepped back. The domination released wholly, she collapsed to her knees. "You're as skilled as we have been lead to believe." He said taking a seat on nothing but his own telekinetic will as another waved hand dropped the shield walls that was isolating them. She felt real fear at this man before suppressing it and taking a step back.

"You are dangerous..." She said plainly and he nodded.

He adjusted his robes and took out a small box and snuffed at its contents. "Psykers are all dangerous by definition, to themselves or others is really the question. I am more powerful than most other psykers, but as an Astropath, my true strengths are in telepathic communion, whether over a short range, or across lightyears."

She shook her head, a hint of anger reaching through her Jedi stoicism. "Why... what... did you do to me?"

"We call the power 'dominate'. I thought you Jedi had something akin to it?" He said, "Apologies if I have upset you."

"You must have heard of a power we call mind trick. It doesn't work against the truly strong willed, and it is little more than an unusually potent hypnotic suggestion." She said honestly. "This is... unsettling to say the least. Why would they trust a man who can do such a thing?"

"Because it makes me more useful. Many underestimate an Astropath, taking us for mere charlatans whose only real talent is to gibber messages through the warp to receiving souls." He sighed and leaned back, again on nothing, "Look around you Master Secura, these men and woman look at you with contempt because you xenos. I am among the most powerful of Arthurius' staff, and they look on me with hatred and terror in equal measure. They don't even care about you anymore. I am a witch to these people. Without the protection of Arthurius every single man in this hall would be willing to burn me alive for the crime of being a psyker."

That melted the ice his power had instilled in her marginally. "Why?"

"Because where I come from, if a psyker loses control of them for even a second entire worlds can die because of what comes through." He looked haunted. "Daemons."

 

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 26;
The Hidden Hand

The Nal Hutta system was the beating heart of Hutt Space, and yet for all the business of traffic within its confines none saw the ship emerge from hyperspace. None of them saw it arrow in system on an oblique course that kept as much sunlight as possible on the sails of the four kilometre long corsair vessel. And if any had looked its way and managed a glimpse beneath the effect hiding it they wouldn't have known what it was. Many knew a little around the silhouettes of the massive vessels of the strangers, and this was definitely not one of them. They didn't see it as it shot in system and used the star to hurtle in a curve around with their drives quiet.

What they did notice was a pair of CIS landing craft in low orbit, almost appearing out of nowhere, and even that drew little interest from them. And the two HH-87 Starhoppers that had been launched to investigate the irregularity disappeared over one of Nal Hutta's many swamps, the two Nightshade Interceptors launched by the aeldari craft eliminating the two curious craft without even being detected as bright lances speared through their cockpits.

When the two craft appeared on Marlo's compount there was a general hubbub. And communications channels were opened. "You have entered the sovreign territory of Marlo the Hutt. Identify yourselves."

The transmission came back a few moments later. "I represent a businessman that had been in concord with the Zygerrian Empire, I arrived too late to be caught in the affairs on the planet, but I have a ... cargo.. that I would appreciate offloading before they decide to search out those who engaged in a little entrepreneurial activity during our army's actions on Christophsis."

There was no response for some time, clearly awaiting a response from their boss, which would take time to bump up the chain as each minion in turn decided that this problem was above their pay grade. "Which businessman?" Came back the query.

The voice came back on the line, angry. "Listen here you cloaca-licking low grade hench, I watched the fires of Zygerria burning. My master doesn't want his name on anybody's lips, and I don't want my name on anyones lips. I know that honourable Marlo the Hutt was doing business with Zygerria, and I have a cargo to offload for a fair discount. And I would appreciate if this could be done as anonymously as possible? Is that clear enough for you?" That message was most definitely bumped up the chain, there was no chance whoever the voice was over the comms was going to make that call. And no chance his boss was going to either. This one definitely went either to Marlo's Majordomo, or Marlo himself. And the commander of those landing craft would have wagered a thousand thrones that it went to the boss himself.

"You're cleared to land."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lunge stood tall his vibroaxe held in hand as he flanked his boss. The two ships were coming in and he would do his very best, he always did his best, it meant he got the best food. They were big ships. Could carry many droids and tanks. He felt proud he knew that. He was smart Gammorean!

The ships were landing and Lunge reminded himself to stand tall. Be scary. That was bosses words. Be scary. He would be scary. But he wondered if one day it might be nice if people not think he was scary. He saw how some people touched each other. Not scared. He might like that he tho... he shook his head to shake the distracting thought. He was busy. He was good Gammorean. His nose was runny. It was always runny. But more runny now. He reached up with one hand and dabbed at his snout. Then his eyes went funny. Fuzzy. He couldn't see properly. That was not right. He looked for his boss.. his hearing was funny too, ringing, hurting. The ships doors were opening and the thought that was not right.

He stepped forwards, brandishing his axe. Something scary stepped out and he stepped back. His eyes were not working properly. But the metal thing moved on hooves and had a limb crackling with lightning. The other was pointed at him and he felt pricking on his forehead. And then pain. Oh so much pain as hundreds of guided darts followed the first burst in though his forehead, burrowing through the meat, muscle, bone, and then the limited space within where they bounced around the thick inner surface and turned its contents into a thick liquid that dribbled out of the entry hole as Lunge fell on his face.

+++

Oolette could not concentrated as the attack happened. There was something wrong with her brain, with her mind. The first monsters to step from the ship surged ahead of her, ignoring her entirely, her guards had been killed and ten more creatures emerged before shooting into the sky on strangely skeletal wings and the scream of thrusters. Black and red skeletal bodies surged out and towards her, she almost fell backwards before the first reached her, but reach her it did, the being was clad in robes and it placed something over her ears and the pain and distorted vision disappeared. The terrible sound tearing at her gone.

But the horrifying creature in front of her was not gone. She could hear the hum like high powered vibroblades. "Tell me child, and tell me true. Are you a slave?" Oolette could only not, she had never known another life. "What of that one?" The creature pointed a third arm that had a wicked claw on it at the Majordomo Brax. An overweight male of her kind. She shook her head. One of the things moved up and ... blurred. Before surging ahead after the ones with the domed heads. Brax turned to look at her before falling to pieces, the plunging of the transonic blades into his flesh happening so quickly he hadn't even realised he was dead yet. A gentle, bladed, hand turned her from it. "Don't watch child, board the transport and we will take you from this place." She nodded, not looking at Brax and headed onto the CIS landing ship.

+++

Lukas was drinking in Marlo's den when there was some commotion from the security office, forcing him out of his seat to head for said office and turn his own attention. "What's the problem, has Brax fallen and his Gammoreans can't get him up again?" The answer was far less comforting.

"Uhm. I don't know boss?" The answer came from a rodian weasel of a man. He'd sell his sister for a deathstick.

"What in the hells do you mean you don't know? I know you're an idiot but..." The rodian pointed.

"Somethin is going on boss. Security cams keep going haywire." That brought him up short.

"Ok. Pass the word, I want a few men on the ready. Tell that bounty hunter, Jakoli to grab a couple boys and head towards the main throughfare." He ordered and the Rodian was gone. The security offices door had been sealed and there was something else in there with him. He didn't know how it had gotten in, it was certainly far too large on account of its wi...

He noticed the idiot Rodian now, face down, head crushed by the claws of cybernetic talons. Lukas wondered if he could reach his blaster pistol in time. But the weapon pointed at his midriff was...

He saw the intense blue pilot light. The creature shook its head. He looked up and saw that there was some sort of hole in the ceiling. "So.. how did you get in."

It cocked its head like he spoke a tongue it didn't know. And then it twisted its wrist and fire bathed the security office as it's jets hurtled it out through the hole it had created with a phase field generator. Picking up the precious device on his way out.

+++

Jakoli stood, his hand grasping his blaster pistol. The sound of a flamethrower was something not everyone knew, and it was hard to miss when you knew what it was. Which was why he was now on alert. He turned to see Marlo studying the security office door which was now a light cherry red. There was something very wrong going on here. "You three, pick up those blasters of yours..." He kicked one as he moved towards the main entrance. They picked up their weapons and... Jakoli reached a hand up to his nose... it was bleeding. That was not right. He turned and had trouble focussing, had trouble seeing. Had trouble hearing. His senses were betraying him. He turned back to the door suddenly as twin obects surged in and twisted through a hundred and eighty degrees each, cutting through the door in moments, the transonic weapons not respecting properties such as blast proofing.

And when the pieces fell in, Jakoli fired, followed by the goons he'd rapidly deputised. His shots were always precise, effective, and good. But he missed.... because nothing was standing there, and only when he heard the klink klink klink through the piercing tinnitus effecting him did he realise why.

Their attackers weren't idiots.

Two of them detonated with impossibly bright flashes and bangs of sound that confounded the senses. The third... and fourth... created fields of localised gravity, crushing everyone unprepared to the floor, which unfortunately as it turns out was everyone in range. Jakoli had however leapt away from the telltale klinking of grenades on the floor and hurled himself across the room behind a lounge, evading the grenades blast radius. He was not free of the effect clouding his brain in disruptive electronic noise however the effect was lessened and he came up, aimed and fired in one swift movement catching the first creature through in the head, it... did not collapse until his second shot caught it under the chin, its blades carving their own niches int he floor before the transonic field stopped. And then his death stepped into the room.

The domed head of his killer did not turn, did not move to face anyone, it could see in every direction and had no need for the conceit. But the weapon in its hand did turn, did point at him. And he saw the flashing from its barrel, almost complete silence except for hissing. The projectile struck him in the throat. And a hundred more slivered followed it in homing on the signal from the first. He collapsed, his head sticking out from the couch, in the minute and a half it took for him to die he watched the strange attackers surge into the chamber and slaughter everyone armed before leading the slaves from the chamber and killing the rest in an almost orgiastic symphony of bloodletting. The transonic blades ignoring cloth, flesh, armour and bone even as one with three arms, and no domed head, simply walked up and beheaded the Hutt in a single stroke. Then the red fell in and he saw no more.

+++

Mond felt happy. He had hidden in a small alcove and pretended to be dead during the attack, he thought he was dead for a while. But the strange creatures left. He smiled. And climbed from his hiding place to look around. Then he was less happy. The other Hutts weren't gonna like this. Maybe make Mond clean it up. Lots of blood. Not all the same colour either.

He smelt something. And heard something. He moved to one of the balconies that looked outside and felt his blood go cold. It was hunched there, clutching onto the balcony wall with talons like a bird of prey. He saw other things with wings opening fire on people running from the palace. But the reason why they were running was unfortunately very clear to Mond. It held the weapon in its fist, head cocked like a bird of prey as it studied him. And then a device on its chest barked. "I am feeling merciful little Xenos. You may have a choice. Burn. Or Jump. It's only eight stories. You might survive." Mond was wide eyed and noticed the weapon in its hands tracking him. "Will you be my little birdy. Or my bird-b-que?"

The sound that came next was a horrifying sound that would haunt his dreams if he lived long enough to have them. To risk falling on the off chance of his survival. Or burn to death.... Mord ran for the railing and leapt.

It was of great comfort to him in his very last moment that he would not live long enough for the horrifying sound of the Sterylizor's laughter to haunt his dreams.

+++

Wrath-032-X watched as the Sterylizors turned the place into a towering inferno, applying an almost barbaric joy for the act of incineration that was troubling even to his augmented sensibilities. One by one the slaves had been removed and escorted onto the transports, and they were packed thickly, they would have to be carefuly on re-boarding to avoid traumatising them with the idea they were simply being moved to another master. But he was a Skitarii Marshal, and would do what he must.

He canted instructions and sent them to the Pteraxii, they would remain at the doors of the transports, and be under silence directives. He made sure that there was no evidence of their presence except for the fires consuming the structure. They would burn hot enough to melt the flechettes fired by the Sicarians. But the security room was, though burned, left carefully with its data storage showing the descent of the landing craft intact, though all the data of them actually opening had been purged. He wondered if he needed to have. His people were enough like Droids that they would have suspected nothing. But orders were orders.

One by one they filed back onto the two landing craft and he gave the final orders to the pilots. For sixty seconds the laser cannons of both craft ravaged the palace. And then, they climbed up from the atmosphere, moving along a specific trajector and pace. Fourteen minutes later each craft was swallowed by the aeldari light cruiser as with a single burst of power, activated its Hyperdrive and fled the system.

It was another hour before the smoke from the burning palace drew curious eyes.

 

[Kadaeux]

Chapter 27;
The Shape of Things

The Jedi Council chamber was sombre, more sombre than it had been with the very announcement of the clone wars. With Masters Plo Koon, Aayla Secura and Mace Windu had presented the data from their mission into the lair of the beast. And the conclusions being drawn were troubling at best. Yoda stared at the floor deep in thought. Ki Adi Mundi was deep in thought when he spoke up. "As I see it we have a conundrum, we have a shard of a polity that has effectively been at sustained war for so long that if we had been at war for so long that war would have begun in the Ductavis era." He said and got appreciative nods from around the chamber. "Master Windu is correct in that we have to be prepared, but yet, everything we have learned so far suggest that this individual, given extraordinary rights above the normal citizenry, attempted to cultivate a peaceful existence in a galaxy not receptive towards it."

"Troubling, it is." Yoda said plainly.

Shaak Ti spoke next. "What I find most concerning is that, for all we have been lead to believe that he is more peaceably inclined than his culture, he appears to have almost immediately embraced the Clone Wars as a vehicle for mercantile opportunity."

Yoda shook his head. "To believe, difficult this is not. Powerful he is, but Rogue Trader his title is."

Aayla Secura nodded. "Everything I saw and heard lead me to believe that above all things the acquisition of wealth and property was the most important thing to this Dynasty." She held up one of the datapads, "Some of the acquisiitons they made were sensible, faster smaller ships, improved infrastructure equipment, but all of it masked other smaller deals. Territorial and mining rights, not leveraging what he already has without trading for the means to replace it. What concerns me most though is not this."

"The Psyker question." Mace Windu stated.

"Quite right Master Window," Aayla Secura said. "I spent some time conversing with the man they called an Astropath. By our current figures, roughly one in every ten trillion people has sufficient sensitivity with the force to train to become a Jedi, that number could probably go up two, three, times if we began accepting less balanced individuals, or those of lesser talent." The Council Members, whether holograpic or not looked at one another then back at Aayla. "Their 'psykers' are one in a million. Which if the population estimates I've heard are accurate means that they have over three hundred thousand psykers of varying potency."

"You said he was able to simply take control of your body." Kit Fisto asked.

Aayla nodded. "It was terrifying. He commanded me to stop and I did. He moved an arm and my arm answered his commands. There was a definite battle of wills involved. But..." She shook her head. "His willpower was formidable. As was every citizen of the Imperium we met."

Master Plo Koon spoke next. "They are an ambitious people, all bound to the will of the ruling Dynasty, and they do appear to have a singular will. I think the bigger issue is going to be cultural at this stage, for all their masters willingness to treat with aliens, there is a xenophobia deeply ingrained in their people. I would recommend, for now, that the best thing we can do is treat with them fairly, but where possible to keep interactions fronted by humans."

"Bigotry is not something we should be forced to accept." Kit Fisto said disapprovingly.

But Mace shook his head. "I was there when an ally of his, a Cryptek from something called the Necrontyr showed Amidala and I events from their home galaxy. They are not paranoid and xenophobic for no reason. We are dealing with ten thousand years of cultural inertia more inexorable than anything the Sith ever achieved." He leaned back in his chair, "But that doesn't mean we should abandon caution. They are universally ambitious, and I suspect greed and power motivates them more than any Trade Federation Viceroy. Which is why the Republic needs to keep doing business with them."

The latter made everyone except Yoda blink... Yoda spoke plainly. "Dooku will, if we do not."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Greetings Viewers. I am Shoop De Woop, your preferred newscaster with Uncivil War News, based on Nar Shadaa." The Nautolan newscaster stared into the holocameras. "If it wasn't enough that the Republic and CIS have decided to kick the shit out of all of us under the guise of being right or wrong, the CIS made a mistake and have provoked the Hutts with an attack on Nal Hutta's soil, killing Hutt Council Member Marlo the Hutt in a violent assault on his compound, apparently leaving nobody alive. Is this latest move a mistake, or a coldly calculated action to express displeasure at the Hutts opening up their hyperspace lanes to Republic traffic?" The screen changed and her head spun dramatically to face the camera again.

"Meanwhile, some people are asking the real questions, are these new strangers the real maestros responsible for organising the conduct of this war? Is there a secret Cabal of slavers in the Senate trying to normalise slavery though hiring the largest army of slaves in the galaxy? Do Frogdogs make people gay? We will seek the answers to these questions here on the Uncivil War News, and until next time, I'm Shoop De Woop, and i'll be Firin Mah Lazor!" The camera panned to see her turn and take up the controls for a laser cannon which she began firing into the buildings below. "Night Y'all!"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In a move that was less unusual than he would of liked, Count Dooku found himself confused as reports came in wondering why, of all things, he had managed to sneak two landing craft onto Nal Hutta, where he had apparently ordered the murder of Marlo the Hutt, and even now his head graced the tip of a Vibro-pike outside of his burned out palace. Which was definitely news to him.

He hadn't made and such order. And it wasn't the only oddity. A C-9979 did not have a Hyperdrive. And reportedly there was no evidence of destroyed droids at the palace. "I wonder if this is a false flag operation aimed at us..." The words had barely come out of his lips when he saw Ventress cock her head as if wondering the same thing. "You disagree my apprentice?" He challenged, testing her.

"No Master. We have footage of our landing craft, craft without hyperdrives, landing at Marlo's palace, we have a transmission from someone claiming to represent a group in the CIS that was taking slaves from Christophisis to a potential buyer after things went wrong there. The evidence available is... sparse." She answered drinking from a glass.

"Sparse would be overselling it." He scoffed, but she was right. "But motive..." He said thoughtfully. "That is what makes no sense to me. Setting up a struggle between us and the Hutts would stress our resources further it is true, but this is not like the Republic." He saw the expression on Ventress' face. "You had a thought."

"The palace was incinerated with an unusual thoroughness master. But spies say that the number of corpses in the palace seemed unusually light. Maybe it isn't something against us." It took him only a moment.

"You are suggesting that they attacked Marlo the Hutt to rescue his slaves, and punish a member of the Hutt Council outspoken against their anti-slavery stance?" He said leaning back with a smile, his apprentice wasn't always an idiot even if she seemed to work hard at failure whenever Kenobi or Skywalker were on the board.

"We traded them the very ships used in the attack." She shrugged, "And we know they have ships with cloaking technology."

"I think it is time I personally made an effort to meet this foreign leader." Dooku said directly.