Chapter 7: Galactic Chess
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11 Elona, 25 ABY - New Republic City, Coruscant
A female Twi'lek sat at the HoloNet News desk with the skyline of New Republic City after sunset in the background. The aurabesh headline below the desk read, "The End of the Empire?"
"We bring you breaking news on the situation within the Imperial Remnant. It has been 6 days since the NRS Amity terrorist attack disrupted negotiations between the New Republic and Imperial Remnant. There has been no word of the whereabouts of Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon or his negotiation party. Since that time, the Remnant government has been seclusive. All media outlets have been shut out of government affairs. Though there has been no break in the silence, several independently confirmed sources are reporting that the Imperial Remnant has withdrawn much of its military from all major planets it controls. This includes, Navy, Army, and government and administrative personnel. Full scale withdrawal has been reported in Yaga Minor, Muunilist, Borosk, and Bastion."
The screen cut to images of the streets on Yaga Minor, where the insectoid-looking Yagai species were protesting the move. The protests looked peaceful, though it was clear the tension was high. "Local governments are struggling to control the situation and demanding answers from the Remnant regarding this abrupt decision. It is widely speculated that this will have devastating effects on the local economies. The Imperial Credit, which was already heavily devalued after the signing of the Bastion Accords, could become completely worthless if the Imperial Remnant has truly abandoned these planets."
Kirkland 22:37, 13 May 2010 (EDT)
President Galnor Wynova sat behind his desk in his lavish office having just been briefed on the Imperial Remnant's apparent pullout from its major worlds in the outer rim. The Supreme Commander of the New Republic military, the Ortolan Micks Motobo, sat in one of the guest chairs across the desk, looking toward the president and the skyline of New Republic City behind him. He waited a few moments after Whisper left the office before asking the Commander, "Brandy?"
"Of course," Micks replied. Wynova reached under his desk for a bottle of one of Chandrila's finest brandies. It was the most expensive imported brandy on Ralltiir, and very popular among the upper-class in the Ringali Shell.
"This is a bizarre situation, Commander," the President said, pouring two glasses. He handed one to Micks. "Their leader goes missing and they just fall apart and give up? We're not even at war with them," he paused, wanting to add the word yet to the end of his sentence but he refrained. "Something doesn't add up."
"I agree," Micks responded, taking a sip, "Until we have more information we should not make any sudden moves. We already have nearly half of the entire Starfighter Corps fanning out across the Unknown Regions right now, using the map data provided by the Skywalkers to search for clues. If they find any Remnant military, or any Amity terrorist connections, it will greatly aid our understanding of this situation."
The President continued that line of thinking, "The diplomats are already in motion at the Remnant worlds, but no military or economic support will be granted until we have more answers."
"I think that's wise," Micks replied, "I may not have the refined premonition of my predecessor, but even I sense a trap."
Kirkland 22:37, 20 May 2010 (EDT)
8 Elona, 25 ABY - New Republic Starfighter Corps Headquarters, Roche Asteroid Field, Mid-Rim
Greer Lachlan and Brance Maddox sat among thousands of starfighter pilots in a crowded, windowless auditorium. They both stared at the large projection in front of them; it was the map of the Unknown Regions that Luke and Mara supplied the New Republic. They were both looking at it with a subtle difference in their facial expressions: Brance was studying the new starcharts intently while Greer was completely zoned out. Brance was amazed to see such detailed charts of a region that has been left unexplored for millennia. "That's uncharted territory," Brance whispered to his master as the briefing continued.
"No it's not," Greer quipped. Brance continued to listen to the briefing being delivered by General Kirkland, the NRSFC's commanding officer. ((Yes, my favorite character gets a cameo appearance!)) The 35-year veteran was explaining how the massive reconnaissance effort was going to be conducted. His hair was graying and his flying days were long over, but he was just as passionate about the Starfighter Corps as the day he enlisted. The project was thrilling to him, and he referred to the operation as the "greatest exploratory effort in thousands of years."
Difficulties in hyperspace travel within the Unknown Regions left the area largely unexplored. Both the Chiss and the Ssi-ruuk were known to exist in this area, but contact was limited and trade was rare. Scientists are divided on the reasons for the gravitational anomalies that prevent hyperspace travel. The hope was that the star charts provided by Luke and Mara would be the key to bypassing those hyperspace barriers and allowing the Republic to fully explore these areas, something the Old Republic had tried and failed at for thousands of years. Scientists were eager to see detailed data from this reconnaissance effort, hoping the data could offer further clues to the mysteries of the barriers of hyperspace travel in an area that comprises over 15% of the known galaxy.
The briefing concluded after another 20 minutes of flight plan and coordination detail. Much of the plan was still experimental, as there was no confirmed reports of the accuracy of Luke and Mara's charts. The room cleared out, but Greer and Brance remained seated. They stood as the General approached them.
Having never met, they exchanged introductions. "I take it you're the two Jedi Luke assigned to this operation?" Brian asked; based on the robes Greer was wearing the answer was obvious. Greer nodded, "To be honest, I was hoping we'd be doing a little more than a grunt's reconnaissance work," he said. The General smiled, "Of course." His astromech droid enhanced the map on the screen to a very specific location, "You get the most interesting routes."
Kirkland 17:39, 28 May 2010 (EDT)
11 Elona, 25 ABY - Deep Space, Unknown Regions
The hyperspace journey from the Roche Asteroid Field to their first waypoint in the Unknown Regions was long and arduous. Brance had flown before but never so far in the small confines of a starfighter cockpit. The kid had shown surprising maturity over the past year, and Greer had confidence in his young padawan. Even though it had been a year since the two were paired up, Greer was still adjusting to life with someone to look after. His upbringing taught him to look after himself first, but having a padawan was like having a child, it required many selfless acts. This was why Brance was flying an X-wing, and Greer was stuck in a Longprobe Reconnaissance Y-wing, a "flying coffin" as they were often called within the Starfighter Corps.
Greer began the first of several sensor sweeps of the area, though he didn't expect anything at the first waypoint, that would be too easy. The density of stars here was far less than even the Outer Rim Territories; if it wasn't for X-wing flying beside him, Greer would have felt very alone in this sea of emptiness. But he knew despite the scarce amount of visible light that this area was riddled with black holes and nebulae, one of the reasons hyperspace travel was so difficult here.
Brance brought the comm to life, "So what do you think will happen to Bastion?" he asked, assuming that Greer too had listened to the last newsnet feed they picked up before leaving the Mid Rim. He hadn't.
Greer wasn't sure how to answer, "Well, if the peace can be maintained, I'd guess it would remain the prosperous Imperial capital that it is today." Greer was aware that Brance was from Bastion and was sensitive to any criticism of it, so he painted a rosy picture. There was a political wing of the Republic that wanted to attack Bastion and end the Remnant once and for all, but the planet was one of the most heavily fortified in the galaxy.
"But they left," Brance replied.
"Who left?" Greer asked.
"The Remnant. They left Bastion, they left Muunilist, they left all their major worlds."
Greer was surprised, but switched his focus to the task on hand. He didn't want Brance to be distracted by this, either. "Let's talk about this later, we've got reconnaissance to do." Sensors were picking up nothing, as expected. He began to chart the next course. Even with the help of his astromech, he needed to make some adjustments manually. The calculations would continue to get harder the deeper they went into this unknown territory. "This area is clear, standby for the next jump coordinates."
((astrogation rolls))
Fourth time's a charm... Greer was thinking to himself just as the starlines faded abruptly in front of him. Gravity fluctuations kept pulling them out of hyperspace. The Y-wing vibrated aggressively each time and the whine of the hyperdrive's emergency shutdown was deafening. The Longprobes were some of the oldest fighters in service, no wonder they were called flying coffins. He swore under his breath. These were the same types of problems that plagued explorers since the days of the Old Republic.
"Why don't you let me give it a try, old man." Brance suggested.
"Fine," Greer said, frustrated at the whole situation.
Fifteen minutes later, with Brance's calculations finished, they set course for a fifth time.
((astrogation roll))
Kirkland 21:38, 9 June 2010 (EDT)