The Rebel Faction

"With all due respect Ambassador..." Naosha said. "I don't think a substitute ship will be needed in my case. My daughter knows her ship like the back of her hand, so if any other tinkering has been done to the Hunter’s Way she would have found it by now and corrected it. Not to sound arrogant, but Hunter’s Way may be the safest shuttle on the ship right now, considering we don’t know just how ‘busy’ are saboteur has been. Unless that is…you think my own daughter is suspect. If so I can assure you she would never do such a thing, as she’s been helping me with the task of uniting the two races since the very beginning and she has no reason to betray me.

“Silliss I can vouch for as well, for he is steadfastly loyal to my lifemate, Sha’tor of his Clan, thus loyal to me. For him to betray us would invite exile from the Clan at best, death at worst, and like my daughter, he’s been helping with the movement since the beginning.” Naosha sighed. “It is your choice however, as since we are your guests we are at your mercy. My offer for you…” She looked at Jargur. “To visit the homeworld still stands either way.”

***

Any other time Silliss would have hated being sent out like this, but after what just happened between himself and Varcanna, a female he thought he knew, it was a blessing, allowing him to think. Of all the Trandoshan’s, he didn’t think Varcanna would react like that to the full truth of his condition. Then again, she was the last person anyone would think to be hateful toward Asri as well, so perhaps he should have taken that as a sign this relationship was doomed to failure?

Give her time. He decided as he walked down one of the corridors that gave access to the other shuttles. That kind of news would make almost anyone react like that, I know father said he did at first, until his love for mother won out. I can only hope for the same…

He just happened to glance up to see something odd. What was one of the Seren guards doing here…away from his ambassador? He looked to be in a hurry as well, but he wasn’t heading toward his own shuttle (which was understandable as his shuttle was blown up), nor was he heading toward the meeting room and he certainly wasn’t heading for the little boys room. His brows furrowing with suspicion, he took off after him.

His suspicions were confirmed when the man turned abruptly into one of the hangers, where there were Coalition owned shuttles: he was making his escape. With a hiss, both in anger that he tried to kill himself and the one he loved and attempted to halt the talks, he sped up and readied his lance. The moment he was close enough he let that lance fly and his aim was true, the staff like weapon tangling his targets legs up and making him eat duristeel.

“Those in such a hurry in current situations bare a lot of suspicion.” He said to the man as he approached him. The man pulled out his blaster and fired at him. Having expected this, Silliss drove forward into roll, ducking underneath the blaster fire and stopping beside the man. With a deft motion he grabbed the wrist of the hand and gave it a sharp twist, breaking it. “I think there are some people that would like to have a chat with you….”

"Starbreaker?" murmured the captain "Gods, I can only hope it's a boastful nickname or something."

Jargur stepped forwards and said "If there is another power-player in the affairs of this sector, and this one is hostile, then we must take immediate measures to contain the situation. This man will be confined immediately - guards? Take him away."

As the soldiers marched off dragging their prisoner, Oaxaca crossed his hairy arms, and a disgruntled look settled on his features. "The situation is spiralling out of control. I implore you all to return to your own sides immediately, and initiate a firm lockdown, or high alert, or whatever word you use. This is not a safe time for meeting.

"Captain, get some of your men and secure the functional ships in the hangar. We'll need an escort for the delegates. I can only reccomend that for the time being we communicate through comm-messages, not meetings, until the extent of the threat is known."

"And that won't happen", began Jargur "until you tell us about this new group, which apparently is armed with something that... blows up stars?"

Soldiers with the grim look of men and women under siege arrived from every doorway, silently and with a polite but firm demeanour. "There isn't much left to discuss - we can find out about the new guys later, for now, better that you get back to your ships, and make sure there aren't any more bombs, defections, assassins, or traps waiting in the wings."

"I will ensure you are kept informed on the progress of negotiations in the Council." Naosha said, bowing slightly to the Captain. "While I doubt it, I hope further...'interruptions'...will be minimal. Tzhali, I wish you well."

Naosha allowed the Coalition guards to escort them back to the hanger, though she personally felt it was unnecessary with Silliss by her side. But the Coalition didn't know about the fighting prowess of the K'Satikur warriors, so she could forgive them on that note. Besides, Silliss seemed unusually withdrawn and distracted, which worried her: K'Satikur were supposedly unshakeable.

"What is wrong Silliss?" She asked him as they walked down the corridor.

"Eh? Oh...nothing." The warrior said, only affording a brief glance in her direction.

"Doesn't look like 'nothing' Silliss. Fess up. In times like this I can't afford to have you distracted." Naosha said, scolding him slightly.

The young warrior visibly winced, but still wouldn't look her in the eye when he said. "Really is nothing Councilor, just...had a little spat that's all."

Naosha merred faintly, getting the feeling that just wasn't just a simple 'spat' between him and her daughter. It was a personal issue though and wouldn't be appropriate to press him for details when in the presence of the Coalition. "Every relationship has it's bumps and pot holes." She said softly. "They are meant to test the strength of your bond and if you pass that test that bond will be even stronger as a result. It is actually a sign of a healthy relationship to have the occasional fight."

"I never seen you or the Sha'tor fight." Silliss countered.

"Our fights are not in view of the public." Naosha said with a smile. "And they are not full blown shouting matches either." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Just remember that the most important thing is your love for each other, all else comes second."

His eyes met hers for a moment and Naosha didn't see hope in those eyes, but sadness. What could those two have possibly fought about left the man with so little hope for his relationship? She put it to the side of her mind for the time being, as it was not as important as this possible allegiance. It would be best if they worked it out themselves anyway.

They entered the hanger bay, where they saw crewed cleaning up what was left of the Seren shuttle. She saw Varca sitting on the onboard ramp of her ship, giving threatening glare to anyone that came too close to her ship. Naosha also saw the Seren representative here, who had that 'I have something to tell you' look on her face when their eyes met.

"Go tell Varca that we are going to be leaving for home Silliss." Naosha said. "I'll be along in a moment."

Silliss visibly hesitated, adding to Naosha's worries about the state of their relationship, but nodded and headed toward the shuttle. Naosha sighed faintly before giving her full attention to the Seren rep. "What is it?" She asked.

"Well" said the captain "What do we do now?"

"This is the best part of the diplomatic process, captain." said Jargur, as he leaned back in one of the chairs around the conference table. "It starts with 's' and ends with 'leep in for a few hours'. It's a well-respected custom of ambassadors the galaxy over. Politics never sleeps, captain, it takes power naps."

The Coalition's wookie ambassador reached down and pulled Jargur back to his feet by his collar "Not this time, Jargur. We have work to do."

"Aw... stupid work ethic and new sense of identity." he muttered, as the two ambassadors went to the bridge along with the captain.

"We'll need to file our findings and submit the report, and I imagine you'll need to check in with the fleet." said Oaxaca.

"Might be a good time to call in reinforcements too, incase things heat up again."

"No, captain." said Jargur, catching up "The situation is sensitive enough, bringing in more ships could cause another panic. Better we just have the troops onboard this one on high alert. Have them search the ship with a fine-tooth comb if they have to."

Arriving at the bridge, Oaxaca picked up the ship's comm and put in his diplomatic code number. "This is Oaxaca, awaiting a reply, over."

The viewscreen next to the comm flickered to life, and Regrad - Azguardian Prime Minister of the New Coaltion - phased into view. "Ah, Oaxaca, this is about the Kashyyyk/Trandosha situation, correct?"

"Yes, Prime Minister, we've hit some snags."

Jargur stepped forwards. "First off, there's a third major player in the sector called the Serendivus Fleet, or some such thing. They're an ally to the peaceful factions in both the Wookie and Trandoshan governments. All three sides seem to have cooperative leaders interested in keeping the peace as well as Coalition protectiont, but there's also factions interested in more warfare."

"In the time we've been here, there's been more than a couple attacks, and several members of one of the diplomatic teams were when a shuttle rigged with a bomb went off in our hangar. A panic started early on that almost saw all sides fighting in the confusion." Oaxaca scratched his head, and looked more than a little uneasy. "The leaders of each group seem to have a pretty tenuous hold - the Serendivus seem to be lead by a little girl who inherited fleet command, or some such thing."

"As for the Trandoshans, they seem fairly stable, but I caught wind of more than a few brewing relation problems that seem to have them distracted, and if the warrior clans are in favour of war then the planet's council will need someone to protect them against radicals." Jargur didn't feel it necessary to add "On the other hand - even the women are tougher than me, so maybe they're strong enough on their own."

"The wookies are being a bit more difficult to read." said Oaxaca. "High strung, is how I'd describe them. They were getting angry, excited, or frustrated even faster than normal. There's a whole lot of stress in their situation, and I can only imagine the rapid industrialization hasn't helped matters."

Regrad took all this in, steepling his fingers and giving them a few more seconds before responding. "Our overall goal then is to protect the leaderships of the three positive factions in the region. If you can convince them to a deal, then make sure there's leeway for us to provide protection that could prevent assassination attempts or coups. If peaceful governments are in place, then the key is to prevent coups. Beyond that, we can only hope the leaders are up to the task of dealing with their own people."

"I have no doubt they are, sir." said Jargur. "The Trandoshans we met seemed more than capable, fully in control of the situation, and calm even under pressure."

"As for the wookies" added Oaxaca "They may have been excited, but they were also competent and serious. I don't doubt their ability."

"Then that's good enough for me." said Regrad. "Good work, you two. Keep it up, and we may be taking a step towards a more secure system in no time. Report back to me if there are any more developments."

Naosha could only stand there stunned for a moment. Her daughter, suspected of being a traitor simply because of a personal grudge? Half of her wanted to scream at Angella’s back that to suspect her daughter for something like this just because she had a thing against white Trandoshans made their command look like paranoid idiots. However her the logical part of her brain stopped her from doing just that, after all, the Seren’s may have Trandoshan’s in their ranks, but they obviously don’t know every detail about their culture: like the hatred toward Akisi, the white scaled Trandoshans. Still, her daughter’s actions have an impact on her own reputation, so this is something that needed to be nipped in the bud…fast.

Silliss had waited outside the shuttle while Varcanna started up the ship and Naosha could tell that he knew immediately that something Angella said to her had upset her. “What’s wrong Madam?” He asked.

“One of our own is a suspect.” Naosha said simply as she passed him on the ramp.

“What?” Silliss said, shocked by the news. “Who?”

“When we get home.” Naosha said flatly, knowing it wouldn’t be a good idea to confront her daughter while she was piloting the ship.

The trip was thankfully uneventful, though that’s not really surprising when the Bloodfang was tailing them most of the way. During the trip Naosha thought and stewed over what she had to do. What she realized had to be done would be seen as extreme, but for the sake of the alliance and to prove Varcanna had nothing to do with the attacks it had to be done. She worried about how Varcanna would react: the crimson female had a temper on her. Gods how she wished Trazu was here with them right now, as with his talents in the Force (and not to mention his twin-like bond with his sister) this could have easily been resolved. Trazu wasn’t with them though and so they had to resolve this on their own.

Rissonik was in the Clan spaceport when they arrived and he knew something wasn’t right when he saw the look on her face. “What is it?” He asked.

“Not all is well.” Naosha said quietly, then turned around to look at Varcanna who was starting to go over her ship again. “Varcanna! Come with us!”

“What?” Varcanna said, looking a bit surprised at her mother’s semi-harsh tone and expression. “Can it wait? I need to…”

“Now Varcanna!”

Varcanna visibly jumped and Silliss gave her a look of concern. With no other choice Varcanna put down her tools and started following them. Silliss started following as well, but Rissonik stopped him. “This is a family matter Silliss.” He said.

“I…I understand Sha’tor.” Silliss said with a bow of his head before turning away.

It wasn’t that long of a distance between the spaceport and the family manor on the Clan Grounds, but it felt like it took an eternity to get there. Once inside she collapsed in one of the couches, looking much older then she actually was. Rissonik took a seat across from her, while Varcanna sat off to one side.

“What’s going on mother?” Varcanna asked after a tense moment.

Naosha hesitated a moment while she gathered her thoughts. “There has been a serious charge made against you Varcanna.” She said finally. “You are a suspect in behind all the attacks upon the Serens.”

“WHAT!?” Varcanna cried, jumping out of her seat. “That’s ridiculous! I would never do such a thing!”

“And I believe you daughter…however.” Naosha sighed. “Some of your actions recently has raised the red flags in their heads.”

“Such as?”

“On Naboo, one of their informants observed an altercation between you and Lady Asri.”

“Please…that’s personal matter and doesn’t reflect…”

“It reflects on me!” Naosha hissed, rising to her feet and glaring at her daughter in the eyes. “It reflects on this family, the Clan and our people as a whole! Do not delude yourself into thinking that your personal grudge has no effect on anyone else around you! It does! Because of it the Seren’s are on the verge of breaking their allegiance with us! Because they feel we will not uphold our end of the allegiance.”

Varcanna was visibly stunned and was speechless for a moment. “I...I don’t understand how they came to that conclusion.” She said finally, shaking slightly.

“First off, after the altercation with Lady Asri you left Naboo abruptly.”

“But I was following Uncle Rissonik’s orders!”

“It was a request, not an order.” Rissonik said with a frown. “The only reason you decided to come immediately was because you had the chance to leave Lady Asri behind. Don’t try to deny that…as your brother sent a message asking if I had requested you to return. You using this to defend your bigotry taints my image.”

“Second.” Naosha continued. “Not long after you left so suddenly, Lavality was attacked by a Bounty Hunter and rogue cyborgs. “

“Coincidence…” Varcanna muttered.

“We don’t doubt that Varca, but they are taking your presence on the Ambassador ship when the attacks came as another omen.”

“Silliss can vouch for me on that!”

“Not for the first attack…” Naosha said quietly. “I had Silliss with me that first time, thus you were alone with no one to support your alibi. Plus after the second attack you sent Silliss to me, again leaving you alone with no one to account for you. From their point of view this is almost and open and shut case.”

Varcanna collapsed back into her seat. “How…how can I clear my name?” She whimpered.

“You will stay here on the Clan grounds, under constant watch.” Naosha said, finding it disturbingly easy to say this. “Under no circumstances will you use any communication equipment or work on your ship.”

“I will have my comm. personnel monitor message traffic for anything suspicious.” Rissonik added.

“But you’ll need me to transport you to the…” Varcanna started to protest but Naosha cut her off.

“Unfortunately due to the attacks, the Coalition feels it is too dangerous for us to all meet in one place. We will be communicating though holograms for now on. Therefore I won’t need you to transport me anywhere.”

“I…I see…”

“This way, if something else happens we can vouch for your innocence with no trouble.” Naosha said, then leaned close to her. “And while this is going on, I strongly suggest that you do some soul searching and fight out what it is that makes you hate Lady Asri so much for no reason. When you find it…squash it. Do you hear me?”

Varcanna, overwhelmed by the whole situation, could only answer ‘yes mother’.