The Rebel Faction

Telos




As the sun started to set across the skies of Telos, two men were making their way through the steady stream of tourists , tradesmen, spacers and locals all scurried about their business like ants under the now blood red heavens.

The odd whispers of tainted amber clouds hung effortlessly in the sky, breaking up the breathtaking vista like small islands in a vast sea.

The buzz of the capital's nightlife would start soon, as those who had finished business headed for the nearest water holes to refresh themselves after a hard days work, and others simply went home to see their loved ones.

Ambassador Zhou Chandra'ha, The Commonwealth's newest diplomat walked in step with his Telosian counterpart, Kenji Toshiro, a tall and proud man with sharp features, and dark eyes.

The two men had spent the six two months in intensive talks. The Telosians, the Devlikks and the Snivvians had all expressed an interest in the Commonwealth, and to capitalise on this interest Vinda had Sent Chandra'ha to quicken the process despite the fact that Chandra'ha had not dealt with anything as big as this before. He had been hired to fill the hole left by the previous incumbent Aron Antilles.

With the rising Commonwealth in the Corporate Sector , and the Capricians finding their feet , this whole region of space seemed to be more stable, a lot more than recent times. The Hydian way as a result had seen a large increase of intersystem traffic, and already the economies on each respective planet had seen improvement, but it lacked direction, it needed guidance and regulation. Security of this major and ever increasingly busy trade route was now a common interest to all parties.

As a result a summit had been proposed , and all three delegations had accepted, and attended.

Such a task was no small feat

To say Zhou had been nervous upon accepting the assignment was an understatement. Even as he was appointed the position at VC-HQ he had heard from many sources, and even witnessed first hand that throwing people in at the deep end so to speak was a favourite tactic of the Vinda-Corp Figurehead.

Sink or swim, he called it.

Still , there was something about the old man which made you want to please him, as strange as that sounded, he was... persuasive.

This thought hung in the back of his mind as the Ambassador listened to the Telosian Ambassador talk. In their dealings over these past months the two had developed an unexpected friendship, Chandra'ha was surprised to find they shared many common interests and ideals.

So, when Ambassador Toshiro invited the Vinda-Corp diplomat to be 'informally' shown around the Telos capital, he had accepted the offer gladly.

A break in the daily routine had been a welcome change of pace indeed, to all the endless political debate they had both been subjected to, and as the two men entered a small but charming cafe and sat down opposite each other the conversation had changed from the political to the idle.

Bonadan

VC-HQ - Mr Vinda's private office




"...this has got to be some kind of joke?..."

The corporate leader snorted in disbelief, as Achinta relayed the Ambassador's situation...

(Achinta simply shook his head in response)

"...I don't believe this! this is bloody ridiculous!..."

Vinda sunk back into his chair, and the leather creaked as if moaning in protest...

"...I sent him there to talk to the Ambassador , not kill him!..."

" He does say he is innocent..."

(Achinta replied plainly...)

Vinda rolled his eyes and glowered at his bodyguard.

"..of course he's innocent!, I was just ...venting...you know better than to take everything I say literally..." He explained irritated...

Vinda rubbed his face and sighed heavily...

"..what do they have?..." he asked eventually...

Achinta looked downwards for a moment as he recalled his conversation he had been a part of earlier...

"..not much, mainly that he was the last person to see the ambassador alive, in fact they have no motive , let alone evidence, so really not a great deal..."

Vinda's scowel softened a little.


...something at least...


His mind raced with the many possible scenarios that could have taken place, and he sighed once more...

This was not the first time this had happened, and it was starting to get absurd.

How the hell were they supposed to gain more member planets for the Commonwealth, if their leaders kept dying eveytime a Vinda-Corp diplomat set foot on the planet.

(Vinda's face frowned as these thoughts manifested themselves)

The last thing they needed when trying to attract new members was a reputation for for killing them off, regardless of whether he had done it or not, it still didn't look good.

The brief thought that maybe this assignment had been too much for the ambassador settled uncomfortably on the leader's conscience.

He dimissed the thought almost as soon as it manifested itself.


...no...Zhou was a capable man...



"Want me to send a company specialist?..." (Achinta said as he interrupted the leader's thoughts).

With a heavy frown Vinda murmured in agreement.


"..yes...see what section can dig up, tell them I want it quiet, and get a solicitor sorted out for Chandra'ha, it seems like he's going to need it..."


With that Achinta bowed his head in acknowledgment and strode out of the office to relay his orders.

Leaving a brooding Vinda to consider the possible dilemmas ahead.

Telos

Two days later...





Chandra'ha Sat in what passed as the local law enforcement's interview / interrogation room, in deep, silent thought, trying to clear his mind of his nerves, it had been a full four hours he had been placed here. Altogether though, he had been in custody for almost twenty four hours now, and he had heard little.

Vinda-Corp had sent a team of solicitors , along with someone, whom they referred to as a 'company specialist'...

...whatever that means... He thought to himself sourly...

Just as the moment, the newly appointed ambassador had started to regret ever taking on this assignment, the heavy door small chamber slid slowly aside, and to his relief, Dent, (his lawyer), stepped inside, flanked by one of Vinda's company specialists and the Chief himself, Gorom.

Glancing up at the three men, Zhou's eyes were met with relieved smiles all round, except from Gorom , who looked uncomfortable, to put it mildly.

The Chief cleared his throat and approached the Ambassador...

"I apologise to have kept you waiting so long Ambassador" He said, lowering his gaze a little...

The Chief threw the other two men a furtive glance before continuing...

"I'm pleased to inform you, that you are free to leave, as of now, and before you do , I, on behalf of the entire police department would like to extend my deepest apologies to this inconvenience we have obviously put you through..."

Zhou turned his attention towards his beaming lawyer, Dent, with a puzzled expression upon his face...

"er..I'm not sure I understand, what's happened? what about Kenji?..."

Dent smiled, and the Chief shifted his weight about uneasily...

"They caught the person responsible, and I'm sorry to say this but Ambassador Toshiro was indeed murdered, poisoned in fact..."

Zhou could only stare at the trio somewhat dumbfounded...

...murdered!..poisoned!?... (the words echoed within his head..)

"by whom?" Zhou ventured, eventually...

Gorom looked at the others , then brought his attention back to Zhou...

"Tienna Sahim" The Chief said in reply...

Zhou looked even more confused...

"An ex-lover, whom he met in the very same cafe you both used to meet at. Turns out the Ambassador finished things with her, and she took it kind of personally..." Dent said, and Zhou simply blinked in response, clearly in disbelief...

"We found traces of the poison at the cafe, and when we questioned the staff, she broke down and confessed to everything, very sad affair, very sad indeed..." Gorom trailed off staring into the distance, then brought his gaze back to the Vinda-Corp Ambassador...

"...you are free to go Ambassador, and once again, thank you for your help and your patience in this tragic affair..."

With that Xim bowed a little, (albeit awkwardly), and left the men to their own devices.

Chandra'ha sunk back into the uncomfortable chair as the gravity of the whole situation began to sink in...

"Well, I don't know what to say..." Zhou said after a while.

"...I don't know whether to be happy or appalled..." He followed up , looking up at the two men standing before him...

the two men said nothing, but simply returned the look...

"...what a very strange affair!..." He said before finally rising from the chair and straightening his tunic...

The Vinda-Corp Ambassador had experienced a great deal these past few months, and especially in these past few days. He knew when he took the assignment on, that it wouldn't be a straight forward one. But he hadn't expected this... he'd had much more than he'd bargained for already...


...very strange indeed...

Meanwhile...Elsewhere...


Vinda-Corp's Newest research and Development facility - 'Wonderland' - (Undisclosed location )





Vinda entered the strange warehouse-like space with the minimum of ceremony, his foosteps echoing through the large hall , slowly quietening the sounds of many excited and nervous voices of those waiting for him.

The Vinda-Corp leader stood and took a moment to look upon all those gathered together, before addressing them.

"welcome all of you...I daresay you are all wondering why you are all here? and of course, where here is..."

he smiled enigmatically, then reached inside his suit pocket for a Cigarra...

"Some of you may recognise each other, most of you were working for the Observers at one time. We went to a lot of trouble to secure your survival, and now you'll understand why...."

He stopped to cleave one end off his cigarra then lit it, before continuing...

"...all of you have your own skills your own expertise, within your chosen field, it is these skills we are after, this is what I ask from you now, in short I want you to work for me...."

There was a slight murmur within the large congregation of mostly Drewwan refugees...

Vinda looked up in reaction...

"Yes, thats right we knew of the tech-base located on Drewwa, and I can assure you it was no accident we ensured your safe passage when the Empire finally did too..."

There were a few worried glances exchanged between the crowd...

Pausing to take a thoughtful toke on his Cigarra Vinda then continued...

"I understand this may seem to be quite mercenary of me, and if this offends you, I apologise, but !" (he raised his finger in the air, still clutching his smoking cigarra) "There is more at stake here than many of you realise, I ask you now to help me..."

A voice came from within the crowd, and Vinda strained to see who it had came from... "What about the Observers?...The Jedi?..."

Vinda grunted in acknowledgement as he nodded...

"The Jedi , the Observers, look after themselves. They were well aware of the situation and were pleased at our intervention, but there is only so much we here can do. The Empire wanted the Jedi, that was why they came to Almania, that is why we could not help any further. Those of you who were rescued, were done so because all of you have talents, knowledge and skills which can help benefit many more people...and more to the point, you were not Jedi"

Vinda's face stiffened...

"..unless of course you'd rather work for the Empire?..." He said flatly...

He raised his eyebrows in expectation, then waited for those in front of him to speak, when no-one did, he smiled... "I didn't think so..." he added before taking another toke on his cigarra, sending blue smoke curling and unfurling upwards...

"those of you who lost loved ones, I am sorry, that was most unfortunate, but it is now time to think about the future, your future, and here is your chance. The Commonwealth needs you, and your skills, here and now. Start again, make a new life, work for me, and you'll find me a very generous employer..." He stated calmly...

Another voice, a women's , ventured a question...

"..what if we don't want to?..."

Vinda nodded, then took a quick toke on his cigarra, now starting to generate a small hanging mist around him creating a kind of foggy aura...

"If that is what you want. I will not force you to work for me if you do not wish it. You are all free to go if you wish too, but I am offering you a chance to start again, think about that very carefully if I were you. This is no holiday I am proposing, this is a top secret installation, which only a handful of people know about, and that is how I wish it to stay, so if there is any doubt, I suggest you leave now.
For once you are beyond those doors, ...(he pointed to the large heavy looking metal double doorway they all stood before in the hall) you are self-sufficient and cut off from the galaxy... Hell , you as people don't exist anymore, all records of you were lost when the tech base was systemactically destroyed. Even then, we only knew of your presence in the first place due to contact with the Observers themselves. So should you all wish to leave you will be given a new identity and welcomed into the Commonwealth....you have fifteen minutes to decide. Decide right"

As he finished , the hall erupted into a mass of conversation, and those standing before the head of the galaxy's most successful entrepreneur found themselves suddenly having to make a hard choice.

Vinda watched with a kind of bemusement, bringing them from Drewwa alive in the first place had been no small feat, and he had pushed the Empire's patience probably as far as he dared to, but if only half of the crowd before him accepted his proposal it would be worth it.

There were Scientists , Doctors, Physicists, Engineers, all with many different and valuable skills. The Observers and their advancements in holographical technology would give the Commonwealth's own similar program a huge boost in that area alone.

A figure walked up beside him...

Vinda looked up and smiled as he recognised the woman before him...

"Dr Killian, a pleasure as always..." Then bowed slightly in greeting...

The Doctor joined him at his side and watched curiously as the large congregation discussed their decision amongst themselves...

"these our newest recruits?..." she asked

"with a bit of luck, yes..." he answered without skipping a beat...

"I have seen their records, very impressive, It'll improve our development times no end..."

Vinda murmured in agreement... "yes, experience and knowledge are priceless commodities Doctor.." he looked up at her with that sly grin he did so well, and at once Dr Killian found herself remembering the first time she saw it...

Antrim had been mildly surprised when relatively little news of his 'pirate raid' made it onto the Vinda-Corp holonet. Forty-odd craft had been delayed, two destroyed and one severely crippled and raided, yet the event didn't rank a slot on the nightly news?

He flipped the channel again. Vinda-Corp had multiple news-feeds going at once, they had plenty of bandwidth to broadcast some sort of announcement or blurb.

"Maybe Vinda-Corp is censoring it," suggested Mickey, his communications officer.

"That would go against their policies, wouldn't it?"

"Policies? What the hell are you talking about Antrim?" Johns, Antrim's first mate and closest companion these last few months spoke with a tone of derision. "You're not a politician Antrim, you're a richie brat who joined the military. When matters of national security are in the balance free speech of the people falls every time."

Antrim frowned back at Johns. "That's duplicity," he said.

”Duplicity will cease to exist only in perfection," muttered Captain Suon from his armchair. Suon was educated.

"Regardless," said Johns, "Why do we care if Vinda Corp has news coverage or not?"

"Because it interests me," replied Antrim.

"So?"

"And we don't have anything better to do, do we?"

Johns pursed his lips and looked evenly at Antrim for a few moments. Antrim could tell he wanted to say something, he suspected what that something was, but he didn't open a path. Johns would have to bring it up himself. And so he did.

"Antrim, I think we need to have a little talk. Concerning that... concerning what the hell we're doing. Or should I say not doing."

Antrim muted the holo off and placed the remote on his desk. "All right Johns. What are we doing here?"

"We were collecting intelligence on the VC. Why I don't know, I had assumed that our entire defection from Anthos had been an authorized ruse to cover Anthos' ass if we were detected or captured. But now, I'm not so sure. Before the incident over the Astoria we moved like we had a plan. After the incident we've been doing diddly shit. Hitting that convoy was the biggest thing we've seen since we broke out of Anthos space. Tapping into that coms satellite was the most surveillance we've done since the Astoria incident."

Johns let it hang there. He obviously expected Antrim to reply, but dBale simply continued to sit silent.

"Give it to me straight Antrim, give it to all of us straight. What the hell are we doing?"

Antrim looked at Johns, then Micky and then at the three other men in the room, the captain's of the other craft.

"Political differences can be painful Johns, there are wheels within wheels turning in the Anthos government, levels of politics that I cannot even begin to comprehend. I said some things that made me a few enemies. I saw an opportunity to leave and I took it. I will not be presumptuous and claim to understand fully or even partially the layers of motivation on both sides that surround our leaving. Yes, you are right, I am not a politician. I am the son of a rather wealthy man, a 'richie brat' as you call me, but I am a military man too. I made what I am with my own sweat and blood, not upon the shoulders of my father. "

More than one set of eyes blinked. Antrim looked at Johns.

"I don't know what we're doing here now. The original plan that I had was to use these craft for Mercenary purposes. The folly of such an action became apparent quickly; we cannot afford to be seen. If a rumor was to develop about invisible craft, every spaceport in the sector would have tripled security by the weeks end. Rumors can be good to a mercenary. We used the reputation of a past pirate in the previous raid. But they can also kill -- loose lips will certainly sink these ships."

Antrim stopped there. He didn't know where to go next for quite frankly, he had no idea what to do next. He had had this discussion twice already with his other co-commanders. All three of them generally agreed with Antrim on policy, and all four of them were stumped concerning this situation.

Captain Suon cleared his throat. "We have been on the run for approximately six months now. It is quite clear that the Anthos navy either has no intention of recovering us or has not a clue where to begin searching. The challenge is daunting. We've left relatively little disturbance in our wake. A few events that may show up as mere anomalies on anyone's lists, nothing more. When looked at in this light, we are free to do what ever we could wish to do. I agree with Antrim concerning Mercenary work, it's quite impractical with these craft. Even with the most careful planning word would get out about us. If not from our targets then from those who hired us. We have no particular political agenda to forward with terroristic attacks, and we have no grudge against any government in particular save for the Empire, and do we truly wish to start our own private war against the largest government in the galaxy?"

Heads nodded in agreement. Suon continued.

"We could take a page from the so-called 'Galactic Liberation Front' and express demands followed by violence upon the non-action on the part of the Empire, but that would be quite foolish. Policy may change on the outside, but without a complete reorganization from the inside the Empire will never truly change. We could be a nettle in their foot, nothing more; and with the Empire we can be certain that they would just as soon cut the foot off than cease trodding through the nettle patch."

"Suon," said Antrim

"Yes?"

"What did you mean when you said that Mercinary work would not be practical considering that we would be betrayed, if not by our targets then by our employers? I think I understand what you mean, but expound?"

Suon pursed his lips and arranged his thoughts before beginning. "With careful planning and execution we can eliminate the chance of our targets even having an inkling of what hit them. Employers, however, are a completely different matter. We would have to meet with them off-craft. No messages could ever be sent or received aboard these craft. We would quite literally have to obtain a 'false front' so to speak, a craft from which we would put on our charade. The idea did occur to me that we could do this -- pretend to operate from a discarded set of gunships, perhaps, and carry out the actual operations from our Stealthcraft. But after careful consideration I discarded the idea. These Stealthcraft are, from the ground up, designed for one purpose in mind. To sneak in, deal as much damage as possible in an incredibly short amount of time, and then escape unnoticed. This method of warfare is so radically different from what we would be pretending to do that any employer would need to be certified brain dead to not be suspicious after two or three operations. Yes, we could move from employer to employer, but with that mobility would come downsides. We would receive less pay, trust, reliability of work and the inability to be choosy concerning the motivations and moral character of our employers. No, it would be far more satisfactory and profitable to find one employer and continue on with him for quite some time. However in doing so we most certainly will be making ourselves vulnerable to discovery by first he, and successively by the Anthos Navy."

There was silence. Even Johns was silent. Here they were, as free as a man could be and in command of four of the most deadly craft in existence, and they couldn't go anywhere. It was almost enough to make a grown man talk to himself under his breath.

Then Johns said something. Antrim turned his head, he hadn't been listening.

"I'm sorry, I missed that..."

Johns repeated it. "Let's trust someone." He continued, "Let's find someone. Let's do a few jobs, let them know exactly what we're capable of doing. Let's find someone smart, someone smart enough to know that if we can do it to his enemies we can do it to him. And if he's smart he'll keep us."

Once again the men fell into deep thought.