Open Space and Hyperspace

Aboard the Nebulon B Frigate Endless Salvation, enroute to Roxuli in the Unknown Regions


Ga'ab had excused himself from the bridge soon after the frigate and it's escort of snubfighters had jumped to lightspeed. Captain Jameroo had assigned him a guest cabin near the bridge and seemed pleased enough captain from the bridge without his presence. In the short time he had been aboard the ship he had noted the efficiency and professionalism in which the crew carried out her orders, like a well oiled machine and Ga'ab was certain he would not be missed until he was summoned.

Having been left to his own devices inside the guest-cabin for several hours, Ga'ab had attempted, without success enmesh himself in the force. Which is why, hours later he was still seated cross-legged in the cabin, breathing deeply and steadily. Unfortunately, no amount of breathing excercises nor meditation could soothe Ga'ab's spirit. His emotional baggage was weighing him down, creating chaos in mind and spirit and as such, his attempts to find Rygal through the force were repeatedly rebuffed. If he were a disciplined jedi perhaps he would have been able to set aside his feelings, accept the probability of his friend's fate, and in doing so become an emotionless vessel of the force, but alas, he was no jedi.

"I give up." He said aloud and with frustration. He uncrossed his legs and rose to his feet, feeling betrayed by the force. He was beginning to stalk around the cabin when a silent, yet familiar voice spoke to him.
"The progenitor did not become proficient, let alone a master of the Seer's Arts until he was many decades old and in his second cloned body." Riel reminded him. Riel was a small AI that had been embedded within Ga'ab's brain. It's purported purpose was to serve as a personality matrix to faithfully recreate the thought-patterns of the long-dead Gabriel Solomon, and through that function provide guidance to Ga'ab.

"Time isn't a luxury I can afford." Ga'ab replied angrily. He thought to himself that if only willpower alone could fuel his connection to the force he would, in this moment, be invincible.

"The mastery you are grasping at, to call upon great powers at the snap of your fingers, requires far more practice, dedication and clarity of purpose than you have shown up to this point." Riel pointed out matter of factly, much to Ga'ab's chagrin. However before Ga'ab could offer a scathing reply, Riel continued. "And to speak honestly, the progenitor had friends, and allies, but none that he would sacrifice everything for so foolishly and blindly. The statistical probability of finding them alive are astronomically small. You arrived on Corellia in your personal ship which the Tenloss Syndicate has seen, and you brought a squadron of Headhunter that you bought from the Tenloss Syndicate. You haven't had the time to alter their drive signatures. Any two-bit bounty hunter lucky enough to connect these dots will ruin everything for us."

The venom and scorn coming from the AI took Ga'ab aback. Before he could respond or hurl a nearby desk-chair into the bulkhead, there was a polite yet firm knock at the door. Ga'ab took a minute to compose himself, doing his best to tune out Riel from his thoughts before he activated the door controls and it slid open. On the other side of the door, standing within the ship's narrow hallway was one of Captain Jameroo's commandos, smartly dressed in a naval uniform. 
"Mr. Monslo, I've been sent to escort you to the Intelligence Suite for your briefing."
"Of course. Lead the way." Said Ga'ab as he followed the commando.

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The Intelligence Suite was located above the bridge and upon reaching it, Ga'ab was asked to continue on alone. His commando escort took up a position flanking the door, along with a handful of other guards. With the hiss of the blastdoor, Ga'ab entered the room which was covered in computers, holograms and analysis systems. However it was more or less deserted but for Lynne Jameroo and her command staff which were seated at a conference table in the middle of the suite. Ga'ab looked the officers over quickly. There were too many of them here for Ga'ab's taste. Too many witnesses, too many loose lips, but he was in no position to make demands. The captain, in her own subtle way had made it very clear that it was 'her ship, her rules' and that there was absolute trust between her and her crew.

Sighing to himself, Ga'ab stepped up to the table and gave a short and polite bow to the Captain before nodding to her officers and taking an open seat at the other end of the table. "To those of you who don't know me, I'm Baga Monslo, the financier of this rescue expedition." Ga'ab began, but was quickly cut off by an officer. "We know who you are. What we want to know is why the Captain doesn't even know our destination or our mission." There were murmurs of agreement from the others.

Ga'ab gave a quick smile and continued on, "I see... Well, I suppose I should start at the beginning, and I truly hope that you are sentients of noble hearts for what I tell you is worth a small fortune and if the rescue mission finds survivors, their lives will be in your hands." Said Ga'ab solemnly. He waited a moment to hopefully let the impact of his words sink in. "I am an agent of a clandestine organization whose mission is to rescue slaves from across the galaxy, particularly in the Outer Rim, and resettle them secretly on new worlds in more civilized corners of the galaxy. If you are unaware of the Tenloss Syndicate they are a ruthless criminal empire whose long history of horrifying successes have given them the capital to ingratiate themselves into legitimate organizations and institutions. In the Astal Sector they control the Bahalian Shipyards whose contracts enrich their coffers and whose ships empower their formidable private navy. I was made aware of their brutal treatment of several hundred Ryn. The Ryn are a nomadic species of humanoid sentient's with a wholly undeserved reputation as smugglers, con-artists and criminals. The galactic community treats them with contempt and as such their plights are often overlooked."

Ga'ab paused to catch his breath and read the room.

"Under the guise of a customer, I gained access to the shipyards and made contact with the enslaved Ryn. Together, over many months we were finally able to create the perfect environment for their escape. The very same ship they had been forced to build was their method of escape. They stole a Nebulon B Frigate and jumped to hyperspace. I mysefl have not communicated with the Ryn for weeks before their escape in order to maintain my anonymity and protect the overarching organization of abolitionists, however I left them clear and detailed instructions about the necessity of making several hyperspace jumps to throw off pursuit. They were supposed to have arrived at their new world days ago and I have information that they may have run into disaster in the Unknown Regions. I fear that the Tenloss Syndicate may have been craftier and more vindictive than I realized. Either a catastrophic ship malfunction occurred or they have been set upon by the Tenloss fleet."

There was a sublte, yet noticeable shift in the force auras in the room. While the assembled crew did not outright verablize their thoughts, Ga'ab was confident that his revelations had earned him some goodwill. He remained seated, facing the Captain and her officers, waiting for the inevitable follow-up questions.

Ga'ab was acutely aware of the Captain's silence and that left him a bit on edge. He stretched out with the force and the lightest of probes found her mind to be surrounded by walls of stoic resolve. He couldn't glean anything from her mind, it was as blank to him as her expressionless face and he didn't dare push against her barriers. She did not seem the type to be influenced by a simple mind trick. When she rose to her feet in silence and began her slow pace around the table, Ga'ab wondered if that was a good or poor sign. The tension remained until she finally came to a stop behind her chair and spoke. She was right, he had lured them on a dangerous mission under false pretenses, but he was vindicated at her confirmation that she and her would carry on with the mission.

Ga'ab's voice took on a tone of deference and respect as he responded. "Captain. Words cannot express my thanks to you, and your crew for your stalwart resolve and dedication to the lightside of the force. You have my word, no more secrets."
He said with certainty. After a moment passed he continued. "In the interest of honesty and clear, open communication... I wonder captain if you have Vutalanine? or an opiate derivative? If we are to located the Ryn after we reach Roxuli, I'll need to find them through the force. Unfortunately my best friend is among the Ryn we're looking for, and I do not have the peace of mind or spirit to connect firmly enough to the force to find them. But if i'm sedated, I'm certain i'll be able to find them."
Ga'ab raised his hands defensively and flashed a devilish smile. "Don't worry Captain, I assure you I have done this several times with great success."

As the Phantom and her escorts skirted the debris field, Aderon flipped on the communications gear, talking with the Magnaguards in the other fighters. Thankfully, these three fighters had heavily encrypted and cloaked communications to one another, so they did not risk alerting any nearby foes to their presence. The cruiser was another matter, but he did not need to speak with them. And he wouldn't have to, if everything went to plan.

"Keep tight, and stay in close formation. I don't want to have either of you veering off into the asteroid field. If you do that, the entire operation is compromised, and you're on your own."

It was not long before he got a response, the deep, robotic voice of the magnaguard sounding even more cold and robotic over the fighter's communication system.

Yes, sir

Acknowledged. Maintaining formation.

As they zipped past the clouds of debris, Aderon stared ahead, making sure to fly around any sort of incoming asteroids. Even out here, there were still various asteroids, and he would be damned if they would even scratch the bronzium plating on his fighter. The other two fighters followed closely behind, taking care not to hit one of the asteroids and spin out. If that happened, not only would any potential enemies would know their location, but the moving debris could cause a chain reaction, endangering the other two members of the formation. As such, they carefully moved through the debris field, making slow progress, but it was progress nonetheless.

Nearby in the asteroid field, an EF-76 Nebulon-B painted with the markings of the Alderaanian Guardians lazily hovered in space. Aboard the ship, things seemed to be going smoothly, and very few had stirred at this late hour of night. As such, the majority of the ships lights had been dimmed. However, on the bridge, a scene seemed to be unfolding, as several men argued around a holotable, seemingly preoccupied by three small specks moving through their sector of the asteroid field. One man, wearing a pilots uniform, stood up straight and pounded the table, surprising the two men in brown uniforms standing next to him.

"They're obviously pirates! Come to steal the gifts left behind by our people to honor the fallen who died in the original disaster! Why else would anyone come here in fighters?!"

One of the uniformed men shook his head, the stress of recent days clearly weighing on his face. The worn patch on his arm suggested he was likely a former member of the Galactic Alliance, possibly some sort of Lieutenant in the navy.

"We can't simply attack them. They might be here for a peaceful reason and...."

"No! That is not possible! They are here to desecrate our heritage."

The third man interjected, interrupting the other two in their debate.

"If I may be the sole voice of reason, perhaps we can reach a compromise! We can scramble fighters to intercept them, but also ask for what purpose they have come here...

No! I will not have this. You can do what you want, sitting here on your haunches. My men and I are going to go and take action.

With that, the man picked up his helmet and stormed off the bridge of the craft. Lieutenant Evian attempted to stop him from leaving, but the Captain held him back, shaking his head. Silently telling him to leave Voss to his own fate. The Guardians were in disarray following the destruction of the Galactic Alliance, and the chain of command had been seriously ruined by that event. As such, Voss could do whatever he liked without fear of any repercussion from the organization. However, the Lieutenant instead feared reprisal from whoever had sent those fighters. They were Rogue-Class. High end as well. They likely belonged to someone of importance, and they couldn't risk angering such a group, now more than ever.