Omwat was a beautiful world. Its people, intelligent but irrationally peaceful, were an ideal in the midst of a nightmare. And they had begun to awaken.

One of the nearest Rimward Defense Initiative affiliate worlds to Leonia Tavira's former domain, the skies above Omwat had quickly filled with captured Invid vessels. Though most of the ships making up the RDI task force responsible for bringing down Tavira had dispersed to their respective regions of the Rim to continue their local assignments, a large section of the fleet had relocated here to ensure the security of these captured tools of destruction.

The Omwati were proving very helpful in cataloging captured materials and ferreting out where they belonged. They were so good, in fact, that Kerrick had found a whole new monster to slay. And this one wasn't some Imperial leftover wannabe warlord.

This one was immeasurably more destructive.

Kerrick Arkanus was on the verge of uncontrollable rage when he boarded the bridge of the Binder-class Assault Frigate. Once a part of Kavil's Corsairs, the ship's hull still bore the group's K C lettering in place of the traditional pirate's Blazing Claw insignia.

Kerrick ran his fingers over the armrest of the captain's chair, the faint scent of sterilizer still in the air, that stink of newness that spoke more than any data records could. This ship couldn't be more than four month old.

“So much tech in such a small package,” One of the technicians mumbled idly, still sifting through data on one of the bridge consoles.

“I bet the cup holders auto-adjust,” Kerrick retorted, eyes snapping to a newly activated holoprojector. “This is what I'm here for?”

“Yes sir,” The technician said, moving over to the projector's controls. He worked the controls for a moment, sifting through various images and indexes, finally settling on a color-coded map of a galactic region. “The Invids had been mapping freight patterns through the whole region for quite some time. They were correlating data from every conceivable source, building a database of potential targets. If we hadn't stopped them when we did, things would have gotten a whole lot worse for a whole lot of people.”

Kerrick studied the image for a moment, getting a sense of what the map really represented. “How?”

The technician sighed. “A DATA Management System, Sir. More Stellar Enterprises hardware. It's still back at the Invid base, but we pulled some data before we left, to let the Omwati sift through it. The system's marketed for government and military use: traffic control, communications switchboard, resource allocation, combat assessment, military defense coordination . . . so on and so forth. Its designed for highly variable use. Splicing sensor data and HoloNet reports would be a nothing task.”

“Paperwork?”

The young man grabbed his datapad, scanning through pages. “Yes sir, here it is. Looks like Tavira's boys submitted the purchase order through the Republic of Sperin.” He tapped a few more commands. “Of course, Sperin hasn't had anything resembling a legitimate government since the collapse of the firs Empire.” He glanced up to Kerrick. “Maybe Tavira's guys had 'honest eyes', Sir.”

Kerrick ground his teeth together, barely holding his fury in check. “Tavira's guys had credits. They had a lot of credits.”

Nodding slightly to himself, the Marshal of the Rimward Defense Initiative turned and left the bridge of the captured pirate ship, tugging at the commlink on his collar. “Get me Saarkon.”

The familiar voice of the Kadri'Ra answered rather quickly. “You called?”

“I need it, now.”

“We aren't ready,” Saarkon said.

“Well I can't wait any longer. Send me everything you have. I'm leaving within the hour.”

“Kerrick, perhaps I should―” Kerrick deactivated his commlink, unwilling to do the political dance he knew would be coming.

He pressed one of the preset channels, opening another line. “Captain Genkal, I've made a decision. Prep Naritus for launch.”







Genkal didn't like this, he knew. Truthfully, Kerrick didn't much like it either. But this was the way it was going to be.

The formation of warships which reverted to realspace in the middle of the Denon System was not an impressive sight. Headed by the MC80a Star Cruiser Naritus and the Mark II Assault Frigate Cavalier, both sporting heavy combat damage from their prolonged campaign against Leonia Tavira's Invid organization, the two ships were nevertheless the most impressive members of the group. Behind them trialed a loose formation of ships in various states of disrepair, the scars of their harrowing battle clearly visible.

These were the worst of the Rimward Defense Initiative's surviving vessels, ships so mangled by their duties that they could scarcely be called spaceworthy. One of them suffered a hull breach from the stress of reversion, a plume of fire erupting from its side until it burned up the scarce oxygen supplied. Kerrick shot a look to his comm officer, who gave the thumbs up: no casualties reported.

Pulling his black gloves tight and removing the commlink from the collar of his mock Grand Admiral's uniform, he was ready. “Let's do this.”

The comm officer signaled again, and Kerrick turned his steely gaze to the holorecorder. “I am Marshal Kerrick Arkanus of the Rimward Defense Initiative, here with a message to the corporate heads of Stellar Enterprises.” He lifted a datapad into view of the recorder. Though those watching couldn't make out the text running across its screen, the official government seals stamped around its border suggested the weighty nature of its contents. “I and the people of fifty-seven worlds want to talk to somebody in charge.”

There was no preamble, no diplomatic exchange to pave the way. There had been no official complaint filed or political entreaty extended. There was only the battered force above with its commitment to fight true evil, and the pristine world below with its support of the corporate power which had armed that evil.

Today, Stellar Enterprises would learn of Corporate Responsibility.

Denon was abuzz with activity these days as more and more traffic had been diverted to the system since Stellar Enterprises moved their Galactic Headquarters on to the planet. Businesses from around the galaxy were starting to witness the revival of Denon as a power-player in the galactic economic and trade scenes. The planet, under some direction and encouragement by Stellar Enterprises, had become much more business friendly and enacted laws that made it an even more attractive world for corporations to move their business interests too.

Now with Coruscant taken over by the Cree’Ar, an even greater number of trade and traffic had been diverted to Denon. This increase in traffic had almost overwhelmed the robust trading and dock facilities the planet had to offer. To take up slack and support the new daily average of ships coming into the system to be serviced, new makeshift facilities were being constructed on the planet’s moon. The defense fleet of the system had also been reinforced to help ensure security for all of these new ships jumping into the system.

With the whole galaxy reeling from attack after attack, Stellar Enterprises and the Denon government had banded together to sustain a rather impressive system defense fleet. The fleet numbers were divided into two separate areas of responsibilities.

One half of the defense fleet was made up of joint force of units under the command of Denon Joint Defense Force Admiral Loric Korvin. The Admiral had been with Denon Planetary Defense since before Rob Stellar had probably been born and so was in charge of Denon’s defense when Stellar Enterprises moved to the planet. In negotiations between the company and the Denon government, it was determined the best course of action would be to combine Stellar Enterprises defense units with the existing Denon military and form a Joint Command structure.

The Defense Force had gone through a great transformation over the years. Going from an old underfunded organization into a completely modernized military force paid for and funded by both Denon and Stellar Enterprises. At the moment the DJDF was led by the refit Mon Calamari MC-80b Star Cruiser Remembrance. She had been one of the first ships purchased by the company from the Galactic Coalition and refit completely.

At the moment she was being escorted by two Caster Class Heavy Cruisers, four Starstreak Escort Frigates, four Steadfast Gunships, and two Nova Corvettes. It didn’t seem like much for a planet like Denon, but reinforcements were only minutes away by hyperspace.

The second half was under the control of Denon TrafCon (Traffic Control) and was charged with guarding the different hyperlanes leading into the Denon system. This force was made up of various small patrol vessels as well as a small number of Steadfast Gunships working in pairs as well as a two Binder Mk2 Class Frigate. These ships made sure that any unlawful actions were either prevented or quickly settled. The force also intercepted suspicious vessels entering or fleeing into the system.

It was these patrol ships that first detected the large fleet coming out hyperspace along one of the system’s hyperlanes. They immediately relayed the information to the Denon defense force, which began a general scramble of all combat ready ships within the system. With that mission complete they went on to shepard system traffic away from the area.

One the bridge of the MC-80B stood a short silver haired man in an Admiral’s uniform. He leaned against the back of his command seat from behind it and stared at the holodisplay as it began painting a new tactical picture with these new contacts.

“They seem to have stopped moving, sir. I detected a few explosions on a few of the vessels right after reentry. They all seem damaged to various degrees.” Called out the sensor station to the left.

The Admiral nodded and kept looking forward, studying the display. “Status on the Endeavor and Osprey?”

“They should be launching shortly. They had only touched down a few hours before.”

As soon as the man finished speaking the transmission came through on all channels. Everyone stopped to listen before the Admiral started issuing orders to move the fleet a little more towards the other. As the ships reformed and moved into the next position, they passed right between the massive ten kilometer Commerce station and a smaller Golan III Defense Platform.

The fleet moved only a short difference between stopping directly in the path of the RDI ships, blocking off their access to the planet. Being caution, the Admiral stayed closer to the planet than he would have liked in case this was a trick to pull them away from the planet in order to attack from another direction.

“Marshal Arkanus, this is Admiral Loric Korvin of the Denon Joint Defense Force. Your presence in this system is unscheduled and the bringing of your fleet is unauthorized. You will demonstrate cooperation and move your ships to Grid Six One and hold position until further orders. If you require any assistance at all, repairs or medical we would be happy to arrange such for you. Your request to speak with Stellar Enterprises is also being relayed, but the reply may take some time.” The Admiral paused for a moment and straightened, walking around to the front of his command seat.

“If you disobey these requests and conduct any hostile actions we will be forced to react with extreme prejudice.”

With that last the admiral cut off his transmission and looked around the bridge for the first time. “Stay sharp everyone. No one brings an entire fleet without certain intensions. We will be ready for anything. Contact Commodore Drysin and ask him to prepare the Dalson Task Force to reinforce us if necessary.”

As they all talked, two large Stellar Enterprises modified Victory class Star Destroyers slowly rose up from the planet’s massive new military installation. The two ships formed up in the upper atmosphere and slowly glided into space, picking up speed to join the fleet formation. On board were depressed and somewhat angry crews. They had been scheduled for a long leave before this situation unfolded and had to cancel all their plans.

Kerrick Arkanus had certain intentions.

The leader of the Rimward Defense Initiative ran the orders from the “admiral” over in his head for several seconds, toying with possibilities and imagining outcomes. But eventually the confrontational Marshal settled on the only real course of action left to him. “Move to comply.” As the battered formation moved toward the designated region of space, Kerrick had a moment to consider the admiral's words in greater detail.

Lorik Korvin had used one breath to solicit business from the damaged ships, and the next to threaten it with death. Well, at least they're consistently inconsistent. Kerrick had half a mind to signal Genkal to plead for medical assistance, just to see if the “admiral” would keep his guns trained on a ship he had just ordered relief forces to. But the Rimward Defense Initiative had more pressing needs than Kerrick's amusement.

“Sir, Firebird is reporting a master alarm on their number two primary drive. They're initiating an emergency shutdown.”

Kerrick nodded absently. “Maintain course, but signal all ships to slow to maintain formation. No need to go looking unprofessional.”

As the formation of ships limped to their holding position, Kerrick's mind raced, his eyes searching out any fragment of usable data, any item to turn this event firmly in his favor. And then he saw it, out of the corner of his eye. Walking briskly to the tactical station, he leaned over the officer on duty, taking in the readout with one glance.

His mind wrote off the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser and the pair of Star Destroyers immediately, instead settling on the list of Stellar Enterprises-specific vessels. Laid out before his formation were two Caster Class Heavy Cruisers, four Starstreak Escort Frigates, four Steadfast Gunships, two Nova Corvettes. Random pairings of Steadfast Gunships moved through local space, a Binder-class Frigate in the distance.

He could hardly repress the dark smile. “I want you to pull up the full list of grievances. Cross-reference it with the Stellar Enterprises vessel types present here, and send the list to communications. Comms,” he added, standing upright and raising his voice to be heard, “transmit the incoming data from the Tactical station, unabridged, and on all channels. I want serial numbers, purchase dates, everything relayed.

“For every minute Stellar Enterprises refuses to see us, the people of Denon will hear of its misdeeds.”

And then the list began running, the sterile and inhuman tone of the computer readout only adding to the heartlessness of the acts they implied.

“Stellar Enterprises Binder-class Assault Frigate, serial number SE-041928-658. Purchase order submitted by 'Arkanis Shipping Conglomerate', alias of 'Bladerunners' pirate organization, 11 months, 13 days, 6 hours, 52 minutes ago. Intercepted by Rimward Defense Initiative 6 months, 4 days, 11 hours, 15 minutes ago under transponder identification 'Electric Sheep'. Confirmed fatalities, casualties, and damages attributed to operation of Electric Sheep: 47 civilian deaths, 13 Rimward Defense Initiative paramilitary deaths, 56 civilians wounded and 193 civilians unlawfully detained, 33 Rimward Defense Initiative paramilitary wounded, 645,760 credits of civilian property destroyed or irrecoverable, 45,600 credits of damage to Rimward Defense Initiative property. Status of SE-041928-658: destroyed by Rimward Defense Initiative task force upon first encounter.

“Stellar Enterprises Steadfast-class Gunship, serial number SE-087294-431. Purchase order submitted by . . .”

The list kept running, the tension on the bridge growing with each passing second. But Kerrick just sat calmly in his chair, awaiting the reply from Stellar Enterprises as he had been ordered to do by "admiral" Lorik Korvin.

When the outgoing message passed through the speakers surrounding the bridge, everyone on stationed there took weird looks at each other. They really had no idea what was going on at the moment. Some made certain jokes about the people on those ships being severely mentally disturbed and really needed psychiatric care.

The Admiral, however, was not having fun and knew they were doing this for their own reasons. He really didn’t care what their goal was at the moment, as long as they complied with his directives and moved away from the busy hyperlane.

“Cut the chatter, we have work to do.” He ordered with a calm voice. “Ask TrafCon to see if they can divert a few tugs to these new arrivals. It seems like they might need some assistance after all. The readings show that more of their ships are showing energy fluctuations.”

“We can jam there transmissions pretty easily, sir.” Commented the Communications Officer.

The Admiral shook his head and looked over at the man. “No, we will do no such thing. These people came a long way, maybe through a hell of a fight, to express some grievances they have. Whether they are doing so in a logical way or not, makes no difference. They have a voice and that voice will be heard.”

When he finished, Lorik turned back towards the holodisplay at the front of the bridge and watched as four large tugs pushed away from the shipyard in orbit around the moon of Denon and accelerated towards the fleet beyond.

“Marshal Arkanus, this is Admiral Korvin again. We are sending in a group of tugs to assist your ships and help you conduct some repairs to your ships. Please allow them to help your crew in order to stabilize the damage suffered by your ships. Engineers have also been assembled to help your crews conduct internal repairs and perhaps get your engines and reactors in proper orders.”

Loriks private comlink chimed as he finished the sentence, causing him to pause momentarily and take the call.

“Marshal, I have received word from Stellar Enterprises that they you have full permission to use their spacedock facilities and repair crews to help with your ships. You will not be charged for this access. I am also patching through a feed from Stellar Enterprises.” With a nod the admiral handed over the comm duties to the officer in charge of that station.

The holotransmission went through crystal clear and in front of Kerrick appeared a man wearing an expensive dress shirt, but with the top two buttons undone and no tie to be seen. The man had short brown hair and light eyes that looked as if they projecting directly towards Kerrick. With his hands held behind him, the man slowly bowed towards the Marshal.

“Marshal Arkanus, my name is Rob Stellar.” He began calmly and cordially, with a small smile on his lips. “Welcome to Denon Marshal. I understand that you have certain complaints and grievances with my company. I would be happy to meet with you personally and see if we cannot resolve these issues in a civil manner. If it is alright with you, I will have my aid contact you as soon as we end this conversation to set up all the details and flight plans.”

Rob paused for a moment and moved his hands to his front, spreading them out slowly. “Oh and Marshal, I wish to invite all your crews to the planet for some R and R. Please allow my people to patch up your ships and make sure they are proper order before you leave. All planetside entertainment plus room and board will be covered by Stellar Enterprises. I’m sure your men and women deserve the rest after traveling this far from home. That is up to you of course Marshal. I hope to talk with you soon.”

With that the holostream shut off and Rob turned around slowly, gazing out though the large window covering the entire wall. Before him spread out a whole city. A city that almost stretched out across the entire planet, rivaled only by Coruscant itself. He smiled slowly as he watched the streams of traffic below. Rob had really missed the planet while he had been away for the past few years.

“So this RDI sprung up after I left the galaxy?”

“We doubt that very much sir. More likely it was just that they became more public recently. We only really know about them from people coming out of that quadrant of the Galaxy. The IB pieced together a pretty good picture of their organization from witness accounts. It’s all in the report sir.”

“Alright, thank you Special Agent Veraus.” Rob turned and smiled towards the woman sitting there as she got up and walked out of the office.

He looked down at the data pad lying on his desk and studied the information his Intelligence people had gathered on the RDI. They were not a very public group at the moment, so there was not much information, but having so many planets in an organization, made keeping information contained very difficult. All indications showed they were stand up people fighting for basic rights for every being in the galaxy, starting with their own little corner of the galaxy. He admired them for that. That was probably the only reason that allowed him to overlook their tactless entry into the Denon system.

As he looked over the report, he also overhead some of the news feeds as they started to report on the transmission coming from the Marshal. The news agencies were starting to conduct short interviews with people over coms and on the street to get public opinions. Some people were horrified that someone would do a propaganda stunt like that, others were in expressing their hate for the entire corporate world in general as teenagers usually would, while the major of people were very indifferent and even at times defensive towards Stellar Enterprises.

Most of these people remembered how the planet had changed for the better when Stellar Enterprises came to the world, transforming it from economic ruin to the power house planet it now was. They remember how new jobs were brought to the world and their lives bettered because of the increase in trade. Unemployment had plummeted drastically and the homeless were now well taken care off with new programs to help them find new jobs or finance their higher education into more in demand fields of work. Not only that, but the new parks and gardens surrounding the planet had made it an even more beautiful world to live on.

For a second Rob wondered if Kerrick thought they would jam the transmissions he had sent out and keep the population in the dark about what his statement was going to be. With a smirk and a shake of the head Rob turned and walked into the other room. He had to change for the meeting.

Within a few hours he stepped out on to a large visitor landing platform jutting out from the side of the massive Walterhan Building. The platform was almost large enough to accommodate a full Corellian Corvette, but for the moment parts of it were blocked off to keep the press away from the designated landing area for the Marshal’s shuttle craft. In front of the barricades were eight members of the SE honor guard, four on either side, with weapons against their chests as they stood ramrod straight.

A sound was heard above them and Rob looked up to see the shuttle descend down to the landing pad. When it finally settled, he adjusted his black suit and tie before walking towards it.

It didn't take long.

The head of Stellar Enterprises, Rob Stellar himself, appeared over the holoprojector, offering Kerrick a slow bow.

A moment later the hologram was gone and Kerrick was very confused. “Didn't he have a nervous breakdown or something? Went native and ran off into the abyss?” Of course, no one had an answer for him. “Comm, I trust you can handle Mr. Stellar's aid?”

“Of course, Sir.”

Kerrick nodded. “In that case, patch me through to Genkal before you're too busy playing secretary.”

Only a second later, the head and upper body of the Mon Calamari captain appeared in hologram. “Well, it looks like it worked, Marshal.”

“Yes, Captain, yes it does. You'll be taking command. Start on a full diagnostic of all ships, make sure they're in working order for the return journey. Waive off the local support, we won't be needing them. Of course, the only offer we'll be accepting from Mr. Stellar is the meeting itself. I'll be going alone.”

“Marshal―”

Kerrick cut him off quickly. “That will be all, Captain.”

The former New Republic captain simply answered with a salute. “May the Force be with you, Sir.”

“I don't need the Force, Captain; I have justice.”

The comm line closed and Kerrick left the bridge without another word.

He had two hours to sit in his shuttle and look through the reams of data while Mr. Stellar found the time for a meeting. So much death, so much loss. Kerrick couldn't bear to see it happen all over again.

“Marshal, you're clear for launch. Mr. Stellar will be awaiting your arrival.”

Kerrick finally brought his shuttle's systems to full power, pulling out of the ship's docking bay and orienting toward his destination. So many faces flashed through his mind, so many memories better left forgotten, so many nameless souls forever lost.

Redemption was not a thing easily earned. But it was possible; it had to be possible.

He eventually touched down on the designated landing platform, Rob Stellar himself visible at its edge. Picking up the briefcase that carried all the justification he needed for his recent actions, Kerrick pressed the ramp release and made his way down.

Finally face-to-face with the man in charge, Kerrick knew that―one way or another―everything was about to change.

Hand extended, all Kerrick said was, “Mr. Stellar, we have much to discuss.”

Rob Stellar walked closer as the shuttle set down on the landing pad and its ramp began to lower. A small breeze picked up over the high landing platform and picked up his jacket, making it ruffle in the wind just as the Marshal strode out. Immediately Rob took in the man, sizing him up so to say, and studied him for any clues. The briefcase was simple enough to notice, but the determination on his face was a little harder to discern. There was something else there as well, perhaps grief and certain sadness. This man had lost people he knew and he needed someone to blame. Rob had been in that place of mind before and sort of felt sorry for this man.

For the moment Rob pushed those thoughts away and simply smiled softly as he took the man’s hand firmly. “Marshal, welcome to Denon. I would be happy to discuss what you would like. Please come this way.”

As Rob turned away from the man and pointed towards the platform’s exit, shouts erupted from the press sections. The barricades surged forward just a bit as reports pushed against them in order to yell out various questions and ask for comments from Kerrick.

“If you would like to schedule a press conference or anything, please let me know. I will have my people make all the proper arrangements.”

With that Rob moved towards the exit with the Marshal beside him. He smiled and nodded towards the cameras as he passed. Saying there will be answers to any questions as soon as the two of them finished with their meeting. Inside the building, they only had to walk a short distance before security personal, two living beings in gray SynthMat (synthetic Material) uniforms and two security droids, took up formation around them. They walked a little more to an internal hovertram station, which had been cleared out for the occasion. Beside the platform a high speed tram sat waiting.

The Tram accelerated from the station quickly and took a winding path through most of the building’s internal structure as it made its way higher and higher up the massive structure. As the Tram passed through its transparent tunnel, people still working on shift could be seen walking around in hallways on the other side of the track. Some of these even waved hellos at both the gentlemen and Rob responded in kind. He liked that most people knew his name and could approach him at all times if they had anything to say. Rob also liked to take the time to know most of those peoples names, even know it was simply impossible because of the vast number of individuals that were employed by the company.

During their short trip to the conference room, Rob tried to make small talk with the Marshal. Inside, however, he was very curious about this man. He seemed to be a good leader and have a good heart from what his reports told him, but he had refused all assistance in helping his people and ships. Rob wasn’t sure why that was the case. Did he not trust them or was it more? What it simple pride in that his people could handle everything without any assistance at all? Rob hoped that was not the case since asking for assistance was never a weakness in his mind. The man also refused to let his crew take a rest even after all they have been through. Even the best of warriors need rest and some relaxation and fun to feel normal again.

Taking a deep breath, Rob cleared his mind of these thoughts. Hopefully things would be more clear after their meeting.

Finally the tram car slowed and stopped another terminal closer to the top most levels of the building. This place was more secure and that was immediately apparent as both Rob and then Kerrick were passed through a weapons detected and a full body scanner to reveal anything hiding outside as well as inside the body. Rob waited for Kerrick’s briefcase to be fully scanned for weapons, chemicals, and explosives before motioning towards the end of the short hallway.

“I’m sorry about the security, but I’m sure you can understand the necessary precautions.”

With a smile he led Kerrick towards the set of double doors and placed his palm against the wall beside one of the doors. With a short beep, the doors eased open, revealing a medium sized conference room inside. The wall directly in front of them was completely transparent, but only from inside the building, allowing people inside to gaze out upon the city as it stretched out for kilometers. Away in the distance a small forested area could be seen, surrounding a large man made lake.

Against another wall was small bar and food area with different drinks, nuts, fruits and other appetizers. Rob led Kerrick into the room and the door closed behind them. A soft hum resounded through the air before slowly dissipating as the static field went up, keeping the conversation completely private.

Rob walked around the oval wooden table and slowly ran his fingers over the polished top taking a seat in the large black leather chair at the head of the table. He placed his right foot on his left thigh and spun the chair towards the Marshal slowly, leaning back casually.

“First off, Mr. Arkanus, so there are no misconceptions, you are here not because of your little transmission stunt. I know why you did it and what you hoped to gain, but that is beside the point. You are here because I am curious to hear what you have to say and because from what I have gathered you seem to be a decent human being tasked with a hard mission in life.” He paused and took a slow breath as he studied the man for a second.

“Now please, have a seat…” Rob gestured towards a chair. “And tell me what this all about.”

Stellar Enterprises was an impressive establishment, there was no doubt of that. There were billions of people who had very public, very real reasons to love the institution and, indeed, the man responsible for bringing it into being. Whole worlds had been remade, whole races given new hope and new life.

But it is not enough simply to do good. One must also abstain from evil.

Kerrick took the offered seat, setting his briefcase on a small table at his side. “I don't know you, Mr. Stellar,” he began, opening his briefcase. “I've never done business with your company, and I've never encountered your security forces.” Kerrick moved the contents purposefully, maintaining the order of things within. “I have, however, fought your ships.” He retrieved the particular datapad, handing it to the head of Stellar Enterprises.

“That is a list of every Stellar Enterprises-produced asset the Rimward Defense Initiative has confirmed was not stolen or captured, but instead sold directly to outlaw organizations throughout the Outer and Mid Rims. Everything on that list has either been destroyed or captured by the Initiative since its deployment.

“I'm here, Mr. Stellar, because The Charter for the Mutual Defense of the Outer Rims demands that I fight the very forces of evil which your company has armed for profit. Stellar Enterprises has an obligation―as a manufacturer of tools of war―to ensure that its products are not used in the deprivation of free will, the subversion of legal authority, or the outright murder of innocents.

“The Darkness doesn't need help, Mr. Stellar.”

Rob sat there, watching and listening to the man talk. He pulled the datapad towards him and produced his own, which he promptly opened. As he did, a small display projected above the pad. From the side of the pad he pulled out a data cable and plugged the end into the datapad Kerrick produced. With a few short commands, the data was transferred to his pad and the problem started to analyze every piece of information there. Within seconds matches to all the ships appeared on the display as well as most of the information about those ships, such as manufacture dates, testing results, purchase dates as well as purchased by information.

As Kerrick finished, Rob turned back towards him. “It is true that Darkness doesn’t need any help, but the light does not have to move closer to that darkness with revenge.”

He got up slowly and went towards the bar at the corner of the room, pouring Kerrick and himself a glass of flavored water before moving back towards the other man. “I understand that you have gone through a lot. You have lots many people and seen horrible things done. Naturally you want someone to accuse, which I cannot blame you for. However, I am curious as to why you chose Stellar Enterprises as that someone. Did you try Kaut? Or perhaps Randalli? Maybe Corellia or Soro Suub? Those corporations make a lot more warships than us and they sell to a lot more people. So you can see why I am more than confused.”

Rob set the glass down beside Kerrick before sitting back down and taking a slow drink. He leaned back slightly gestured at the floating display, causing it to turn slowly towards Kerrick.

“As you can see for yourself, all of those ships had been sold to planets and corporations for defense operations. Whether those are secretly working for other parties, is not something we can control and examine. Our policy is to not sell to pirates, dictators, or other evil people as you call them. If we know they will be used to attack civilian population we would not approve the order, but such things are not usually revealed in a business meeting.” He paused once more and leaned towards Kerrick.

“Let me ask you this Mr. Arkanus, when someone purchases a kitchen utensil and then goes on to kill another with said kitchen object, is the company that put out that knife or fork to blame? Are they evil? Perhaps they should monitor everyone that purchases a knife. The same can be said about a pillow. Most people use one for comfort, but many have used them for murder, does that mean pillows should be banned or their companies held accountable for each such murder?

“Now, do I feel sorry that innocent people die at the hands out of ships and other military products because of their misuse, of course I do. Do I wish that wars were not fought anymore and people were only good at heart, for sure. If you ask me, however, if I feel personally guilty for what happens because of my ships and weapons, I certainly don’t. I am actually proud of the many lives they have saved throughout the galaxy.” He took a deep breath as he plugged the connection from the others pad and pushed it back towards Kerrick.

“I’m sure you are aware of how much Stellar Enterprises does for planets and their communities. This is not just some public relations ploy, I can assure you. Stellar Enterprises generally cares about the peoples of the galaxy and does everything in its power to help them. In order to fund such projects as well as support our employs, we must conduct business as we see fit and most as we have been doing, I’m sure you can understand.

“What I can assure you, however, is that we will try our best to keep our weapons from the hands of those that wish to genuinely do hard to others, as we have been doing. We would also be more than happy in helping your RDI with anything it needs after your war, from medical kits to construction droids and starship repairs free of charge. Consider it a sort of charitable donation or goodwill effect from someone that believes in your true goals as well as a gesture of friendship and trust between us.”

Rob smiled slowly and put out his hand. “What do you say Mr. Arkanus? Will you accept our assist or will you deny it?”

“What do you say Mr. Arkanus? Will you accept our assist or will you deny it?”

“I don't compromise my beliefs for a handout, Mr. Stellar.”

Kerrick produced another datapad, pressing a button and holding it up for Rob Stellar to see. The video that began playing would be familiar to him, an advertisement for one of his company's best-selling products.

“Stellar Enterprises' Binder-class Assault Frigate,” A feminine voice began in a crisp, formal tone. Kerrick couldn't see the image, but he had it memorized, played it through in his mind's eye. “The galaxy's newest tool in the fight against piracy.”

He pressed the pause button, setting the pad down between them. The image frozen on the screen was a digital mock-up, a slate-gray frame dotted here and there with minor structural details. If he had allowed the video to continue, the digital image would have propagated itself with weapons emplacements, engine nacelles, communications antennae, and the like. At the end, the Stellar Enterprises standard color scheme would have bled through, painting the hull and bringing the weapons into gleaming clarity, the ubiquitous blue-white engine glow used for these sorts of things flashing to life.

“You can't honestly tell me you equate that to a kitchen knife.

“You want to talk about Rendili? Kuat, Corellia, SoroSuub? You want to know why I came here? Because the CED gunships and Lancer-class Frigates and Rendili StarDrive Light Corvettes that the Rimward Defense Initiative fight are all twenty years old, or more. Because the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Invidious started out as a legitimate military vessel, and it took the collapse of a galactic civilization to put it in the hands of outlaws. Because the one thing this New Order of the Galactic Empire has right, is that it keeps a stranglehold on its tools of war.

“The Rimward Defense Initiative fights against the legacy of fallen nations, Mr. Stellar. We fight to deprive these madmen and rogue warlords of the leftovers from fallen Empires, Republics, and Consortiums. I'm here, Mr. Stellar, because the only new ships my men fight, the only company actively selling weapons of war to illegal and unjust organizations, the only 'legitimate' organization I've encountered that perpetuates this Legacy of the Rim is Stellar Enterprises.

“You want to talk about corporate responsibility, Mr. Stellar? How about TransGalMeg Industries? An affiliate of the Galactic Coalition and a sponsor of the Rimward Defense Initiative, TransGal works in concert with both of those organizations to ensure that the ships, equipment, and supplies they sell to third parties are operated legally and ethically. We work together to ensure the legitimacy of their patrons, and in the rare instances that something does go wrong and their products do end up in the wrong hands, we have the systems in place and the lines of communications open to devise and coordinate a solution before innocent lives are lost.

“And TransGalMeg Industries' primary private sales are light and medium transports with almost no immediate military applications, but still they take the steps to ensure that their products are not employed toward the degradation of galactic society.

“You say the misuse of your products are unfortunate but unavoidable. I know that is not true. You seem to think I'm here because I need someone to blame, because I have some sort of vendetta against you and I want to make you pay.

“The truth, Mr. Stellar, is that I'm here because I see a problem that only you can make right. You want to fix my ships and send my men on vacation? Do you think that will change anything? Take your money, and your production capacity, and your willpower, and apply them to helping more of my men live to miss out on vacation, to ensuring that more of my ships leave the battlefield in condition to be repaired.

“I don't want a payoff, Mr. Stellar. I want a partnership. We can either work together and both be the better for it, or we can be very unhappy with each other for a very long time and both be far worse for it.

“Stellar Enterprises operates anti-piracy actions as an extension of its corporate security forces. You are actively fighting against the very sorts of people that you supply with the tools to do what it is you fight them for. Its only a matter of time before some Stellar Enterprises convoy or security detachment is attacked by people equipped with Stellar Enterprises hardware. When your own people are killed by your own products, where will you stand then?

"There's still time to act and stop that from ever happening.”

Kerrick smiled slowly and put out his hand. “What do you say, Mr. Stellar? Can we work together, or not?”

Rob sat there and sipped at his drink as he listened to the Marshal talk. The man was very passionate about his cause, that much was clear from the start, and Rob could not fault him for that. If only the man knew all that Stellar Enterprises was doing and planing behind the scenes to help more people in need. These were private, however, to people the company did not trust because of much it could damage the company as well as the Rebellion. Only people highly trusted within the company had actual knowledge about what was going on in secret.

“I’m sorry to hear about your people dying against my company’s ships, but like I said, it not the fault of Stellar Enterprises when people that purchase ships from us misuse them, however regrettable it can be. The other companies you mentioned have all sold many more ships of war to pirates and criminals before the Empire or Republic or the New Order took complete control over them. The only reason they are not selling at the moment is because all their ships are being appropriated by the New Order. I feel comfortable in saying that Stellar Enterprises is much more concerned about our ships getting into the hands of unlawfuls than almost any other shipyard.”

Rob paused and looked out the window at the expense of Denon beyond before turning back towards Kerrick with a small smile. “Being a spanning corporation, we cannot control every action that our customers do and we sometimes are not able to completely and thoroughly vet all our customers. What I can promise you, though, is that we at Stellar Enterprises will take extra measures to ensure our ships are used for the proper reasons, but the right people. We will try to ensure that once our ships are sold, their ownership is not transferred to other parties without us properly approving the sale or transfer.”

“If that promise is alright, then I have no problem working with you. You have to understand, though, that as a private corporation my first priority is to my employees and the company as a whole.” Rob looked at the man and reached over to grip his hand in a hand shake.