For Vengeance! Uhh, I mean: For Justice! (Skako)
Posts: 837
  • Posted On: May 16 2015 6:57pm
(Continued from Sojourn Interrupted)


(Following the formation of the Synthoid Collective)




“Now! We go now!”


It looked like rage. It sounded like rage. It presented like rage in every quantifiable aspect. But it was not rage. No, it was something far more dangerous.


It was Consensus.


Colonel Lommite understood in that moment that there was no way to turn the Sojourn from this path. They would go, if they had to go alone with their single Blade. They would go, if it cost them their new relationship with the Cooperative. They would go, if even the faintest hope of victory fell far beyond their reach.


They had to go, for any number of reasons.


So Lommite had to go with them, for as many plus one. “Ar'dak,” it began gently, resting its metallic hand on the armor of her synthetic shoulder, a peculiar gesture between two beings who had embraced the humanoid form out of convenience alone.


She recoiled from the touch, even that reflexive action brimming with predatory warning. “Call your masters and inform them of our course. They may answer or ignore our need as their true commitment to this new association demands.”


“Ar'dak,” Lommite tried again, this time firmer in tone but unaccompanied by any physical gesture. “I am the commander of Shard forces in this system, empowered to deploy them in the manner which best serves the Collective. If you want to launch immediately, I am the one you should plead your case to.”


“I do not plead,” she snapped.


Shard and Guardian Prime forces had reinforced the Sojourn Outpost in the wake of the battle to reclaim it. While the particulars of the relationship between the Mandalorians and Techno Union remained unclear, there was no doubt that they had collaborated in the conquest and subsequent exploitation of the Sojourn world. Until the Sojourn had recovered and fortified their position, their allies in the Synthoid Collective would ensure their safety.


“We are constrained by Cooperative and Coalition law in this matter, Ar'dak. If this Collective is to be a success, if we are to gain our rightful place in the galaxy, we cannot forget that.”


“I do not forget.”


“We must not ignore it, then.”


The slight change in sentiment seemed to get through to her a little. “What do you want, then?”


It was a less pleasant response than Lommite would have preferred, but it was workable. “I will assume overall command of this operation.” She started to protest, but Lommite held up a hand in another peculiarly humanoid gesture and pressed on. “Xiantus will remain here, to oversee the reconstruction of the Outpost, and you will assume command of the Blade and serve as the representative of the Consensus in this mission.”


There was a brief flurry of internal Sojourn communication, of which Lommite was only vaguely aware. There was a certain relaxing of Ar'dak's body as her conscious mind slipped into the ebb and flow of their Concensus, which told Lommite that the discussion was intense and involved.


“Guardian Prime's defense detachment will remain here,” Lommite continued, knowing she could still hear it, “whereas my force will accompany us to Brentaal, where we will link up with any reinforcements Guardian Prime can muster. The Alliance of Corporate States has established a presence there for reasons of their own; we'll use Cooperative channels to request their assistance in securing local logistical support in staging for the approach to Skako.


“This is a military operation, Ar'dak, but it is not a war, and it will be conducted in accordance with the laws and regulations to which we are subject. Do you understand?”


She was coming back now, the Consensus having reached its final decision. “Your demands are . . . acceptable. Provided we launch within the hour.”


Lommite looked around at the features of the Sojourn ship, the only real vessel of war at the synthetic race's disposal. “How about now?” Lommite switched its internal commlink on and cycled through to the required channels. “All ships, form up and prep slave circuits for immediate jump to Brentaal. Blade's helm is controller. Helm, plot course and engage when the last ship sounds off.”


It was a delicate balance, this position in which Lommite had been ensnared. The Sojourn wanted vengeance for the atrocities committed against them. They wanted blood, and fire, and ruin. Lommite had to ensure that if it came to that, and it almost certainly would, it would be the right way. The Shard colonel had to keep the Sojourn's fury in check long enough to secure a clear justification for battle, or everything they were trying to build here would crumble from the start.


The Sojourn were hurting, a hurt that possibly only the Shard could understand, but the Shard had the benefit of decades of recovery and the knowledge that they had already gotten their justice. Lommite didn't know if it could get through to the Sojourn, but it knew that it could stand with them.


After all, they were a Collective now.




* * *




Brentaal's place in the Coalition was still an open question. The Empire had “given” the planet to the Coalition during the Year of Cataclysm, making the legitimacy of its entry into the democratic government shaky at best, and its location this far into the Core didn't do much for the locals' sense of belonging in the Rim-dominated government. The Alliance of Corporate States was doing its best to buddy up to the isolated world, but that had far more to do with the planet's strategic position along galactic trade routes than any concern for the world's population.


A task force of droid warships using the planet as a staging ground for an assault on one of its neighbors certainly didn't help matters. Guardian Prime was sending a formation of Hive Ships fresh off the production lines of the Global Machine, and a course adjustment mid-trip by the Collective task force meant they'd only beaten their reinforcements to Brentaal by a few hours, but even that relatively brief stop over posed a substantial inconvenience when set above the most active trade world in the galaxy.


“Again, Regent, I appreciate your assistance in this matter.”


The full-sized hologram of the Cestian human smiled bitterly. “Colonel Lommite, I'm sure you understand the predicament your request put us in. The Corporate States aren't exactly welcome friends around these parts ourselves, and while we managed to beg and plead a long-term parking orbit out of the locals, convincing them to swap it out for one capable of accommodating military needs burned up the better part of the goodwill we've mustered over the past months.”


“I'm sure you won't regret that currency exchange,” the representative of the galaxy's largest government of synthetics said to the administrator of a major droid manufacturer. It was a big favor, Lommite understood, and the proximity of the Sojourn Outpost to Regent Minn's homeworld may very well have been the deciding factor for the law enforcement officer-turned-corporate politician. The chance to foster relations between their worlds was simply too good to pass up. “We'll be out of your way as soon as is physically possible, I assure you.”


“I am sympathetic to your cause,” the Regent said, catching Lommite just before it closed the line, “but I don't envy the task before you. I would appreciate it if you could avoid any missteps so treacherous they end with you limping back here with your new found troubles in tow.”


“My obligations to the Sojourn have not blinded me to my broader obligations to the Coalition as a whole, or even its most isolated member. I cannot, however, allow fear of what may come to dissuade me from what is right.”


The line closed and Ar'dak wasted no time pouncing on Lommite. “What was that all about? Why are you wasting time with this money-grubber? We don't need anything from him!”


“Unfortunately we do, Ar'dak. Without an order from High Command, Brentaal is under no obligation to allow our combat force into their system. If you want us to handle the Skakoans ourselves, and I know you do, then this is how we go about it. Besides, Regent Minn has proven himself a competent and trustworthy ally in the past. Sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with your prejudices and accept that the flesh-and-blood of the Coalition is not your enemy, but your ally.”


Ar'dak was seething. “When they cut into your brain and dismantle your mind, then you can talk to me about enemies and allies.”


“I don't have a brain,” Lommite replied evenly. “But I did watch every Shard I could rightly call family melted to glass in the Empire's furnaces.”


The ghastly admission stopped Ar'dak cold.


“I know what we're doing here,” Lommite said, turning away from the Sojourn commander to look out at the emptiness of space. “Never imagine that I don't understand.”
Posts: 837
  • Posted On: May 18 2015 11:43pm
Organics often spoke of their blood running cold. It was an expression that gave Lommite some small insight into flesh-and-blood life because in that moment, like so many moments before, the Shard felt a distant emptiness in the core of its being that could only possibly belong to such a category of experience.


War was rushing at them through the whorl of hyperspace.


“Reversion in three, two, one . . .”


The countdown from the navigator was superfluous. Every Sojourn aboard knew the timing precisely through their link to the Consensus, and the Guardian interface newly installed on the Blade's main computer gave Lommite remote access to every bridge station's readouts. The Shard's bond to the Sojourn was a far cry from their Consensus, but it was still something incomprehensible to the average humanoid.


The Synthoid Collective task force entered the Skako System in a streak of relativistic motion, and every sensor, station, and operator present set about its work with machine precision.


No. No, no no no no.


The Guardian interface was scraping Consensus chatter, consolidating the vast amounts of data being exchanged between the Sojourn crew into something manageable by Lommite's uplink, but even before the Shard dug into their growing awareness of the environment, Lommite knew something was amiss. Sensor readings from the Blade alone were enough to give the Shard commander pause, but Guardian analysis streaming in from other ships in the task force confirmed the ghastly scene those millions of kilometers away, locked in its decaying orbit around Skako.


Lommite sent the shutdown command through Guardian, cutting off Ar'dak's broadcast to the Skako System before it could even began. She turned her menacing eye on the Shard Colonel, the warning and threat in her posture clear. Another string of commands through the uplink beamed the compiled data straight into Ar'dak's mind, forcing her to confront the reality of the situation on a level more intimate than any organic eyes could ever allow.


The wreckage of the Techno Union battleship was pounding against Skako's planetary shield . . . wherever it was active. A huge section was offline, smaller holes dotted around the main impact area. It was clear from analysis of the orbital debris that the massive scar carved into the city-world below had been caused when a Lucrehulk-class battleship in orbit was cleaved in two, its starboard half crashing into the world below before its protective shield could be engaged. The smaller impact sites appeared to be from downed escort craft of varying classifications.


Whoever had done this, their strike had been swift and merciless. “There is more at work here than we could have anticipated,” Lommite warned, internally assimilating tactical data from Guardian.


The Techno Union was back in play, that much they had known. They had expected some refurbished or newly manufactured CIS hardware as a result, and the composition of the force deployed at the Sojourn Outpost suggested they might have purchased some older, generally available ships to supplement their forces. There was even the possibility that the Mandalorian strike force that had initially seized the Outpost would be here, operating as hired guns for the Techno Union. Nothing had suggested the Skakoans might be someone else's victims.


“This does not change our mission,” Ar'dak said, but the fire in her was waning. Even she couldn't overlook the wall of bodies before them.


“No, but it may change our options,” Lommite answered.


They were being hailed by a second Lucrehulk, this one intact, its tractor beams fighting with the orbiting wreckage, trying to push the partially intact port arm into a stable orbit. Lommite accessed the holofeed as the Blade's recorder sized up the Shard commander and activated. “We are prepared to defend ourselves!” the highly synthesized voice of the Skakoan shrieked from behind its mask. “We will not allow you to . . .”


The voice trailed off as the Skakoan glanced to the side. It was hard to get a read on the alien's demeanor, but something was clearly off on their end.


“I am Coalition Colonel Lommite, an officer of the Synthoid Collective,” it began firmly, not waiting for the Skakoans to sort out their nonsense. “We are entering your system on behalf of the Sojourn Consensus, a member of our Collective, to pursue justice for the genocide enacted upon their people by agents of the Techno Union.”


That got the squishy-faced creature's attention. “I . . . I don't . . . you . . .”


“The state of this planet and its defenses suggests that ours are not the only grievances held against the Techno Union,” Lommite added, pushing past the Skakoan commander's pitiful efforts to stall for time.


The holofeed flickered in Lommite's mind before being replaced with another Skakoan. “I am Gam Lozo, Marshal of Law and wartime governor of Skako. Forgive the captain's transmission; you should be speaking with me. I am aware of the attack on the Sojourn and admit the Techno Union's complicity in that attack, but the story you know is only a fragment of the truth. We mean you no ill will, Colonel Lommite, and if you will but allow us the opportunity, we will show you that our similarities far outweigh our differences.”


Lommite held out a hand to stop Ar'dak, but it wasn't enough. “Lies!” she shouted as she stormed toward the Colonel and the holofield, forcing Lommite to cut the transmission. “They're all lies! Fire! Fire now, before they can rally their defenses!”


Ar'dak was right, in that other ships were rounding the planet's horizon, soon in range to support the Lucrehulk in the event of combat. Truthfully, Coalition Intelligence hadn't indicated Skako would be so well defended, even with a Lucrehulk already down. The Collective's task force was not intended to face off against a foe of this size.


“They've been attacked, Ar'dak.”


We've been attacked,” she shouted, moving in close, only centimeters away, the fluidity of her movement only conveying threat and danger to the Shard. “They've taken too much from us already. We won't give them the chance to do it again.”


“What would have us do?” Lommite asked, not backing down.


“Cripple their warships, destroy their manufacturing capacity. Blockade the planet and monitor their activity. Track down their allies and do the same to them! Render them impotent, so no one ever has cause to fear them again.”


“They've been attacked, Ar'dak,” Lommite reminded her. “You would leave them defenseless?”


“They deserve worse,” she replied, but to no apparent effect. She stepped away, unwilling to press the physical threat further. “You call yourselves Guardians; who are you protecting with this!”


“It's not yet clear who needs protecting,” Lommite said. “We will meet with them,” he started, but was quickly cut off.


“Oh, no!” Ar'dak exclaimed, clenching her fists in frustration and rage. “I will do no such thing!”


“Guardian has already sorted it with their Marshal of Law. You'll look into the eyes of the Foreman of the Techno Union, and then together, as a Collective, we will determine the appropriate course of action.”
Posts: 837
  • Posted On: May 23 2015 8:43am
Ar'dak was broken. There were parts of her that were just . . . gone. She could feel their emptiness, the void where they had once been, and the worst part . . . the part of her that felt pity for her brokenness, it was missing too.


She was not, however, wrong. That part still worked just fine. Staring into the eyes of the Foreman of the Techno Union, she was sure of it. “A droid? A droid is responsible for the torture and murder of thousands of my kind?”


“HK-47 was no ordinary droid!” Bot Tambor exclaimed, throwing his arms up in exasperation and, clearly, terror.


“'Was'?” Lommite asked, catching both of the Skakoans' attention.


Lommite, always ferreting out the least important scraps of information. Ar'dak's interests were more direct. “You want me to believe that a castaway, ancient droid seized control of a civilization of five hundred billion technophiles, restarted one of the most infamous and expansive commerce guilds in history, launched the covert invasion and enslavement of my people, and all of this with hardly half a dozen cowed sapients in all the galaxy aware?”


“Well, I wouldn't exactly say 'only' a half-dozen . . .” Bot began muttering, but the Marshal of Law quickly cut in.


“HK-47 laid his plan over the course of decades, perhaps more,” Gam Lozo explained. “He was patient, methodical, and ruthless. Our families . . . he took our families and used them against us, held them captive to ensure our loyalty.”


An odd silence passed in which Gam looked to Bot for support, but Bot seemed too shaken up to notice. Finally the Marshal kicked the Foreman under the table, which set him into motion. “We . . . we tried to resist. There was an uprising. We fought, we tried, but . . .” Bot glanced over to Gam, “but we failed. HK-47, he was so powerful, his influence ran so deep, that he spun the whole thing, the entire resistance, as an insurrection, a fringe minority's defiance of the Guild's decision to reestablish the Techno Union.” Bot sunk back into his seat, glancing to Gam for approval or, perhaps, rescue from the Coalition delegation's attention.


“But you won,” Lommite said, trying to prompt the Skakoans into explaining further. “If this HK was so entrenched, how did you defeat him?”


“The Mandalorians,” Marshal Lozo said. “He forced me to hire them, though I didn't know what for at the time. He must have offended them somehow, because they attacked us as soon as HK-47 redeployed a detachment of our security forces to the Sojourn planet. The attack was lightning fast, caught us completely by surprise . . . both me, and HK-47. He was so obsessed with the Techno Union's manufacturing capabilities, so devoted to protecting our infrastructure, that his attention slipped from everything else.” Gam sat forward in his seat, eyes laser focusing on Lommite. “I had to act; it was the only chance I'd have.”


“Marshal Lozo saved us all,” Foreman Tambor said weakly. “He killed HK-47 and dismantled his network of droid taskmasters and spies.”


“I'd been planning it for months,” the Marshal explained. “Quietly gathering what support I could. I knew another armed revolt would be fruitless; HK-47 was just too ruthless for that kind of a ploy to work. I had to be crafty, careful, patient. I had to beat him at his own game. And I did.” He sat back, seemingly pleased with himself. “And now we're rebuilding.”


“With the Techno Union,” Ar'dak noted. “The very organization this HK-47 built by your enslaved hands?”


“Well . . .” the Foreman began, but was quickly cut off.


“We can't deny its value,” the Marshal explained. “And it's best we salvage something good from all of this unpleasant business.”


“Unpleasant business?” Ar'dak scoffed, her hands clenching into fists atop the table.


“HK's existence isn't public knowledge,” Bot offered hurriedly, trying to defuse Ar'dak's rage. “The situation is very delicate right now; over three billion people died in the attack. The Mandalorians were ruthless and cruel.” The Foreman seemed to be getting choked up behind his pressurized mask.


“The Mandalorians were ruthless. The Mandalorians?” Ar'dak was on her feet, her eyestalk stretching forward toward Bot Tambor. “The Mandalorians didn't pry open my cranial casing. The Mandalorians didn't cut into my neural network. The Mandalorians didn't dig into my mind with scalpels, and needles, and shock probes!”


“And your suffering has levied a debt against the Techno Union that we are prepared to pay, in full,” Marshal Lozo said calmly.


“What?” Ar'dak balked. She couldn't find her way clear of the Marshal's absurdity and back to her broiling rage.


“You cannot deny the serendipity of this moment,” Gam continued. “The harm that both our people have suffered at the hands of HK-47, the great injury that was done to your people and the machine nation that arose out of it, the position we are now in as controllers of one of the largest droid manufacturers in galactic history,” Gam gestured from himself to Bot several times. “There is a clear path ahead that benefits both our parties greatly.”


Ar'dak's eye was swinging back and forth between Gam and Bot, the morbid absurdity of the moment simply overwhelming.


“This is hardly an appropriate topic for this meeting,” Lommite said, trying its best to smooth over the situation. It grabbed Ar'dak gently by the wrist and tried to nudge her back into her seat. “We haven't even confirmed your claims -”


And then Ar'dak was halfway across the table, screaming incoherently as she reached for the Foreman of the Techno Union.


Lommite tightened its grip on her arm and pulled back violently, jumping to its feet and aiming for her throat with its free hand.


Ar'dak felt electric fire run through her entire body. Her vision went blank and her hearing went first to screaming static, then total silence.


She was down.


She was out.


But the fury that had thrown her across the table . . . no stun blast could scramble that.


She knew who she was. She knew her brokenness. And she knew who had broken her.
Posts: 837
  • Posted On: May 24 2015 11:52pm
“This is not good, Ar'dak.”


“No, it is not,” she replied, rising from the workbench/seat that served as a medical station for the synthetic creatures. She was heading straight for the bridge, all but ignoring Lommite.


“Ar'dak, you've risked the legitimacy of this entire operation. You tried to assault a foreign representative! This is not how you get justice for your people.”


“Oh, you're still going on about that?” She said dismissively. “Nobody told you?”


Lommite paused for a moment, but quickly realized Ar'dak wasn't slowing down and gave chase once more. “What are you talking about? What did I miss? What have you done?” It was an accusation more than a question.


“He was terrified, Colonel. Bot Tambor was all but crippled by his fear.”


“Yes, terrified at the prospect of Coalition retribution. A terror which you pushed firmly toward -”


“No, no. You missed it. He wasn't afraid of us. He was afraid of Gam Lozo.”


“What?” Lommite stumbled to a stop again. “No, that doesn't make any sense . . . and why attack him if . . .”


Ar'dak was at the bridge doors now, glancing back over her shoulder at the Shard colonel. “I informed the crew of my suspicions through the Consensus,” she explained, gesturing broadly to the bridge and its bustling activity.


Lommite followed her onto the bridge, taking in the sight with a mix of wonder and horror. “What have you done?” Every work station and viewscreen was filled with data streams Lommite recognized, but had never quite seen before.


“I had to buy us time. If I was right, I needed Gam Lozo to think we didn't suspect him. The Consensus' membership in the Collective has given us access to Guardian's base code. It's amazing how quickly seven hundred fifty networked synthetic life forms can remodel an AI.”


“Data collection. You're using Guardian for data collection?” Lommite still wasn't following fully.


“You disabled my neural net's link to my body, Colonel. You crippled me, but my mind has been active all of this time. Active, and connected to the Consensus. We've been digging through Skakoan records and communications while you've been waiting for my physical repairs to be completed.”


“What have you found?” Lommite asked, realizing that now wasn't the time to quibble over protocol regarding Guardian's deployment.


“What I expected,” she said grimly. “I am broken, Colonel, but I am not wrong.”


* * *


“We have your family, Foreman Tambor.”


The words were a dagger cutting through the darkness. Terror, pain, fear . . . that voice . . . That voice! Bot Tambor fumbled for his commlink, desperate to call security before . . .


“Your communications are being jammed,” the voice informed him. “We have your family, Foreman Tambor,” it repeated again. “They're safe now.”


How? What? Why? “How?” It was a question not fully formed, even in his mind, but the invisible intruder answered anyway.


“Gam Lozo is crafty, we'll give him that.” The hologram of Ar'dak the Sojourn sprouted from the holomech, a crab-like droid designed for keeping pace with pedestrians. It must have slipped into his quarters under cover of dark. “He is not, however, a droid, or anything like one. HK-47's network remains largely intact. Once we found a way in, a droid's way in, it was simple enough to compromise the entire apparatus.”


“By the Eye of the Albino Cyclops,” Bot gasped, realizing what this all meant. He knew the lies from the truth. That these Sojourn had sorted through it all so effectively in so little time . . . and if they had his family now, if they had rescued them from Gam's secret prison . . .


“You have seconds to decide; the fate of your world is in the balance. Gam Lozo, the tyrant of Skako, or us, the outsiders. Who wins this fight, Foreman Tambor?”


“What? No. No, I can't.” Bot sank to the floor, overcome with fear and doubt.


“A special forces squad of Guardian BX-series battle droids just breached your family's estate and raided its basement complex. Your family is out of play, they will be protected by the full might of the Coalition, but any second now the Marshal of Law will be informed and then it will be too late.”


“Too late?” Bot asked weakly.


“Too late to neutralize him before he can act to safeguard his power. He will ultimately fail, but the bodies he leaves in his wake will make you dream of the day the Mandalorians came for their vengeance.”


This was impossible. Impossible! So much, too much . . . “What do you need from me?”


* * *


When Gam Lozo entered Bot Tambor's private quarters in the Techno Union's headquarters, he found the Foreman sitting, alone, in the dark. The puppet Tambor was unusually clammy, even for the perpetually cowering worm. It was a good sign.


“So you heard, but you weren't fool enough to try it yourself.” Gam waited for Bot to snap out of his trauma, but it didn't look like that was going to happen anytime soon. “Your family's safe, I'm happy to say. Your welcome, by the way. I told you that the Sojourn -”


“I know,” Bot finally managed. It was a weak, impotent acknowledgment, almost too quite for Gam to be sure he'd made it.


“Yeah, I'm always right about this kind of stuff. She wants your head, Bot, and she's not going to stop -”


“No,” Bot interrupted. Bot never interrupted. “Not that. I know . . . that my family's safe.”


“Huh? You already knew? How? Who told you?” It was a minor issue, the kind of leak Gam could honestly afford to have, but it was still mildly intriguing that Bot had any allies left in Gam's new order of things.


Bot stood up. Bot never stood up. He was shaking, terrified, but he stood up.


“If there's going to be a problem,” Gam started, putting that edge of warning in his tone that told Bot he was serious.


“And I know that you don't have them anymore,” Bot added, taking an unsteady step forward.


Gam chuckled, his amusement just winning out over his annoyance. “Do you think that changes anything?” Gam caught movement out of the corner of his eye, glanced over to see a B1 battle droid stepping in from an adjoining room. “What the . . .” There was another one on his other side. He whipped back to Bot. “If you think . . .”


The blaster was shaking in Bot Tambor's hands. His grip was tightening on the weapon, but the shaking didn't stop.


“Put that away!” Gam ordered. “You know better -”


And then it was over.


* * *


“It had to end this way,” Ar'dak said flatly.


“You don't know that,” Lommite replied. “We could have had justice, Ar'dak.”


“I told you it was all the same to us.”


“It's not all the same to me.” The pain and betrayal was clear in its voice.


She turned to regard her people's only real ally, the outsider who had saved her life, and the lives of thousands of Sojourn. “I know, but you aren't broken like us.” And that was the end of that. “Shall we proceed,” she asked, turning her attention to the large, intricate double doors before them.


They opened, and the pair of foreigners stepped into the Hall of the Guild of Skako.


“Where is Bot Tambor?” one of the Skakoan elders asked harshly.


“The former Foreman of the Techno Union has been taken into Coalition protective custody,” Lommite answered, “along with his family. He will not step foot on Skako again.”


“Unacceptable,” another said. “He must present himself before us and account for the death of Gam Lozo, the Marshal of Law.”


“We will not play your games,” Ar'dak warned. “We know about HK-47, his threats, kidnappings, and blackmail. We know that Gam Lozo seized control, secretly, when HK-47 disappeared some months ago, and we know that he formalized his power during the Mandalorian attack, when he declared martial law.”


“His death,” Lommite cut in, hoping to keep this exchange civil, “has revested the Guild with absolute authority over Skako and its people. This formal transference of power from the former Foreman of the Techno Union,” Lommite held out a datapad for one of the Guild attendants to fetch, “entrusts the Guild with control over the Techno Union, to be utilized in the best interest of the Skakoan people and their allies.”


“We have no allies,” a third Guild member said.


“We aren't here to answer your summons,” Ar'dak said, unwilling to let Lommite keep this meeting too civil. “We're here to make you an offer. We're here to change the state of affairs.”


“Impossible.” They were already starting to seem like more or less the same person.


“You have the legal authority to reassert control over Skako, yes,” Lommite said, “but do you have the means? Or the trust of the people? HK-47's droid network is still largely intact, woven through Skakoan and Techno Union infrastructure. We compromised part of it; who will do it next? And he had 'loyalists', Skakoans who sided with him in order to see the Techno Union reborn. Gam Lozo had his own backers, some of whom he culled from HK-47's ranks, once HK went missing. Then HK had backers, offworld influences that I doubt any of you even know about. Plus there are Techno Union Loyalists, committed to the 'idea' of the Techno Union's ascendance, more than any person or agenda. And the faith in you, the Guild, to lead has been seriously undermined these past years. What do you think is going to happen when all of the secrets you've struggled so long to keep under wraps start leaking to the public?”


“That won't happen,” one of them said sternly.


“It's already started,” Ar'dak said. “You can't cover up a firefight at the Techno Union HQ that ends in Gam Lozo's death.” Gam had had personal security forces just outside Bot's apartment. The B1's under Bot's control had dealt with them once Gam was dead, but it got messy fast.


“That was your doing!” another roared indignantly.


“Bot Tambor killed Gam Lozo,” Lommite answered calmly. “That's a Skakoan matter; it has nothing to do with us.”


“Yet you shield him from Skakoan law!”


“The Coalition is not convinced of your ability to protect him from exrajudicial reprisal, as indicated by the areas of compromise I previously numerated.”


Another person walked through the large, open doors of the Guild Hall, a human in full environmental protection gear to protect himself from Skako's atmosphere. “And what is this?” a Skakoan shouted.


Ar'dak glanced back at the newcomer, then grudgingly shifted over to let him step forward. “I am Regent Miko Minn of Cestus, Administrator of Cestus Cybernetics, and a guest of the Synthoid Collective envoy.”


“Unacceptable!”


“Let's . . . let's hear him out,” another Skakoan said, silencing her compatriot. “Cestus Cybernetics was once a subsidiary of the Techno Union, after all.”


“Thank you,” Regent Minn said cordially. “In its infancy, the Cooperative came to my planet's aid. Cestus was in turmoil after generations of corruption and civilian disenfranchisement. We had a problem that you don't, an issue of natives versus . . . settlers. It got bloody, almost genocidal, but the Cooperative pulled us back from the brink. They helped us sort out our institutional problems, gave us the tools we needed to begin healing those generations of injury and resentment, and we're stronger for it. Every day, we grow stronger for it. I want to help do that for you.”


“We will not allow our people to be subject to outside powers.”


“Except you already have,” Ar'dak spat out. “Your shipyards are filled with warships built in service to -”


“Foreign powers,” Lommite finished. The interruption drew a warning glare from Ar'dak, but it had to be done. “You've tried having foreign masters lurking in the shadows before. It didn't end well. Now maybe you should try foreign friends stepping out into the light of day? We don't know the extent of Gam Lozo's betrayal of the Mandalorians. We don't know if or when they will return, or in what manner or capacity. And the revival of the Techno Union is sure to draw the attentions of others still, with unsavory designs of their own.”


“We must dismantle the Techno Union at once,” one Guild official said.


“It's too late for that now,” another objected.


“Don't be so quick to rule out viable options,” a third chided.


“What I'm offering you is membership in the Alliance of Corporate States,” Regent Minn said gently, reentering the conversation. “Not capitulation. Not surrender or subjugation. A seat at the table, as equals. You tried isolationism, and you had a good run at it for fifty years. But the galaxy is a dangerous place, and whether you are prepared to accept it or not, Gam Lozo and HK-47 have made your world a target once more.”


“We must live with the scars that other monsters leave on us,” Ar'dak said darkly. “To wish them away is to live in delusion until it destroys us.” This was how she got through it. This was how she empathized with the race that almost destroyed her own. “We aren't your friends, Skakoans. We will not forget, and we will not forgive, and we will have our . . . justice . . . for what was done to us, with or without your help. What we can be, what you can choose for us to be, is allies, partners . . . a Cooperative.”


It was the best pitch they could manage. It was the least terrible option they could salvage from so much pain and death. And it was going to work. It was going to work, because of greed and fear. These were not the things on which the Coalition was built, but they were all that Lommite the Shard and Ar'dak the Sojourn had, and of all the things these two held common, first among them was that lesson learned in pain loss: you use what you have, even when it's ugly. Even when it costs you a part of yourself. Even when the ends turn you a little more into the thing you're trying to destroy.


You use what you have, because the alternative is to sit and wait for ruin.


* * *


Epilogue


“Why didn't you let me tell them?” Ar'dak asked casually as she ran through the preflight checks virtually.


“Huh?” Lommite said, remotely powering up shuttle systems as they were cleared.


“What Bot told us? That name? Why didn't you let me say it, in the Guild meeting earlier?”


“I don't know. It was just a . . . feeling I had. Something was . . . off, somehow. We need to investigate further before we let anyone else know.”


“Anyone?” Ar'dak asked, feigning shock. “Even Cooperative Command? And here I was thinking you were the loyal officer committed to the ideals of it all, and I was the pragmatist looking to keep whatever I could from the powers-that-be.”


“I'll inform Councilor Tik. He's in the Council of Defense; he'll have channels to Coalition Intelligence. He should be able to investigate without raising suspicion.”


“What do you think it is, though? This . . . Union that HK works for?”


Lommite shrugged as the ship lifted off on repulsors and angled for space. “Whatever it is, what we're finding from the local investigation suggests it's powerful enough to pull him away without indication and keep him from returning.”


“But the ships he ordered for them are still here, in drydock. The contracts were never fulfilled. That's good new for us, but what does it all mean?”


Lommite shook its head, glad the operation had ended in so little bloodshed, but still sickened by the kind of bloodshed it had required. “I don't know, but that's why we must proceed carefully. Secrets can be powerful weapons, Ar'dak. More powerful than fleets of warships, and whole races bred for battle.”