Chapter 39: In Motion Part 2
Location: Coruscant
While on both Bandomeer and Mandalore, things are happening on Coruscant; some other events are starting to get into motion.
Underneath the large scrapyard of Keith's Scrapyard Emporium, a large-scale meeting was currently happening.
Inside a large basement converted into a command and briefing room, a group of people sat around a large table or stood near the walls.
Some wore casual clothes, while others still wore the clan's armor in dull grey with red highlights, with an urban camo pattern over most to complete the look; some lacked the pattern, likely because they didn't need it. However, those with it could use it perfectly for the underworld urban place that is Coruscant's lower levels.
This place and the people inside are all from the Clan Stix, who left the shipyards not long ago in exodus.
In front of the room stood a middle-aged man in full armor; this man was the current acting leader of Clan Stix, also known as Old Keith.
Next to him stood a young woman; this was his adopted daughter Laara, without her helmet on. She had black, wavy hair pulled into a battle bun; caramel-coloured skin, as if she'd often been in the sun; dark brown eyes; a small nose; and full lips.
She stood next to old Keith at Military Rest; some of the younger men tended to look at her slightly longer than normal.
Just when one of their eyes started to look a little too low, old Keith started to speak.
"Alright, listen up, we got news that Clan Gryphen moved out of Mandalore with a powerful group of Deathwatch, towards Bandomeer." Keith stated this, shocking everyone in the room and making the younger men fling their heads back to old Keith instead
"That is a shock. I never pictured that women would side with them… looks can truly be deceiving…" a man close to the front stated, leaning back in his seat in shock and defeat.
"Deathwatch is working 'WITH' them to clean up Bandomeer from Pirates; we bought information from 'The Gatherer', remember that name, due to this meeting having to do with it." Keith spoke again before everyone started talking, making the room chaotic, and he had to yell to regain order.
"For now, watch the following recordings so that way you will all know what is going on, not fully, but the main gist of it." Keith walked to the side with Laara, dimmed the lights, and on the large screen, started to play the recordings of the fleet battles in Bandomeer made from a drone nearby
On the screen, they watched as the drone showed a group of ships hanging in space before a large group came from hyperspace and rushed towards the few ships that had moved towards the disturbance.
Soon after, it became clear to everyone watching that the group who showed up from Hyperspace were of Clan Gryphen, who, after a short fight, had boarded the ships and soon flew them into their own formation.
Soon after this first fight, a new group came about with fresher-looking ships and using tactics properly, meaning a full Republic patrol, who, after barely fighting for half an hour, ran away, pulling a few ships with tractor beams to run away, after the flanking strikes of Deathwatch fangs.
"Incredible… all that in such coordinated fashion, and those fangs are Deathwatch colored…" the same man as before soon said
"Not just that, the main ships of Clan Gryphen hardly did much, meaning they just have a support role." another man stated
Just then, they all saw the now-grown fleet move towards Bandomeer again after a small fight that took place; they took position near Bandomeer, just outside the orbit.
Soon, they saw on the screen that the drone lost connection due to a group of three Mandalorian Fang fighters moving towards it and destroying it.
Soon, the lights turned on again, and the screen turned off, as old Keith and Laara stood in front of everyone again.
"As you all just saw, both groups did rather well and even grew the fleet. However, what happened on the ground is less known since the drone in question was one from 'The Gatherer' themselves. Not much else is known, and we do not have the finances to get more, even if there had been." old Keith stated when Laara took over
Laara started speaking with a stern voice, clearly practised, since it was totally different from the soft-spoken one they all knew she normally had.
"Alright, now to the main point of the meeting. As everyone knows, when we arrived here, the heavily scarred Zabrak Decan, who worked and protected this place when my Uncle was away, had informed us of the gangs getting rowdy." Laara began speaking; due to the switch in voice, everyone, even the younger ones who had been ogling her before, paid attention
"Decan has protected this place and got badly injured, burned, and scarred since he fought by himself all this time.
While we settled in after arrival, I have asked him for information about the gangs and the entire situation in general of our surroundings. All so that he no longer has to do any of that alone or at all. After all, we are now here, and even though we worked for years on the shipyards of Clan Yomaget, we are still warriors." Laara continued on
"So here is the situation. We are here in the middle of 'Level 250.' It is not too far down but also not too close to the surface to cause problems.
On this level, just two groups are trying to gain control of 'Keith's Scrapyard Emporium' they are to our West and North." Laara kept on talking while everyone listened on
"To the North, we have a group called 'The Wasters' while to the West are those who use the name 'The Bulldogs'. Either group has a large number of people and wishes to take the central portion to cut the other off from expanding into the East and South." Laara finished saying, and Keith took over with a prideful smile, looking at Laara
"As you all heard, these two groups are not on our good side and will try to take over again and again. Decan has informed me it has been a week now, so he expects another visit from either or even both sides any day now.
He had been able to spread rumors that the other was amassing a large attack on the other, so he has bought us valuable time. Of course, I let him know in advance we would be arriving somewhere this month, due to reasons we are here now instead of in another few weeks…" Keith began speaking again but was cut off by Laara
'This girl has only been out here a few weeks, and she has shown such growth; best to let her continue. I'm not that young anymore, after all.' Keith thought, stepping aside again
"As you can see on the screen, both sides are equal in number…" Laara spoke up, showing the listings on the screen
[THE WASTERES:
Numbers: 500 Footman/Waste-Eaters, 10 Captains/Wasters, 5 Comanders/Waste Masters, 1 Leader/Big Waste Man
Main income: Death Sticks; production, use, and selling them. Likely also other Drugs and Narcotics
Location: North in Green; important to note they hold the way down to 'Level 251'.]
Following to the side on the screen, another short list was shown with a map denoting the entire area they controlled.
[THE BULLDOGS
Numbers: 550 Dogs, 27 Trainers, 5 Handlers, 1 Bossman
Income: Extortion, Paid Protection, Weapons Trade, and forced relocation of populace into disappearing
Location: West, denoted in Red; important to note: well trained in weapon use, armor and weapons show signs of being newly made. Might have their own supply chain or factory/workshop making them.
If they have a supply chain, beware they might have contacts above ground.]
Soon after, checking the short list and a separate one with all the details of faces and their usual hang-out spots of the more influential members and leaders, everyone looked back to the front, watching the stern face of Laara with a grim-looking Keith next to her.
"Orders?" a middle-aged woman asked to the back of the room
"Simple, for now, we turn Keith's Scrapyard Emporium into a fortress. We have smelters and a massive scrapyard of tools, small ships, and anything the surface discarded. If we smelt it all, we can use it to build… Clan Stix is good at that, so we will." Keith stated when Laara took over again
"However, I want Trapper and Hunter teams on watch, followed by Guardian and Heavy groups, all on rotation for guard duty while everyone else does the smelting and building… Dismissed and get ready." Laara ordered.
Everyone stood at attention and walked outside in orderly fashion; soon only two people were left, Laara and her uncle, old Keith.
Just when the door closed, Laara collapsed from exhaustion into a nearby chair.
"That was intense. How can you and others do this in front of so many strong people all the time…" Laara rubbed her forehead in exhaustion when Keith knelt in front of her, holding her hands.
"Practise, dear, but you did really well. I can see you practised hard, and I could swear I almost saw your mother in front of the room giving a briefing." Keith stated, looking at her with a gentle smile
"My mother… can you tell me some more about how she was outside the home… I'd like to know. I was too young. I only know she was beautiful and gentle at home… could you… please?" Laara asked him voice lowering near the end
"Of course, I will start from when I learned my foolish brother brought her home." Keith said, sitting in a chair in front of her and starting to tell her what he could remember
— — — — —
Elsewhere on Coruscant, inside a deep underground lair, a hooded figure is speaking to another hooded figure on a large holo table.
"Master, are you certain of this? Bandomeer is barely usable; it has already been drained of any use long ago by our corporate servants." the one in the room spoke in a nasal, prideful tone
[Foolish apprentice, Bandomeer has become rather active in the dark side of the Force. Something is waking up, and reports of the Meerian population being slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands alone should denote something amiss. Even without the darkness growing restless. Also, that boy is down there at this time.] The hooded man on the holo table spoke in a slow and gritty voice, as if breathing and speaking through a special device
"The 'boy'... Want me to intervene, Master?" the man in the room asked in glee
[No, Bandomeer will be in the hands of the Mandalorians soon enough; besides, the man who fought Jedi Master Dooku many times in the past to a standstill will also be there. That means the most elite forces of Clan Gryphen and others will be there.] The holographic man spoke again
"Then all our investments in the pirates will be for nought…" the nasal-sounding man grumbled
[Silence! You Fool! This is not about you, me, or even what we might lose in Bandomeer! This is about staying hidden from the blind Jedi. We have many plans in motion, and many are in critical phases. Losing Bandomeer is indeed a loss, but not the end of the world.
Besides, whatever is awakening might do enough damage to clipple that Clan Gryphen for us to regain the 'boy' so we can continue from before.] the holographic man said, even sending a Force lightning into the nasal-sounding man
"Argh!... of course, Master, then what do you wish of me at this time?" the nasal-sounding man soon spoke through gritted teeth
[Continue with what you can influence; I will continue with my side as well. Soon we will have the Trade Federation, and the Forges will soon be ours; when they are, we can implement our plans in a few years even without Bandomeer.] The holographic man stated before ending the call
"Argh!" the man in the room of the lair threw things around in annoyance
"Just you wait! When I'm done, it will be me who will rule, and you will not be around anymore to see it." he said through gritted teeth
After pressing a few buttons, the man in the room made another call
"My apprentice, how does your cleanup go?" he called another man, who accepted the call with two dead Jedi nearby
[It goes well, Master, too well; these Jedi are of no use with how weak they… are. There's not even a challenge at all.] the dark-cloaked man with burning yellow eyes, the only thing visible, spoke in a grave and deep voice
"Good, good, I have a new mission for you, apprentice. Go to Bandomeer, infiltrate the mines, and deal with the Jedi under Mandalorian protection. Do not be seen; do not engage unless needed and found." The man spoke in his nasal, arrogant, and prideful tone
[It will be done, my Master.] The cloaked figure answered before the call was ended
"This will be a true test for him. Depending on the results will mean whether he becomes part of the other plans." the man stated before walking away
— — — — —
At the same time, the other meetings were happening in the Jedi Temple; those still at Coruscant were holding a council meeting.
"Uncertain times, we are in, yes?" Master Yoda spoke, starting the meeting
"We do. The situation on Bandomeer is worrying but not problematic. The disappearance and failure of many Jedi in the 'Outer Rim' to report in is… troubling." A tall man with orange skin and three fingers and a thumb on his hands spoke gravely through a breathing mask that also covered his eyes
"That is indeed a problem. We must expect the worst situation. I suggest getting Master Vos and his Padawan Aayla Secura to investigate." Master Windu stated gravely
"Master Plo Koon, something else to say you have, hmm…" Master Yoda said after seeing the tall humanoid man bristle in his seat
"Master Vos and his Padawan are not suited for Bandomeer, but we could send them to the Outer Rim; he has many contacts who balance on the edge of the gray side, so to speak. He has been in the Outer Rim for a while now doing missions; this will just be an extension, so to speak.
If we wish to know the fates of those Jedi who disappeared, his methods would be the best… for now." Master Plo Koon said in a calm manner
"Decided we have, Call Master Voss we will." Master Yoda stated, watching the other members stay silent, beyond giving nods of approval