Treachery on Taladin Seven, Part one

         New Assignment continued
     
            Tortai boarded the ship and they took off for Taladin. After taking pictures for her identity cards, she went to her quarters and dropped her carrying case, marveling at the lavishness of her room. It was much more spacious than the bedroom in her apartment on Coruscant and was decorated like the room of someone in the togrutan hierarchy. It had medium gray walls, soft blue carpet that felt great on her bare feet, a painting on the wall of a male togrutan Jedi with a yellow light saber and some togrutan antiquities on display. She checked the closet and found three long, flowing dresses, one white, one dark purple, and one blue.

          She absolutely adored the dresses; it had been long time since she got to wear such eloquent clothes. It was certainly a nice change from the same old blue suit and knee length skirt with black heels she had to wear around HQ. Knowing she was going to meet with the Prime Minister of Taladin Seven when she arrived, she decided to try on the white dress. She didn’t know if it was because major New Republic politicians such as Senator Leia Organa and Head of State Mon Mothma wore white dresses to many major political functions or what, but Tortai just felt it was only proper to meet a planetary leader in a nice white dress.

           She changed into it and admired herself in the mirror on top of the vanity. Aside from the uncomfortably long sleeves, the dress fit her perfectly. She almost felt like a politician as she rotated and looked herself over.

          “Exquisite,” Tortai said to herself, admiring the smooth fabric.

           She put on matching white sandals, grabbed her data pad from her travel case, sat on the bed and reviewed the information on Taladin’s Prime Minister, Stev Milak. He was probably one of the most inspiring human men Tortai had ever heard of, a natural born citizen of the heavily forested Mid rim world, he was a member of the planets military until it was taken over by the Empire. Three years before the battle of Yavin, he grew fed up with the Imperial policies while serving as an officer in the local security force and rallied his fellow officers with other concerned citizens into a militia to free the planet. Within two years, they’d decimated the legion of storm troopers stationed there, destroyed the garrison and had the local governor hiding in the woods with the remainder of his troopers.

                When the Emperor heard of this, he sent Darth Vader to check on the situation. By the time he arrived, the governor had been captured and Stev was trying to get him to admit Imperial surrender. Stev then became a legend when he walked right up to the Sith Lord Vader and smiled, offering him a handshake. Never before had a mortal man walked up to Darth Vader showing absolutely no fear and treated him like a normal person.

              Apparently it worked. After he observed the situation, the Sith Lord negotiated a truce with the newly established government of Taladin Seven then took his pathetic governor with the captured troopers and left. Soon after, Stev was elected Prime Minister in a landslide and was currently in the second year of another four year term.
Despite all the tension, Stev’s administration kept cordial relations with the Empire and even allowed some of their citizens to seek refuge form the war on the planet. They kept similar, slightly friendlier relations with the New Republic. The main thing Stev and his cabinet wanted was to keep Taladin Seven out of the ongoing galactic struggle and avoid the devastation that it had caused.
           
             Tortai respected that ideal, having served with the Rebel Alliance, she’d seen many beautiful worlds destroyed and many sentient beings displaced by the brutality of the Galactic Civil war. It was nice to see a beacon of peace in a violence dominated galaxy. If there was an Imperial subversion plot threating one of the few safe heavens in the galaxy as the New Republic Senate suspected, Tortai could only hope she would uncover it before it was too late.

              When the ship dropped out of hyperspace, she rushed to the view port and observed the beautiful blue and green planet. The planet consisted of two major land masses with a large ocean running from the north pole to the south pole in the between. As the ship made its approach to the main spaceport at the capital city of Cruses, Tortai went to the vanity, put on some dark orange lipstick, eyeliner and a pair of jeweled bracelets. She also couldn’t help but think of her old Jedi friend Torel Janks who was born and raised on Taladin Seven before he ran away from home. When Tortai had initially told him of his home world’s liberation from the Galactic Empire, he expressed great interest in going back and seeing his family. But tragically, it was never to be, the following month after he’d joined her and the Jedi Ahsoka Tano at the small Rebel Base near Florrum, he took off to save Kaalia from the Empire. It seemed no matter how much Tortai tried to convince him not to do it; Torel was hard set on going to Tatooine to rescue his former captain. Ahsoka later told her that his destiny seemed to lie with Kaalia, which unfortunately also meant his death. But she was glad he’d saved her cousin from a lifetime of slavery and through the force, she knew that Torel was glad his home planet free of Imperial rule.  

           As the engines shut down, Tortai made the final preparations for her assignment, picked up her travel bag and went to the boarding ramp. She walked down the boarding ramp and found quite a reception awaiting her. Two togrutan guards in whitish gray uniforms with side arms stood at attention at the bottom of the ramp. On the gray, permacrete landing pad, a tall, tan skinned, gray haired human male in a blue tunic and white slacks with an orange stripe running down each pant leg, stood flanked by two pairs of blue uniformed human guards. The man walked forward as she approached the landing pad

          “You must be the commerce attaché Nali Callis,” The tan skinned man said as they met on the landing pad. “Stev Milak, Prime Minister of Taladin Seven. As the main representative of my people, I humbly welcome you to our pristine and peaceful world.”
He took her right hand and kissed it.

            “Why thank you, Prime Minister,” Tortai chuckled. “I must say I’m quite flattered. This is the kind of reception I would expect for a real intergalactic politician, not for a simple commerce attaché.”
“Nonsense,” Milak waved off her comment. “You are a member of the Togrutan Embassy and therefore a representative of your people; you deserve my upmost respect. That carrying case you’re holding looks awful cumbersome; allow one of my men to take it for you.”

          “Oh, that‘s so kind of you,” Tortai hefted the bag. “But that’s hardly necessary.”

         “I insist,” Milak motioned for one of his guards. “Here on Taladin, we treat our guests with the upmost hospitality.”

           As the guard took the bag, Tortai felt a tad bit nervous. She knew it was natural for the people of Taladin Seven to be helpful, but she was worried that they might also be suspicious and start searching her bag. Fortunately, the guard just took the bag and loaded it in the trunk of the Prime Minister’s personal limo speeder. After all her stuff had been loaded into the speeder, Milak led her to the speeder and discussed the history of his planet.

             “It was unfortunate how the Empire took advantage of our kind nature,” The Prime Minister said as they got in the speeder. “Especially because the Clone Wars had just ended and we still thought that they were the Republic. They declared war on us for no feasible reason and conquered the planet amidst all the confusion.”

             “Confusion is one of the Empire’s most commonly used tactics,” Tortai said as the speeder drove off. “I’m actually a bit curious as to why you joined the Imperial security squad if you hated them so much.”

             “Well, after spending nine years imprisoned in the Imperial garrison, I was offered a position helping the Empire maintain justice in Cruses in exchange for my freedom. I accepted hoping I could protect my people from the Imperial goon squad. I’d never been so foolish, the storm troopers superseded everyone’s authority and they enforced the laws totally on their whim. I once saw a poor twi’lek woman arrested for absolutely no reason and sentenced to ten years in prison. I also saw a green armored Mandalorian bounty hunter shoot an innocent male Taladin citizen dead in broad daylight surrounded by storm troopers and get away scot free. These kinds of things happened all the time, after five years of the horrid corruption eventually I decided to do something about it.”

         “That’s when you started the revolution?” Tortai asked.

          “Yes,” Milak nodded. “Many of my fellow security officers and other citizens felt the same way. So we banded together, bought some illegal weapons off the black market and with some careful planning, we started our campaign to overthrow Imperial rule.”

         “I know, your revolt was an inspiration to many star systems and your encounter with Darth Vader has made you legendary.”

           “I would hardly think so,” Milak laughed. “To me, the late Darth Vader was just a man in a bionic suit. Considering his reaction to his forces absolute defeat, he proved to be just that.”

         “Still, facing up to a Sith Lord that had killed so many is quite an impressive feat in itself.” Tortai marveled.

         “I never really respected the titles of Jedi and Sith,” Milak looked at her with his brown eyes. “To me, people are just people, no matter what or who they are or how much control they have over the force. I only have respect for those who want to actually help other people like you are going to do, Miss Callis.”

          “Oh, please, Prime Minister,” Tortai chuckled. “The information I’m going collect will only be useful to togrutan tourists and business reviewers from Shili, it’s not like it’s all that crucial.”

         “Maybe, but it’s at least slightly progressive, not like the Empire who used spies to collect information for the purpose of conquering worlds and terrorizing its citizens.”

        Tortai felt a twinge of guilt, the way he mentioned spies shook her a little.

         “You certainly have a lot of anti-Imperial sentiment.” Tortai stroked her chin. “It makes me wonder why your government continues to maintain peace with them.”

            “That was not my decision,” Milak told her. “When the new democratic government of Taladin Seven was established, we left it up to the people to decide if we were to aid the Rebel Alliance in their war with the Empire after they left, but the people elected to keep the truce we had negotiated for. Besides, after welcoming a few of the Imperial citizens that have sought refuge here on Taladin, I’ve found them to be rather nice people. Some of them have proved quite philanthropic and have donated quite a bit to local charities.”

             “That all seems well and good, but I remain skeptical. The Empire always seems to have an ulterior motive.”

           “If they were actually apart of the Empire, I’d agree,” Milak said. “But all of them have had to formally disconnect themselves from the Empire in exchange for asylum here on Taladin Seven. Perhaps you will see this at the charity event for wounded veteran Taladin warriors I’m holding in tomorrow night at the political meeting hall. As a member of the Togrutan Embassy you’re invited to come if you like.”

        “I would be honored to attend.” Tortai smiled as the limo pulled up in front of a large, wood paneled hotel building. “I’d even be glad to donate a small sum to your cause.”

      “Your generosity is much appreciated, Miss Callis.” The Prime Minister told her as the limo stopped. “I’ve always found the togrutan people to be quite kind and giving.”

      “Well, we like to take care of our friends,” She said as the chauffeur came around and opened her door. “Thanks for the ride to the hotel, Prime Minister, you’re truly too kind.”

       “My pleasure, I will be glad to see you at the event.” He said as she stepped out of the speeder. “For your information, Miss Callis don’t have to wear shoes in my presence. We’re not strictly formal here and I’m well aware of the penchant your people have for going barefoot.”

          “Oh, yeah,” Tortai shrugged as her items were offloaded by a pair of human bellboys. “I just figured if I’m going to meet a planetary leader I might as well dress formally. Thanks again, Prime Minister, I can’t wait for the party.”

      Tortai climbed up the stairs as the Prime Minister’s limo drove away. The hotel was quite luxurious. As she entered; she found a large lobby with light green walls, a large bar on one side and turbo-lifts with gold plated doors. She checked in and had the bellboys bring her luggage to her room. She was booked in a rather large suite that was twice the size of her apartment on Coruscant which featured an expansive living room with a large window overlooking a gorgeous view of the Taladin forest, a bedroom that had a large comfy looking bed with beige sheets and a marble bathroom with a full shower. She was quite taken with how extravagant the room was; then again considering she was playing a representative from the government of Shili, the room had to look like it too. When they had brought all her bags to her room, Tortai tipped the bellboys and after they left, she got to work.

         She broke out her mobile scanner. It wasn’t a powerful scanner like was found on most starships, but the small green rectangular device would be able to pick up and trace an Imperial transmission to with-in a five mile radius of where it had been received. The medical freighter couldn’t pick up where the transmission was received because it ended too quickly, but it was definitely in Imperial military code. If there was another such transmission to Taladin, Tortai was set to catch it.  She then proceeded to break out the rest of her stuff, which were mostly jewelry and other assorted items to complete her cover as a member of the Embassy from Shili. When she was completely unpacked, Tortai slipped off her sandals, changed into some casual clothes, grabbed her datapad and hopped on to the large bed. Lying on the bed made her glad she didn’t have to report to her handler at the embassy until the next morning, it was just so comfortable. She turned on her datapad and started researching the Imperial citizens that were living on Taladin Seven. Information on them was sparse, most lived in complete secrecy after seeking asylum on Taladin and some had even hidden their identities to avoid the holo-media paparazzi.

         As Tortai started what was about to undoubtedly become a long and perilous undercover investigation, she was determined to discover any Imperial plot at all costs.  

Internal Affairs

       For Stev Milak, being the leader of Taladin Seven was a tricky task. He had to represent the interest of his entire planet, billions of individuals each with their own unique needs. Even with all of the area leaders, it was very difficult. Which made the idea of a plot of Imperial subversion very difficult to deal with, the very thought that some on in his government was betraying him baffled him. After he’d dropped the new arrival for the Togrutan embassy at her hotel, he went back to his office to meet with his Director of Planetary Security to get an update on the search for who was in communication with the Imperial military. As she stood in front of his desk in full uniform, Director Curlene looked the spitting image of a Taladin woman. Wearing the typical blue military uniform of Taladin Seven, she was a strong, fit woman with her blonde hair pulled back in a bun and a no nonsense expression on her face. She reminded the Prime Minister of his wife, who’d fought alongside him during his campaign to free their home world from the Empire. She was also a strong, native Taladin woman, only she had brown hair. Milak sat in his chair as the director gave her full report.

         “I regret to inform you that we still have not located where the transmission was received.” She stated. “All of our attempts to trace it have hit dead ends.  It was so quick and heavily encrypted that it has proven nearly impossible to make any sense of it. I’m afraid the only way we could figure this out is if we started examining all the holo-coms and com-links within a fifty mile radius of Cruses.”

       “It seems like it,” Milak sighed and folded his hands. “But I didn’t accept the role Prime Minister of Taladin Seven to violate the people’s rights, to start searching through their possessions now would be a violation of the freedom I fought so hard to gain.”

        “I agree, sir.” Curlene said. “But something must be done to dispose of the faulty allegations that we’re aiding the Empire. If we don’t clear ourselves of these false perceptions, the New Republic will grow wary of us and may stop trading with us. They might also put up a blockade.”

       “I know, I know,” Milak stood up, looking out the window over Cruses. “But we can’t be too rash about this, either. Our relations with the Empire are shaky at best, if we start going around badgering their former citizens about this issue, they could use it as an excuse re-declare war on us. And that is something I want to avoid for the sake of the people.”

       “Then what else can we do? We’re running out of time, Senator Organa has already canceled her visit here; the entire New Republic practically revolves around that woman. If she can’t trust us, neither will the thousands of start systems that make up their government. If we don’t get to the bottom of this soon, it will destroy us.”

        Milak inhaled deeply as he looked over the city. The capital city of Cruses was a large, spread out city with the urban sprawl in small sections amongst the forest. It was a difficult task to balance the development of the planet with the environment, but the people of Taladin Seven loved the environment and wanted to preserve it. After years of hard work, the entire planet had stable infrastructure development and a healthy environment, even the durasteel factories had a minimal impact. They were accomplishments that made himself proud of his people.

        “Sir,” The Director asked, snapping him back to the current situation. “What are we going to do?”

         “Unfortunately, there is nothing we really can do, Director Curlene,” Milak turned back to face her. “Just keep your code breakers working on that small bit of transmission sequence we picked up, it may not reveal where it was sent but it’ll be a good start.

         “Yes, sir.”

        The woman turned on her heels and marched out the door. He sat back down at his desk, leaning back in his chair in contemplation. He was in a tight spot, the transmission from the Imperial vessel had raised suspicions in the Republic Senate, suspicions that he couldn’t answer for. He was sure that someone from the Empire was responsible, but he couldn’t start making accusations or the Imperial government could claim their people were being unfairly treated and that could lead to a war. Plus, with so many Imperial sympathizers seeking refuge all over the planet, even some of them in the Taladin government; it would be hard to weed out exactly who it was. Milak was depressed as he swiveled his chair to look out the window. He was considered the best leader in Taladin Seven’s history since Prime Minister Brensen lead the planet’s forces in fending off a Separatist invasion at the beginning of the Clone Wars. It made him depressed that Planetary Security could not solve the mystery of the transmission, especially since it could destroy his beautiful home world. He just hoped and prayed that an answer would be found soon.

       Undercover

          After Tortai got her kit from the embassy for her cover the next morning, she was completely set as a commerce attaché. She simply loved the thrill of using deception; it was a skill that she practically considered an art. Especially since she had to paint a new face with every undercover role she played. There were many agents across the galaxy who claimed to be masters of disguise, but Tortai considered herself one of the best. During the time of the Rebellion, she could change looks and roles at little more than a moment’s notice. One day she was a mechanic, the next she was a teacher, a waitress, a holo news reporter, or whatever the assignment required her to be to get the information they needed. Her ability to change appearance was so good that nobody could recognize her. It did make her feel a bit guilty to be deceiving a friendly government, especially with such a servant to the people as Stev Milak was. But she knew that dealing with intergalactic politics were not always black and white, especially as far as the Empire was concerned.

          For the party, Tortai decided to wear the blue formal dress that the New Republic gave her. She took a town speeder service to the event that night which was held at the political meeting hall in downtown Cruses. It was a large, stone building with big glass windows out front that exposed people sitting at large white rectangular tables in the dining room. The event started with dinner, then a presentation about Taladin veterans, followed by a speech by a female soldier who’d lost her arm during the fight to liberate the planet from the Empire. After the speech, the event dissolved into a free standing party in the adjoining ballroom with donations being put into a locked box sitting on a table with the injured vet sitting behind it. Tortai pulled a check for ten thousand credits out of her purse made out to the organization on her behalf and put it in the box. She then went to mingle about the party, as she made her way around the room, she recognized many prominent Imperials. There was Gordon Tarn, a former sales rep for Sienar fleet systems, Hugo Ferguson a retired AT-AT squad General, Garty Tenell a bio-weapons engineer that fled to Taladin when Coruscant came under attack, and...

          No, Tortai thought to herself as she sighted a yellow twi’lek. That couldn’t be her, could it?

          A few meters in front of her talking to young black haired human male was what appeared to be the former Imperial governor of Ryloth’s widow, Raos’oubi Vergesen. Tortai was dumbfounded, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It certainly looked like her: She was wearing a purple diamond studded headband, an emerald green knee length dress and a small matching purse, black stiletto heels, holding a glass of locally distilled red wine. She looked good for a woman in her forties and from what Tortai heard, she fled Ryloth with quite a fortune. It had been three years since Ryloth had been freed from the Empire and her husband had been killed during the revolution. His wife Rao had better luck, boarding a Lambda shuttle and leaving the planet with everything they had. It had been thought that she took off to the Unknown Regions since nobody had heard anything from her since then. Tortai decided to go up and talk to her to find out how she ended up on Taladin Seven. Before she went, she walked to the bar and refreshed her martini. If what Kaalia and the holo-media had said about Rao’s level of vainness were true, she was going to need it.

          “Hi,” Tortai approached them during a pause in conversation. “Nali Callis, commerce attaché with the Embassy from Shili. You wouldn’t happen to be Rao Vergesen would you?”
             
          “Maybe,” The yellow twi’lek sighed. “Why do you want to know?”
             
            “No reason in particular, I was just curious.” Tortai cautiously said.
             
            “Well, I’d suggest you bug out of my business,” Rao took a swig of her wine. “You lousy Rebel rats are always sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
           
             “Oh, please, auntie Rao,” The young human male in a black suit intervened. “Don’t be so rude, she only asked you a simple question.” He turned to Tortai and gave her a handshake. “Firmus Vergesen, I apologize for my auntie’s rather harsh attitude. She’s had a rough time of things.”
           
           “Thanks in large part to the supposed ‘New Republic’,” Rao glared at her nephew. “Why you want to go to work for the stinking traitors at Incom systems is beyond me. Why don’t you take a job at Sienar if you want to work on star fighters so much?”
         
          “Ugh, because they’re so stiff and unimaginative, you know they’ve been using that same TIE fighter design for over twenty years? They’re so set in tradition they don’t seem to care to how obsolete their crummy technology is. I think Father is rather daft for accepting the contract to build those leisure cruisers here.”

             Rao seemed poised to argue with Firmus when his com link started buzzing.

            “Excuse me, I must take this.” He excused himself then turned and left.

             “Oh, the pestilence of youth,” Rao took another sip of wine. “Boys barely twenty years old and thinks he has the entire galaxy figured out.”

             “Were we any different at that age?” Tortai asked with a smug grin.

             “Well, I don’t know about you, but I certainly had a greater respect for the Empire,” Rao glared at Tortai with her hazel eyes. “I thought I told you to buzz off.”

          “I just want to talk to you,” Tortai said. “Is there any harm in that?”

           “No, I guess not,” Rao somberly swirled her wine. “Forgive for my rather atrocious behavior, usually when someone approaches me these days, I fear they’ll try to pry into my life and blackmail me into giving them money. I’ve fallen a long way since Ryloth.”

         “So I’ve heard. I’m curious, if you don’t mind me asking, how’d you end up here on Taladin Seven? It’s always been said you took off for a planet in the Unknown Regions after the liberation of Ryloth.”

         “That was my original destination,” Rao looked into her eyes. “But there was such a rush to get off the Ryloth that we took off without enough fuel and ended up stranded a little ways from Taladin. It’s a peaceful neutral world, so I just decided settle down here. Prime Minister Milak was really nice about it; he gave me amnesty and even agreed to keep it a secret that I live here. Ever since, I’ve lived a lonely life here with my stupid in-laws who constantly borrow money off me and doing nothing but make me miserable.”  

           “That’s a pretty harsh way to live.” Tortai noted, sipping her martini.

           “Yes, but that’s the life I’ve been forced into,” Rao sighed. “Things were so much better when I had my darling Tergie by my side. He was such a handsome and incredible man. He was the kind of person who could assure me that things would be alright even when everything was going wrong. He was ambitious and took charge when he needed to, which helped him achieve his goal to become a planetary governor.”

       “There are some that say even for an Imperial governor; Terge Vergesen was a greedy and lecherous man.”

       “My husband was not lecherous,” Rao snapped. “He loved me and despite all the claims in the holo-media, he never cheated on me with another woman. As for the greed, well, I always assumed he was just doing it because that’s the way it was. Imperial governors are supposed to have control over the populace and basically take what they want. I know the citizens of Ryloth were suffering, but that had been going on since before the Clone Wars, there was nothing I could do about that. As the wife of an Imperial Governor; it’s my duty to remain loyal to the Galactic Empire, even if I don’t agree fully with the Imperial doctrine.”

          “I have to say, your love for the Empire astounds me.” Tortai sipped from her martini.

          “Yes, that’s always been a puzzler to a lot of people I’ve met. Most of them seem to think non-humans are supposed to hate the Empire. But they’ve never seen a family quite like mine. The Soubi clan of twi’leks has always been one of the wealthier ones on Ryloth, we own more land than most therefore we have warranted more wealth and control. To prevent our wealth from being stripped from us, we would usually collaborate with whoever was invading our home world. When I was growing up, my parents wanted a better life for me than the less fortunate twi’lek women that would get abducted and sold into slavery, so when I turned eighteen, they sent me to business school on Naboo. It was rough at first, what with the hardships of learning and all the racist sentiment I had to put up with. But after two years of hard work and dedication, I proved myself a great student, shutting down most of the racism by outscoring my classmates on the tests. Then I met Tergie and…” She sighed euphorically. “My life just seemed to get better from there, that was until the revolution took him away from me. If I could have one thing in this entire universe, it would be to make love with him one last time.”

         Tortai looked away and shook her head in disbelief; she really couldn’t understand how a woman could base so much of her life on one man. Especially a human male, she’d never found much appealing about them what with that silly patch of hair on top of their heads.

            “Of course, life isn’t completely horrid without him,” Rao admitted. “I inherited quite a fortune, coupled with my own family’s wealth and all the investments I’ve made, I’m a quite wealthy woman. I have my own estate here overlooking Hertine Lake. As long as I occasionally donate some money to these charity causes, Milak promises to keep my whereabouts here a secret.”

         “I have to admit, that’s actually not a bad set up.” Tortai said.

          “Glad you agree, Miss Callis,” Rao took a sip of wine. “Although it would be better if I hadn’t also inherited some of my late husband’s in-laws as well. My nephew Firmus isn’t too bad, even though he wants to join the New Republic; it’s his father Darren Vergesen that I just can’t stand. He’s such a jerk to me.”

            “And from what I understand, he has insatiable lust for women.” Tortai noted.

         “You’ve undoubtedly heard of my brother-in-law’s…indiscretions?”

          “Who hasn’t?” Tortai shrugged. “After he took control of his father’s company, Spacecraft Dynamics, he married a human holo-movie actress who divorced him after she caught him in bed with a zeltron cocktail waitress. Ever since, he’s had scores of tawdry affairs with women of all species. It’s also been said that he’s an incompetent business man and it was rumored that he stepped down from the role of CEO after nearly driving the company to bankruptcy.”

            “If only that were true,” Rao grumbled. “After sinking a large investment in a doomed Star Destroyer replacement program, the company his late father left him was almost completely broke. He came to me begging for help, he was so broke that he had lost his house and couldn’t pay for Firmus’s education. I couldn’t stand the idea of that loutish oaf ruining my dear Terge’s family name so I took them in, invested some credits to make the company solvent again, and paid for Firmus to finish school here. Now Darren operates the company by proxy, an intern comes by twice a month to relay his decisions while I usually have to balance the books. He’s doing a better job running the company and even has set up a firm order for some luxury space liner hulls from Sienar.”

           “That’s fantastic,” Tortai smiled. “It’s great that they building something else besides those dreary TIE fighters.”

          “I agree,” Rao took a sip of wine. “And it’s really good the company is back on an even keel, although, that doesn’t excuse his disgusting behavior. He’s always getting drunk; he continues to treat women like they’re his personal playthings, and he’s constantly begging me for money. It’s almost enough to drive me completely mad.”  

         “If he’s so horrible, why do you let him live with you?”

          “Because he’s my brother-in-law,” Rao took a big gulp of wine. “Twi’leks are naturally hospitable people, that goes doubly so for family, even in-laws. I don’t really mind that he’s here; I just wish he would straighten up and treat me with some respect.”

         It was then that Tortai looked over and spotted Darren Vergesen approaching them. He looked exactly as he had in his last public appearance before apparently hiding out on Taladin. He was a pudgy man with black hair and a thick beard wearing a black tux. He was holding a tumbler of brandy and had a crooked smile on his face  

         “Speak of the devil,” Rao growled privately to Tortai. “Brace yourself; Darren tends to get grabby when he’s drunk.”

         He walked up to Rao.

          “Hey there, Rao,” Darren said with a bit of a slur in his speech. “Mind introducing me to your beautiful friend here?”

         “She’s New Republic, you don’t want anything to do with her.”

        “Oh,” He looked Tortai over with great interest. “But I do.”

        Rao sighed and introduced him to Nali Callis.

        “Nali,” He smiled. “That’s such a beautiful name for a beautiful togrutan woman.”

         “Thanks, but I’d rather you call me Miss Callis, seeing as we just met and hardly know each other.”

         “How I’d very much like that to change,” Darren put his hand on her waist. “Maybe we could go someplace private and have a nice chat, huh?”

             “Maybe some other time,” Tortai gently grabbed his hand and pulled it off. “Perhaps when you’re a little more sober?”

          “Oh, c’mon, I’m not that drunk,” Darren wobbled. “Besides I’m just starting to have fun.”

           “Telling by how much you’ve had to drink,” Rao grabbed his tumbler away. “You’ve had enough fun.”

          When she put the tumbler and her wine glass on a butler droids serving tray, Darren called her a rather nasty insult. With that, a shouting match began. Rao lectured Darren over his obscene behavior and his laziness while Darren countered with ill thought out insults. Tortai knew that she probably shouldn’t watch, but it was just too entertaining to look away. She and Kaalia always enjoyed gossip about wealthy Imperial families, experiencing an outburst like this first hand was a great privilege. Rao made a valid point then Darren unwisely called her a very obscene insult, which prompted her to slap him across his face with her right hand. As Darren grumbled in pain, Rao called her nephew over to come help drag him out of there. Firmus sheepishly came over and helped his aunt take his father outside. They did their best to keep their composure as they said farewell to some of the other guests, but it was obvious that they all were feeling some shame at that moment.

          “What a messed up family.” Said a young female voice.

           Tortai turned to her left to find a slightly shorter orange skinned togrutan girl in a light purple dress with a black leather belt around the waist looking on with her arms folded across her chest. Her dress had thin shoulder straps and the skirt stopped slightly above the knee. Her lekku were actually longer than Tortai’s, reaching below her breasts. She could tell she was young, however, because her montrals had not completely grown to adult size.

         “Who are you?” Tortai asked.

         “Oh, pardon me,” The younger green eyed woman turned to face her. “Ahsoka Nevrill, I’m a rookie reporter working for The Cardia Journal. I’m here to report on this event for an entertainment column.”

           As Tortai introduced herself and shook her hand, she got a better look at the younger togruta. She looked like a normal togruta; she was barefoot, obviously taking advantage of Milak’s lax rules. She had white marks on her cheeks that looked like a trio of sideways wavy lines, a small white spot on her chin, a solid stripe that arced across her eyebrows and two stripes that went down the sides of her nose. She even had an akul tooth headdress on like Tortai’s, though it had a rather unusual ornament hanging off it, which was the Imperial emblem on the center tooth above her forehead. She also wore a gold bracelet on her right wrist and a silver chain necklace with a ruby pendant

             “The Vergesen’s certainly have one strange family dynamic,” Ahsoka shook her head. “Darren claims to have control of his company despite the fact Rao fits the bill for everything. All the while, Firmus is betraying the Empire to go design spacecraft for the lousy Rebels at Incom systems. Call me a purist, but I believe things work out better when people marry within their species.”

           “I agree,” Tortai gave her empty martini glass to a passing R2 unit. “But I would hardly consider working for Incom a bad thing.”

           “Of course you wouldn’t,” Ahsoka laughed. “You’re one of those foolish liberals who blindly follow the Rebels without questioning their actions.”

           “You have a lot to learn, young lady. For one thing, there is no more Rebel Alliance; it has become the New Republic. It may not be perfect, but they’re friendlier to togrutas than the Galactic Empire.”

         “I’m nineteen years old, I’ve learned enough,” The younger togruta put her hands on her hips. “I’ve seen the supposed progress made by that…’New Republic’ of yours and I’m not impressed.”

           “Liberating Coruscant does not impress you?” Tortai smirked as the R2 unit came back with another martini.

              “You filthy insurgents may have taken Coruscant from the Empire, but we’ll be back. I imagine Ysanne Isard has a wondrous plan to deal with your pathetic government.”

              “As, yes,” Tortai held back a laugh as she grabbed the new glass. “The mad Director of Imperial Intelligence who seized power in the confusion of Palpatine’s death. She had the Krytos virus engineered specifically to attack non-humans, you know.”

         Ahsoka Nevrill folded her arms and a sheepish look spread across her face.

         “That was…an unfortunate development.” She paused.

    "And let’s not forget the hundreds she killed pulling the Lusankya out of Coruscant as she made her cowardly retreat during the infamous battle."

       “Well...uh…um...” Ahsoka bit her lip.

        “Here’s a little tid bit pertaining to our own species,” Tortai sipped her martini. “In case you’re not aware, the Empire gives quite a bit of consideration to the Zygerrian Slaver’s guild. If you’re rusty on your history, during the Separatist invasion of Kiros, the entire settlement of togrutan colonists was enslaved by the Zygerrians.”

         The Imperial togruta frowned and let out a low growl.

         “What does that matter,” She glared at Tortai. “That’s ancient history, you hag!”

          “The Clone Wars were about twenty six years ago, that is a long time ago but hardly ancient,” Tortai stared Nevrill down. “Besides, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

          “Well, you see me here; my family and I stayed loyal to the Empire.” She extended her arms out to her sides. “We weren’t enslaved by the filthy Zygerrians.”

          “That’s because you’ve obviously never been roaming around the seedier parts of Nar Shaddaa or Tatooine,” Tortai told her. “Just imagine if you ever run into one of those nasty freaks, where would your precious Empire be then?”

          “Oh, don’t worry about me, I know how to defend myself,” She glared back at Tortai with her green eyes. “You’re just a demented hag with some kind of grudge against Empire.”

         “True, but I have many reasons to hold that grudge,” Tortai looked her in the eyes. “I find it odd that a family that is so loyal to the Empire would name their daughter Ahsoka like the Jedi Commander from the Clone Wars.”

         “Do not compare me with the lousy Jedi Ahsoka Tano. I’m not named for her; Ahsoka is a proud female togrutan name that she besmirched. She’s a traitor and should’ve been executed when the old Republic had the chance. She’s a disgrace to our kind.”

             “One could say the same of you, Miss Nevrill,” Tortai looked her over. “Are you really here to write a column or to bag a man with low standards of intelligence?”

          “Huh,” Nevrill loudly guffawed. “Like you’re dressed any better, where’d you buy your outfit, a tapestry store?”

          “Ooh, you hurt me child,” Tortai mocked her. “I love your jewelry; tell me, do they come standard with this Imperial whore’s get-up?”

          “You’re just jealous because I’m younger and more attractive than you are.” Nevrill haughtily posed. “That’s probably why you got such a loose fitting dress; I bet you look hideous under it.”

          “I’ll have you know that I look fantastic and have a personality to match,” Tortai stared her down. “You, on the other hand, have the personality of a young brat and you’re so skinny you look like a twig.”

          “You liar,” Nevrill shouted, stamping her right foot in anger. “I’m not that skinny!”

         “Oh, but you are,” Tortai snickered to herself. “You better eat something, darling, you look as if you’re about to faint.”

           Nevrill grunted for a few seconds trying to say something, then launched a rather nasty togruti cuss word at Tortai and stormed away. After she left, Tortai was approached by Prime Minister Milak in an unblemished black tux and his elegant brown haired wife Jenia in a lavish floor length green dress on his arm.

            “Is everything alright, Miss Callis?” Milak asked. “That Imperial reporter seemed a bit upset.”

          “We just had a small disagreement over politics,” Tortai sipped her martini. “You understand how relations between the New Republic and Empire are.”

         “Indeed.” Milak nodded his head.

          He then introduced her to his wife and they thanked Tortai for her donation. They talked for a while, discussing war and then commenting on the Vergesen’s dysfunctional family. As Milak reiterated that their presence on Taladin was to remain a secret, she couldn’t help but notice the young Nevrill glaring at her from across the room. She then suddenly turned away and went out one of the side doors. Tortai excused herself, said her good byes for the evening, followed Nevrill out the door and found her standing by a fountain that had shrubberies on either side of it. She appeared to be talking into a bracelet on her right wrist which no doubt had to be a com link. She slid her purse from her right shoulder and pulled out a make-up compact. Tortai popped it open, removed the flat, beige make-up pad which was her earpiece listening device. Since Togruta’s don’t have ears in the traditional sense, she had it modded so it would stick to the side of one of her montrals right above where they met her lekku. She stuck it on and hid behind the shrubbery.
Alright, Miss Nevrill, Tortai thought. What are you really up to?

          Outplayed
“Hello, are you there?” The younger togruta said in togruti into her com-link.

          She felt a bit nervous as she spoke these words; the planet of Taladin Seven was on high alert for Imperial transmissions ever since that rogue transmission was picked up by the Rebels. If more transmissions were discovered, the Taladin officials would grow more suspicious of the Empire and that could make them re-enter the war on the side of the Rebels. Fortunately, private com-links that didn’t leave the planet were not monitored by scanners. Still, the Imperial agent had to be careful of anyone might be listening, especially an enemy of the Empire. It was a good thing that her handler agent spoke fluent togruti, it was a rare language in the galaxy, even some togrutans didn’t know how to speak it.

        “Commander Johansson, do you hear me?” She said.

        “Sorry, Trainee Agent Car, I just got back to my office at the Imperial Embassy,” A deep voiced, middle aged human male finally replied in togruti. “What do you have to report?”

            “Very little, unfortunately,” She continued in her native tongue. “Just another boring party with a bunch of drunken humans, I did get to chat a little with Mr. Vergesen before he tried to pinch my rear.”

        “Slapped him across the face, did you?”

        “Nah, I was able to restrain myself and gently push him away,” Trainee Agent Car looked up slightly. “Which is a lot more than I can say for his sister-in-law Raos’oubi.”

        “Wow that must’ve been quite a scene.” Her commanding officer laughed.

         “It was,” She sighed. “I have to admit, she’s got a lot of character to deal with a man like that and a traitorous nephew.”

           “Enough about dysfunctional wealthy families, did you get any closer to finding out who made that transmission?”

          “Nah,” She shook her head. “All the former Imperial citizens claim that they have no real connection to the Empire and have not contacted anyone in Imperial space since they got here. I did find out that Vergesen has an agreement Sienar to build civil spacecraft but all the contact was made legally through a proxy.”

          “Looks like we’re back to square one as far as that’s concerned,” He sighed. “Is there anything else you’d like to report, Trainee Car?”

       "As a matter of fact,” Trainee Agent Car smiled. “I did happen to run into a rather infamous rebel spy."

       “Who would that be?”

        She told him a little about the encounter with Tortai Haar.

       “Wow,” He said. “You’re sure it’s her?”

        “Positive,” She said. “That filthy rebel may be able to mask herself from the rest of the galaxy, but not from another togruta, especially me.”

         “Well, that is good,” Commander Johansson said. “That’s very valuable Intel indeed, great job on your first time out, Trainee Car. Take tomorrow morning’s shuttle to Cardia and report in to the office to get your next assignment.”

           “Can’t I stay here a little longer,” She whined. “I think I could shadow her a while and find out what kind of treachery she’s up to.”

          “Sorry, can’t be done. Imperial citizens are under the looking glass here on Taladin, anything out of the ordinary will be heavily scrutinized. I will get an agent on her as soon as I can but you must leave on schedule.”

          “Damn,” Trainee Agent Car growled. “I was really looking forward exposing her for the fraud she is and revealing the truth behind her lousy Rebel government.”

           “Calm down, Sminaa,” Her commander laughed. “I’m sure you’ll get your chance someday. Now, unless you want a war to breakout, I’d suggest you’d be on that shuttle tomorrow.”

             “Understood, sir, Trainee Car out.”

            She shut-off her com-link and started on her way back to her sedan speeder in the parking lot in front of the building. Taladin Seven had proven a great planet for Sminaa Car’s first assignment; she definitely liked the soft feel of the local grass on her bare feet. The nights were also beautiful; the planet had a crystalline moon that sparkled as it refracted the light from the sun. It made Sminaa kind of sad to be leaving after only two days, but she had to follow orders. The Empire prided itself on stability and order which meant everyone had to do their duty to the letter, even Intelligence agents. If they didn’t things would descend into chaos like the pompous Rebel Alliance was constantly in. Sminaa felt confident in herself as she walked past the shrubberies that flanked fountain.

           “Hello, young lady.” A strange voice said in togruti.

         Sminaa gasped and turned to find Tortai in her attaché disguise.

           “Oh, hi, Miss Callis,” Sminaa replied in their native language. “You startled me.”

           “Drop the charade, young one. I heard that whole conversation.” Tortai said, switching to basic.

          “Ganalli ta ces mar?” Sminaa continued using togruti. What do you mean?

          “That whole exchange, Trainee Car. Surely you didn’t think you could out spy another operative, did you?”

              “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sminaa said in basic, nervously looking around. “My names Ahsoka Nevrill, I’m an entertainment reporter for the Cardia Journal.”

           “Give it up, there’s nobody else here but us,” Tortai turned a smug grin. “I wanted to make sure this stayed between us two spies for the sake of Taladin’s neutrality.”

          “I’m a reporter…”

         “I have to admit, you’re pretty good,” The blue eyed Rebel hussy snickered. “You did well at the party, mingled around with all the right people, you even had a valid reason for being there. After you’re encounter with me is where you got a bit sloppy, you should always take your time and say some good byes when you’re leaving a party, it looks less suspicious that way.”

             Sminaa frowned and looked down in disappointment.

             “But don’t be too hard on yourself; you just got upset over your obvious self-image issue with your skinny figure. If you eat some more meat and work out a little more, I imagine you’ll fill right out.”

            “There is nothing wrong with how I look,” Sminaa whispered, clenching her teeth. “If anyone’s got a problem, it’s you for buying into the foolish ideals of the Rebel Alliance and being a disgrace to our people!”

            “Well, now who has the grudge,” Tortai smirked. “To call me a disgrace is a bit much, although I’ve had my share of questionable decisions in my career. As for my loyalty to the New Republic, I can honestly say that while it may not be the best government in the universe, they’ve been kind enough to provide me with steady work and the freedom to do whatever I want. Which is definitely a lot more than I could say for living under the oppressive Empire.”

           “Oh, whatever,” Sminaa turned away. “You’re supposed government is just an unstable insurgency, it will eventually just fall apart.”

         “Like yours hasn’t? Without Palpatine, the Galactic Empire has become a fragmented state divided against itself with a madwoman clamoring for power against a bunch of self-serving warlords. You can’t critique my choice of government without taking a harsh look at your own.”

           Sminaa sighed.

          “I admit; the Empire is a bit… messed up right now. But it will pull back together and bring order to the galaxy. I’ll always be loyal to the Empire; nothing you say will ever change that.”

           “I know, but as a woman who’s spent time under the Empire and the New Republic, I feel I have to make my spiel.” Tortai shrugged. “But if you ever change your mind or find yourself being held by the New Republic, just ask for me and I’ll come to help you work it out.”

         “I’d rather die than ask for your help, you filthy schutta!” Sminaa growled. “And I’m way too clever to get caught by your foolish authorities!”

             “Oh, the arrogance of youth,” Tortai chuckled. “When I was around your age, I felt the exact same way about the Imperial authorities, but that whole episode at Alderaan changed my perspective. It was then that I realized that being captured or having my cover blown was sometimes inevitable, I just learned that in those situations I needed to think and act fast. Since then, I’ve been captured three times, had my identity compromised at least a dozen times, and lived to learn a new lesson from each one of those encounters.”

             “Well, you’re just lucky we’re on a neutral planet,” Sminaa glared at her. “If we were in Imperial Space I wouldn’t have hesitated to capture you myself.”

              “I’m formally and informally trained in over thirty forms of martial arts. If you had even tried, you’d have experienced a whole new level of ass kicking,” Tortai sighed and curled her right index finger on her lips. “It’s really too bad you’re not a part of the New Republic, you remind me so much of myself. I think you’d make a better protégé than a nemesis.”

              “Never,” Sminaa nearly shouted. “I would never want associate myself with you, you demented criminal lunatic!”

            “Alright, alright,” Tortai waved her hand. “Just keep a few things in mind: One, no matter how high you rank in the Empire, you’ll never be fully trusted or respected. Two, Ysanne Isard is a very unstable woman who will throw you to the Rancor if it will help further her own goals. Having infiltrated her intelligence network as a double agent, I saw her do it to many of her own agents. And lastly, never, ever trust Chadra-fans, those filthy rodents are nothing but barely sentient double crossers, I learned that lesson the hard way.”

         Sminaa refused to respond, she just wanted the traitor to shut her trap and leave.

         “Well, that’s all I have to say,” Tortai turned and walked back to entrance of the meeting hall. “Bye, Sminaa, I really do hope you’ll change your mind someday.”

          “I will never change my mind!” Sminaa shouted back. “Mark my words, the next time we see each other, you will be made to pay for your crimes against the Empire, you old cow!”

         She then launched a mix of basic and togruti cuss words at her.