Chp-4: Darna Interlude

Chp-4: Darna Interlude

Secretary Darna Sabrir

Capitol Building, Accordia, Minda-3

What the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK!?!? An Imperial Governor that doesn't immediately pivot into slavery?

Thought's along these lines ran amok throughout Darna's mind as she sat at her desk a day later, bouncing a rubber ball against her desk, accompanied by a sense of sheer disbelief.

Ever since her childhood, Darna had, like many Twi'leks, been a victim. Her mother had been an unnamed pleasure slave on the Wheel, an ancient den of sin space station out on the Perlemian trade route.

She had felt a collar around her neck since childhood, and only due to her wit and willingness to learn had she escaped before she suffered the same fate as her mother. Ever since then, she had run across the galaxy, trying to find a place she could call home.

She tried everywhere. From the deserts of Tatoinne to the bustling metropolis of Corellia, from the camaraderie of the Rebellion to Ryloth itself. Yet, the deserts held Hutt's, the cities disdained her for being alien, the Rebellion brought constant risk, and Ryloth was filled with slavers, preying on her kind.

Who could've known that taking the position of secretary to a governor on a backwater planet in a backwater system would make her feel at home. The people here were too rural to care about species. Even the soldiers, brought from across the galaxy, seemed to have adapted to this culture. She was able to have conversations with fellow office workers without feeling like she was being eyed up, a price tag being attached to her within their minds.

And the governor himself. At first, he seemed to be just another spoiled rich kid given a comfy position. And he was certainly still childish, if that bit with the ball had taught her anything. Yet, with all that he was doing, and especially with that rant of his… she couldn't help but feel hopeful. That Minda might end up being an island of peace in a galaxy of hate.

Before she could daydream any longer, a ding alerted her to a message. Looking down at her terminal, she realized it was a bevy of messages.

Some were mining companies asking to rent licenses. She, as per the governor's orders, only approved a few of the smaller companies, and steered clear of the megacorporations. Didn't want to big a business moving in and crushing local competition.

One was another report from Captain Veer, confirming the wreckage of a destroyed Venator and 2 wrecked Munificents on Minda-4, the pictures did not give her hope of reconstruction. However, she quickly forwarded the message to the governor. Who would have thought that the only daughter of the esteemed Colonel Veers would not only be in the Navy, unlike her Army father, but also be stationed in the middle of nowhere.

The next message was a return from Dubrillion, approving the request for a heavy tug squad to be sent for the Acclamator, and stating that a prospecting and mining team was being sent to Minda now that the asteroid belts have proven profitable. Thankfully, Acclamators were equipped with the ability to land and take off from planets, so there was no need for specialist shipyards.

After that were return messages from various construction companies. All were smaller companies that had little going for them, so the governor had ordered offers to be made for them to set up shop on Minda 3. The idea was that their equipment holdings would be sold in exchange for both credits and some land claims on Minda 3, which the ex-owners could retire on. The companies would then be merged under the governor and used to build planet-side infrastructure. Along with these was a return letter from Takshun Orbital, agreeing to a contract to build a refinery on the largest of the dwarf-planet asteroids, along with the blueprints for an orbital station they had been contracted to draw up for the future.

Second to last were return messages from YewCast and KhaganMotors. YewCast had accepted the contract to create a basic communication infrastructure(though only if they got a percentage of the tax on it for a few years) and some new sort of communicator that was compatible with terminal and holonet tech. KhaganMotors, on the other hand, had accepted a contract to repair or salvage the vehicles found in the Acclamator once it was retrieved in exchange for both credits and the ability to keep some for themselves(without the weapons, of course)

Frankly speaking, Darna was worried. While all these projects were useful and potentially even vital, the governor was spending the Capitols savings quickly, and would be left with little currency in case of emergency. She could only hope that

These were all sent ahead to the governor in a compact form, but it was the final message that shocked her, sending the rubber ball flying right into her lekku, but she ignored the pain in favor of the message. It was on her datapad, what seemed like junk mail. But, with her past experience, she knew it was code. Rebel code used by the cell she had run with.

Quickly deciphered, it revealed a meeting point in Accordia.

Nervousness exploded in her chest. She had run with a Rebel cell for 2 years of her life before the constant death-defying odd's finally got to her, and she left.

And if Rebels were here, what did that mean for her new position? She had it pretty good, all things considered. A decent boss, nice coworkers, good pay, hell, she even had insurance. If she reported the code, she could get the Rebels arrested and insure that her life here isn't turned upside-down.

On the other hand, while the Rebellion hadn't been the best fit, she had made good friends, the type she didn't want executed.

Stealing herself, she deleted the message, and checked the time. Work was basically over, and she had a decent amount of time to get to the spot. She would go there, see what they wanted, then make her decision.

She could only hope that this didn't spiral out of control.