Chp-22: Investigation

Chp-22: Investigation

Kaela Grant

Minda System, Ugea, Accordia, Imperial Island

The Island was in chaos. Troops were swarming the entire complex, on her orders, and she herself was sitting in the Towers medbay, communicating with the rest of her soldiers through her PDA while she kept watch over the Governor. The governors pet, Mugwuffin, was laid down on the ground by the governor's bacta tank. She had refused to move, and Kaela saw no reason to do so.

The explosive test of the MASA had caused severe damage. In the beginning, it had just seemed like bad luck. The ferrocrete structure that they were watching the test behind just happened to break. In the governor's exact spot. Leaving almost everything else intact or slightly burnt. Just a coincidence, right?

Then the facts started to pile in. Sure, the MASA, like all the other prototypes, was still in the early experimental stages. You could see the welding and exposed wiring. Most lacked even basic features, like the EHMA's and EDCA's being unable to move at the speeds advertised, the HDCA being so heavy it struggled to walk, the MASA lacking internal controls, and a great deal more. These were personal projects, after all, and the prototypes had been developed quickly, for sole use as showpieces and proof of concept. Still months from a fully working version, and years from production in good quality and quantity. And that's assuming the whole department was working on a single one at a time.

The MASA, however, was different. Kinda. While it was roughshod, and the jump jets still had a bevy of problems, the firing mechanism was solid. They were basically the same torpedo tubes you find on TIE bombers, for the sake of simplicity and logistics. Reliable, proven tech. So why did they fail?

Internal security had scoured the data and tapes, and found something. One of the recent hires to the R&D team. Like many of the techs, he had come from the richer core and colony worlds. Places like Coruscant, Corellia, and Kuat. Not for the pay, but for the creative freedom that was promised, and because, like many, the pale man had been practically exiled because of petty power plays and office politics. And, like many of the techs, he seemed to greatly enjoy the freedom given, with special care being put into the MASA. He even worked on it overnight. Thing is, he had called in sick the day of the test. And had failed to pick up his PDA calls.

Her people were hunting him. And when he was found, she would have a long conversation with him about proper work ethic. A bloody conversation.

As she thought about the fate she was to inflict, her eyes caught her reflection in the darkened screen of her PDA. Teeth bared in a furious snarl, eyes dilated into pinpricks, she looked like a beast. A monster. Flashes of old memories lit up in her mind. Of scorn. Of disgust.

Of neglect.

Only the beeping of the bacta tank drew her out of her fugue, and she glanced over at the Governor. The ferrocrete had taken the brunt of the explosion, but not the heat. Burns covered his body extensively. While the bacta would deal with all of the actual injuries and he would turn out perfectly healthy, the scars would forever mar his body. Especially the burns on his face. Covering the left side of his face was a burn that stretched over his eye and left ear, but never reached his hair. 

Was it her fault? Logically, no. Emotionally, it felt like it. The defense of Ugea, and by extension the Governor, was her duty. And she failed. 

Before she could spiral, her PDA beeped. A message, that all the R&D techs had been assembled and cleared, save for the suspected infiltrator, who they were still hunting. With a single message, she had them brought to her.

First through the door was the Head Engineer, Yop.

"C-Commander, Ma'am. We swear, n-none of us had anythin-"

"Silence" 

He obeyed. Her voice was low, but not soft or gentle. Her eyes contained the rage of a beast tempered by the patience of a hunter. A far cry from her usual boisterous state, yet far more terrifying. 

"As the second highest officer on the planet at this time, I am afforded emergency powers until the governor recovers. As such, I am effective immediately canceling any and all personal R&D projects for the foreseeable future."

While scared, the various scientists seemed on the verge of complaining. For good reason, to. They had left cushier jobs in the Core for the freedom offered out here, and now they were being told that freedom was to be taken?

Her gaze stopped them in their tracks.

"Failure to properly vet projects before testing, rushing what can only be called the prototypes of prototypes for live exercises, failure to vet personnel. The R&D department has been given a great deal of freedom because the governor believed in your ability to push Minda as a system forward. No longer."

"The main focus will be on the TIE project that is already underway. Any personal projects will not be allowed to enter any stage of production past simulated models. In regards to the armor projects, only the Expeditionary and Mk II trooper armors are to continue background research."

Again, the techs sought to complain, and again, she shut them down.

"For all your technical abilities, you lack the experience needed to understand what is viable on the battlefield. The Expeditionary armor has promise, but not as an individual unit. Instead, its biggest advantage is as a platform. Make the armor and limbs easier to remove and replace. A modular system allows for more practicality and for different kits to be taken on different missions. It might even see success in the civilian sector if done correctly."

Her input seemed to silence them, their scientific minds taking the idea and automatically working them over. Taking this chance, she continued.

"As for the trooper armor, remove the life support and thin the armor panels enough to allow for higher durability than regular armor, but not heavy enough that you can't remove the exoskeleton. For all that your prototype was good, like most of the armors it was over engineered, and the exoskeleton added far too much complexity. Speaking of, the rest of the armors were just that. The defense armor was far too large and bulky, the elite armors were too advanced, and my armor was a massive waste of resources for a single infantry sized unit."

She kept the fact that she still wanted it to herself. This was not the time to complain about her lack of toys. No matter how much she wanted to.

"There will be increased security measures throughout the labs, including full background checks, scans/pat downs during entry/exit and you will no longer be allowed to bring your work home. You can still use your break times to simulate personal projects, but the use of government materials to build said projects is strictly prohibited until the governor is back on his feet, at which point you may petition him for changes to the rules, or present said personal projects for approval."

There was definite grumbling, but the techs acquiesced. With what was likely sabotage having just occurred, restrictions were expected. 

"Full cooperation with the investigation is expected. It will be your duty to determine how the MASA prototype failed."

She leaned forward, her tall frame ensuring she was eye level with them even when seated. 

"Do not fail. Understood?"

As she spoke, Mugwuffin raised her head, spines straightened and eyes narrowed. A primordial sense of danger permeated the room, and no words were said in response to the Commander. Only frantic nods, none of them nearly confident enough to speak a coherent sentence.

"Good"

As they left, Kaela turned back to her PDA, pulling up the Commodores contact information. 

There were preparations to be made, defenses to be reinforced, and people to track.

She would not fail.

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Sidheth T'vor

Minda System, Ugean Orbit, Forged In Orbit 

Sidheth moved with a calm pace through the station, making her way towards the executive office. While she moved like someone with no worries in life, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

The Governor almost died.

Normally, that might be a cause for joy. But as she enters the elevator, she knows that couldn't be farther from the truth.

The current governor of the Minda system, for all that he had bulked up the defense fleet a significant amount, had done nothing against the Rebellion. His laws, reforms and initiatives had brought a relatively large amount of prosperity to the system. 

Minda's permanent population had grown from 200k to 500k in a little over a year, with at least another 50k transient population of merchants, traders, mercenaries and commerce convoys that passed through. The average income had risen drastically, and the system as a whole was far richer than before. 

Dubrillion had been the premier system of the sector, boasting a population of nearly 30 million, and by far the largest economy of the sector. A few other border worlds held the subsequent positions due to passing trade, while Minda held the position of 7th largest economy/wealthiest system in the sector. Considering it had been at the bottom of the list just over a year ago, it was quite the rise. 

A rise the rebellion couldn't use.

For all they spoke of hope, their greatest weapon was the cruelty and incompetence of their enemies. For every city the empire clamped down on, they gained supporters. For every system exploited, they gained a cell. Some cells even incited those atrocities themselves. Disgusting, even if she understood the reasoning.

But Minda lacked that. The Governor here wasn't just competent, he was downright generous. The people of Minda would be very hard pressed to turn, and Sidheth didn't want to turn them. Not that she didn't want more Rebels, but she just didn't believe that the risk was worth it.

And so, she finally entered the office floors. Passing by the variety of workers that managed the bureaucracy of the growing station, she worked her way towards her private elevator, which led to her office. 

Forged In Orbit, their company, wasn't a shell company for the Rebellion. It was a fully legal, fully functioning company that actually ended up supplying independents far more than the actual Rebellion. They just ensured that when they scrapped ships for parts, some of the parts other cells needed were deemed overly damaged, and only fit to be sent on the next scrap hauler. 

If a container of scrap was lost on the way, who would really bat an eye.

Sitting down at her desk, she began to compose a message for Vilil. On the surface, it was a message to a supplier of industrial tools asking for a shipment of newly needed welders. Which they did actually need. Underneath, it was code. Simply, Governor injured, sabotage, who? A question. She needed to know if this was another cell, like the more radical Partisans. If it was, then their entire operation was in jeopardy, and she couldn't have that.

The Rebellion relied on the parts this station produced, and it's operations could not be jeopardized by some overzealous idiots.

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Hiya folks. Shorter one today, and a little late. Got caught up reading The Knight Only Lives Today on Comick, cause it's an absolute BANGER of a story.

Anyways, I had an extra POV planned for this chapter, but I figure I'll just toss it in as the opening for the next one. 

Spent way too long watching Snatch with friends and complaining about the lack of mechanical and worldbuilding depth in Pokemon games, before realizing I'm yapping about kids games. 

Regardless, feedback, comments, yadda yadda, ya know the drill. Though, please, for the love of whatever celestial creature you hold dear, stop the yapping about mechs. It was something I threw in for the sake of plot, but y'all have been arguing the pros/cons for ages. It's real simple. Tanks can do most things mechs do, but are usually fairly slow and can more often struggle in urban/dense environments. Mechs are very mechanically complex, and generally outclassed by tanks, but if built big enough to carry heavy equipment, but small enough to move fairly quickly and low down, they can be used as specialized armored infantry and the like, and excel in urban environments where mobile heavy weapons are needed. This, of course, varies greatly from universe to universe, and situation to situation. Gundam does mechs cause its gundam, and Avatar does mechs because Pandora has got megafauna up the ass, while Battletech does mechs cause the people from that universe are all techno-barbarian scavenger state savages that don't know how to make fucking toasters, and venerate the ancient toaster making factory without knowing how it works. Like the Mechanicus but without the benefit of hyper durable millenia old factories.