9.099 - Crossing the Rubicon

[Jane Starborn]

Eluna had set up the encryption and security of the transmission, but Jane still fidgeted nervously as the call went through. Zem Vymes was sleeping in his berth, Dashiel keeping a friendly eye on their guest while Thals got some bunk time - for whatever purposes an HRD needed rest for.

Jane tucked her feet up underneath her on the comfortable co-pilot's seat, the soothing swirls of hyperspace beyond the viewport of the cockpit managing to seem somehow menacing. Before she could indulge her worry any more, the transmission pinged, and a holo of her mother appeared on the console in front of her. Sitting at her desk at home, as secure a location as any in the Alliance. Jane had made sure to call before Celeste Starborn headed in to the office.

"Good morning Mother," she said simply. "I have some new things to report."

[Celeste Starborn]

As the image of her daughter appeared before her, Celeste Starborn took immediate mental stock of Jane's appearance, her posture and her tone of voice. What little of her surroundings were visible told Celeste that Jane was aboard an Alliance vessel and appeared to be sitting comfortably. That was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Celeste herself sat in the study of a modest apartment on Dac, the homeworld of the Mon Calamari, where the Rebel Alliance had centralised its government and naval assets.

“Good morning, Jane. What progress have you made aboard the Dauntless?”

She knew she could speak candidly. Jane had the sense not to contact her mother unless she could be certain the communications line was absolutely secure.

[Jane Starborn]

"Unexpected progress." Jane ran a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ears. "We were successful yesterday in locating our mystery prisoner on board, but it was not Commander Laprovik." She sighed. "We are probably much closer to finding out what happened to him, however.

"Please forgive me, I have not slept well." Her hair stubbornly fell into her face again, and she quickly tied it back with a rubber band. "The man we found is Jedi Knight Zem Vymes. From the scant Intel file on him we know that he is formerly Loklorien s'Ilancy's master. He was last seen by the Alliance leaving the Dauntless some months ago, before the formation of the Wheel convoy. From what I have been able to dig up since yesterday's events he briefly met up with the remaining Jedi on Bespin, leaving behind Jedi s'Ilancy's daughter before taking off again on his own.

"He has been off the grid since then, only to turn up now, in the brig of the Dauntless, as an undocumented prisoner apparently placed there by General Dan to rot."

[Celeste Starborn]

Celeste drew in a slow breath as each new piece of information fell into place in her mind.

How predictable that it should fall to the Jedi to complicate matters further. At times they were a law unto themselves, with a great deal of their comings and goings remaining undocumented – and yet... such was the nature of the Rebellion as a whole. Beyond Dac and Bothawui, the Alliance became a much more nebulous entity. Its agents missions were classified, clandestine, and the greatest trust was placed into the hands of those who would spend months at a time working autonomously, without observation from their superiors. With a respected and decorated military veteran at her helm, the Dauntless would have been one such vessel, largely left to its own devices.

“Has the Jedi provided any indication as to the reason why General Dan thought it necessary to incarcerate him as such?”

[Jane Starborn]

Jane took a deep breath. "Yes. He says that the General imprisoned him to keep him silent. That Dan Thrule is actually a Force user and a Sith on par with Palpatine, in league with another Sith named Darth Acera, and that they have Jedi s'Ilancy under their sway."

She waited a moment, and added, "Of course, while this makes sense of some of what Captain Thals and I have uncovered in the course of our investigation, actually proving Jedi Vymes' accusation is going to be a tricky and delicate operation."

[Celeste Starborn]

That was an understatement, to say the least. The fact that Zem Vymes had already been removed from the Dauntless was a bold move on Jane's part. Only with hindsight would they know if she had acted too soon, or indeed perhaps too late. The rest of the advisory council – and Alliance high command – would need to be briefed on the Dauntless team's decisions as soon as possible.

“What your investigation requires is evidence.. beyond hearsay and the word of this Vymes.”

[Jane Starborn]

"Yes, well, forcing Dan into revealing anything concrete would likely be the last thing I did. It is also a matter of fact that the Force can be used to disrupt audio or holographic recordings.

"My inclination is to continue to track down Commander Laprovik. It could be that he has some other evidence but simply has no idea who to trust. In the meantime I believe we should send orders to the Wheel to keep moving - and to keep their location a secret even from those with clearance if those people are away from the Wheel. Once we can sort through and vet the reliability of the people who have been coming and going from the convoy then those caught away from it should be able to return.

"I cannot otherwise think of how to keep Jedi s'Ilancy in the dark as to where the other Jedi are. If it is even possible to keep her in the dark. With the General's contacts I would not be surprised to find that there are people with the Challenger who are close personal friends and who would ignore orders to keep him informed."

[Celeste Starborn]

“She is senior among the Jedi but not counted amongst their leaders, or so we have been lead to believe. Perhaps they might cooperate with you, if you were to share your concerns with their Council...” Celeste's words trailed away. How much did any of them truly know about the Jedi? There was no telling what went on behind closed doors aboard the Whaladon. “Perhaps they are in cahoots with her,” Celeste added, eyes closing as she removed her glasses from the bridge of her nose with a sigh. The Force could do more than just disrupt audio and holographic recordings; it could cloud perception and judgement.

“This must be conducted with the utmost discretion. Under the pretense of... a medical quarantine, perhaps.”

[Jane Starborn]

"That could work - a new and virulent strain of Corellian flu could 'arrive' with some new pilots. Necessitating quarantine and individual medical screening for everyone on the convoy."

Jane leaned forward and picked up her caf from where it sat on the console, taking a sip of the now lukewarm liquid. "A few trusted Intel agents could seek out the Jedi Council under such a guise." She met her mother's eyes. "Not me, I have enough on my plate."

[Celeste Starborn]

“I'm sure you're aware of the shortage of medical supplies in the fleet, at present. The Wheel is medium priority at most as far as medical aid is concerned, so it is entirely plausible that a quarantine situation might arise. Particularly given the number of food and fuel shipments that the support services bring into the convoy.”

In their efforts to avoid notice, either by the Empire or anyone else who might want to exploit knowledge of their location, the leaders of the Wheel took their supplies from a large number of sources, which were brought into the convoy by members of the support services. Travelling from port to port, dealing with humans and aliens alike, it was actually a surprise that they hadn't already manage to infect the Wheel with something already.

Celeste settled her glasses back into place and smiled thinly as Jane was quick to excuse herself from taking part in the plan. “Director Van-Derveld can spare your cousin and a few other trustworthy agents to get the job done.”

[Jane Starborn]

"If the Jedi Council is on Dan's side, if there even is a 'Dan's side', then there is little and less we can do to help them. I think making contact, explaining what we do and do not know, and then allowing the Council to police their own is the best option.

"We aren't set up for screening Jedi for the dark side anyway," Jane chuckled hoarsely. "Intel wouldn't even know where to start, unless there is some sort of Clone Wars tech sitting around that even I have never heard of. Of course the Alliance crew of the Wheel is something else entirely. Background checks should reveal the most likely allies of Dan, if there even are any on board."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "You will have to forgive me, I haven't slept well in days."

[Celeste Starborn]

“I can tell,” Celeste said, her tone dry. “Your mind is wandering.”

When a mind like Jane's wandered – an eidetic mind, capable of recalling not only facts and figures but also imagery with inhuman clarity – the resulting tangent could be never-ending. Still, there was a grain of logic to her daughters current train of thought.

“The Whaladon is one ship amongst many,” Celeste went on, with a dismissive wave. “Focus your concerns on the Wheel's military vessels and their crews. Each man and woman working within the convoy was hand-picked for their role by their respective commanding officer. We may presume that their loyalties to their captains run deep, particularly given how long many of them have been isolated within the convoy.”

[Jane Starborn]

Jane nodded, slowly. "Most of General Dan's closest allies are in Task Force 42 (http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php?title=Task_Force_42) with him, although there are others in the rest of Fourth Fleet who owe much to the General. So, rather than casting a wide net, you suggest to simply look at the commanding officers of the Wheel."

She said it contemplatively, spinning out a new train of thought as she did so. "Their actions and loyalties would trickle down to the men and women underneath them." Jane laughed suddenly. "We could always just leak the rumor that Dan is a Sith and see who does what. Easy enough to see who is on what side then."