Terrorist Act. The hijacking of the Duri Queen.

[Reshmar]

The sky was clear above the world of Calamari. Mau Lori could not remember the last time The ocean covered world's sky had been so beautiful. His life on the Mon Calamari homeworld had been a good one so far. After the cease fire and the every present threat of Imperial invasion was take away the planet seems to relax and life seemed to slow down to a more manageable pace for him and his family. His wife and son loved the world, which made it more of a home for Mau. He was happy they were happy. His only complaint is the cease fire and new peace treaty had made travel more profitable and common. Most people had been more or less sticking around to their home world and staying out of the way as the civil war grudged on. Now these same people longed for an escape. They wanted to see other worlds besides their own. Travel to other places free of threat and fear. This made the life of a Cruise ship captain much more profitable and kept him away from his family for much longer. The cruise around the Dac sector had now become the cruse across half the galaxy. Daily cruses were charted to and from the Dac system many to the new capital Bothawui, or to other more exotic worlds. His life had become much more hectic in a world which had become much more relaxed.


For all of his regrets he loved his job and his ship. The Duri Queen had been a new top of the line Cruiser vessel before the clone wars. Now she was old but still in good shape. She had been one of the few Liners nor requisitioned for military use by the Dac government or the alliance. During the war she had served proudly and stayed vigilant to her duty of entertaining and transiting people. Now as she sits moored awaiting boarders Mau looked upon her with sadness. She had been his home moor so than Dac had ever been for more than ten years now. As she sit like an edifice to the peace which had been achieved and the calm security it had brought, She was still his ship. Even if this was the last time they would leave Dac together. Her final voyage to the Capital and her final resting place. It did not seem possible. The old girl had plenty of life left in her. She could cruise with the best of the new liners being produced through out the galaxy, but with the war over many of the larger vessels requisitioned for war were now being returned to their original task. The larger Calamari and Sullustian ships could carry twice the passengers and make twice the profit. The Duri Queen had seen her heyday and now she and with it he would be retired from the galactic liner business.


The hours pasted relatively quick as he made sure his crew were prepared and the Duri Queen was read for the three day trip to Bothawui. All together four thousand passengers had boarded and the ships moors had been released. The Duri queen sat buoyant in the waters near New Coral City awaiting the order to lift off.


"Boatswain Rentin, Are we ready to proceed."


The man looked over the panel and read out the list of stations which had checked in.


"Sir, Steerage has reported a problem with a passenger being ill. The Corpsman has seen to her and he has cleared us to depart. All stations report ready, I await your order."


Mau looked over the panel of his captains chair at the service and readiness display. The ship was tip top and ready as she would ever be.


"Very well engage the Repulsors. Chief, take us to orbit and put us in a holding pattern. The people who have never left Dac will enjoy the view for a bit."


The man standing to his left nodded then began giving orders.


"All power to repulsors take us up at 2 meters per second. Engineering set reactor to eighty percent and stabilize power flow. I am detecting a five percent drain which should not be."


The engineering tech manning the console looked over the data and worked to fix the problem. The drain was capped and the green light was restored. Chief Torji was the only Mon Cal on the Duri Queen and his understanding of space travel and starships in general was second to none. His advanced eyesight also let him see problems much quicker than humans as his panel was far more advanced and made for Calamari. The Duri Queen shook then breached the waters of Dac spraying a mist as ballasts release water and air. Water rained down like a water fall for minutes as the vessel rose from the ocean. The clear shy of Dac slowly grew dark and then through the haze stars began to become visible. The ship had accelerated to escape velocity and now moved out of the worlds atmosphere and into a low orbit. Slowly the ship took its place among other vessels over Dac. Space above the Mon Calamari homeworld was always crowded. Mui knew people were filling the observation decks looking down on the world below. He remembered his first trip into orbit. He had been so amazed at how something he perceived as being so big could seem so small.


"That's long enough Chief, Take us to the outer beacon and prepare for jump."


"Aye sir,"


The crew of the ship began doing the jobs they had so become accustom to. Every trip was different but the chores and actions never changed. It was not a job for the adventurous. The vessel slowly began to move away from the world of Dac. The trip to the outer beacon took twenty minutes in the crowded chaos which was Dacs orbit. The ship slowed and Mui looked at the display of Dac, now much smaller and distant. He longed for a rapid return but part of him wished he could stay on the bridge forever. His family was more important but his love of his ship was not that much less important to him. He knew upon his return he would face the choice of retirement or reassignment. The Duri Queen had been his ship and he knew no other would mean what she had. He knew this was his last trip. As much as he hated it he knew his life in space was over. Only the thought of his family kept him sane. His wife and son would be his life now and he was happy with his choice.


"Chief take us to hyperspace."


"Aye sir, disengage the repulsors and switch power to the Motivators. Jump in three, two, one."


His voice seemed to pause and drag out in an endless e sound as the ship jumped into hyperspace headed for their first stop. The world of Sanctuary.

[Damien Kantrael]

"Sergeant Calasar, the Grand Inquisitor will see you now."

Cal's only reply was a curt nod to the officer, tearing his eyes away momentarily from the massive portal that stood before him. The standard issue doors had been replaced with thick, heavy blast doors constructed of black metal. Across the dark surface was positioned many symbols; such as the Imperial Crest fashioned after after ancient fortifications, along with with many iron crosses and skulls that were less common. In between the symbols, carved into the door, was the words of their leader and his descriptions of what makes an Imperial, and commandments to guide their actions. It was their mantra, their religion.

The heavy doors parted, and several commanding officers stepped out. Cal saluted smarty and looked straight ahead. Between the press of bodies he caught the last moments of a holographic projection just before it was changed. Even with just a fleeting glance he was hard pressed to not recognize the Imperial Palace. Once the others had filled out he stepped in, and the doors closed behind him. The thudding echoed through the war room beyond.

Only one man remained in the room, positioned on the opposite side of the holographic display table; which now displayed a three dimensional image of the galaxy complete with twinkling stars and swirling nebula. Man was too kind a word, Cal thought as he stepped up to the table and saluted. Damien Kantrael, self appointed Grand Inquisitor of the Sons of Coruscant, was hardly a man. He was something much more. A symbol of the old Empire, hidden behind his full body armor and apathetic helmet. Every edge, feature, and detail of the armor was designed to be fearsome. There was a reason they were called Nightmares. The Inquisition had created monsters.

Some called him the Emperor beyond the Stars.

"Sergeant Calasar, I require the status of your squad."

The voice was metallic and distorted; pushed through whatever air scrubbers the helmet possessed and spat out in a tone that was hardly human. It always sent down chills down his spine. "My men are top form and prepared for deep infiltration per request." And so they were. They had spent months recruiting the right men and preparing them with arduous training that pushed them to their very limits. One did not simply take soldiers and turn them into spies. You head to break them again and fill their empty heads with new. Some washed out but those that remained fit the bill.

"Good. An opportunity to deploy them has arrived at last. Your squad will be ferried in through cell Alpha Seven Seven, Charlie Nine, and Eleven until you reach the planet Dac in Mon Calamari Space. You are to embed yourselves there and wait for an opportunity to strike at a high value target. I cannot stress more how isolated you will be once you are there. Communication will be impossible without revealing you and the adjacent cells."

"How many Nightmares will be deployed with us?"

"None. I cannot risk the few Nightmares I have at my disposal. Your venture into enemy space may never bare fruit and leaving a Nightmare to rot on Dac would be a waste of resources. You will have your squad and authorization to do whatever you feel is necessary so long as it brings honor to the Sons of Coruscant and punishes the Alliance. Without war..."

"...There can be no victory. We have purpose." Cal finished, standing straighter and saluting as hard as he could before turning on his heel and marching out of the room, leaving behind his insidious leader with a renewed sense of importance welling in his heart.

That was months ago, and the sense of importance in his mission had drained with the tedium that is waiting. But that was not to last. An opportunity had arrived. A transport would be leaving Dac. With a Senator on board. That was a target worth pursuing. His squad was assembled and slipped on board separately. Some stowed away while others purchased legitimate tickets. Once seated they waited for the vessel to launch and jump into hyperspace. That was when the operation would start. From his seat Sergeant Cal looked out of the corners of his eyes as to not draw attention. Here and there he spotted his fellow rebels but made no acknowledgement of their existence. The signal would come when one of them located the Senator. Until then, they waited.