Wicked Game

[Vahika Wlady]

Adora City, Sivoria.

Ducha Wlady could have summoned her Head of Planetary Security to her estate; but she rarely saw it fit, unless the situation absolutely called for it. The Ducha of Sivoria also made a firm point in ensuring that her people knew she was taking their wellbeing seriously. That was why she had traveled to Adora City, one of three largest cities of the world, to meet with Captain Seraphine Tankreyd. House Tankreyd's loyalty was something the Ducha valued a lot, and she had been highly satisfied when the Dukana's daughter had risen in the military ranks, all the way to the top. While Vahika had strongly supported her nomination, others had done the same, for Seraphine had earned it with her devotion and hard work.

When her shuttle landed at the private pad on the East side of the garrison, Vahika soon disembarked, escorted by her personal guard. As expected, Captain Tankreyd awaited her. What had recently occurred could have been but a blip on the radar, but the Captain had intuited what the Ducha's orders would be and had ensured that a task force was deployed to the borders of the system.

"Captain Tankreyd. It is good to see you," she offered genuinely even as her stoic posture could have signified otherwise.

[Seraphine Tankreyd]

While Seraphine knew what it had costed her mother to be loyal to the Ducha, she was proud to serve her. Regardless of the tragedy that had befallen House Tankreyd prior to her mother's return, the younger blonde believed in the Consortium, the Chume, and by extension the Ducha of Sivoria. After all, she had been raised Hapan, even though she was half-human, so she couldn't truly fathom while her father would have refused to leave with wife and children back in the day. In that regard, she saw no reason to doubt the Ducha's leadership.

What had recently happened had been concerning, especially her most recent findings. She had no doubt they would squash the petty annoyances gnawing at the crumbs of power they imagined they could obtain. Yet she appreciated that the Ducha came to meet with her so promptly. She preferred being able to discuss things directly with her in this case.

She bowed to Ducha Wlady, smiling at her. "Likewise, Ducha. If you would please follow me, Captain Shakarn awaits us in the briefing room."

Both women, along with the Ducha's escort, headed inside the large building, soon taking the lift that would take them to one of the higher floors of one of the four watchtowers surrounding the garrison. The briefing room was mostly empty for once, only a woman in her mid fifties, Captain Shakarn, in charge of the Sivoria Navy forces, and two of her closest Lieutenants, were waiting for them, along with Captain Tankrey'd right arm, Lieutenant Aminaer. They all bowed upon the Ducha's arrival.

[Vahika Wlady]

Vahika nodded to the small gathering, before turning her attention to the holographic displays over the central console.

"The latest report I received about the rogue smuggler that attacked one of our merchant shuttles was that his ship had been destroyed. Is that correct?"

Captain Shakarn nodded.

"The assassin who sneaked aboard provided a last transmission after they had killed several of his crew members. The five starfighters that gave chase confirmed the destruction. One of them entered the atmosphere close enough to see the explosion. There was nothing to salvage."

She looked at the younger lieutenant by her side.

"My Lady, we received word from the mining officers. Based on the manifesto of that ship, the loss of that transport's cargo is estimated to require double efforts from the Lospar mines over the next three days to stay on schedule."

The Ducha was still enraged that such a male full of bravado and disrespect could have done actual damage.

"Is he confirmed dead?"

Then she returned her attention to the display.

"Bring in a team from the Keshoar mines within the next three hours. Have them triple efforts in the next thirty six hours, and add a 10% bonus to the cargo."

It was but one isolated cargo transport that had been poached; but the mercantile endavors of Sivoria was one of the planet's strength, and she wouldn't permit that their trustworthiness got damaged because of a loose gun.

[Seraphine Tankreyd]

The Captain observed the proceedings for a moment, letting Captain Shakarn say her piece, as well as the younger Lieutenant who had worked as liaison between the attacked freighter and the mining facilities. The attack had happened in the middle of nowhere, even for the Cluster; and close enough to Dathomir. She was still irritated that this man had been able to pull such a feat. At least he hadn't been able to live much longer afterwards.

"We didn't have a direct confirmation, my Lady; but if he managed to survive the crash, which is quite improbable, I doubt the local fauna or natives would let him breathe much longer after that."

There was satisfaction to be found for ugly deaths sometimes; and she certainly hoped that man had suffered such a fate.

Once the Ducha gave her instructions regarding the mining situation, she nodded towards the liaison Lieutenant who made her way to a communication station right on cue.

Returning her attention to the Ducha, she continued.

"Captain Shakarn and I have already arranged for reinforced security for our transports. Two to four extra ships will escort each cargo, depending on size. While this accident was isolated, there has been recent signs of pirate presence at the edge of the system; and we will not take any risk."

[Vahika Wlady]

Vahika had no lost love for Dathomir; but if the place was proving useful with tearing a thief apart, she could recognize some value in the jungle planet and its inhabitants for once. And Sivoria had better things to do than sending soldiers to make sure he was dead. Stuck on Dathomir was a poor fate to experience.

Captain Tankreyd's plans about upcoming security measures was sound. It could help without being overkill. As many planets in the Consortium, local security was a thing; but they didn't have extravagant resources to waste either.

The mention of pirates made Vahika frown for a brief moment. While officially she exhibited disdain for such things, she herself had her own black market dealings, although she handled them off-world, under the guise of visiting the House of the Red Mother for purely sexual needs. She trusted Kris Bonnie to find her appropriate customers and transporters for the goods she chose to sell through shady means.

Now the presence of pirates at the edge of the system was concerning. That was a whole other matters; and she didn't want pests on her territory.

"Have you captured any of them yet?"

[Seraphine Tankreyd]

Captain Shakarn shook her head. "Not yet, my Lady."

Both Captains exchanged knowing looks. It had only happened in the past week; but it was a potential thread; and they couldn't have it going on.

Seraphine pulled several images on the display, showing where the pirates had been spotted.

"Only the group near the North space lane was chased away by one of our patrols. They jumped into hyperspace before we could catch them; though we got solid visuals on them, and have distributed the information to all our scouts."

She gestured towards isolated orange dots, compared to the rest of the blue ones.

"This is just based on a verbal report from Elder Mina Fros."

The woman was a well-known historian of Sivoria; but always insisted on doing things her own way, including flying an old as dirt ship with poor equipment.

"She reported a larger craft than everything else. So it could be another group. All the other dots include mid-size freighters and a handful of star fighters, although we are facing at least two different groups among them."

[Vahika Wlady]

Vahika stared at the two Captains for a moment, visibly unhappy with the news; although she understood it had only been a few days, with multiple pirate sightings. That wasn't any sort of good news. At least the information had been centralized and went through competent hands.

The mention of Elder Fros wasn't much of a surprise though. The old lady was eccentric; but her eyes weren't deceiving her yet, so if she had seen something, it was trustworthy.

The Ducha observed the display for a long moment. Based on the information, most of the ships were of Hapan design, but others were clearly from outside of the Cluster. Vahika believed that a clean-up operation to ensure that any foreign interference got squashed.

"Contact our neighbor systems and see if they had recently experienced similar issues, or at least be on the lookout for them."

Vahika had little desire to involve other systems' forces in the process; but they all served the Chume, and in that regard ensuring the Cluster's security at large started with making sure that local planets were safe.

"I need these scumbags captured. You may kill some of them; but I want them brought in for questioning."

She already knew who might be perfect for the job; as soon as she returned from her trial. She also wanted to send a message to these idiots' employers. A bag full of remains tended to do the trick.

[Seraphine Tankreyd]

Seraphine gestured to her right arm to go do as the Ducha demanded. The younger woman went for another communication station, not far from the one where the Lieutenant was finishing handling the mining situation. The Lieutenant returned to stand by Captain Shakarn, and waited for her turn to speak, during which she said that everything was set in motion for the mining effort, much to the Ducha's satisfaction.

Captain Tankreyd then considered what the Ducha chose as course of action with the pirates. While wiping them out would have been the easiest course of action, gaining as much information as they could before discarding them was wiser.

"It will be done. We will send them to the jail facilities in Diran City, my Lady. Regarding their ships and any cargo we may find aboard, what should we do with them?"

[Vahika Wlady]

Vahika was looking forward to try her new assistant's skills upon the upcoming captives. It would be a good way to begin her active duty. A devious gleam showed in her piercing blue eyes at the thought. She had always governed Sivoria with a steel grip, most often hidden in a velvet glove; but she had no discomfort or fear in removing the glove when needed. Some situations called for it.

The Captain's question was one of the reason Tankreyd occupied her position, and had done so for several years now.

"Have the ships transported to Navy headquarters and fully inspected, regardless of their model. If they are in good enough shape, we will reassign them. If not, they can be torn apart for parts and materials."

Having a handful of non-Hapan ships could prove handy in certain situations. This gave her things to ponder later as well.

"Take inventory of any cargo, and send the report to my estate, while storing the goods in military warehouses."

[Seraphine Tankreyd]

Seraphine was surprised by the Ducha's decision to potentially keep non-Hapan ships; but she didn't show it. Even before joining the military academy, she had been well educated in not betraying her inner thoughts and emotions. She trusted the Ducha to have a plan; even if she didn't expose it yet. After all, the exact nature of their prey was still elusive, depending on what game the hunt would bring in.

While she could have devised a generally similar plan to what the Ducha was laying out, the few differences comforted Seraphine in her decision to directly involve the Ducha. The fact she was willing to get her hands dirty so to speak, and not let her leadership be one from the distance, had participated in how strong Sivoria had become over the years. Strong worlds could only support the Chume better.

She bowed her head to Wlady. "It will be done. Reports will be sent to your office in real-time, my Lady."

She believed the briefing had reached its endpoint; but would let the Ducha call the shots on it.

[Vahika Wlady]

Vahika knew that certain nobles disliked having too close of an overseeing when it came to their territory. While the Ducha had no desire to micromanage, for it would be a display of weakness from her personnel, as well as a waste of her own time, she got involved when it mattered. And this situation was as such.

Hopefully things would be resolved within a couple of weeks, maybe sooner. If pirates and assorted scum began to think that Sivoria's commerce made for easy targets, they would be sorely corrected.

"Thank you, Captain."

She looked at each of the present women in the room, before returning her eyes to the display, inspecting it one last time to ensure nothing was escaping her attention.

"This will be all," she said at last, before turning on her heels to head towards the door, where her guards awaited her. Captain Tankreyd escorted her as well, all the way back to the landing pad.

Before she climbed up the boarding ramp, she shared a personal word with the Captain.

"When you visit your mother next month, let her know that I will see her in the near future. I have missed her company, and rumor has it that her exquisite gardens have only grown more beautiful."

Without further ado, she left the Captain to her own devices, for much work awaited.