Band of Shadows: Eleni Benacor
General Summary
8/1/09
A “meeting” between the Alliance and the Empire.
Yay. Such a great idea. It was Khun’s, of course. I blame him. We always blame him anyway. He seems to like it.
Tapani has been invited because they are next door, and why not. Question - why are we involved? So far, it seems to be a success. No duels, no assassinations - yet. Tense moments have happened, although they all seem forced by polite demeanor into playing nice. Danar has no choice and must attend this next meeting. Khun must also, because he’s in the middle of this political viper’s nest.
Vanya and I were headed off planet to leave Khun and Danar to their politics, when Dr. Simon Tam and Sir Davish Tam waylaid us. They said we had an appointment, and physically guided us away from the bar! Sir Tam promised another drink, but I doubt there will be a chance, knowing how well-timed the escort was. Someone had called in political favors to get the Tams to bring us to the sporting event at the summit. Probably Khun.
Vanya suggested that I make a list of favors Tsu owes me, and stuff I have seen. It seems that a Delia Vorkosigan (Cordelia) is the true power behind the throne - from what Vanya Says. I wonder if she’s Bene Gesserit. She is certainly Corellian.
**Eleni - We’re being press-ganged into this event
Vanya - Yeah. At least the men are cute.
Eleni - true.
The sporting event was a trial of a new professional dueling league - a pet project of the Emperor’s. Stun Foils only. Yay. The emperor in question, unless noted, is the Emperor of Tapani sector - Gregor, I think? Yes. There he is. Some day, I really must do research on this system. I am spending too much time in it.
I noticed:
-VorBarnabus - 4th son, not athletic, but very bright and a worthy match - his armor looked a bit like that bounty hunter’s - wasn’t his stuff from Mandoa?
-Ivan in armor
Rayzac - a clone (son of the 1st clone - I am assuming that it’s not the first clone ever, but the first batch of clones that led to that fracas not too long ago). Also a member of that lovely mercenary unit that helps us from time to time. I think they refer to Vanya as their “Dame”, and use the title of “ma’am” a great deal. It bothers her, but they seem to enjoy bothering her.
Danar mumbled a great deal about the need for such a change in the dueling rules. Apparently this is a new way to duel which does not involve the death of one of the combatants. Perhaps the Bene Gesserit are having a good influence on this place after all.
The winner of the first match was Ivan, although Barnabus was not one I would pick for a fighter in the first place.
There was some mention of an Ecology Alliance to protect lands and at times whole planets in their natural states. Emperor Gregor has asked the JedI order to be caretakers jointly with some Dendari witches. I suppose they have their uses.
Suddenly, there was a large noise, and the walls cracked! Stuff fell from the ceiling. Vanya held the place together. Simon fell, and I managed to help him up. The next time Simon decides to take me to a show, I think I will ask to choose which show.
Outside, containers and ships were raining out of the sky. A Capital vessel broke up in near atmosphere. It was something I never wish to see again. I ran to my ship, Tsu to his. Simon and Davish disappeared, intent on their own duties to help the situation. Vanya tried to hold up the ship. I am still unsure of how this is actually accomplished.
In the Mismatch, I flew towards the part of the broken ship that was about to hit the hospital. One other piece was bound for the old Bene Gesserit temple which, until then, was being used as a spaceport. Amazingly, I hit the chunk at just the right moment to disintegrate it at the last minute.
Meanwhile, Vanya had held her piece up as long as she was able, and had managed to guide it to the ocean. When it fell, it created a tsunami. Khun came up with the splendid idea to match the wave with one of our own. Together, we flew towards it and broke the sound barrier, which lessened the force behind the tsunami. Leave it to Tsu to figure out a way to defeat something called a tsunami. The shields protecting the city were finally repaired, and they went up at the last minute, but faltered as the wave hit the city. Thousands were injured. Hundreds dead. I knew Simon would be in the hospital, working himself sick.
Through Delia Vorkosigan, I learned that Davish, Aral Vorkosigan, and Admiral D’Arcy were all mortally wounded by the falling debris. So badly wounded that they could not be moved to bacta tanks. They had been speared, Davish through the chest. I was quick to alert Vanya, and quickly joined her at the hospital. Simon got to work on them. Vanya and I also did what we could to help.
Intel revealed a person of interest in this catastrophe. A man named Dervish - Whirling Dervish. Some kind of outlaw techhead. He is rumored to hate the government, and can normally be contacted at a seedy bar. He seems to be responsible for this mess. A group known as “The Peacekeepers” have agreed to supply Dervish with whatever he needs. They hate Vors. New Dendarii has been mentioned as a place we might meet.
I became party to a kidnapping. Nothing so enjoyable as being taken to a pretend duelling competition. We have managed to come up with a few methods that will not result in death, which is comforting. I feel that I am still able to operate within the tenets of my faith.
Mallatharr is Khun’s wookiee girlfriend. Just a tidbit I picked up. I found this out after she sent me a package. It held Khun’s undergarment - a dazzling thing in blue and red, as well as a small pyramid. The pyramid was described as some kind of red and yellow lava lamp. To me, it looks like a holocron.
The seedy bar on New Dendarii where we met Dervish was called the Bent Spanner Bar and Girl. Dervish seems to be childlike, unable to look at people, and much too preoccupied with machinery for his, or our, own good. Vanya lied really well, and together we managed to get him to the ship. On the way, I noticed a maintenance droid scanning the Mismatch. I mentioned it to R5, and he didn’t like it at all. We did a quiet scan of the hangar, and found three cylinders lying around to register as high-powered droids. As if on cue, the three things transformed into armed droids! The Machines were going to attack! Obviously the lessons of the Intelligent Machine Overlords have been lost on this sector. Some time, when I have a moment, I will enlighten them as to the lost historical records and their significance.
Band of Shadows Part 2
Or “Transformer robots in the station”
One of the newly changed droids had a missile rack, which extended and warmed up, ready to fire at the Mismatch.
“Shield discussion”
I ran down the ramp
“Armor for Vanya discussion”
Danar defended the Mismatch by detonating 3 enemy missiles before they hit the ship. Vanya and I were pushed back (almost off the ramp). We didn’t manage to fall, but Khun fell badly off of the ramp. Khun rolled, stopped and crashed into the Transformed barrels. Another transformer smacked one of the guards.
This sparked a memory in me. Before the Butlerian Jihad, the Thinking Machines had a rank known as a Taskmaster. These were machines in charge of keeping track of the humans that they had enslaved. Those in charge of the Taskmasters were known as “The 20”. They were overthrown by Erasmus. A direct cybernetic link controlled these Taskmasters. Maybe it would help in this particular situation.
Vanya: This is Tsu Vorboccioni. He can MISS.
I was able to pluck out one of the more menacing robot’s neck wire, and disabled it. I got another’s attention (after I caught Khun and threatened to shoot him in the groin) with the voice - used in the timbre that would make it shake and cause an ionized radiation leak. It wants Dervish, for some reason. They all do.
While Danar was doing amazing things with my ship’s guns, Vanya and I managed to find Dervish’s hiding place on the ship. He was pretending to be the pedestal of the chessboard in the lounge. Very creative! Dervish was very agitated, and kept saying the same mantra over and over. He calmed down when given a box of spare parts to mess with.
Dervish’s Mantra: “Can’t trust the Vor. Always a bad game with the Vor. They hurt the Hunter. The Hunter likes his dogs. Never trust a Vor.”
A transformer hid on my ship - I somehow made it transform! And kicked it off the ship into a plasma welding arc that started eating a hole in the station. A call to Danar fixed it, though.
Vanya and Khun and Danar followed me to the cockpit with R-5 babysitting Dervish. We all emailed our various consultants, and Reverend Mother said that carrying one of these Intelligent Machines’ torso wold be safe on board, provided that it was deactivated, but also that it still might be aware of what is going on around it. We packed it in a cargo container and set a localized white noise around it to keep it blind. The idea is to take the thing to Anakin Skywalker, presumably so he can find out how it works.
“Argument about going to Allandor vs. Going to Procopia first”
The ship landed at Allandor while the argument was still going on.
From a talk with Dervish:
Vor Masseti = Rook - straight lines only.
“Who is more important, the king or the queen?”
Bishop - most sneaky - not Vor. He is knight of Vor. Could move in lots of games. Simon Illian is the Bishop. More than the Hunter.
Vor Hejeron paid Dervish to get back at the Hunter. “Obit Duran”. Boy cousin? Of Vor Hejeron. He also hired the thinking machines to kill Dervish.
Vanya: But they’re with Khun. Surely they’ll be alright. This is what it sounds like when I lie”
Eleni: That’s good to know.
- -“He” ordered several bugs and was not going to tell the Hunter, so he wasn’t going to get any money from the salvage.
- -The Hunter (Orion?) was going to beat Vor Hejeron at the game, but not yet.
- -Vor Hegeron works for the Hunter. Doesn’t like Larkin. Wants to hurt Larkin.
- -Hunter is planning something big to hurt Duratek (hyper drives) and Plasmacorp(weapons systems) and Larkin.
- -Dervish works for Orion (or at least the guy buys his designs). He’s a promising and successful inventor.
A talk with my friend Han Solo revealed that he and Dervish were old friends. Han says that Dervish has premonitions. Han’s got lots of info. The plan was for him to come to Allandor and tell me what he knew - for a beer, of course. Han mentioned that somehow, Dervish is related to Lod and Kane. Kane is the guy who usurped the Galactic Empire(The one with the troopers) and made it look like it was not his fault.
Danar lost 2 minutes of time.
We must find Captain Eian Lunat - a freighter captain. Also, a Matres Merglin is involved. The Matres is some kind of title, not sure of what.
So, we arrive at Allander with the torso of the Machine. Anakin messed with it, and it was discovered that the thing’s name was Scourge, but that it doesn’t have a name now. It likes the name Jazz. Likes.. Right. The whole thing makes me nervous.
Anakin Skywalker says: Don’t be so hasty to judge a situation that at first glance might be dire. Listen closer to the force when your instincts are running contrary to the force, and you’ll find that they are actually quite close together. In bed. I added that last part. It sounds like a fortune cookie.
Olat Mondall is a shipping director of Orion Industries. He seems to have hired the sentient machines. Then he was kidnapped, seemingly by Darth Dragomir while being shot at by males who were Bene Gesserit Trained??? But wearing infiltrator armor. These “Bene Gesserit” males (snort) are Force users, using force lightning, and damaged the force when they did it.
We met with Emperor Gregor (Tapani sector guy). He was very impressive. The whole story was relayed, and the Bene Gesserit who stays with Gregor is a friend named Allyah. She is a sister only. She said she would not ask about my past. I think I can trust her. She will get in touch with the Reverend Mother for me.
Part 3
11/21/09
Yeager, my pal and friend, gave me a nice new set of armor. He modified it from some that the sisters of battle were wearing a few months ago in the ship graveyard. I like it. Armored knee-high boots and a chest plate. It’s all very flexible. I don’t really like the decoration on the front, but he said I can make that whatever I want. Maybe a nice solid black.
In exchange, I was happy to teach his little Twi’lek daughter in the Bene Gesserit style of fighting.
Obit Duran (director of Orion Industries) escaped the hit team, so our little band split up. Khun found Dragomir and Vor Hegeron (Who is Obit?) then told us afterwards. Dragomir wants to get off of Procopia to mess with Kane’s plans, and asked us to fly him away. He was quite flirty.
Danar voted no
Vanya voted no
Yeager voted to shoot him.
Khun said “He has found the dark path” some kind of secret passage through hyperspace. Even though I don’t rely on others to make my decisions for me, I am reluctant to trust one whom so many do not.
So -
Khun - in the powerstation with Dragomir and VorHegeron
Vanya - was playing around in the sewers with one of the very wrong bene gesserit boys
Danar - had handcuffed one of the male bene gesserit fakers to a chair in the financial building
Eleni - was checking the imperial palace for signs of light sabers.
Yeager - hm..
(Yeager’s daughter is named Ehlonna. Yeager apparently started the tsunami on Procopia. My nickname/code phrase is now “8 in one blow”. Not sure if I like that, but a raised eyebrow has ceased being enough to stop my friends from doing what they want.)
½ way to the Tapani Imperial Palace, we met Yeager searching for Ehlonna. There was yelping and we both spoke to Vanya and Ehlonna, who were in the sewer system. Ehlonna was happy to become my student in martial arts, and she almost got Vanya on accident - they were in a confused, panicked altercation.
There is a box hooked to a data line in the sewers - a telltale sign of someone eavesdropping on the palace.
Vanya: The mando’s don’t give a shit about the dark side.
There was a Blue Crystal in the box. Vanya became very interested.
Danar sent word that he had a prisoner in hand. The Palace was warned about the eavesdropping.
Sparks or Ehlonna - Little Jimmy - outlaw 30 images/replicator being downloaded by the box. Government contracts, armor, solar furnace plants.
Bread - Sponge bread - only Vors can order it, and the black market dude - Little Jimmy - demands it as payment. Danar to the rescue! We also got lobster puffballs and mints and wine as part of the order. Danar had it all delivered to Khun’s place.
**I know the credit number to Danar’s bank/charge acct through my eidetic memory skill.
Ponderings upon investigating the prisoner:
Abominations are more likely to become possessed by other memories. Males given the training? Males wiped of their own minds and used as vessels? Information dumped into a human/not clone would lack context. This man seems to have something similar done to him, though.
I was electrocuted by the guy (force lightning) and sent from the room. It hurt. A lot. Vanya continued the interrogation - long black hair, stylized wing at jaw, woman that seems to be in charge wearing Reverend Mother outfit takes off her headress in his memory (This is told by Vanya later). The guy is given a box of vials. Inside each is a red fluid. These might be the way they get their abilities (force abilities). Dark side behind this?
Merglin Sheckle - bright student. She was on Geidi Prime when I left there. Very promising - amazing. Drew attention of Mother Superior. Strong - she was found on a ship -the only one left alive. Everyone else had been butchered- like the Reavers. Tattoo is like Hana’s
She was found on the Star of Orion. She was traveling with her aunt. Both were from Dathomir. She had been left alone for 9 days. Bodies had been ripped apart. The last owner of the Star of Orion was Orion Industries. She didn’t speak to many people, and had a small circle of friends at Geidi Prime. The air always seemed chilly around her. After her friends became her friends, their personalities changed - became chilly. The destinations of the Star of Orion were Procopia and Coruscant. There is a difference in her tattoo and Hona’s, either a different clan or some “other” culture. Something about shunning or exile.
Merglen seems to be a nightsister, which means she’s of the Dark side. One of the tenets of their faith is to subjugate all men. Her tattoo seems to be originally of the singing mountain clan - Hona’s tribe. The red liquid vials were probably treated blood. Physical transfusions. Memories passed through the blood. This can be used with spells - there can be a transfer of memories and knowledge. This is really disturbing.
Talking to the prisoner -
All Danar - I was banished from the room. Yeager is there. I managed to get another room with a monitor in it, so I could still be involved.
A crazy lady gave them “Stuff”. Addicted. They were hired to ruin the funding of Orion Industries.
I took down 3 others who were detoxing, then Rico shot the last one, who was a cannibal MPD guy.
Estella and VorBarnabus are behind this. It’s about money and keeping companies out of business, or in business, if you have a different financial shift. Duratech, Plasmacorp, Larkin Industries. Laandsrad involved. Great. VorBarnabus.
Melantha involved again. Supposed to be quiet.
“You Vors are kinda loud, but you don’t notice the quiet stuff”.
You’re supposed to hate Kane.
They dropped a building on the crimson knight.
Merglen has personal issue with Davish Tam.
Ship named Slugrunner to carry scarabs while it blew up.
Link to trade summit and frame Danar and Tsu in a plot over Vor Masetti.
Sisters of Battle are against Merglen.
And now it's time for a visit to the smuggling section, where everything is a lot less complicated ;)
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