CHAPTER FOUR
-Present (40 ABY)-
"General Face Loran has been arrested."
The gathered Wraiths sitting before him- Wran, Thaymes, Huhunna, and Drikall Bessarah- all wore stunned looks after Sharr Latt had provided them with this news. After a short silence, Thaymes spoke up.
"When did you find out?"
"A couple hours ago," Sharr replied. "He sent me a message on my datapad."
"What was he charged with?" Wran asked.
"'Ticking off Director Girdun' is what he told me," Sharr said dryly. "Unfortunately, he didn't leave any further instructions for us to do after acquiring the data we needed from the Imps' base here."
"So what do we do?" Drikall asked.
Sharr was silent as he thought for a moment. He then said, "We'll go to Coruscant and try to figure out what's going on. Then maybe we can break Face out."
"What if Girdun tries to arrest us?" Thaymes asked.
Sharr smiled. "With a Wookiee on our side, that might not be a smart move on his part."
* * *
Captain Lon Shevu of the GA Security Force stood crisply as the Alliance shuttle transporting Fost Bramsin and Haydnat Treen docked at the Senate Building on Coruscant. Normally security details such as the one he was commanding were not necessary to see to senators' safe arrivals- the already-present Palace Guards provided more than enough protection. However, General Maddeus of Security had insisted that Shevu and his men see the two senators to safety personally.
It wasn't Shevu's place to question his orders, but he still had to wonder why they were given. Was it out of fear that the Imperials- who controlled Orinda- had the senators targeted?
The shuttle's boarding ramp lowered and Senators Treen and Bramsin filed out, the former in the lead with her long, sweeping, and elegant Kuati robes. Behind her, Bramsin struggled to keep up.
"Welcome back, senators," Shevu said to them with a nod. "My men and I have been ordered to escort you to the Convocation Chamber."
Treen nodded. "Then by all means, do so."
Shevu's units instantly began to surround the two senators in a protective formation. Three stood on either side, two in the back, and Shevu in the front. They then began to march into the building, keeping an eye out for possible assassins. Thankfully, they encountered none and brought the senators safely to the Convocation Chamber, where the Senate was preparing to begin its session.
"Thank you for the escort," Bramsin said curtly once Shevu's unit had broken their formation. He and Treen then headed for respective repulsorpods.
As Shevu began to lead his team away, his comlink buzzed and he answered it. "Captain Shevu, here?"
"Sir, we have five X-wings here asking for clearance to land," said his lieutenant Teram. "They're transmitting codes that aren't registering. Should we shoot them down?"
"No," Shevu said sternly. "That may be Girdun and Maddeus' new way of doing things, but I'm not going to allow possibly innocent lives be wasted just because they look suspicious. Let them land and I'll handle the situation."
Putting away his comlink, Shevu cursed to himself. If anything, this 'extra security' was just making everyone's lives more difficult.
* * *
"What do you mean my identification code isn't registering?" Sharr nearly screamed into his comlink.
The young security officer stammered for a response. "It... it isn't in any of our files. I'm sorry, sir, but you and your friends will have to leave."
Sharr glowered at the human male- presumably the officer- standing down below as he and the other Wraiths circled over him. "Excuse me? I've been in wars, son: the Sith War, the Glorian War... okay, not a lot, but probably more than you've been in."
"Probably, sir, but I can't authorize your landing until-"
"I can," a new voice spoke, sounding older than the other. "Unidentified X-wings, you are clear to land, but please exit your fighters with your hands in the air while we search you and your vessels for weapons or explosives."
"Thank you," Sharr said exasperatedly as he brought his X-wing fighter down. Once he and the other Wraiths had touched down, they did as told and climbed out of their fighters with their hands up. A security detail, led by a man in his late twenties, awaited them. The man then directed his officers to inspect each X-wing.
"Now then," he said to Sharr. "What brings you here to Coruscant?"
"My job," Sharr said irritably. "I work here for GA Intelligence."
"Really? Who's your boss?"
"General Garik Loran," Sharr replied, feigning ignorance on the man's recent arrest.
"That right?" the security captain said. "I hate to inform you of this, but General Loran was placed under arrest recently and his operations were shut down. That's probably why your ID codes didn't register."
Sharr slowly nodded. "That's a possibility."
"Where were you last before returning to Coruscant?" the captain asked.
"Dantooine," Sharr lied. "We were on Dantooine."
"Why?"
"To pick up some groceries."
The captain gave him an incredulous look. "What?"
"It's true!" Sharr insisted. "General Loran is a very busy man- he barely has enough time to spend it with his family. So he kindly asked us to perform some errands for him, and since yot beans are very lovely this time of year, we decided to do our grocery shopping on Dantooine."
The captain and his lieutenant stared at him in disbelief. The awkward silence was broken when one of the officers inspecting the X-wings spoke up.
"He's telling the truth, sir," the male Duros said. "I see a bunch of grocery bags in one of their fighters."
"Yes, and don't touch them," Sharr said sternly. "Yot beans sometimes explode if you poke them too much."
The Duros quickly backed away from the X-wing, fearful of the food.
The captain sighed. "All right, we'll take the groceries to Loran's cell."
"Sure you want to take that risk?" Sharr asked. "It would be a dear shame if you got that suit of yours stained with yot bean juice."
The captain stared at him again before saying, "I'll have two of my men escort you to Loran's cell."
Sharr nodded. "Excellent choice."
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