Bedridden

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Aldera Universal Medcenter, Alderaan. After taking a hit from an incendiary bullet while escaping from tram station 7, serving the supply docks, Jessica has suffered from burns in her legs. One Jakkor Kess gave her a copy of the blueprints of the Venator-class in exchange of having his ship refitted to Neimoidian Yacht standard, despite not being a Neimoidian Yacht. That, while she still was in the bacta tank. She has stayed in that bacta tank for about two days or so, and was bedridden for a few more days. Many a Ringovindian traveled to Alderaan in an attempt to visit her after the fact. But once news of the raid reached Ringo Vinda, as many as 5,000 visitors saw her at the hospital before she could even awaken from this entire ordeal, when the medical droid, an IM-6 unit, went to approach her.

"Where am I? What am I doing here? Where are Charzon and Marcia?" Jessica asked.

"You're on Alderaan in a hospital bed. You lost consciousness on the way out from... Kuat? These visitors all seem to talk about Kuat when they came for you"

"I was on the Maersk of Lanteeb when I last saw them"

"Forgive me, but who are Charzon and Marcia?"

"My coworkers. I feel guilty of dragging them into this mess for work"

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

At this moment, an organic psychiatrist arrived at Jessica's position, seeing the visibly dazed and confused Jessica. Obviously the doctor, having heard the reports from the other visitors, seems to want to question Jessica more in-depth about Kuat. Most of what the patients ask for are for the raid itself and what she did fight, very little about why she fought in the first place or how she got a raid authorized. Sometimes mental health was just a weird beast, where even the tiniest speck of detail could be ultimately the sign of someone who is very ill. Crazy, crazy lady. The psychiatrist preferred to don his beskar'kandar while on duty so as to avoid getting hit by the stuff patients throw at him. But most implements patients throw at psychiatrists aren't capable of penetrating duraplast, and that psychiatrist looks like a phase-1 clone trooper in this condition. He starts asking Jessica about her feelings of guilt:

"Kuat? Is there anything to feel guilty for? Everyone and their dog all seem to talk about Kuat when it comes to you"

"I feel guilty of having even placed a bid for a raid on facilities belonging to Sith factions"

"What do you mean, bid on a raid? Usually raids aren't bid upon"

"The Ringovindian government opened a call for bids asking the general population to submit plans for raids on facilities owned by Sith factions. I fully remember the contents of the advertisement when the bidding process opened"

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Do you feel you have what it takes to plan a raid? Have you always dreamed of performing special operations missions? Or have you harbored a hatred for the Sith such that you feel the urge to actually do something about it? For a limited time only, the Ringo Vinda government offers you the chance to actually allow you to perform them, like on the holoshows! With the Civilian Raid Planning Competition, it's your chance to become a war hero! Enter the competition today and make the galaxy a better place!

After the doctor handed her pen and paper, Jessica wrote the above content of the advertisement as it appears in the HoloNet government website of the Territorial Defense Force. But she can't bring herself to draw the logo of this operation, though. Or any artwork associated with it. She feels as it is too painful for her to do. But her memories of the entire process leading up to the planning of the raid are entirely clear. She may not look back on that too fondly, but she feels compelled to talk, or write, about the entire process from top to bottom, if it helps her come to terms with the events, with her feelings of guilt and whatnot.

"Paperwork? Such processes usually require paperwork to carry out"

"Yes, but before I enter the thick of it, the criteria and whatnot, I feel it is pertinent to talk about the terms and conditions of this ordeal"

"Why do you think that would help?"

"Perhaps if there were some irregularities..."

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

She continues on writing about the terms and conditions of the bidding competition she took part in. It reads like a contract, presumably because all entrants sign a contract officializing their entry into the bidding process:

---------------------------------------------

TERRITORIAL DEFENSE FORCE BIDDING PROCESS #GP4187-SO TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. All participants must be Ringo Vinda residents
2. Excluded from eligibility are: Territorial Defense Force members, members of police forces, members of the Silver Jedi Order, members of the Silver Sanctum Coalition Armed Forces
3. The Civilian Raid Planning Competition (the "Bidding Process") begins at 0000 hours galactic standard time on June 1 and ends at 0000 hours galactic standard time on July 1 (the "Bidding Period")
4. The Territorial Defense Force reserves the right to terminate or alter the bidding process at any time without notifying the bidders if any extenuating circumstances arise that would compromise the integrity of the present Bidding Process
5. No military obligations necessary. The Bidding Process requires a valid HoloNet access as well as any one valid proof-of-residence ID issued by the Ringo Vinda government. To enter the Bidding Process, all entrants must fill out a Form GP4187-SO in full online during the Contest Period. Limit: one entry maximum per person.
6. Two categories of entrants will be defined: civilian employees of the Ringo Vinda government, the Silver Sanctum Coalition or the city-level local governments on Ringo Vinda or corporations owned by the aforementionned governments (the "Civil Service") and all other eligible Ringo Vinda residents (the "At-large Population")
7. The winners of the bidding process will be broken down as follows: 1 from the Civil Service and 4-6 from the At-large Population
8. Each Form GP4187-SO will be evaluated in full by a panel made of three command-level officers of the Territorial Defense Force's special units; odds of being selected depend on the quality and number of bids submitted
9. The winners of the bidding process will be announced on July 14 at noon Galactic Standard Time or when all bids are evaluated, whichever happens latest
10. The winners of the bidding process will win full funding for their raid to be carried out until September 30 inclusively
11. The winners must identify their guests within 5 days of the actual day of carrying out the raid and said guests must provide banking information as well as tax information; the winners' salary for the raid will be treated as salary for tax purposes
12. By participating in this biding process, entrants agree that the Territorial Defense Force assumes no liability whatsoever for any injuries, damage or casualties that arise as a result of carrying out the winning bids or any libel claims that arise as a result of the bidding process or its aftermath
13. The Territorial Defense Force shall not be held responsible for any incomplete or inaccurate information on entry forms, loss of availability in servers or damage to a bidder's computer equipment in the bidding process
14. Any personal information supplied by the bidders shall be used only for the purposes of the Bidding Process
15. By entering the process, the winners authorize the Territorial Defense Force to use their name, photograph, voice, likeness, footage of the resulting operation, place of residence and/or statements about the prize in perpetuity for publicity without any compensation
16. This Bidding Process is governed by the law of Ringo Vinda. Each entrant agrees, to the extent permitted by the law, that any judicial proceedings relating to any disputes, claims or causes of action arising out of or in connection to the present Bidding Process shall take place within a court on Ringo Vinda

--------------------------------------------

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"I'm surprised you can remember the Terms and Conditions at such a detail level. Most people never make a big deal out of it, or of any other similar things"

"Simply put, the Kuat raid was a life-changing event for me on a lot of levels: personal, professional to a lesser extent. I am no bounty hunter, and I don't intend to become one, but it took this raid to know that the life of a bounty hunter just isn't for me. The Ringovindian government asked the common man to do the work of bounty hunters"

"I assume Ringo Vinda lies outside of Mandalorian territory. I heard rumors that it was going to be raided in retaliation for Kuat but the raid was called off, despite Charzon's ties to the Republic"

"Charzon... how stupid of me of dragging my boss into this mess! I could have gotten my boss killed, yet I owe her so much after Kuat Drive Yards fired me. I owe her my dignity, my professional turnaround, and my fame by now. All six of us survived though"

The psychiatrist wasn't surprised in the slightest to hear about the mess she was placing the senior Ringovinda StarYards staff in. But most corporate sabotage or espionage missions were not carried out by higher-ups in the corporate hierarchy. As far as he knew, only sufficiently-sized corporations could afford to do such; Mandalorian corporations tended to have all levels carry such deeds out but Silvers did not. The brunt of the cost of the raid was, however, assumed by the Mandalorians, more than Star Tours or Ringovinda StarYards. But was there any recollection about other aspects of the bidding process, the form perhaps? Although Jessica did not seem to be hyperthymestic, she certainly seemed to have a rather uncommon memory, or encroaching in uncommon territory. And yet, she wasn't otherwise intellectually abnormal: she was bright on some level, but nothing that would deem her exceptional.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

The Terms and Conditions stood on a double-sided sheet of paper, mostly on one side but a few provisos on the reverse. How many sheets of paper would Jessica need to replicate the content of her Form GP4187-SO, in whole or in part? She did tell the psychiatrist about a few things, as though she entered a stage where she could access memories in much greater detail, but she knew it won't last forever, nor will it affect every single memory she does have. It is common for people regardless of how good their memory was in general to have highly precise memories of particular events and of particular aspects within said event.

--------------------------------------

RINGO VINDA TERRITORIAL DEFENSE FORCE​

FORM GP4187-SO​

SUBMISSION OF A CIVILIAN BID FOR SPECIAL OPERATIONS IN SITH FACTION SPACE​

​

Section 1: Identity

Name: Jessica Med-Beq
Date of birth: June 27, 810 ABY
Address: 7651 Tup Avenue
City: Quendelton
Citizenship card number: 432-150-331

Section 2: Security clearance

Do you currenlty work for the Silver Jedi Order, the Ringo Vinda Territorial Defense Force or the Silver Sanctum Coalition Armed Forces?

Yes [ ] No [X]

Do you work for a law enforcement agency not named above?

Yes [ ] No [X]

Do you currently work as a civilian employee of the Ringo Vinda government, the Silver Sanctum Coalition or the local governments on Ringo Vinda, or a corporation affiliated/owned by one of the entities named prior?

Yes [X] No [ ]

If you answered Yes to the previous question, please name the job title as well as the government entity for which you currently work.

Landing gear product manager, Ringovinda StarYards

----------------------------------------

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

There was enough space on the paper for part of Section 3 of the form: visibly Section 3 was longer than what she had on one side of that sheet of paper after Sections 1-2 were dealt with. But Form GP4187-SO was more than simply a job application, even though Sections 1-4 read like one. Sure, from the government side, it was similar to hiring external consultants and they needed to ensure complete transparency of the bidding process. Sections 5-7 pertained to the details of actual raid, if conducted. Jessica kept writing on that sheet of paper so long as her memory didn't fail her. Even more surprising to the psychiatrist is that she could remember paperwork as if it was nothing. Some industries were adamant about asking one's GPA, most notoriously law and, to a lesser extent, accounting, regardless of how far out from school one was, but defense was not one of them. And certain governments granted higher seniorities within a rank (and less commonly higher ranks) if one's GPA fell under a certain range but Ringo Vinda was not one of them either; Omwat's civil service in particular tended to place more weight on grades.

------------------------------------

Section 3: Educational history

Select the highest level of education you have achieved.

[ ] Did not complete high school
[ ] High school
[ ] Some undergrad
[ ] Bachelor's degree
[ ] Some graduate school
[X] Master's degree
[ ] Doctoral degree

List your diplomas earned, starting from the most recent.

Degree: Master of business administration (MBA)
Institution: Corulag University of Economics
Institution location: Corulag
Discipline: Business administration
Graduation year: 840 ABY
Completed: Yes [X] No [ ]

Degree: Bachelor of Engineering
Institution: Dammon University
Institution location: Corulag
Discipline: Mechanical engineering
Graduation year: 832 ABY
Completed: Yes [X] No [ ]

-------------------------------------------

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Again Jessica had to guess what purpose would be served by asking for the work history of the primary bidder: gauging the likelihood of the raid working, if that particular bid was selected? Only the primary bidder had to face such scrutiny: such was not necessary of the secondary bidders. They did not scrutinize nearly as heavily the secondary bidders even though the inherent risk in a raid is that the hired guns may cause it to fail. They trust that the primary bidder would find suitable help knowing the risk factors involved, and secondary help would be found after the raid has been approved.

---------------------------------------

Section 4: Work history

List all work experience in the past fifteen years, the most recent first.

Employer: Ringovinda StarYards
Employer location: Ringo Vinda
Job title: Landing gear product manager
Employment dates: May 844 ABY-present
Presence of combat in job duties: Yes [ ] No [X]

Employer: Kuat Drive Yards
Employer location: Kuat
Job title: Landing gear product manager
Employment dates: September 840 ABY- January 844 ABY
Presence of combat in job duties: Yes [ ] No [X]

Employer: Kuat Drive Yards
Employer location: Kuat
Job title: Hydraulics engineer
Employment dates: December 832 ABY-August 844 ABY
Presence of combat in job duties: Yes [ ] No [X]

Employer: Bluth Company
Employer location: Nar Shaddaa
Job title: Engineering intern
Employment dates: May 831 ABY - August 831 ABY
Presence of combat in job duties: Yes [ ] No [X]

----------------------------------

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

The meat of what counts will be in the description of the raid to follow. The actual plan. What the plan entails, as well as the resources necessary for carrying it out.

-----------------------------------

Section 5: Raid plan

State, in 140 characters or less, each objective that the raid hopes to achieve. Take as many lines as there are objectives, each of which must fit within 140 characters:

/* The objectives pursued by raid on Kuat Drive Yards are multiple-fold: */

• Deal some damage to the One Sith's shipbuilding and maintenance infrastructure
• Render the remaining enemy shipbuilding infrastructure less productive
• Steal the schematics of KDY-built medium and heavy Star Destroyer-sized ships

How do you intend to achieve the objectives?

At the beginning, the team will enter the supply docks, pretending to be delivering a shipment of starship components and its invoice to be sent to the finance department. Part of the team will remain in the supply dock pretending to be overseeing the delivery of said components, while the rest of the team will enter the tram to take the fake invoice to the relevant accounts payable office. En route to the accounts payable office, I would be using the tram's computer systems to slice inside the relevant databases. Knowing that, even if I failed to get all the information I could ask for, there is a risk that I trigger an EMP that will fry their databases and hence shut down the production of starships over Kuat for 6-8 weeks. But more likely than not, we would trigger security alarms and dealing with security guards would undoubtedly cause some damage to their property, especially more so as more means are being deployed to hunt down the raid party. The size of the means deployed to search for a raiding party capable of achieving the objectives is estimated to be eight to ten squads.

-------------------------------------

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

The form reached its ending. Even though she lived her childhood on Loronar, she was a little naïve about raid planning at the time. But she knew that she couldn't carry that out by herself. Probably the hired help being promised high salaries and whatnot would allow them to surround herself with a fighting chance to accomplish what she set out to do, per the contents of her Form GP4187-SO. Plus Kuat was a target for the crazy. In actuality the expenses claim would be twofold: one from Jessica and the other from Star Tours. Because Star Tours got mixed in the raid...

-----------------------------------

Section 6: Raid budget

State all the resources deemed necessary and the estimated amount of money required.

Salaries for a squad of bounty hunters, including my own and per-diems: 600,000 credits
Weapons and ammunition: 25,000 credits
Transportation and customs fees from and to Kuat: 20,000 credits
Slicing equipment: 5,000 credits

Total cost: 650,000 credits

Section 7: Raid consequences

List all expected consequences from the raid.

- Kuat Drive Yards warship building schedules would be delayed 6-8 weeks
- Reverse engineering of their medium and heavy Star Destroyer schematics would take place in earnest

Section 8: Legal disclaimer

I hereby certify that all the above information is, to the best of my knowledge, correct and accurate and that any false information may be liable to the rejection of the bid or criminal prosecution in accordance to the laws of Ringo Vinda if the attempt at using false information is deemed fraudulent. I accept full responsibility for all of the raid's outcomes, including but not limited to, criminal prosecution. For the purposes of electronic signature, please write your full legal name:

X Jessica Med-Beq

------------------------------------

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Two weeks before the actual raid on Kuat. The panel of three command-level officers of the Special Operations Division of the Ringo Vinda Territorial Defense Force convenes with about a thousand bids in tow, only about 50 of which were submitted by civil servants as defined by the contest's Terms and Conditions. Which meant that Jessica faced way better odds than if Ringovinda StarYards wasn't government-owned. In the TDF, SpecOps command-level officers are those who once took part in SpecOps units, and command-level officers were the only servicemen in that division not to see the actual missions. Major General Polkiar, the chairman of the jury and commanding officer of the SpecOps Division, Brigadier Jarod and Colonel Sanders were the other two members of the jury. As they review file #CS34, the number assigned to Jessica's bid, they go with their comments and their ratings.

"Hmmm, a landing gear product manager. Jessica has no experience of combat, but then again, very few in the civil service actually do" MG Polkiar told his top subordinates.

"I have been very disappointed by the submission put forward by the Veterans Affairs filing clerk. He suggested an attack on a fuel depot: he wanted to ram a ship laden with heavy proton bombs into an orbital fuel depot" Brig. Jarod told his colleagues.

"She has accounted for the consequences of failure in slicing their databases; she knows about the defenses of the target by virtue of having worked there. No full-scale assault, but not an attempt at destroying the power generators of the place. She seems to have some party capture the place at a later point while maintaining its operational status" Col. Sanders told his superiors.

"A rather low-cost compared to other options, for the impact it would have. Delaying warship production for 6-8 weeks at their main shipyard means delaying production for an eternity in their current context. I like how she seems to think; I recommend an interview with her"

"General, the decision to shortlist is to be made with all three of us. That said, if we did interview with her, we will inevitably ask why she was fired by KDY in the first place. She listed no termination reason but then again the form provided no space for explaining why such-and-such left their jobs" Brig. Jarod explained.

"To be honest, it is irrelevant at the early stages of the process why a primary bidder lost a job. I'd shortlist her"

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Was there an interview process?" the psychiatrist asked.

"I was shortlisted and all shortlistees were interviewed"

"What were the questions?"

To that Jessica writes on yet another sheet of paper, with all the interview questions, of which there wasn't that many. Four, perhaps five to a maximum. Not many questions, of which Jessica asked only one. In the transcript to follow, the questions of the top SpecOps brass go first and her own question last. That was much more nerve-wracking at the time to her than just filling out the GP4187-SO, and she was the last shorlistee interviewed that day.

---------------------------

Question 1: Why do you want to take a potshot at Sith factions?

I was fired by a corporation operating in Sith faction space, namely the target, Kuat Drive Yards, and I want to exact revenge on them for having scrapped a landing gear project; in addition, an upcoming product calls on the expertise we lack and that we can obtain by stealing from their databases

Question 2: Why were you fired by KDY?

KDY fired me because of engineering disputes: they believed that no civilian ship longer than 400 meters should be able to land on planets, while I believed at the time that ships up to 2km in length could be outfitted with the ability to land on planetary surfaces. With the Acclamator and Venator sales flagging, production of large landing gears at KDY have slowed down.

Question 3: Do you personally commit to carrying out the raid, if selected?

Yes: despite my lack of combat experience, I insist on personally exacting the revenge so that I can come to terms with the engineering disputes that caused me to have a fallout with them

Question 4: Why do you want to deal damage without destroying the shipyards themselves?

I have accounted for the possibility that, in the future, Kuat may no longer be One Sith property so that any future owner would still be able to produce ships; plus 6-8 weeks delay in production schedule is a rather significant success for a mission that uses comparatively small-scale means

Question 5 (Jessica): What is the procedure for expenses claims?

Assuming there is anyone that survives, once the raid is over, the survivors must file a form AS-734 within 10 business days of the raid ending and send it to Logistical Command. The name of the main bidder must be included in the AS-734 even if the main bidder dies. If the raid failed in such a fashion that resulted in leaving no survivors in the raiding party, the families of the raiding party will receive an equal share of the total cost indicated on the GP4187-SO.

----------------------------------

Luckily Charzon filed the AS-734 in Jessica's stead...

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Jessica also seemed to recall that the content of the letter that contained the confirmation that she won the civil service bid was also a little short. She could recall the content with perfect accuracy. And also how happy she was to finally have a chance to exact vengeance on Kuat Drive Yards, even though the confirmation letter didn't mention anything about her desire for vengeance.

-------------------------------

ATTN: Jessica Med-Beq

Congratulations! You are the sole winner of the Civilian Planning Raid Competition in the Civil Service division. Naturally, we were a little underwhelmed by the low quality of the bids submitted by civil servants, but the main reason why you were chosen is because you used to work at the target of your submission and you take the long view.

Major General Transe Polkiar
Commanding officer, Special Operations Division
Ringo Vinda Territorial Defense Force

-------------------------------

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

There was a courier headed for Jessica's room, holding a small, sealed packet. Of course, the courier arrived just as the psychiatrist left the room to see another patient being bedridden in the trauma ward. It seemed as though Jessica displayed a rather convincing display of the strength of her memory. To be fair, the earliest of these events dated back about three months at most. But few non-Omwati would recall in such detail paperwork from even that timeframe. And yet her brain was more than simply an organic data disc. Jessica became the public face of the company and had more fame than Charzon possibly had, even though Charzon was nominally at the head of the Design Triumvirate. But all of this would be of no concern: it could be a trap set for her as it could be something else. Nevertheless Jessica is handed the packet, which she promptly opens, and the waybill is flashed in front of her eyes.

"That's a surprise! A check for 130,000 credits, and... the Silver Star!"

"Read the back of the box!" the courier told Jessica.

"Then I'll sign it, I guess" Jessica tells the courier, proceeding to later sign the waybill. "For bravery in the raid on Kuat Drive Yards"