Where is your rebel base...trading post...distillery?

[Aeshi Tillian]

Aeshi leaned back against her captain's chair, swiveling around as the airlock hissed open. She stood and strode out onto the landing pad. Thick moist air rolled into the hatch, coiling around her boots with a touch of fog. Imynuposh was a humid world, thickly forested and heavily wooded. Massive trees rose from the surface, limbs twining together into the canopy, serving as buttresses for the cities built there.

One of them had a crude sign carved into it with a vibroknife. Tillian Outer Rim Trading Outpost. Nothing really there yet, but crates and canisters. It wasn't pretty, but it was a start. More importantly, it was hers. That was what made the difference. And it also was the plans she had for it. She'd dropped a few calls around in some quiet channels. Rebel cells. Merchant fleet. The family. It was an investment into future possibilities.

A base of sorts, for all the good hearted scoundrels with a love of freedom and petty larceny. Smuggling really. That and... she tapped a barrel near her and peeked inside. The stuff inside was an excellent color now. A small cup was tied to the side and she gave it a taste. Almost there, but it needed a little more. Not sure what, yet, something... bubbly. Sparkly. Like a touch of champagne, but the flavors wouldn't match.

Another freighter, this one larger than hers settled onto the platform with a hydraulic hiss. The ramp lowered and a couple droids rolled down, followed by an older man. Aeshi grinned and jogged towards him.
"Gramps," she called. The older man grinned and stumped over, embracing Aeshi. He stepped back and smiled.

"Been too long, kid. What you got in mind?"

"Try my whiskey for one," Aeshi replied, jerking her head back to the barrel. "Also looking at a warehouse, cantina, storefront, living quarters."

"Simple enough. Anything special?" Her grandfather stroked his chin, looking over the platform. "Shouldn't be a problem."

Aeshi nodded and strode to the edge of the platform. Her grandfather called out.

"This needs a chaser," he called back. A chaser? Maybe if she mixed it in and carbonated it for the bubbly part? That would make combine a little of everything. What would she call it? That was the question she had to answe next.

 

[Klesta]

Yula, formerly a general of the Sith Order, made it all the way to this corner of the galaxy because she feels she can no longer stomach the Sith Order and their montrosities. Especially when her predecessor at that position, Darth Maladon, was killed in a much-reviled trial that she was disgusted about, and not only because of the sheer amount of irregularities. Monsters they were but she hated their monstrosities which, in her mind, were nothing but an attempt at power projection. There had to be a good reason, tactical or strategic, to commit atrocities in her mind. But she wasn't strong enough, nor did she have enough troops or equipment, to engage the Sith Order in direct warfare. Upon arriving in the distillery on Imynuposh, Yula realized that the seedy... distillery was chock-full with other stolen stuff, among which to hide what she stole on Yutan but she can't seem to keep her eyes off something carbonated that was seemingly rather strong in alcoholic content:

"I'm... a merchant of rare items. Oh, that whisky seems interesting to me: put it on my tab please. Oh and, if you're interested to hear about it, I have a plan to make use of these merchandise, if you're interested in knowing what's in the merchandise I am selling"

[member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[D'vok Windroamer]

D'vok walked into the trading post. D'vok had heard about this place from his "friends." A place people go to fence "things". D'vok prided himself on having one of the widest selections of "things" on this side of the galaxy. If you wanted it, D'vok probably had it. Weapons, Spices, hell D'vok even had Kyber Crystals. He took a sip from his flask of corellian whiskey, before quickly placing it back on his belt as he came within earshot of the three people.

"I'm... a merchant of rare items. Oh, that whisky seems interesting to me: put it on my tab please. Oh and, if you're interested to hear about it, I have a plan to make use of these merchandise, if you're interested in knowing what's in the merchandise I am selling"

"Alright, I'll ask. What're you selling?"
D'vok enunciated the last part in a mock interested voice, cracking a relaxed smile.
[member="Yula Knezevic"] [member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Klesta]

"Alright, I'll ask. What are you selling?" [member="D'vok Windroamer"] asked.

"Jedi artifacts. I'm sure the Alliance will pay through the nose for these: tracking devices are in place so that, should they be stolen, there is a means to locate them"

What they don't suspect is that the artifacts are the very stuff she stole on Yutan and that made her a heretic to the eyes of the Sith Order. She sipped a bit of the... carbonated whisky, and the Force made her able to resist the alcoholic content of the beverage for a while. Will she actually talk about why that makes her a heretic to the eyes of the Sith? What she dislikes about the Sith Order? What exactly are those artifacts she stole on Yutan? She might hesitate, but why would they even want to know what drove her to the Rebellion? Do they even want to know? She feels uneasy being with people who may not entirely trust the source of the artifacts, or even what she is: she seems to tremble because she is afraid of something. Or perhaps that's the effects of alcohol on her, being so young and having drunk alcohol only a few times in her lifetime before, realizing that life among the Rebellion may mean that she will have to drink on the regular.

"I had to save these artifacts from the Sith so, if you guys want to know more about the Sith Order on a tactical level..."

[member="Aeshi Tillian"]

 

[Kira Vaal]

“Stolen Jedi Artefacts?” It wasn’t a sentence to be used openly even on a discreet shadow port that was hidden behind legit businesses. “Especially ones with tracking devices, it puts me on edge.”
Kira hadn’t made herself known yet for the simple fact that most in the Rebellion didn’t know the faces of the others, it was all code names and whispers. Yet when someone mentions Jedi artifacts, the Galactic Alliance and especially the Sith she had to start listening.

“I won’t lie, you’ve got my interest.” She moved across the room with one of the carbonated whiskeys that she was happy to call a Rebellion Asset. “However I find myself slightly more interested in you. You see here we are on a distillery, pretty much a nothing place in the middle of nowhere discussing the finer details of a batch for consumption when we suddenly hear the words of Stolen. Jedi, and Artefacts. You understand why there is the concern yeah?”


Kira had to be cautious. Yes [member="Aeshi Tillian"] was part of the Rebellion and she allowed the stashes of the Rebellion to be hidden in the Distillery, but nothing was open, nobody had mentioned any codes nor had Fulcrum initiated a meet at this time.

[member="Yula Knezevic"]
@D'vok Windroamer

 

[D'vok Windroamer]

D'vok was taken back a bit by [member="Kira Vaal"]'s appearance, and the mention of jedi artifacts. Maybe they had some things from the old jedi order! D'vok would have to find out. That was in the back of his mind, though, as the task at hand occupied his priority.
"Oh hey! Just the person I needed to see! Listen, I got some shiny new "items" that I got from "a friend". You're the person i'd look for if these "Items" wanted to find their way to a worthy cause?"
D'vok glanced back at the cargo hold of his ship, which held numerous crates of recently "missing" Nightstingers, T7 Ion Disruptors, Q2 Hold-outs, and DLT-20As, hidden under a false door.

 

[Klesta]

“Stolen Jedi Artefacts?” It wasn’t a sentence to be used openly even on a discreet shadow port that was hidden behind legit businesses. “Especially ones with tracking devices, it puts me on edge.”
Kira hadn’t made herself known yet for the simple fact that most in the Rebellion didn’t know the faces of the others, it was all code names and whispers. Yet when someone mentions Jedi artifacts, the Galactic Alliance and especially the Sith she had to start listening.

“I won’t lie, you’ve got my interest.” She moved across the room with one of the carbonated whiskeys that she was happy to call a Rebellion Asset. “However I find myself slightly more interested in you. You see here we are on a distillery, pretty much a nothing place in the middle of nowhere discussing the finer details of a batch for consumption when we suddenly hear the words of Stolen. Jedi, and Artefacts. You understand why there is the concern yeah?”

"[member="Kira Vaal"], these are highly valuable, and the Sith want the items destroyed. Holocrons, lightsabers, robes, some of them dating as far bask as the Clone Wars. I'm a little concerned about but, if we can successfully sell them to the Alliance then we have sufficient funds to operate the Rebellion for a while"

Thus far they haven't realized that she was a Sith, especially not when told that she had to save the artifacts from the Sith. With the Sith, heresy takes many forms: heresy was about turning to the light, or even suggesting interpretations of the code that were contrary to the interpretations of the Code, but also disobeying directives from their superiors. She risked her status among the Sith, not that she had that much of a status in the first place other than being a brigadier-general (acolytes can be given field officer ranks and, to the Sith Order, it includes up to that level) while knowing that the military is usually held in low esteem among the Sith Order. Yet she knew that the Sith Order is much more similar to the One Sith than different, and not just because of its pure-evilness. Meanwhile, she noticed that [member="D'vok Windroamer"] is curious to see exactly what Yula salvaged (or, as the Sith Order would claim, stole) from Yutan. And [member="Aeshi Tillian"] would probably be curious about it all.

"The greatest weakness of the Sith Order is in space: they have very few good attack craft pilots. To them losing 10 squadrons, as deployed on Yutan, will cripple their ability to fight in space, so I would probably like some training in attack craft piloting - that will come in handy vs. the Sith Order and maybe even the Imperial Remnant, if they team up with the SO in their search for these implements"

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Yula Knezevic"] @D'vok Windroamer [member="Kira Vaal"]
-------------------

Aeshi took a holopad from her grandfather as the work crews spread out across the platforms. There was a list of the facilities she wanted, along with some suggestions from GUIDE about what they were providing as a forward outpost for expeditions. Not that she wanted to mix GUIDE and the Rebellion, but she only had one trading post to build. So if things intermingled, so be it. She would have to deal with it the best she could.

A team of workers and droids rumbled down the boarding ramp, setting up piles of boxes and crates around the edge of the platform. It swayed slightly as the tree swayed in the wind. Aeshi rocked, listening to the conversation behind her with the Rebellion agents. Stolen Jedi artifacts? Here? She paused, waving to the workers.

"I want the supply depot by the tree!" She called out, pointing to where the platform's anchoring limb to the trunk. "Heaviest stuff there and back against the trunk. Don't want anyone slipping in the back."

She raised an eyebrow at the comment about putting the drink on a tab. Aeshi waved it away.

"On your tab? I don't have a tab to put it on yet. Just drink it. Not selling the stuff yet." She spun around and stepped closer to the group and spoke in a soft, hard voice. "I don't know what you're thinking, but this is it. Those artifacts are not staying after today." Her eyes darkened as she took them all in. "I did not move out here to get my home involved in galactic affairs. Take those artifacts that you saved."

The question in the word obvious. Aeshi didn't buy that explanation.

"Take them anywhere else. I have family with the Alliance. We can arrange a meeting anywhere but here." Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glinted. "And for attack craft training, don't ask here. I'm a freighter pilot. We're not soldiers."

One of the workers called to her and Aeshi nodded, looking back over through the group. "I'll give you fifteen minutes to make a decision. There's work to do."

 

[Klesta]

"I agree, the venue is poorly chosen for what I had to do. Time to leave, I guess. Oh and thanks for the carbonated whisky: goodbye"

Better luck next time, she thought, while she had not even unpacked the crates in which the artifacts saved from the Sith on Yutan were in. She wanted to obtain piloting training for the good of the rebellion. She could feel [member="Aeshi Tillian"] being inconvenienced by the whole talk of Jedi artifacts, and how her hormonality played tricks on her. Yet she was a little disappointed that [member="Kira Vaal"] or [member="D'vok Windroamer"] would never get to hear the end of the story. Since Aeshi made it clear that she wanted this place to play no part in galactic affairs, and that a transaction involving salvaged Jedi artifacts was one such affair, Yula was infuriated and precipitatedly left the distillery while having drunk one serving of the carbonated whisky, returning to her ship. The opportunity just isn't there today; knowing the no-DS policy of the Alliance, she can't directly open negotiations to sell these artifacts to them - an intermediary that doesn't mind dealing with a heretical Sith will be required, she took as a mental note.

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

[member="Yula Knezevic"]

Aeshi turned away to study a blueprint for the various buildings and then caught herself. She took a deep breath and turned back to face the now departing woman. She'd been rather harsher than she had intended. Running a hand through her bangs, she hurried to catch up.

"I'm sorry. That was sharper than my intention." The words were a little stuck in her throat as she pried them out, working to discern the best option. Her biggest concern was her grandfather. He had no role in this war, no reason to join either, other than turning a blind eye to family business that coincided. And he was the only family she had left other than Roth.

"My family is here now, helping me build this outpost. Last thing I want is a Sith fleet to attack to get those artifacts and get them in the crossfire." She snorted. "I saw the reports. There was an army there."

She held out her arm to encompass the platform and buildings that were beginning to come into being and a nearby Imyni city in the trees. "We'd all be killed if they attacked. That's the last thing I want."

 

[Klesta]

"I know about the Sith army that was deployed on Yutan. It is I who planted the tracking devices on these Jedi artifacts: I did it to ensure their safety out of Sith hands. If it means I have to leave the planet with the artifacts in tow, so be it. The Sith are more interested in spreading mayhem across the galaxy than in tracking down Jedi artifacts. But I understand your concerns: they're legitimate and I do not wish to uselessly catch people in the crossfire. Oh and the Sith armies are pretty one-dimensional: search-and-destroy is their bread-and-butter but their defensive tactics leave much to be desired"

A little harsh? That was understandable. But she let [member="Aeshi Tillian"] explain herself before making a decision based on that. Aeshi was a complete unknown to Yula until today, and many people would be cautious about the origin of the stolen goods. While her using the dark side is one thing, the safety of these goods is another, and at some point she really ought to find a way to get these artifacts under the protection of one of the Jedi Orders. But she is still a relative unknown to the Rebellion; the battle on Yutan was the reason why she even joined the Rebellion in the first place. I shall make poodoo hit the Sith's fan, even if it means selling these artifacts to the Silver Jedi or the Alliance, she thought. Yet she has no desire to see these artifacts in the hands of Sith, knowing what will happen with them if the Sith lay their hands on that stuff again. These are priceless artifacts that must remain outside the hands of Sith, and she knew why, even though she can't do anything more than to transport them.