In the central market of Crystal City, one of the nine parts of the city that did not purely consist of towering apartment buildings, a figure could be seen darting through the streets—through the shops—as it evaded the humans that walked the market.
"There are fewer than normal," the individual noticed, though he had suspected so before even reaching the market. "A ship capable of destroying the city within hours would naturally scare the general population," he thought as he continued his sprint through the market.
He eventually reached his target, barging into a store. An empty one—but again, not surprising.
"Rado, you made it," a female human exclaimed from behind the counter, her eyes turning toward the Rodian who had just barged into her store.
"Elia, I need to get in contact with Vos immediately," the Rodian said, sweating heavily as he looked around cautiously.
The Imperial presence had set him off, Elia realized—remembering how Rado had been caught red-handed on one of their "supply missions," and had been arrested for human trafficking.
Even now, the thought of working with these slavers made her gut twist, but she knew she had no choice. If she wanted to see Christophsis liberated, and her parents avenged, then she'd continue working with these extremists.
"Are you sure that's wise? The enemy can decipher your messages," Elia replied with a warning. She saw Rado growing anxious and desperate—perhaps trying to get off-world, or simply report the new arrival.
Though Elia did not see what warranted such a reaction from Rado. The only reason he should be this desperate is if they were specifically looking for him. Which they weren't, seeing as how their shop hadn't been blown to bits yet.
"Have you been trained in counter-espionage? No, thought so. I have, and Vos's codes are unbreakable. So listen to me, female, and get me that communicator," Rado said, his eyes swiftly turning toward the windows as he saw an Imperial patrol heading toward their shop.
Elia relented as she made her way toward a hidden chamber, Rado following her. She quickly set the communicator on before leaving the room, leaving Rado to himself.
The man began pressing the buttons furiously. He had memorized the encrypted coding they used. After 15 minutes, he let out a sigh of relief as the message ended.
Rado hid the comms setup by turning it around and placing it into the ground, locking it in place. He then stood up and walked out of the room.
But as Rado exited the chamber, he almost instinctively reached for his blaster at the sight before him. Seeing four rifles aimed at him, he physically forced down his instincts and remained somewhat calm.
Before him, nine stormtroopers stood, positioned throughout the shop.
Three of them had pressed Elia to the wall, handcuffing her harshly. Looking at her swollen eye, she must have attempted to escape.
Two others stood by the exit, while the remaining four had reacted at his arrival and were now aiming at him.
Rado also spotted a tenth figure—a man with a yellow pauldron and a pair of DC-17 pistols at his hips, a unique weapon set not standard in the military.
Rado, for all his nervousness, had still been in the business for many years. And his experience quickly kicked in.
"What are you doing to my boss!? She hasn't done anything wrong!" Rado shouted in anger while lifting his hands to avoid getting shot.
He heard a noticeable scoff from one of the stormtroopers as the man in the orange pauldron stepped forth.
"Citizen Elia Fall was flagged due to her relationship to insurgents—her blood father and mother," the man said as he lifted his datapad, which showed Elia's parents.
"Oh. I didn't know," Rado replied cautiously.
"Precisely. Intel suggests she has kept it hidden. She is not suspected of insurrectionist affiliation but must be brought back for further questioning. And should you attempt to prevent such an action, you too will be brought in," the man stated firmly, and Rado nodded slowly.
"Ok. I'm sure we can manage without her for a few rotations," Rado said, his eyes devoid of emotion as he looked toward the now desperate Elia.
"Excellent. We shall be going then," the lead stormtrooper said, as Elia was cuffed and brought out of the store. Escorted by the 10 stormtroopers, before the lead stormtrooper left his card.
"Contact me if anything arises."
Rado walked up to the counter, picking up the card as he read through it.
"Major Catcher, 337th Division."
...
In the newly commandeered Imperial base in Crystal City, Aaron Rysell turned around, his gaze scanning the multiple operatives who stood before him.
A fully functional Intelligence Operational Centre had been formed, with top-of-the-line interception systems and intelligence-gathering potential.
Dozens of officers ran across the floor, with thousands of chatters between them—and from the machines.
Every transmission was documented, recorded, and archived for further deciphering and information gathering. And in a side room, Hannah Tyrren stood.
Standing over an extraordinarily advanced machine, one which Lux knew was at the very top of cyber-warfare.
Lux flanked Aaron as they made their way through the floor and entered the room where Hannah stood. There was a single seat, where an operative sat. Hannah, meanwhile, stood above him, a headset on as she listened.
As they entered the room, a green notification appeared on Lux's HUD, and he spoke up.
"Sir, Ma'am. Major Catcher reports a successful exfil—they should not suspect anything," Lux reported, remaining at Aaron's flank.
"Very good. Hannah, did you capture the message?" Aaron asked, and Hannah was quick to reply.
"Indeed, we have the entire transmission recorded and archived. I'll have my teams on it within the hour," she replied, puffing her chest out slightly. Lux saw a smile form on Aaron's face—a rare one indeed.
"Very good. Continue the excellent work," the Captain praised before he walked out of the room and entered the lift, one that would bring him to the 23rd floor.
At the same time, through the windows of the lift, Lux spotted an I.I.T. transport pass through the gate constructed for the base—and the identification let Lux know it was the same one Major Catcher had taken.
Lux had watched from the very start, approximately 15 minutes ago, when a military-grade transmission started to surface through the millions of others.
Yet this one was flagged due to its codes, which were far too advanced for civilian use. And because of the three Arquitens-class light cruisers, which had now been placed in perfect position to cover the entire planet, alongside taking control of the seven long-range transmitters on the planet.
Though the long-range transmitters did little work, as the transmission was picked directly from a long-range transmitter within the market. After a bit of background check on the owners of establishments in said sector, the potential candidates became clear.
And after only seven minutes from when the signal was first detected, Major Catcher set off to capture the individuals—after a nearby camera had caught a Rodian entering the establishment a minute prior to the signal starting.
And now, Catcher had succeeded in his task of bringing back the woman—while letting the Rodian remain free.
Now, Aaron would have a… discussion with the woman.
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