"We don't have a case to present, Xeth. That is why we were hiring Agents to work in an... unofficial capacity. No-one else was even trying.
And rather the point is, anything we give to the Senate, or even the Jedi, the Techno Union will know about almost at once. Then it will be myself and Gralus here who die in an unfortunate accident." He leans forwards again. "We have to be both fireproof and waterproof, Xeth. No-one must know how much we know, or how we learned what we know, or even who is finding these things out. And when we finally make our move in the open, we must be certain. We must have enough evidence to bury everyone, or if not everyone, so many of them that everyone else gives up and runs for cover.
"Didn't they ever tell you how to kill a serpent, Xeth? Sure, it is easier and safer to stamp on its tail. But if you do, it will just turn and bite you. You must strike at the head! Even if it takes us years, Xeth, we must prepare a death blow for these people.
"And this is where you come in."
"We have a suspect. One name, where we can start. If we get him, we can start to prise open the jaws of the beast, and rip out its insides. The only name we got from our operatives before their demise. His name is Carlan Ryamore- Vice President of Security and Acquisitions, in the Techno-Union. A nice piece of Corporate double-speak there. Security, Acquisitions, both standard corporate terms- but think about what you get when you put them together. You can imagine some nasty things. He was in charge of the droid shipments once they were delivered to the Union. We must bring him down."
"Finding him is easy- he doesn't hide. Getting anything on him- that's the hard bit.
"Let me tell you a little story, Xeth, to demonstrate the problems we have had with the Union wanting our services.
Once upon a time, there was a Taloraanian prodigy. and man with a brilliant mind, even by our standards. He sailed through his degree and his Doctorship and everyone knew he was destined for big things. But they were wrong, because he was not an ambitious man. He was a quiet man, who liked to relax. He was good at science and technology because it interested him- but he had no intention of being rich or famous, he just liked solving prlblems and doing what he did.
Nonetheless, even without the drive of a true entrepeneur, he had the curiosity of a true inventor, and quietly, in his own time, he developed- or nearly developed- a multi-phased fast-tracking target system that solved a problem of rapid warhead firing that has plagued military development for centuries. It's hard to get across just how big this development was. It could make him a billionaire overnight if he finishes it. But he wasn't interested in all that, he just wanted pride in his work, another achievement for Taloraan.
Of course, such a man was never cut out for galactic life. He didn;t know so many people would want it, and when it got out, the offers started coming in. Money, status, position- no bribe was too big. All, of course, from the Techno-Union who knew that this was the biggest thing of the decade for them- the military market is growing exponentially. He said no to all of it. He was not interested. He just wanted to be left in peace to get on with his work.
"He eventually reported that one man in particualr was continually bothering him to come work for him, and would not take no for an answer. Eventually, he even said that he had sent men to his home, with threats against him and his family. We offered to try and solve the problem but he was too scared. So instead, he moved away, to a quiet corner of the Galaxy where no-one would ever find him. He didn't even tell the authorities where he was going, so he could just finish his work alone."
Gralus is holding a personnel file out for you, Xeth.
"In case you had not guessed, Xeth, his name was Dr. Nesere. Now, can you guess who the man that was bothering him was?"
"Yes, and I'll bet you my life- which it may well cost me- that Ryamore sent them. In fact, Ryamore is most likely behind EVERYTHING in this sector. These pirates? Cover- cover for a simple kidnapping, and he knew that no-one sent to investigate, even the Jedi, would ever make the link. But he did not reckon on us."
"But you ARE dealing with pirates, Xeth," says Gralus. "This is layers within layers. The most important thing is that you go on with your mission as normal- no-one must suspect anything different. The situation here must be dealt with, there is no doubt of that. If the Union is sponsoring it, we want it stopped."
"But keep your eyes and ears open," says the Commissar. "Whatever the mystery is behind these pirates, it is almost certainly something technological. When you find it, you'll know I am right about all this. But once you have stopped these attacks, I recommend not pressing the investigation further than that. Mess up their plan- if they have arranged your death, it will be at some quiet point when no-one os focussing on you. But now you know who is behind all this, you can skip the quiet parts and report to the Council once you are done here. Most importantly of all- find our man, Xeth. Nesere can give us all we need to blow the Union out of the water- or at least Ryamore. And the more we can get on him, the better. Kidnapping, aiding piracy and terrorism- the charge doesn't matter, so long as the Jedi can make it stick and make it look like something they found out whilst chasing pirates, not unravelling a conspiracy. That's an excuse, you see. And once you have him, we can work with the Jedi to find out all he knows."
"It's not my job to comment on how the Jedi conduct their operations, Xeth," says Commissar. "Now, one other important thing. Your Jedi companions we accept as trustworthy, but restricted in their usefulness, as they are part of a system that ie being subverted. But your other friend... or any other such friends you may have... are they trustworthy people? More importantly are they good people? We don't want hired mercenarieis who work for anyone, Xeth. That is what our opponents use. We want moral people, with a good idea of right or wrong, doing this because it is the right thing to do."
"Commissar?" says one of the crew to one side. The man comes over and addresses him for a few moments. The Commissar then turns to you.
"We have a highly advanced sensor site on this ship. We're picking up half a dozen contacts about 30 minutes away. We're outside their sensor range right now, but to look at them we guess they are who you are looking for. That being the case, it's my cue to leave, so yes indeed, you should return.
"Be careful who you trust, Xeth. And remember- this conversation never happened."
"Of course, and thank you," Xeth says, bowing. He shakes Gralus's hand on the way out.
"Thank you, you old bastard," Xeth says with a laugh, then gets on his way.
"Christof, Densk, let's go, we have some work to attend to," Xeth says firmly after the laser trap is turned off and they board the ship.
"Roan, R3-U9, set these coordinates into the hyperspace computer," Xeth says. "We've found the pirates."