Time: 11:45 Carida Capital Time

Location: Caridan Intelligence center

The Lieutenant Director slaved away at his keyboard, the situation had been utterly insane the past few hours since the destruction of the Monarch. Intelligence reported incredibly grave news. His spies in the foreign service had relayed the Kuati declaration and similar statements from Alsakan. He had been putting together a report requested by the director on the ongoing mobilization of Kuati and Alsakan forces when his secretary pinged him. He sensed negative and hostile emotions as he looked at the Camera in the foyer of his office. The office itself, the foyer and its ancillary facilities took up the highest level of the metallic tower jutting out of the main Intelligence Campus.

“ Sir, the Director is here with his security detail to meet you. Now he says. “

Elir paused for a moment. He had been wondering since he wasn't included in the plot to murder the Warlord when this time would come to pass. It appeared the Director was making his move now.

Elir grabbed his secure commlink and connected to his ship. He waited for the link to route through the appropriate channels to avoid his enemies catching any whiff of what he was doing.

“ Commander move the ship into orbit. The scenario we discussed is now occurring. Initiate the plan in say… thirty. “

He disconnected the commlink and pressed down the button on his desk to speak to his secretary. The desk was somewhat ornate, it was made out of some black volcanic Umbaran rock. The office itself was mostly empty save for the chair he was sitting, a simple grey officer’s chair of Imperial origin. There was a monitor on his desk and a few screens on the walls. The rest of the room was simply a grey room with three outward-facing windows overlooking Carida’s capital. He pulled a bottle of expensive, increasingly rare Alderaan Ruge Liqueur out of his desk, uncorking it and slipping in some tablets that quickly dissolved. Then like a master he recorked the bottle.

“ You can let the director in now. “

Elir was caught in the middle of putting down glasses on his desk with the chairs pulled up as the Director and his 2 bodyguards entered the room.

“ Director, I was just preparing a report on the military situation on the frontier before you called. Please take a seat. “

The Director, a grey-haired, slimy middle-aged man, much more fit based on his appearance to be a used speeder salesman sat down. His men followed his lead. Elir poured himself and the three other men glasses of the rare vintage before speaking again.

“ Director Stoyer, to what do I owe the pleasure? “

He replied in his typical slimy tone. He picked up his glass along with his men before taking a drink.

“ As you know Netulin, there has been a lot of shakeup in the ranks recently, many people are being replaced with more reliable and conservative officers of fine lineage. I find myself uncertain when reporting to the government about your own loyalties. You aren't exactly from a Caridan family and have no real ties to our great nation. I admit you have been zealous with dealing with the Jedi, but there are some reports I've been given that leave me puzzled. It's been relayed to me you have been behind a string of assassinations that has led to the deaths of many of my close colleagues in the military and civil governments. Men of particularly good birth and upbringing, loyal to Carida’s true ideals. For this reason, we are here to place you under arrest. “

Elir nodded along and looked out the window profoundly at the skyline before returning his gaze to Mr. Stoyer.

“ You know what bothers me about this whole situation? It's not the treachery to our late Warlord, I can understand the anger of the Conservatives at his policies, especially about the labour camps. I've read the reports about those aliens rioting after being set free, not a pretty job for our military but had to be done. It's short sightedness. The lack of vision. I don't bother myself with morals or ethics, there are other people paid vast sums of money to ponder those issues. But killing Xadran, surely even you know, would have plunged the nation into complete chaos. Remember, you had me commission an internal report on the strategy needed to depose the sovereign in the event of Jedi infiltration. Our case study proved that it could result in severe difficulties if not enacted at the right juncture and cleanly. For god's sake you don't even have a body. Very sloppy work, my men would not have let him get on his shuttle, nor blown up the monarch. But maybe that’s why you didn't include me in your little conspiracy, you knew I would advise against your brash reactionary move. Our enemies are prepared to tear us apart, defection is rife within the military, and now you come here to purge those who are not loyal enough. Quite an ineffective coup I would say. But who am I to question the wisdom of your little Junta. “

Stoyer replied coldly

“ I don't need your opinion on my actions Lieutenant Director. We did what was necessary for the good of the Authority. Netulin why haven't you touched your Liqueur? “

Netulin smirked

“ I don't drink on this early in the day, bad habit, unprofessional. Much too early. “

The three men began to seize up as the paralyzing poison did its work. Elir got up and withdrew his CS-14 blaster from his black jacket. He paced around the room before abruptly turning and shooting both the bodyguards in the head. The smoke was still clearing when Elir spoke again.

“ You really think I’d let you get all this way Stoyer without some kind of insurance policy? I know the kind of spineless snake you are. I can see the squad of shock troopers outside my office right now trying to break through the door. You aren’t as smart as I thought you were. “

Murith pushed a button on his desk opening a comm channel.

“ Fire at will, commander. “

He returned to Stoyer's side, taking his chair in his hands and pushing it up to the window so he was forced to watch as the Turbolasers obliterated multiple annexes of the complex, killing Elir’s competitors. He snatched the backup of the Caridan database from a data crystal hung around Stoyer’s neck and his code cylinders. These would be useful as the main database and command and control center are currently destroyed or being destroyed by concentrated Turbolaser fire. The entire planetary defence network, under Stoyer’s control, is now offline.

“ Mr. Stoyer, I want you to know, I really have appreciated your company and working at your agency. But well, this is I believe where we shall part ways. You know what they say in my culture, the hunter that lives never toys with its prey for long. Goodbye Mr. Stoyer. If there is an afterlife, maybe say hello to Misses Stoyer for me? “

Elir smirked again knowing that the director was now realizing that the speeder accident wasn't such an accident. He then, true to his word as always, kicked the Director and his chair through the window and hundreds of floors to the ground below.

Elir had seen the unmistakable glow of a torch burning through his door frame as the special forces team sent to kill him began to breach his office. They couldn't use charges at risk of injuring their now-departed Director. Elir acted quickly, removing an explosive disc from his belt and attaching one to each corner of the door frame. He then sat at his desk blaster in hand. After six painful minutes, the doors finally landed on the ground with a crunch as the squad of special forces entered the room, weapons drawn pointed at Elir.

“ I surrender. “ Elir said, as he raised his hands and dropped his pistol then stood up.

The special forces looked at the two dead bodyguards and saw the broken window where the wind was flowing in and came to their own conclusions. Multiple blaster bolts were fired from their blasters and into Elir. He was knocked back into a monitor and slumped to the floor. As they moved to secure the room, they crossed the invisible line linking the two disc explosives, causing them to detonate. More than half the squad died in the resulting blast, the others trying to regroup amidst the smoke and debris. Elir’s desk shielding him from the blast, it was made of sturdy material.

In the chaos, Elir assembled his compartmentalized Umbaran blaster and switched his retinal implant to thermal imaging mode. He flicked the switch to set the blaster to automatic and flicked the safety before he mowed down the squad members still standing in rapid succession. Illuminating the swirling dust air with the characteristic bolts of an Umbaran blaster as he killed the squad’s survivors.

Satisfied that none of them were getting up, he walked over to the groaning survivors and clicked his heels together. The boot blade slid out and very messily eliminated the wounded survivors. Taking an embarrassing amount of pleasure in doing what he was best at once again. Once the work was done he exited his office and nodded at his cowering secretary.

“ You are dismissed. I will be out of the office for some time. “

She got up to left and had moved towards the elevator when the knife hit her in the back of the head. She no sooner had fallen to the ground dead, then Elir ripped the knife out of her, cleaned it off, and walked towards the shuttle pad in the tower. It was time to leave.