Industrial Difficulties

[Hugo Ion]

Sullust's Works Orbital Shipyards​

Most Impressive. Hugo noted while walking down a platform within a massive shipyard with his fellow rebel Gervais Duval. Until this mission the general hadn’t met the human who was only a few years older than him. Though from the personal file he was mildly surprised to find out that Gervais was from Dantooine.

You’re a long way from home. The Duros did not say that thought out loud.

As much as he wanted to ask how Dantooine was doing these there was no time for that regrettably. As the pair walked together Hugo took a moment to glance around the massive construction all around them.

Maintenance droids flew overhead back and forth toward the giant vessel docked here, making adjustments and such. Meanwhile hundreds of Sullustan workers on the platforms and construction were equally diligent. Sparks fell nearby and the sound of machinery at work thundered that Hugo could barely hear himself.

Turning toward Gervais he spoke trying to be heard over the loud noise.

“Ever been to a shipyard like this one Duval?”

@Pyrenees

 

[Gervais Duval]

It was truly a sight to behold - the grand dock, the yet-to-be finished ship, the bustling activity and obvious know-how among the crew. Gervais' eyes were opened wide as he strolled down the platform with hands softly clasped behind his back, looking out over the large site. By the looks of it, the rebel wouldn't be too surprised if his fellow Rebel Hugo Ion, of a much more impressive rank than himself, was also rather impressed by it all. The older rebel raised an arm, pointing towards a crew which seemed particularly diligent with welding tools and hammers at full speed. "Will you look at that" he whispered whilst witnessing their fast progress.

The arm soon fell in to its old position again and his attention turned to his ally. The man's voice was racing against the busy noise in the facility, resulting in a few sounds being missed here or there. After a few short moments of puzzling together what had been asked, Gervais spoke with a raised voice himself "No. We had a pretty large industrial farm back home, but nothing which could be compared to this." Mentioning the industrial farm didn't make much sense in the context, but if Sullust had mines and industries, Dantooine had farms.

An area a bit further ahead of them seemed more busy than most, with workers passing in and out of an automatic doorway. It was not too clear what hid inside and it seemed like it would remain that way until they got a little closer to see the sign. For all Gervais knew, it might be anything from a lavatory to an office area. Leaning over to the Commander, his voice raised again "Is anyone expecting us or are we free to just.." he paused in the search for the right words "..have a look around?"

@Minuteman75

 

[Hugo Ion]

Having spent time on Dantooine in the long distance past Hugo had a pretty good guess what Gervais was referring to farms. He nodded in response as they continued walking. “There are some differences but I do see the comparison there. Your communities back home were hard working and passionate themselves as I recall.”

There was a moment of silence from Hugo who looked away as he thought of the rebel comrades who died so long ago following a Sith retaliation there. It felt like centuries though it was more of a decade since then. Suppressing the grief to focus back on the objective that threatened to come out he instead turned to his fellow rebel again.

“Okay Gervais let’s recap the mission. The shipyard has been suffering suspected acts of sabotage for weeks now. We’re here to assist their security with their investigation.” Pausing he added. “Just remember we’re here to earn goodwill not just get results.”

Saying all that they soon arrived at a closed off section of the yard blocked by Sullustans in gray uniforms and black boots and long yellow tape behind them. Even from a distance Hugo can already tell their presence was recognized and not heartily welcomed. While most of the security personnel mostly didn’t seem impressed by their chief in front seemed to be glaring at the two rebels.

Despite the tension Hugo whispered to Gervais as they approached. “We would find more welcome in a graveyard.”

A minute later they stood a few feet away from the sentinels. Hugo trying to be professional saluted the guards. “We’re the team from the Alliance here as requested. Thank you for waiting on us.”

The small security chief up in front rolled his dark eyes. “Yes, we are well aware. Doesn't mean you’re actually necessary to the investigation.” The former answered in a gruff tone. So much for professionalism. Hugo thought to himself.

@Pyrenees

 

[Gervais Duval]

Thinking of his home planet, and by extension also family, always brought a smile to Gervais' lips. He gave out a short chuckle "Indeed, Mr. Ion" Their walk was not very eventful. Silence from the commander was noted but the older rebel decided to let it be, simply letting his gaze return down to the walkway ahead of him. Having read the preparatory report for the mission, none of the information relayed through the summary could justly be described as new. Nevertheless, the recap was appreciated "Got it" he said, almost with a cheer to it.

Viewing himself as a rather good judge of character, it was clear to Gervais, just as it was to Hugo, that the local security weren't too happy to see them. The rebel raised an amused eyebrow upon hearing his fellow's comment about their situation and fought to suppress another chuckle. After the initial hellos, their suspicions were confirmed.

Stretching out a hand for the Sullustan chief to shake, Gervais soon found his arm hanging without much more of a reception than a stare. Just before retracting the arm, the other finally shook it. "Duval" he introduced himself and continued "Have you found anything of interest yet?" After a brief moment of silence, the chief spoke up "You are the ones invited here to solve the matter, remember? We have nothing of interest for you" The speech was far from pleasant as the chiefs cold tone and curt manner pierced through the surrounding noise. They were almost as far from cooperative as one could get. The farmer summoned an awkward laugh "Ah, yes, of course. Perhaps you could instead show us the security feed of the latest incident instead?" The security chief might not have been happy about the situation, but he was, after all, supposed to facilitate their investigation and pointed his finger at a nearby door "The footage is on the console in there"

Entering a smaller room to the side, Gervais turned on the console which soon started playing the security feed from the latest incident. It showed a Sullustan wearing an electrician's uniform enter the area right before the nightly shift change - a few minutes after they left, cranes started to encounter mechanical failures. Unfortunately, it didn't appear to be possible to identify the person, but this certainly narrowed down the pool of suspects. "Someone on the engineering team. Who took the afternoon shift, it seems." he said, looking to his colleague.

@Minuteman75

 

[Hugo Ion]

Hugo nodded in approval with how Duval handed the chief of security. It allowed them to proceed without further delay. The Duros had to suppress rolling his eyes as the Sullustan stare resentfully at them as they passed. Guess to be fair I wouldn’t be too pleased if some outsiders came to handle what you think is your field. All the same he does not need to be an asshole about it.

Paying the chief no further mind Hugo followed Duval into the control room. Once inside they reviewed the footage from a console. It wasn’t too long before they found some evidence. The general slightly grinned.

“Indeed you’re right.” He commented out loud to his partner after the latter spoke. Let’s replay the footage maybe we can get a better description. Hugo pressed rewind the feed and watched it again. However, they couldn’t get a better visual on the suspect, the angle and distance didn’t provide much detail beyond what is already revealed.

In response Hugo tried to rewind again but suddenly the footage went blank. Murmuring curses in Durosian tongue he turned to Duval with a sigh. “It appears we’re going to need more assistance from Chief Officer Sunshine.”

@Pyrenees

 

[Gervais Duval]

The two worked through the material at hand methodically. It all seemed to go rather well until the footage went blank. The older rebel kept staring at the monitor that was now just filled with static for a few more seconds before he made a surprised huff under his breath. "I am sure he will be happy to see us again." he said jokingly before the two made their way out of the office. The Sullustan chief was not far away - it appeared as if he had kept an attentive eye on the office during when the Rebels were inside.

A meek smile grew on Gervais lips as he greeted Chief Officer 'Sunshine' with a raised hand "We'd like to explore alternative routes of investigation with you." The Chief eyed the two rebels suspiciously, still not very fond of them it seemed. "Here we go. The outsiders wants to take even more of our time now." he complained but continued with an accusatory voice, almost as if he knew what had happened "But tell me, how did it go with the security footage?". Staring at the man blankly, the old farmer eventually revealed that it had gone blank. With a pointed finger, the chief roared "You come to our facility, take over the investigation and proceed to destroy evidence? Get lost!"

It took no genius to recognise that even the limited courtesy help from the Chief of Security would now be withdrawn too. Seeing as there was no real point in discussing their options with the local, Gervais apologised before moving on down the path, keeping an eye out for potential avenues of investigation. Eventually, they reached a door which had a busy flow of people - the ones going in looked tired whilst the ones coming out looked less tired. The farmer threw a glance at his ally "Locker room?" he asked.

Entering the room, they arrived at a large hall, filled with people, some switching in to their uniform and others out of it. Drawing the attention of a worker, Gervais spoke with a friendly tone "Greetings! The crew for the evening shift is coming on now, right? Where are the electricians?" The worker confirmed that it was time for the evening shift, rather absent-minded in his manner. "They usually stick to the far end of the room, at the wall by the exit to the canteen" Thanking the man, the two rebels moved on. After a while a crew of eight Sullustans entered the locker room together and made their way to the lockers by the wall that the other worker had pointed out. Looking on from a distance, Gervais looked to the General "Those must be our electricians"

@Minuteman75

 

[Hugo Ion]

Following the expected outburst from Officer Sunshine, Hugo followed Duval. If that self important fool had been more cooperative we would’ve gotten a better lead by now. Well if can’t be helped now he decided. During the journey to the locker room the General did wonder if the console was sabotaged or just was faulty.

Despite how frustrating this investigation was proving to be, his comrade from Dantooine was proving to be a solid partner. “Ya got a good head on your shoulders.” He whispered quietly. While the security chief had kicked them out officially that doesn’t mean they were done. Beside trying to convince Sullust to joining up with the Alliance, lives were at stake.

Upon reaching their destination Duval asked for the evening shift and was given a quick answer about the crew will be. Inside the rebel team waited and not before long eight workers went over to the far side of the room and start getting their stuff. With a quick nod to Duval, the Durosian approached the small group.

The electricians were just talking among themselves when they noted the two aliens coming toward. There was mild surprise with no hostility in their body language but caution nonetheless. Hugo clearing his throat said.

“Pardon the interruption gentlemen but we need your assistance. We’re about the investigation team looking into the recent troubles in the shipyard. Mind if my colleague and I ask you folks a few questions it won’t take long.”

The group of Sullustans more confused and looked at each other with concern. They did not do anything in response, displaying their hesitation in full view.

 

[Gervais Duval]

It would be something he remembered, for certain. The old farmer was filled with pride upon being praised by the General. Trying to remain somewhat humble, he didn't do much more than display a wrinkled smile and thanked the man as they walked. He did consider returning the compliment but "You've got a good head on your shoulders too, General" just sounded silly. Returning to the present, Gervais looked upon the anxious electricians as they responded to Ion's question with silence and confused looks.

Seeing as there was no use disassociating himself from the Duros, knowing that both of them were alien to the Sullustan crew, Gervais took a step forth. "Come now, folks. We just want to talk to you about it, that's all" he said, showing his lack of ill-intent by exposing his palms. It didn't seem to do them much good as the electricians were still not cooperative in regards to partaking in an interview. Another avenue of investigation closed. Slowly shaking his head, the rebel sat down at the bench in the middle of the isle to just watch the crew for a bit.

As one of the workers stretched to retrieve a tool at the top of the locker, the farmer spotted a piece of paper in their back pocket. Wanting to get a closer look on the paper, he leaned forth and squinted his eyes. "Hey, what are you looking at?" a rough voice suddenly sounded from the side as another engineers pointed at the older man accusingly. Taken by surprise, Gervais eyebrows raised "Wha" he didn't even manage to get a word out before the one he was studying turned around "Get away from me you creep" they exclaimed. Finally realising what it all looked like, the rebel quickly rose to his feet to take a few steps away, returning to his ally. "That wasn't... I was just... uh.. Nevermind, just.. sorry" he said, almost stuttering whilst spitting out the words.

White it was certainly awkward, Gervais was far past the stage of feeling embarrassed, although the situation was a bit difficult to handle. Taking the victories where he could, he leaned to the side and whispered "The paper in the pocket. It was a used movie ticket. There are only seven suspects left."

@Minuteman75

 

[Hugo Ion]

Hugo slightly cringed at the sight of Gervais getting berated. It doesn't feel good to be embarrassed like that. Better than getting shot though. The general reminded himself. Pretending to look away Hugo subsequently listened Duval who quickly explained what he discovered.

“That’s progress now my turn.”

Just as the electricians were leaving Hugo waited until they were gone he went over to their set of lockers. Looking around to make sure no one else saw him, the Duros noted one locker under the tag Luri Sando was left unlocked by accident. Pretty careless the rebel veteran thought. This will be a major invasion of privacy but they don’t have much options now.

Opening it Hugo beheld a couple of Twi’lek dancer magazines stacked on top and a galactic calendar. Squinting, he saw two weeks circled in red with words written in Basic on top. Before Hugo try the other lockers he heard footsteps coming and closed the small door. Gesturing for Duval to join him as they head out to find group he murmured to the human.

“Whoever Luri Sando is checks out. He was sick for two weeks during all the incidents. We’re going to need to find a more effective means to expose our saboteur, assuming he is working alone.”

@Pyrenees

 

[Gervais Duval]

Another step in the right direction. Perhaps not morally considering the invasion of privacy, but at least the investigation was moving forward. The general raised a valid point, what if the saboteur should actually be referred to in plural? The farmer gave the issue some thought until he finally decided that the best he could do at the moment was to hope that the truth would reveal itself during the investigation. In the worst case, maybe they could talk to the main saboteur once they had been caught. Not catching the person was out of the question.

Gervais looked at the lockers for a bit as he walked away with Hugo. It really did seem like it was getting far to busy for them to even consider going back to do more investigating. At least for the moment. Once again clasping his hands behind his back, Gervais slowly walked towards the exit. When observing the room more carefully, one could see a holo-screen which a few workers would pass by to check the schedules of where they were supposed to work and at what time. Without considering the matter much further, the farmer went to the screen and started looking the electricians' schedules.

"Ahh" he pointed at the name of one of the remaining suspects "This one was suddenly tasked with aiding them on another site. The rate of sabotage didn't decline when he was away and there were no issues over there either. I think he's safe" His voice faded out towards the end of the sentence as his focus shifted back to the screen, trying to switch to another electrician's schedule. Suddenly, the screen went blank along with the lamps on the same wall. "I suppose I should go check out the fuse box" he said, thinking that the situation was rather ironical. There was no sense in just leaving the problem as he had no interest of being accused of another blunder by the locals. With the knowledge that there were only five suspects left, Gervais started looking for the fuse box.

@Minuteman75

 

[Hugo Ion]

Giving his human partner a nod Hugo repiled. “You do that. I’ll be keeping an eye on the suspects.” The Duros looked some distance way where the electricians were heading to one of the massive freighters being built on a dock. As he made his way toward Hugo picked up a discarded yellow hard hat.

This won’t hide my features entirely but it’s better than nothing. With that thought the general walked as if heading to work like so many others. Once closer to the site Hugo pulled out a notepad and writing random words down as if he on an inspection. From out of the corner of his eyes the rebel watched the group of Sullustans nearby proceed to work on the electrical system.

Using a large metal bind as cover Hugo edged closer and listened in despite the noise. One of the men with a full mustache and wearing an orange work suit remarked rubbing the side of his side

“Don’t know about you guys but I’m damn glad to be back working again. The past few days been hectic.”

“We missed you Goren. Sorry that your hometown got hit by that volcano eruption.” One of his companions commented.

Sighing Goren shrugged his shoulders. “Tell me about it. Now what about-

Before Hugo hear anymore a floating droid in hurry struck him from behind. Swearing under his breath the Duros nearly fell over. By the time he looked up the group was inside the ship. Suppressing a groan Hugo called in Duval on the commlink the rebel said.

“We’re maybe down to four. A worker named Goren was supposedly not working for several days due to his home being hit by a natural disaster. But couldn’t verify it. Found anything on your end?”

 

[Gervais Duval]

The rather wide and open spaces soon narrowed into smaller and dimly lit pathways. He was lucky that they had good signs, or else it would be near impossible to find. This was certainly a rather unwelcome detour but since they were there to create good relations, he might as well do what he could to fix the damage. Once reaching his destination, the older rebel checked the fuses and finally replaced the faulty one, causing the energy to be restored. Unfortunately, this had caused him to miss the first part of the Sullustan's shift. A smile appeared on his lips as Hugo called in to report further progress in the investigation "That's good news. Things are slow on my end, still fumbling in the dark." he said before turning to a map - most likely just there for fire safety regulations. A light grunt escaped him as he started walking, continuing down the path until he finally appeared at the larger open space again.

Having a few looks around, Gervais determined that he was in the same area that the most recent act of sabotage had taken place. It was a good opportunity to gather some information. For the first time, he saw a crew member who wasn't Sullustan, it was a Devaronian and a twitchy one at that. Not feeling particularly shy, the former farmer approached the woman who was currently doing maintenance work on a console. "Excuse me" he said, apparently too sudden as the red-skinned alien quickly turned around and smacked him with a hydrospanner, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud.

While work sites might be a bit rough, this was certainly unexpected. Still dizzy from the smack, Gervais remained on the floor, holding a now bloodied hand against the side of his head. The horned alien crouched down to check on the elder as he recovered, offering a careful apology. Waving the ordeal away, he decided that this might make her a bit more cooperative "I'm here to as about the saboteur" he said. "Saboteurs, mister. Plural" she said and only received a confused look from the man. She sighed "I was here when it happened okay? There were two of them, one stood over there with some kind of device to help the other one" His eyes shone brightly upon receiving the information "Well, who were they. What did they look like?" he asked with excitement. The mechanic shrugged "Large round eyes, multiple skin flabs, funny walk. They're Sullustan, they all look the same to me."

While the alien returned to work, Gervais remained on the floor and contacted Hugo "Right, so there's two of them. If we can get rid of two more suspects, we're all set for harvesting season" he said while suppressing the pain from getting smacked.

@Minuteman75

 

[Hugo Ion]

Hearing the latest message Hugo answered. “Copy that Duval. Meet me inside the freighter and we will figure out which pair it is.” Of course, given how things turned out so far the alien rebel knew it will be easier said than done. The Durosian prepared himself.

Inside the ship he hides himself in a corner in the interior, waiting for his fellow rebel. However he heard voices whispering to each other and listened in.

“We lost them Mu. Now just need to install the charges and we’re all set.”

The second Sullustan more gruffly than his younger counterpart. “Porel keep your damn voice down. We were paid to screw up production here, not ourselves.

“Sorry just a little nervous man.”

Quietly drawing his blaster pistol and setting it to stun mode Hugo counted to three in his head before jumping out. “Freeze! Your hands up now!” The two Sullustans were about to plant the charge on a support column looked up at Hugo in surprise.

Mu on the right suddenly pulled out his own blaster and fired hitting the Duros in the right side shoulder. Crying out in pain Hugo fell to the metal floor but fired back hitting the shooter in the center mass. The latter collapsed unconscious while his partner swore in panic and tried to run away. Hugo aimed and fired two more stun bolts in the back.

The last Sullustan fell face first. Relieved but still in pain Hugo hissed through gritted teeth. “I’m getting too old for this.”


@Pyrenees

 

[Gervais Duval]

The pain would have to be overcome. While it did still hurt, it was not something which would prevent the old farmer from getting back up on his feet - at least not when using the nearby handrail for support. "How do I get back down to the main floor?" he asked the dangerous Devaronian. She seemed glad that the rebel remained civil and perhaps even pleasant after being smacked in the head and quickly made herself helpful in giving him the directions to get back without having to make his way through the maze that he just came from.

While he did feel like taking it slow after having gotten up from the floor, Gervais maintained a rather quick pace whilst walking to Hugo, often running his hand along the handrail to remain stable. Compared to when the man was younger, he really did need some extra time to recover from such damages nowadays. Still, he was quite happy about the energy which he had managed to maintain and liked to think that he still had it when it counted.

Upon getting closer to the site, Hugo's voice could be heard calling out for someone to freeze. By the time that the human had started to pick up his pace, to see what was going on. By the time he got there, the action was already over as two Sullustans laid stunned on the floor - while that was rather positive news, it looked like the other rebel had taken a hit. Seeing as Hugo still had his blaster in hand, Gervais figured that he'd be able to handle to saboteurs in case they woke up and instead turned to leave the scene "I'll see if we can get you some medical attention" he said.

Once the locals heard that the two foreigners had caught their saboteurs, they were quite happy. A rather fortunate bonus was that they seemed to be willing to provide the General with some medical aid and thereby sparing him from a few painful hours on the ship back to alliance space. Even the security chief seemed to lighten up to the outsiders - it was a truth with modification as Gervais started to suspect that he was always rather grumpy. At least now, the hostilities would have diminished. While the investigation had a few ran less smoothly than one might have hoped, it was clear that they had proven to the Sullustans that they could get things done and that they were, in fact, the good guys.

/End thread

@Minuteman75