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Single Day 2002
short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven years after Episode IV – A New Hope Electronic Journal Log of Lord Raven Daemon Garr I’m tense. I have my
suspicions, but how do I prove them? The council is unlikely to listen to an
ex scout turned businessman, and I have never openly traded in this sector. Two days maximum, just two
days. I have recalled my carriers and asked them to escort the Jedi to the
Chancai Trade Centre on Zelon. Blake De’Athe sees through the plan and is
concerned, but he will go through with it. He is a Jedi, and a defender of
the people. He knows who I really am, one of few who truly do. Too long I have sat on the
sidelines, building my empire. Too long I have traded one quarter off against
another. I have been buying time, feeding accurate but insignificant
information to the Ki-Ki while feeding better information to the Setnin
forces. What a waste! Nobody uses what I give them. I say give because
the prices I charge don’t cover the expenses. So I have had to find other
ways in which to help. Secret cargoes of supplies have been tracked by my
ships. Aggressors have been dealt with before they have had a chance to
attack the supply lines. Still, this has not been
enough. In two more weeks the ISD
Constance will be refitted and repaired. Nias Derril will take her back
under control and will be allied with my new friends the Setnin Jedi. Note: Must remember to tell them about the full role he has played and the long thought out plans. Can’t have him blamed when he was only following orders. Will ask my dear wife to perform that little task. I have other things to do. Word has recently arrived that the primary build on the new attack cruisers has been completed. Jomobol Pocock is charging me a fortune, but then again, I have more money than I will ever need, so why worry? All that needs to be added are the weapons platforms and the crews. I look forward to seeing them in action, a useful asset to my supply convoys. My wife has recently
returned from her meeting with the new Galactic council. She has finally
found out the real reason why they are refusing to aid Setnin and it annoys
me. They are scared that in doing so, they will be accused of interfering as
they did in the past. Oh well, bureaucracy was never my strong point, that’s
why I leave her to deal with it. She
has much more patience than I do Glad to know she is
pregnant, five more months and I will finally be a father. Seems a lifetime
away. I’m thinking of asking her to return to our headquarters far away in the
safety of the Galactic Alliance, but I suspect she will be stubborn and
refuse. I have just received a
disturbing confirmation. There is a build up of Ki-Ki forces on the edge of
the occupied territories. A small battle ensued, but the Ki-Ki has been driven
off. Surprising, but not unexpected. My contact has advised me that it may be
in my best interests to make sure that all my ships stay away from the space
lanes nearing Zelon today. I know its going to happen and now I must make the
decision that has been haunting me since I got involved in this complicated
endeavour. Today I must choose which side I am going to join. No contest really. My friend
and the person I owe my life to, Jan Lomona, is heavily involved in the
resistance movement. Simply owing him a life debt binds me to his survival. I
must make sure that he and his extended family survive the conflict that is
to come, and I have asked Blake to look out for him as well. Blake feels he
owes Lomona and the sector a lot, so he will help when he can. I have sent a
Carrier ship to Chancai to back up Captain Mendip Khan. Khan has accepted his
role and works well with the Jedi, who are onboard and ready to offer
assistance. Others are secretly starting to withdraw my staff and their
families from the planet without attracting too much attention. I have not
the forces to fully halt the Ki-Ki advance, nobody does, not at the moment,
so I must play a dangerous game and at the same time delay the inevitable. The word is that Ki-Ki
forces have attacked. I am feeding information to my second carrier and
preparing them to provide backup facilities to the escapees. I can only hope
that they will be able to defend the smaller freighters successfully. The
Carriers are designed as support small craft, not attack craft. Even then I
am unsure of just how effective they will be once the stealth shielding has
been dropped. We will see. We have lost a ship! Captain Khan had to sacrifice the carrier so that others might escape. The news is that he has been destroyed with his ship. I doubt that. I have standing orders with several crewmembers, ordering them to make sure that he survives, even if it costs them their lives. Somehow he will have survived and I intend to find out for certain once the survivors have been rezoned or integrated into my organisation. At least the others made the jump to hyperspace. I have also just been informed that the new attack ships are fully completed and will be despatched once my crews have arrived. I give them a location in the Hellion System, and a set of orders. I would very much like to see Ryath Centaurs face when they arrive. If he survives his little sojourn on Zelon’s surface that is. Apparently, he and Lomona chose to stay in Chancai. I wonder why. I had better start making
plans. My wife will enjoy this next part; she loves to get her hands dirty. A
Single Day 2002
short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-seven years after Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – A brief but enlightening
snippet from the mind and journals of Lord Raven Daemon Garr as he watches the
events of the Fall of Chancai unfold.
Told from his own unique point of view, we see the decisions processes
that go into making him and his wife decide to join the Setnin Sector instead of the more
powerful Ki-Ki Sector. Cast of Characters Daemon Garr |