Dromund Kaas was supposed to be a fortress world of the Empire, an impenetrable stalwart against the woes and strife of the galaxy at large. Heavily defended and swarming with many scores of the best imperial equipment and forces the empire had to offer, it was actually this strength that posed the greatest risk to stability. Given the limited intelligence that was available, there was no real understanding how the joined threat spread nor what type of vector might be used to spread their filth amongst a population.
How might one fight against a hivemind organism that could share information in an instant, a strike against one could impact the other, but it would also tip your hand and reveal much more than you had intended. There was a real risk that if one portion were attacked, the others would rise up in their defense and cause a cascading wave to wash over the unprepared galaxy. Such a grave threat posed to the Sith, and yet it was still unknown how to pick out a joined member from a crowd of regular personnel.
That was, of course, unless they seemed to pick themselves out for you.
Every day imperial agents worked diligently on worlds around the galaxy hoping to flush out enemies of the empire, find actionable intel and execute the more covert elements of Sith diplomacy as they were needed. Caelian found himself being assigned to join a mission with one such unknown agent to follow up on a lead that had recently developed. According to the report that had been prepared, a reporter for the Imperial Patriot had recently migrated to the world with his family and had been spotted a handful of times spouting pro-killik propaganda.
On its own, and even without a threat of him being joined, this was a cause for concern as in his position he could easily spread fear and confusion amongst the imperial populace. The risk that he was joined to the hivemind itself made the reporter a significant liability and one that was placed on a high priority list for elimination. The only trouble was that it appeared that the man had gone into hiding and hadn't been seen at their domicile for three days, increasing the concern that he may be involved in some kind of nefarious plot.
The mission would be potentially dangerous and masterfully timed, but if they were successful, they would be able to cripple the opening stages of a coup against the beating heart of an empire.
Sitting alone in an obnoxiously loud bar, Caelian watched across from their secondary target, careful not to overplay his hand but enough to show the slightest amount of interest. The report was only able to gather a small amount of information on his family, a wife and daughter who by all accounts stayed home most nights with one exception. Some nights, it seemed that his wife would dress up and leave their child home alone with only their droids to watch over her while she sought out sordid company and for their luck, tonight was one such night.
Caelian's goal for the night was to attempt to determine if she was somehow tied up in this joined nonsense and if so, to ensure that she wouldn't spread it further. It wasn't exactly known if she was, and therefore he had been given a little bit more freedom before being forced to make that decision.
Meanwhile, agent Bell was tasked with tracking down and eliminating this elusive reporter, wherever the hell he was. Caelian tapped the comm in his ear, speaking directly to Bell, "I have her in my sight, you're clear to proceed, but hurry, we don't know how long you'll have." Agent Bell had his own part to play in the mission. While it was unlikely that the reporter would be hiding in his own bed, there was a possibility that there could be evidence of his whereabouts hidden in an office inside the family home.
Time was ticking, and they had to act now before it was too late.
@Charles @Nevermourn
