It was some time before Lieutenant Crispus stormed back to the bridge, her body language looking like someone who had finished fighting a hoard of Gundarks. "Sir, a moment of your time," she called.
"Yes , Lieutenant." Kast Nerix stood from his command chair and walked toward her. "I take it your discussion with Halifax went well?"
"If you ever ask me to speak to that man again, I'll vaporize you where you stand," she spat out. I suppose I deserve that one, after what he tried last time. "But yes, I have all the information on our favorite Moff right here." She thrust out a datapad.
"Excellent, excellent," Nerix said, beginning to scroll through the data. "Oh my . . . Yes, this will do nicely. Superb work, Lieutenant. What about my other request?"
Nerix thought Fara couldn't get angrier. He was wrong. "That little toad said he only owed us one favor, and that he would require additional payment for the other."
"I see, that does complicate matters," Kast replied. "I hope it won't cost too much to grease the wheels of Intelligence."
"No, I arranged payment already." She paused, then sighed. "Turns out he's currently stationed on a nearby planet. He wants me to meet with him in person." The bridge crew, trying to remain inconspicuous as they eavesdropped, suddenly erupted into half-stifled laughter. "Shut it!" Crispus barked.
"So in return for this da--er, meeting, he will uphold his end of the bargain?"
"Yes, but it will take some time for him to find the records. A lot was lost when Lusankya went down."
"Your sacrifices in the name of the Empire will not be forgotten, Lieutenant," Nerix said wryly. "In fact, would you like to accompany me to the conference room? I think it is time to talk to Lentao."
"I would love to; that's the best news I've heard all day." Turning, they both headed toward the bridge's exit.
One Month Later
The comms crackled to life. "Captain, shuttle Arginium has docked," the on-duty hangar tech announced.
Captain. It feels good to be back. "Acknowledged. See that Commander Crispus meets me in my ready room," Captain Kast Nerix replied as he exited the bridge. Since his most productive meeting with Moff Lentao, not only had his rank been restored, but his taskforce had been bolstered with the addition of a Tector and five Imperial II-class Star Destroyers. The success rate of strikes against New Republic invaders had skyrocketed. All-in-all things were going well. Despite this, Nerix couldn't shake the feeling of unease whenever he thought of the events the catalyzed it all. This is the first step towards reaching answers.
The ready room door slid open as Commander Fara Crispus entered. "Good afternoon, sir."
"Good afternoon, Commander; have a seat. I take it this date with Halifax was productive?"
"Not dates, weekly updates," she replied, almost a little too quickly. "He's actually been almost tolerable. I suppose being stuck on an uninhabited wasteland made him rethink things. But to answer your question, yes the meeting was quite productive. He finally managed to find the records of sleepers who were a part of the Grand Admiral's fleet."
"I assume he received a response from one of these?"
"Yes, sir he has. It came from the Deep Unknown Regions. Unfortunately, it's point of origin cannot be directly determined."
Nerix nodded. "Unfortunate, but expected. That area excels at masking anyone's location. Did we at least get a general region?"
"Yes, but it is quite large," Fara replied, handing him a datapad. "I don't know how much use it will be."
"That's all I need. Dismissed, Commander." She rose and left. Nerix sat a while longer, considering his next move. Then, standing he entered the bridge. It seems news has already spread among the bridge crew. They're buzzing with excitement "Lieutenant Relyr, is our sensor array prepared to transmit comms signals."
"Yes sir, it is."
"Ensign Beecher, send a wide range hail at this frequency to the following sector," Captain Nerix said, handing him a data-disc.
"Yes sir," Beecher responded. Inserting the disc, he frowned. "Are you sure about this, sir? Chances are at this frequency it'll be ignored as background radiation."
"I'm counting on that. There should only be one person who would notice that frequency." I'm certain Madara will wonder who used this frequency. He turned, sitting back into his command chair. "As soon as you receive a response, notify me and patch the signal into the conference room."