Kyvon has really moved quickly. Ariend Arms is a rather … how would you say it? … partisan company. The company is divided into different factions, each of which has its own agenda. Some of the largest factions in the company actually despise Kyvon, so I was expecting him to take six months to a year to consolidate his hold over the corporation. Therefore, I wasn’t really in a rush to bring my supporters together. I regret that decision now.
I gotta give Kyvon credit. I’m guessing that that arms deal he signed with House Sarum has helped him hire more mercenaries and probably also bribe a number of his more vocal opponents. I guess he is more politically savvy than I ever thought. I wish that Kyvon wouldn’t take his anger out on my people though. I really don’t see what his beef is. After all, my supporters have done nothing, absolutely NOTHING!, to him and his people. I wish that he would just leave them alone, but I guess that is too much to ask for.
I hope that the Legion is able to mobilize quickly. We have been planning for similar situations, but planning for something isn’t really the same as actually doing it. Either way, everything’s in Najir’s hands now. I hope he can pull through. I hope he can get my people out.
- Duke Shasta
10 January YC123
Peirann family’s townhouse in the city of Amarrinn on the planet Mekhios
“Hey, mom, dad, I’m home!” Tyler said, walking into the living room. “Hey, Ernest! Watcha watching?”
“‘Into the Deep’. You wanna watch with me? I’m getting to the good part,” his brother replied. “Mom is cooking, and Dad is in his study”
Tyler plopped down next to his brother. “‘Into the Deep’ again? This is the third time this week!”
“What can I say? I like the movie,” the other boy said. “The Gallente make some good movies.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Tyler responded. “Dad’s still working, you said?”
“Well, he’s in his study. What he’s doing in his study, I got no idea, though.”
“Oh, ok. And-”
“Shut up, will ya? I’m trying to watch the movie here!”
“Ok, ok,” Tyler said, sitting back in his chair. He could smell the bread that his mom was baking in the kitchen. Suddenly, the front door flew open. “What the-”
Black armored men with bolt rifles swarmed into the townhouse.
“On the ground! On the ground!” one man shouted. Two of the armored men threw Tyler on the ground and one dragged his arms behind him before cuffing him. Another man pinned Ernest to the arm of the sofa before cuffing him as well.
“Ow! Ow!” Tyler heard from the kitchen.
“Shut up!” One trooper said harshly. His comrades dragged Tyler’s mom from the kitchen, cuffed and gagged. Two more men marched Tyler’s father out of his study.
“Sir,” one trooper said to another. “The prisoners are secured.”
“Excellent,” the other man said. “Bring up the transport. And hood the prisoners.”
The first man nodded. He turned and nodded to the troopers flanking Tyler’s family.
“What? Who are you! Why -?” Tyler shouted, struggling fruitlessly against his captors as one armored man unrolled a canvas hood as he walked up. “No! Who the ■■■■-?” And suddenly everything went dark.
Najir reached over the table and shut the holoprojector off. “The Peirann family are only one of the families that have gone missing.”
“How many people have disappeared so far?” Duke Shasta asked.
“About fifty two, maybe fifty five? The count is still being tallied, but I would say fifty at the moment,” Najir said.
“That many? Damn! And who was this?” the duke asked, looking at his aides seated at the table. “I would say it was Kyvon, mainly because I can’t think of anyone else who would do this, but do we have any proof?”
“Umm, I think this is a better question for Ty. Ty?” Najir said, looking at the duke’s intelligence chief.
“The men in this surveillance holo, and the others that we have obtained, are wearing unmarked armor, but the armor and weapons used are Ariend Arms weapons,” Ty West said. “I know, I know, anyone could have bought it, but the weapons and armor are often used by Ariend security forces. They are sold almost exclusively to Amarrian military entities: the Navy and House Sarum PMCs like the Shining Flame.”
Shasta nodded. “Ty, can your people ID the troopers in these holos? Like, find out who they are?”
“We can try,” Ty said hesitantly. “They’re armored and wearing helmets, so we can’t use facial recognition. Maybe if we could get our hands on forensic evidence, we could use DNA tests, but I wouldn’t bet on it.”
“Ok. Just do your best,” Shasta replied. “Najir, I know we have plans for getting my people out in situations like these. Can you implement it?”
“Yes, sir!” Najir replied. “As you know, the Legion stands ready to get your supporters out in situations like this one. We have a list of your supporters and where they live. If you give us the green light, I can have units knocking on doors within two or three hours. They’ll bring the people to designated safe houses and we’ll work with Kennin Industries and a number of shuttle services to bring them here.”
“Excellent, excellent,” Shasta replied. “And sensitive documents?”
“I’ve got people standing by with the Legion. We are working to sanitize safe houses and offices that we have rented planetside. We’ll move everything that we can and destroy what we can’t,” said Shasta’s Director of Public Relations, a young Jin-Mei woman named Amilia Chang.
“Good,” Shasta said. “Just tell your people to avoid risks. If they think that they’re compromised, they should destroy everything. We can reproduce these documents. What we can’t do is lose people. Is that understood? Good. Any questions?”
“Uh, sir, there’s only one problem,” Najir said hesitantly. “You see, under our current plan, the Legion could … err … get into encounters with police. Like, what we are doing could be reported as breaking and entering and kidnapping. It would be best if the police knew to stay away, so none of our members get arrested.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know what you are saying. I’ll talk to some of my contacts in the police departments. Just get started on the mobilization. I’ll handle the law enforcement,” Shasta said, as the various staff members began walking out of the room. “Just bring them all home.”
Later that evening, in an abandoned apartment building on the outskirts of Amarrinn ...
Kyvon stood at the edge of the landing pad and gazed out at the Amarrinn skyline. He turned when he heard footsteps behind him and said harshly, “You’re late.”
A cloaked figure stood a few feet from him. “I’m sorry, my lord. The duke kept me late to go over some documents and plan out his next moves.”
“The false duke,” Kyvon corrected. “Don’t forget that. You have the documents I want?”
“Yes,” the figure said, handing over a small sack. Kyvon snatched the sack and opened it. Inside were numerous datacards and stacks of paper documents.
“And the rest?” He said after he finished his inspection.
“I’ll get copies to you as soon as I obtain them,” the figure replied.
“Good,” Kyvon replied. “Remember, if you want to see your sister again, you will do as I say.”
“Yes,” the figure replied. I remember.