In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 5

Zea walked up behind her husband, taking the cake from Rex's hands. "Oh, what a lovely rockfruit cake! You made it the traditional way I see. You got great browning around the edges." Zea carried the cake towards the rear of the dwelling, continuing to fawn over the dessert. Brak motioned that they follow, and Senna stuck out her tongue at Rex once Brak's back was turned, mouthing See? It's fine! Rex gently nudged her with his elbow as they made their way to the dining room.

Zea and Brak had set out quite the spread for dinner, and as the wine flowed, it didn't take Senna long to start subtly steering the conversation towards the Empire. As he chewed through Zea's cooking, Rex was continuously impressed at her gentle poking and prodding that she employed until finally, she had Brak talking about his job, gleeful to impress his guests. By the time Zea had brought out Senna's cake on a platter for serving, Brak was eagerly leaning on the table, engaging Senna in discussion.

"I must say, I understood other planets as a strategic resource front for the Empire, but I just can't see what Lothal necessarily offers to the Empire's growth! We're mainly agricultural here," Senna stated, slowly sipping her drink.

"Well, you see, the mining industry here was starting to take off during the war, and now that we are in a time of peace, there's been significantly more effort to determine what sort of minerals and precious metals exist below the surface. Turns out, there are hundreds of klicks of untapped deposits. Yes, Lothal was originally colonized as an agricultural settlement, but the various metals hidden below the surface are what's going to explode the Lothal economy and allow it to be critical to the Empire's operations." Brak's speech was slurring slightly as Senna politely refilled he and Zea's glasses from the decanter.

"During the war, we saw several places with large mining industries, and many times, it wound up completely pillaging the planet and making it uninhabitable. Is the Empire planning on establishing some sort of protections to ensure that the environment and the planet itself aren't altered?"

Brak leaned further forward, the table creaking under his weight. "Just between you and me, the planet will change, it's inevitable. There's simply no way around it with the kind of mining operations we're planning, but to be the world responsible for supplying the resources for the Empire's most ambitious engineering feat of all time? There could be no higher honor, and I have faith that the people of Lothal will share that sentiment."

Rex's ears perked up, and he glanced at Senna out of the corner of his eye. She briefly met his gaze over the edge of her cup before re-engaging with Brak. "Most ambitious engineering feat? What could possibly need that amount of metal and resources? Or is that too top secret for us to know?" she teased playfully. Zea chuckled, stroking her husband's hair.

"He barely tells even me anything about it. It's apparently quite important."

Brak grinned. "I'm not privy to details, but from what I do know, I can guarantee that the Empire will be cemented as the most powerful entity in this galaxy and any other. We will never have to be worried about the threat of war again."

Senna smiled. "Well, I'll drink to that," she said, raising her glass in a toast. "To eternal peace."

Brak sloshed his drink in his cup. "Indeed."

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It was dark by the time Rex and Senna bid their goodbyes and headed back to their dwelling. They walked in silence until they were inside and had locked the door behind them.

"We have to find out what that project is," he stated.

"Unfortunately, I may have an idea of what it is," she said, walking quickly up the stairs, him following behind. "There's been chatter on the various comm channels alluding to some sort of project that would significantly expand the job market here on Lothal and how it would be revolutionary for the Empire." She snatched her data pad off of her desk and began scrolling through the notes she'd logged.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

"It was all very vague. The Imperials puff their chests a lot to each other. 'Yay us, we're so great, there's no one better than us,' et cetera, so at times it's hard to differentiate between what's actually significant and what's them blowing smoke. But there was one statement that stuck out to me and I logged it a while ago as potentially noteworthy. There was never any additional mention of it, so I just assumed someone was inflating their importance or telling a wild story, but now I'm not so sure."

She handed the datapad to him, and he read the log. A particular message stuck out to him, ripping the air out of his lungs.

[20:10:35] Of course it'll be worth it. Peace through superior firepower will be the foundation on which we build this Empire, and no world will be able to stop this weapon.