**Interlude: Shadows of Byss**
**Scene 1: The Hidden Path**
Adjusting her orange technician jumpsuit, Bella carefully slipped into the camera's blind spot. Quickly crossing the corridor, the replicant pulled a small datapad from her pocket and connected the door panel. A soft beep signaled that the device had begun cracking the access code...
Dax's latest assignment turned into an unimaginable and gripping story.
It all started when sentient beings started disappearing from Coruscant. Well, what did they mean by disappearing? The thing was, a resettlement program from areas damaged during the Battle of Coruscant had been in effect for over a year. To date, over twelve billion organics have left the planet. A drop in the bucket for an ecumenopolis with a population exceeding a trillion. However, there were some oddities that prompted the employers to conduct a thorough investigation.
Not all of the settlers were from the emergency zones. Many specialists from other areas of Coruscant, and most often refugees from other planets, were offered favorable terms for resettlement to other worlds. A common practice, in general: many corporations engaged in this kind of "specialist retrieval." However, there was a "second" factor: about a hundred million of these billions subsequently vanished without a trace—that is, completely. There were no traces of any ships' flights, no reports from their new home...
Only one thing was certain: there was a special resettlement option, but it wasn't offered to everyone, and apparently, it couldn't be refused once you'd heard its terms. But it wouldn't have been enough to lose a few thousand—we were talking about millions.
Bella's investigation uncovered the trail of the "special program" settlers. Seeking answers, she posed as a technical specialist from the Outer Rim who had fled the war and received that "invitation." A long flight on a transport ship delivered her and a group of other settlers to an unknown planet somewhere in the Deep Core. Yes, that's right. Apparently, someone had discovered a route to this hidden corner of the galaxy, albeit a long and unstable one. And they hadn't skimped on resources.
The planet Byss alone had four Lormar-type mining stations, supplying construction materials to two habitable planets, three bases on uninhabited planets, and mineral mining stations in the asteroid belts and on the last two minor planets in the system. Construction of surface cities, as well as orbital structures—docks and, apparently, shipyards—was underway. All of this was cause for concern.
All that remains is to find out who is behind this...
With a soft click, the door unlocked. Opening the door, Bella slipped inside what was essentially the office of the person primarily responsible for the provision of everything in this place: a certain Commander Drain. Of course, Bella had never seen him before, but from conversations overheard in the officers' mess, she knew he was quite an "interesting and mysterious character"—or so the female military gossip went.
After looking around the office, the replicant chuckled.
"He really is an interesting person."
Most of the room was filled with objects in glass cases, as if they belonged in a museum. A strange-looking weapon—something resembling a blaster but clearly not one—a wooden musical instrument adorned with feathers, a strange, time-worn staff, and, to top it all off, a strange, elongated skull.
**Scene 2: The Deep Core Enigma**
Bella moved silently through Commander Drain's office, her replicant senses heightened. The air was cool and sterile, carrying the faint metallic tang of recycled oxygen. Byss was a world of secrets, its location in the Deep Core making it nearly impossible to reach without precise coordinates and specialized navigation. Yet here it was—a thriving, hidden colony under construction.
She had arrived weeks earlier, posing as a desperate Outer Rim technician fleeing the war. The transport ship had been packed with "special program" settlers—engineers, miners, administrators, and families. The journey had been long and disorienting, jumping through unstable routes that made even the most seasoned pilots nervous. When they finally dropped out of hyperspace near Byss, Bella had been stunned by the scale of the operation.
Four massive Lormar-type mining stations orbited the system, feeding raw materials to two habitable planets, three remote bases, and numerous asteroid mining outposts. Surface cities were rising rapidly—modular habitats, fortified command centers, and sprawling industrial complexes. Orbital docks and shipyard frameworks were already taking shape, their skeletal structures glinting in the system's dim starlight.
This wasn't a refugee resettlement. This was the foundation of something far larger. An empire in waiting.
Bella's gloved fingers brushed over one of the glass cases. The elongated skull inside was unlike anything in Republic records—ancient, almost primal. The staff beside it hummed faintly with residual energy. These were artifacts of power, relics from a forgotten era.
She activated her hidden recorder, capturing every detail. "Whoever you are, Commander Drain," she whispered, "you're building something that could change the galaxy."
The door hissed open behind her. Bella froze, then smoothly transitioned into her cover identity, pretending to examine a nearby terminal.
A tall figure in a dark uniform stepped inside—Commander Drain himself. His eyes narrowed as he regarded her.
"Technician Bella," he said smoothly. "You seem lost. This area is restricted."
Bella turned, offering a polite smile. "Apologies, Commander. I was assigned to run diagnostics on the environmental controls. The panel outside indicated a fluctuation."
Drain studied her for a long moment, then gestured toward the door. "Return to your assigned sector. We value diligence here… but curiosity can be dangerous."
As Bella left, she felt his gaze on her back. The game had just become far more dangerous.
**Scene 3: Whispers of the Hidden Master**
Back in her modest quarters, Bella reviewed the stolen data. The scale of the Byss project was staggering. Millions of settlers had been brought here under false pretenses. The "special program" was a carefully orchestrated relocation effort, funneling skilled labor and resources into this hidden Deep Core stronghold.
Shipyards capable of producing capital vessels. Mining operations feeding endless construction. Fortified cities rising on multiple worlds. This was no refugee haven. This was a war machine being built in secret.
And at the center of it all was an unseen hand—someone with the power to hide an entire system from the galaxy.
Bella transmitted her findings through a heavily encrypted burst. "The Dragon needs to know. Byss is no ordinary colony. Someone is preparing for something far larger than this war."
She leaned back, staring at the ceiling. The artifacts in Drain's office haunted her. Ancient. Powerful. Dangerous.
The war was changing. New fronts were opening in the shadows. And somewhere in the Deep Core, a hidden master was building an empire of his own.