Chapter 57: Only Illegal If You Get Caught

The Jedi grabbed Emi's shoulders and blurted, "What is it?" She then realized she had gone overboard, returned the petite woman to her original position, and let go. "Ah, sorry. Do go on."

The cyborg nodded unphasedly and explained, "Firstly, all of these cameras are products of the Northern Dragon corporation and are under their security management." She went into further detail on this, "They are all routed through the same interphase and process in the same facility." Meeting Rey's eyes, she offered some words of solace, "Your Jedi instincts were very keen in this regard."

Rey nodded and asked like an eager puppy, "Okay, so what's the lead."

Emi paused like she usually did when expressing worry about the Jedi's intellect before elaborating, "Well, as we discussed earlier, these cameras have backup power cells." She brought up the last recording again and concluded, "This was the only recording from a Northern Dragon camera or camera model that had a backup power system. However, like all the other cameras in this region, its footage was interrupted when the power grid was attacked." Looking back to the Jedi, she concluded, "This is an in-continuity."

The Jedi's eyes went wide with realization as she blurted, "Its footage couldn't have gone out due to its backup battery." Her mind then made the critical jump, and she declared, "Someone in the Northern Dragon firm had to have known about the attack and shut the system down."

Emi shrugged at this, "Yes, but there is room for error. A technician could have been bribed or threatened. The company also could have been infiltrated or hacked."

Rey winced at this but then shook her head. The feeling she had been having was growing stronger. "No, this feels right." She leaned into the video and added, "The Force has led me here; there must be more to it." After a moment longer, she turned to Emmi and added, "You also led me here, thank you."

The cyborg nodded and responded, "I'm honored to have my deductive abilities compared to the omniscience of the Force."

Rey let out a sigh and bemoaned, "I'm trying to thank you."

Emi nodded and responded, "It wasn't that hard."

The Jedi didn't believe this and inquired, "Realy?"

The cyborg nodded again, "Elementary, my dear Master Skywalker."

Rey didn't understand this line but countered, "Then why didn't the Security Force discover it."

Emi shrugged and responded, "It was one camera out of thousands reviewed." She then looked to the Jedi and added, "Or it could have been covered up inside the Security Force itself."

Rey felt a bit deflated when hearing this but did her best to stay optimistic, "So what do we do next."

Emi shrugged again and responded, "You're the investigator."

The Jedi sighed and responded, "I'd personally go to the processing center and try and find who set this up, but I don't think that will end well."

Emi nodded and responded, "Most definitely, you would probably start a war."

Confused, Rey asked, "Why's that."

Emi explained, "The Northern Dragon Security Firm is a military-operated company that's managed by the Admirals. Particularly, it falls under the jurisdiction of Admiral Aldofus, and I doubt he will give you permission to investigate the premises."

Rey's eyes lit up, and she blurted, "Don't that mean he's consorting with the Cultists."

Emi shrugged once more as though it had become an automatic response," Could be. It could also be he is being set up. There are also very few security firms like the Northern Dragon, so it might just be a coincidence." She returned to the main subject and concluded, "Regardless, he won't just let you investigate as you like. He would call in the Security Force first, probably after his own men whip the area of all evidence."

Rey deflated angina and inquired more about family this time, "Then what should we do."

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The cyborg answered plainly, "To beat an Admiral, it's best to use another Admiral."

Rey became energetic once more and blurted, "Primidian could help us."

Emi responded, unphased by the Jedi's mood swings, "There's very little Admiral Primidian couldn't do if he set his mind to it." She paused, then added, "Unless that's bringing peace to the Galaxy, but he is trying."

Rey nodded and stood up, "Perfect, I'll contact him immediately."

Emi rose as well, adding, "The Admiral should still be in a meeting, but I'm sure he will prioritize this matter."

The Jedi and cyborg patiently waived for two hours, during which they had dinner and went over floorplans of the Northern Dragon information processing plant as well as all other information available on the establishment. It was only at this point that Rey got a response in the form of a holo message. She eagerly joined the call and was happy to be facing the familiar face of her Godfather. He had happy and ever-proud eyes, and he began, "The resourcefulness of the Jedi never ceases to amaze me." His holographic eyes grew soft as he added, "Rey, you've done very well finding this lead." He turned to Emi and added, "I'm sure your aid also assisted you greatly with this endeavor." His smile persisted as he added, "I'm sure Minerva will also be very impressed with the progress you two have made once she hears about it."

Rey noticed her aid blush slightly at this, clearly thinking of being praised by her idol, which the Jedi considered to be cute. She herself was also feeling warm and fuzzy from the man's praise as she responded, "My padawan is also to thank. She had a vision recently that was crucial in finding this lead."

The Admiral seemed impressed and rubbed his chin while adding playfully, "I thought Fama had potential, but I have certainly underestimated her if she is already so clairvoyant."

Rey became a bit sheepish thinking about the girl's naivety as she added, "I think it was more the Will of the Force, but I am proud of her."

Primidian nodded and responded, "Indeed, it appears fate is on our side at the moment." His eyes grew intense as he inquired, "Have you informed anyone else about this."

Rey shook her head and answered, "Emi and I just discovered the situation with the camera, and we've only told you."

The Admiral appeared relieved as he responded, "Good, there's too many parties trying to scheme with the Security Force right now. If I wanted to discover whether this lead was overlooked intentionally, it would take at least a week." He shook his head and added, "To be safe, we must assume our enemies are everywhere; for now, this information must stay between us."

The Jedi became conflicted as she asked, "But isn't that against the rules."

The man smiled wryly and answered, "When granting you investigatory powers, the delegates were more interested in making a show than reading the bill. Anything you discover is at your discretion to reveal to the Security Force when and if it becomes relevant."

Rey felt relieved and nodded, "Good, I don't want to start a war."

Primidian's gaze became regretful as he responded, "Don't get too happy yet." He sighed and explained, "Admiral Adolfus uses the Northern Dragon as his personal spy network. It hides more crimes than just the acts of the Dark Apostles. I could get you inside legitimately, but I'm afraid he would have all the evidence just to be safe."

The Jedi's expression turned grim as she complained, "I don't care about his dirty laundry. Can't we just promise to only go after the cultists?"

The Admiral chuckled and shook his head, "Having the cultists caught is not in Adolfus's best interest. They're still the most probable method of getting the Concord canceled, so I doubt he will make any concession regardless of the scope of the investigation."

Rey grew irritated at this and remarked offhand, "Then we can just steal the information, can't we."

Primidian smiled at this as he responded, "I was thinking the same thing as well."

The Jedi blinked in surprise and blurted, "What?"

The man held up a hand to calm her and said, "You have just cause to investigate, so even if he wants to complain, so long as you get what you're looking for, he can't cause too big of a scene."

Rey blinked again and stammered out, "But that's illegal, isn't it."

Primidian shrugged and responded, "It's only illegal if you get caught."

They stared at each other, and Rey felt they were on the same wavelength, which also somewhat terrified her. Emi spoke up at this, clearly onboarded with this idea, "Alright, if we're breaking in, then what are we looking for."

Rey looked to her aid, who was supposed to be the voice of reason when it came to acts that might spawn a galactic war but was distracted as the Admiral began to speak, "There are two items you'll need to get. The first is the Camera Control Log, which will detail who ordered the camera to be deactivated. You will also need to find the security footage for the building for the last week just in case someone used stolen credentials to make the change in the terminal." A floor plan was added to his hologram with two glowing dots on it as he added, "These are their locations and the building's security measures. I'll have a formal mission plan for you by tomorrow morning."

The Jedi was still startled by this but steeled herself and asked, "Why not tonight? The sooner, the better."

Primidian shook his head and responded, "My men will need time to get prepared. We'll need to interrupt the building's internal camera feed to cover for you, which will require more than just cutting the power." He met Rey's eyes and went on, "This is a very delicate mission and requires the utmost caution. I'll admit the New Republic information collection methods are effective…" He gave the Jedi a meaningful nod before adding, "But in this case, even a small mistake could cause a war." His eyes grew resolved and a bit soft as he added, "You've also had a busy couple of days. You should get some rest and recover your strength." His passion quickly returned to him as he finished, "Tomorrow will be a very big day."

Rey wanted to rogue but, after a moment, sighed and nodded, "Alright then, tomorrow we act."