Mission to Hapes

The Mission to Hapes was a kidnapping planned by Darth Caedus in 40 ABY, with the objective of taking his daughter Allana, the Chume'da, hostage. Caedus planned to use his daughter to bring the Hapes Consortium back into the Galactic Alliance's fold, after they had deserted during the Battle of Kashyyyk. While successful, Queen Mother Tenel Ka did not rejoin the GA, but withdrew her forces from the conflict completely.

Prelude
"We'll need to follow the recommended protocol for the next few days... at which time the Hapans will come back into the war on our side [...]." "You are sure the Hapans will rejoin us?." "I guarantee it. I have an operation in motion that will ensure it." "What resources do you need to carry it out?" "Only those I already have." "Have I seen the details of your operation?" "If I don't forward a file, no one can intercept it. If i don't speak a word of detail, no one can overhear it. Too much is riding on getting the the Hapans back for me to wreck things by divulging details too freely."

- Darth Caedus and Cha Niathal discuss the Consortium's possible return.

Due to the former Colonel Solo's horrific attack on the neutral planet of Kashyyyk, Tenel Ka, his former lover, turned her ships against him, and forced him to flee the system. Her defection to the Jedi Coalition lost the Galactic Alliance a valuable ally, which meant they were stretched thin trying to defend their territory. Chief of State Cha Niathal knew that the Alliance depended heavily on their allies, so she left it to Caedus to bring them back over to the Alliance's side however he could, whilst simultaneously sending diplomats to the palace. What she did not know, however, was that for Caedus, the mission had the dual objective of securing the only person left loyal to the mad Sith; his daughter.

Infiltration
"Were you afraid, Tika?" "No. I really have to go to the refresher. Really really." "Go ahead. And when you're done, we're going to put you in a new dress and do your hair, then have some fun." "Good. I want to play." "You will."

- Darth Caedus and Tika

Heavily disguised as an aged military man copiloting the cruiser escorting the diplomats, Caedus scrutinized carefully the defences the place had, contently noting that Tahiri Veila's StealthX was still in the same place it had been after her duel there, some days before. It was crucial to his plan, as was the young girl, Tika, that he had smuggled on, who closely resembled Allana. As the crusier set down, Caedus used the Force to locate, and see his daughter. Upon confirming her appearence, he stunned the Bothan pilot and went to the cargo hold. There, he unlocked a crate, revealing Tika, and then disguised her in the exact way he had seen Allana dressed.

Elsewhere in the palace, Tenel Ka and her father, Isolder decided to send the Alliance diplomats back to Coruscant without discussion. As they talked, Tenel Ka noticed that the security level had eased up another notch. When she asked for the reason, Lady Aros told her that there had been static blips in the security camera footage. Knowing of the technique Force Flash, Tenel Ka reached out for her daughter in the Force, and was reassured when she found her nearby and asleep. Broadening her range, she felt a short, distinct pulse in the Force. Now knowing there was a Force user in the palace, she called up a holocam view of her daughter's room. Sighing with relief, she saw Allana playing with a toy. Then she realized that not a moment earlier, Allana had been asleep.

Kidnap
"Alert security. Intruders in the palace. They're making an attempt on Allana-"

- Tenel Ka to Lady Aros

Changing the view to that of the door to her daughter's room, she was terrified to see the two guards who were supposed to be there weren't. Withdrawing her lightsaber from her robes, she dashed past Aros, her father close behind her. She came to an intersection, and followed the sense of her daughter, away from where her playroom was. As she dashed down the hall, she passed a guardswoman with a slit throat and a courtier with a broken neck, before dropping down a newly lightsaber-excavated hole hidden behind a curtain. She landed in a servants' hallway, and at the instruction of a lowly server boy, continued her mad sprint in the direction he had indicated. She dashed past a third body, a cook, before entering the visitors' hangar.

Security had already surrounded the diplomat shuttle, which was edging slowly towards the inner wall on its repulsorlifts, but Tenel Ka realized it was a distraction. Sensing Allana again, she rushed forty meters further, and saw that Tahiri's StealthX was powering up for take-off. The guards warned one another to hold fire, and Tenel Ka edged closer, receiving visual confirmation of her daughter's location. It could only have been Jacen with her daughter. Tenel Ka suddenly felt a flicker in the Force from behind her, and spun, igniting her lightsaber, but only saw the diplomat's shuttle, now flush with the wall. Her sense of dread grew, and she told the entire guard to get behind cover. She leapt behind one of the stone columns in the hangar, and as she looked at Jacen, she saw him give her a tight smile, and he depressed a button on his comlink. The shuttle exploded, and devestated the hangar, knocking out Tenel Ka and blasting a hole in the wall big enough for Caedus to escape in. He made orbit and jumped to hyperspace.

Aftermath
"Greetings to the esteemed Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium. At Kuat, you put me in an untenable situation. Being abandoned to my enemies, abandoned by one for whom I once had considerable affection and respect, was like being murdered... and surviving. So I'm going to repay the favor. You have a choice to make, like the one you tried to force upon me. You will put all Hapan military forces under my command, with ships' senior officers to be supplied by the Galactic Alliance... or your daughter will die. By doing what you did to me, you change me into someone capable of doing exactly what I have promised. This threat is not a bluff, and if it takes place, it will be your doing. Something to keep in mind the next time you play the Hapan cultural game of backstabbing and bloodletting.."

- Darth Caedus on Allana's ransom vid.

Tenel Ka woke up in a waiting room two hours later, and recieved a death threat towards her daughter if she did not return to the Galactic Alliance. She also discovered that Caedus had secured Tika's cooperation by promising her a Hapan mother. Tenel Ka withdrew her forces from the conflict completely, not bowing to his wishes completely, but not directly defying him. She would go to the Jedi Outpost on Endor, and discuss her options with Grand Master Luke Skywalker. He offered to lead a resuce mission, and she graciously accepted. The misson would be a success, and Allana was returned to her mother.

Appearances

 * Fury