- "I have dreamt of this. Too many versions to remember. And here you were… all that time, hiding in the shelter of Imperial peace and quiet."
"And I've known you all along. Hardly seems fair." - ―Deedra Meero and Luthen Rael
A raid on the Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest took place in 1 BBY on Coruscant, when Imperial Security Bureau forces under the command of ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero raided the store to arrest Axis network spymaster Luthen Rael. Despite the Bureau's preparations, Rael managed to stab himself with a Nautolan bleeder, seriously wounding himself and having to be evacuated to Lina Soh Hospital.[2]
The store was ultimately secured by ISB investigators, who recovered the network's partially sabotaged fractal radio and discovered Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft in a hidden hangar in the back. The incident marked the dissolution of the Axis network, with the sole remaining operative, Rael's adoptive daughter Kleya Marki[1] being forced to flee and ask for help from off-world rebel Wilmon Paak.[2]
Prelude
In 5 BBY, rebel spymaster Luthen Rael traveled to Ferrix to recruit Cassian Andor, who was trying to sell him an Imperial N-S9 Starpath Unit. However, the two were forced to flee without the box to evade the Pre-Mor Enforcement squad attempting to arrest Andor.[4] When the incident came to the attention of the Imperial Security Bureau, the mention of the Starpath Unit caught the attention of ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero, whose sector the device was stolen from, which convinced her of a larger rebel movement.[3] Following the Aldhani heist, Meero was able to convince her superiors to give her jurisdiction over the Ferrix sector,[5] which led her to conclude that Rael, whom she codenamed "Axis", to be a central figure in the growing Rebellion. She then led a manhunt for Andor in the hopes of discovering Axis' identity.[6] Supervisor Lonni Jung, secretly an informant for Rael, forewarned his rebel handler about Meero, but Rael confidently believed she was wasting time trying to find him and advised Jung to encourage her behavior.[7] Meero would later set a trap on Ferrix to catch Andor but the resulting riot allowed Andor to escape and formally join the Axis network.[8]
In 4 BBY, Meero was reassigned to the Ghorman project, against her objections that her talents were better suited to hunting down Axis. Major Lio Partagaz rebuked her for failing to catch Axis and only succeeded in making him famous and advised her to accept the Ghorman project as a gift,[9] while the Axis desk was reassigned to Supervisor Heert. Over the next two years, her role in the Ghorman project was kept a secret from most of her colleagues, who believed her to have been retired after the Ferrix incident. By 3 BBY, Jung learned that Meero was running Ghorman from Heert and reported this information to Rael, who became suspicious on why the Galactic Empire was persecuting the planet and ordered Jung to find out their true plans.[10]
In 2 BBY, after aiding in Senator Mon Mothma's escape from the Imperial Senate Building, Rael chose to remain on Coruscant, despite Andor's warnings that the Empire would eventually discover him.[11]
By 1 BBY, Meero received a series of intelligence documents related to Project Stardust forwarded to her desk by mistake. Instead of reporting the clerical error, Meero read through them in the hopes of discovering a lead on Axis. Eventually she found an interrogation report from Jedha on a Partisan spy posing as a valet for the local Moff, who claimed to have been recruited by a man with a Fondor Haulcraft full of antiquities. The same prisoner was tortured to death by Orson Krennic's team and buried the report.[2]
Certain that she had finally identified Axis, but determined to avoid a security leak, Meero contacted a member of ISB Tactical to put a team together for a covert operation on Coruscant. However, the Tactical leader was wary of complying, given Meero's reputation as a maverick, and called Jung for advice. Suspecting that Meero was onto Rael, Jung decided to make the risky move to access Meero's private files using her code cert that he stole a year ago. Despite having a two-hour window, Jung spent three hours looking through Meero's files and learned that Emperor Palpatine's energy project was a cover for the development of a weapon.[1][2]
Realizing that his time as a double agent was over and that the Empire would soon learn what he had discovered, Jung put his family in hiding before signalling Rael for an immediate meeting. Ever cautious, Rael decided to met with Jung with his assistant Kleya Marki watching from a distance. Rendezvousing in a public park, Jung forewarned Rael about Meero's covert moves but was uncertain if she was coming for him or not. He then attempted to barter his information in exchange for safe passage for himself and his family off Coruscant. However, Rael decided it was too much of a risk and instead coerced Jung into giving up all his intel before executing him with a blaster pistol. He then went back to Marki to impart his intel, including about the Imperial engineer, Galen Erso, before declaring that he was going back to Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest to tie up loose ends and ordered her to the safehouse against her protests.[1]
The raid
Returning to the gallery, Rael quickly began to pour acid over the fractal radio, shortly before he heard the front door chime. Finding Meero waiting outside the shop, he invited her inside while maintaining his false shopkeeper persona. They traded banter for a short time before Meero pulled out the battered Starpath Unit from Ferrix to let him know she had figured out his true identity. She remarked that she frequently dreamed of catching up to the elusive Axis and she never realized he was hiding under her nose "in the shelter of Imperial peace and quiet."; Rael refuted that had known about her the whole time, so it didn't seem fair. Meero then voiced her disgust for what she believed to be a rampant anarchist sowing chaos across the galaxy before hiding in his flamboyant persona. Even as she declared the building was surrounded and that he couldn't escape, Rael retorted that she had come too late; the Rebellion was no longer based on Coruscant and had spread across the galaxy to push back against the Empire. Unfazed, Meero promised that he would soon be spilling all his secrets to the Empire.[1]
However, as she turned away to replace the Starpath Unit back in its case with a sigh of satisfaction, Meero noticed smoke coming from the back room and turned back to Rael, demanding to know what he had done. With the rebel spymaster turning his back to her, Meero pulled out her blaster pistol and threatened to stun him if he didn't turn around. She soon witnessed Rael pulling out the Nautolan bleeder he had shown her earlier and collapsed on the floor. Frantic, Meero quickly called in her Tactical team, who swarmed the building to save the potential evidence. The medics quickly stabilize Rael and load him into an medspeeder. Meero took a separate transport as Marki could only watch from a crowd of spectators.[1]
Aftermath
News of Meero's failed raid quickly reached the ISB central office, forcing Partagaz to call off the ISB Board meeting. Supervisor Heert, having just learned of Jung's death, arrived late and experienced confusion with Lagret over what the cancellation was about. He then spoke with Partagaz, who informed him of Meero's raid and assumed he was upset that she had disregarded his mandate, only for Heert to inform him of Jung's death.[1]
Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interests was seized by the ISB with agents bagging evidence and discovering Rael's Haulcraft in a secret hanger.[1]
Rael was taken to Lina Soh Hospital, where he was hooked up to life support. Meero, eager for him to recover so he could be questioned, ordered all the hospital staff and patients on the 19th floor to be cleared. Supervisor Heert, Attendant Joydali and an ISB Marshal later arrived at the hospital to arrest her. After a brief argument, Meero went with them quietly to get the "misunderstanding" sorted out. However, Marki infiltrated the hospital at the same time disguised as a nurse and managed to cut off Rael's life support to ensure he wouldn't betray the Rebellion's secrets.[1]
Meero would later be interrogated by Director Krennic himself, who made clear the massive breach in Imperial security she had created by holding onto the Project Stardust files and the fact that Jung had accessed those files and likely communicated the information to Rael. Meero tried to defend her actions, only to be contradicted that for so arrogantly confronting Rael by herself.[2] This monumental blunder was the catalyst that ended Meero's career and sent her to an Imperial labor prison.[12]
Appearances
Star Wars: Andor — "Make It Stop" (First appearance)- Star Wars: Andor — "Who Else Knows?" (Mentioned only)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32
Star Wars: Andor — "Make It Stop"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Star Wars: Andor — "Who Else Knows?"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Andor — "Aldhani"
- ↑ Star Wars: Andor — "Reckoning"
- ↑ Star Wars: Andor — "Announcement"
- ↑ Star Wars: Andor — "Narkina 5"
- ↑ Star Wars: Andor — "One Way Out"
- ↑ Star Wars: Andor — "Rix Road"
- ↑ Star Wars: Andor — "Sagrona Teema"
- ↑ Star Wars: Andor — "Ever Been to Ghorman?"
- ↑ Star Wars: Andor — "Welcome to the Rebellion"
- ↑ Star Wars: Andor — "Jedha, Kyber, Erso"