Raid on the Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest

The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based oncanonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

Raid on the Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest

Araid on theGalactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest took place in1 BBY onCoruscant, whenImperial Security Bureau forces under the command ofISB SupervisorDedra Meero raided the store to arrestAxis network spymasterLuthen Rael. Despite the Bureau's preparations, Rael managed to stab himself with aNautolan bleeder, seriously wounding himself and having to be evacuated toLina Soh Hospital.^[2]

The store was ultimately secured by ISB investigators, who recovered the network's partially sabotagedfractal radio and discoveredLuthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft in a hiddenhangar in the back. The incident marked the dissolution of the Axis network, with the sole remaining operative, Rael's adoptive daughterKleya Marki^[1] being forced to flee and ask for help from off-world rebelWilmon Paak.^[2]

Prelude[]

In5 BBY, rebel spymasterLuthen Rael traveled toFerrix to recruitCassian Andor, who was trying to sell him anImperial N-S9 Starpath Unit. However, the two were forced to flee without the box toevade thePre-Mor Enforcement squad attempting to arrest Andor.^[4] When the incident came to the attention of theImperial Security Bureau, the mention of the Starpath Unit caught the attention ofISB SupervisorDedra Meero, whose sector the device was stolen from, which convinced her of a larger rebel movement.^[3] Following theAldhani 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] SupervisorLonni 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 atrap on Ferrix to catch Andor but the resulting riot allowed Andor to escape and formally join theAxis network.^[8]

In4 BBY, Meero was reassigned to theGhorman project, against her objections that her talents were better suited to hunting down Axis. MajorLio 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 theAxis desk was reassigned to SupervisorHeert. 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. By3 BBY, Jung learned that Meero was runningGhorman from Heert and reported this information to Rael, who became suspicious on why theGalactic Empire was persecuting the planet and ordered Jung to find out their true plans.^[10]

In2 BBY, after aiding inSenatorMon Mothma'sescape from theImperial Senate Building, Rael chose to remain onCoruscant, despite Andor's warnings that the Empire would eventually discover him.^[11]

By1 BBY, Meero received a series of intelligence documents related toProject 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 fromJedha on a Partisan spy posing as a valet for the localMoff, who claimed to have been recruited by a man with aFondor Haulcraft full of antiquities. The same prisoner was tortured to death byOrson Krennic's team and buried the report.^[2]

Certain that she had finally identified Axis, but determined to avoid a security leak, Meero contacted amember ofISB 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 thatEmperorPalpatine's energy project was a cover for the development of aweapon.^[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 assistantKleya 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 ablaster 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 toGalactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest to tie up loose ends and ordered her to thesafehouse against her protests.^[1]

The raid[]

Returning to the gallery, Rael quickly began to pour acid over thefractal 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 acrossthe 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 tostun him if he didn't turn around. She soon witnessed Rael pulling out theNautolan 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 anmedspeeder. 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 theISB central office, forcing Partagaz to call off theISB Board meeting. Supervisor Heert, having just learned of Jung's death, arrived late and experienced confusion withLagret 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 toLina 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,AttendantJoydali 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, Markiinfiltrated 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 anImperial labor prison.^[12]

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Appearances[]

• Star Wars: Andor — "Make It Stop"(First appearance)
• Star Wars: Andor — "Who Else Knows?"(Mentioned only)

Notes and references[]