Imperial Warlords - Prelude

[robnar]

The group of you are gathered for your command meeting in the spartan, grey conference room atop the Panthac's command deck. Conversation is subdued, as most of the major planning and coordination is complete. Now is the time for decision.

C4-LBN, an independent analysis droid long attached to the Panthac and well known for discretion, has served as the conspirators' majordomo for most meetings - keeping track of assignments and tasks and facilitating the agenda. At the appointed time, he moves to the side of the room and states in a smooth, rich voice:

C4-LBN picture (http://www.wallpaperup.com/uploads/wallpapers/2015/03/04/632204/big_thumb_da2f2e25ff86665eedfca9b50fbf3303.jpg)

"M'ladies, M'lords. The time has arrived. Five minutes ago we transmitted an emergency signal to Command, Battlegroup Leviathan, enroute to Eriadu, that our hyperdrive had suffered a cascading failure and we are dropping out of formation. We have dropped out of hyperspace outside of known lanes and in position for the next phase. In accordance with agreement, we are now rerouting to Mustafar."

"Once we enter Mustafar space, the die is cast. We will drop into Mustafar space in six hours, configured to attack the Rebel naval station recently erected there. We will enter local space extremely close to the planet Mustafar and exactly opposite the naval station's orbit. From entering local space we will have two hours until the naval station emerges over the horizon of Mustafar and the battle is joined."

"Our agenda for this meeting is two-fold. First, when Moff Vesa orders, we will commence movement to Mustafar. This act carries the risk of being viewed as the first step in revolution, and should be viewed as committing us. Second, we must gain consensus on the plans and objectives for the attack."

"The floor is open to Moff Vesa for her initial remarks; followed by Captain Barrett for his report on the reconnaissance of Mustafar local space."

[BananaPhone]

Moff Talia Vesa

In all her years, Vesa couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams that she would one day lead a break away from the Empire. But these had become dangerous times - the Emperor, Vader, the Dath Stars and a resurgent rebellion...the galaxy was in chaos and new leadership was demanded. Leadership that the petty, squabbling bureaucrats on Coruscant could not deliver. Insulated from the problems of the stars as they were, such loathsome, spotty-behind toads piloted an Empire that had quickly revealed its greatest, centralised weakness when Palpatine had gone down with his ship.

Indeed, those in power at the higher ranks of the Empire were willing to watch her sector fall to an alien menace, their attention diverted elsewhere, with nary a hint of irony when they declared themselves victorious when she had led a campaign against the reptilian beasts. Even thinking about how those fatcats sat on their rears and didn't lift a finger drew a wisp of anger across Vesa's soul - but it would take a lot more than that to crack her disciplined mind. No, the Force was with her on this; the ebbs and flows of that arcane river was a current that her visions foresaw them all riding.

Turning about on the heel of her boot, Talia drew her gaze over all of those assembled. An unusually tall woman, her physique like an agile, strong panther, the Moff kept her shoulders square as she approached the seated gathering.

"Ladies, gentlemen, as of now the die is cast."

Among the most politically attuned of the group, Talia knew there would be consequences beyond the predictable. As such, she had taken what measures she could throughout her sector to prime it for self-sufficiency, production, defense and counter-espionage - but there was only so much she could do. The Empire might be divided and descending into civil war, but a beast was most dangerous when it was wounded and desperate.

"You're here because the Empire needs you. The Emperor is long dead. Vader is no more. Its heart has splintered, its attention divided and though the Rebellion could be crushed with a unified, sustained effort, such an offensive will not materialise because there is no unified will. We" she allowed the word to linger in the air, "will forge that unity."

The Moff then offered a lopsided smirk, her angular, pleasing features framed by her straight dark hair, "but I don't have to convince you of that."

Placing both hands on the conference table, Talia activated the desks holographic unit in order to materialise a model of Mustafa and the believed rebel units and facilities.

"These," she gestured to the shipyards, "must be taken intact. They're too valuable to lose. With the material production of Mustafa, a droid work force and those yards at full production, compouned with a complete destruction of a dangerous rebel cell, we will have the rallying call we need for these surrounding systems..." the Moff pointed to the area of space that surrounded the Mustafar system.

"Regions want stability, order and an end to the terrorist rebel threat. With one victory we will give them that certainty and give us the foundation we need. Out of the many we will forge an indivisible whole."

[RivlisDrake]

Taking that as his cue, Barrett steps forward and manipulates the table's controls.

"The New Rep- Rebels seem to feel the area is already in their control and a minimal squadron is defending the shipyards. Two Nebulon-B frigates screened by a trio of Corellian Corvettes are all the garrison we saw in orbit aside from a small number of fighters.
An additional frigate is currently undergoing repairs at the shipyard which appears to be as makeshift as the Rebellion itself."

He brings up a detailed assessment of the station.

"Whomever is in command there seems to have a thing for threes because this appears to be a trio of Baas-class frontier stations with additional girders tying them together and creating a section in the center where they can service capital ships. It looks like there's a skeleton crew aboard the combined station and a minimal garrison occupying the limited ground facilities."

[OracleofSilence]

"Thank you My Lady, Commander. If I may, before we begin, there are several matters of strategy, and alas, policy, that must still be decided upon before we arrive at Mustafar." Jen Arard steps slightly forward of his previous position, slightly behind and the the left of Halcoor. "Firstly, we must decide whether or not we attempt to destroy, or capture the Alliance elements that fail to escape. Secondly, and contingent of the first question, we must decide to what extent we will apply Imperial Law, as well as Naval regulations in dealing with any prisoners. While the entire Alliance complement present is de facto guilty of several capital crimes, the exigence of the moment may demand we take a softer hand: largely be recruiting from their ranks in order to maintain a full compliment."

Jen places opens a standard note-taking program on his datapad, allowing the action to serve as a brief break for though, before continuing. "Lastly, as we all know, we must consider the crew of our own ships. It will not be long before Sector Fleet Eriadu realizes that we have not only fallen out of order, but have broken ties with the current Imperial command structure. As such, we must either secure the loyalty of the crew in our endeavor, or we must find a way to replace them, however distasteful that prospect may be." Jen's normally opaque expression twists slightly at the thought, but the moment quickly passes.

"Of course, there are also tactical considerations to consider, but as we have a few hours yet, and those considerations will likely be informed by the first and third point raised, these ground rules should likely be established." Jen steps back, offering the floor once again to the various commanders. "And with that gentlemen, and with My Ladies permission, we may open the table to general discussion."

[RandomLunatic]

Veesha kept a sneer of contempt to herself as the mercenary captain stepped up to speak. Pirates. We don't need their scum. She wondered if Talia was aware of how many would-be kings had risen up on the backs of mercenaries-only to be just as quickly undone when the sellswords decided their fresh new demenses looked ripe for pillaging? She made a note to show her the statistics on that. They were eye-opening.

She almost smiled as Barrett vindicated her judgement. Instead, annoyance creased her face. "How many fighters, captain? And what types?"

After Jen spoke, she chimed in. "He's right. The rumor mill has been working overtime ever since we broke formation. The shield of OPSEC will only last us until the engagement. Sooner or later, we will have to sell this to the troops. And personally, I prefer sooner.

"As for enemy personnel, they already know the consequences for their actions are steep, and choose to do them anyway. I will be amazed if we get any defectors. And I doubt any would meet the minimum standards for Imperial service personnel.

"I see no reason to amend standard ROE-shoot to kill, capture for questioning if the opportunity presents itself."

[RivlisDrake]

"Our scout flights only saw a single squadron of twelve X-wings and a flight of four B-wings along with a pair of ships I've never seen before," Barrett says, long experienced with the disdain of some clients. "But that means very little with so much potential hanger space available to hide additional craft, not to mention the Rebellion's preference for hyper-capable snubbies. The commitment of so many of their valuable capital ships implies their committed to the effort of holding Mustafar which makes the apparent lack of starfighters interesting."
He shrugs.
"If I might make a digestion, my people have a wealth of experience in boarding assaults. Our assault craft can would be ideal for spearheading any attempt to capture the shipyard."

[RandomLunatic]

Barrett had Veesha's full attention now. "Do you have sensor logs?" Or is that too much to hope for?

[RivlisDrake]

"Being a neutral ship, the Antelope was able to make a landing to trade with the local populace. Our passive sensor logs should have been made available to everyone, If not, here's another copy," Barrett ties his datapad into the holotable port and transfers the file to the internal memory so anyone can plug in a download it.

[RandomLunatic]

"Get copies to S-2 as soon as we adjourn. I want an analysis of this new craft 30 minutes before we revert," Veesha told Jen.

Then she addressed his suggestion. "Tempting, but those stations collectively house around 600 beings, outnumbering your crew about 10 to one. They would need backup, which is unfortunate because they lack both the equipment and training to properly coordinate with Stormtroopers. Rather than risk a friendly fire incident, I think their close-quarters talents are better used clearing one of the mines on the Moff's target list."

[Gunhaven]

Dekki frowned during the meeting. The small, furry xeno frowned most of the time though, with only the slightest twitch messing up the white skull motif adoring his black fur. The crew didn't seem too concerned with the Lurmen's decision or the fact that he was a non-human; probably because they were known for being decent doctors and this one in particular had worked his way up to the head of the Biological Support Services. Even the reason he frowned wasn't a secret. Despite being away from Mygeeto for roughly three decades he was still a fervent pacifist.

His voice was friendly and a touch too meek compared to everyone else present as he waited patiently to voice his concerns. "Must we use violence? Sure they're rebels but just last week Ste...one of the stormtroopers voiced concern about his brother having ran away because of what we've done in the past. I've been hearing it more and more since the death of the Emperor and I can't really blame them. Since we are already going our own path would it be unheard of for us to be civil in this war?"
He paused for a moment before he got up, straightened his imperial medic outfit, and walked over to the map. He pointed vaguely at the planet and said "We are entering from the other side of the planet, right? In that...two? hours we can at least offer the possibility of surrender. Then those that join us can help us when we inevitably take the planet and help organize it. Plus it would help ease some concern among the soldiers I think."

[OracleofSilence]

"As you say my Lady." In truth, Jen was already downloading the logs, and running a quick analysis himself, but there was a proper order to maintain. "Logs prepared and tagged urgent." Jen shifts back to the notetaking window of his datapad. "Additionally I can begin preparing a legalistic justification of our breakaway. There is some precedent in naval regulation, whcih I feel might be extensible, particularly with a Moff on board."

As Dekki speaks, Jen keeps his agreement concealed, dispassionately summarizing his suggestion for posterity before responding. "If I may add, my ladies, the record taking on defection is shoddy, but the best intelligence available indicates that a significant portion of the Alliance's command staff is made up of defected Navy officers, largely motivated by ideological concerns. As such, there is some room for negotiation, and indeed, long standing common law indicates that we should offer terms before engaging in battle." Keep the arguments logical. Captain Halcoor and Moff Vessa were likely in no mood to hear about the illegality and rebellious nature of their own actions, let alone for them to be compared to members of the Alliance.

[RandomLunatic]

Veesha regarded the diminutive doctor. Of all the beings in the room, Dekki was the one that kept her up late at night. Because she'd faithfully kept to her father's teachings to always stay one step ahead of the enemy, knowing what they'll do before they do it. But she could not divine what possible motive the alien pacifist had for choosing to work on a man-o'-war in the service of a government that treated non-Humans as second-class citizens.

And it drove her crazy.

"Again, the problem with that lies in the mentality that drives beings into open revolt. Asking a group that hates the Empire enough to take up arms against it if they'd like to help build a new one is almost certainly a waste of breath.

"It's also a waste of time. I believe a blitz assault is our best bet," Veesha added, hoping to shut down that asinine line of conversation.

"The frigates and corvettes are no threat to a Star Destroyer. However, the rebels have basing for almost two and a half wings of starfighters, against our single wing. TIEs are designed to be used with a three-to-one ratio in their favor. They will be annihilated if we allow the enemy enough time to muster in full force. And still leave enough to successfully take out a star destroyer.

"It's reasonable to assume most of their forces will be clustered near the station, since it's the most important installation in the system and the easiest to attack. So we need to jump in near it, close enough to make those opening salvos count. Destroying the Nebulon-Bs will also take out whatever fighters are in their hangers, possibly eliminating half a wing. And we may get lucky with an ion cannon strike on the stations themselves, and disrupt them enough to delay or prevent fighter launch. Our own fighters can take on whatever patrols are out, achieving local superiority and eliminating them while the remaining Rebel fighters scramble.

"And if we do well enough, we may be able to offer terms from a very strong negotiating position." That was a fake concession. The only terms Veesha intended to offer were "Surrender or die".

[Gunhaven]

The Lurmen's frown stuck even as he nodded solemnly. He waited a moment before he turned to Veesha and said "How much ion and stun weaponry do we have? Would it not be easier to capture disabled ships to add to our burgeoning fleet?" He paused for a few seconds and added "I doubt we have time to sneak people onto the ships or station and disable them while we open channels for communication. Unfortunately neither are in my area of expertise, which is why I ask you more experienced fellows."
He waddled slightly, keeping himself from rolling just barely, toward the map and said "What if we set ourselves apart from the old Empire? Now could be a good time to look at some of those ideological concerns that were mentioned. I mean is there any real reason we couldn't accept some xeno pilot if they met the standards of the other patients? Or take a moment to listen to what the former defector has to say about why they left in the first place."

[RandomLunatic]

"No, it's harder. Much harder. Our secondary turbolaser battery can tear through a frigate in one salvo. The ion cannons will need up to a half-dozen salvos to cause total system shutdown. Then there's the troops we will have to expend to capture it, and the crew we don't even have to man it.

"At some point, we will have to revisit some of the old regime's policies. After all, they failed. There's some I'd personally love to airlock. But there's a time and place for everything.

"This is not that time. If we don't secure the system, everything we have worked for is for nothing. Do not overcomplicate this until it fails."

[robnar]

C4-LBN interjects, in his smooth but forceful tone (aided by the fact that he's wired into the room's acoustic system).

As a reminder, everyone in this room has other duties to prepare for movement, and we cannot keep the existence of this group concealed from the crew if we extend far out of our allotted time.

The group decided at the previous council that this was the time to act, and Mustafar the place. Moff Vesa has stated overall guidance, Admiral Halcoor has proposed a plan of action, and Captain Arard has added a recommendation to proffer terms of surrender.

Moff Vesa's overall guidance is:
(A) The destruction of rebel forces in system.
(B) Establishment of a support and political center at Mustafar.

The objectives in Admiral Halcoor's plan are stated as:
(1) Destroy the frigates before they can deploy their fighters.
(2) Destroy the system patrol craft.
(3) Capture the naval base.

Captain Arard's recommendation, slightly restated, is:
(4) Provide enemy forces a means of surrender.

Once we have agreed on objectives, we will decide while enroute how to phase and sequence those objectives, which elements to assign to which objectives, and which objective is the decisive point.

We must make a decision on a plan objectives in the next fifteen minutes, so please ensure all comments have a clearly stated recommendation. Are there any additional recommended objectives, or clarifications of the objectives proposed?

Forgive the interjection, but I want to keep the prelude on track to the first scene of the adventure, the battle for Mustafar. The purpose of this is to set up a procedure for how you players make decisions about the organization. Remember, the objective of this prelude scene is to get to "yes."

For efficiency's sake, I suggest you follow the string I'm pulling for how to do this for this first scenario, so we can get good at it and then move on to the fun part, which is taking Mustafar and figuring out what's next.

[robnar]

Your personal computers beep with the download of Barrett's detailed reconnaissance report.

It is a well-done and professional report, focusing on the rebel military capabilities in system.

1. The Rebel naval yard is composed of three old outer-rim Imperial supply depot stations (the Baas type station, from the 'message to spacers 5' web enhancement) gantried together and with extensive customized repair bays.

2. You estimate that there are about 1,000 crew among the stations and probably 12-24 small craft servicing the stations.

3. Last time you were there (3 days ago) your scouts saw six picket transports (YT-class) scouting the edges of Mustafar space. They are various, mostly obsolete versions of the YT-series. They are all emitting low power - you suspect that they are mostly there as sensors to detect exactly what you guys are about to do, and/or couriers to flit to other systems as needed.

4. There were 2 Nebulon-B frigates and 3 CR-70s in orbit, and another Nebulon-B under repairs. Your scouts did see a flight (4 fighters) of B-wing E/2s, two unknown fighters, and a squadron (12 fighters) of X-wings.

5. The main civilian population is in another space station that will eclipse 45 minutes after the drydock. That space station sits at the top of a space elevator. There is a downside settlement at the base of the space elevator, but you did not notice any substantial orbital defenses. The civilian station had two sealed docking bays that Barrett's men couldn't penetrate, containing possibly as many as 18 starfighters. You are not sure whether they would deploy to assist the rebels.


This is exactly what I gave RD to describe and summarize. Now you've all got it. Assume that all your characters have had enough time to think about it.

[OracleofSilence]

"Very well. I believe we have most of the guidance we need for now. If I may add, securing and protecting the civilian station should likely be high on our priorities. There will be time to determine if any of them have committed crimes deserving punishment, but for now, they are an invaluable resource, and one that will likely cooperate once the rebel presence is removed, at least so long as they are protected from indiscriminate reprisals. For members of the Alliance, things will obviously be more complicated. Once battle is joined, I still recommend we broadcast terms of surrender. Preventing their escape should of course be a first priority, as per your orders."

Jen completes his examination of the more detailed reports. "Retuning to the matter at hand, I believe we should come to some agreement on how we will address the crew. A few recommendations. 1) As we serve the currently present Moff Talia Vessa, we can argue that the Imperial Center has broken the proper line of succession. As such, command reverts to more local units, offering de facto authority to the Moff. This claim has some legal standing but would absolutely not stand up to close scrutiny, and does little to explain our goals. 2) At the other extreme, we can lay out our goals, then make a simple emotive argument to saw the crew t our side. The weaknesses of such an approach are obvious. 3) and most likely, we can construct some combination of these two approaches, under group agreement." Jen reopens the note taking function of his datapad, returning his attention to the group. "My Lady, Ma'am, are there any initial thoughts you wish to express on this matter?"

[BananaPhone]

Moff Talia Vesa


Talia reads the report with a small smirk crossing her face. In the grand scheme of things, Mustafar was a drop in the ocean. It possessed mineral enormity, yes, but the facilities to turn those materials into functional war-time material were either hastily put together or remnants of the Clone Wars.

No, it wasn't the physical assets of the planet that mattered so much - it was what it represented. A current hold-out for the Rebel cell in this region of space, its defeat and capture would send a clear message to the other systems that were flirting with the idea of supporting the rebellion, one that would halt any such thoughts of treason and give motion to allegiance to the new, local Imperial power.

In that capacity, Mustafar was worth more than a hundred ships.

Listening to what Jen had to say, Talia remained quiet as the other woman spoke. When free to do so, she addressed the question at hand.

"The Moffs are regional governors. The old Empire was built around the Emperor. Without him, its a mad grab for power at the centre of he web in the core systems. But controlling these regions was the sole purpose of our office, and its from that authority that all of this derives."

Standing up from her chair, Talia peered at the spherical, blue winking hologram of their region of space. Holding her thoughts for several seconds, she finally spoke once more.

"When the boat is sinking, people aren't wondering about the legal line of succession. They're just looking for the life-boats. I've seen it before. People need dramatic examples to rally around."

Arms folding over her abdomen, "I'll leave the plan of attack in your very capable hands," she looked back and forth between the officers, "but those shipyards and those area's with civilians - they're off limits. We can't risk either of them. If we charge in like a rancor and smash everything, we might as well give up and go home now. But we secure those yards and we've got some war resources. We leave those civilians unarmed and bring them under our protective wing, and that'll win more worlds for us than a dozen battles."

[RandomLunatic]

"So we're going to announce our split right off the bat?" Veesha asked in an attempt to clarify. It was a perfect politican's answer, lots of noise about the matter without actually committing herself to one position. But this wasn't a press conference.

[Gunhaven]

The Lurmen sighed quietly after Talia finished talking and gave a nod of support, submission, or at least acceptance. Dekki waddled back toward his position in the grand scheme of things and said more to himself "Injured and dead from the frigate. Minimum injuries or deaths from the ion weapons against the station. Civilians only involved if they make themselves involved..." Louder he asked "How many people are on the frigates? I'm trying to figure out how many people will have to be informed of deaths in the family." He pulled up the crew log for their own ship and started to go through the names, mumbling in his native tongue as he made sure to put a face with each one so he could help get through the unfortunate situation that was about to transpire.

[BananaPhone]

"So we're going to announce our split right off the bat?" Veesha asked in an attempt to clarify. It was a perfect politican's answer, lots of noise about the matter without actually committing herself to one position. But this wasn't a press conference.

Moff Talia Vesa

Talia straightened her shoulders as she addressed the other woman, her voice soft as if she was more amused by the upcoming events than concerned.

"No need to make waves. Not until we're in a boat big enough to ride them," she smirked.

"We'll wear the cloak of the Empire for now..."

[cybric]

Rol eyed the holographic display along with the rest of his co-conspirators.

To say what they were doing was risky would be an understatement but it was necessary in his eyes. The Republic had failed the people, the empire had failed the people. With the emperor dead there was no single person on playing field that could unite the different empirial factions.

Without the Emperors vision to guide the way the galaxy was back to groping blindly in the dark towards an unknown future.

Rol speaks with a smooth fluid cadence and a level tone. His background in the Emperors Inquisition having crafted him into a skilled orator when necessity called for it.

Agreed, the cloak of the empire will help us much, to begin with. If

Before we left I was unable to gain a full list of ISB assets on Mustafar however once we are in range and make ourselves known I intend to make contact with them. With any luck they will be able to fill in any gaps in the situation planet side that we may need.

This is not without risk though. They are agents, trained by the Empire to operate without a direct chain of command. They will be confused, rattled, and suspicious of this entire affair. Though I am confident that can be managed given the correct pushes.

I also agree that the shipyards are key to winning future battles. We have the 7th SpecNav Special Forces on board. They should have the expertise and skills to perform a raid on the shipyards and take control. My intention is to assume command and lead them in that raid.

As for how we conduct our attack. The Empire has conducted policy via strong shows of force and overwhelming power. I would doubt that surrender will come without such a showing. However if the first attack was to display such overwhelming power and strength as to deter further attack. Then only after would surrender be entertained in their minds I think.

That first battle must not only their bodies but also their hearts.

[BananaPhone]

Moff Talia Vesa


"Precisely; which is why the civilian wing of the rebellion will be given leniency in this engagement," Talia gesutred to the holographic display.

"Decisively defeating the anarchist forces with skill while preserving the civilian population; order and protection. Just what the citizens are looking for."

[RandomLunatic]

"Well said," Veesha said.

"That's why I propose an overwhelming strike. Instead of jumping in on the far side of the planet, we arrive here," she said, working the controls to highlight a location about [20 squares] from the station's projected position.

"Once the enemy capital ships are neutralized, ground forces can deploy." She tapped some more keys, and unit designators attached themselves to each of the targets on Talia's list. The 7th was assigned to the station. "Captain Barret, I want you to take the Antelope into the atmosphere with the landing forces for heavy SEAD duty. Anything that isn't in a civilian population center should be silenced with turbolasers.

"And captain, I'll be giving my pilots these orders too, but I want these new fighters left alone as much as possible. I want to capture at least one intact for analysis."

[Gunhaven]

Dekki gave a polite bow at the conclusion of the meeting before he literally rolled out once he was certain it was indeed done. He returned to the main medbay and what served as his office in one of the corners, tucked out of the way so it wouldn't be in the way of people doing work. He waited a moment before he checked what had transpired while he was in the meeting. Once satisfied that he wasn't immediately necessary he began the task of working out a message to those people who reported to him.
Of the 143 physicians, specialists, or stormsurgeons he only delayed those who had updated their status as being occupied; in addition he made sure to include Moff Vesa with the first mass message. Attention all personnel:

Steel yourselves for the coming battle. Violence has unfortunately been decided as the solution and that means our primary duty of maintaining the health of the crew will be even more important. Stormsurgeons, please report to your respective companies and insure you are properly stocked. Doctors Bailar, Dobrowolski, Linder, Sclafani, Mok, Sinoff, Naddeo, Chaichian, Shefte, Woodhead, O'brien, Wollstonecraft, Rickborn, Frohock, Groom, Gupta, Tanis, Bradford, Bolitho, Lawler, Rampichini, Wyatt, and Badaracco I hope your respective specialities won't be needed but please report to your typical medbay in preparation for the upcoming injured. Physicians and assistants please report to your respective specialist. I will remain in the central medbay unless I am needed elsewhere.

May we succeed in our task.
He made sure the eight physicians, two assistants, Gupta, Wyatt, and Bailar received the message before he began the task of prepping the medbay. Every few minutes he would send out the message as his staff completed their tasks, answering questions as they came up. Otherwise he tried to maintain his composure despite being deeply disappointed in the coming battle.

[RivlisDrake]

A sudden exchange takes Barrett and his second - in - command, one Captain Tagon, to a corner of the bridge for an emphatic conversation. After several moments, they return to the holo-table.
"My Lady," Barrett says, his voice carefully controlled. "I regret to inform you that I and my company will be unable to continue in your employ. A... deeply personal matter had arisen and I am activating the escape clause in our contract. The kill-fee will enter your account within the hour. Once again, it has been an honor to work with you and I wish you success. Per the non-competition clause of the contract, you have nothing to fear from our departure and the release of the Antelope into hyperspace should not change your calculations."

[OracleofSilence]

Jen completes his note takin as the meeting winds down, does a quick double check of notation and timestamps, applies the proper classification to both incriminating comments, and the operational secrets, then pushes the document to ship records. This conpleted, he forwards Commander Barnett's sensor logs to TACCOM and follows his flag officer from the meeting room. "Ma'am, are there any specific meetings you wish organized before we revert? Sensor logs have been sent as per your orders, and unless you have any specific requests otherwise, I'll send orders to have flight crews mustered an hour before we revert."

[RandomLunatic]

"Make it half an hour, when intel has finished their analysis. I want to see what the flyboys make of this new fighter.

"Schedule a meeting with the ground force commanders in an hour for assignments. Invite Inquisitor Kru too."

[robnar]

C4-LBN calls the meeting back to order for a conclusion and summary.

M'lady, Lords and Ladies, our time allocated for this meeting is nearing an end. It seems we have come to several decisions. My summary assessment of the group consensus is as follows:

First, the plan is to begin with an overwhelming threat to the rebel fleet and the military station, then capture the civilian station and ground settlement. The decisive point in this operation is the destruction of the rebel destroyers assembled around the station.

The Panthac itself, under the command of Admiral Halcoor, is the main effort for this, with the task of destroying the rebel destroyers.

7th SPECNAV, under the command of Inquisitor Kru, is a supporting effort for this, with operational control of both landing craft for transportation. Their task is to board and secure the military station.

We have not determined task and purpose for the stormtrooper regiments and the TIE squadrons.

I recommend using one squadron of TIEs to screen the Panthac and one squadron to escort the 7th SPECNAV. The two squadrons of TIE interceptors should act as a reserve to support TIEs that are engaged by rebel fighters. One squadron of basic TIEs and the TIE bombers will task organize into mixed fighter-bomber flights to destroy the picket ships around the planet.

I recommend that the stormtrooper regiments prepare to capture the civilian station and ground settlement once local space control has been achieved.

Unless otherwise directed, I will prepare a warning order for issue to the TIE Wing and Stormtrooper Legion staffs so that they can begin planning and preparation.

Until then, the Panthac is prepared to proceed on order.

[Gunhaven]

Dekki sighed at the discussion but maintained his silence, waiting until he was sure he had the floor once more. Finally he quietly cleared his throat and said "The stormsurgeons will do their best, I will inform them to meet with their regiments at the same time the message is sent for the troops to mobilize. Meanwhile the other staff and I will do our best to maintain the health of the crew during the battle. However I do have a request, my lady. I would like to accompany the stormtroopers restoring order to the civilian station and some of my fellow doctors to join me. I feel it would be best to offer aid once all this unfortunate business is done with."
He was thankful his default expression was one of mild disappointment and that it made hiding the fact that he would vastly prefer no one die. He partially considered the possibility of droids so that he wouldn't have to worry about the crew dying on him but knew that wasn't really his area of expertise. Otherwise he appeared to be focused on one spot within the meeting room, safely diverting his gaze from his fellow officers as he awaited confirmation or denial.

[BananaPhone]

Moff Talia


The Moff listened to the droid with a distant dispassion as it rolled out the general frame-work for the upcoming event. Interested though she was in every prong of their assault, the Dark Jedi found her thoughts wandering into the primordial and instinctual; her soul resonating with the Force as a palpable atmosphere of fear and excitement slowly galvanised around the hearts and minds of those on board the Panthac. Parastical though it may be, Talia drew strength from this stew of emotions, this well who's depth was measured only by the power it offered to those who knew how to exploit it.

"You are free to do so," she abruptly answered Dekki's question, turning her eyes to look over him as she did so.

"I will be accompanying the troopers in securing the naval station. You will be safe."

Fortunately, most of the military decisions had already been made for the up-coming attack on the rebel cell. All that was left was for her to capitalise upon the propaganda potential this course of action would yield, as the citizens of the galaxy were desperate for strong, decisive leadership. As such, Talia had little else to offer the plan of the assault, but rather played over in her head the exploitation of its fruits.