Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

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Pryngles
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Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

OOC: Previous thread.

Posted by Corsos...

Dreskul looked around the room at everyone that had gathered there. Delth had brought Kalja and her group of companions, and Dreskul's entire senior officer corps and intelligence analysts were in attendance as well. Dreskul had his entire team of intelligence analysts working on Sivter's latest message for hours, and his officers on the possible responses. The girl made a good point, and it was in fact one of the possible strategic responses that were discussed.

"To evacuate Alaskan, if its even possible to mobilize an operation of that size in so little time, was one plausible scenario." Dreskul said. "However, Sivter's most likely response would be to simply not arrive, and strike elsewhere at a time of his choosing. That would make it much less likely we could anticipate his attack and stop it. We have a better chance of saving the people of Alaskan than we whatever his alternate target would be."

"I can't believe you are just going to let him destroy that planet." Isis said.

"We're not going to do that either." Dreskul said. "We've run through a number of scenarios. The first is interdiction. We can interdict all the hyperspace routes leading to Alaskan, and meet Sivter on our terms at a location of our choosing. Unfortunately, that way we have to spread our forces over a number of different locations."

"If he comes with the type of force he has promised, then whatever task force interdicts the ships will be destroyed." Delth said. "The only hope would be to hold off Sivter until reinforcements could arrive."

Dreskul shook his head. "Alaskan has too many hyperspace routes. There's no way enough reinforcements would arrive on time. However, interdiction is part of our plan. We need Sivter to arrive at Alaskan with whatever resources he has committed to this operation. We'll send a large Imperial battle group to guard the planet, and make it known that Kalja is with it."

"He won't be able to resist it." Delth said. "And the amassed Imperial fleet will be enough of a threat to think that's our legitimate defense."

"There will be a public spat, a parting of the ways between the New Republic and Galactic Empire. Everyone in the two organizations will believe the two are on the verge of war." Dreskul said. "But this is where you come in Kalja. You will have to personally meet with Prime Minister Organa Solo and make a deal. Delth will attend with the granted power of Grand Admiral Thrawn to negotiate a secret deal. The New Republic fleet will arrive shortly after Sivter, with Imperial Interdictors dispersed among them, trapping Sivter between the planet's gravity well and our own.""

"That's when we need to do what we do." Delth looked at Kalja. "Everyone does. Our fleets need to destroy his navy, and we need to kill Sivter. This is our chance."

"You're still using the planet as bait!" Isis said.

"We are." Dreskul said. "It's a strategic risk, but one that's unavoidable if we want the opportunity to destroy the Cult for good."

"And we will." Delth said. "Failure is not an option."

Posted by Pryde2000

Isis stared at him incredulously, her mouth agape, a retort on the verge of exploding from her lips. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. They were going to dangle those people out there in front of Sivter and hope they win. All at once she pounded her fists onto the table then turned and left the room. Clara quickly hurried after her, partly out of concern and partly because she was worried her sister might do something stupid again.

"Pompous Imperial bastard," she spat as Clara caught up with her, "It's unforgivable, using those people as bait. Only an Imperial could come up with a plan like that!"
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

“I don’t like it either,” Clara agreed with Isis. “In fact I hate it to the core. I hate the idea of losing a single innocent life, but as much as it sickens me to admit it, I think the Imperials have a point. War doesn’t always let you take the high ground. You must remember that Sivter used them as bait first.”

Isis didn’t look convinced, and Clara couldn’t blame her. “Okay, look at it this way. How many people would actually want to leave Alsakan? How many people there do you think take Sivter’s threat seriously? I have a hard time believing it myself and I’ve seen what he’s capable of. You know better than me how snooty Core Worlders can be and Alsakan is almost ground zero for that kind of behavior. I bet you there’s a lot of powerful people there who would refuse to go on principle alone.”

Clara gestured back to the briefing room. “At least hear everybody out before you storm off.”

***

"If we evacuate that planet, Sivter will assault another without warning or indication, and we will have no chance of stopping him." Dreskul said, keeping his calm. "At Alaskan, we have a chance, and a damn good one if we do this right."

“Actually, I think he would give us plenty of warning of where he would strike next if we removed Alsakan as a viable target for him,” Kalja replied to Dreskul. “His plan depends on us looking weak, so he would give us plenty of chances to prove it. He would still destroy Alsakan first to keep his word, whether there were people there or not.”

“But assuming we had the resources and manpower to transplant Alsakan’s trillion people to another world in only a week’s time, that still leaves the problem of where those people will go. It’s the population of five Alderaans combined. What world can support that? What government can support that many refugees? And if we did that for every world he targeted, we would quickly be overwhelmed trying to help them all. He might even go to where we place the refugees and kill them there just to prove a point.” She sighed. “He didn’t choose Alsakan by accident. I can assure you that whatever planet he would pick next would be just as complicated for us.”

Kalja looked pained. “I don’t like the thought of putting any one of them in harm’s way, but the reality of it is that there’s not much we can do for them. Sivter himself gave a week for people to leave before he arrives. Everyone has been given fair warning and that’s more than we could have expected. We should assist those who want to leave and can’t, but we shouldn’t make it our primary focus. The best thing we can do for the people of Alsakan is to defeat whatever Sivter brings with him and stop him once and for all.”
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

"I'd rather not. Just fill me in when you get back to the ship," Isis answered and she quickened her pace to get away from Clara.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

"Alright, so getting back on track the plan is then to board Sivter's ship," Micaiah asked and all eyes turned to her. Kalja nodded at her in response and the assassin tilted her head to one side and raised an eyebrow. "How, exactly?"

"I have a suggestion for that," Mai blurted out suddenly, "but it's a bit of a long shot."

Tav looked at her curiously. "How long?"

"Well, that depends on you, Ace," she answered simply, "You're the best pilot we have and the only one qualified to try this."

Tav had a sinking feeling in his gut that what she was about to say would be insanely difficult. "Go on."

"It's simple, we aim the ship straight at the Edict then power down everything except for our life support and let our inertia carry us towards them. If we're lucky they'll just read us as a big piece of space debris and leave us be. Then we can power up the ship when we're right on top of them and get inside. If everything goes well it'll be a piece of cake. Then all we have to do is get me to their auxiliary bridge and I can power down their weapons and shields."

Micaiah looked at her dubiously. "You can disable their shields?"

"Not exactly," Mai explained, "but I can lock them out of the system long enough for the Ardin to disable their hyperdrive."
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by corsos »

Khal was already smirking, when he saw Delth look in his direction. Both men found the declaration of pilot skills was made with such surety. But this was not the time or place to have such an argument. After all, Khal flew TIE fighters, not transports.

"There will be far more powerful ships than the Ardin to accomplish that." Dreskul said.

"Sivter's ship will be filled with Sith and who knows what else. More importantly, if Kalja is with us, he will know we're coming." Delth added. "They have too strong a connection to hide from one another when in such close proximity. What could make this work is a second ship. Kalja, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Sivter welcome your presence on his ship? It would give him one last opportunity to either turn you, or destroy you for good. If Kalja and I land on one ship, and head to confront Sivter, it would provide some measure of distraction for a second team to disable to the ship in some way."
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

“Things may have changed, but I’m pretty sure that Sivter still wants to keep me as far away from him as possible,” Kalja answered. “If he saw me on a ship apparently floating dead in space, I have a feeling that he’d order it destroyed without a second’s hesitation.”

She looked at Mai. “I also have some doubts that you could slice Sivter’s encryptions in time. I know you’re good, but so is Sivter. I’ve never known him to have trouble breaking into any kind of system. Have you ever tried to slice one of his encryptions before?”
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

"Doesn't mean I can't," she said defensively, "No one is so good that they're infallible. I'll find a way to break his encryption, you just have to keep his cronies off of me."
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

“Can you subvert the systems of an entire Star Destroyer?” Kalja asked. “Can you crack open the Jedi Archives? Can you slice into a secured holonet datafeed like GNN’s? Can you do any one of these things in a matter of minutes, if not less? Sivter has. That’s who you’re up against, Mai.”

Kalja shook her head. “I don’t want to discourage you, but overconfidence will be our downfall. I’d be worried about this plan even if we had Garrett here to do the slicing.” She paused. “I assume you know slicer circles better than I do. Garrett Granth helped us out against GAIT, so I know he is very skilled. How good is he compared to other slicers? Do you think you’re at his level?”
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

"Garret Granth is a hot shot show off," Mai answered, crossing her arms over her chest in an indignant manner, "I've cracked one of his encryptions already and it wasn't that hard." Though, it did take me a few days, she thought to herself, not feeling a need to fill the Jedi in on that part.

"Besides, anyone with a decent board can crack into GNN's network, their whole system is a joke. And somebody here wouldn't let me anywhere near the Jedi Archives," she glared at Micaiah who pretended not to notice. "I'm not even going to comment on that first one," she finished, but mostly because she didn't want to tip them off to the fact that she'd already done some poking around in the Ardin's computer banks.

"And who the hell cares if I'm being over confident or not? You never know until you try, right? It's not like you have a better idea for disabling that ship."
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

I care, Mai,” Kalja said, stressing the point. “Caitlyn got overconfident too. Now she’s in Sivter’s hands and probably being subjected to things I don’t even want to think about. I’m not going to let anyone else make that mistake. Not you; not anyone.”

She leaned back in her chair. “I admit that I don’t have a better idea about how to get onboard his ship, but we have some time yet to come up with ideas. Let’s consider yours just one possible option.”
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

"But I--," Mai never got to finish that sentence before Micaiah reached out and pulled her back into her seat by the arm. "Hey, ow!" She whined and rubbing her arm with her other hand she grumbled under her breath, "Fine, don't nobody listen to the reformed criminal..."
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by corsos »

"If Sivter is going to be obsessed with your destruction, that's something we'll have to use to our advantage." Dreskul said. "If he is focusing his mind and resources on catching you, Kalja, it might allow a window for another team to get on the ship."

Delth didn't like where Dreskul was going with this, but he knew what he was going to say. He would beat the Admiral to the punch, since it would be more easily accepted coming from him. "Sivter's defenses are going to be impressive, even if we don't know the details of them. In order to even get onboard the ship, we'll have to be creative. Kalja, if you allow Sivter to know where your presence is, he will focus on you. It should give Tav a window to drift his freighter onto Sivter's command ship."

"You're forgetting something. There will be shields of some kind preventing objects from simply floating into the hangar, they'll need to be removed." Khal said. "Ghost and Plague Squadron can take care of that but it will have to be timed extremely well. We can drop their defenses around their hangar bay for a short time, and it has to be right before the drifting ship will enter the hangar."

"Once inside," Delth said, "we can deactivate the controls to the hangar and hold off Sivter's men long enough to let Kalja and whomever else we want to land. I'd want to be part of the initial landing party. The hangar must be secured quickly to get Kalja onboard." Delth looked at Khal. "One problem, I wanted the Ghosts to be escorting and protecting Kalja. Sivter will send everything he has after her."

"I don't know boss, but we can't do both." Khal said.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

The door suddenly opened to allow a red haired woman in a black Imperial-style uniform that lacked insignia to enter. “With all respect to Ms. Leidias’ skills and power, expecting her to make it to Sivter alive while she’s on that ship is a fool’s hope. Every member of the Cult of Shadow is a Forcer. Sheer numbers will defeat her, to say nothing of the actual powerhouses we believe to be onboard.”

“Who are you?!” Dreskul demanded.

The woman saluted crisply. “Kya Solra, sir. I’m from Oremin. Kasr is busy discussing strategy with Grand Admiral Thrawn, so I was sent to inform you of what we’ve uncovered.”

That seemed to mollify Dreskul a bit and Kalja took the opportunity to speak up. “What can you tell us, Kya?”

Kya grinned and moved over to a display screen. She took out a datachit and plugged it in, activating a holo image in the middle of the table. “This is the Edict of Darkness, the ship that Sivter used in his battle at Necroa Prime and that we expect to arrive at Alsakan. After some digging, Oremin was able to discover that it is a Severus-class Command Ship. If you’ve never heard of the design before, don’t worry. These ships were prototypes developed within the Cylon Imperium, but through various reasons, none of them ever saw mainline combat.”

“How were you able to get footage of the Battle of Necroa Prime?” Kalja asked her. “I wasn’t aware the Empire took part in that battle.”

“They didn’t,” Kya confirmed for her. “I’m sure I don’t know how exactly Oremin was able to acquire it, but suffice it to say that we make it our business to keep close tabs on all Forcer groups.”

If that bothered Kalja, she didn’t show it. “Go on then.”

Kya nodded. “We thought we had accounted for all of the prototypes, but it appears as though Sivter found one we didn’t know about. Anyway, an even lesser-known fact is that Kuat Systems Engineering drafted up the initial designs for these ships for the Imperium. Oremin was able to acquire copies of those blueprints from KSE which I’ve been authorized to make available to you, though I should mention that we believe Sivter’s ship to be a non-standard version of the Severus-class.”
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

Mai's eyes brightened at the mention of blueprints. Blueprints for a ship that wasn't even in production, no less. She was already thinking of the possibilities, just imagine how much these blueprints would be worth to the right person. Her left pinky started to twitch in eager anticipation, her mind racing through possible scenarios of things she could say or do to acquire a copy of these prints. Then out of the corner of her eye she became vaguely aware that someone was glaring at her and when she turned to look she saw Micaiah's eyes boring directly into her hers.

"What? I haven't said anything yet," she complained.

"And it better stay that way," Micaiah whispered back, her tone somehow carrying a note of finality to it.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Nivest »

Cerin squeezed his eyes shut and tried to relax against the cold, metal bulkhead. He'd spent almost the entire journey reading the material given him on basic Imperial protocols. There hadn’t been much else to do, as the cramped confines of the shuttle offered nothing in the way of amusement. Fortunately, he was much more accustomed to long periods of study than other humans. Among his people, it was common for males to begin an intense educational regimen at an early age. Complicated as they were, the guidelines he was required to memorize for Imperial service were light reading compared to a tradition and legal arguments stretching back over millenia.

Yet, despite his upbringing, his two meter frame still needed to stretch, and his ears welcomed the announcement from the cockpit that they were approaching the Ardin. More anticipated than the opportunity to stretch his cramped muscles, however, was the chance to discover what he was doing here. As a recent recruit to Imperial Intelligence, he should have been assigned to some academy for more training after basic. Instead, he had been directly given a station, and from what he observed from peoples' reactions, a very prestigious one at that. Cerin knew that however high his results might have been, this wasn't normal. He didn't hold the illusion that he'd immediately fill any critical role, but this was still either a complete mistake, or a sign that the Empire's situation was more desperate than portrayed in the media.

The cessation of the engines' steady rumble told him that they were close. Having never docked to a larger ship in space, he kept his eyes closed in order to focus the only senses available to him, touch and hearing. By whatever means they were now approaching the Ardin, it was very smooth. He ruled out repulsorlifts, as they wouldn't function in space, and if they were maneuvering thrusters, they were small enough that he couldn't feel or hear them. An odd sucking noise, followed by a cacophony of sounds that washed over the hull, told him that they had entered the atmosphere of the docking bay.

After he and the other passengers disembarked, a MSE droid zipped up to him and waited expectantly. His reading had prepared for this, and he inserted the ID cylinder in his hand into the droid's data socket.

"Ensign Cerin Plone. Ordered to proceed to quarters and wait further instructions."

Cerin retrieved his cylinder and followed the tiny, black box of droid as it navigated the bustle of the hangar. His quarters were located a reasonable distance within the ship, and suiting his rank, were neither spacious nor solely his. Out of three beds, only the top portion of the bunk was available. A more experienced officer on the shuttle had told him what to expect, and he lifted the mattress and transferred his few possessions to his rack. After he cleaned up in the fresher and changed into the appropriate uniform, he accessed the terminal at the room's solitary desk to learn what he could about the Ardin while he waited.

OOC: Corsos, I’ll let you decide how you want to go about integrating my character into the story.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by corsos »

ooc ill get to you after the meeting Nivest. Hal you already seem to have something in mind here, so feel free to take it from here, at least from my perspective.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

“What makes you think the Edict is non-standard?” Tav asked. “Have you managed to place agents within the Cult of Shadow?”

Kya seemed to hesitate for just a moment. “I’ve not been told of any if we have, but I understand that trying to infiltrate the cult has proven to be exceedingly difficult. To answer your first question, we don’t have any hard data to say for sure that the Edict is non-standard, but it is a sensible assumption considering what we know of Sivter.”

“He always has a trick up his sleeve, as my father likes to say,” Kalja spoke up with a nod.

“Exactly,” Kya smiled, but the smile quickly lost all humor. “To make matters worse, the Severus-class are designed to be ship killers. The specs we have on them would let one chew through your typical Star Destroyer as if it was nothing. Combine that with an all Forcer crew and a commander that we suspect can use Battle Meditation and it puts our side at a definite disadvantage. Sivter also has the Necromonus, which only makes things worse.”

“What is this Necromonus?” Dreskul asked. “Is this the ultimate weapon he plans to use on Alsakan?”

“Our agents are looking for more information on it,” Kya answered him. “What we know so far is what we saw on Necroa Prime. It appears to be able to change living beings into twisted monstrosities through the Force. We don’t know the exact range, but it falls easily within standard firing distances. Since it’s Force-based, ysalamiri should be able to negate the effect, but it’s doubtful we could gather enough in time to cover a combined Imperial/Republic armada.”

“I think a barrier could work,” Kalja suggested. “If enough Jedi work together, we should be able to project a barrier through the Force that would be large enough to repel the effects of the Necromonus and cover the fleet.”

“Would this barrier stop the effects of Battle Meditation as well?” Kya asked.

“Possibly, but I don’t know for sure,” she conceded. “Battle Meditation is much more subtle than what the Necromonus would do. It’s possible that could slip through the barrier. This is all theoretical. I know how to create such a barrier, but I’ve never attempted to block either of these powers before.”

“You’re needed for Sivter,” Delth reminded her. “Does anyone else know how to create these barriers?”

Kalja was thoughtful. “I’m sure there are others. Faye has a lot of experience with barriers. She might be a good one to lead the other Jedi. I’ll see about getting in contact with her and the Jedi after this meeting.”

“I hate to be the one to bring people down, but if Sivter is half as smart as everybody claims, wouldn’t he take a barrier into account?” Tav asked. “Do you think he can take down whatever will be waiting for him at Alsakan with just his one ship and some Battle Meditation?”

“Not even remotely,” Dreskul assured them. “If we can nullify the Necromonus, we can take down his ship. Battle Meditation will be a factor, but not enough to give Sivter victory in that scenario.”

“While it’s important to remove the Necromonus as a threat, I don’t believe he’s relying on it for victory,” Kalja argued. “He said he would wipe the planet clean of all life, not alter the life already there.”

“Which brings us back full circle since we don’t know what else he has in the works either,” Kya agreed reluctantly. “Oremin should be able to provide Force Troopers or Type IV Dark Troopers to protect the bridge crews from the effect of Battle Meditation. Both units are equipped with ysalamiri. A boarding operation of Sivter’s ship would be ill-advised until after it has sustained significant damage, but Kasr has informed me that if we find a way in, he’ll send every Force Trooper and Type IV he can spare to assist in taking down Sivter.”
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

OOC: I dunno if there's anything I can really add to this right now. I mean, none of my characters are tactical geniuses, or anything. :P Oh, by the way Clara hasn't responded to Isis yet.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by corsos »

ooc where are we going with this guys?
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

Mai suddenly raised her hand. "Question," she blurted out and all eyes turned to her. She resisted the urge to gulp nervously with everyone in the room staring at her and proceeded to ask her question. "How do we know that Sivter is only bringing one ship?"

"Because that is all he has," Dreskul answered her.

Mai shook her head. "No, I know that I just... Don't you think it's a little stupid? He announces where he's going to attack and then brings only one ship? Even if he's got some kind of super weapon there's no way he'd last long with a fleet of ships arrayed against him. He'd almost have to be bringing more than one, wouldn't he? Or maybe he's not bringing a ship at all, maybe he's already there and we'd never know until after his attack."
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

“What we do know is that there is no indication that Sivter has a fleet to call upon other than the kind of ragtag assortment of ships he used to attack Onderon,” Kya said to Mai. “Oremin has been searching extensively for any kind of lead that might help us locate Arcanix. This includes watching supply lines. It would be very difficult for an independent operator like Sivter to have a fleet of the size he’d need to reduce Alsakan to rubble without some trace of it showing up.”

“Fleets need fuel, they need crews, they need armaments, supplies… they need the raw materials and infrastructure to be built in the first place. That’s not something that is easily hidden, not for the kind of fleet Sivter would need,” she explained in further detail. “Every indication is that the Cult of Shadow is not structured that way. Having large fleets doesn’t fit with their established modus operandi of striking from the shadows.”

***

“You don’t have to keep following me, Clara,” Isis said, a bit disgruntled that her friend hadn’t returned to the briefing.

“Yeah, sure,” Clara replied, eyes closed, but with a grin as she leaned back against the couch in the Final Shot’s lounge. It was pretty clear she had no intention of going anywhere unless Isis did.

“I’m not going to try to steal another ship!” Isis protested.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Clara conceded, “but I’m not about to let you get the idea in your head about giving it another try. No one knows you better in this galaxy than me, Sis.”

Isis crossed her arms over her chest with a sigh before she suddenly got a mischievous grin and looked back at Clara. “Oh yeah? Well, I can say the same thing about you.”

Clara opened one eye. “What of it?”

Isis’s grin got even wider with the utterance of a single word. “Tav.”

Clara had both eyes open now. “What about him?”

“Don’t think you can kid me, sister,” Isis said to her. “I know how you feel about him and as usual you’re moving at the speed of a Hutt going after a guy. It would serve you right if I got to him before you did.”

Clara looked away self-consciously. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I can’t just jump right into things when it comes to that kind of stuff. I have to know for sure if they’re the one for me first.”

“You know he is, I’ve seen it in your eyes, but you’re afraid to get closer.”

Clara slowly sat up and felt a wave of anger run through her. “You need to be quiet now.”

Isis didn’t back down. “You could have any man you want, but you’re afraid they’ll all end up like Tolaris, aren’t you?”

“I’m not going to warn you again!”

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Isis pushed. “You haven’t had any real kind of relationship since the academy!

Clara suddenly leaped forward and tackled Isis to the ground, raising her fist to strike, but she restrained herself from following through. For now. “I said shut up!”

“Hitting me isn’t going to change facts,” Isis taunted. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Clara struggled with an internal conflict before sighing, releasing her grip on Isis, and standing back up. “You’re wrong, Sis. There was someone else after Tolaris. It was during my days in SpecForce, but… he’s dead too.”
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

"So what about the other thing," Mai asked her, "What if he's on Alsakan right now doing the same thing he did on Vorzyd V except, um... Worse, somehow," she added sheepishly. "Do we have a plan to counter that?"

**********

"All the more reason you should tell him how you feel today, Clara," Isis persisted, "Just look at where we are! Fighting the Cult of Shadow on top of dealing with assassins and some enigmatic secret organization that's controlling my dad. Tav could die tomorrow and you'd be left with nothing but the regret of never having told him how you feel."

"Easy for you to say, Sis, you've never lost anyone."

Isis' expression hardened at that remark. "I cared about Tolaris too, you know. Perhaps more than I should, he was like a brother to me."

"He was more to me," Clara snapped as if that made any difference at all.

Isis sighed then laid her head back, staring up at the ceiling. "We live dangerous lives, Clara, and things aren't going to get any better any time soon. That is why we should cherish the time that we have right now. If you let yourself go through life afraid to get close to anyone for fear of losing them then you're just going to miss out on all the things that really matter."
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

“I don’t know if I can go through that again,” Clara admitted. “It nearly killed me with Tolaris and it didn’t get any easier when Sol died either. Ace is good, but he’s not on par with either of them when it comes to combat prowess. I can’t help thinking that as soon as I show any interest, he’s going to end up dying like they did.”

Clara’s shoulders slumped. “When it comes to men I care about, I’m the harbinger of death, Sis.”

***

“What can we do?” Tav agreed pointedly, “but… I don’t think we need to worry about that scenario. Alsakan has a huge population, way bigger than Vorzyd V. I have to wonder if he has enough people to recreate what he did there on Alsakan.”

“I think it is moot anyway,” Kalja chimed up. “He plans to remove all traces of life. With Sivter that should be taken literally. He means to the smallest microbe. Riots won’t accomplish that.”
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

"Well, that's one way to look at it," Isis chided her, idly checking her nails as she spoke. "Or you can stop beating yourself up over something that's not your fault."

She pulled herself up into a sitting position and leaned her back against the couch. "Look, I may not be the smartest person in the galaxy when it comes to love but I do know that bottling everything up inside doesn't solve anything. You'll end up tormenting yourself for years over this because let's face it, as long as you and Tav are together do you really think your feelings for him are ever going to change?"

Clara didn't answer that so Isis continued. "It's not going to get any better, either. Every time he looks at another woman, every time he looks at me it's going to eat you up inside. So don't you think it would be better to be with him now while you can then to watch him spend the rest of his life with someone else? Isn't that what Tolaris and Sol would want for you?"

"Besides," she added as she pulled herself up to her feet and threw her arm around Clara, "Ace isn't going anywhere as long as I'm around, you can count on that. So why don't we get some of that cheap beer of yours and play a game of sabacc? I'm rich in disposable creds that you can win," she said with a wink.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

"So what exactly would it take, then," Mai asked curiously, "A Death Star super laser? Does he have one of those?"
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

“There’s no indication he has one of those,” Kya answered.

“Is there any indication he has anything that would let him destroy Alsakan?” Tav asked.

Kya frowned. “Not to my knowledge, no. If Sivter has anything on the magnitude that we’re talking about, he’s doing an impossibly good job of hiding it with the resources we suspect the cult has access to. If this were anybody else, we’d have assumed it was a lie, or a trick of some kind, but we can’t make that assumption with Sivter. The best Oremin can come with is that it’s a biological agent of some kind, since it would require far fewer resources than a fleet or a Death Star to create and use, but we have nothing to back that up. It’s all guesswork right now.”

“I assume Reng already has Oremin searching the planet for cult activity?” Kalja asked.

Kya seemed briefly put off by Kalja’s casual use of Kasr’s first name, but recovered so quickly that it was almost unnoticeable. “Yes, we’re combing Alsakan as we speak for any signs of trouble, but with a population so large, there is admittedly a chance we may miss something.” She looked at Dreskul. “Kasr would recommend the placement of more security teams on the planet and possibly even instituting martial law there until the crisis has passed.”

***

Final Shot

“That’s because you wouldn’t know the value of a credit if your life depended on it,” Clara answered Isis wryly. “Spoiled rich girl.”

“Farmer’s daughter,” Isis shot back automatically as she went to a nearby storage drawer and pulled out a pack of sabacc cards. Clara wasn’t sure she wanted to know why Isis knew immediately where inside the ship to find them.

Clara sat down at the table in the lounge. “You know, there is another problem for me and Tav…"

"Tav and I," Isis said automatically. Years of propriety had drilled it into her.

"What?"

When Isis realized what she had done her cheeks flushed and she averted her eyes. "Nothing."

Clara just stared at her then shook her head. "Anyway, I’m still technically contracted to guard him. It wouldn’t be very professional of me to start a relationship with him right now.”

Isis let out a derisive little laugh as she started shuffling the cards. “You’re looking for excuses again. Who cares if it’s professional or not? Do you think he’d care?”

“He’s a guy,” Clara answered with a smirk. “Of course he wouldn’t. I would care though. I take pride in how I do my job.”

Isis rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible sometimes, Clara.”

“Yeah, yeah, it takes one to know one,” she answered. “Just deal the cards.”
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

IC: Mai's hand shot up once again. "If we're planning on leaving I don't suppose I could make a request," she said, "I left--something with an associate of mine at a safe house here on Chandrilla. I, uh... Have to go pick it up."

When she saw the look on Dreskul's face she quickly cut him off before he had a chance to speak. "You can send an escort with me if you want. I assure you the thing I have to pick up is entirely... Well, mostly harmless."

Jeryn's going to kill me for not coming back sooner...

OOC: Hope you don't mind, Halo, I edited in a small part for Isis into your post. Seemed kind of silly to write a whole separate post just for that and you pretty much wrapped up that scene quite nicely. :P
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

OOC: Fine with me, Pryde. I might also point out that this is the first time Clara's called Tav by his actual name. :mrgreen:

It looks like Dreskul is up, Corsos.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Nivest »

OOC: I'm posting this as a test of my Kindle's browser and not as subtle hint to move this along so my character can participate. ;)
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by corsos »

OOC I'll get you guys a post as soon as I can... been very busy...
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by corsos »

The meeting broke up and the Insidious was on its way to Alaskan. Dreskul sat in his office, with Delth and Khal Arunsun sitting across from him.

"I don't like this. We have nothing."

"Less than that." Khal said. "Seems to me we can't even trust any intelligence we think might be real."

"We'll have to read and react." Delth said. "There's no other way. Maybe we should think about evacuating the planet, at least help anyone that wants to leave. Sivter likes to strike, and then fade away into the shadows. We need to force a confrontation, even if that means losses. He doesn't want a fight, he only wants a massacre."

"Which is what makes me nervous. Sivter never allows himself to be vulnerable, which makes this warning about Alaskan all the more bizarre." Dreskul said. "He doesn't think he can lose, and so far his track record has been quite strong."

"It sounds like you two are giving up. C'mon now, we stopped the Xen Chi and GAIT, someone with far more power than this Sivter." Khal said. "Maybe this is the type of mind game Sivter is trying to play, and its working. Your minds are twisted in knots."

"We have to summon as much of the Imperial fleet as we can, and Thrawn needs to talk to the New Republic." Delth said. "We can't make this easy."

"Admiral Rosion's Principality would look nice at the front of our defense force. It's a shame it's still in dry dock." Dreskul said. "I'll send whatever other ships Thrawn can spare and spread them with gravity technology on the hyperspace routes leading from Alaska."

"We need some ships with us as well. Even if Sivter shows up with only one ship, we need overwhelming force to face him." Delth said. "If you can just find a way to get me on his ship, I'll finish him."

"There's the swagger I'm used to seeing. It's a shame none of these Sith Lord types never get into fighters. I'd love a shot at him."

The buzzer indicating someone was outside Dreskul's door silenced all three men. The Admiral touched the intercom on his desk. "Who is it?"

"A new recruit sent over by Command. An ensign Plone. His orders say he is being assigned as Commander Ardin's attache to Imperial Intelligence. He doesn't seem to know why he's here" His aide's voice came back.

"Sounds like a spy from Voss." Khal said, with a grin.

"I requested someone that could help with some of the paperwork and politics." Delth said, shrugging.

Dreskul smirked and hit the intercom. "Send him in."

The looks from all three men was all that was needed to know that they were going to mess with this new arrival. A very nervous young man walked in and saluted. Dreskul didn't stand, he merely waved his hand from his sitting position. "At ease, Ensign." Dreskul already noticed the wow in the kid's eyes when he recognized Delth. "Why in the Emperor's name are you on my ship?"
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

Isis sat in the lounge of the Final Shot staring across the room at the "package" Mai had argued so earnestly to retrieve. The tiny girl, about six or seven years in age, stared right back at her with eyes that could frighten a rancor. Just what the hell is wrong with this kid? From the moment they met Sylva seemed to have it in for Isis. She didn't seem to mind Clara or the others very much but every time Isis was in the room with her she felt this strange need to watch her back. 'Wolves can smell fear,' Micaiah had said once, only back then Isis had thought she was kidding.

"Isn't there something else you could be doing right now," Isis asked the girl irritably.

Sylva just continued to stare at her, ignoring Isis' inquiry... Not that she could understand it anyway, Mai had said the girl couldn't speak Basic. "Gah, why do I even bother," Isis asked herself, sighing in resignation. She rubbed her eyes wearily with her hands and leaned back, when she opened them again Sylva was gone. Finally that kid decided to leave me alone. She turned to retrieve her half finished beer then yelped in surprise when she came face to face with Sylva. In a momentary fit of panic she fell off the couch and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Honestly, Isis, I don't know what you're so afraid of, she's just a girl," Mai teased her.

"Who said I was afraid," Isis snapped, "She just surprised me, is all! Besides, my--shoulder still hurts from when she bit me," she added sheepishly. How this tiny little wolf girl had got the drop on her she'll never know.

"Sylva, come sit by me," Mai said, holding her hand out to the girl.

She smiled brightly and hurried over to her. "No," she cried happily as she hopped into Mai's lap.

"No" was the only word she ever spoke, which made sense since it was the word she heard most often. Mai was always telling her "no" but whether or not Sylva actually understood what it meant was anyone's guess.

"Where's she from, anyway," Micaiah asked curiously.

Mai just shrugged. "Dunno, I found her on a crashed ship. The navigation computer was too damaged to retrieve it's last coordinates. She could be from a planet in the unknown regions but really that's just a guess. Far as I can tell she's the only one of her kind, I can't find any records of species matching her description."

That seemed to be true, Isis couldn't recall ever meeting a near-human with furry ears and a tail. "So what's the big idea, anyway? Why'd you take her in."

"It seemed like the right thing to do," Mai said simply, making an off hand gesture and Isis gave her a sharp look.

"Somehow I doubt that.

The slicer stuck her lower lip out in a pout. "You always think the worst of me, Isis."

"I have never known you to be anything but a scoundrel. So what was it? What scam were you trying to play here?"

"I told you, I was just trying to do the right thing," Mai insisted, but Isis' expression had not changed. Mai suffered under her scrutiny for a moment or two longer then let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine! I thought I could make some money by selling her to some lab, or something. Only she, well... I sort of got--attached to her."

"Attached," Isis asked her pointedly, "Is that all?"

Mai faltered under her gaze then hung her head. "Alright, alright, she was useful, okay? She could sniff out pursuit and even hear better than me. Because of that she helped me escape from some pretty hairy situations."

Mai watched the bounty hunter out of the corner of her eye and her expression quickly changed into a glare when she noticed that Isis had a look on her face that seemed to say, 'I thought so.' "Anyway," she said quickly, "I'm just watching over her until I can find someone better to take care of her."

"'Better?'" Isis asked in surprise.

"I'm just a scoundrel, remember? Sylva deserves to be with a proper family," Mai said and Isis had an unshaking sensation that she actually meant it.

Laughing lightly to herself Isis looked up at Mai and smiled. "I think that's the most human thing I've ever heard you say, Mai. There just might be hope for you yet."
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

Clara couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes. "What a fairy tale! Valentine, you're not fooling me with this act. I don't know what your game is with the kid, but using her has to be the worst thing you've ever done! And that's not an easy list to top!"

"She could actually mean it," Tav spoke up in Mai's defense.

Clara answered with a derisive laugh. "Ace, you don't know her like I do. If we didn't have the Imps keeping us here, I'd fly the kid to the nearest Republic authorities myself. As it is, I trust the Imps only slighly less than I trust you, Valentine."
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

"As if I'd want the trust of a slamo like you," Mai shot back, "I'd have been long gone by now if it weren't for the Imperials!"

Clara shot to her feet and stuck her finger out at Mai. "Valentine, I have half a mind to--," she started to say but the angry growl of the young girl standing in Mai's lap interrupted her.

She bared her fangs and glared at Clara, her bloodthirsty snarl silencing everyone in the room. After a moment Isis finally stood and dusted herself off. "You've really got that kid wrapped around your fingers," she said as she glanced up at Mai, "For her sake, Mai, I hope Tav is right."

Micaiah was staring at Clara curiously. "I thought you said you didn't know her," she said, glancing between her and Mai.

"Come to think of it she's right," Isis replied, also raising an eyebrow at Clara, "When are you going to tell me what the hell happened between you two?"
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Halomek »

Both Clara and Mai looked away from each other at the same time. “Nothing happened!” Clara insisted. “How many times do I have to say it before you people stop asking me?! Lay off already!”

“Yeah!” Mai chimed in before her eyes widened in alarm and she quickly looked away again.

Tav propped an arm on a table and casually rested his head in his hand with a bemused smile. “I think we’ll lay off when your answers start sounding more believable.” He shifted his glance to Mai. “Or maybe when you two stop mimicking each other. You’re among friends, er… kind of, why not just tell us?”

Mai started to voice another denial, but Clara cut her off with her own. “Because there’s nothing to tell! I swear, the next person who asks me about it is going to be shot out of an airlock without a suit!” She got up and headed for her quarters, throwing up her hands in exasperation and muttering to herself: “I blinked and my ship became a kriffing lunatic asylum!”

With Clara out of the room, all eyes turned silently to Mai.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Nivest »

ooc: Sorry. Holidays almost over. Will try to get to this soon.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Nivest »

“Everyone has something to hide” was the aphorism of Imperial Intelligence, and while it was supposed to inculcate operatives with a healthy suspicion for potential threats to the Empire, it seemed to equally foster a less than friendly atmosphere between Intelligence and other branches of the Imperial service.

This knowledge, and the fact that the head of Naval Intelligence was obviously relishing the opportunity to turn the tables, didn’t help with the awkwardness he already felt at oddities of his assignment. Worse, he knew that he showed it.

Well, he hadn’t expected to be cosseted when he enlisted. Best to get it over with.

“I wasn’t informed, Sir.”

With that admission, he forced his shoulders to remain settled in the ordered ease, though he felt anything but. As he stared at the bulkhead behind Admiral Dreskul's desk, his jaw stiffened in resolution as his stubborn streak started to flair. This wasn’t going to be fun, but he at least wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him squirm.
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Pryde »

After Clara left Mai suddenly realized that all eyes were on her. "Oh no you don't," she said, quickly scrambling out of her chair while maneuvering around Sylva. "I'm not telling you anything!"

Then she turned, took Sylva's hand and led her out of the room leaving Micaiah, Tav and Isis all staring at each other. "Well, that was rather uninformative," Isis commented dryly, she was on her way out of the room as well. "I'm going for a walk," she told the others just before she disappeared out of sight.

Micaiah watched her leave, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Did she seem rather strange to you," she asked Tav without turning around.

"Strange?" Tav asked in confusion, "Like how?"

"Like more fidgety then usual," Micaiah explained, "I could almost swear I saw her hands shaking."
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by corsos »

Khal stepped in without missing a beat, looking at his datapad. "Looks like he got sent by the bureaucrats at Imperial Center. Raw - looks like a paper pusher to me, boss."

"Is he even old enough to have a diploma?" Delth asked, still leaning against the Admiral's wall.

"Tests at the recruiting station say he has the ability to handle the types of situations we find ourselves in onboard the Ardin or the Insidious.

Khal laughed. "They have tests for that now? What types of situations are those exactly?"

Delth stepped out of the shadow and into the light, moving to only a foot or two in front of the new recruit. The scar around and on his left eye were obvious to see, as were all the smaller scars scattered across his face from his years in combat. "They are the types of situations that require you to stare death in the eye, and not blink. Even if it tries to take one of your eyes."

Dreskul sat silently as Delth spoke to the boy. To Plone's credit, he didn't seem to react at all.

"Situations that require you to give one of your hands." Delth showed his left, "and the fingers off the other." Then he showed him his right. "And be willing to slide a blade through your own belly, just to kill an enemy." Delth lifted up his uniform to show the still blackened circle where Kalja's lightsaber has exited his stomach, only to find GAIT's chest. Those are the types of situations you will find here, recruit. Did they test you on anything like that?" Delth looked at him, unblinking.

"No, sir." He said quietly, yet he did not look away.

Delth stared at him a few seconds longer. "Good thing, otherwise we wouldn't have many recruits make it this far, would we?" He smirked and grasped the recruit's shoulder. "You'll be fine. Khal, can you show him to his quarters."

"Always give me the dirty work boss, I won't forget that. C'mon kid, let's get you squared away and leave the bosses here to figure out how to save the galaxy."

* * *

Khal walked with the recruit towards where he had his quarters assigned. "My name's Khal Arunsun, Commander of Ghost Squadron, I've server with The Commander for more than a decade. He was just having fun with you kid. You won't face certain death." Khal said, before smirking. "At least not until we reach Alaskan."

"Did all those things really happen to him?"

"Afraid so." Khal said. "He has given more than this galaxy and the people in it deserve. And he needs help. He won't be a soldier forever, and sooner or later he'll find himself behind a desk. Maybe you can help him with that. What type of training do you have?"

* * *
"They keep getting younger, don't they." Delth said, looking at Dreskul.

"Don't look at me, Delth, you have more than a few years on me too." Gregory said.

ooc I can FF when you want me to...
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Re: Reforging Connections: Calm Before the Storm

Post by Nivest »

Cerin took a few moments to consider the answer to Arunsun’s question. In relation to what he’d just learned, it sounded pathetically inadequate.

“Imperial Intelligence had me do my basic training with ISS, Sir. I had assumed I was going to be a field operative, until I was suddenly rerouted here instead of receiving further training. In the couple weeks that it took to get me to the Ardin I was run through a crash course in Imperial protocols. It appears that at the last minute I was designated, as you said Commander, to be a paper pusher.”

The last statement was spoken without any hint of bitterness or regret, and Arunsun didn’t betray his feelings about the paucity of his training with anything more than a grunt of acknowledgement.

The ringing of their boots in the corridor took the place of conversation until they reached what Cerin recognized from his investigations of the Ardin to be the senior officer’s quarters.

Arunsun inserted his ID cylinder and the door slid into its recess to reveal a room impressive not for its size, but for the extensive data terminal consuming most of its space.

“This is one of the cabins reserved for adjuncts to officers aboard ship. A droid already brought your articles from your temporary berth. It’s a little cramped, but don’t worry,” he smirked, “as an aide to the Commander, I doubt you’ll be spending a lot of time in here. I wiped the occupant information, so you’ll just need to key it to your identity.”

“Thank you, Sir. Commander Arunsun?”

Arunsun stopped just as he was turning to leave, and turned to face the young officer.

“Yes, Ensign?”

“I’ll do my best, Sir.”

Arunsun grinned, “I’m sure you will, Kid.” The door slid shut behind him as he walked out.

Cerin had grown up with another aphorism, “Say little and do much.” That was little enough said; now was the time to do.

After configuring his quarters to his identity, he deftly started navigating the terminal for what little information his clearance could access regarding Commander Ardin and those in Empire, especially Imperial Intelligence, with whom he’d had dealings.

He hadn’t let the prestige of his assignment get to his head; he was just qualified enough that his assignment to the Commander wasn’t a joke. It was bordering on paranoia, but the only reason he could see for him being chosen as his aide was if someone in the Empire wanted Delth Ardin to have a weak point.

By the force, that rankled him. His teeth ground slightly, as the resolve hardened in him. Whatever it took, he’d do his best to be ready for whatever storms were ahead, and see that the Commander made it to the desk that Khal hoped to see him at one day.

If there was a plot, he doubted it would be sprung at Alaskan, though he made a mental note to educate himself more on that planet before their arrival. That meant he’d have some time before whoever was going to move against him would act.

Blue and white lights from the screen danced across his chiseled features for hours, until time came for rest. Discipline overrode weariness for the minutes it took to review the Commander’s schedule, prepare his uniform the next day, and set his chrono. Undressed, his muscles relaxed as he stretched his frame on the bunk, not caring that his feet stuck out over the end. With the ease of most military men, sleep came swiftly.

OOC: Go ahead and FF, corsos. Let me know if I took too many liberties with my post, and I can change it if you want. I tried to leave it open ended, but I figured that after the War of Darkness, the Delth would probably be a target for those in the Empire who wanted to overthrow the current regime.
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