Consolodating the Military

[Sven Talith]

Sven stared across the table at the man opposite him, the mans red eyes were something of a terrifying sight and would probably intimidate most Humans, though Sven was not among them. He stared at the man for a few seconds, they both knew exactly why they were here, why they were on Dromund Kaas and why the two of them were here alone by themselves instead of with the dozens of other Moffs that were still alive and roaming around the Empire.

The young Moff looked at the Chiss, staring intently. He wasn't sure how to go about their next topic, consolidating the Military forces beneath the Moffs and taking it out of the hands of the Sith who were known to be slightly...erratic. Sven thought for a few moments, and then broached the topic.

“We both know why were here, lets not sit around and feed each other bullshit.” Sven said out loud, though he was sure that Kirk had no intention of feeding Sven any nonsense. The two of them were extremely like minded, that much had been simple to discern. “The Sith are our problem, and we need to get them under control.”

Talking like this was of course bordering on treason, but Sven wasn't really worried about it. The Military deserved to be under the command of someone who actually cared about them, not some all powerful overlord that wantonly threw their lives away for one silly goal or another.

 

[Soeht]

Sporting a shallow half-frown, Kirk took a few seconds to think of a response.

"Working with the other Moffs always helps," proposed Kirk with a grin growing across his face, knowing that both men wished to have this discussion without the rest of their peers.

"Though," he continued to explain himself, "Probably the best thing to do would be to find some way to keep them from issuing direct orders to our subordinates."

 

[Sven Talith]

Sven looked at Kirk for a few seconds, the problem with that suggestion was that there really was no way to stop Sith from ordering around Soldiers. Perhaps lower ranked Sith like Knight and Apprentices, but Masters would do what they wanted no matter what was said by Military members. The Young Moff thought for a few seconds, and then looked up towards Kirk again.

“There's no way we can curb the Masters, but perhaps those below them.” Sven said quietly, at first more to himself then to Kirk. He had to think this out, if they went directly to the Empress than it would be far easier. “If we can convince the Empress from barring Sith Knights and Apprentices command of our troopers it would be a significant first step.”

 

[Soeht]

"Or," responded Kirk as he leaned in, "We just do what the military is good at and all - use the chain of command."

Touching the tips of his thumbs and index fingers together, Kirk made a triangle with his hands.

"Sith Lords are at the top," he continued to explain as he wiggled the end of his index finger, "They tell us what they want, and it gets channeled down to the lowest grunt. We make it ingrained in our forces that they are to never expect an order from beyond their assigned superior and they will question anything a supposed Sith Lord says - make them hesitate and ask for confirmation. The lesser Sith get no say, and if they try anything we'll just bully them. I've found it quite easy to do - I'm sure you would too."

 

[Sven Talith]

“Probably a much simpler solution.” Sven said for a few seconds mulling it over. Kirk's idea was actually much easier and far less dangerous that his own, the only real problem that Sven saw with it was that sometimes Sith didn't take too kindly to not being listened to. He was worried that the men under his command would come to suffering from this.

The Young Moff though for a few seconds, yes perhaps some of his men might come to harm by the Sith at first, but eventually even those self-righteous upstarting Apprentices would come to accept this practice. “How will we implement it? You and I only control those forces within our sector's. There it is easy enough to do, my forces already only take commands from superiors since in my sector there aren't many Sith to begin with...i'm not sure its the same with yourself.”

“The trouble lies within convincing the other Moff's to play along with our scheme. Some of them have a certain...dislike for you and I. If we go through with this we'll need everyone otherwise when joint military operations occur it could lead to some...confusion.” And confusion in battle was never good. After all they were trying to curb the loss of life here, not accelerate it.

 

[Soeht]

Setting his hands back down on the table, Kirk continued the conversation with, "Well, that's definitely going to be a problem no matter what we do."

Leaning back, he then said, "I guess we can generalize the Moffs into two categories. The first is those that just want the most efficient results - I think they'd be easier to convince. Just have the appearance that our policies involve the least amount of screwups with orders - makes it certain who said what and who holds responsibility. They'll follow suit without being asked."

"But," he said with a gesture of his right hand, "The prideful ones will likely reject anything we come up with - even if it's the most sensible thing. If it was easy, I'd just find some way to make them disappear. But I doubt it's that easy, right?"

 

[Sven Talith]

For a few seconds the Young Moff and former assassin stared at Kirk, he couldn't tell if the man was hinting at something. Disposing of the Moff's that opposed them would actually be quite simple for Sven, he could murder them in a dozen different ways. Moridin had trained him to kill Sith, a few non-force users would hardly be a challenge for him. He waited for a few seconds more mulling things over, then he looked to Kirk with a very serious expression.

“So, lets say these Moff's do disappear.” Sven said it listlessly, as if such a thing did not interest him “We would have to assure adequate replacements come into power after them.”

“Once thats done we would have all...or at least most of the Moff's in our pocket and we can go to the Empress herself and make this an official commandment within the Empire. Because no matter what happens, unfortunately that is a must.” If they didn't do that then very likely a Sith Master of some sort would try to mess with this...plot in some way. If the Empress however gave her word for it, no such thing would happen.

 

[Soeht]

"If these Moffs just disappear," said Kirk, drawing the words out, "Their green replacements would be easily influenced. Regardless of where they have came from the position of Moff is very different from any other post. Even I had a hard time settling in."

After taking a few seconds to think upon involving the Empress, Kirk then expressed his opinion with, "If we really have to involve the Empress, then yeah, might as well do it after everything is as we want it to be."

Kirk dropped the final syllable, not properly enunciating the word. Then, he gave a stern look to Sven as he informed his comrade, "Though, getting her support and that of other Sith Lords may be easier to do, now. Maybe. I'm not sure. But for some reason, I got an invitation by one Darth Voracitos to attend something to do with the Dark Council. He's replacing it, so his letter - aheh - letter. And, I'm supposedly a replacement - if that could even work."

 

[Sven Talith]

Sven raised an eyebrow as Kirk shared his bit of news. He wasn't quite sure how to take that, they wanted Kirk on the Dark Council? The thing that basically ran the Empire beneath the Empress? Well that certainly was an interesting development, and it did help the two of them quite a bit. As Kirk mentioned Voracitos the young Moff went into space for a few seconds trying to remember who the man was....ah fat guy right. Something sprang into his head.

“Replacing it? As in reforming?” Sven sounded urgent for a few seconds as his mind ran wild. “A Power grab away from the Empress?”

This was a key bit of information, if Voracitos was trying to reform the Dark Council as a way to take power away from the Empress then it meant they would not longer just have to deal with one power hungry Sith in charge(The Empress)...but several. They needed to know more about the council, he needed to. “If thats what this, then we have a problem. Convincing the Empress is much simpler than convincing an entire council, and beyond that...a Council of Sith messes with our endgame quite a bit.”

 

[Soeht]

"The council will always exist as it has," informed Kirk, "It'll always be an issue - especially if we're successful in the long run. But, if this invitation is genuine, then it would be easier to nudge the council in the right direction from within. Whatever Darth Voracitos has in mind - which, from his letter, seem as if the council is to him as the Moffs are to us - the Dark Council would be useless if the members busy themselves with trifling arguments."

 

[Sven Talith]

“True enough.” Sven said before pausing for a second “The issue I was thinking of is if the Dark Council attempts to...remove the Empress.”

“Right now she represents the final authority on everything within the Empire, her word is law. If she is removed that will of course quickly change. Still, either way it would be best for you to join the council and push them towards our goals. We will divide our efforts, you convince the Sith Lords and the Empress, I will take care of the Moffs.” He left out what exactly dealing with them entailed, but it was quite obvious what he meant. This way Ashin would also not interact with him, a clever thing for if they eventually fought. It would keep his...abilities, a secret.

 

[Soeht]

"Even if the Empress isn't remove, there will still be a lot that oppose us - perhaps the rest of the Sith," informed Kirk, showing Sven a bit of what he expected things to happen after their plan comes into fruitition.

"But, I'll see what this Darth Voracitos has in mind," continued Kirk, "If his offer to join the Dark Council is true, I doubt things will be very easy. Maybe it'll be a sign of what we should expect. Still, our first priority at the moment should be consolidating the military. I'll try get an audience with the Empress and present our idea. Luckily one of her holdings is the sector I oversee, so it should be very easy."

 

[Sven Talith]

“Good. Hopefully convincing her will be just as easy as getting the meeting.” Sven said calmly as he looked down at the data-pad before him. He had called up data on several of the moffs, the one he knew would be against their plan.. Killing them would take no time, killing them in a manner so Sven wasn't found out would take a little bit more time.

He moved to datapad over to Kirk, showing him several faces of their fellow Moffs. "These are the men, once they disappear the Military will sway to us. It will take a week or two to make this happen, is that enough time for you to handle the council and the Empress?”

 

[Soeht]

"A week? Two? That's fast," snorted Kirk, almost adding "That's what she said."

"I have no issue with your choices, though," answered Kirk, though he was a little displeased in how a few of the known racist Moffs were missing.

"I'll go try to get the Empress's audience, now," said Kirk as he got up, "Good luck with... that thing."

With that, Kirk departed and quickly attempted to get a meeting with the Empress. Hopefully, being a part of her holdings did turn out to get a quick meeting as he guessed.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

It did.

Ashin might have her eye on the Empire as a whole, the big picture, but Moridin had given her that sector and she took it seriously. In part, that was because Sirella had her eye on it, or at least on the remaining worlds of the Tion Cluster, and it would serve as a decent reward for success on the Perlemian.

In part, Ashin's attention was due to her examination of Gravlex Med. Rytek'irk'intrano had proved himself easily the best political mind in the entire operation, by far. She was well aware of Voracitos's reforms of the Dark Council, and Kirk's invitation came as little surprise to her.

"Moff Rytek'irk'intrano," she said as the Chiss entered her throne room. "How can I help you today?"

 

[Soeht]

Upon entering the throne room and approaching the Empress, Kirk gave a bow to her. Kirk almost cringed at the mention of his full name, spoken by a non-Chiss even. He confidently greeted her with, "Your Majesty, my thanks for allowing this audience."

After saying that, Kirk straightened himself. He cupped his hands behind his back and stood with his feet shoulder width apart. A face of stone presented itself to the Empress. Underneath that, Kirk was somewhat nervous - his mind riddled with thoughts of what the Empress's response would be.

"I have just one thing to bring to You Majesty's attention," said Kirk, "And this is meant in no offense to Your Majesty or the Sith Lords that serve the Empire. Yet, my military forces and that of other Moffs, such as Moff Talith, have experienced issues in our dealings with the Sith. While we do obey the orders of Sith Lords Your Majesty has appointed, as it is our duty, we have found that they may not respect the rigorous chain of command the Imperial forces have. Some, even the apprentices, order our subordinates directly and without our consul. This causes chaos in our ranks, and I fear battle with such habits plaguing the Empire might cause defeat. I must respectfully ask for Your Majesty's guidance to prevent such actions that would be a detriment to the Empire."

 

[Sven Talith]

Sven looked after Kirk for a few seconds giving the man a lingering thought. He then stood up from the table himself and pulled out his communicator. These next two weeks would be rather confusing and hectic. He would have to inform Sable about this new development, he knew she would be rather interested in this dealings. She was close to him as she always one, and with this goal he would need her more than ever.

She could have helped him of course, though he would never allow it. This was a track he was best suited to take by himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sector 11
Sven slipped around another corner within the Moff's fortress upon Serenno. A deep clacking noise could be heard as several dozen droids patrolled throughout the halls of the massive building. The young assassin held his breath beneath his mask, as if somehow the droids would not detect his heat signature if he did so. For a few seconds, nothing happened as the droids scanned the surrounding area. Finally after another few heart wrenching moments the droids moved on and their clacking began once again.

The Young Moff breathed easier, and then immediately rounded the same corner again. He followed the hall quickly, stalking through the dark and being nearly silent. Finally after what seemed like ages Sven found the room he had been looking for. The former assassin pulled out a small data-pad and immediately plugged it into the electronic lock.

Several things happened over the next few seconds. The data-pad began to undo the lock, Sven hunched himself against the wall and the droids on patrol moved farther and farther away. After a few seconds the door's unlocked themselves and Sven transferred himself into the room.

Slowly he slunk towards the bed held within the center of the room. He crept up to its side in a crouch, and then slowly rose beside it to find....no one there.

As predicted the Moff who was in charge of Sector 11 had not yet deigned to go to bed. Sven had known this would be the case, and it made the mans assassination much simpler. From a small pouch on his Flakk Jacket Sven pulled a small block of explosive, on top of his he set a small electrical sensor, one that was set off by pressure. He placed this strange mine beneath the bed in directly the center, hiding its presence through the use of sheets and a small plank of wood.

The explosive was one that Republic Special forces fond of using, the pressure sensor as well was favored by them. The assassin grinned slightly and then continued his set up. The explosive was not the only measure he was taking, he set up several other trap, each one usually utilized by the Republic...or at least historically so.
After several minutes Sven made his way out of the Moff's suite, climbing out the window and crawling to the base of the fortress.

Several Hours later Sven stood at the outskirts of the Fortress, looking down and watching a small screen in his hands. The screen was hooked to a camera feed. Sven watched as the Moff entered his suite. The man took his time, and then finally he sat himself down on his bed. In an instant the screen went dead and in the distance the sound of a massive explosion tore through the air.

Sven smirked to himself, one down four to go.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"Trust me," said the Empress, her voice dry, "I'm aware. Thus far, I've had other priorities, but I'm far from blind to the lessons we learned at Gravlex Med. I believe in strength through order, Kirk. I believe in discipline and structure, and bit by bit I'm enforcing it on this Empire in such a way that it will endure long after I'm gone. So far, I haven't judged it the proper time for these reforms, which we both apparently want. But if you have enough backing, enough confidence, to bring this to me, well -- that's a factor, and it must be taken into account."

She rose from the obsidian throne and descended the stairs to look Kirk in the face. "When I look at Apprentices and Knights taking field command of military units, I think of spoiled upper-class children with their parents' cred accounts. In my day, we worked for what we got. I was a military officer, deep in the Unknown Regions; a Lieutenant Commander in a navy that no longer exists. I earned it. This...presumption, this lack of accountability, offends me. My house is a house of order.

"Make no mistake, Kirk. When it comes to overall command of an operation, a Sith is as likely to be assigned as an officer, and you will obey whoever I deputize. Valkner is still Grand Marshal of the Perlemian; Tirdarius is still Grand Marshal of the Braxant. In those theatres, all bow to those particular Sith. But overall, by and large, I agree with you.

"You wouldn't have come here without a recommendation of your own, even if you have the circumspection to hold it back. Give it."

 

[Soeht]

"My recommendation is just to simply respect the chain of command," replied Kirk. Red eyes looked at the Empress as she approached him. He did not waver from his rather tense stance.

"The Moffs and other Imperial officers shall listen to the directive of the Sith Lords you direct us to listen," he continued, "And we delegate their orders to our direct subordinates. And then, they will delegate such orders to their direct subordinates. And, this continues to the lowest grunt. No step will be skipped, allowing for complete accountability among all ranks. The Sith Lords Your Majesty places me under shall be at the top of the chain of command, and thus any orders they give to those below myself and my peers would only cause confusion and be a waste of time with the order trickling back up to myself for confirmation. They will never have to give orders past myself and my peers, though, as I already practice such a policy - giving my general orders to my direct subordinates with them and those below thinking out the specifics."

 

[Sal Katarn]

Star Destroyer Adjudicator - Royal Guard Command Center

"Praetor! Emergency report incoming!"

Seth Shorn frowned at the datapad he was handed, before his eyes widened quickly in shock. Intense brown eyes drilled into the Imperial soldier who brought him the information. "This is accurate?"

The soldier nodded, "Just received the intel an hour ago."

The muscles of Shorn's jaw clenced tightly. He felt tense like a coiled snake, ready to spring but lacking a target. An Imperial Moff... assassinated. By who? Always the question, but not the correct one. Who was next? Shorn hated the Moffs. They were vile, corrupt beings and the Empire was better off without them. However, he had sworn an oath to protect and defend. He would not desert his duty.

Red cloak flowing behind him, Seth moved swiftly down the hallways of the Star Destroyer. His boots clacked solidly against the floor, behind him came the footsteps of the Imperial soldier.

"What is your name, soldier?"

"Corporal Vak'in."

"What do you think of the Moffs, Vak'in."

The man seemed startled. "Uh- well, sir... uhm... I don't much like them."

Seth nodded. "Is this the general sentiment amongst the Imperial Army?"

"Yes, sir... yes it is."

He nodded again. "And here I am about to risk the lives of so many of our best... they do not deserve this," Seth said softly, almost to himself. The Corporal heard, but remained silent. Best to remain silent when powerful beings voiced dangerous words.

Seth came to a massive blast door and after a series of voice recognition and ocular scanners, he entered the Royal Guard Command Center. He had it stationed on board the Adjudicator as it provided him with a mobile position of command. A quick response time to any emergency and he could move it to wherever the threat was occuring. It needed additional security, but it was better than a stationary target, which would be vulnerable to terrorist attacks and assassinations. Shorn removed his helmet and turned to the Imperial soldier. The man's eyes widened at Shorn. So young to be Praetor of the Royal Guards.

"Thank you, Corporal Vak'in. Know that I share your sentiments, but our duty is clear. And if we do not follow our duty, any semblence of order and justice the Empire has will crumbled in the wake of our omissions." He smiled sadly. "You are dismissed."

The giant blastdoor sealed shut behind Shorn. The interior of the Command Center had been painted a dark blue, with a sunburst of color showing the sigil of the Royal Guards in gold. Seth believed blue was a calming color. It would help him and others maintain their composure amidst the cool aura. He strode forward, a Royal Guard greeted him with a salute, fist to chest. "Praetor."

"Sentinel Artor, I trust you have heard the news by now?"

"Indeed, Praetor. It is alarming. Clearly we did not take better precautions against this eventuality. The shame lies on the Royal Guards." Artor, brown haired with a hooked nose, said quietly.

A small frown furrowed Seth's brows. Artor ever sought to undermine him. This was a subtle jab at Seth's leadership. The shame was his alone. Artor knew this. The man despised Shorn for being appointed Praetor. In truth, the position should have been Artor's, save for Seth's political maneuverings within the Remnant. Shorn disregarded the slight for the moment. Clearly, Artor would have to be dealt with, but now they needed unity.

"Move all the Moffs into the secure bunkers. Lock everything down and have Royal Guards standing watch at all time. We are on Red Alert. If anything so much as sneezes their direction, it will be eviscerated. In addition, double the protection of the Governors. Understood?"

"Yes, Praetor. What of the Sith?"

Shorn frowned darkly. "They need no protection."

Shorn moved to stand over the large table-sized interactive galactic map which stood raised in the center of the room. He leaned against it, bringing up the coordinates of the planets the Moffs controlled and watching as they were projected into the air to spin lazily. While Artor saw to the defense of the Moffs, Seth would scour the archives for the perpetrator of these attacks. He brought up his datapad and begin to sift through incoming information. Mainly, the holocam recordings of the Sector 11 Moff's building.

His experience in the Republic spy network helped him vastly. He understood the ways in which assassins worked and had done this very same task before. He would find the killer and Seth would see justice duly dispensed. The Royal Guards were essentially the bodyguard police of the most important Imperial figureheads. They had a large amount autonomy to protect their charges. Nothing like the autonomy of the Sith, however. Seth would not be surprised if one of them had committed this act for fun. The Sith made protecting important figureheads a nightmare. However, as Seth scanned the holocams, he came across a figure. There. This was their assassin. He watched as the figure slipped through the halls and disabled the locking mechanism, before being lost to view. The features could not be made out. Seth would have to do some backtracking. He sent the information to one of the Guards adept at gathering intel. She would be better able to find out who this assassin was.

The Praetor moved to examine how the protection of the Moffs was going. Apparently, there had been some initial resistance, but after the reveal that one of their number had already been assassinated they complied quickly, with demands to find out who had done such an outrageous act. No doubt they were half-gleeful at the news. Another rival dispensed with. Perhaps one of them was behind this assassination. A possibility indeed. Regardless, the would-be assassin would find that breaking into a mansion was much easier than getting through the double blast doors, military grade encrypted locks, and the hundred or so Elite Stormtroopers who stationed all throughout the compound, had two minute check ins, and intersecting patrol fields. Much less the twelve Royal Guards who stood immediate watch over their charge. And this was to say nothing of the numerous automated defense turrets which would lock onto anything without the proper IFF transponder, unique to the guards in the bunker, and eviscerate it. If the assassin managed to kill anymore Moffs, Seth would be surprised indeed.

His datapad beeped. He glanced down at the message. For the second time in an hour, his eyes widened in shock. Royal Guard Viess had traced the holocams of the mansion, following the assassin back to the point of origin. From their, she continued to follow him using traffic cams, building security cams and a host of other monitoring systems to the true point of origin, where she had gotten a clear image of undisguised features. Seth stared at the image in silent wrath. Sven Talith. Prince. Fop.... Assassin. This went all the way to the top, it seemed. Seth gathered the information into a secure file. There was only one thing to do with this. He attached the file to a message sent to two individuals, @[member="Viera Kisep"] and @[member="Ashin Varanin"]. Grand Admiral and the Empress. They would need to see this information. Consequences would soon fall. One could not go around assassinating Moffs with impunity. And in person, no less! Bad form.

"What you see now is a collection of intelligence my Royal Guards have gathered on the assassination of Moff Vintel of Sector 11. From the intelligence gathered it is clear that the assassin in question was Sven Talith. His actions consitute treason against the Empire and I request immediate authorization to take him under the custody of the Royal Guards, as is our duty, for further interrogation before an official trial. ​

​

Ever Faithfully,​

Praetor Seth Shorn, Imperial Royal Guard"​