Kormov was a little nervous, truth be told. He had expected to have the day off, time to read, refresh his mind, and replay his earlier tactical commands using the very same simulator. Instead, he watched as the shuttle that
Var Koon had sent powered up, departing the hangar of his new flag ship, the
Stargazer. Kormov was proud to receive the promotion to a significantly larger battlegroup after the engagement over Dantooine, likely just for surviving it. He saw the stunning Dragoon-class escort frigate disappear from view as they approached the massive
Pentient, four times larger then his own.
Size isn't everything, Kormov quipped, a slight grin on his face. One day perhaps, Kormov would have a ship as fine as that. Var Koon has been there on Dantooine as well, though Kormov was then a subordinate of
Naier Rambeigh
, and they hadn't spoken during the fighting.
The shuttle landed inside one of the massive Hangars of the
Pentient, and after taking a minute to look at the Petards being loaded in storage inside the hangar, Kormov followed the deck officer to the elevator. Kormov thanked the officer, and then the metallic doors of the
Pentient's bridge hissed open.
"You- you're trying to embarrass me, aren't you?" Artor inquired, glancing the way of the captain before back to the holomap before him.
"The only one capable of doing that is yourself, Konstantine. Now, Captain Alten. A pleasure, I asked you here because in all truth, I see you destined for higher command, and soon. But your records...are nebulous, when and why did you begin your service to the New Order?" He inquired, arching a brow as he spoke with his voice muffled by the ornate rebreather.
Kormov saluted Var Koon in the standard imperial fashion, before strolling to the board. He met Var Koon's inquisitive gaze and arched brow. There was silence for a moment while Kormov thought about the best way to explain it.
"Well Admiral, the answer returns me back to when I was a CO with the Sith. I was present for the Sundering of Mandalore. I'm sure your well aware of what occurred there. At that time, I was a TIE squadron commander tasked with close air support in the city..." Kormov's gaze turned more distant as he looked down at the holomap. "Well, I have a great track record for keeping my men alive, always have. Mandalore was the exception. But our wing wasn't just hitting enemy combatants. We hit civilians. And not on accident, on purpose. I indirectly disobeyed orders at first to minimize civilian losses. But my superiors eventually put two and two together. I had to choose between my life and those of my squadron, or those civilians. There are few easy choices in war, but that marks my worst."
"Afterwards, I was promoted. I captained an IPV, and then a corvette. Pirate Interdiction duty, mostly. My superiors could tell I was gifted, only reason they didn't execute me at the end of Mandalore. But they could also sense my morality, so they put me against targets I had no issue with. When Tavlar's rebellion began, I bided my time, waiting for NIO forces to get close enough to my assigned sector, around my home planet of Muunilist. I jettisoned those who wished to stay with the Sith aboard my vessel's escape pods, and we jumped into NIO space right after."
The Captian paused, squinting at Artor for a second, and then the holomap.
"Naturally, the NIO accepted me in, but they didn't trust me. I understand why... I came so late to the fray I didn't look like a defector, I looked like a spy."
Kormov pursed his lips, looking for a moment out into the great void of space, before turning back to the Admiral.
"But I did it for the sake of my men. The longer I waited, the better chance my men and I had of escaping Sith space. The people under my command are like an extended family to me. Everything I do, I do for them. Everything that occurs on my ships is my responsibility, ultimately. My sterling record on casualties accounts for that attitude. And even that number is far too high. I suppose someone took notice, otherwise I wouldn't be here."
Kormov paused for a moment, then continued.
"And yourself Admiral? I know you to be a fine and composed fleet commander, and I was there on Dantooine when you flung those Petards using the magnite arrays of the Pentient, and giving the Sith no time to maneuver by turning off their engines. An unorthodox tactic, to be sure. But I'm not much familiar with you besides that. Why are you risking life and limb to fight a numerically superior enemy and their new allies? And how did you come to captain the Pentient?"