Extending the Front (The Moross Crusade Dominion of Ceto)

[Siara Vorru]

Aboard the Nexu-class Corvette Aurora en route to Ceto
In her quarters aboard the Aurora Siara sat at a desk reviewing the mission objectives, a couple months ago she would have never pictured herself here, leading a team of diplomats to a distant world to establish relations for a major player on the galactic stage. She certainly didn’t see herself as a diplomat but the mission parameters required a certain amount of security and she had been chosen to lead it given her experience in that field. She wasn’t particularly looking forward to this mission, she preferred the simplicity of combat but this entire mission was likely to be something like fighting a war. There was certainly enough force users on the ship that fancied themselves as this expedition leader for this mission. She would have to navigate their involvement carefully, she couldn’t afford to alienate them after all, she had been doing some research since coming in contact with Crystal and had found Sith in general were prone to fits of violence at the slightest offence. Really she held no illusion that she could actually command any of them to do anything, simply make suggestions they would be likely to agree with. One thing was certain this mission was going to be interesting.

Setting her datapad down at the desk and standing up to stretch her legs Siara started to walk out of her office when the entire ship lurched violently and the swirls of hyperspace was suddenly and rather violently reverted to a star field. Puzzled by the sudden transition the Kiffar woman sprinted to the bridge. The Captain and crew were working hard to re-establish control over the ship as systems continually cut in and out. The violence of being ripped out of hyperspace so un-expectantly had damaged many key systems.

“Report Captain. Why have we stopped?” Siara asked just as the ship drifted around revealing a planet in the viewport answering her question for her.

“We have encountered an unexpected gravity well, we are working on re-establishing control of the ship and should have all critical systems restored within a few minutes. Some of the other systems will take a few hours to get operational but as soon as we are able to do so safely we will resume our transit to Ceto.” The Captain replied.

“Very well, where exactly are we?” Siara asked curious about the planet she had seen drifting by.

“Our navicomputer is down at the moment, as soon as we have that back up I will have a report for you and the other mission leaders.” The Captain replied. “Give me thirty minutes and meet me in the mess.”

Siara simply nodded. “Very well, inform the rest of the team leaders that there will be a briefing in the mess in thirty minutes.”

With that Siara left the bridge returning to her office, this little hiccup was just the first of what would likely be many between now and the completion of the mission. All the formality of the interaction with these military types was exhausting, she was used to a far more informal command structure but she was almost getting used to these Crusaders and their zealous belief in their ‘living gods’ which was a scary thought in itself. She gathered up a few datapads from her desk and proceeded to the mess to wait for the rest of the team leaders to gather for the briefing.

--------------------------------------

Thirty minutes later the Captain stepped into the mess hall, he was concerned this would somehow be blamed on him, he prayed that the representatives of the gods would be merciful. He really couldn’t be blamed for this, the planet below didn’t show up on any of the star charts and had they known it was here they would have simply charted a course around it.

He nodded to Siara who called for the attention of all the team leaders. “Settle down folks, our dear Captain has an update for us, give him your full attention.”

“Thank you ma’am.” The Captain gulped back his nerves and continued. “We have been pulled from hyperspace by the gravity well shadow of a planet we didn’t know existed until just now. Our primary systems are coming back online and we should be ready to resume transit to our destination in a couple hours. We have managed to restore sensors and from what we can tell this planet is habitable we have noted its location on the star chart so future missions to Ceto know to navigate around it.”

Siara listened quietly, this planet intrigued her, she wondered about its value to the Crusade. “Where exactly does this planet sit between our borders and our destination?”

“We are about a third of the way to our destination.” The Captain replied quietly.

Pausing for a moment to think Siara glanced at the other mission leaders and then spoke up again. “Send a message back to command about our discovery, advise them we will be returning to conduct a proper survey of the planet once our mission on Ceto is complete. Request that they send a survey ship to conduct sensor sweeps of the planet in the meantime so we aren’t going in blind.”

Siara looked at the other team leaders, she welcomed their input but it really wasn’t necessary, her mind was made up already, she had a hunch this planet would have some sort of value in the long term to the Crusade if nothing else as a refueling point for any ships transiting to Ceto.
“Unless there is anything else we best let the Captain get back to the repairs, sooner we are up and running the sooner we can return to our primary mission.” Siara stated calmly to the team leaders.


--------------------------------------


A little over thirty hours later the Aurora arrived in orbit of Ceto, all the systems that had been damaged by their brief stop at the planet now designated Q-27 had long since been repaired. Again the team was meeting in the mess hall. Siara was again there before any of the other team members arrived, her datapad had everything she needed to conduct a briefing on their objectives. The team leaders were already aware of their objectives but she felt it important to update them all. She watched them all stream in slowly acknowledging each one in turn until they were all gathered.

“Ok folks, we have arrived at our destination, we are a little late but our meeting with the ‘royals’ of this planet isn’t for a few hours yet. It is a good thing the diplomats built in a margin for error into our timeline. We will be landing within the hour if there are any questions now is the time to ask them.”

(TL;DR Aurora encountered the gravity well of Q-27 en route to Ceto, planet was flagged for survey and team proceeded to Ceto for diplomatic mission)

Mission Objectives:

• Establish contact with Royal Council of Ceto
• Establish formal relations with Ceto and Moross Crusade through whatever means necessary
• Obtain permission to establish formal Moross Crusade presence on Ceto
• Locate suitable location to establish base
• Conduct survey of natural resources of planet as a whole

[member="Crystal"] [member="Zoey Marix"] [member="Vascious Relens"] [member="Piraiba"] [member="Brill"] [member="Nero"] [member="Loxa Visl"] [member="Amorella Mae"] [member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Crystal]

Aboard the Nexu-class Corvette Aurora en route to Ceto

The Sith Princess was using the hyperspace trip to get some much needed rest. She was deep in meditation when the ship suddenly stopped. It was enough to interrupt her meditation. The question was, why was the ship not moving. They weren't due to arrive for a while yet, so clearly something had happened. She aimed to find out what it was.

Crystal stood up from her bed and straightened her dress. She didn't bother to grab the cloak as they clearly had not reached their destination yet. The Sith Master made her way to the bridge just in time to see a planet on the viewer. Siara was having a discussion with the Captain, and a meeting was planned for thirty minutes from then. In the mean time, she might as well get something to eat.

She had just finished eating when the briefing began in the mess hall. Crystal merely listened. She was not taking charge of this mission, but she was present to ensure it's success. [member="Siara Vorru"] was doing a fine job of taking charge of the situation. No further work to be done at this time.

---------

Thirty Hours later... in the mess hall.

The remainder of the journey had been uneventful, and restful for Crystal. She was ready to take on this world of Ceto. The Royal Council would be easily swayed. The Force could certainly dazzle those that knew nothing of it. And Crystal could certainly put on a show when the situation called for it. She would be joining the diplomats at the meeting with the Royal Council.

"Who is attending the meeting with the Royal Council?" The Sith Princess inquired.

 

[Blackthorne]

"I will be attending," replied a low voice, thick with pacean accent.

Having sat quietly during the meeting, the robed woman watching from beneath her hood gently rose from her seat, "Namasté sisters and brothers. I am Priestess Loxa Visl, Ambassador of the Crusade within the territory of our Fringe Allies. I join you at the request of Aesir Inari to offer my experience with diplomacy. I am at your service."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Upon reaching the Ceto system, the Crusade would find it a flurry of activity on a grand scale, as two of the most powerful corporations in the universe prepared contingency plans for a Horde invasion. HALCYON space train skyhooks trailed off the surface, two-kilometre-long Connestoga container transports and big Tempus Ardet bulk freighters paved the way, and Reclaimer trains shuttled supplies around. The system was preparing for the potential of a planetary evacuation. Silk Holdings and Santhe/Sienar were there in force.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

On a smaller scale, Salacia Consolidated was doing their own preparations for a Horde invasion. Production at their star facility had been drastically cut, employees had been sent to the other locations that Salacia held. A core component remained, mining materials and sending them up to the surface on a regular basis. It merely wasn't as frequent as the past. Judah had gotten wind Silk and Santhe/Sienar were doing similar prep. While he hadn't had the time to talk to [member="Selka Ventus"] about a potential invasion, no doubt it was on everyone's mind.

"How is your family Judah?" Chalu, his trusted Mon Cal advisor, strode at his side as they toured the main processing facility of their sea-floor mining facility. The Mon Calamarian was a natural for the job, having worked on his home planet in undersea construction.

"Fine. Thess is tired of the limbo and being pregnant. Its a little difficult to prepare for one event with the potential of slavers and barbarians driving you out of house and home." Judah sighed. There had been multiple sleepless nights already. "How about you Chalu?"

"Adjusting to being off planet. We thought we had found a utopia on Ceto. You know they are on Kesh. It is not the same. I hope this blows over and we can return to normal."

"In the meantime we're just going to have to hold out here. You've seen the flurry of activity Silk and Santhe have created? Thess and I went out to dinner, heard some rumors. According to some there would be mass evacuations of the children should something happen."

"Really?" Bulbous eyes went in surprise. "I underestimated them. We would have thousands of displaced orphans. Although I assume being an orphan would be better than dying or becoming a slave."

"Something none of us on planet want. We're going to have to see if we can arrange a meeting with them. Find out if this rumor is true."

 

[Crystal]

Crystal nodded in acknowledgment of Loxa's offering of service and introduction. "We are pleased you are available to offer your expertise. I look forward to seeing you in action." The Sith Princess smiled then.

"Anyone else?" She looked around the mess hall.

[member="Loxa Visl"] [member="Siara Vorru"]

 

[Garza]

There was something wrong when the ship lurched to a stop. Coming to an Unknown planet's well was not something that we, the Moross Crusade, or anyone for that matter, Come across daily or even yearly. Regardless, being in the Command Bridge, watching everyone moving back and forth from their job was fun for me to do. I would try and read them. The way they walked, talked to one another, even how they would sometimes sheepishly look at me watch them. I stood there in a simple corset that looked that it was made of crimson blood. it fit my body nicely and i was rather fond of it. Leather pants with a belt to hold up the weight of my Beskad, I always kept the weapon with me. It was something that even as I had grown fond of it as well, It was my weapon of choice.

In the past I had been taught to use skills with a lightsaber, but suddenly the Priest had left. Almost as though he were made of the air around me. I had a slight fear of them. Not wanting to get near them and their awkward weight and a weightless blade that could cut through just about anything. My mind came back to reality as [member="Siara Vorru"] had walked into the room, asking what was wrong. I had already heard of the meeting that was going to be in about 30 minutes. I didn't say a word as I left to the Caf.

I had spent my time by adjusting my bracers that I wore. Bought a while back from a Expo, I rather liked them, already have used them in a fight, the metal that was hidden in the knuckles helped me with a few punches. But they had a hidden talent that was rather useful against Force users. I smiled as the fingerless gloves were thin enough that I could still fit my Echani Dueling Shield over my left arm, should I need it. The last time that I had used the shield, was..... when I was an apprentice against a horde of Sithspawn. I had survived with the aid of the Aesir Neth, and aided him in killing the Mother of the Sith spawn. It seemed forever ago since that had happened. Yet it was where I was also given the title as a Disciple. Or in other terms a Knight rank. Giving it to me as I had disobeyed his commands to leave when destroying the machine.

Sounds of peoples voices brought me back to the current time hearing that we would continue on past the planet, to Ceto. I nodded my head without saying a word.

thirty hours later it seemed that alot of people were in the mess hall. Doing something of their own. While I was going over my weapons for the milionth time, [member="Crystal"] had spoke up and asked about who would be going. Almost as soon as the words ended, [member="Loxa Visl"] said that she was, stating her name and position, saying that her being here was by a blessing of Inari. Raising my hand, "if you don't mind working together again, [member="Crystal"], then I'll be going."

 

[Crystal]

Crystal smiled upon hearing Zoey's answer to her call to arms. "It will be my pleasure to work with you again Zoey." She nodded to her and looked around to see if anyone else wanted to join the diplomatic party. It was shaping up to be quite the party indeed.

[member="Zoey Marix"] [member="Loxa Visl"] [member="Siara Vorru"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael stood on the bridge of one of the larger ships of the Moross Crusade, his skin still giving off a slight metallic sheen and his face hidden my an elaborate mask. He was still Neth, still the god of Moross. Behind him stood half a dozen or so crewmembers, they stared at him. He could feel their eyes on his back.

He was different now, changed since the battle at the Silken Asteroids, not just physically, but mentally.

Taking in the star's energy had been an altering ordeal. It had not just torn off his skin and wasted away his muscles, at had eaten at his mind. Sure he had been able to restore his vision with its power, but he could feel the lasting effects of taking in that volume of the darkside. It crept at the back of his mind, gnawing, biting, urging him to kill, to destroy, to consume more.

Every time he closed his eyes he could feel the temptation growing, the urge to cause chaos.

Slowly the lids of his eyes slid open, revealing the sight of a planet before him. He let out a slight sigh. He would have to control himself here, keep himself in check. A shiver ran up his spine, he hoped he had the strength.

 

[Siara Vorru]

Watching the members of the team volunteer to make contact Siara could only feel a small sense of relief. She was not a diplomat and didn’t pretend to be, she would not be of any use in that sense here. She listened to them organize themselves as she glanced down at her datapad, she glanced back up as Crystal finished her conversation.

“Ok then, does anyone have any contacts on this world? We could certainly use more background and if there is anyone here who could help us establish contact with the royal family here it would certainly speed this mission along significantly. As I understand it there are a few corporations that have strong ties to the royal family. Perhaps we could establish contact with them first, they would likely respond if they believed they could profit from us in some way or if they require our protection.”

Looking around the room Siara waited for a response from anyone, she knew that this world was close to the borders of the Horde and it was likely the inhabitants of this world felt threatened by their proximity that would likely work to their advantage here as well.

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] [member="Crystal"] [member="Zoey Marix"] [member="Judah Dashiell"] [member="Selka Ventus"] [member="Loxa Visl"]

 

[Piraiba]

- Mess Hall -

Piraiba narrowed his eyes as he placed his cards down on the table. He had to keep as silent as possible because the other members of the Crusade were meeting around them at that moment on the objectives of the Ceto mission. Across from the Togorian was a Crusade Army Lieutenant who also slowly lowered his cards down to the table. The two looked at each other for a moment before the cat grimaced. This wasn't his hand unfortunately and that awarded him with watching his small pile of credit chits being swept away quietly.

The feline's ears pivoted as he picked up something Siara was saying about contacts on the planet. His mind then moved back to the game as the officer started to pass out cards again. This time something caught Piraiba's eye. He quickly reached across the table to catch the other mans arm. Two cards fell out of the soldier's sleeve. Rage erupted instantly.

"YOU CHEAT PIRAIBA," roared the 800 pound cat as he stood up and flipped the metal table he had been sitting at. Of course that ended up being a bit of an issue as three people scattered out of the way. The table had been bolted down though that didn't stop the ten foot tall feline from ripping the upper surface from the pole that held it in place. The steel plate clanged on the floor almost as loudly as the creature's booming voice that had just filled the mess hall.

Silence met the Togorian as he looked around to see every face staring directly at him. It was unknown whether or not the fur covered creature could blush, but he did put on a toothy grin as he reached up to scratch his head for a moment. He was obviously at least slightly embarrassed.

"Uhh sorry beautiful ... uhhh Commander," added the Sith Knight as he reached down and picked up the table top. He tried to attach it back to its pole, but the weld had been broken. The metal platform fell back to the floor with another loud clank.

"Uhh this one will just uhh sit out of the way over here."

The Sith shuffled over to another table and sat back down.

[member="Siara Vorru"] @Crystal @Loxa Visl [member="Zoey Marix"]

 

[Crystal]

Crystal shook her head. She didn't have any contacts on the world. "I don't, but I think your plan is sound. Let us contact those corporations and see if they can help us expedite this mission...."

Her thoughts were interrupted by [member="Piraiba"]'s roaring. The Sith Princess blinked and turned to see what the issue was. Clearly not a good situation for the others at his table. And you know, the table wasn't there anymore. Crystal reminded herself not to gamble with the giant cat.

Everyone else was staring at him too. A huge grin formed on her when Piraiba realized that everyone was staring at him and he slunk away as a giant cat does. She broke the silence with a chuckle before continuing.

"I believe that we can make contact even before we reach the surface. There seems to be a great deal of activity in this area." She could sense it. But, she was still taking an advisory position to her companion [member="Siara Vorru"]

 

[Siara Vorru]

Waiting for anyone else to offer their thoughts or opinions before continuing Siara glanced back to her datapad tapping in a few notes. She looked up as [member="Piraiba"] tore the table off it's welds accusing another man of cheating she narrowed her eyes on both beings but before she could scold either of them the big Togorian was apologizing and slinking away. Her expression softened slightly, she barely knew him but he had certainly taken a shine to her. She didn't mind as long as it didn't cause him difficulty in the performance of any duties she assigned him, this was her mission after all and if it failed she would have to face the music for it.

"Ok then, how about [member="Crystal"] and [member="Zoey Marix"] attempt to make contact with the corporations on this world while [member="Loxa Visl"] attempts to make contact with the Royal council. Piraiba and myself will act as security for any face to face meeting with anyone from the planet. All progress should be reported back to me or if I am unavailable the Captain, he will pass along the messages as soon as I am available. Everyone understand what they should be doing?"

 

[Crystal]

[member="Siara Vorru"] [member="Zoey Marix"] [member="Loxa Visl"] [member="Selka Ventus"] [member="Judah Dashiell"]

Crystal nodded in agreement then looked to Zoey. "Shall we?"

The Sith Princess was heading to the bridge. There were a great many ships, and she trusted that some of them would have answers. Upon reaching the bridge, she spoke to the Captain. "To which corporations do those ships belong? We will speak to the larger corporations."

She assumed that it was going to take some time to find out, so she took a seat and stretched out her presence in the Force. The Sith Master wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she'd know it if she found it.

About a half hour later, the Captain reported that the two major corporations in the system were Silk Holdings and Santhe Corporation. Also of note, was Salacia Consolidated. She considered which to contact first. In the end, she instructed the Captain to try and hail them.

 

[Garza]

I smiled at the woman, nodding my head as we would be working together once more. After the outburst of my Feline friend, I was not too keen on messing with him right now. But don't worry, I still cared for the big fella.

Crystal was the one clearly in charge. and seeing as how she had helped me with some training with a lightsaber the past few times that we have met. I thought of her more as a teacher. Smiling as the woman spoke of finding the companies that the ships belonged to, I sat down as well. But rather messing with the straps on by bracers once more, rather than meditating. or whatever she was doing.

I had fallen asleep. Clearly this was the boring part of the mission. as when the captain finally came back, his noises woke me up. letting Crystal make the decision to Hail all of them, I stayed silent. not judging one bit..... okay maybe a little.

[member="Crystal"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@Crystal @Zoey Marix
A diplomatic ship normally merited a response from the ranking exec onsite, and a holocall in to Corporate if that ranking exec was lower than vice president or equivalent. Today, and for the duration of this operation, the co-CEO was present, shoring up kolto interests and managing the potential planetary evac. The hail was patched through to Selka Ventus, head of Silk after Jorus Merrill's retirement.

"This is Selka Ventus." Anyone who did business in the Outer Rim knew the name at this point. Silk's products were that pervasive. "Welcome to the Ceto System. To whom am I speaking?"

 

[Crystal]

[member="Selka Ventus"]

Crystal was pleased to get a response nearly immediately. She stood up from her seat before responding. "Greetings Selka Ventus. This is Crystal Carter aboard the Aurora. I represent the Moross Crusade on a diplomatic mission to Ceto. Your presence in the system suggests that you might appreciate an invitation to our discussions."

She stopped talking then to allow the woman to respond as she would.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Crystal"]

"As it happens, the leaders of the planet Ceto are in my conference room as we speak, as well as [member="Jared Ovmar"] of Santhe. We'd be more than happy to meet with you aboard my Pathfinder."

The Pathfinder-class was, some claimed, Silk's magnum opus -- an elite personal transport with the size and firepower of a heavy frigate, a minimum crew of two, and incredible modularity. Oh, and it handled like a ship one-tenth its length.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Crystal"] , [member="Selka Ventus"]

The communication came deep to the facility on the sea floor, retransmitted by the cargo haulers pushing out Salacia Consolidated materials into the atmosphere. Judah stood in front of the screen in his office, staring at the communication. He replayed it twice before sighing. Down so deep, his communication would take slightly longer to reach the surface -- but not by much.

"I'll meet with you. Please give myself a few moments, its no easy feat for a human to traverse through the undersea cities." Well, it was easy, just slightly time consuming. He ended the transmission and rounded up Chalu to come with him. Judah would prefer not to go alone, just in case.

It wasn't terribly long before they pair reached the surface via a transport, tropical breezes greeting them as they transferred into space faring vessel. As Judah took the controls, he sighed. There was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach about this meeting. Judah knew well enough about the Moross Crusade, he had been with the Rebels after all. Opening up his comm system, Judah hailed what vessels he thought were foreign to the area.

"Dashiell here....where did you want to meet me again?"

 

[Blackthorne]

"Temper, now, brother in stripes," Loxa approached [member="Piraiba"], placing a hand on his much larger arm. She smiled dolefully from beneath her hood, saffron eyes glinting, "infighting is something only the divine Hali likes. A trip to Ceto's surface to meet the Royals I must make, and someone of your strength and stature I would like to take."