Skirmish Fool Me Once [Corellian Confederation/Duro Blockade of Beshqek System]

[Marlon Sularen]

BYSS , BESHQEK SYSTEM
On board the Predator...

"This blockade is justified. While the Alliance has instituted a formal investigation of Byss, so has the Corellian Confederation. Our findings implicate him in several crimes within Corellian Space. Now, when we come to ask for his peaceful surrender he marches on our embassy. So no Commander, I don't think we will withdraw. If he does not call his military to stand down we will be forced to take action in order to save the lives of our citizens."

The Situation seemed to get worse as time went by with the Corellians now promising retaliation. First they had arrived at Byss demanding his Unconditional Surrender and now they went around throwing excuses that Sularen had committed Multiple Crimes within Corellian Space , Crimes the Lord-Imperator had no recollection of ever committing. It only showed how deeply entrenched the Corellians and Duros were and how Byss was unwilling to surrender. The Corellian Diktat spoke of protecting Corellian Lives when yet he threatened to starve Sularen's People to death , something Sularen would not tolerate.

And then next thing you know the Corellians and Durosians had already made their move. Within minutes of Diktat Nova's Statement , news reached the Lord-Imperator of the deployment of a single Drop-Pod which had somehow By-Passed the Shields along with new movement from the Durosian Fleet with a Task Force separating itself from the Main Fleet while a few Squadrons of Durosian Starships began rushing towards Sularen's Forces as if they intended to attack his Fleet. It was clear Corellia and Duros would not back down and so would Sularen. "Instruct Gauntlet 16 to deploy it's entire compliment of Tie Drones and have the Drones intercept the Durosian Fighters then send a warning to the Durosians that if they do not cease their movements , we would open disable their Moving Warships. And get me Surface-Marshal Torson" Sularen ordered.

Within Seconds 8 Squadrons of TIE Drones emerged from the hangars of Gauntlet 16 , one of the 24 "Gauntlet" Stations comprised of Golan Star Fortresses and Golan Fighter Platforms , with the Drones moving forth to intercept the advancing Durosian Force. Along with this deployment came a message from Beshqek System Command "This is Beshqek System Command to the Durosian Defense Fleet. By the command of Lord-Imperator Sularen you are to cease all current movements of your Forces or Beshqek System Command shall treat this as a Hostile act and will respond accordingly. Shall we receive no response within the next few minutes we will proceed to open fire on your moving vessels in defense of the Planet of Byss" and once that message ended Gauntlets 4 and 5 located at the egress point located at the Far Side of the System began locking on to the Moving Durosian Warships ready to open fire if they attempted something

"Sir , we're connected with the Surface-Marshal" an Officer said. Soon enough the face of the Surface-Marshal appeared on the Holoprojector onboard the Bridge of the Predator. "Ah Lord-Imperator , we are in the process..." the Surface-Marshal. "Surface-Marshal , you have disobeyed direct orders to impose martial law upon the Planet and instead have instigated a Anti-Corellian Riot directed against the Corellian Embassy." Sularen began. 'And while i praise these actions , you have unfortunally brought Byss and Corellia closer to war which isn't something that would work out for us should we strike first. Therefore i'm ordering you to establish a Perimeter around it with your Troops. I have ordered a task force 439th Legion and BSF Units under General Tarkov to support with orders to ensure my this order is enforced." Sularen said.

"But sir..." The Surface-Marshal was confused surprised that Sularen who had supported his actions just a few minutes ago had suddenly changed his mind. "I'm sorry Surface-Marshal , but we can't afford sparking a war, for now just keep the Embassy surrounded with your men , if the Corellian Fleet opens fire or the Corellians try any sort of move , only then will you have permission to storm the Embassy. Do you understand , Surface-Marshal?" Sularen asked. "Yes sir i do." Torson replied. "Now , get back to work"

Sularen sighed as the Surface-Marshal's Face disappeared from his Holoprojector. This was perhaps the largest Crisis he had faced since the disastrous Kuati Crisis which forced Sularen into exile upon being branded as an enemy to both the Grayson Imperium and the High Republic. But unlike Kuat , Sularen was determined to fight to the end unwilling to flee or surrender to his enemies and therefore the Lord-Imperator sent a universal message to all parties involved such as the GADF Naval Task Force Present , the Corellian-Durosian Blockade and finally the Chancellor , Vice-Chancellor and the current Committee Chairs watching over the Crisis.

"In my capacity as Lord-Imperator of the Beshqek System , it is my job to ensure the protection of the Citizens of the Beshqek System , to protect and respect the values and traditions they hold dear and to defend the Sovereignty of the the Beshqek System. Today , Corellia has violated all of this , threatening to plunge Byss into a Famine , outright disrespecting the Traditional Imperialist Values of the people of Byss and violating the sovereignty of the Constitutional Authority of Beshqek by attempting to illegally remove me from power without any sort of consent from the Senate , or Chancellor/Vice-Chancellor."

"I will not tolerate this Illegal Blockade on my World especially when it threatens the Stability and Integrity of the Beshqek System. And therefore i'm giving both the Corellian Confederation and Duros an Ultimatum , withdraw from the Beshqek System or face an immediate counter-attack from Beshqek System Command and if this ultimatum is refused or we do not receive any response within the next hour we will open fire on the Corellian and Durosian Fleets. Thus it is in the best interests of the Galactic Alliance to further press for a withdrawal of the Corellian and Durosian Fleet as the Constitutional Authority of Beshqek with or without the backing of the Senate will open fire on these hostile fleets in order to break their illegal blockade and in order to return the Beshqek System to a state of normalicy"

Tags | Yularen Nova | Mazik Stazi | Teica Giraan | Aerarii Tithe | Adhira Chandra | Annasari | Gerault Rush ​

---

---

SULARENOPOLIS , BYSS
At the Corellian Embassy...

Meanwhile on the Surface Below , Gunther Torson had received his orders from Sularen. To not storm the Corellian Embassy and rather simply surround it and await orders to attack it. Nevertheless Torson knew that he had to comply despite his intense Anti-Corellian Sentiment , shared by his men and the Civilians with them. Thus , the Mob of Anti-Corellian Soldiers and Civilians continued their March as they approached the Embassy although as Torson's Mob moved forward a Secondary Column of Troops approached the Embassy from a different route then Torson's Military and Civilian Forces. Escorted by Infantry Support Vehicles and few Tanks , the Troops approached the Embassy via Armored Civilian Transports known as Utility Shuttles allowing them to reach the Embassy before the arrival of Torson's Men.

Once Torson's Men arrived , the New Arrivals along with Torson's Troops began forming a perimeter around the Corellian Embassy with Crimson Stormtroopers , BSF Operatives and even Constitutional Guards following the directives of the Lord-Imperator and creating a barrier between the Embassy and the Anti-Corellian Rioters which had begun to slowly increase. With a few Tanks , Infantry Support Vehicles and a Trio of Mobile Missile Platforms acting as Artillery and Anti-Air , there was little chance the Corellians would fight back or attempt to escape as a Squadron of TIE Outlanders sored through the Sky to intercept the Drop-Pod and report it's Location to High Command so that Troops could be dispatched to intercept whoever was inside the pod.

Although the Corellian Embassy now lay surrounded by Imperial Soldiers , there were an increasing amount of Anti-Corellian Rioters throwing Rocks and Petrol Bombs at the Corellian Defenders. For now , Surface-Marshal Torson and General Harold Tarkov who commanded the Reinforcements that had joined up with Torson's Initial Force , had control of the situation but should the Corellians open fire on the Civilians it would give the justification both men needed to storm the Embassy anyways and proceed with their Initial Objective. Even if the Lord-Imperator had ordered against this , they knew that this was for the best of the people and that by doing so they would provide with the Lord-Imperator an opportunity to bargin with the Corellians.

However time would tell if the Corellians would strike or not , and while many on Byss wished to use Military Force to end the Blockade , Sularen remained opposed , despite really wanting to use force against the Corellians and Durosians. It was clear that the Senate and GADF might support the Aggressors if Byss struck First but then yet again , there was a Fragile Peace already present and given the current situation , War is inevitable...

Tags | Aaran Tafo | Elias Vati | Ripley Kühn | Gedri Fehen

​

 

[Kenth Berik]

Location: The bridge of the Adjudicator II, Relus, Beshqek System
Objective: Meet with Captain Kilian
Tags: Marlon Sularen Jaa Kilian

​

Kenth stood there in has black unifrom and watched as the ancient shuttle approached the hanger. A true relic and a no doubt a great ship to fly. He turned to one of his guards and spoke. "Do you know much about these Axxilans Lance Corporal?" the soldier was slightly off guard but answered a few seconds later. "Well I use to date one and she was crazy. Tried to kill me while I slept twice." the other trooper chuckled. "Only you could get a girl to actually try and kill you." Kenth smirked at the remark. The Lance corporal turned and replied. "Na her whole family had a few screws loose as well. Visited the planet once sir and it felt like a prison, as if you turned Coruscant inside out. I reckon I'd go crazy living there as well." The troopers were quickly silenced by the hissing noise of Kilian's shuttle depressurizing and the ramp opening up. Kenth made some last minute checks, straightening out his uniform and making sure his cap was on straight.

As Kilian extended his hand Kenth took it and shook. "Captain Kilian, the pleasure is mine." Kenth smirked as he mentioned the words Butcher of Ord Mantell. "Earn yourself a stage name and both your reputation and business will grow. That's what my father always told me." he said while reminiscing the battle. It was his first job for Sularen's Shadow Association and it was a costly one. "Sularen's men were a rowdy bunch to control and particularly ruthless and frankly war is messy." he continued. The older officer showed both kindness but Kenth felt almost overflattered at the same time. In this business of course it was still a game of gauging who is the bigger man.

"But that is the past and we appear to have bigger problems now." he said while motioning to one the security troopers. The trooper pulled out a holoprojector from his utility belt and walked up to the pair. When he activated it, a layout of the fleets around Byss was displayed. "If I know Sularen he will not back down and these Corellians don't seem keen either. We're likely looking at one big clusterf*ck on out hands." he said. Perhaps now was a chance to find out how much of a tactician Kilian was and the best way to do it was to play to his ego by calling on his experience. "I've faced my share of large fleet battles but you have been in the business for longer than I, have you seen any action similar on this scale."

 

[Annasari]

CHAOS REIGNS
Felmorante L'lerim | Yularen Nova | Mazik Stazi | Marlon Sularen | Teica Giraan

Go.

The senator wasted no time in ordering her pilots.

"You heard her."

With astonishing speed, the ship took off. Annasari's shoulders tensed, her breathing becoming heavier. The cloaked ship carefully weaved through its elder brethren, guided by deft hands. The best smugglers on Jakku, she trusted them despite her criminal status- they wouldn't have lived to see freedom into their greying years were they not what the citizen's made them out to be. She watched the pair, well-oiled cogs of the same machine, as their fate rode on them. One misstep, one button touched above on any well-equipped ship, one moment where the teen's concentration stumbled- and the agents would be found. Finally, open space came into view, the Byss fleet straight ahead.

"Almost there." She murmured, though unsure if the girl could hear her. "Keep us alive, deWinter."

 

[Ripley Kühn]

Her gaze didn't leave the computer as it began to boot, its green and black sequences ran across the screen, and she offered a half-hearted wave to Aaran Tafo .

"Have fun- don't get into trouble."

Without distractions, her focus shifted solely to the screen. As the holonet came to life, she saw the other agents logged in, ready. Ripley cracks her knuckles before her hand drifted to the keys. She quickly keyed in the command for her own encryption, and a false address- if followed, it would lead to a storefront for racy twi'lek videos, leaving the zeltron untraceable. Instinct took over as she went through the motions of preparing to slice.

As the channel opened, a small smile fluttered across the Zeltron's face. The mission took her back to simpler days, sitting in a dingy Coruscanti basement, surrounded by junk food and other like minds. For the first time in a while, she felt at peace. The next command would send thousands of messages to the satellite- with any luck, it would draw the attention away from her real intent, and buy whatever time was needed as technicians aimed to repair the wrong problem.

Moving to the holopad, she opened the file that would process messages as a relay. A machine within a machine- the advanced technology the alliance possessed at their fingertips never ceased to astound her. Her own messages populated, confirming their transmission. With the door open, Ripley keyed in the encryption code to access the system. A breath caught in her chest as she waited for the access screen to clear.

"Please don't be different, please don't be different.." The whispers continued as the seconds ticked by.

 

[Jaa Kilian]

Location: Relus, Beshqek System, Abandoned Mining Station in Orbit.
Relevant Tags: Marlon Sularen Kenth Berik
Objective: Discuss future operations with Kenth Berik

Kilian chuckled lightly as he released Kenth's hand; a stage name. It had been a few years since he toyed with that idea, probably not since he served over Axxila. His old crew had given him one, but it had rapidly changed to Traitorous Bastard when Kilian deserted the military. Of course, the slag heaps that their ships became couldn't exactly tell anyone about that less-than-proper title. Having a title would do wonders for public relations on those rare occasions where Kilian had to justify bombing civilian factories or using civilian craft as impromptu cover in a pitched battle, but it felt... childish now, though perhaps it was his Axxilianism showing through. If one is not constantly dour and miserable, then can one really call oneself an Axxilan?

Kilian put his hands at rest behind his back, listening to the diatribe of Kenth with rapt attention. The situation was precarious if what little Kilian had heard over open communications was anything to go by, and loathe though he was to admit it, Kilian was not a proponent of the Fleet-in-Being doctrine of naval combat. At least, he had not been in a very long time. He voiced as much to the younger man.

"I'm afraid I am much more a privateer than a fleet commander," Kilian admitted without displaying his discomfort in any obvious fashion, "That is not to say that I don't understand it, however. I was classically trained over Axxila, you see, under the Axxilan Navy. Of course, Axxilan military doctrine prefers the mass assault of heavily armed cruisers over anything more complicated. Lives are cheap on Axxila, far more so than a battlecruiser in any case. The benefit of being an ecumenopolis, no doubt. A lovely planet, its snow plains are a sight to see," Kilian ended his rant with a conspiratorial whisper, losing himself to reminiscing over his long-separated home. A rare smile graced the grizzled man's face before it was pushed back behind the cool exterior of a practised commander.

"Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately in this case - my training was far more focused around privateering. Curiously, Axxila was far more focused on teaching us the tactics pirates liked to use over teaching us how to combat them," Kilian refrained from stating that he used those same tactics to great effect against Axxila in the early days of his work when he was more a pirate than a mercenary. Though remarkably similar in practice and action, there was a stigma to being a pirate when talking to other mercenaries. With a sigh, Kilian continued, "I tried my hand at larger scale battles back in my twenties, but I learned early on that the cost typically outweighed the profit potential. It was fortunate that my former ship - an old Victory cruiser - used such ubiquitous parts, I'd have gone bankrupt years ago if it wasn't.. You know, I never realized how many ships still used Rendili design practices until I started using that old ship? That is neither here nor there, however..."

Kilian continued to study the hologram of Byss placed before him, using his half-assed babbling as a cover to formulate an articulate response to Beri's conundrum. Quite honestly, they were horribly outmatched. If it were just the Corellians or just the Duros, they might have had a better chance. However, for the last half an hour, the sensors officer had been compiling a shortlist of ship callsigns that they could pick up, and it did not paint a pretty picture. There were some big names in play out there, and Kilian knew a couple of miserly Captains weren't going to be enough to break them.

"A couple of battlecarriers and a handful of cruisers aren't going to break that blockade, not unless Sularen is willing to throw his fleet at their front to give us an opening. What's the word from him? I haven't heard sight nor sound of the basta-- ah, the Lord-Imperator, I mean. Does he have a plan in the works, or are we on our own?"

Kilian, for his part, had a series of plans already running through his head. True to his privateer roots, Kilian's plans mostly centred around acts of trickery, probing strikes, and false-flag attacks. He would give his entire commission from Sularen, all nine figures of it, for a fleet of Torpedo Spheres or something with equally long ranges, it would make this whole operation easier. Of course, a small armada of slow-moving carriers hardly fit his preferred tactics.

 

[Felmorante L'lerim]

CHAOS UNBRIDLED!

Equipment: Haywire I Armor over Viper Mk. I Skinsuit, Duraglide Boots with Boot Rockets
Dark Purple pair of Wrist Dazzlers, 7 Whimsy Knives, 3 Glitter Grenades, 2 Giggle Grenades, 1 Pink Vapor Grenade
Objective: Help start the fun.
Tag: Annasari | Yularen Nova | Mazik Stazi | Otto Shule | Marlon Sularen | Teica Giraan

Her attention was not easily gained, the words filtering through slowly as she focused her attention to the task at hand. She did manage a small dose of sass into her reply, her breathing taking a dedicated and labored tempo.

"I can keep. Us hidden. Or keep. Us alive." The words had a small laugh behind them, but the timing was almost inappropriate, as though the message had arrived late and she was just getting to reply.

Her focus did not fail, the bubble hiding them not yet wavering, though it was becoming plain that the effort was beginning to wear on the girl.

 

[Bashir]

CITY OF ASHES
DEEP CORE
GALACTIC ALLIANCE DEFENSE FLEET

​

"Savrip to kintan four."

"Clever old bastard," Commander Bashir muttered to himself.

While he considered his next dejarik move the Starhawk's senior officer consulted a datapad on the latest embassy intel. Teica Giraan conducted herself admirably in negotiations but Aftab understood at least some of the politics in play. He was certain now why Senator Stazi sent him hunting for Deep Core phantoms. Another commander might not be so hesitant to open fire on his blockade just to save some Imperials.

"Incoming transmission. Commander, its the Alliance Ascendant."

"Hell, its about time."

A very large blip representing the first generation Startide-class Defender appeared on the bridge's tactical holodisplay. Behind it a swarm of smaller blips gathered into formation. Battle Groups Kenobi and Syndulla were still on the system's spinward edge caught by the same gravity wells interdicting all hyperspace traffic into the system. Dozens of star destroyers not including their escorts powered up sublight drives announcing their presence to anyone who had missed the cronau radiation surge from such a massive hyperspace reversion.

"Inform the High Admiral we are ready to engage. Contact the Epilogue."

He shimmered into existence on Teica's bridge. Bashir was middle aged but still had an ocean shine to his skin. He wore a GADF uniform elegantly altered for Mon Cal physiology. One eye was cybernetic, only apparent because of the unnatural angles at which it sometimes spun. His original lost somewhere in the Ivax Nebula courtesy of First Order defiance. Aftab blinked at her, assessing the human in that vacant way characteristic of his species.

"Commander Giraan, despite your best efforts the situation has grown more volatile. We are detecting multiple launches both from the blockade forces and Beshqek System Command. Recommend we deploy squadrons and target any ship failing to stand down weapons with ion ordnance. Reinforcements are on their way."

Bashir knew it was a gamble. While the City of Ashes could stand up to sustained bombardment Giraan's Iblis frigate was not so durable. Still if they could hold out until the Ascendant arrived to negotiate with Yularen Nova and Marlon Sularen from a position of strength there might yet be hope to minimize loss of life.

 

[Teica Giraan]

[Location: ANV Epilogue (Iblis-class Missile Frigate) -- Internalized C.I.C]
[Sit Rep: Oh looky...we've got a war on our hands..]
[Commander Giraan standing by]
[Direct Relevancy: Jax Thio , Bashir , Yularen Nova , Marlon Sularen , Olen Halcorr
I'm missing someone, am I?]​

"Bold words," The jedi said, "But unless the Alliance has a damn armada there's not much we can do here."

Teica's hand came up, forearm bent at ninety degrees while the rest of her arm held out to the left. She had her reasons, and all would be explained in due time. If only she had that moxy on a regular basis.

"Commander Giraan, This is Diktat Yularen Nova, commanding officer of the Siren of Titan. We-" A voice came and went from the channel, before making a full return, this time on all frequencies.

"This blockade is justified. While the Alliance has instituted a formal investigation of Byss, so has the Corellian Confederation. Our findings implicate him in several crimes within Corellian Space. Now, when we come to ask for his peaceful surrender he marches on our embassy. So no Commander, I don't think we will withdraw. If he does not call his military to stand down we will be forced to take action in order to save the lives of our citizens."

"{Marching on your embassy!?}" Right on cue, she found the datapad detailing the full situation between her palms, "{This is going to spiral out of control, and we'll all have a war on our hands! Both of you, stand Do-}"

"Multiple sensor contacts, ma'am!" The scanner chief spun around, and threw an anxious stare her way.

"{I ask you all again. Stand down, and cut your losses. Innocent people are going to die, don't you see!?"

It was no use. The fuse had been lit, and the flame had begun to travel for the coming detonation. Fists clenched, Teica's hand rushed to cut the signal, until the Lord-Imperator himself's voice rang out.

Spoiler: Sularen's Message(Compressed for the sake of space)

"In my capacity as Lord-Imperator of the Beshqek System , it is my job to ensure the protection of the Citizens of the Beshqek System , to protect and respect the values and traditions they hold dear and to defend the Sovereignty of the the Beshqek System. Today , Corellia has violated all of this , threatening to plunge Byss into a Famine , outright disrespecting the Traditional Imperialist Values of the people of Byss and violating the sovereignty of the Constitutional Authority of Beshqek by attempting to illegally remove me from power without any sort of consent from the Senate , or Chancellor/Vice-Chancellor."

"I will not tolerate this Illegal Blockade on my World especially when it threatens the Stability and Integrity of the Beshqek System. And therefore i'm giving both the Corellian Confederation and Duros an Ultimatum , withdraw from the Beshqek System or face an immediate counter-attack from Beshqek System Command and if this ultimatum is refused or we do not receive any response within the next hour we will open fire on the Corellian and Durosian Fleets. Thus it is in the best interests of the Galactic Alliance to further press for a withdrawal of the Corellian and Durosian Fleet as the Constitutional Authority of Beshqek with or without the backing of the Senate will open fire on these hostile fleets in order to break their illegal blockade and in order to return the Beshqek System to a state of normalicy"

"{All Corellian and Duros forces, stand down, Now! Sularen, I want that terrorism you're displaying on the ground called off, and we'll get you your normalcy, lest you all become enemies of the Alliance. Do you really think this is all we have?!}"

Her fist slammed down, finally butchering the communications link. Corellia and Duros had the audacity to spark a conflict and proceed to put forth a goal of saving civilians, only to be met with the same senseless- Hypocrisy. Teica's blood began to boil with the same anxiety and infuriated energy that filled the Epilogue's electrical conduits.

"Well, jedi. Looks like these banthas are charging. Hanger bay, now!" The commander put her arms before her, firmly planting rough hands along the rim of the display table, "Prepare anti-fighter screen, get all our birds in the air! Missile tubes online, prepare to fire on my command!"

A circular blue surface lit up before her, holo-projectors came to life, and within seconds, the image of a Mon Calamari commander; clad in an Alliance uniform and decorated with a cybernetic eye. Teica pushed herself from the table, hands now tucked neatly behind her, while her eyes and ears stood at the ready.

"Commander Giraan, despite your best efforts the situation has grown more volatile. We are detecting multiple launches both from the blockade forces and Beshqek System Command. Recommend we deploy squadrons and target any ship failing to stand down weapons with ion ordnance. Reinforcements are on their way."

"Roger that, Mister Bashir," Within seconds, her eyes had returned for the tactical console, "Charge up all ion cannons. All squadrons, fan out. Prepare for interception. Action Stations!"

The bridge turned red, now illuminated with the indications of a Condition One alert. Footsteps ran amok, mixed in with the chaos of overlapping orders. Erupting through the metallic plating around them, engines roared, and pistons pumped. Well-oiled gears came into full motion, and brought ion barrels to aim as per the orders of their targeting computers. The Epilogue spun about, bringing a port array of ion cannons to face an agitated swarm of mixed vessels. Corellian, Duros, Byssian, all blurred behind the mess at hand.

She wasn't ready to loose anyone else in another hopeless conflict, another spark of war, especially not one with her own people. It won't come to it, Teica told herself, cringing at a promise she had made hundreds of times, and had broken over and over.

They just had to hold out a while longer.

 

[Kenth Berik]

Location: The bridge of the Adjudicator II, Relus, Beshqek System
Objective: Meet with Captain Kilian
Tags: Marlon Sularen Jaa Kilian

​

The Caridian officer listened as Kilian spoke and it shed more light on the man, every shred of information counted after all. "Well these are no pirates and we are commanding no pirate hunting fleets. Sularen likes his Battlecarriers which is a far cry from what I was originally trained with as well." Smaller ships were much more to Kenth's liking, they packed heavy firepower while also not needing a fleet of support ships to keep them afloat. Even before he flew the Adjudicator II he commanded a humble frigate. "Perhaps the large complement of starfighters they host may play to your Axxilan doctrine. They are numerous and well Sularn's men are 'cheaper' than our own." he continued. "As for the Caridian style, well I'd definitly like to see a few more frigates. Relying solely on cruisers to protect the battlecarries limits our mobility." Carida's military academy had kept the legacy of it's Imperial predecessor alive. They kept things Imperial, which meant an obnoxiously elitist attitude as well as an emphasis on maximizing capital ship firepower rather than starfighter support.

Turning his attention back to the holo display of the map he spoke once more. "Our employer hasn't contacted me no, from what I've been hearing the surface is a right mess. I believe he's holding us in reserve, should the blockade's forces choose to attack." Kenth looked towards the enemy fleet and various plans ran through his head. The element of surprise was there and they didn't necessarily have to utterly destroy the blockade, but simply doing enough damage. "If I were Sularen I would have has flank the enemy fleet. Microjump there. We do as much damage as we can and render their blockade ineffective." he continued, pointing to either side of the enemy blockade.

"Along with Sularen's core fleet we could drive them out the system rather than attempt to completely annihilate them. It would be a lot less work and a lot less costly" Kenth said with a sly smirk. Not to mention they would still be paid for their services. Completing the objective with minimum expenditures wasn't exactly the Imperial way of going about things but one thing mercenary life had taught Kenth is that money is everything. "The only problem are the Alliance. Those vermin sit at the edge of the blockade on their high horse attempting to tell us what is right and wrong. There's no telling who they'll side with." Kenth continued, contempt clear in his voice. The Alliances targeting of Imperial warlords would not only put Kenth out of business but also went against his Imperial morals adn that truly made his blood boil! "What we do with them, is up to Sularen."

One of the Adjudicator troopers head perked up as a transmission came in. After a second of talking he approached Kenth and Kilian and spoke. "Sirs, there's been a development. Seems all three fleet are preparing to engage." After listening to the trooper Kenth turned back to Kilian. "Well then, our employer should be in contact with us soon if that's the case."

 

[Petir Sant]

LOCATION ▸ Forming up on Rogue Leader
EQUIPMENT ▸ X-Wing Starfighter
​

There was a moment of tension as the reversion from hyperspace began, with the mottled tunnel of blue that turned into star points, and there was those moments of uncertainty. What were they arriving into? Were they going to be shot at? Seconds passed in Petir's mind, as he reached out with his black gloved hands and began to flick a number of switches and buttons on his X-Wing control panels.

"Hey, Boop, let's get the shields powered up to maximum," Rogue Four said to his BB-8 astromech droid, who blurted affirmative from behind the cockpit. "Pull power from the weapons. Looks like we're sitting pretty for now."

A scan of the immediate area, followed by comm chatter from Rogue Leader, indicated they would basically hurry up and wait. That was a-okay with the older pilot, as he worked his nose and twitched his mustache out of habit. Once the calibrations were done, and the X-Wing was in a state for realspace operation, there were check-ins.

"Rogue Four checking in," Petir grinned as he pushed his flight rudder and angled toward Olen. "All lights green and formin' up, squadies!"

The sensor screens began lighting up, as Boop went ahead and started to sweep the sector. It looked like a tense situation, but at least all the Rogues had checked in, and began to form up. Meanwhile, the shields of the starfighter had powered up to charge, which meant the energy regulators could be returned to normal, which Petir went a did with some flicks of his fingers on toggles.

"Keep scanners roaming, Boop. Don't want any nasty surprises."

Switching over to a private comm frequency, Petir raised an eyebrow under the yellow-tinted visor of his flight helmet as he addressed Rogue Squadron as a whole:

"So what are we thinking, folks? We are deterrent today, or are we going to see some action?"

While Petir wouldn't bet on it, since that wasn't the kind of sentient he was, there was a fifty-fifty chance as it currently stood...

Teica Giraan | Bashir | Jax Thio | Yularen Nova | Marlon Sularen | Len Vert | Daz Farlander​

 

[Jax Thio]

Location: ANV Epilogue
Equipment: Jedi Jumpsuit, Jax's Prosthetic Arm, Jax's Second Lightsaber, Promise Ring to Jairdain
Tag: Teica Giraan

If people stopped and listen to one another then perhaps there was a better chance for peace but that required people to actually listen.

Sadly in tense moments like the blockade people often block themselves figuratively and literally and just shut out opposing arguments. It happened every where in the Galaxy but especially in a blockade. Right now Jax felt like he was stuck between two Kyrat Dragons fighting over the rotting piece of meat and the Galactic Alliance are the Tusken Raiders trying to calm both of them down. The holoprojector showed both sides launching fighters and if they engaged with each other then it'll extremely tough to intervene. The Jedi sighed. "Unless," he thought. Perhaps he could put that Seismic Charge to good use and fire it at the middle. It was a long shot and will cause a ton of casualties but if they don't do anything then the whole planet will be burning.

"Commander," Jax said walking towards her. "We don't have any chance against either of their fleets let alone both. But I do have something that could turn the tide in our favor if we play this right."

Jax turned to the Holomap showing the fighters about to fire upon each other. "My X-Wing has a Seismic Charge and if we can get to the epicenter than I can unload it. The blast should be sufficient enough to do heavy damage to both sides giving us a window to attack. All I need is to get to that center." Jax pressed a few buttons and the holoprojector displayed a dark red dot which being placed in the middle of the battlefield. "I need every squadron you got to cover me Commander and I can take the rest from here."

Jax did some crazy stunts before and it usually worked in his favor. The keyword being usually.

 

[Tris]

The need for secrecy was over and done with. Fireteam Majestic had its mission, and by the Force they would see it through. A black spear crashed behind the line of Byss troops, sending debris and dust into the defensive line and into the crowd. The concussive force of a drop pod landing from orbit was probably enough to hurt somebody, maybe even kill if too close, but they had carte blanche to ensure the safety of the Corellians inside and specifically Corellian Councilor Udina.

The doors to the drop pod popped open and the six-man fireteam jumped from the spear, blasters raised, ready to fight. They didn't wait for the Byss forces to engage though and backed away slowly towards the door of the building. Ghedri risked a look behind her into the building and saw the occupants looking through viewports, terror and surprise in their eyes. The rarely deployed Halcyon Commandos were commonplace on Corellian military propaganda but had seen fewer than five actual uses in open combat. They were mostly reserved for special operations missions which were typically off-the-books.

"Secure the door," she said into the helmet comm, her voice coming out a garbled mess of Old Corellian and Mando'a to the people around her. Her helmet pinged her in that moment; an update from the fleet above, text only.

GA Fleet Approaching. Mission Update: Secure Councilor, await extraction.

Ripley Kühn Aaran Tafo Elias Vati Marlon Sularen

 

[Yularen Nova]

He was in the middle of preparing to respond to the cruiser's commander when his antennae began to quiver, and then flash jolts of sensation down through his skull to the point that it began to hurt his eyes. Cursing he watched as his bridge devolved into chaos.

"General! Massive cronau radiation spike! I- I've never seen-"

"Drive signature matching Startide-Class Star Defender have been noted on the edge of the Byss system-"

"Nebula-Class Star Destroyers are-"

"Fireteam Majestic has just made landfall they're-"

The chaos of the bridge did not help his headache. Sometimes his species' ability to "listen" and feel the ebb and flow of Hyperspace was a boon. It allowed competent Quarth commanders to prepare for surprise attacks and develop unique strategies around the manipulation of hyperspace with gravity well generators and the like. But if one wasn't careful, the strain of listening in on that flow of Hyperspace could be too great. That was his mistake. He was so sure that Sularen would bring more forces in to pincer their fleet that he had been paying too much attention to Hyperspace.

Now as the Alliance moved to trap him between the Byss system defenses and the Alliance's own fleet, the sheer size of their fleet dropping in and disrupting the flow of hyperspace was causing him physical pain.

"We will not retreat! Hold the line!" he shouted, his head in his left hand. "We cannot leave the system until we can confirm the safety and extraction of Councilor Udina. There is no telling what this bastard will do to those at the embassy once the threat of immediate destruction is relieved." The Corellians did not stand down, they did not remove their missile locks, and they did not recall their fighters.

Teica Giraan Bashir Marlon Sularen

 

[Zeradias Mant]

"Predator, this is the Impending Storm. Requesting permission to dock."

"Impending Storm, Predator. Permission to dock granted, proceed to starboard Hangar C3-Aurek. Be advised, we will be using a tractor beam to facilitate docking."

The situation developing both on and around Byss was increasingly dire, as unstable leadership combined with the vigilante actions of a few planetary governments threatened to ignite the powder keg that would plunge the new Alliance into a state of disarray beyond that which it presently experienced. In a galaxy where the importance of major galactic powers was increasingly and exceedingly inflated, Byss was proving to be one of the most public examples of local powers breaking from its administrative parent - politically or otherwise. However, its leader, Marlon Sularen, has proven to be an erratic figure who's only consistency was in his desire to consolidate power. Not only did he jeopardize the security of the Alliance, he also jeopardized the ability of other systems to wage campaigns to see themselves free and independent from the rule of higher authorities.

Marlon Sularen was a problem. He was a problem for the Galactic Alliance, he was a problem for systems who desired complete sovereignty, and he was evidently a problem for the region. The status quo could prove to be just as consequential as a war seeking to depose him. That's where Zeradias Mant came in.

He had once waged a very public campaign against the Galactic Alliance of old and later forged a coalition of Core powers to defend themselves from strong central powers. As a planetary leader, he had stood up to galactic superpowers in the First Order and the Sith Empire. More recently, albeit for more personal reasons, he had gone toe-to-toe with the New Imperial Order. Zeradias Mant was no stranger to taking on Goliath.

The status quo could not be allowed to continue. Devolution into full-fledged combat would be devastating to both Byss and other movements throughout the galaxy. Choices made today would have galaxy-wide consequences.

As his light cruiser docked to the Predator, Zeradias disembarked, flanked by a pair of imposing super battle droids. There, he sought to meet with the fledgling leader to offer his assistance in taking measured responses to the increasingly incendiary actions taken on all sides. Whether or not the Alliance knew it, he was doing them a favor. Stepping into the corridors of Sularen's battlecruiser, he was curtly greeted by a Beshqek officer and several soldiers, whether it was to escort or to satisfy their own curiousity.

Soon, Mant would be face-to-face with Sularen. Above all else, what the situation called for was restraint. He just hoped that he would get there before things reached the point of no return.

Marlon Sularen ​

 

[Elias Vati]

Location: Corellian Embassy on Byss
Equipment: Sector Ranger Tactical Armor - A280 Blaster Rifle
Tags: Gedri Fehen Marlon Sularen
​

A rumbling could be heard outside the embassy followed by screaming and loud boots treading the entrance. Elias, the other rangers, and Corellian marines had their aims fixated on the doors as they waited for what seemed to be the Byss insurgents barging into the embassy. But with their blasters trained, Elias received a transmission from the commander. "Lieutenant do not engage the signatures at the door those are Halcyon commandos I repeat do not engage. They're here to extract Councilor Udina."

Elias never met a Halcyon commando. He heard of them back when he was in CoreSec but they were more or less a part of Corellian mythos to give him and other Corellians hero figures to feed their patriotic fervor but looks like he was going to meet some for the first time. Knowing who they were, Elias and his ranger squad approached the door and typed in the access code to open it. There before them stood the warriors of legend, but he couldn't afford to get carried away. "Councilor Udina is in the panic room. Extraction is another story." After his brief interaction, Elias went on comms in the foyer with command to clarify the situation.

"Command, this is Saber 1. A Corellian extraction team is here to exfil the Corellian ambassador. Please advise."

"Orders still stand. Defend the Embassy."

"Affirmative but their presence complicates matters. The besiegers seem agitated and the situation seems to be escalating. What's the news back on Coruscant?"

"The Senate is still discussing matters related to Lord-Imperator Suralen's position as head of state of Byss. Naval forces are here to ensure conflict doesn't ensue."

Yeah that wasn't gonna help Elias much. If things were gonna go the way they were there was going to be a massacre on both sides and odds were, he wasn't going to live long enough to survive this encounter. "Roger. Saber 1 out."

 

[Gramani Fey’la]

- ATTENTION TOP SECRET SPYNET DATA -


- MUST PROVIDE DESCRAMBLER CODE TO ACTIVATE SPYNET MISSION DATABASE -

- DESCRAMBLER CODE : V8MF03S510TY3

- CODE ENTERED, WELCOME DEPUTY CHIEF, CODENAMED LION KING​

- OPERATIVES: DEPUTY CHIEF GRAMANI FEY'LA

Spoiler: TOP SECRET: SPYNET ONLY!!!

ADDITIONAL INFO: SPYNET AGENT JURI BELKOSAR KILLED ON BYSS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO UNCOVER AND PROVIDE PROOF OF POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT OF ORGANIZATION THAT IS BEING INVESTIGATED, CODENAMED PALPATINE

SPECIAL AGENT DRAGA CALTH'AYE FOUND BODY OF AGENT BELKOSAR, BUT WAS AMBUSHED AFTERWARDS

DEPUTY CHIEF GRAMANI FEY'LA TRAVELED TO BYSS 3 MONTHS AGO FOR SIA OPERATION: INITIATED AND TO POSSIBLY TAKE OUT THE LORD IMPERATOR, MARLON SULAREN, CODENAMED KINGPIN

CURRENT INFORMATION STILL CONNECTS SULAREN TO SECRET UNKNOWN ORGANIZATION CODENAMED PALPATINE OPERATING WITHIN THE CORE WORLDS. DEPUTY CHIEF FEY'LA BELIEVES SULAREN IS APART OF THIS FACTION, WILL ATTEMPT TO UNCOVER PROOF AND EVIDENCE OF THIS, COMPLETING AGENT BELKOSAR'S MISSION SHALL HE BE SUCCESSFUL. SPYNET MISSION ONLY.

CURRENTLY, FORCES FROM DUROS AND CORELLIA HAVE BEGUN TO BLOCKCADE BYSS. ALLIANCE WARSHIPS HAVE ARRIVED AND TENSIONS ARE ESCALATING, CONFLICT IS CERTAINLY IMMINENT

ON THE SURFACE, LARGE COLUMNS OF SULAREN'S CRONIES AND THOUSANDS OF CIVILIANS MARCH TO THE CORELLIAN EMBASSY. CORELLIAN FORCES INSIDE HAVE NOT BEEN THE MOST SUBTLE

- SIA AGENT & DEPUTY CHIEF OF BOTHAN SPYNET, GRAMANI FEY'LA -
Reporting​

LOCATION: Byss, Imperial Control Sector, Commercial District 2, only 5 street blocks from Corellian Embassy
Tags: Elias Vati Gedri Fehen Aaran Tafo Ripley Kühn Marlon Sularen




Gramani had been on Byss for a few months. In that time, the small fledging insurgency he assisted had grown. Nearly from only 6 members to 200. However, as soon as the karkin Corellians showed up, everyone on Byss went into a frenzy. I guess the people didn't like the prospect of being occupied by the same enemy twice. The Insurgency feel apart, with most of the members forgetting why they even joined and mostly all went to join the growing number of civilians forming at the Corellian Embassy. The situation was getting bad done here on the surface, and just as bad up in orbit. Corellians and Durosians had arrived to form a blockade to force Sularen to abdicate.

Huh, if they thought that would work, they clearly didn't know Marlon Sularen . The situation was made worse when the GADF showed up and started to mediate, which made things much worse, and both sides refused to back down.

Gramani had a few agents back at HQ monitoring the activities up in space for him. He needed to focus on the stuff on the ground.

He now turned from the window view of the safehouse he was currently located at. Positioned in an abandoned upper floor of a commercial trade office. From the window, he could see directly down the street, to the Corellian Embassy, now surrounded by thousands of angry civilian rioters with Beshqek security forming a perimeter of the building. Even worse, some dumb Corellian idiot had sent in a group Halcyons via drop pod. Gramani liked the Halcyons, they were tough and took no chit, but they had dropped right in front of the frenzied crowd. That made the crowd and Sularen's trigger happy cronies even more angry. The Bothan had sliced into the Embassy comms and learned that they trying to evacuate a Councilor from the building. So many chaos and all started because of the bad relations between Sularen and the Galactic Senate.

Typically, Gramani wouldn't care about the politics, but Sularen's goons had killed one of his agents while he was on Byss investigating.

Then it became personal.

Unfortunately, Sularen was hiding up in his cozy ship up in orbit. Fey'la's plan to take him out, would have to wait. He had come so close a couple months before, but missed the window.

With the insurgency group basically done for and with mass chaos across most of the capital, Gramani knew it was time to go. As well, he had been here for 3 months, and by the force, he had grown some resentment to the people of Byss. Gramani would describe them as "Arrogant, Ignorant, and downright annoying". They were also heavily imperial and shunned all other ideals or opposing arguments. By the stars, he really started to hate them. The only thing he could admire was their false sense of loyalty to a man, who wouldn't fight for them if the roles were reversed.

He was very relieved he was finally leaving, now the question was, how?

Before he could ponder that, he had work to do.

He walked back over to the man strapped to interrogation board, positioned as if the man was standing and he was still restrained.

The man was a senior security advisor to Sularen, Krass Daneb. He had possession of major information that Gramani needed to finally finish Agent Belkosar's mission, this was the only reason he was still here on Byss.

It had taken 3 months, besides the time wasted with the SIA's operations, and after all the work he did basically by himself, he had gotten someone who could finally give him answers.

"TELL ME WHAT I WANT.....TO......KNOW!!!!!!!!", gnarled the Bothan standing closely and adjacently to the restrained human.

"I....I....won't...you filthy Bothan scum", the man said with his now faded voice after being tortured for several hours, severely depleted.

The Jedi would definitely not approve, but the Jedi weren't here.

This was his operation and he would finish it.

He increased the shock setting to 8, sending unimaginable pain throughout the human's body. He soon screamed in agony.

"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!".

No one would hear, especially with the loud chaos outside.

"Tell me the name, the name of the organization, the one Sularen is behind!".

The man looked like he wanted to say something as he turned his head back towards Gramani, but he stopped himself before he did.

The Bothan grew tired of this, 3 hours of hell and he wouldn't bend.

Then Gramani would make him break.

The Deputy Chief clenched his fist tight and pressed on the button, for shock setting 10.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH", "UUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!".

"AAAGGGGHHH, STOP....PLEAS.....GAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"TELL ME THE NAME!!!!!"

Gramani lowered the setting to zero and stared furiously at the petulant human.

"Please.....I.....don.....don't know"

"YES, YOU DO!!"

"I swear.....I do not know" The man clearly thought about what he was about to do, reveal the Lord-Imperator's secrets. He swallowed his breath and spoke.

"I...really don't know....use a truth serum....if you want".

Gramani clenched both his fists in anger and frustration, but he knew through experience that the man was probably telling the truth. He began to stomp away, but the man began to shout and demand.

"Hey wait....I don't know anything about the organization, but I do know it definitely exists!".

"Explain".

"Sularen has been having more and more private communications in the last year or two". "Most of it has been offworld communications, and mostly with his cousin, the Byss Senator". "However, through discreetly reading the lengthy comm logs, I gained a few names".

"Why did you keep the names"

"In case the GA come for Sularen, and I need to negotiate my freedom".

"Why, what have you done that would earn you prosecution".

"I.....I assisted in the execution of 12 citizens". "They were.............related to a single man operating in a rebel cell......they themselves were loyal, but apparently not loyal enough". "I was just a low city official at the time, and I got orders from up top, the very top, demanding that the entire family and extended family be.....eliminated.....to send a message to the outlaw". "So we followed orders and they were executed".

"You seemed conflicted, it obviously still bothers you".

"It does".

"Then why stay loyal to Sularen.....for the most part".

"Because he saved us, saved us from depravity and from the influence of other worlds, like Corellia".

"Ah yes, Byss and Corellia, what a recent history you two have had, quite tragic". "Yet similar, both are corrupt and both act like squabbling children".

"But why are you people so loyal to him, I don't understand you Byssians".

"You never will...haha.....beings like you will never understand true loyalty"

Gramani glared at the man with fury, but held it in barely, "Be careful, human....don't push your luck, especially not now".

The human swallowed his breath in fear.

"And you are the one...who doesn't know true loyalty".

"Now, these names you have, who are they?"

"I am not exactly sure myself, one of them is a man named, Dorian Sevanar"

Gramani had heard of that name before through several Spynet reports, always a mention of man with that name being involved with something or other.

"Hmmm, I know that name, do you know what his connection is with Sularen?"

"No I do not, but if you access our comms network, you could probably get more information".

"Haha, not like you could ever access it".

"Wrong"

"What?"

"My slicer broke through your defenses 2 days ago, All I had to do was place a discreet data beacon on your servers, which I did after breaking into your data vaults, to be honest it wasn't that hard".

"How yo.....your just a....."

"Just a what?". "A Bothan?". "Oh, hahaha".

"You humans think you are so high and mighty, but the only reason you are still relevant is because of us, the rest of the galaxy, we stare at you secretly sharpening our blades, ready to finally cut our your disgraceful existence from the galaxy!".

"And someday........we will". Gramani didn't actually mean most of that, even though he was not a big fan of all humans himself. Just was using it to scare the man ever further.

"And for the SIA, well, when myself and agent Whisper located and traced back the encryption they acquired on....whatever world it was, I forgot.....anyway, following our tracing it to here, I took over for the busy SIA, well, obviously I didn't tell them I copied the encryption".

"But.."

"I wasn't finished". "So as of now, Agent Kuhn is attempting to access the Byss communication network, which of course the Spynet has already done, big surprise".

"So when they sent in a disguised message to try to infiltrate, they couldn't have gotten it through, they forgot that you lot had a double coded signal encryption which for the second encryption changes its signature every hour, so even if they passed the stagnant first, which they did, they would need to get past the second, which no one could unless it was tapped from the server vaults, oh wait, I did that, haha".

"I was able to take over the command of your systems passively and as your comm operators could not see anything wrong as I had my people keep your network moving as normal". "Once we had command I sat tight for about an hour and until you arrived".

"What will you do?"

"Not much, my gatherers have already copied every piece of valuable comm traffic they could find, anything else, the SIA can help themselves to it if they so wish, I have my own goals".

"I thought you Bothans liked the Alliance".

"I do, but it is turning into another corrupt and sorrowful republic as it has many times before". "There are those who might prevent it from a full decay, but most of the damage is already inevitable".

"And you won't tell them?"

"I will inform them of what I need to, I only care for protecting Bothan space and my kin everywhere, no matter where or who they align with"

"Going back to the SIA and the Alliance, agent Kuhn should be nearly through to the moving encryption". Gramani walked over to the large comm system he had set up. "Agent Jath'le, has the SIA accessed the Byss comm network yet?"

"Not yet sir, this Ripley Kuhn is really special, she's almost as good as me". "If only they had done further ops on Byss, they wouldn't have needed our help now"

"If only agent, alright prepare to unlock the communication network for the Alliance, give them full control and pull out any Spynet data traces, I don't want them knowing we copied anything or deleted a few bits"

"Yes Chief, you got it". "It seems this Jedi is attempting to almost brute hack it, which might actually work, but without our encryption it will take too long".

"Lets help her our Agent, open the floodgates on my order". "And remember, release the controls on keeping the Byss comm operators blind, when we open it up, they'll panic".

"Yes sir". "Wait, she's distracting their firewall with tons of message flares, and.....she about to try to enter the encryption, she's entered their outer outgoing comms as well".

"I bet she's hoping her encryption code is good, unfortunately, it isn't, but ours is".

"Ok sir, ready to allow access and I've pulled most Spynet connections out".

"Good, on my mark...."

A good 10 seconds lasted of silence, until Fey'la brought his head to the comm mic and gave the order

"Execute"

Immediately, without a thought, the female Bothan slicer granted access to the SIA's encryption code. Even though it wouldn't have worked otherwise, the Bothan was able to change the signature back to where that encryption code would work, the benefits of using a data beacon. It was something the SIA didn't even know much of, but it made sense since it was a highly invasive device.

For the Zeltron Jedi Sentinel, the screen would show her encryption code as being accepted and her being given full access. However, when she would open their comms in full, she would quickly see a moderate size entry file, be deleted instantly. Hopefully that didn't cause any suspicion. Fey'la wanted to avoid any awkwardness with the Alliance, but if it was to happen, it would make little difference and would only mean that the Spynet would have a tougher time doing operations in Alliance space.

"Agent Jath'le".

"All good sir, SIA operatives have been given full access to the Byss communication network, Byssian operators are being flooded with entry alerts which is making them panic as you predicted and no one is none the wiser the Bothan Spynet was involved". She refused to inform her boss about the file deleted after the SIA had entered the network.

"Ah excellent, Quinnas you there?"

"Yes sir, just monitoring all ops from HQ like usual", since Arkania, Quinnas had been promoted to Special Agent, and was put in temporary command of the Spynet's main hidden communication hub, where all the best Spynet slicers, intel gatherers, and operators worked from and where almost all of the Spynet's operations were monitored and directed from. It was a completely untraceable location, even the greatest slicer have tried to find it and all have failed, even Gramani had tried years ago in his hay day as a slicer and he couldn't. It was an impenetrable shell.

"Good, I have some intel I want transferred back to our central computer to be processed and analyzed".

"Yes sir, I can have the runners begin to proces...........".

"No, I don't want it analyzed now, not until I return, but I want it secure in our system before I depart Byss".

"Say no more Boss, I'll set up the secure transfer link".

Gramani turned his head and looked at the man still strapped to the interrogation device. Now squirming to try to wiggle free. He wouldn't get out that way.

"Ok, link ready sir".

"Gotcha, sending intel...now", Gramani now typed furiously and listed every single thing the man had told him over the last 30 minutes, everything about Sularen that he knew and all the secondary intel he had uncovered over his time on Byss.

"Alright, receiving it.....right now".

As Quinnas began to read the incoming intel and transfer it into the Spynet's system, Gramani began to pack away his equipment, wanting to leave as soon as Quinnas received all the intel he sent.

"And.....done sir, all intel received, I'll get all of it into the system for processing".

"Very good Quinnas, its time for me to blow this popsicle stand". "I'll meet you on Onderon".

"Yes sir, good luck Chief".

Gramani gave a grin to his face and switched off the comms. Seconds later, the man strapped to the vertical slab, was awakened from snoozing off by the loud smashing of metal.

"Huh?", muttered the human. He looked over and saw Gramani slamming a vibro hammer into the comm equipment. Boom! Bang! Bam!!!

A minute later, all of the comm equipment was smashed into pieces, the machines themselves nearly bashed in half. All of the data drives had been removed and thrown into one of Gramani's bags. He continued to pack up and threw all things he couldn't bring into a furnace.

For the next few minutes, Gramani finished getting everything ready and disposing of everything. He threw his large bag over his shoulder and began to walk towards the exit.

The man looked concerned and shouted out, "Wait....where are you going....you.....have to free me, I told you everything I know". "And also you must protect me, if Sularen finds out I talked, I'm done for".

Gramani turned around near the door way and glanced right at the man straight in the face.

"Oh, well I'll save him the effort".

Then suddenly, Gramani whipped out his SSK-7 Heavy Pistol and pointed it in the human's direction.

Boom!

The man's head slumped down, and his arms went limp. His body grew lifeless.

Gramani chuckled and exited the building, at street level things were still in chaos. Fey'la needed a way offworld, and the only place left that had any decent people was.....oh boy.....you guessed it.

The Corellian Embassy.

Gramani grew the smirk on his face and began to walk in the direction of the surrounded building.

 

[Jaa Kilian]

Location: Relus, Beshqek System, Abandoned Mining Station in Orbit.
Relevant Tags: Marlon Sularen Kenth Berik
Objective: Prepare for a potential battle.

Battle. Kilian reflexively clenched his fist at the thought. It had been a great many years since he had been involved in a large-scale conflict; the mere potential made him more excited than he had been in a lifetime, but also moderately worried. So much could go wrong in the chaos of a battle. Not only did one have to worry about their foe - the Corellians, the Duros, and possibly the GA - but also the movements of one's allies. There was so much information and planning involved in a large-scale battle; it was enough to drive a man mad thinking about it! So, Kilian would not think. He would not plan beyond the microlevel of his own fleet, he would not worry about where his allies were relative to him. For the first time in decades, Kilian would put his faith and trust in authority; he would put his faith and trust in Sularen. Hopefully, he wouldn't get them all killed.

"Captain Berik," Kilian finally said, his voice level even his he fidgetted with his gloves. He could pray that the sweat beading on his brow was not too obvious, "If there's nothing else, I shall take my leave. I suspect we'll be called upon soon, and I'd rather be on my ship when that time comes."

With a sharp salute, Kilian turned on his heel and retreated back to his shuttle. His men, clearly sensing the severity of their commanding officer's emotions, opted not to speak on the short trip back to the Brawler-II. The ageing captain's mind, despite his mental declaration to the contrary, was still alight with possibilities and fears, but he would not - could not - allow these thoughts to dictate his resolve. He was Captain Jaa Kilian, he wasn't going to run with his tail between his legs... that, and he was being paid an exorbitant amount of money.

"What's the plan, Sularen..." Kilian murmured to himself, "What's the plan..."

Fleet Composition - Task Force Alpha

• 
  [FLAGSHIP]
  
  Brawler-II (Flagship) | Adjudicator-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  
  [CARRIERS]
  
  BDS Leviathan | Lucrehulk III-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  
  ["CARRIERS"]
  
  BDS Terror | Harrsk-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Phantom | Harrsk-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  
  [CRUISERS]
  
  BDS Conqueror | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Saint | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Starway | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Magnificent | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Iron Hand | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Dagger-II | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Endurance | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Ravager | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  
  

 

[Mazik Stazi]

THE LOST KING
BESHQEK SYSTEM
DEEP CORE

"Senator Stazi?"

Mazik was glowering at the Lost King's tactical holodisplay in grim concentration. Projected above the abstracted battleplane was an encrypted feed of Fireteam Majestic transmitted from their team leader's body cam. They were already committed yet so far the blockade had still made no progress in their demands for shield gate access. Not only that but Marlon Sularen had issued his own ultimatum in return. So be it then.

"Senator?" the duros officer tried again, "We're almost within ion torpedo range. Should we revise our rules of engagement?"

While planetside the hostage crisis and its nature still seemed unclear things were far more straightforward up here. Byss was never going to back down and neither was he. Only the encroaching GADF gave him cause for hesitation. Certainly not any collateral damage. Stazi had been butchering Imperials for so long it was difficult to think of them as anything more than animals. His lip curled in frustration knowing few others would see things quite the same way.

"Not yet. Deploy a company of spacetroopers. We'll shut it down for them."

Dropships carrying the equivalent of DDF marines launched from several duros destroyers. Attack fighters encroaching on Byss airspace broke off only to return formed up alongside in escort formation. This time they would not be slowing down until they landed on the shield gate's outer hull or Sularen ordered them shot out of space. On board each transport the famed durosian spacetroopers checked their seals, slammed fresh power cells into their blaster carbines, and test fired their jetpack boosters.

"Attention Beshqek Command officers aboard the shield gate. Your actions are endangering the lives of innocent Corellian citizens on the surface below. These orders are a violation of the Yavin Code and thus illegal by interstellar law. Prepare to be boarded. Any hostile action taken against us will be considered an act of war against Duro."

Meanwhile the small task force deployed to investigate nearby Relus drew close enough to the orbital mining station to detect several power signatures. Uncertain how to proceed, the Ena-class star defender's commander attempted to hail Jaa Kilian aboard whichever ship was in charge here.

"Unidentified vessel, this is the Duro Defense Fleet warship Te'Ami. You are currently trespassing in a no fly zone by order of the Corellian Confederation and Duros High House. Respond."

 

[Teica Giraan]

[Location: ANV Epilogue (Iblis-class Missile Frigate) -- Internalized C.I.C]
[Sit Rep: We're going to have a war on our hands...]
[Commander Giraan standing by]
[Direct Relevancy: Jax Thio ]
​

Click. Click. Click.

The metal-lined soles of her boots hit the floor in short, precise bursts. Around her, the snares of war rolled and stopped, rolled and stopped. Fighters from all sides left their berths for the promise of victory and justice, passing by the massive silhouettes of their home starships and making the approach for their current enemies. Engines at varying states of life, capital ships of Corellian, Duros, Byssian, and independent make readjusted their positions for the ease of raining chaos in front of them.

It was a ballroom, a sick, twisted ballroom entrenched by rowdy guests, and still with more invitees yet to arrive. Radiation surges announced the carriages heading their way, the Alliance's late arrival.

"Adjust pitch angle...Minus ten degrees. Forward axis...fifteen," Teica's mouth opened ever so slightly, as her chin began to settle in to the support beam she had created with her hand, "X.O, what's that fleet doing. Bearing 75, Mark 20?"

"Well, they don't appear to be Byssian...not Corellian or Duros either.." The captain looked her way.

"Keep them in our sights. That's all."

The commander turned her head to the side, only to catch sight of the jedi again.

"Commander," Jax said walking towards her. "We don't have any chance against either of their fleets let alone both. But I do have something that could turn the tide in our favor if we play this right."

Jax turned to the Holomap showing the fighters about to fire upon each other. "My X-Wing has a Seismic Charge and if we can get to the epicenter than I can unload it. The blast should be sufficient enough to do heavy damage to both sides giving us a window to attack. All I need is to get to that center." Jax pressed a few buttons and the holoprojector displayed a dark red dot which being placed in the middle of the battlefield. "I need every squadron you got to cover me Commander and I can take the rest from here."

Teica's arms interlaced in front of her, and the clicking resumed. Skepticism was the first emotion to come her way, followed by unease, both accompanied by a fraction of anger.

"Heavy damage to both sides, and us. Get in the air first, if the situation grows that dire, I'll consider it. Even then, we have an Alliance battlegroup closing in. Am I understood?" Her eyes scanned the display, before landing on the bright red dots approaching the Byssian fleet. Transponders identified them as Duros dropships, closing in on the shield gate, "Get me in contact with the Duros, Now!"

Just when the emotion had found time to subside, anger began to boil yet again, tearing at weakened posture. But a silenced part of her watched with optimism. After all, the Byss fleet wouldn't dare fire on the incoming dropships, wouldn't dare retaliate at all in fear of causing a war that no side could afford. The Duros could deactivate the shield, the Corellians on the ground could be evacuated, and all could be avoided. But that was the optimistic part of her, a side almost easily put down with thoughts of if the Byssians fired on the Duros, or if-

No, they wouldn't be fired upon.

"Belay that order..."

Fighters circled the Alliance task force, before bringing their noses about and joining to form a wall of fire around their home vessels. Engines lit up in bright blue, then faded to black. Nervous fingers stood suspended over triggers and joysticks alike, while the unidentified ships began to form into the Byss force, and the Duros dropships closed in on the vast ring of the shield gate. The two Alliance capital ships made the final readjustments to their positions, ion cannons making the final locks on scattered hostile vessels.

Out in a corner, an anxious foot tapped. To her side, a stream of breath lengthened. And in her own position, a nervous hand dug nails into an arm.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been.

 

[Jaa Kilian]

Location: Relus, Beshqek System, Enroute to the Brawler-II
Relevant Tags: Marlon Sularen Kenth Berik Mazik Stazi
Objective: Prepare for a potential battle.

The young comms officer threw off her headset the moment the Duro finished speaking, rising from her seat with a sweat-covered brow and a pale face. Her voice, high and cutting across the din of the bridge, called out.

"Lieutenant--" The "Lieutenant", an officer with far more grey hair than black, and still not much of either, held up a hand to stop her.

"I know, did the whole fleet get that?" The officer demanded, ignoring the rumble that now filled the bridge as the crew scrambled to and fro. A general call to arms rang out, rousing the still-slumbering crew and sending them to their battle stations.

"Damn near the whole system probably did, sir!" The comms officer responded, returning to her seat as the Lieutenant approached, "They weren't exactly subtle."

The Lieutenant swore under his breath, stroking his spruce moustache for a moment before addressing another crew member, "Where the bloody hell is Kilian?"

"En route, sir," The sensors officer reported, not bothering to look up from his console as he spoke, "Two minutes, thirty seconds out, sir."

"Close comms, I want strict silence until Kilian is in this bridge himself, I'll advise when he gets his sorry ass up here," The gruff man barked to the gathered crew before addressing the comms officer again, "Private channel, encryption code I-1515-Besh. Send a message to BDS Leviathan: activate outgoing comms scrambling at a 24,000-kilometre radius. "

"Sir," The officer responded, rattling off the order after entering the code on her console. The Lieutenant handed over his code cylinder, which the young woman used to approve the message

"Second private channel, encryption code I-1515-Besh. Send a message to the... BDS Saint, Starway, and Ravager. They are renamed Picket Squadron Aurek. Order them to begin cycling engines and shields and prepare to pursue should the enemy retreat. Order them to not move until we give the order."

"Sir," As the young officer worked on her latest order, code cylinder in hand, the Lieutenant addressed the bridge as a whole, expecting someone to fulfil his next order.

"Order engineering to begin powering up the Interdiction Field to sixty per cent, tell them to hide it as cycling the shields!" Without waiting for a response, the Lieutenant returned to the communications officer just as she finished her latest set, "Order all gundecks to prepare targeting vectors but do not activate the weapon systems until we give the say-so. Once you're done with that, patch the open comms to my personal communicator."

"Sir," Without question, the young officer set about her given task. It was expected on board the ship of Jaa Kilian that orders were to be executed without question, ironic given the Captain's own history with authority as a whole. However, Kilian had not survived as long as he had by being lax and allowing disorderly conduct, and the Lieutenant certainly hadn't worked alongside the shrewd bastard for as long as he had by failing to keep that same order when Kilian wasn't present. Most of them might be deserters from one military or another, but at least some of that training remained in the rigid fashion the bridge crew acted.

"You're patched in, sir!" The comms officer shouted in surprisingly short order. The Lieutenant gave a sharp nod and moved to the sensor officer's station, where he was watching the movements of the "small" scouting force with prying eyes. At the Lieutenant's query, the young man pointed out the most likely candidate for the command ship.

"GASS Brawler-II to DDF Te'Ami, this is Lieutenant... Rafan Dolphe of the 201st Galactic Alliance Peacekeeping Fleet, in conjunction with the 155th Galactic Alliance Peacekeeping Fleet under Senior-Captain... Corr Russ. Your demand is noted and promptly ignored; you are here in violation of Galactic Alliance law and lack the support of the Galactic Senate in this illegal action. Any further aggressive action will be deemed as an act of succession against the Galactic Alliance!"

It was unequivocal nonsense that would, no doubt, fail with even a moderate amount of scrutiny, even with the jamming field of the Leviathan online, but "Rafan" only needed enough time for Kilian or Berik to get back to their damn ships and take command. The Lieutenant, at least, had no orders to engage in case Alliance, Corellian, Duro, or independent ships attempted to engage them. Hopefully, whoever was in command of Berik's ships in his stead would pick up on the lie, going that it wasn't instantly seen through.

"Captain Kilian just arrived in the hangar, sir!"

"Then tell him to get here!"

Fleet Composition - Task Force Alpha

• 
  [FLAGSHIP]
  
  Brawler-II (Flagship) | Adjudicator-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged / Charging Interdiction Field
  
  [CARRIERS]
  
  BDS Leviathan | Lucrehulk III-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged / Scrambling Nearby [Duro] Comms
  
  ["CARRIERS"]
  
  BDS Terror | Harrsk-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Phantom | Harrsk-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  
  [CRUISERS]
  
  BDS Conqueror | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Magnificent | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Iron Hand | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Dagger-II | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  BDS Endurance | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged
  
  [PICKET SQUADRON AUREK]
  
  BDS Ravager | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged / Preparing to Engage Te'ami
  BDS Saint | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged / Preparing to Engage Te'ami
  BDS Starway | Claymore-class | Status: Operational / Undamaged / Preparing to Engage Te'ami