Dominion Glass Houses | First Order Dominion of Alpinn

[Vakim Duval]

Objective 3:

Location: Mining Capitol of Alpinn; Overseeing and assisting in the evacuation
Troops: 48 Stormtroopers of the 12th Unattached 'Storm' Platoon
Equipment: SE-44C blaster pistol, stun grenades, plain clothes, weapons concealed
With: First Order Allies Resurgent Narrative Orum Berik
​

Lt. Vakim Duval sat on the ledge of a section of low wall as he scanned his sector. Watching. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. There were multiple teams of First Order Medical and Logistical staff now on the surface of Alpinn. They were doing their best to stay inconspicuous, but the additional presence of life especially those beings moving with such purpose as First Order members were bound to draw attention. There were really two clocks ticking here simultaneously. The first and larger clock was of course the countdown towards the asteroid colliding with the surface. It would devastate the populations and planet for generations to come. This timer though was much less pressing. It was not Duval's task to deal with the asteroid. The ticking clock he felt now actively was the time they had until the general population of Alpinn knew something fishy was up.

The Director and Foreign Minister had just entered the corporate headquarters. He had every belief that they would apply the leverage and diplomatic skill required here and that they would do it quickly, but every minute they spent negotiating was another minute that the personnel his platoon was watching over would be exposed. The truth must not get out before the First Order had time to convince the Board of Directors of the need to evacuate the whole planet.

A larger section of the planet's population now seemed to be outside. Lunch Time. As at least one or two rotations of mining workers entered their lunch break the planet's streets seemed to fill a bit more. With them now he sighted a few mining guards. Most likely they were there to make sure everyone made it back to their work on time. Vakim didn't care. If they were smart and observant they would notice his personnel unless he pulled them back. If he pulled his men back and the guards noticed the logistics personnel the situation could get out of his control too quickly. Neither option was a good one. Lt. Duval didn't like operating with only two bad choices.

"Squads One and Four withdraw off the main avenue here, and pull into the alleyways. Squads Two and Six take up rooftop positions over the avenue and make sure those mining guards don't bother our people. I am gonna enter the main avenue myself, all squads stay clear. If anything happens I'll call you into a net and we will lock down the entire courtyard.

Squad Five, Seven, and Eleven start moving inconspicuously towards the Corporate Headquarters. Stay off the main streets, stay out of view, but be ready if you have to take the building. Comms are going silent. Blend in. If my comm goes active crash the courtyard. Duval Out."

While most of his platoon was out of his visual range he knew already that his orders were being followed to the tee. There was no room for mistakes or improvisation within his Platoon. They all acted with professionalism and efficiency that was first-rate among even the stormtroopers and here would be no different. Vakim himself now rounded the corner into the city's main courtyard. He counted only five or six mining guards, nothing too crazy. Now to just hope that the guards stuck to their primary job and didn't stop to sniff around what the First Order was doing here.

 

[Vernon Hectis]

​

Dom looked out from the viewport of the dropship upon the landscape of Alpinn. From where he stood, he could see the vast mining operation below. To the east of that was his objective: a small town built by the miners, for the miners and their families. So many defenseless citizens unaware of the danger that was quickly approaching them.

With several other troopers at his side, Dom was charged with evacuating as many civilians as he could should the First Order be unable to divert or destroy the incoming asteroid. Better safe than sorry. Several other dropships followed behind, ready to ferry the townsfolk off the planet and to safety in space. Once Dom's dropship landed, he jumped off the ship and charged forth into the town. His fellow troopers followed close behind them. From door to door, the troopers called out to the civilians, warning them of the incoming threat. Most paid them no attention, believing them to be trying to force them out of their homes so that the First Order can take them. The few that remained followed the warning and proceeded to the dropships or were unaccounted for.

"DG-4582 to Command. We have only managed to secure a handful of families. We will need time to save the rest. How much time do we have?"

Resurgent Narrative | Phoenix Edorath | Matma Bernu ​

 

[Rolf Amsel]

If his eyes weren't deceiving him, it really was her - Natasi Fortan. Rolf's expression remained guarded though the hand gripping the butt of his weapon relaxed, falling to his side. What she said was true, he had gone through great lengths to hide his fate, ensure there was little to no trail to follow him by. And yet. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the revelation there was no longer a Grand Moff, though it was hardly surprising to find that Natasi had inherited the title of Supreme Leader. Or taken it. He didn't really know. What he did know is that the woman was a capable leader and even that hadn't saved the First Order from the wrath of the Ssi-Ruuvi. "More pressing matters?" he asked. "Perhaps a spot of tea? It's not exactly Avalonia, but I have the tea imported so.." he motioned towards the door of the prefab he called home.

Ah so that's the hook. "The First Order? I must admit, I've been off the holo for a long time now. Harder to find that way." Truth was, he knew extremely little of the outside world over the last half decade or longer. He'd begun living quite the insular life. Again he found truth in the woman's words. They had achieved great things, they had also paid for them in more than blood. They had lost much, to the Colonel he still wasn't sure that their victories outweighed the cost. "That we did." His expression broke, a short intake of breath followed by a brief but almost vacant stare out towards the horizon. "I did linger you know, up until the Sacking of Dosuun - or at least I'm sure that's what the historians are calling it. Even held out at Loch Weald for a while. I'm sure you were there." He sighed heavily. "It wasn't the First Order I was running from, and you know that we whipped up quite the batch of enemies in our time.. or at least back then." Rolf wasn't really sure anymore whose time it had been.

"Tea then?" He reiterated, stepping half inside the now opened double doors.

Natasi Fortan​

 

[Aurelian Dash]

OBJ: Acquire HVT, Exfil
Target: Molotov, Dr | Scientist
Status: In Contact
-

"Best get up there. I'll hold em down here." A flurry of well timed blaster bolts forced Dash back into cover "No really. Go." The frustration in his voice was palpable. These hired goons were good, in fact they were using tactics that suggested they were more than just random mercenaries. Almost military in efficiency. "On three." he added. A moment later he lifted the blaster pistol over the edge of the cover at the bottom of the stairs and began firing. One, two, then three fell farther down the hall which they'd advanced earlier.

It wasn't going to be easy and not only did they have the threat of impending death hanging over their heads they also had... impending doom? Asteroids, guys and gals with guns, and possibly even threat of being infected with a biological weapon? Egads.

The Major | Isobel Nakano​

 

[The Major]

A smoke grenade popped off within their position, and then another on the landing above, and another down a connecting hallway, and still yet one more bounced lightly before steaming. Bolts fired from defenders began to haze, and in the confined space the air was quickly enveloped -room to room in thick, sticky fog. It would have been preferable if she had relayed a plan to her mates or coordinated a strike, but if it wasn’t becoming clear since Tholon, Sybil was proving to be reckless, hasty, and impulsive when the pressure was on. At the very least, the hired troops were not equipped with thermal imaging. Or if they were they had no time to switch on the setting.

If there was protestation or chastisement from the senior agents, then it went unheard in the sudden quagmire of hissing, panic-casted plasma. The Major had by some technological trick or physical feat managed to mantle up the wall and scramble into the midst of the guards. Her gun boomed, and the enemy responded. Even in the smoke it was possible to make out bolts spitting criss-cross on each combatant, but her figure did not stumble or fall. The other guys, they weren’t so blessed. By blast, by stock-check, and by knife’s point they were neutralized.

The smoke cleared, and Sybil could be seen again standing in the hallway, panting against a wall, mouth agape while clutching her side. Her now broken shotgun was bashed into a pricey hammer during the exchange, so she let that clatter upon the floor.

The other two, as quick with their wits as she was with her limbs, would take care of the rest. Just a quick breath or two was required and she could catch up.

Aurelian Dash | Isobel Nakano​

 

[Elisea Apollodor]

​

​

"I will," replied Elisea to Nylea Apollodor as she embarked on her mission. One she didn't agree with completely but understood what the First Order was looking to do. If it had been up to her they would get everyone to safety, consequences be damned. The speeder bike tore through the streets, and the Avalonian was taken aback by just how everyday things went about. Then again, they had no idea of their impending doom - not even realizing just what was going. The ring on her finger felt heavier, it was no longer just her, but her and Nylea. Two people together in a family.​

​

Family. She thought to herself and looked about the sidewalks as she passed people by. They were out with their families, but here she was with a deadly secret. The secret of their fate and she was only going to save those who had family powerful enough to save them. Elisea arrived at the first location marked out for her on her map. Shutting off the speeder bike she disembarked and headed into the office building to get her targets, so to speak, out of harms way.​

​

Quietly she wondered just what Fevris Derzelas would have done, but she couldn't dwell on that now. A happy lie or three to get what she wanted and who she wanted. Elisea made contact with the armed services to get the target off-world safely and then it was on to the next one. Less than five hours until impact, she had to hurry it up. ​

​

Hazel Zanteres ​

 

[Renata Westaway]

Renata took the dossiers from the Director and took a few moments to scan the entry for each, her glassy eye narrowing intently at some of the more interesting points raised in the research. "Excellent work, Director," said Renata. "I hadn't thought to link this information to the evacuation effort in that way. Not sure if our masters would see that as an oversight on my part or an overreach on yours. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

She listened to the rest of the pitches, too, and felt her blood run cold. It was clear that the man opposite her was ruthless. It was, for the time being, in service to the First Order, but Renata had to wonder if there would ever come a moment when she would regret indulging him. But with an asteroid plummeting towards Alpinn, now wasn't the time to engage in such speculation. She nodded at his suggestion and reached for the door handle. They emerged together and entered the building.

They entered the board room together, nearly shoulder to shoulder, their aides bringing up the rear. Renata had a blaster pistol tucked under her blazer and a smile on her face. "Directors," she said pleasantly, extending a hand to shake. "Renata Westaway, we spoke by commlink earlier. This is Director Berik of the Office of Internal Services. Our aides. We'd like to discuss the plan to evacuate you, your employees, and all of your families off this planet before the asteroid strikes."

She did not take one of the offered chairs and instead clasped her hands behind her back. "We are currently here on unofficial, humanitarian grounds. I'd like to keep it that way, if possible. But that depends a lot on how this conversation goes. We have ships standing by to accommodate fifty thousand people, and per the latest census we were able to locate, there are only around thirty thousand souls on this planet. Is that right?"

"Yes, but -- " began the Chairman.

"There's no way this ends with thirty thousand people dying on this planet," Renata said coolly. "So what's it going to take to get this process moving?"

Orum Berik​

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

Once again Nylea made it a point to keep Hazel out of her vision in a bid to keep her heavier emotions at bay. Deep down, the way she felt about Hazel made her feel like a hypocrite, even if she kept telling herself that their stories were different. The echani felt remorse for her past and had worked tirelessly to heal as many of the wounds she had inflicted and when there was nothing left to be done to make things better, she joined the Sacred Lotus to continue her efforts.

But Hazel hadn't shown even the slightest semblance of remorse. She knew what she had done and seemed to see no wrong in it. Even if she was here to help, Nylea couldn't trust her. In her mind, the hapan could snap again at any moment. And despite all that, she still felt guilty for thinking of Hazel in that way.

She needed to go. Not only did she need to get away from Hazel, the clock was ticking too.

She hopped onto her speeder bike, kicked it into gear, and after a final check of her list took off. Making her way through the city only made things worse in her mind, seeing all the people that didn't know what awaited them. The echani's heart screamed out to tell all of them to get away, but she couldn't. Silently, she prayed for their souls, that if the worst came to pass as she was told was going to happen, that the Force would embrace them.

A left turn, the first destination was around here somewhere.

Elisea Korrado | Hazel Zanteres ​

 

[Isobel Nakano]

When the smoke had cleared and the bodies fallen, Isobel peered from around the corner to see Shepard leaning on a wall for support, clutching her side. Isobel did a visual sweep and then called, "Clear," loud enough to be heard by Dash down stairs. Doubling back to Shepard, Isobel gave her a once-over to check for injuries. Isobel's cursory glances did not expose any blood, but that didn't mean much. "Are you hurt?" Isobel asked, crouching next to The Major , trying to catch her gaze.

When it had been settled, Isobel continued up the hallway, giving Shepard a moment to catch her breath, and proceeded to the doors labeled 'LABORATORY'. She tried the door and, when she couldn't open it, she waved the ID card she had swiped from the dead officer in front of the card reader and was rewarded with a satisfying click. She kicked the door in and proceeded with her blaster held at the ready.

The room was -- put simply -- an horror show. A half dozen meter-square cages were set up in the room, rising all way from floor to ceiling. Within each one, Isobel could see people connected to the ceiling with wires or tubes. Each had several monitors around the outside of the cage, data scrolling. It wasn't until her eyes traced over the third that her brain processed what she was seeing into a grisly understanding. Each of the people in the cases had been exposed to the virus. The timers in the monitors above each cage showed the time. The further along she went, the more time had elapsed. The last four had red markers denoting 'Time of Death' and the last two had another red marker reading 'Time of Reanimation'.

The people in the last two cages were the most active; they were snarling and snapping at Isobel, their efforts thwarted by the industrial glass that made up the cages. Isobel took in one of the specimens, the greyish hue of its skin, the way it was already sloughing off its face where repeated contact with the glass caused injury. She doubled over and retched, continuing for several moments until it was nothing but dry heaving. She forced herself to straighten.

"Well, what have we here?" a heavily accented voice asked. Isobel raised her blaster and spun, but she couldn't localize the sound. It wasn't until her ears stopped ringing that she realized the voice had come from the public address speakers in the lab. This caused the two living zombies to snarl and claw at the glass. Isobel hoped the glass would hold. "Who are you, and what do you think you're doing destroying my lab?"

The Major | Aurelian Dash​

 

[Resurgent Narrative]

"TIME!" Vir shouted.​

​

"Under 4!" Shouted back a drill operator, they had less than four hours. Vir checked the plans, and where they should be by this point, but nothing had gone to plan. Bits got stuck, other bits ripped apart and they were down to their last one and so close to where they should be. There were simulations that said this wouldn't work, and others that said it would. They had to try and at the very least they had a contingency in place. It was all in the matter of where they detonated a solid detonation in the right point would break the asteroid apart into far more manageable pieces. ​

​

The sound of the bit tearing apart, might as well have broken Vir's heart. He rushed into the equipment locker and grabbed a portable drill, another two men joined him and down into the shaft they went. Lights on into the pitch black as they drilled further into the asteroid. Vir ordered the explosives sent down. "Get the hell out of here," he ordered them all, they protested and he wouldn't have it. "All of you get off this rock, head back to the Concordia."​

​

Major Vir Aetos was going to make sure that this damn thing went if it was the last thing he did. ​

​

He waited until the shuttle contacted him, they were gone and all that remained left to do was to blow the asteroid. Vir moved to plant the charges and while he did so, he was asked if there was anything he wanted. "Just uh, just patch me through to Renata, will you?" He was told that she was in a meting, "of course she is- just uh, can you patch me into her ear piece? Just so she can hear me."​

​

Vir heard the static of the comm channel being switched, he heard other voices and figured he had been patched through.​

​

"Renata. If you can hear me, it's Vir, and I sure as hell wish I could have said this under better circumstances."​

​

He licked his lips and his voice shook with a bittersweet sadness, "I want you to know that from the moment I saw you, to every moment after that we had together, Renata. I-" Vir looked around him, surrounded by nothing else but rock, "I love you." Cried Vir over the private channel, "and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before. I love you, and please, Renata. Please, do me a favor and find the love and happiness that you deserve. I- I'm sorry that I won't be able to tell you in person, please, forgive me and goodbye."​

​

Vir cut the transmission.​

​

He looked up at the dim lights from the site that was manned by the small team.​

​

He closed his eyes, and felt the weight of a thousand worlds as he pressed his thumb on the detonator.​

​

Aurek-47 detonated.​

​

From the Concordia, Commander Sun-Shin watched as the men from the shuttle team came back, and she realized that Vir had not. The Commander kept her bearings and looked up and watched as Aurek-47 went from a massive planetary killer into manageable sizes. "Vaporize every single rock." Ordered the Commander, as the fleet moved in, and starfighters dropped their bombs, "bounce anything else away from the planet."​

​

On an encrypted line the Commander radioed to Renata Westaway and Orum Berik.​

​

"Our team was successful, Aurek-47 is now in our control, sadly, Major Vir Aetos did not make it. Commander Sun-Shin out."​

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[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi hesitated a moment. She didn't really want to enter Amsel's ramshackle residence. It was more that she didn't want to impose herself on the colonel and that she doubted whether he truly wanted to expose his living conditions to her than snobbery or concern about her safety. But time was of the essence, so after a moment she smiled and said: "Delighted, thank you." She followed him inside, listening to his explanation as she looked around the cramped quarters. How the mighty had fallen, she mused to herself, keeping her smile plastered on effortlessly.

"I was there," Natasi confirmed, her gaze lowering for a moment. Even still, talking about that day brought back unpleasant memories. Trauma, even. She followed him into the kitchen area of his quarters and shifted her handbag from one arm to the other, if only to give her arms something to do.

The Supreme Leader watched Colonel Amsel go about his process. As moments passed, Natasi cleared her throat. "If not the First Order, then what?" she asked. "The thing you were running from," she clarified.

Rolf Amsel​

 

[Vakim Duval]

Location: Mining Capitol of Alpinn; Overseeing and assisting in the evacuation
Troops: 48 Stormtroopers of the 12th Unattached 'Storm' Platoon
Equipment: SE-44C blaster pistol, stun grenades, plain clothes, weapons concealed
With: First Order Allies Resurgent Narrative Orum Berik
​

There was no mistaking that something a little off was beginning to be noticed by people in the courtyard. No doubt news of schools being emptied maybe a missed appointment with one of the rich elite who were already now being whisked off-planet. Duval checked his watch casually. He had taken several side alleys to keep the courtyard in sight but always entering the courtyard itself from a different direction. This gave him a fuller sense of the area. It was a fairly basic courtyard concept in truth, but there were the signs of the chaotic growth and strange boom-bust cycle that existed on all mining planets. Several small side alleys leading directly to shanty towns and leisure locations. They would never be allowed in an organized city. Perhaps this was part of why Alpinn had resisted calling the First Order until they were forced. Other than the numerous side alleys now essentially occupied by the 12th he had men spread out on the rooftops. For now, the courtyard remained calm but there were several groups of miners gathered together. Eating lunch but talking in hushed voices. Lt. Vakim needed ears on some of those miners. Commlink status had been broken for the duration of the lunching period. They now seemed to be at the transition of one cycle to the next and there were more guards on-site now than before. Bad time to reactivate the commlink.

Instead, Duval made several causal motions to the men on the rooftops and he himself moved close to one of the groups of miners. Taking care to not be noticed but to get close enough to hear their hushed voices. He caught out of the corner of his eye several of his men taking up positions near other groups similarly listening in.

..."I heard that the schools are all empty. What could the Corporation want with our children? Where did they take then?"....

Interesting. So the people of the city were becoming aware that their children were no longer at school. They did not seem to understand the true situation they were in, however. Blaming the corporation that has left you to live in squalor and now won't evacuate you due to the bottom line made sense to Duval, but then again these miners didn't really know the current evil their bosses were doing to them. How little they were actually valued may stun them.

..."My cousin told me a group of people claiming to be First Order Stormtroopers came to his agricultural village and tried to get everyone to evacuate. Some kind of asteroid."..

..."A likely story, so that the bosses can sell our kids into slavery."...

This was likely to escalate. He checked his watch again. Just under four hours left. Not a good situation. He hoped the Director and the Foreign Minister were having success and having it quickly. There wouldn't be time to carry out a proper evaluation if they waited much longer. If they waited much longer they also may have incited the miners to a revolt in false pretenses. Neither of those options was very good either. He noticed now the listeners sent by his platoon withdrawing together to a branching alleyway. He followed. What he received in debriefing was the same story he had heard. The miners were beginning to suspect that their bosses were seizing their children and selling them into slavery. The same story. Convenient. Perhaps it wasn't very well-sourced. In proper circumstances, the First Order could simply announce themselves. Show their force and likely sort out the issues before they escalated. These were not normal circumstances. He and his men once again split up and took positions now surrounding the courtyard. Something was going to happen. Vakim Duval simply hoped that the First Order was operating as the well-oiled machine that it could be. If all the pieces fell into place they would still have plenty of time to sort it out. If not, his fingers traced the edges of his blaster pistol, then the 12th would do what they do best.

 

[Orum Berik]

"Our team was successful, Aurek-47 is now in our control, sadly, Major Vir Aetos did not make it. Commander Sun-Shin out."

The Director took the message in stride, his face impassive as his eyes swept the room, boring a hole in each of the Board members, before settling on the Chairman. In his mind, it was enough that these animals were willing to sacrifice the lives of the people of Alpinn because it was easier then admitting fault, and logistically challenging to evacuate them. They were terrifyingly incapable of good governance. Utterly bereft of basic emotions, like compassion and empathy. That the actions of the late Major Aetos prevented a cataclysm did not absolve them of anything. They deserved what they were oh-so-willing to consign the people of Alpinn to- oblivion.

But Moff Renata had asked him to hold off on bringing down the hammer unless they agreed to evacuate, and so with this new development, the Director would stand down and follow the Moff's lead.

Renata Westaway

 

[Renata Westaway]

At first Renata was furious at the intrusion. Did these people not understand that she was involved in some rather tense, high-pressure negotiations? But when she heard Vir Aetos, she softened fractionally. "Excuse me a moment," she said, interrupting the chairman's feeble protestations. She stepped into the hallway and listened to the message; the headset was receive-only, so she couldn't respond even if she knew what to say, which she did not.

She put a hand to her mouth as the message concluded. There was very little ambiguity to take away from this: Aetos was almost certainly dead. Renata's mind raced as she listened to the reports coming through from fleet command. The threat was gone, which meant the negotiations had no stakes. The tension was gone, as was the First Order's leverage over the board. And on top of that, a good First Order officer was dead. Not altogether a successful day, she mused, brushing a single tear away from her good eye.

Moff Westaway turned back to the door, opening it halfway. She smiled sweetly at the Board and said, "Director Berik, can I speak with you for a moment? We'll be right with you, Chairman." She waited for Orum Berik to join her in the hallway and shut the door. She lowered her voice so they would not be overheard. "It sounds like our military efforts were successful more quickly than anyone anticipated. But I'm sure the board in there doesn't know that. And frankly, that we were able to do succeed doesn't change the fact that they were willing to let their people die, so I'm not altogether opposed to taking this planet from them, regardless."

Renata studied Berik with her good eye, searching his features with her glassy blue-green eye. "At this point, frankly, I don't care what happens to these people. But whatever it is, the public story will be that they signed over control of the system to us, and no one must ever know any more... unsavory activities that we may have employed to achieve it. So tell me your thoughts on how we do that."

 

[Orum Berik]

The Director met Renata Westaway 's single glassy gaze squarely as he considered her words. Essentially, she had consigned the men in that room's fates to his hands. It pleased him that they were of the same mind on one issue- that regardless of the success of destroying AUREK 47, they would not escape justice.

His justice.

"This is how I propose we proceed", Berik began, steepling his fingers. "We will go into that room and inform them that the action's of the Board have not only resulted in a loss of confidence in their ability to govern and administrate this planet, but the First Order has suffered losses averting a disaster as a direct result of their extreme ineptitude."

"Consequently, we feel, as a result of this episode, that it is not in the First Order's interests to allow such a reckless and inept body to hold sway over a planet so close to our borders. The board will sign over the control of Alpinn to the First Order. They will never speak of the events that transpired on this day. Their assets will be seized by the state. We will allow them five hours to flee this world with their families- the amount of time they allowed the people of Alpinn. No more, no less."

"Should they refuse, should they protest- the Office of Internal Services will use our assets to seize a controlling interest in the company. Then I will take them, and nobody will ever see them. Nobody will ever speak of them. Nobody will ever hear of them. I will so thoroughly disappear them, it will be as if they never existed. And if they find me in a good enough mood, I won't send them to Kessel."

"This will be the cost", the Director concluded. "The public will have their story, but this is the cost of their unchecked avarice costing the First Order."

Renata Westaway

 

[Renata Westaway]

Renata studied Orum, her eye twitching this way and that. "It would be safer to kill them," said the Moff bluntly. She let the idea hang there for a few moments, her face impassive. It was true. Dead men told no tales. There would be no need to monitor them if they were dead. And Renata was aware that even if they did track them, if they decided to spill the beans there was little the First Order could do about it. Her best hope would be that if they spoke, they would discredit themselves more than the First Order. After all, they had been content to let thousands die in order to protect their bottom line. They probably would have profited from it thanks to insurance.

"But all right. Let's try the easy way. Perhaps they'll force our hand. Let's go back in."

The Moff pushed the doors open so that the pair could enter together, shoulder to shoulder. She approached her seat and set her briefcase on the table in front of it, popping it open. "We're out of time, gentlemen," she told the board. "At this point, I'm no longer interested in negotiating with you aside from the following: you will sign control of this planet over to the First Order using this document." She held out the Articles of Membership to the Chairman. "You will sign the attached non-disclosure agreements, which, by the way, are designed to protect you from the letting the entire galaxy know you were willing to consign tens of thousands of people to death for your convenience and profit. Once you have done those two things, you will have a few hours to pack your things and leave Alpinn with your families or your mistresses or both. And you will never return."

She held up her other hand to silence the Chairman's squelching protestations and pitched the documents at him dismissively. "In consideration of all of this, I am prepared to let you leave this world and rebuild elsewhere, which is a lot more than you were offering the miners under your care. Now, as far as any of us is concerned, I am leaving the room and I will leave you in the capable hands of Director Berik. If you should choose to resist, Director Berik can give you an idea of what to expect then. You won't like it. In your deliberation, consider that compared to what Director Berik will have to offer, what I am offering is a very good deal. Director Berik?"

Renata gave him the floor.

Orum Berik​

 

[Orum Berik]

The Director nodded to Renata Westaway as she departed the room and began to speak. But before he could interrupt, the Chairman exploded out of his chair. "You...you can't do this to us! Alpinn needs people like us, like it or not. Our corporation is the life blood of this planet." He smiled nervously. "Listen, surely we can come to some sort of agreement? Maybe we can compensate you for your time, for this tragic incident", he continued, taking on an appropriately somber tone, as the Board murmured in agreement.

The Director's impassive face turned into an ugly rictus, and he activated his comms. "Weston, tell our assets that is time to buy the shares." He raised his voice to be heard over the outraged, panicked shouts of the Board. "Also, send Agent Vantoon over with an Acquisitions squad- I'm sure she'll enjoy her work. Cut all communications and power to the building- I want a complete blackout. Oh, and inform the good Vakim Duval to move in with the 12th Platoon to secure the building- nobody leaves this building that isn't with the First Order."

He hung up the line. "Would you like to know what's funny?", he said rhetorically, as the realization of not taking the first deal hit the Board. "Moff Renata would had just had you killed, were she in my position. I disagreed. I wagered that you would have taken the clothes on your backs, your families, for a second chance you didn't deserve. A lot less mess. And now? Your greed has cost you everything. You'll be worse then dead. You'll be nothing."

With that, Orum Berik strolled out of the room, ignoring the pleas for mercy. "Would you like to go to brunch? I've heard there's a lovely little restaurant uptown, and I daresay we earned it", he said casually to Moff Renata.

 

[Elisea Apollodor]

Elisea radioed Hazel Zanteres and Nylea Apollodor , "check-in once your objective is complete, and head back to the landing pad." It was only after she had radioed that the Avalonian was informed that the First Order had control over Aurek-47. Well then. She thought to herself and looked across the street where her bike sat. Slightly anti-climatic. New orders were given by FIMS though, it meant that Elisea as the lead representative would have to begin the process of acquiring data to ensure smooth integration between Alpinn's health system and the First Order's. Thankfully, it wasn't a task that was going to be done right away and she could do it from their makeshift base.​

​

She had heard that Major Aetos didn't survive the expedition, and part of her heart sank. Elisea quietly crossed the street and got on her speeder bike. She revved up the bike and headed back to base, all the while Elisea wondered how Nylea would handle Elisea's own demise, and vice versa. Elisea thought about a lot of that on her way down the road, none of it happy. A sigh escaped the Avalonian, she couldn't let Aetos' death get to her like that. First of all, he'd hate that, and second, he knew the price of service. The price of service, indeed reflected Elisea as she continued to drive. ​

​

Upon arrival at the base, she could see that the landing pad had been expanded. Another successful venture for the First Order. It did on the one hand make her smile, knowing that Alpinn would be under their care. It wasn't like Tholon where everyone and everything was underground, yes there were mines but there was also a life above ground. Elisea parked the speeder bike under a canopy adjacent to the landing pad. Military personnel were now coming down in droves and with them engineers. Survey teams were already being dispatched, no doubt to assess just how much of building or rebuilding that the First Order would need to do.​

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

The last family Nylea brought the news to was, thankfully, quick to act. With the echani's extra pair of hands they had gathered their most important belongings and when she departed, the husband, wife, and son were nearly ready to leave the planet. It still felt very wrong that only a select few were informed of the potential disaster that awaited Alpinn though, and as much as she wanted to do something about it she simply couldn't. It wouldn't make the situation any better.

Nylea flipped the switch on her radio to send, and began to speak. "This is Nylea, I have finished my list. Returning to the landing pad." She switched it back to receive and walked her way over to the speeder bike. After hopping on and hearing it roar to life, she turned it around and shot off once more, heading back to where they had gathered before.

Some time later the echani arrived back at the landing zone, and she quickly noticed that Elisea had already returned as well. The speeder was quickly parked and she immediately joined her fiancé's side.

"I hope things went well. Any news?" Nylea asked, hoping that there was light at the end of this tunnel, somewhere.

Elisea Korrado | Hazel Zanteres ​

 

[Renata Westaway]

Renata smiled broadly as Berik emerged from the conference room. "I'd love to," she said, falling into step beside the Director. "We can take your car."

They made their way back down to street level, witnessing the First Order armed forces under Vakim Duval take control of the building and its occupants. When they settled into the back of Berik's car, Renata retrieved her comlink from Reardon and dialed home to Avalonia. "This is Westaway," she said curtly. "I need the Supreme Leader's principal private secretary, please, on a secure line." A series of buzzes and clicks later, she was put through.

"Supreme Leader's office," a man said on the other line.

Renata smiled. "Good morning, this is Renata Westaway."

"Foreign Secretary," said the man; she could almost hear the man's deferential bow through the line.

"Be pleased to inform Her Majesty that the planet of Alpinn has agreed to join the First Order's family of worlds, and that the disaster has been more or less averted with minimal First Order casualties. A full report is to follow." She glanced at Orum Berik, lofting her eyebrows as if to indicate don't worry, not too full a report.

"Very good, ma'am. Thank you."

Renata disconnected the line and tucked her comlink away, then leaned back into the bench seat as the car accelerated onto the street. It would be a successful day and there was much to be proud of, but Renata couldn't help but feel that casualties had not in fact been minimal. Vir Aetos had been an outstanding officer and a good man, and she couldn't help but feel that his sacrifice was wasted on such a dreary little backwater.