Dominion Gran Entrance | GA Dominion of Kinyen

[Jaqu'n Boiv]

IVI | Isobel Nakano | Val Pellian | Tallara
​

Over nine hundred years spent in cryostasis, and this is where the relic of the past ends up. Once upon a time hunting down the villains and filth of the galaxy, only now to be deployed on a mission hunting for... birds. Birds. Of all things, no Dark Operator would expect a mission like this, but here he was. As if he hadn't seen everything there is to come in this new, strange ridden galaxy.

Hopefully it would be the last of oddities. But Jaqu'n knew better than to hold out hope for that.

It was only some time ago that the Dark Operator was brought into the fold of the Galactic Alliance. Which was an odd thing to most people no doubt, considering he looked more like some iteration to the Imperial Deathtrooper service than he did anything else. Yet somehow, the armor seemed to also defy that assumption in some unclear way. How this enigma was brought in to be involved with the alliance, well. Need to know basis. So it was up to anyone's best guess. All there was to really know of him so far would have to be visual appearances. Because nothing else was there to give a better answer.

His armor was slick, smooth, and coated in a matte black IR coating. If it was plastoid like it looked, it sure didn't shine like it, and it felt weighted. Durable, like actual battle armor, akin to Mandalorians if there needed a comparison. The whole set of dark armor was covered in webbing and mounts for the gear he'd have on hand. What they all were wasn't revealed out of their pouch containers to give any sort of hint, save for the bandolier of charge packs strewn diagonally across his chestplate. If that didn't give some illusion of the operator being an Imperial, the blood red visor bore into the faceplate of the bucket sure did. At first glance, that stuck out the most more than anything else on him.

Whoever he was, he hadn't made much a sound throughout the trip thus far, his helm pointed down in a meditative like inspection over his gear. More specifically at this point, his weapons. One was a hand cannon, no doubt a slugthrower. It had been customized in his extended service in Dark Ops to be the most reliable weapon he could ever rely on. Weighted, hammer forged, and even given a customized grip with his Kill Team's insignia- A singular angry skull missing its jaw. The weapon was finished in a carbon black material, which has worn off along the edges of the weapon to reveal the metal underneath. It had been stowed into the holster at his right thigh some time ago.

In his hands was a rifle. A carbine, more specifically, the one that used the charge packs across his chest. Small, somewhat blocky, the weapon looked well out of the ordinary for what was on the market, no less in use by most factions in the galaxy. A holographic sight was mounted to the top of the rail, and at the handguard were attachments like an angled foregrip, lightbeam, and a device mounted onto the top rail that could be some kind of laser pointer. No muzzle nor barrel protruded from the end of the weapon, seemingly an internally designed sort of weapon system. And it was. It didn't hide the bolts it fired completely, but it did throw off the sound of the discharge like a suppressor, but the whole weapon design formed entirely around this concept.

He screamed elite operator in the fullest of senses. Meticulous and prepared, there was no doubt in question that this Dark Operator was a professional killer of the night. Hardcore, perhaps, if you really took in the few decorations of crimson stripes on his armor. If someone had assumed he had a hundred different ways to kill a target, well. They were just lowballing at that point. That's all one can ever gleam from the figure in dark armor, because he sure wasn't going to detail everything that he was. It was either you saw it for yourself, or you were the demonstration. If he had a good side, not being the example of his application skillset was that.

{"Sable."}

His modulated voice through the vox of his bucket was deeply toned, but clear. Like hearing the reaper come for the kill, but obviously, this one was friendly. In a ways. But at least now the mysterious operator had done an introduction, leaving one less thing to be left in a shroud of discovery. The Dark Operator went by the name, or rather callsign, of Sable. Here's to hope for the curious there's more to learn about this Sable during this wild bird chase.

 

[Annasari]

Middle of nowhere, Jakku // Objective I
Caulder Dune

The speeder engine rolled over as he spoke, a soft chug accompanying his words. It may have given her a strange satisfaction to see Dune sweat - she never would in the chamber - but the heat of Jakku was killer. How long had she hidden in oases and spice dens after her arrival just to stay clear of it? She pulled them north, into the shadow of the star destroyer. The shade was only a mild respite, but better than nothing.

"You are not wrong in those criticisms." She admitted, offering him the canteen. "The key difference falls in Jakku's history. My constituency has never known stability. They have always been content to live on rations and knockback nectar, because they have never known another way of life - with the exception of who is supplying it. Other planetary governments may suffer uprisings, riots, and pleas for humanity when their people go hungry. For Jakku, it is the norm."

A pair of macrobinoculars met her gaze. Shades of cyan clashed with the orange as she surveyed their next targets.

"It goes without saying as well, credits will ease a small portion of that insecurity. Jakku resides on the border and in the strategic position among the Starbird Trade Spine; we will find a way to get what we require. Our service to our neighbors will not be free, of course, and I expect the Commerce Guild will want a percentage of that fee off the top. Though I sense more... profitable endeavors to be found. With demand so high, whoever holds the food, controls the price."

 

[Arage Bao]

MEANWHILE SOMEWHERE IN THE HUMBARINE REACH...
IVI

A gift of blue milk was currently already set on the dashboard of M's cockpit. Both as evidence that Arage did not forget her associate's needs, but perhaps also as a reminder that Bao didn't mind to reach deeper when the situation necessitated it.

Arage listened to M as she led her through the corridors. Her expression now blank and diplomatic. This was far more pleasant than the senate sessions which droned on for hours, but somehow never managed to say much of anything of substance. Even then she usually managed to keep her sabacc face... if not so much her sabacc language.

"A mentor? I see." Bao had been considering Annasari as the candidate to back for Vice-Chancellor. With the influence she had over a substantial set of Senators, her support would go a long way to solidify the pick. But the Lord Admiral had assumed Anna loathed Auteme almost as much as she herself did. Why else push through such a blatantly disrespectful bill? "I was considering assisting her into the seat, but that changes my calculations thoroughly." The affection towards force users was noted by Arage and waved away.

"The entire Senate is filled with Jedi-loving sycophants, Director." Clipped tone as she thought about that. "Finding a Senator that isn't in love with them and is capable of being a Vice-Chancellor is like finding a needle in a haystack."

Which is all to say that if Annasari hadn't been a mentor to Auteme she might have considered her. Now?

"I would have considered one of my own Senators. But I would be loathe to lose their vote in the Senate." You couldn't very well be a Senator and the Vice-Chancellor at the same time. Otherwise she might have considered taking the position herself. Probably not. Following Pryce's example of minimizing yourself in favor of a Jedi simpleton was beyond her.

Finally they stood before a viewport that was currently set towards the opaque setting.

"I have always found it frustrating that the Force is like a lottery ticket." She mused there while studying her own reflection in the viewport. "No matter how worthy you are, disciplined, studied... no matter how much you train. If the cosmic lottery does not go your way, you won't be able to seize its strength for yourself."

Arage glanced towards M.

"Wouldn't it be delicious if we could take away their exclusive privilege? If we could gain this power for ourselves?"

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

OBJ II: Scouting for the Hyperlane
Sayuri Hatoko Silas Westgard

Cora returned Yuri's smile, albeit cautiously. The trio of Padawans had been assigned to map a part of the Gran run further from Rifflor, away from the supernova.

Away from The Horrors.

"It sure is." She responded, glancing surreptitiously over to Silas to gauge his reaction. The eldest and most experienced of the three, he was de facto in charge.

Leaning closer to the console in front of her, Cora scanned the lines of numbers and text as they scrolled up the screen. The gravitational readings were indeed stronger than expected, but not entirely aberrant. A finger lifted to the map projection, denoting the moon with it's proper marker. Her eyes wandered towards the edge of the holomap.

"We're pretty close to Ukatis, you know." She observed, gaze drifting back to realspace in the direction of the planet. Cora liked to imagine that one of the tiny, luminescent specks out there was her homeworld.

Her attention refocused on the map, inputting the grav readings into the moon's details.

"So...what do you two think these dimensional horrors are?"

 

[IVI]

BYOO | Humbarine Reach | That's no moon

​

A political dossier had already been sent to Arage, but the intimacies of Senator Vahl were not documented in her once-upon a time ambitions for Chancellorship.

“She’s close enough to a needle. Her affinity for Force-users is Senator Vahl’s only drawback.

Your calculations shouldn’t change too drastically. While she wouldn’t be a puppet outright, her motivations for mentoring Auteme were self-serving. It’s not from a place of affection for that particular Force User.” Annasari Vahl was the picture of ambition. She’d proven that by having the fuel and jumping from rocket to rocket in her career — each launching with relative success.

The air around them cooled, and looking forward, M watched Arage’s reflection speak. They were words she’d heard before, but they resonated each time.

Once, M had the benefit of the lucky draw. She’d been a Force Sensitive, an ozyly-esehembo, exploited for her abilities until they were all used up and she was a husk of a pre-teen. She’d been pragmatic enough to be observant during her stint in the stars, and had learned how the inner workings of ships and command worked. Enough for her to exploit the same chain of command to her favour.

That was perhaps the cruelest of facts. The Force’s advantage could not be learned, every other benefit of someone in the galaxy who was elevated, could be studied and learned. Habits could be formed and titans could be made.

Taking away the Force user’s privilege was technology that they’d near-perfected. This was mostly uninteresting to M, though she’d never reject any advancements made in that regard. But certainly it didn’t require fanfare…?

“If we could gain this power for ourselves?"

That was all the more interesting. They’d created tools to remove The Force from ne'er do wells, even to extinguish it over generations and generations, but to replicate the experience in a sustainable way? That was still beyond reach. The addiction that came with what was on the market made M hesitant to offer it to her agents. Times were not desperate enough.

Not yet, anyway.

“I suspect your if is actually a when.” M obliged to the introduction, and met Arage’s glance in her direction. Her ruby eyes shifted slightly, refocusing on what looked like pure delight concealed behind the Admiral’s expression.

The exact opposite from the face she’d had during her coronation on Kuat.

"What's behind the glass, Admiral."

---

Arage Bao ​

 

[Arage Bao]

A little hum there.

Perhaps her previous connection to Auteme would be beneficial. Annasari might be able to twist the knife deeper, if she was already closer to the girl to begin with. It was something to consider. The fact that the Senator was willful didn't bother Arage too much. She had broken spirited creatures quite often in her time and perhaps that wouldn't be necessary here. She didn't need a puppet. Just someone who would be causing Auteme problems and make her look more incompetent.

"You know me too well, Director." Gentle sotto voce as Arage looked back to their reflection. They were so different and yet so similar. It was funny how that worked. "This is not an insult, I know how strong your mental fortitude is, but... please. Prepare yourself."

Because even the strongest sentients would have an issue with this.

Arage tapped a button on the console and the viewport shifted from opaque to transparent. It was not immediately clear what was behind the glass. It was strange. Mesmerizing. Half the room was just an extension of the entire facility. Cold, clinical, pristine. An echo of Arage herself. But halfway through the room melted into something... else.

The metal floor shifted into a foggy organic pulsing ground. The walls fleshy.

"Years ago the Netherworld opened up all around us. The Akala Crisis. We didn't know each other then." Arage smiled thinly at the memories. "The Galaxy persevered." Barely. How many souls were still lost? "But gates to that dimension still remain. I have had agents on Corellia for years now and they finally got close enough for an analysis."

A delicate hand gestured towards the gateway.

"We opened a controlled rift right here. Away from prying eyes." Practically every gate was currently controlled by one nation or the other. It was impossible to do any research on it for any prolonged period of time.

"The Netherworld... it is of the Force. Combined energy of what the Jedi call the 'Darkside'." Arage was unsure how real that divide was as opposed to the Jedi being unable to control their deeper urges and mistaking that for some cosmic mystic energy. "And we thought to ourselves... what if we could siphon off that energy and what if we could weaponize it?"

Another button was pressed and from the facility-half of the room a contraption slid out of the ceiling. It was a kyber crystal, pristine blue and frosty cold, as it hung suspended there.

One more button press. Now something clicked inside the contraption before the Kyber began to vibrate in a different pitch. If either one of them was force-sensitive and attuned to the Lightside? If they had reached out to the crystal? They'd hear it scream. But luckily both were blissfully disconnected from the Force through one means or the other.

For a moment nothing happened. It was rather anti-climatic.

Until the vibration caught a lower tune, deeper, and the icy blue began to shift into a deeper red crimson. It was being corrupted. But not quite in the way the crystals were on the zombie ship her daughter had been so fearful of.

"That is the third batch we have completed," If M was concerned or anything. "-and properly implanted? I have created several prototypes that can touch the Force at will and use it for short durations. Half a minute. After that they need to recharge." Arage shrugged there. "There is no addiction, no physical changes that suggest they are burning through their health."

There was more, but Arage wanted to keep a few things a surprise.

"Are you ready to see the next demonstration, my dear Director?"

Oh, yes, Arage was immensely pleased.

IVI

 

[Valery Noble]

The Bastion

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Ship: The Bastion
Weapons: | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Thelma Goth BB-610

"Keep me updated on that, Bee," Valery told him after he mentioned that his circuits were acting up. If going down there to explore meant exposing him to something dangerous to his circuits, Valery was going to bring them back out immediately. This deviation from their plan sparked purely because of her own curiosity, and would never be worth losing a friend over.

"But since we're all in agreement, let's head down."

Riflor was a tectonically active planet that had destroyed many of its own civilizations in the past. Despite it, the native population had engineered its way to survive, and it was that need that had made them into such capable engineers and mechanics. Perhaps it wasn't the supernova after all, but some tests on the ground?

Or had volcanic activity caused their ship's readings somehow?

Whatever it was, the Bastion soon pierced through the atmosphere, and from above, the group would be able to see the rough landscape below. Natural vents were blowing steam and other gasses up into the air from the surface, and a volcano was erupting many miles away from where she planned to land.

"At least it won't be cold down there." She smirked to herself and slowly touched down, allowing the ramp to lower. "Alright, let's scout ahead but stay close to each other."

 

[Caulder Dune]

JAKKU
THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

Caulder was relieved to directly out of the sun, and took the opportunity to once again dab his forehead. Damn this planet already. He should have come here with an environmental shield or something. He raised an eyebrow when she offered him the canteen, but accepted it anyway. How very rustic. "I see. They won't miss what they already lack, then."​

​

He understood well enough: you give the people the bare minimum to keep them in line. As long as most of them were on the knife's edge of poverty, they would be less inclined to political consciousness, among other things. Whether that would pan out in the long run for Jakku's Guild remained to be seen... But at a local level and with small populations, it usually did.​

​

Not his problem, though. Caulder sipped from the canteen, both to be polite and because some part of him felt he would soon die otherwise.​

​

"The Commerce Guild has its own network of trade stations along the Starbird," he began, "We can accommodate any refueling or repairs your ships require for the journey. And for as noble a goal as feeding the needier worlds of the Inner Rim, we can waive or lower the usual service fees."​

​

Caulder looked out in the same direction as her, peering, frowning. Not that he could see terribly much - he could adjust his own vision's fidelity if he wanted, but he preferred to remain aware of his immediate surroundings. "We are likewise in the process of arranging a lease for the territory of Malthee from Kinyen's administration. Consider it a special economic zone, unbound by local duties."​

​

"Whatever you purchase from Kinyen for export, I would like for you to do so through the Malthee provisional territory."​

Annasari​

 

[IVI]

BYOO | Humbarine Reach | That's no moon

​

M couldn't help but furrow her brow at the introduction. Not because of the potential insult to her intellect, but to the weight of Arage's caution. They had done many questionable things, and never exchanged warnings. What could be behind the glass?

Slowly, when the viewport's opactiy rescinded, the Chiss' and Arage's reflections were replaced with a view far more exquisite.

The Director took an involuntary step forward, gripping her wrist behind her back to resist the urge to reach out and touch the otherworldly spectacle. It was like art. A modernist impression of society's structure morphed into something cataclysmic and untameable. It was inspiring to ogle at, enough to bring the heat back to her bones after what felt like a tireless, political, long, long, long Csillan winter.

Inspiring enough to instigate discussions with the most fortuitous word combination in galactic basic: What if. Arage's people had asked, Arage's people had answered.

Her gaze followed the motions of the reveal, fixating on the hugeness of the bright blue crystal suspended in the broad space. She remained silent through the demonstration, trying to ascertain the nuances and intimacies before they revealed themselves.

Blue turned purple turned red before her eyes, and the crystal shuddered. The outcome was imperceivable, but everything she saw was close to impressive enough.

Then Arage said the magic words, and spoke directly to her concerns. M was a woman of few principles, but strict ones. Her agents were precious things, and while they were always risking their lives, she wouldn't introduce them to undo harm.

At least, not on the record. Task Force Xesh was a different beast.

She eked out a small smile.

"Impressive — what do you mean implanted? Directly into the subject or through another piece of technology that can be removed and recharged?"

Oh, there was more! Excellent. Delicious indeed.

"Ready and anticipating."

---

Arage Bao​

 

[Jack Versio]

Objective I: Aggressiveculture (Hunt Raiders and Pirates in Kinyen Space)

The X-wings of Red Squadron had the extra hurdle of having to avoid hitting the pair of large, slow, and unprotected grain hauler freighters, so the battle with the pirates took longer than that with the raider platform. The X-wings pounced on the less capable pirate fightercraft, but were given pause by the light freighters, which seemed to be heavily modified for combat. They were fast and durable and packed a punch. Two of the X-wings were winged by a full size turbolaser, and when the others fired missiles and torpedoes, the projectiles lost their locks and missed, detonating well clear of their target.

Jack knew what he was seeing, some sort of jammer. "Don't waste your missiles, they've got a jammer." He called over the Red Squadron channel, letting his squadron mates know what at least two of them had probably already guessed. "Ria, can you lock onto their frequency?" He asked, knowing the answer was yes. His astromech quickly and efficiently found the jammer's source, and programmed a torpedo to lock onto it. Ria chirped a ready signal only a moment later. Jack fired in the general direction of the target, the torpedo's guidance doing the rest. Homing on the jammer, the torpedo arced in to the target. If the pirates realized what he'd done, they were too late to do anything about it. The proton torpedo blew the freighter in half, ending the threat. "Good shooting, Four." Came the leader's voice, though Ria had done the work, Jack would take the compliment from the squadron leader.

The grain freighters, huge and imposing, had begun to slow. With the loss of their escorts, and under the guns of a full squadron of X-wings, they were out of alternative options. "Three and four, you bring these two into Kinyen." Said the squad leader. "Everyone else, with me." The rest of the squadron formed up on Red Leader and took off towards the next target assigned by the cruiser Rampart, still parked at the hyperlane junction. Great, Jack thought to himself. Kick some pirate butt and our reward is holding the hands of a couple of freighters. He knew the leader meant the task as a reward, but Jack wanted action. It appeared he wasn't going to get any for the time being.

Slowly but surely, under the orders of Jack's wingman Red Three, the huge freighters made a course for the world of Kinyen. While his wingmate handled the freighters, Jack handled their destination. They'd have to turn the ships over to GA authorities so that they could handle distribution of the food. There was a lot of food on the two massive ships, which dwarfed the pair of X-wings that were escorting them back to Kinyen. Jack commed on a secure frequency to GA command, one meant to be used only for urgent GA business. "Red Four to Command, i've got two heavy haulers here that tried to flee the system with their cargo. Where can I turn them over?"

Who got custody of the legally obtained goods, which were now officially the property of the Galactic Alliance, would be decided by someone higher up the food chain than a lowly pilot. He was just the delivery boy on this one, and wanted to be out there fighting bad guys, not dealing with a huge cargo of presumably expensive goods.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Unnamed hyperlane route
Objective: Scout hyperspace obstacles
Tag: Corazona von Ascania / Sayuri Hatoko

It was still strange that he was the one helping train up the next generation of padawan. He himself had gone through the tests and assignments they were doing now, they were hard and testing but as long as you had the will to do good there was no reason why they couldn't be as good as him. Watching from behind Sayrui, he now and then looked over to a monitor that picked up any anomalies on the moon "Nothing too concerning so far, keep moving her closer" he acknowledged after waiting a few moments longer for the scanner to continue.

So far so good

"Fun? just wait till a galactic monster flies out of one of these moons to gobble us up," he said with a grin just when she zoomed closer toward the dark moon "From the looks of things it just looks like any old moon really. With that being said, we don't want any of the ships to go into it head on" Silas confirmed, his head looking over to Cora who asked an interesting question.

"Dimensional horrors? who knows. The only thing to be concerned about is the unknown. We will not know how dangerous it can be until we face it" he explained, briefly looking into the deep abyss of space "Whatever came out of that rift, we will be ready no matter what" he said confidently before looking back down to the screen

And with that came a small ding from his screen "I have nothing, anything on your side Cora?"
​

 

[Annasari]

Middle of nowhere, Jakku // Objective I
Caulder Dune

This time the appearance of a moral compass didn't take her so aback - though no part of Annasari believed his motivations were poor. No one did what they did to sleep to sleep soundly at night. Optics? That could be a play. The slogan in her bid for chancellor could use sound backing. A provisional division was much more interesting. She'd put credits on the idea there would be more than agricultural distribution happening away from prying eyes... but the question why Kinyen begged to be asked.

"Such an agreement seems fair enough. The costs of travel will surely out weigh any profit margins lost from an open market. I'd propose a year contract, to start. Perhaps hopeful, but we need hope in such a crisis."

A strider strutted into her binocular vision, rising over the sands beyond. Without removing them from her face, a free hand slid the rifle over to Dune.

"There. I'll spot you. You should at least have a trophy to take home for your journey."

 

[Arage Bao]

"Both belong to the possibilities." Arage explained as she tapped another button and the viewport began to close. The Director would just about see how the kyber crystal was swallowed whole by the ceiling... and then replaced with a new one. Smaller, but still, it was clear that Arage was setting up a whole production line here.

"Our agents managed to retrieve some Kyber crystals on Illum and from the Gehinnom." It shouldn't have surprised M that Arage had agents on that damnable metal behemoth before it was transported to the Humbarine Reach for refits and reconstruction efforts. "These Kyber Crystal seem capable of renewing the energy stored within."

Magic? Some intrinsic connection to the Force even once corrupted and processed? Difficult to say.

"Which means they are perfectly suited for internal implantation. But their numbers aren't as large as we'd like. So we have been substituting them with regular energy crystals. Now these ones cannot renew themselves, but they are numerous, so we have been working on ways to externally connect them with our agents to allow for facility and field recharges." The idea was clear here. The Kyber crystals were rare and potentially infinitely reusable. As such they'd be reserved for those they trusted most. The energy crystals on the other hand would be used for the rest. They wouldn't be able to last long, but long enough hopefully for a mission or two before it would require further recharging.

The next room was larger and had a handful of scientists already working there. They didn't salute, their eyes glued to the viewport and what was happening beyond it.

Half a score of operatives were currently being implanted with the regular energy crystals. Utilizing existing jack-in ports that were often reserved for stim injectors, but obviously modified for this sort of use. Once injected, they were given instructions on how to enable it, and within the next five minutes they were already jumping twice as high as they ought to be able to.

"We preload them with certain programming supplied so graciously by your agents." Task Force Null had provided valuable insight in the way the Jedi worked and fought.

"Our estimates is that within a week they are fight-ready. A month they achieve peak performance."

Almost on cue a new set of operatives entered the room. They replaced the new ones and began new testing procedures. "These ones... well, we have been training them for three months now with the original prototypes." Almost on cue one of them threw a punch that ripped straight through a concrete wall.

"An application of Force Weapon, Force Strength and something called Curato salva, I am told."

She turned towards M and smiled.

"Would you like to give it a try, Director?" Now that was a surprise, wasn't it?

 

[Val Pellian]

Jaqu'n Boiv | IVI | Isobel Nakano | Tallara
​

He let Tallara and Jacqu'n get acquainted with each other while he checked over the datapad again.

This couldn't be right, could it? Birds? Really now. What wermo came up with this sort of mission? No, it seemed to be entirely accurate. They were going to track some fancy arse birds back to their breeding grounds. Because they... were dying. A lot. "Feel like this is more something for a conservation society, don't you?" Mentioned softly to Lotus as he scrolled through the info sheet and finally brought up the bird.

Okay, it did look kinda cool.

"I wonder if they will let us keep one as a pet." Then Crane sighed and glanced over to the other two agents. "Sable, Tallara, well met. I am Crane." He didn't introduce his companion. Lotus could introduce herself if she wished to.

"SIA provided us with these custom speeders for the job. They have special sensory equipment rigged to it. The Gran were skittish when Intel tried to get a location out of them, but they suggested we should check the mountain ridge. Apparently it has been often used to sightsee the birds when they were busy with their mating flights."

Crane never thought he'd say something like that.

"So suit up, we will get going. Hopefully there will be some sort of hint of what we are dealing with."

 

[Ruto Tane]

​

Iago's latest move left the media guessing. Exactly as it had been intended to do.

Rather than attend diplomatic talks on a word he truly didn't care about, Iago had opted to discuss his own political future with a potential ally. He'd been careful to conceal the meeting, hiding his true intentions on the planet behind a wall of diplomatic innuendo, setting up false engagements to ensure the media wouldn't be able to trace the Senator's whereabouts.

It didn't work. It seemed Senator Stark and the media had developed a new relationship, one in which they grew closer to one another as rumor of his future in politics continued to swirl and disturb the political order Emmen Tagge had established, and Adhira Chandra had enforced. The rise of populism - true populism, not the water downed planet sovereignty Emmen preached - was a threat after all. Auteme's victory proved that. It was a shame her policies didn't align with Stark's. She would have been a wonderful political ally.

Now she was just in his way.

As the Senator pondered the possibilities he was reminded of his true purpose for coming to this underdeveloped, uncivilized world. To meet with a man, a fellow Senator specifically, who seemed to share his view of the world, even if he was more willing to espouse his corporatism in public. For once, the people of Alsakan might've finally found themselves a true ally, the first in nearly ten thousand years.

A decrepit smile came across Iago's face as he finally arrived at his destination. Hand stretched outward, the Senator moved to greet the great Skaon who held the key to his political future. "Apologies for my tardiness"

Rulonom Laborr​

 

[Isobel Nakano]

sittin' in a bar, there's this girl​

Birds.

Birds?

"You know what they say about beggars and choosers," Isobel murmured back to her long-time compatriot. He was the one that got them into this mess, after all. In truth, there had not been much choice, but would she ever tell him that? She couldn't go around letting him think that only his quick thinking had prevented her from being invited to see the inside of an Alliance prison. Babysitting some dumbass birds didn't seem too heavy a price to pay for freedom.

Putting a hand on his shoulder, she leaned over and looked down at his datapad as he scrolled down. She frowned thoughtfully. Magnificent creatures, visually, but being visually appealing didn't do a lot if you were too stupid to forget how to breed and keep your species going.

Introductions were being made, and Isobel removed her hand from Pellian's shoulder, lifting it in a quick wave. "Lotus," she said, her voice lilting with the accent of her posh upbringing. "Good to meet you all. Does anyone have any experience with veterinary science with a specialty in avian health?" Dark eyes scanned from one to the next, then back to Val. "The Alliance better hope there's some sort of malevolent conspiracy going on with these birds, because if they're just suck, they're basically screwed."

Val Pellian | IVI | Jaqu'n Boiv | Tallara​

 

[Rulonom Laborr]

BYOO: Implications of the Future
Ruto Tane
​

It was not long before the man of the hour arrived within the private lounge reserved by him. His first impression of the man was that class and authority seemed to follow him. He was certainly the most logical man within the alliance's esteemed body representatives. Laborr swiftly moved from the lounge chair after pouring himself a glass of non-alcoholic beverage. The Alliance was going through quite a turbulent time and the Trade Federation could hardly afford to lose influence and power. The Commerce Guild was certainly going to be the main challenger even though the ancient corporations had worked together centuries ago during the Clone Wars and paid the price.

"It was no issue, Senator Stark. I just arrived mere moments ago myself." Laborr explained moving from the handshake that lasted a few moments to gesture towards one of the lounge chairs within the room. Moving away from the Senator of Alsakan for just a brief moment to comfortably sit so they could start the meeting with all due haste.

"Tell me, Senator Stark. What do you think of the Jakku Summit hosted by Senator Annasari." A simple question and one that had the most relevancy. Senator Annasari was playing a dangerous game behind the scenes one that might potentially change the alliance all together.

 

[Jaqu'n Boiv]

IVI | Tallara | Val Pellian | Isobel Nakano​

The HUD within the Dark Operator's bucket was actively updating the tags on the other agents assigned on mission. It had been a remarkable piece of software that didn't dare need any form of update or improvement since the time of its inception thousands of years ago in the forgotten Third Galactic War. The one that seemed to play itself again as history is wanton to repeat itself when successors and descendants forget the stories of old for 'better times', when it only brings another ruination. It was inevitable, and nothing lasts forever. If they did, he wouldn't be stuck here on a mission for some Galactic Alliance looking for birds of all things.

Without so much as a need for hand movements or vocal commands, the IFF trackers on his HUD sprang to life with the names 'Tallara', 'Crane', and 'Lotus'. Not the worst of callsigns he's ever heard, if he were honest with himself. Despite the very former clearly not being one, but then again, he had known some that gave themselves some callsign like you would find in the cheesiest of holofilms, like 'Ghost' or '.

{"My expertise is ill-suited for veterinarian duties."}

The Dark Operator's tone was low as he explained that he was a life taker. Not in the sense of trying to be hush-hush to keep it a secret, but that of discussion of the mission and its objectives. Clean, crisp and clearly straightforward, he sounded every bit professional as he looked. After going over a final take of his inspection, he stows the rifle onto its maglock on his backside as he rose to stand. He was every bit suited up for what laid ahead, and seemed to want to give his thoughts as he continued in a professional, almost suggestive-like approach.

{"Recommend an expert to be called in once we've secured our primary objectives. However, the nature of this mission seems to dictate discretion and is by my definition, fluid at best. Prioritizing the status of our avian Aitch-Vee-Ais should be our main concern, with new adaptive parameters to be formulated as our operation progresses. Chances are outside influences are involved and are using the influx of refugees and pirate raiders to keep everyone distracted from their activities."}

Jaqu'n had thought about this once he had been given the mission packet. Whether looking at the image of the very cool falcon in the HUD of his helmet, or just gleaming what information of the general situation from the holonetworks, it struck him odd that they went missing now of all times. Birds disappearing on their own could be a nature of life, after all, it happened with life all over in the galaxy.

But when these creature's risk of extinction were occurring the same time intergalactic negotiations between Kinyen and the Galactic Alliance were underway, well. It couldn't be proven at this moment in time, surely, but foul play by other entities, whether some indigenous insurrection with ideals against the Alliance or some enemy that were playing a false flag operation, had to be suspected. And prepared for, if such event was to be proven reality. That was how he saw the situation turning, because this would be something he would think to do.

{"Assessments can be passed around all day. Cutting mine short we should be prepared for more than search and rescue, if it should be as I suspect."}

He concluded rather simply, plated carbon black arms crossing over one another on top his cuirass. If he had any questions about the assignment or how they were going to operate, he didn't ask any. He knew well enough even by his own admission that it was going to be a No Fail bird hunt. Everything wasn't going to be clear, so best to find out as you go on the ground rather than plan out every single detail of a plan that could go to sket at a moment's notice. Who knew, though. Perhaps, or hopefully, he was wrong. It'd probably be an easier operation if he were.

 

[IVI]

BYOO | Humbarine Reach | That's no moon

​

M made a noise of consideration at the back of her throat. The way Arage was speaking about the production line, and the agents that could benefit from what she was working on, meant the engineers and scientists had already solved for scalability. Or, at least included it in early planning. The data behind it all must have been so interesting to pour through in the early days of discovery.

Seeing a live demonstration of accessing the impossible was a far more impactful display of power and advancement. It was marvelous that the future could be contained within walls. Inscrutable walls.

With the Force, a natural occurrence from every living thing in the galaxy, there would be little theoretical drawback. Right? Or was there divine punishment for those that dared to play God? Reverse engineering the inaccessible like this was as fantastic as it was…

Kind of worrisome.

Taking life, would it accelerate ones own? She’d been in labs that pursued immortality, this felt close to that, and even something as small as a buildup of senescent cells or plaques could, over time, prove fatal.

Her worry rarely got in the way of her ambition, though, and it would not today either. The timeline was impressive.

“This is impressive Admiral. Very impressive”

But everything she’d heard was good. The longest tests had been a quarter of a year. That was but a speck of dust in the galactic timeline for something as everlasting as The Force.

“I would. But first..have there been any side effects or negative results from the test subjects? And what's been done to mitigate any recurrences?"

---

Arage Bao ​

 

[Ruto Tane]

​

The Senator sighed in exasperation as Rulonom Laborr brought up the contentious recent Senate session over the desert world of Jakku. The session was abnormal in that it was secret, invite only and was called without the consent of the Chancellor, not that he had bothered informed if she'd be informed. Most likely not as the meeting's subject was something she'd likely oppose virulently - side stepping her presumed constitutional ability to appoint a successor to the retired Dracken Pryce.

"It was…what's the word?" He paused to consider the vocabulary available to him. "A clusterkark of epic proportions. Alas, the motion passed. We won" Victory might not have been the right word. There was still the matter of the full Senate to consider, then if the resolution passed - which he suspected it would - the matter of who specifically would be chosen to replace Pryce was up in the air. Which brought him to the next topic.

The distinct possibility of ensuring ensuring a like minded individual assumed high power in a government that seemed hell bent on pursuing programs that directly attacked corporations and business interests at the expense of the economy was simply too great to pass up. A moderating presence in the Auteme Administration - the AA as his Chief of Staff referred to it, was a salivating prospect.

"But I suppose that's why I'm here. We have much work to do to convince the full Senate to pass the proposal but should they…" He paused, extended his arms to emphasize his point. "It'd represent an opportunity we cannot pass up"

"But in order for that to happen Populists and Corportists must set aside their differences and come together to find a candidate suitable to our mutual interests"

Rulonom Laborr​

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