Faction High Garden

[Kanollic II Vethres]

Where once the Sith Empire's state media headquarters stood was a thing of the ancient past being replaced by Harrsk Hall; the Formidable Headquarters of the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR). Imperial Propaganda was on every building and street within this section of Bastion. Red Banners sporting the Imperial Crest lining the building to symbolize it as the Heart of the Imperial Political Ideology. If one was traveling through at this time they would notice the additional security measures within this section of the city with checkpoints and patrols covering the grounds even more than normal. A Special Decree issued by the Select Committee; the Five Member Ruling Body of the Commission made sure of that.

The Select Committee would send out a private transmissions to all personnel within the Commission and the Imperial Security Bureau to return to the Capital of Bastion immediately for a top secret gathering to discuss matters of importance to the entire empire. Any Imperial Personnel involved with Special Operations were also ordered to attend the gathering without delay. Although special permission was granted to those personnel currently involved in missions vital to the Imperial War Effort to allow them to remain on assignment until further notified.


Personnel would be notified via messenger droids who had a built in self destruction sequence to avoid anyone else getting a notice of the meeting. The Airspace around the Hall was closed down to any traffic and only those with special transponder codes could avoid being shot down. A set of these codes were sent personally to the Lord-Regent Barran incase they arrived to the meeting.

Harrsk Hall was now officially open and personnel would be guided through the structure towards the Central Chamber.

The Central Chamber was considerably large to house a majority of COMPNOR's personnel during gatherings such as this. A long smooth table sat in front of Six Chairs; Five of which belonged to the Commissioners of COMPNOR and the extra one being provided to the Head of the Imperial Security Bureau. Commissioner Vethres was the only one currently sitting within his seat due to the other commissioners being away on assignments throughout the empire's ever expanding territory.

Operation 233 otherwise known as 'HIGH GARDEN' was a special operation being conducted by COMPNOR to expand the ideology of the empire towards the farthest reaches like a tree expanding its branches. Another operation was being discussed here today in the form of 'OPERATION CHARIOT' which involved sending a clear and simple strike at the alliance for meddling within the affairs of the empire.

There was more to the discussion than those two but they were going to be at the forefront of the meeting here today.

Desertions and traitorous thoughts were occurring within the empire and it was the responsibility of COMPNOR and the ISB to purge them from the empire before they inspired others to question the rule of the Triumvirate. A single brush of his gloved hand upon his thick beard brought some level of comfort to Kanollic II as his white uniform appeared clean and without blemish.

"Bring them in."

The Grand Chamber door would open upon his command.

​

 

[Archibald III Vethres]

Archibald III had recently been inspecting a warehouse district along with Imperial Security Bureau Agents when the private transmissions came through originating from COMPNOR'S Headquarters. He had to catch the next shuttle out of Ord Theodan to even stand a chance of getting there ahead of time. A somber look came upon his face as his two working fingers on his right hand flexed in response. Since his accident upon a star destroyer. His hand became a reminder of his vulnerability.

The shuttle slowly broke into the atmosphere of Bastion and the slow crawl towards Harrsk Hall. TIE Fighters and Turbolaser Towers were activated and the signature roar of the fighters brought him further back into his previous occupation within the Imperial Engineering Corps. A pair of TIE Fighters followed his shuttle and demanded to be shown the authorization codes given to COMPNOR and ISB officials. Transmitting those codes took some time but nevertheless the shuttle was allowed to touch down within the courtyard.

His eyes gazed around Harrsk Hall which had been reinforced with an entire stormtrooper detachment alongside COMPFORCE. Inserting his command cylinder into the door to be allowed entry into the Central Chamber. Archibald III looked towards his cousin Kanollic II Vethres who currently sat slightly above them as to symbolize his status against the lower members of the commission. His rank of secretary allowed him to sit nearer to the Commissioner within the 'High Ranking' Section.

It was only a matter of time before more arrived.

​

 

[Sylus (Γ059)]

█████ - Rama-Actual
IMPERIAL SECURITY BUREAU
TASK FORCE ████
Harrsk Hall, Bastion
TAGS: Kanollic II Vethres Archibald III Vethres

Unusual.

Sylus wheeled the burnt-out messenger droid into the trash compactor. Rarely did messages come in from above his handlers, and rarely in such a manner, but Sylus watched as the datapad displayed a top priority message coming from the Select Committee itself. He read it again to be sure, noting the verification stamp from Raider-Actual, his handler(s), then hit the self-destruct button. The screen burnt itself out, its memory systems fried. The agent gave a small jolt of Force Lightning into the pad just to be sure, before tossing it into the chute after the droid. As he made his way out from the personnel wing of the Headquarters, he notices many of the staff discreetly leaving their offices and stations, whispering instruction to some low-level flunkies to hold down the fort.

A simple stroll through the underground tunnels linking ISB Operational HQ to Harrsk Hall (which, today, was packed with ISB personnel also making the same journey, many of them wordlessly exchanging queries through glances and shrugging) brough Sylus to the Hall. The tunnel entrance, previously guarded by a handful of CompForce troopers, was now enlarged as well as bolstered by Stormtroopers. They checked every pass and scanned every face, and a walk that took ten minutes ended up a queue of over an hour.

By the time Sylus reached the Central Chamber, the main entrances were packed, and Sylus, as a 'mere' Agent of ISB and thus lowest in the COMPNOR pecking order, had to be re-routed to one of the much less glamorous and intimidating side entrances: a stuffy hallway where he rubbed shoulders with a propaganda graphic designer from Improvements, a CompForce trainer, and an Iron Sun recruitment chief.

Sylus took in the sight of the Hall proper when he was finally waved in, taking a seat somewhere in the flanks of the Hall. The architecture was passable, he thought. Imperial order and strength, with a hint of defiant flaring along the tops of the columns. Floor and seats invoked old Imperial design sensibilities with some modern structural preferences. Definitely a reverse of the Sith Imperial halls of power. Not that Sylus was ever let into any, though he remembered well the ostentatiousness of that era.

 

[Hal Vaiken]

Archibald III Vethres Kanollic II Vethres Sylus (Γ059) Alek Morozov
​

The ominous and enigmatic structure that was Harrsk Hall, colloquially known simply as Harrsk across the Empire to refer to the Bureau and its umbrella organization -- COMPNOR, stood as an edifice of the Emperor's Hand and a testament to His endless reach across the galaxy. What was conjured within its grey walls had the power to influence changes on a galactic scale. Sarge knew it, they knew it, the universe knew it.

He found his seat towards the further edges of the massive table, far from the big wigs spearheading the Commission. Having any sort of a seat on a table such as this one was, he surmised, a testament to SCAR Squadron's notoriety and effectiveness. Despite the intimidating weight emanating from the very walls of the building, Hal Vaiken remained as cold-blooded as he had been trained to be; a cold, lethal weapon of the Emperor and His Empire.

The commander remained silent, running a hand through the wrinkled fabric of his black uniform signifying his belonging to the famed Stormtrooper Corps of the Empire before leaning back in his chair awaiting the processions to begin as more people still trickled in. ​

 

[Ruaridh Aodh]

Tags: Kanollic II Vethres / Archibald III Vethres / Sylus (Γ059) / Hal Vaiken / Alek Morozov

It would be understating the fact to say Ruaridh was... a little nervous. The summons from COMPNOR had certainly come as a strange surprise, and to Harrsk Hall no less. Certain transponder codes had been transmitted with the now-defunct message droid, a security measure that had not aided Ruaridh's sense of uneasiness as he piloted a shuttle to the meeting location. He had flown in on a civilian shuttle and, as such, had no obvious proof of this, but he most definitely heard the blaring rings of target lock alarums as his shuttle was tracked, inch by airborne inch, by every turret emplacement within five clicks. He did not breathe easy until he had departed his shuttle, feet back on solid ground, and was herded in the direction of what he was told was the Central Chamber - he had never had cause to visit this most ominous of locations, thankfully.

The security on the ground was no less dense and extensive, with multiple checkpoints, guard stations and what Ruaridh assumed was a special stormtrooper legion co-opted for additional protective measures. He was eyed warily, garbed as he was in his Stormtrooper's uniform blacks, Second Lieutenant's pins freshly applied for his first in-uniform appearance since his promotion, which alongside his impressive bulk and height marked him out among a myriad host of agents. He returned any glances in full - nervous he may be, but fearful he was not.

The large doors to the Central Chamber swung open, finally, and Ruaridh was ushered in along with all the rest. He eyed the two white uniforms already sat, imperious, at the head table, unsure why he had been invited to such a gathering. STRIDER Company was, if Ruaridh would be so modest, the elite of the elite when it came to special forces troopers in the Empire, but his war was his battleground, not the more subtle work required of an agent. Whatever it was, he couldn't imagine it would bode well.

 

[Alek Morozov]

High Garden​

Arriving at Harrsk Hall

Harrsk Hall. Now there was a sight to see.

If discretion was what COMPNOR had in mind for their headquarters it would have been a miserable failure. Alek knew better, of course. The Empire never undertook anything without extensive planning, from galactic warfighting strategy to what the decor of the home of Imperial intelligence would be. They wanted the building to be a sight to behold. To inspire awe in all Imperial citizens who held love and pride for the Empire in their heart, and terror for those who would see the Iron Sun extinguished.

Checkpoint upon checkpoint, the verification of identity done so many times that Alek himself felt the dread that would be arriving to the meeting late. As flexible as he was with certain expectations and regulations as one could manage while remaining in good standing with the top brass as Alek was, there were certain lines that weren’t crossed. Arriving late to such an important gathering was the chief among those. Something big was in the works. Something of such spanning import that it called even the rank and file into attendance. Beneath the drudgery of actually arriving at such a thing there existed an undercurrent of excitement. The sort of anticipation that only the few beneath the wing of COMPNOR could fully appreciate.

Much to Alek’s relief, at the sight of only a handful yet gathered, he arrived in a timely manner. That was another vital component at these sorts of functions. Never be the last to arrive. That was what could burden an agent with the sort of lingering scrutiny that saw them dispatched to some dark, cold corner of the Empire pushing papers without the dream of reassignment.

Claiming the nearest free seat, which just so happened to be beside Sylus (Γ059) , a question in a hushed tone was posed to his compatriot. “Any idea what all of this is about?”

 

[Kanollic II Vethres]

The Commissioner's face held firm as personnel flooded into the Central Chamber and took their seats. Some of them were noticeable from others chief among them being his cousin Archibald III Vethres who sat nearer to him than others. There was visible confusion within the air as to the reason why so many of them had been called by the Select Committee in the first place. Kanollic's face was firm and unmoving casting a silent shadow over each member that he scanned. Some personnel was more noticeable than others in attendance from Hal Vaiken from SCAR Squadron to Ruaridh Aodh of STRIDER Company. From the Imperial Security Bureau came Sylus (Γ059) and Alek Morozov whose file he had been reading prior to calling this meeting to commence.

COMPNOR's Select Committee was making quite a few policy changes to smoothline the process away from unnecessary red tape. A single gavel lay by him to pound against the wooden sphere on the table before him. Reaching over and grabbing the gavel with a single slam against the wood ringing out amongst the crowd gathered.

"I am sure that quite a few of you are wondering why the Select Committee has summoned you."

Kanollic proceeded to speak for just a moment to let his words draw everyone in before proceeding.

"The Commission has made quite a few policy changes regarding how the Security Bureau and Special Operations Function within the Empire. The First Policy involves the recreation of Loyalty Officers to make sure that all personnel within the Empire remain loyal to the regime. They will be tasked with discovering any trespasses against the Empire, from mild breaches of conduct to outright betrayal. And have the power given to them by COMPNOR to search through quarters; go through files and interrogate the superiors for any instances of disobedience."

"Each unit within the empire will have a Loyalty Officer attached to them and it is the responsibility of those units to report their superiors if they have hard evidence of betrayal of our ideals. Any failure to report will cause the entire unit to be disbanded effective immediately."

Kanollic said with a firm tone towards the personnel within the room. He was expecting some serious pushback within the room from this new policy. Mainly from those units that didn't want a Loyalty Officer overtop of them and spying on them 24/7. But it was necessary to prevent desertions amongst the empire's ranks and possible coups against the Triumvirate.

"Your concerns can be spoken now regarding this policy and the Select Committee will take it into advisement."

He further added interlocking his gloved fingers with one another and awaiting for any feedback regarding the policy to come forward.

​

 

[Archibald III Vethres]

Archibald III watched as the meeting officially began with a single tap of the gavel. The Commissioner spoke with a firm voice to symbolize his authority over the masses before him. The First Policy did interest him somewhat with the reestablishment of Loyalty Officers first created by Darth Vader all those years ago. From reports they were feared and hated amongst the lower ranks. Archibald was concerned that it would create some friction between the Imperial Military and COMPNOR itself making it harder for them to patrol for any signs of disloyalty. Most crews onboard Star Destroyers were loyal to their captain first above the empire's ideology.

These 'Loyalty Officers' could become a sort of rallying cry for the disposal of COMPNOR in the future. Something that Archibald III wanted to avoid as his job depended on the commission still being present. A single question came into his mind regarding the policy and he would voice his now to all present.

"Commissioner Vethres, what are the safeguards to prevent units from falsely reporting their superiors to the Loyalty Officer attached to them. Would it not cause a massive headache for the Bureau to actually enforce with the arrest of so many officials?"

Archibald III posed towards him demanding some form of an answer.

Hal Vaiken
Ruaridh Aodh
Sylus (Γ059)
Alek Morozov
Kanollic II Vethres

​

 

[Castor E-196]

Master Sergeant Castor E-196
Imperial Navy Special Forces Command​

Objective: attend the meeting

Castor rarely spent time on Bastion these days, what with being deployed with the fleet. A short R&R and rotation had routed him to Bastion, which he had found out, until he received the message. It was legit, and he considered verifiying NAVSPECFORCOM until he realised they too were sending their guys here.

Castor stood out from the rest of the lower ranked people "invited" to the meeting. Steading a head-and-a-bit taller than the average, the Elite had to stoop his head more than once to get his retinal scan. Well, the Empire never was built with diversity in mind.

He waited in line as the queue filed into the room, and he noticed the variety of uniforms. A joke played in his head:
A spook, CompFarce, and Special Soldier walk into a Hall...

He could see the Select Committee and Commissioners at the front of the Hall, already seated and waiting, while the drones hurried to their seats so as not to be the last. Castor grit his teeth as he squeezed his bulk across rows of already seated people, finally finding his spot beside Ruaridh Aodh and near Sarge Hal Vaiken .

The meeting began without ceremony.

[Speech]

Loyalty officers? Castor frowned. The Military always had friction with COMPNOR, but surely there was little call for this? Quite the vote of no-confidence from the spooks. Although, the recent Chiss Crisis might have proven them right...

Castor looked to his fellow military men to gauge their reactions. This did not sit right with him. Abuse of the system by lower ranks as pointed out by Archibald III Vethres was not his worry at the moment.

 

[Marcus Voss]

Tags: Hal Vaiken | Ruaridh Aodh | Sylus (Γ059) | Alek Morozov | Kanollic II Vethres | Archibald III Vethres | Castor E-196

Marcus Voss hurried into the chamber, well aware he had just barely made it to the meeting on time. He was not a familiar face amongst the crowd of high ranking officials and commanders. His presence, as an advisor to COMPNOR and Special Operations, wasn't much needed, he was there nonetheless though. His 3 lightsabers strapped to his waist, his Knights cloak hiding it from sight as he took his place. This was not a meeting he had expected, in fact, he had just been on his way to Adumar when the meeting was scheduled. He never did like Bastion, he preferred action outside of Imperial territory, though he had duties.

He took his seat amongst a crowd of COMPNOR officials, standing out in his Knights armour, though lacking the helmet. He was curious as to what the meeting was called for, it better had been something important for a meeting so unexpected to be scheduled.

As the commissioner spoke, he listened half heartedly, but leaned forward as the matter of loyalty was brought up. This is bound to be interesting. Another way to encourage the downfall of COMPNOR. The system would cause disorder and chaos, and while the concept itself was decent, putting it into action wouldn't be easy. At least, Marcus viewed it that way. He had little voice in COMPNOR and Special Operations, so he wouldn't bother voicing his concerns. He was sure someone else would do it for him.

Sure enough, someone did. A man quite unfamiliar to him, but he knew him nonetheless. The commissioners cousin or some relative of him. Point was, he brought the most present concern to commission. The military and COMPNOR had enough friction, the commissioners couldn't expect this to work without some major hiccups. Leaning back in his seat, he awaited the response from the commission.
​

​

​

 

[Alek Morozov]

High Garden

Alek felt distinctly out of place as the room continued to fill with uniforms, uniforms decorated with polished bars that told the tale of the upper echelons of the Empire. To his right and left the voids in chairs were filled with warriors that had seen the will of the Empire carried out across the stars. And…here he sat, an agent of no serious renown in the company of giants.

The wisest of moves would have been to do naught but listen in silence and nod along with whatever the committee agreed upon. To keep the head down which would ensure the greatest chances of survival. Yet, when the floor was opened for concerns to be raised, Alek wondrously found that his lips failed to remain sealed and a hand was raised to beseech for his turn to speak.

When it was granted words were let fly.

“What is there to prevent animosity from springing forth in the wake of this decision? At best our officers will see it as their toes being stepped on. At worst they will revile the loyalty officers with a disdain that will taint any cooperation between the branches.”

 

[Kanollic II Vethres]

The Commissioner's gaze went towards the first person to speak out against the New Policy in the form of his own cousin Archibald III Vethres who pointed out that lower ranks could abuse the system put into place. Kanollic II would understand the concern but also wanted to assure the members in attendance that COMPNOR had it under control.

Turning his eye towards Alek Morozov who posed another statement regarding the Loyalty Officers. There would be hostility between them and the Imperial Officers and conflict with each branch of the Imperial Armed Forces. The Select Committee had considered that beforehand but looking at it from another point of view made him want to implement a test run before the policy was pushed forward.

"You made an interesting point, Morozov and Secretary Vethres. Therefore we will begin a test run before the policy is implemented fully among the Imperial Armed Forces. I am officially appointing Morozov as our First Loyalty Officer for the time being and assigning you to the 43rd Battlegroup underneath Grand Admiral Korvan. If you encounter any problems tell them that your authority comes directly from the Commission."

Kanollic said with a firm tone that left little room to argue. Some might see this as a power move by the Select Committee to reign in the 43rd Battlegroup but it was necessary to show that COMPNOR was unafraid to challenge the Imperial Hierarchy. As there were no more questions about the first policy. Kanollic would move on to the second policy being implemented.

"Alright, the next policy being implemented by COMPNOR is the establishment of the Special Operations Logistical Office. The Office will supply anything that Special Operations and Special Forces need without having to take from the Armed Forces Inventory."

Marcus Voss
Castor E-196
Ruaridh Aodh
Hal Vaiken
Sylus (Γ059)

​

 

[Archibald III Vethres]

Archibald's concerns regarding the proposal were taken into account along with Alek Morozov 's concerns. Although he did feel bad when Morozov was granted the title of "Loyalty Officer" and assigned to Grand Admiral Korvan's 43rd Battlegroup. It was only a temporary title to see if the policy would work without serious backlash. COMPNOR currently had a lot of power with the ISB underneath their jurisdiction but high hostilities with the Imperial Military. Relations between the two services would have to be repaired to make a stronger empire.

Archibald brushed his face for a moment as Kanollic II Vethres moved onto the second policy regarding the establishment of the Logistical Office which would supply Special Operations and Special Forces with anything that they would need so as to not take from the Armed Forces Inventory. His gazes looked toward the others within the room to gauge their reaction.

​

 

[Hal Vaiken]

Archibald III Vethres Kanollic II Vethres Sylus (Γ059) Alek Morozov Castor E-196 Ruaridh Aodh Marcus Voss
​

The introduction of loyalty officers, expanding further the Commission's intervention into the Armed Forces, left a faint sour taste in the SCAR Commander's mouth. Lily Stevens had already faced the ruthless nature of the Bureau's loyalty officers and passed their brutal test -- execute her own father. It had changed her to the point of becoming nearly unrecognizable by both former and current comrades. The decree was met with various whispers across the large table, even some agents of the Bureau seemed taken aback. Others, he knew, with their sly smiles tugging at their lips were on the brink of standing on their feet and applauding.

The longer the throne was empty, the wider the divide among the Imperials grew.

"Alright, the next policy being implemented by COMPNOR is the establishment of the Special Operations Logistical Office. The Office will supply anything that Special Operations and Special Forces need without having to take from the Armed Forces Inventory."

Hal rose an arm, "How would this simply not be a redundant office operating parallel with the Logistics of SOC?" he asked. Last thing they needed was more bureaucracy. He wondered if it was not simply a new office created to bestow comfortable positions to loyal pen pushers; another budget drainer. The commander had heard tales of corruption rising across the Imperial bureaucracy after the death of His Majesty the Emperor Rurik Fel .​

 

[Brackard Cain]

Cain sat in silence for most of the proceedings. He did not know what most of the people on the room did, beyond the senior group. That was how it should be. They did not all know what operations his own cell carried out either. It limited the blast radius of any compromise from the Alliance's own activities.

He had heard of some rumours of this. His team often investigated espionage within their ranks, which would explain why two of his team had recently been reassigned. Now he knew for certain that they would be taking up posts as these 'loyalty officers'.

"I assume," he said, raising his hand, "That there will be a suitable level of audit above these officers? That their activities will in turn be monitored by their superiors."

It was all quite standard. Anyone above being monitored was a danger to their entire operation. He didn't need to know specifics, but thought it was worth asking for piece of mind.