If You Want to Play with the Big Boys, You Have to Have the Big Toys [Moross]

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron offered the Captain no response. When they arrived in the command center, the Sith Lord's silver-green gaze swept briefly over the familiar form of Di'Vanca, offereing her a curt nod of his head. As a sign of respect for their hosts, the Sith Lord pulled back the hood of his cloak, allowing the fabric to fall around his neck. Inhaling steadily, he glanced to the projection and offered a simple nod. Unlike most of the Aesirs, Cameron did not maintain a dual personality. Aatrox had simply chosen to inhabit the body of his Hand, Cameron Centurion ceased to exist as far as anyone in the Crusade knew. Besides...he abhorred wearing masks.

"I personally dispatched one of our most experienced expeditionary forces. During the transit, I was informed of an additional force of Ithari Swarm Frigates arriving to support the effort. The Blade of Kalee will be principally supervising the operation." Cameron's voice did not trail, and he knew that Di'Vanca knew little and less of the woman that was the Hand of Kalee. His statement would be enough. [member="Pyrrha Nikkita"] and Priestess [member="Loxa Visl"] would not fail. They were Crusaders. Failure was not a part of the Book of Moross. "It will be enough." Turning to face Di'Vanca squarely, the Sith Lord fixed her with an emotionless expression as his silver-green gaze held her own gaze intently. "Please continue."

No intimidation tactic. Cameron merely chose to give the woman his full attention.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]
[member="Serian Loria"]

 

[Siara Vorru]

As if on cue as they closed on the pirate nest guided carefully around and through the minefields their scouts had identified beforehand the pirates started swarming out of their base in craft of various descriptions, there was nothing unified about their effort and the largest of their vessels was an aged Vigil class corvette. It was a beautiful little vessel to the eyes of the mercenary woman, she coveted it immediately, and all of her efforts from that point on would be capturing the little vessel rather than destroying it. She had aspirations of running her own mercenary crew at some point and to do that she would require a ship a great deal larger than the little freighter she booted about in these days. Siara wanted to board this ship outright but she was being paid to be on the bridge of the Regent and to guide this mission to success.

“Launch our starfighters and establish a defensive screen, let them come to us. Keep our bombers in reserve for the base itself, no doubt they will have it equipped with weapons as well.” Siara ordered as the old Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer lurched to a stop.

“Shall we engage the interdiction field Deimos?” The systems control officer to her left asked plainly.

“Yes, we don’t want any of them escaping us.” Siara ordered

The interdiction field was charged up, locking every vessel into the area, if they wanted to escape they would have to go through the Regent and her starfighter screen, that was the benefit of leaving the minefield intact, the pirates had been foolish enough not to account for a hidden back route out of their little nest. At least not anything large enough for their corvette this would hardly be a challenge at all. The two groups came together and the starfighters amongst them started a furball off the bow of the Regent. The pirates starfighters outnumbered their own two to one but the pilots of the crusade were the better pirates and pirate starfighters were soon exploding all over space around them as the Vigil class Corvette closed into firing range.

“Bring its shields down but do not destroy it, I hope you are prepared to bring me a prize.” Siara commented to [member="Pyrrha Nikkita"] as the Regent started working on bringing down the shields of the opposing vessel, focusing on the use of its ion cannons to disable the systems of the other vessel. The Regent was in no real danger here, unless the pirates managed to get bombers past their starfighter screen which so far they had not even attempted they were so disorganized it made Siara smirk to herself as she glanced at [member="Crystal"]. “Well you wanted fireworks, can’t get a better show than this right now.”

 

[Crystal]

[member="Siara Vorru"] [member="Azlyn Ike"] [member="Ashra'syle'nuruodo"] [member="Pyrrha Nikkita"]

Crystal smirked. “We’ll see. The show has only just begun.” She looked to her apprentices on the bridge. “If you’d like some exercise, you’re welcome to accompany the Blade.” The Priestess grinned. That was a subtle suggestion that they should go and be useful. But you know, she didn’t out and out say so. They were well aware that their advancement would depend on their usefulness to the Crusade. And missions such as this were the perfect time to demonstrate their skills and uses. It would also determine how much of her time and expertise she would dedicate to their training.

 

[Quietus]

"Very well," DiVanca nodded, "I will inform the caravan to continue on course."

Signaling to a deckhand to pass on the orders, the Chief of Operations then turned the holoprojection table to a new subject. Zooming in on Ceto and it's existing shipyards, she pulled up an overlay of blueprints for the new quadrants.

"We'll be starting the construction to expand their current orbital yard, incorporating it into the HALCYON system you finished there just last month. This will allow complete integration of the shipyards into the security systems of the HALCYON, boosting the ability to protect the yards and allowing easier transportation both to and from the yards in question. Due to the planet's smaller size we have provided for three capital docks, and the remaining will tailor to anything up to 2000m. Your orbital yards to be constructed around Kinooine will be used for the construction of fighter ships, corvettes and frigates and will also provide advanced mobile repair drydocks. Do you have any questions thus far, Aesir?"

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron was silent as Di'Vanca continued her presentation. While the woman's comments were straight-forward enough, Cameron found he was, perhaps, a little underinformed as to the details. Certainly in any dealings with [member="Lorelei Darke"] or her people, the devil most certainly was in the details. "I have a very generic query." Pausing, the Sith Lord shifted his gaze from the display to the woman managing the presentation. "These facilities I'm sure will be top-notch. I am, however, curious as to the...influence KDY leadership and culture will have in the systems containing said facilities."

The acquisition and propogation of technology was a necessity in life, but the Aesir was interested to see how the spreading of so many different, and often competing, paradigms and beliefs inside a Moross system would effect the general culture of the organization. Needless to say, KDY attracted and employed a great many people that, no doubt, were not exactly locked in to the daunting intensity of belief upheld by nearly all crusaders.

Perhaps not so generic a query.

 

[Quietus]

DiVanca nodded, "No more than what is required for KDY to finish the construction. We will not be filling your system with employees, Aesir, we are simply here per the arrangement of privatized construction per the initial inquery made by Aesirs Neth and Inari. Once the fabrication and installation of these new drive yards are complete, KDY will turn the rest over to you, including all copies of structure, security, and systems. Should you require our assistance with training your people to manage and use the facilities or the purchase of protocol droids programmed do to the necessary management tasks, we can provide for that, but it was not requested in the original project outline. Aesir Inari assured us it would not be necessary. Would you like to make any modifications to the contract, Aesir Aatrox?"

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron could not say he was precisely sure why Amorella had insisted they would need know such assistance in previous negotiations. While he did not exactly relish the idea of leaving crusaders under the control of those that...were not indoctrinated, he was much more concerned about productivity degradation. "Droids." It was the only response he gave the alluring blonde, initially. "For the management tasks...and only to start. We will wipe their memories and phase them out as our people gain experience."

Exhaling softly, he added a brief qualifier. "Yet a droid can only convey so much. They're a stop-gap at best in matters such as this. I would request that during construction and set-up, your people do what they can to give ours a more...intimate working knowledge of systems and procedures. If a modification to the contract is necessary to fund the additional duties, that is not a problem." The Sith Lord would have preffered not to modify arrangments that Amorella had already initiated. However, he would have preferred her not to disappear and never be heard from again either.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

"For posterity, it will be, Aesir. I will draw up proper modifications once construction is underway," DiVanca replied, softly clearing her throat, "I will also send word to HQ to arrange the necessary droids for shipment. We'll not be needing them until construction concludes, but I will see that they are delivered early and prepared to fill their jobs as each section is completed. In the meantime, I'll put in a request to Lady Darke to borrow management heads for training purposes. A few will be arriving with the construction caravan and our command ship has several lecture and meeting chambers that can be modified for training purposes, unless you prefer to use your own."

The woman gave the bridge a cursory glance. Despite the Aesir's overwhelming presence, the people had been well-trained to maintain their poise, their attention, and their time on their tasks and duties. First and foremost, KDY was a business and not one that suffered fools readily. They had an image and a reputation to uphold, and so did Moross. Stormy-hued eyes settled on Cameron, unflinching under his inhuman gaze, "KDY will not be tarnishing its image, nor need Moross be concerned over the same. We're here to help you, Aesir, and our job comes first. Everything else is off the clock - which won't be happening until we return home to Kuat."

"Ma'am, supply ships have met up with Moross frigates. ETA thirty minutes to Ceto system."

"Queen Darke is prepared to go live, Miss Leonardi."

"Thank you, is there anything else you wish to discuss with me before I bring her in, Aesir?"

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Garza]

I watched as the battle in space began. Ships zoomed, bolts flew, and explosions ensued. Enough to be some fireworks that [member="Crystal"] might enjoy. I stood there. Arms folded across my chest just looking, watching, and observing the enemy. I would need to do the best I could for the ships that we were in. Commanding them in which direction to go, or even fly one myself. I watched as the ships moved around in what looked to be random ways towards the line that we held.

I slowly got the jest as they tried to look chaotic. As though there was no real command for them. However out of the ships outside, the Vigil-Class Corvette. It was likely to be the command center simply because it was the largest ship in the fleet. There was talk in my direction to go ahead and go. I nodded my head, staying for a second more to hear Crystal respond to the question, and then send her apprentices with me. I had no clue on who they were, but I knew they would be helpful.

I let my arms drop and my right arm raise to my ear. Pressing the button on the side, I spoke to my own assault team still awaiting for me in the hangar bay. "Prepare the ships. When I get there, we will begin our assault." Surprisingly, we would not be using dropships. We will be using Cyhraeth-Class Freighters that have been slightly modified to hold troops instead of cargo. We only needed three of them to do it right. The extra Starfighters were there for support to keep the other ships off of us. Turning to Deimos [member="Siara Vorru"], I spoke. "Start smaller assaults on the other larger classes of ships, and maybe one on the Vigil-class. We don't want them to see us coming. And yes, I won't destroy the Corvette."

I then began to walk away and down the hall to where I would be meeting the others. If my troops were need to get there, then Deimos Vorru would provide a way with least resistance. As I walked, I pulled a headset from my pocket. Placing them over my ears, I pressed on the device to listen to a song. One that I rather liked. Smiling as the lyrics spoke of danger coming to the club. Only this club, happened to be a space battle.

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron gave Di'Vanca a rather simple nod of his head. "Acceptable, Ms. Leonardi. I have nothing further." Silver-green gaze briefly shifted towards the bustle of the room before settling back on Di'Vanca's trim figure. His eyes dipped for only the briefest of moments. It was as if he was truly seeing the woman for the first time. While she was not currently his opponent, she was a force that he took in careful, measured stride.

"We may proceed." Hopefully this conversation with [member="Lorelei Darke"] went better than the last. He hated the woman for being so irritatingly similar to him in every way. A sister in every way other than familial bonds of blood, love, and friendship. What was left? The realistic complexities of life.

 

[Quietus]

"Very well, begin transmission with her majesty."

At the near end of the projection table, a minor holoscreen blinked on and moments later the image of the Kuatian Sovereign appeared.

Good day, Moross, Lorelei began, purposefully leaving out specific greetings to certain individuals aboard the ship for the sake of simplicity and timeliness, I see we are running ahead of schedule. Now that you have been briefed by Director Leonardi, I have some questions for you regarding the material hold for shipment to Kinooine. What is the status of clearance in the system, Aesir?

Succinct, as always, the Queen's miniature holographic figurine stood straight-backed and motionless, ever an image of regality even over such distances.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron's gaze tracked slowly to the hologrpahic representation of [member="Lorelei Darke"] before offering his response. What he wanted to say was that the system continued to suffer from a number of seemingly sporadic and not at all coordinated pirate attacks. Merchant vessels seemed to be of specific interest, no shock there. In truth, Cameron supposed the last reported status confirmed to the notion that most systems previously under loose control whereby criminal elements were previously allowed to operate...mostly with impunity, continued to be a struggle.

The reply he gave, however, was a both more simple and tactful. "It's being addressed. I do not expect the risk to ever truly reduce to zero, however, so my personal opinion would be to proceed once I've received word current...clean-up has met with success."

 

[Quietus]

I will send an detail of guard vessels along with the shipment. Unfortunately I cannot afford to hold the shipment any longer. The Republic's war with One Sith has stretched dangerously close to Kuat systems and I fear if it reaches us you may never receive it.

DiVanca tapped in notes to her own holopad before reaching forward to switch the projected map, "The Corellian Trade Spine passes through the Moross controlled Manpha system. We could hold the shipment there until Kinooine is prepared to accept it."

A viable option, Lorelei nodded, unless the Aesir has another idea, that will do.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron's response was swift. "I'll defer to your own logistical insight as to the impact the Republic's war might have on this project." Without looking at Di'Vanca, the Sith Lord motioned to her and continued. "Ms. Leonardi's suggestion is acceptable." Truth be told, [member="Lorelei Darke"] could ship the materials to the Kinooine system whenever she so desired. Cameron, simply, would not be accepting responsibility for the safety of their arrival if said arrival occurred prematurely. He could appreciate KDY's position, and he respected their assistance in the matter.

However, regardless of his personal feelings for Silencia or her daughter, he was acting principally as a steward of the Moross Crusade for now. KDY was being compensated for a service, he expected the service to be delivered in a manner befitting both organizations. That all said, he had no concerns they absolutely would be. He did not know Silencia to be one...interested in failure or negative fall-out to her own holdings. Cameron could easily work to minimize both their losses.

Perhaps that reality was born out of his respect for the woman. No, definitely.

 

[Quietus]

Very well.

The Queen said no more on the matter.

Miss Leonardi, please bring up Project Titan on screen.

"Yes, your Highness." The Director produced a datachip from a pocket and gently plugged it into the control panel of projection table. Three icons appeared: a strange looking capital ship; a map outlining Moross territory; and an image of the Ceto system in the finalized stage of production.

What you see here is something that Aesir Inari asked for me to plot and outline for Moross on our first meeting. Project Titan is what she considered her itinerary for the Crusade and its territory, including plans for alliances, major construction of inter-planetary space trains, the Ceto and Kinooine Driveyards, seven flagship design outlines, and the plotting of a major hyperspace route from the Fringe Confederacy systems down through the Crusade territory to connect the southern galactic wild space territories. Project Titan was her outline for creating a force built upon a solid foundation of economy, trade, military, and political standing. With the HALCYON systems successfully implemented and the completion of the drive yards now currently in hand, it will soon be time to consider the next phase. At the request of Aesir Inari at our last meeting, I have sent with Miss Leonardi basic design mods for three of the flagships to start you off.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Lorelei Darke"] [member="Cameron Centurion"]

Soliael stepped into the meeting room with quick confident strides, his boots clattered quite loudly against the sound of the bulkhead and the sleek metallic overlay on his skin seemed to give off slight flickers from the projection table. Just as he stepped into the room Silencia detailed the outline for Project Titan, something Amore had told her quite a bit ago.

He shot a glance to Cameron for a moment, eyes looking over him before turning back to the projection table. The False God listened to his grandmother speak.

There was currently nothing he could add to the conversation. Silencia had just revealed Amorella's plans for the Moross Fleet, something that he was of course aware of, if not directly involved in. He smiled slightly, then looked towards the projections of the three flagship designs that the woman had brought with her. He peered at them, taking in their life like designs. They somewhat resembled the appearance of the Ithari Swarm Frigate, holding that same aesthetically fearsome design.

When Silencia eventually came to a close, Soliael glanced towards Cameron, not wanting to interrupt the man of anything he had to say before speaking his own thoughts.

 

[Siara Vorru]

Watching the pirates slam against their own forces trying desperately to punch a hole in their lines so they could retreat Siara couldn’t help but smirk, these fools had dug their own grave when they dared to defy the will of the Morossian Gods. She shook her head briefly as the thought passed, she was not one of the pod she was better than them she understood the truth of all this. She cast a glance at [member="Crystal"] not sure whether or not the Sith woman was toying with her mind making her think like that. She couldn’t be sure but she couldn’t afford to have that fight right now especially if she wasn’t right.

“Open up with all batteries on the smaller ships, I don’t care how much scrap we make from this battle but don’t destroy that command ship!” Siara ordered as she watched bridge crew scurry around below her on the lower deck issuing orders to the gunners, keeping the ship oriented, communicating with Starfighters in the field of battle in front of them. They all played their parts as the Regent pressed forward, smaller ships exploding all around, the pirates of this base didn’t really stand a chance. She looked at [member="Pyrrha Nikkita"] as she half ordered half suggested a new tactic.

“No we will focus our landing forces on the base and the Corvette, the rest of the pirate fleet can be scrapped, we will leave a few survivors so they can carry word of our deeds here today to other pirates in the region so they may decide their own fate. They can either face us or find somewhere else to prey.” Siara smiled as the Blade left the bridge to conduct her raid, these were her hunting grounds the pirates would learn to move on or face her wrath.

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron's own gaze tracked to the newest arrival, Aesir Neth, but they too shifted back to the projection. While he had not been priivy to terribly many of the Aesirs plans in the past, he'd discussed the occassional concept or two with Amorella. Truth be told, those conversations usually only occurred behind closed doors, in confidence. The Sith Lord, truthfully, had not come to the Crusade with a desire or motivation to shape policy. He'd traveled out of sheer morbid curiosity, it was a belief in their goals and methods that kept him rooted, putting himself into many efforts for which he typically held little more than apathy.

The construction of a hyperlane to connect Crusade territories with wild space actually garnered more of his interest than the inevitable mention of expanding the Morossian fleet. Though Cameron had perhaps once had a bit of exposure to fleet tactics, it was far from his...preferred area of battle. It would be necessary in the days to come of course, but engaging in an avenue to better spread the Crusade's message and therefore influence was his chief concern.

Having nothing much to say, he glanced once more at [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] and offered the man a shallow nod of his head. The nod communicated that Cameron had nothing much to add at the moment, but he approved thus far.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

I have included in the project files a few hyperlane model outlines, using the clearest routes available that also coincide with prime points of interest for both the Fringe Confederacy and the Crusade. These are merely recommendations based on the expertise of my staff in building trade routes and hyperlanes. As I understand Moross holds open trade with the Fringe but has yet to discuss the construction of an official trade route. These models can be used to help guide a proposal. It might also be pertinent to contact one of the galaxy's foremost navigators, [member="Jorus Merrill"], for input.

The Queen did not miss a beat at the arrival of Aesir Neth, but DiVanca did offer the man a respectable nod of greeting.

Pulling up one such example of an outlined feasible trade and hyperlane route, DiVanca expanded on it to show the points of interest, "Pending current relations with the Protectorate, we have outlined routed options that include the major trading hub at Kal'Shebbol, and those that bypass Protectorate territory completely. Your main points of focus would be connecting a route that passes through the systems of Kinooine, Exocron, and ends at Ceto. Being that those are the three planets you have based the HALCYON Space Train systems, not only will this help boost economical flow to these regions, but it promotes growth for trade, and provides a safe, easy system for the transport of peoples, supplies, ships, and goods along the spine of Crusade territories. This will also allow for fast and easy connection to the Rimma Trade Route, Hydian Way and Corellian Trade Spine."

[member="Cameron Centurion"]
[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

 

[Ashra'syle'nuruodo]

Staring off into space as the combat began she could sense the pain and anguish of the pirates as they took a beating they never expected. They should have known better than to defy the gods by defiling Crusade space with their very presence, now they would suffer under the might of Morossian justice brought down on them in the form of the Star Destroyer she currently rode along on. Asylen was still uncertain as to why she was sent along on this mission, so far her talents had been of little use she was not a particularly skilled pilot so she would leave that task to those who had genuine talent for it.

As her master spoke up instructing them they should join [member="Pyrrha Nikkita"] in the raiding party she felt a surge of energy from deep within fueled by the range of strong emotions she was bathing in as they wafted through the force from the combat just outside the viewport. She glanced briefly at the mercenary Kiffar not seeking her orders just sensing the intense delight coming from the other woman, it felt somewhat out of place considering the other woman had not be given the gifts of the gods. She let the feeling go and left the bridge with the blade to join the landing parties that would be departing shortly for either the Corvette or the pirate base. It didn’t matter to the Chiss woman which she ended up on as long as there were enough pirates for her to punish personally.

Glancing at the other woman she noticed how she had put in some form of listening device apparently she was going to leave Ashra’syle’nuruodo and [member="Azlyn Ike"] to decide their own tasks and missions or take their cues from the Morossian Soldiers that would be forming the rest of the landing team. Those soldiers were already prepared, collected in the landing bay near their dropships just waiting for the signal from Deimos Vorru.