Of Men And Machines (Republic Dominion of Loronar)

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"]


Without further ado, Republic marines landed aboard one of the shipyards. A horde of small craft had docked at the orbital facility and now its human cargo was swarming out. One dropship of soldiers accompanied every two of engineers technical personnel. However, they found no resistance, at least at this stage.



While lawlessness reigned in many areas of Loronar, it seemed the shipyards were fairly well under control, though then they received reports of rioters. And so quickly units swarmed out to take over the critcal areas of the vast orbital facility, namely the central command area, armaments factory, manufacturing plant and so on so forth. Unfortunately, on the way they came across some looters. Some of them were former station security personnel or Protectorate soldiers turned deserter.


As the admiral had ordered, the troublemakers were given a chance to surrender...and, unfortunately but predictably, they refused. And so violence ensued, but the renegades had little chance when faced with a large contingent of Republic marines, though one of the soldiers died in the short skirmish. As for Callisto, she got to purge renegades with her usual dispassionate violence. Communications was sent to the admiral informing him of the scuffle and of the fact they had prisoners, before the unit advanced onward.


In Archangel's facilities, the takeover proceeded without problem. There was a delegation from the corporation ready to greet the Republic marines and technicians and they were free to inspect. Say what you want about Archangel - and there were undoubtedly plenty of skeletons in the closet - it believed in ensuring order.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The constant alerts on Kayleigh's comm were beginning to irritate her. She could barely get a moment of peace to accomplish anything, let alone take a moment to simply breathe. So when it went off one more time her voice changed from the cheery sweet girl to the agitated, impatient military woman. "THIS HAD BETTER BE KRIFFING IMPORTANT!" As soon as the words were ejected from her lips she felt a sudden relief, like something had been lifted off of her chest. To scream at whomever was on the unfortunate end of her ear piercing anger felt absolutely magnificent.

Until she realized who it was. Well, poodoo. Of all the things she didn't need right now, getting chewed out by the one person she had to actually be courteous to was definitely one. She wasn't one to apologize for her feelings, so she left the awkward silence that hung in the air for a few moments alone. Both knew what the other was likely thinking, words weren't entirely necessary. The silence spoke loudly.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"] | [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"]

 

[Axo Mend]

He wander through the market, smiling and nodding at anyone that happened to look his way. His presence here was to be visible and calm, he was needed to show the people of Loronar that the Republic, and by extension the Jedi, were here to help them. He had his lightsaber with him, but he made sure to keep it out of site, he was the calm in the storm.. the rock that the waves crash on. His calm radiated out from him, and the people in the market knew it.

He would stop and chat with a person from time to time, telling them that the world would be better, help had finally arrived. He wasn't sure how true it was, btu the hope he gave the people was important to helping them fine some semblance of peace during these terrible times.

 

[Gir Quee]

Stormfire-class Assault Frigate Audacious, Loronar System

A flash of cronau radiation announced the arrival of Commodore Quee's 1st Beta Line to the Loronar System. The prow of the Audacious cut through the star-studded sea of black, leading another pair of the Audacious's sister ships and a straggling Armorer-class Support Corvette, the Boreas. To the casual onlooker, the quartet of craft moved with all of the precision of the finely oiled droids of Mechis III. But on the still blood-splattered bridge of the Audacious, Gir frowned as glanced at his sensor display. The Brazen is listing more to port than she be, but she's staying on a relatively stable trajectory. Faulty or damaged lateral thrusters, or perhaps Hughes had to put in a new helmsman after the...difficulties. Gir instinctively massaged the back of his head a little bit; it still hurt where Ensign Mattias had inexplicably smashed a bottle of Whyren's Reserve in the ship's lounge. He had blacked out for what had seemed to be hours. When he woke up, his world had been turned upside down. Half of his crew had restrained another the half of his crew in the brig. The ship was trashed, despite the constant work of the janitorial droids. Supposedly it was not only Ensign Mattias and his fellow shipmates suffering from some inexplicable madness. At first he thought that they managed to encounter some sort of hyperspace madness that occasionally plagued some spacers and extra-galactic voyagers, but he quickly figured it was something far more serious when it had happened to an entire galaxy.

Now running on what was a skeleton combat crew, as his other crewmembers slowly regained their senses and were cleared for duty by the ship's functioning medical staff and droids, Gir had taken his vessels to the nearest concentration of Republic vessels and consequently to Loronar. The dazed but remaining sane bridge crew manned their own stations as well as those of their debilitated fellow sailors in near silence. But one voice dared to break it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" mused Vries, gazing at the Jade Moon.

Gir nodded in agreement.

"More to my liking than Loronar itself," admitted the Commodore, "but I have never been to this system before. Have you?"

"No sir."

Gir nodded, "Maybe when this is all over we can actually take shore leave. But now is not that time..."

"What are your orders sir?"

"Transmit the report I've written up about our experiences to Admiral [member="[/COLOR][FONT=tahoma][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/user/792-friedrich-stahlmann/"]Friedrich Stahlmann[/URL]"[/FONT]] and await for further instructions," decided the man from Hast, "in the mean time, since we're not in the gravity well yet, we will secure this entry corridor we just jumped through. If an enemy attempts to jump to the system, we can make a hasty defense and act as an early warning system against any interlopers. By the Maker...what a mess we're in..."

Gir took in a deep breathe of the room's heavily recycled air, "Let's begin to move our operations to the Combat bridge, there is a chance we might enter combat operations potentially. Ensign Coors, prep up that bridge's holo-tank with the everything we've got on the system, planetary bodies, orbiting structures, nearby starships, and entry and exit vectors."

"On it boss...er...sir."

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

Only a few minutes seemed to pass before she entered a clear state of mind. This wouldn't normally be deemed unusual, but with the current events weighing heavy on her mind, it was surprising that she was able to even think straight. Was it?... Yes. Very much so. The woman had woken up in hell, fought her way out (narrowly avoiding death by she-devil), given in to the poison, and then discovered that her closest 'acquaintance' had been one of those to vanish. She was seemingly coping quite well. Even if by now her utterances of "I've been through worse" no longer applied, she was taking some things in stride. Others, however, were simply affecting her in ways that didn't show on the surface. Drapeam Nyx took a deep breath before doing her best to push those thoughts away.

There are emotions. They drive us, they push us, but they do not control us.
Peace, more often than not, only comes after war.
There is ignorance. It fills the worlds, taking away chances that should be given.
Knowledge is important, and everyone deserves it.
There is passion. It moves us forward, aids us when things are looking down.
Serenity is better for when the tides are on your side.
Bring balance to it all.
There is Chaos. There is darkness, but there is light.
And there is both death and the force- the coexist.
As they always have and always will.

"We will be landing shortly. Prepare for exit."

Who knew time could fly by so quickly?​

 

[Haytham Kaze]

The Jedi Padawan walked through the streets of the planet. Throughout the day, Haytham had aided the police force of the planet in fighting riotous civilians and those who meant harm off. Of course with the littlest amount of harm possible, on Haytham's part anyway. And even if some of those they encountered had malicious intentions, Haytham did his best to prevent the security forces from utilizing a hand that was too heavy in the name of 'Law and Order.'

As always, he was a child to many of them, so some of those that he had spoken too, may not have even acknowledged words, but as a Jedi, he knew it was his duty to at least speak to them and to remind them they were there to protect the population, not harm them fatally.

It was certainly going to be a long day.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Lasedri blinked and brushed at her hair for a few seconds, frustration reaching its brink after a day of corralling clamoring senators about this bit of 'unauthorized and aggressive diplomacy' that the Republic front had been working. She was conflicted about the issue, herself. She had resigned to the fact that this sort of extension of borders might be desirable and boost the Republic in resource and morale. But she did not like the latest few grabs that were unquestionably Jedi-influenced, and the advance to Loronar was the straw that broke the falumpaset's back for the Galactic Senate.

Whether Gen agreed with the majority or not, she had been chosen as the voice of the Senate and was required to play that part. And now she had been pushed between a rock and a hard place with the situation coming to a head. She was not going to abide this autonomy the military seemed to think it had, and she was certainly not going to let the Jedi manhandle affairs and steer the Galactic Republic Navy when they amounted to less than a millionth of a percent of the Republic's population. This should not stand.

And neither should this voice over the comms. "It's damn important. I will shut you down if you don't hear me out, Tyven. It's not just your ass on the line, here."

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Relit Vandal]

Objectives: Restore Order

"What sort of time table are we looking at here?" The astromech, hardwired into the old x-wing, gave a whirl of sounds that the Zelosian pretended to understand. In truth, it wasn't really about the words or tempo, but merely emphasis on the beeps and boops. He couldn't help but laugh at the frustration of the little rounded cylinder, sitting squarely behind the cockpit. It was a tough ride, he had to admit it to himself. But perhaps, not as tough as it was for the man who feared the darkness of space.

"I see...you don't think there is much down there for us?" Another beep, another boop, a couple of whirls, and the dark skinned man pressed his fingers against the shaded spectacles against his sweat stained collar. "I tend to agree. But beauty and solace come in many colors and many shades, old friend. We must help restore order to a galaxy in this time of turmoil."

The astromech droid released a shock through the cabin, enough to flicker the lights and send the visual navigator into a bit of a fritz. The green display shimmered as it recovered and Relit gave a simple sigh, cracking his neck as he turned the vehicle towards the planet. "Insularity is the greatest of sins, as our inaction causes more harm than what can be possibly quantified. You know this as truth. Accept our circumstances and assist me on entry into orbit." He wouldn't take no for an answer, the time for isolationism by the old jedi master had long passed. He was but living ash and dust, and to the ground he would return.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The sound of the voice over the comm made the admiral cringe. Perfect.

"Lasedri. My sincerest apologies. Do excuse my tone a moment ago, but I am extremely busy. I can assume you understand the severity of the position I am in, just as I understand yours?"

The admiral's eyes rolled. It must be absolutely dreadful being in a comfortable office under the safety of the Republic's capital of Onderon. Kriffing bureaucrats.

"The constant bombardment on both ends has my patience on a very short fuse as of late. To what do I owe this pleasure?" The girl's enunciation on her words would seem genuinely interested, despite feeling that this conversation was going to somehow turn into how the military is running rampant with all the Republic's money and resources, and that we are responsible for wrangling and coralling their Jedi pets they so love to have around.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Gir Quee]

Stormfire-class Assault Frigate Audacious, Loronar System

“And our status of operations then?” questioned Commodore Quee, leaning over the edge of the holo-graphic map.

The rest of the ship’s more senior officers huddled around the frigate’s holo-tank, watching the real-time holograph of the system. Almost microscopic ships flitted about between Loronar and the orbiting shipyards, likely ferrying workers and marines. Quee eyed the massive hulls of the Star of Alderaan and the Ebbing Heart before turning his own gaze back to his quartet of vessels securing the most traveled route into the system. Lieutenant Herson shrugged as he directed his ruby red laser pointer to the cool-shaded world.

“The world itself appears to be falling into Republic hands without any major incidents,” noted the lanky man, “communications reports that there were a few incidents on the shipyards and a few on a groundside prison. It appears to mostly be a case of bringing order to the chaos that whatever caused…well…we all sort of know what happened.”

“We’re going to have to tread lightly here,” mused Commodore Quee, “it is a quick fall to say that bringing order to this chaos is ample justification for whatever our actions here may be. That’s the rationale that grew the first Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. It is not enough to solely bring order to this world. We need to do good. What’s the status of our CAP?”

A blue-skinned humanoid named Josenns cleared her throat, “Basic perimeter patrol, that’s about four birds in the air at any time. I’d like to have a third of our gunships out there, but we’re down pilots and deck crews to make that logistically possible.”

“How many birds could we get out there if we had to go into combat?” questioned the Commodore.

“With staff currently cleared? Closer to two squadrons, and that’s if we’re pulling people like yourself sir that are flight qualified but not on flight duty assignment…but with just our own pilots, I’d say somewhere between four to five flights.”

“Put all of our flight qualified personnel, excepting myself and any department or section chief, on a roster,” decided Quee, “our less experienced or normally inactive pilots will fill in the gaps of a CAP flight around the frigates. I want another flight, operating in pairs of ships, to start patrolling the outer nav points, performing brief scans for any contraband or giving us a heads up of any ships that may need our assistance. To go with that, have several of the shuttles on standby in case we need to conduct any boarding operations for contraband search or to just render basic aid.”

“Yes sir.”

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian dropped down from the platform and landed in a crouch behind a number of boxes and equipment. He waited for a moment, waiting and listening for any sign that the droids patrolling the factory had noticed his descent. After a few moments of nothing, he decided that it was alright and snuck out from around the corner. His hood was pulled up and he stuck to the shadows, his black robes helping him to blend in. There was a single human guard inside the central station and two battledroids standing guard over the entrance.

Pulling back behind the boxes, Kian ran a hand over his mask. He had several options. The most direct would be to rush the droids, taking them down before they had a chance to respond, but with the force acting the way it was and with the noise it would make, that was very very risky. So sneaking in would be the better objective....but still difficult.

Glancing around, Kian began to work out a plan, but it would require some careful timing on his part. First he had to get the droids away from the doorway. Kian quietly climbed to the top of the boxes he was hidden behind and pulled the small holdout blaster from his hip. Taking careful aim, Kian let loose three blaster bolts in succession, hitting the small protocol droid that was up on the platform to his right. It exploded in a shower of sparks and flames. Kian dropped down again and waited. The security droids, brought up their arms but didn't move from the entrance until the security guard opened the door and stepped out.

"Go investigate!" He yelled at the droids and stepped back inside sealing the door. Kian watched as the droids shuffled off toward the explosion, a smile spreading across his face.

 

[Ardeo Sophos]

From the rood of the droid factory I had a great view of master Kian Karr, causing an explosion, drawing the attention of the guard droids, and preparing for a daring plan. I had taken a slightly different approach to get where I was now. I had had a ship hover hundreds of feet above the factory. so that no one would notice the ship. I had made a scary yet exciting jump from the craft, and close once I had gotten close to the building I had opened a small parachute that gave enough resistance to slow me down. Now I was prepared to cut a nice hole in the ceiling and drop down onto a platform below in the building.

"Perhaps I should watch how this plays out first though, just in case.He is certainly taking the hard way in. I wonder what he will do. It is always exciting to see a jedi master at work, especially someone of Kian's caliber. A jedi council member, and a Sentinel, All that I aspired to be. Who knows maybe he will require some assistance. I doubt it though."

[member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

"The Senate isn't happy about this unauthorized movement you've been making," the Chief explained, a huff escaping her mouth in response to the Aide of Military's passive-aggression. They had both started out on the wrong foot, perhaps, but Gen had the authority that the other woman did not. "I'm not your enemy, Tyven. But I have to relay this to you or else we both get our cans tossed out.

"Though, I am annoyed at the obvious Jedi favoring going on. You do realize that we have responsibilities to the other billion trillion people who look to us for assistance?" This was a bad position to be in. She had promised to put the people first and disregard the Jedi's pandering since her first day in office. And now what were they doing? Lasedri had somewhat of a favorable opinion of Tyven thus far, but she had no reserves about throwing the Aide to the Chief to the wolves if she endangered her own position. She was not going to take the fall for someone else.

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"With all due respect Ms. Lasedri, Loronar holds key value to the Republic's military, and the line we've drawn across the Sith space is invaluable to reinforce. We cannot afford to have a single break in continuity, and Loronar is valuable on both aspects. Shipyards, and the line. It must be restored to the Republic."

The admiral sighed, looking at her navigation maps of the galaxy. "I am for the most part in agreement with you regarding the Jedi. However, despite my own personal belief that the Republic should not be outstretching deep into space to reclaim things like Ossus for them, they do help us to great lengths, and they rarely ever need anything substantial from the Republic. They do not interfere with the affairs of the Senate, nor the military, at least not any longer since the ousting of Zane Watts.

Kayleigh placed her hands along the podium, staring at the holo of the Senate Chief, her voice polite yet incredibly stern. "What I am saying, senator, is that the Jedi are allies that the Republic cannot afford to ignore any more than their own citizens. Nor can we allow the Jedi to forfeit their assets and vital intelligence gathered over a millenia to fall into the hands of the Sith. Advise the senate that unless they wish for some of the Republic's most trusted allies to fall victim to the Sith, and be unable to aide us in the future, that they will take their seat and allow the military to perform its job and duty to the Republic."

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

Their shuttle practically shook as it landed. Where exactly were they again?... Nyx had been to busy trying to hold down her breakfast (she had skipped lunch) to pay attention to the comm system. Space did that to the Zorren. What felt like ten seconds had passed since someone had come to get her from her room. They had explained something about one of the squads missing a member. "Why not Jedi for a replacement?" He had joked, grinning at her. Without a word she had accepted. No, she wasn't a Jedi. Yes, she was part of the Republic, and yes, she was a force user. At some point she had stopped correcting people about these sorts of things. It should have been obvious to them that she wasn't part of the bathrobe brigade. She wore Protectorate armor, held a neutral rifle, and talked like a full-blooded Corellian. That doesn't exactly sound like your typical forcie to me.

But people made the mistake anyway.

"We're going to secure one of the space ports. There are some squatters along with, supposedly, some sort of local gang. Shoot to disarm, not to kill," the squad leader said, glancing at Nyx as he did. It was likely he didn't trust the newcomer. Or maybe he heard about her ('supposed') Imperial past. That didn't really matter to her. Soon enough he'd make a mistake, forcing her to save his rear end. After that he'd trust her. He'd have to.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

A slightly overweight guard came puffing into the mess haul and stopped in front of Corvus. His breath reeked of death-sticks but she did her best to keep her face neutral.

“You’re needed in the med-bay. A prisoner has taken one of the medics hostage.”

What was it with prisons and hostages? But she followed the man out and into the courtyard before descended a flight of steps and walked to a spotless medical facility. She followed the man’s pointing finger to the end cubicle, where two men stood as well as a droid.

The droid turned to face Corvus and through a sputtered a burst of threatening static, droned, "Before I terminate you, do you wish to make a statement?"

“He’s reprogrammed it!”

Corvus nodded. “Yes thank you, I gathered that.”

The interrogator droid now hovered a few centimetres away from Corvus, then trained its socketed photo receptor onto her face. "Think you're tough, huh? When I'm done with you, you won't be."

Curious programming Corvus thought before her hand snaked out and as the interrogator droid made an excited whirring sound, it simultaneously soared toward the ceiling but regained control before impact and flew back toward the Jedi. Corvus leaped aside, moving faster than the droid's photoreceptor could follow. The droid raced past her and smashed hard against the cell wall. Smoke rose from the now broken interrogator droid and Corvus stepped over its smouldering parts before facing the prisoner. “OK, fun over, and I suspect you’ll find that privileges have been revoked.”

 

[Axo Mend]

Axo had just entered the prison when he heard the all clear sound. whatever emergency had happened had been resolved. he approached one of the guards and tapped him on the shoulder, " What was the trouble friend." His voice calm and controlled. The important part was that everyone was relaxed and that order was maintained.

The guard turned and gave him a once over, " Another Jedi, huh. Well one of the prisoners thought he was a tough guy. Your Jedi friend was going to handle it. I don't know the entire situation. My shift ends in an hour and I just want to get home. If you don't need anything else, I have rounds to make." He walked off, a slow whistle echoing off the walls as he passed them.

Frowning, Axo wandered deeper into the prison, thinking that perhaps his assistance would be welcomed by whoever it was that was in the prison already. He walked at a controlled pace, not wanting anyone to think anything was out of the ordinary. As he rounded a corner he saw [member="Corvus Raaf"] standing near a group of prisoners, as calm as she would around a group of younglings. He stepped up to the group and smiled. " Master Raaf, I heard the alert, do you require any assistance?"

 

[Gir Quee]

LLS-4 Devastator-class Gunship Blue Three, Loronar System

"Two klicks out and closing..." mumbled Lieutenant Ryesi, "why haven't they responded to our hails?"

"No clue," said Daiman, his gunner.

Even though he couldn't see his face, Ryesi guessed from his tone that the other man was about as happy as he was about the other starship's radio silence. Their gunship rocketed forward towards the fleeing craft, rapidly closing on the dilapidated tramp freighter. Ryesi's hazel eyes jumped around the mottled hull, looking for some reason why the craft hadn't responded. Maybe they took some damage to communication's system...but I'm not seeing any hull damage...but with that piece of junk, it's hard to see what's recent and what's new damage. He sighed as he toggled his helmet's built-in comlink.

"Give him a quad-burst across his flight path. If they don't get that warning shot..."

"Got it."

A bright quartet of laser burst ripped out of the gunship's chin gun to fill the space in front of the freighter. The starship began to rapidly decelerate, causing the gunship to surge past the allegedly civilian craft. Ryesi's eyes immediately jumped to his sensor screen, half expecting the other starship to start firing on them. But instead, the other starship merely drifted on its current route by sheer inertia. His comlink crackled.

"Well, that stopped him," mused Daiman.

"Yeah, but we still have no idea why they didn't answer our communications," said Ryesi, gently guiding the control yoke to bring the craft around to bank towards their target, "you got a better sensor read on them?"

"They still have that funny reading in the aft of their ship...I'm not sure what it is...it's more like a nothing, maybe some sort of sensor-shielded compartment for smuggling? But maybe it's some sort of systematic electrical problem caused by well...whatever's ripping apart our galaxy..."

"I'm not messing with it," sighed Ryesi, setting their craft to point at the freighter, "that's above my pay grade. I'm calling it into the Audacious. The Commodore can make that decision."

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

"I understand the importance of Loronar from this vantage point, Tyven. I can't say I'm opposed to it. But I'm forced into this position, and I cannot have you jeopardizing the sovereignty of the Republic." Geneviève wanted the military on her side, but there were just some things she could not let slip. People might start calling for her head. There were people who still needed help after the recent, catastrophic events, and Ossus (of all the places!) was hardly a planet valuable to anyone but the Jedi. "The Jedi have overstepped their bounds. While I am not seeking to incur penalties on them yet, another move like this will indicate a habit, and I will not stand for this sort of control move. We represent the people of the Republic, and the Republic exists even as the Jedi Order may not."

Her eyes became needles. "This cannot happen again. There is already enough trouble surrounding them. I'm personally very uneasy about this. You can imagine how the Senate feels. To cater to a select party rather than the entire populations of our currently tattered worlds is inappropriate at best." Lasedri's fists balled tensely to contain her anger as her body quivered, stress beginning to take her over. She had made promises--promises to the whole Republic. And now the Jedi--whether intentionally or unintentionally--were beginning to undermine the very terms she had set when taking office.

She let it break. "Please, Tyven." Please.

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The blonde admiral slammed the palm of her hand down atop the smooth desk, casting a stinging sensation as that area of her hand slowly began to redden from the impact. "Senate Chief Lasedri, should you impede the military's ability to perform its' job, or prevent me from performing my job, there will be no Republic left for you to call The Republic. You needn't worry about your position then."

Kayleigh sighed. "The Jedi are not my priority. They are however an ally. Quite frankly, one of the few we have. I intend to broaden that scope going forward, and perhaps we can seek an audience with Mandalore. Keep in mind though, the allies we have now must be of relative importance. However, that being said, going forward, the Jedi are now the sole responsibilty of the Senate. There will be no Jedi permitted to join the military ranks. The Combined Defense Forces will be run directly by and for the Republic, and that which it serves. I humbly request that the Senate move to tighten the scope of its duties, to which they are responsible for setting and enforcing law, announcing the decision to engage in war, to enact treaties and alliances, allocate funding as it sees fit, and to interact with the Jedi Order."

Leaning forward into the holo Kayleigh's eyes went narrow, "And allow the military to strategize, prioritize targets, secure borders, and finance those who would support our war efforts. I cannot effectively run the Republic's forces while constantly having to look toward the Senate for approval in every decision I make. If that be the case, then I suggest you assign the Senate to sit aboard my ship on the front lines, and direct orders to these men and women that have chosen to give their lives for the belief and hope of freedom and peace."

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]