Faction Siege of the Five Veils (Rimward Trade League)

[Tales of the Outer Rim]

TRANTOR- CORE WORLDS
LUX ASTRA CORPORATE AUTHORITY HEADQUARTERS​

The room was dark, buried deep beneath the massive complex that served as the Lux Astra Corporate Authority corporate headquarters. Servers filled the basements above them where droid brains and countless accountants slaved over the income-expense reports.

The sentiments around the round table were masked in the shadows around the room's exterior. The only lights was from a small projector in the center of the table and the occasional lights of a cigarra flaring to life.

"This Rim rabble has caused us more troubles than anticipated," a woman's cold voice said, "Profits are far below our estimated projections and investment repayments will take significantly longer to repay than even our most conservative estimates. Their pirates have been wreaking havoc on our trade ships."

"This isss... absurd," another voice, this one a sibilant hiss, spoke. "Our operations are perfectly legal."

"Legal here, yes," a new voice interrupted, "On Trantor." It was a man's voice, sibiliant and elegant, and very controlled. "But legalities are like backsides. Everyone has them and none are worth anything."

There was an awkward silence at the crude words from such a refined voice before it continued. "Our actions are seen as direct assaults on the sovereignty of these worlds, and in all intents, it is." There was a low grumble around the conference room. Another voice spoke.

"What are you suggesting?" It was a feminine voice, but deep and rumbling.

"Direct action," the elegant voice replied, tinged with ice and flat as the galactic plane. "Show them we are not just a corporation. We are a galactic power in our own right."

That brought a stunned silence for several moments.

"You're insane. An undeclared corporate war will be expensive. Our dividends will plummet--"

"Short term, yes, but consider it an investment. Not a loss. Picture it. This... League is centered on the Five Veils Trade Route. Cut them off from the rest of the galaxy and we can seize them all. How goes our efforts to purchase the core League debts?"

"Trigalis is the closest we have been able to secure it," a droid voice interrupted.

"Excellent," the elegant voice replied. "We can hire the syndicates to close off Lialic while our picket fleet closes off Vergesso. Corporate Intel identifies a small Rescue Service space station there. It will make an excellent target to lure them into a battle."

"Can we even win that?" It was a younger voice, hesitant and unsure.

"Certainly," the smooth voice replied again. "They have no standing naval forces. They are, after all, a trade league. We cut off the trade and the League dies. We can move to take the entire trade route and solidify our position as a galactic powerbroker in both economic and military terms. The gas and ores present on that route, and that commerce, will catapult into one of the most influential in the regional."

There was a measured consideration and an electronic vote. A series of green lights flickered across the table.

"It is decided then. Dispatch the fleet."

VERGESSO STATION
VERGESSO ASTEROID
OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

"Captain!" A scans tech called from her position on the station's bridge. "Massive hyperspace disturbance on the Trigalis entry point!"

"Define massive, petty officer," the old Sullustan said, turning on his heel to study the display readouts. He didn't get a chance to hear an answer. On the scanners, a massive cloud of unidentified vessels appeared. Numerous vessels he could see with his own eyes, proveing their massive size.

He recognized the familiar shape of the Lucrehulks. The great ring-shaped ships hung in the void, surrounded by countless smaller vessels.

"Hundreds of them..." he whispered to himself before his mind flashed to alertness. "Send an emergency signal to Susefvi. This is an invasion. Send the scans as well." His skin paled at the sight of new ships breaking off from the main fleet. Massive cylindrical vessels with many protrusions. Invincible-class dreadnaughts. An ancient design, to be sure, but still with significant firepower. More than enough to shatter the station. "Shields to full!" He bellowed as missile-lock alarms rang across the bridge.

In the distance, the black of space lit with the brilliant colors of turbolaser fire...


YUMFLA, SUSEFVI
SUARBI SYSTEM
OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

"Communications have been cut off," an older Caamasi said, running a hand through her fur. "No ships have gotten through the Vergesso system in almost a week and our last message was a warning from the station there about an invasion. Pirates have plagued Lialic to make it untenable as an alternative."

The room hummed with quiet, intense discussion at the open council meeting about the situation. Invasion was the word that spread like wildfire through the systems of the Rimward Trade League and the independent systems of the Five Veils route. There was a deal of outrage against the League from the neutral systems, not even including the ones taken over by the LACA.

The League had caused this problem and know they knew it would be up to them to resolve it.

"Messages have been sent to our allies at Sullust, the Kathol Republic, and the Free Terminus Republic," Mya Jesel, chairwoman of the council explained. "And our member systems have been mobilizing our defense forces in preparation for a counter-offensive."

But across the systems of the League and the Outer Rim, a general angry was building at the Core corpos who felt they were entitled to dictate the fates of systems thousands of light-years away from them, just because they had lots of credits.

And when the folks of the Outer Rim got angry, they acted....

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

YUMFLA
PORT DISTRICT
BLUE SHIFT CANTINA

Trade had ground to a halt. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. There was still planetary, in system, and trade within the Five Veils. But for most people, that drastically the size of their potential market. Money had slowed down. Interest rates went up, especially on cargo insurance. Nobody knew if LACA would push further in or if they would send raiding parties in. A half dozen privateer vessels had been destroyed probing the blockade.

That meant the cantina was more packed than usual, and surlier. Never the best of places, it was mostly for those who couldn’t make the cut at the Spacer’s Guild or the Intergalactic Merchant-Captain’s Guild across the street. Now, more than the usual number were packed into the cramped cantina. They were angry, scared, and bored.

Never a good situation in the dock district. To Aeshi’s Force-attuned senses, the whole cantina was a churning stew of anger and fear and resentment.

It was almost as rank as the freshers.

She just stopped herself from slamming down a glass, and likely shattering it. Some blowhard wannabe behind her was griping about the inactivity of the Council.

Aeshi remembered the last large scale blockade to hit the Outer Rim. L-49, from the First Order fleet. That had been a disaster, especially because the Alliance and everyone else rushed to respond. The blowhard said something that really set her off and she turned around.

“Oi, bantha bandit,” she snapped, “You say you’re a hotshot smuggler who’s outrun every customs patrol from here to fething Terminus. Why don’t you knock off the big talk and actually do something? Go run the blockade and bring back a fleet instead of getting drunk off your backside and mouthing off.”

There was a silence that settled across the tables and booths around them as the other spacer turned around. He was a big hulking man with a heavy blaster at his hip. Aeshi regretted her words for a moment, but she was itching for a fight. She set her feet on the floor and stared up at him, nonchalantly picking her teeth.

“You say something, schutta?” The man growled. Aeshi just shrugged.

“Less than you do.” The tension was palpable now and people were edging away from them. She desperately wanted to smash a fist into his misshapen nose, but she was a Warden. She knew better.

She’s just use an open palm.

 

[Niki Priddy]

FIVE VEILS TRADE ROUTE​

Objective: Assess the situation.
Weapon: 'Revy', "The Klaive" - PDW
Equipment: PCA/EA, x2 Hutt Cartel Kidnap Jabber Rings-One on either hand, Force Warning Necklace Pendant, Paralyzing Lipstick, ENVC-370 Bodyglove, Tinfoil Hat Band, Earsculpt Comlink, Magno-grip Formal shoes
Augmentation: PGEM-SAP "Amber Eyes"
Ships: The Tourist, 1 GR-75 Transport, 1 Bellicose Class-Frigate, 2 CR90 MK VIII Assualt Corvettes, 3 DP20 MK VI Siege Corvettes
Aboard The Tourist: x4 Nuisance Engine Mark I Droids capable of producing Nuisance Droid Mark I and SD-3 Firebee Security Droid

The Five Veils Trade and Tourist Route was something of a windfall for Niki. Her first steps into taking some part of a galactic piece of the pie in her eyes. A route frequented by those taking an interest in smuggling goods to Denon and the Core worlds on the cheap from the outer rim.

While she nor any others could truly exclusively control the route, she had offered reprieve on the spaces between at least.

Until others began to get ideas of grandeur and lucid visions of controlling the flow of trade along the route. Forcing the crimson haired woman to step away from her business on Denon to attend the route and the apparent blockade that had formed to halt trade.

Scans shown the old Lucrehulk designs lingering around the station and attempting to break it for the corporate interests. A brow raising at the show of force as she brought up another screen in the personal office of the C-SOC Gozanti. The forces around her rest stops checking in at the unexpected inspection from their employer.

A message sent across hyperspace channels found its way to Emberlene. A trio of orbital bodies around her home station shed their false shells, revealing the old LRAS Darts Niki had been keeping close to home since her time with the AoC. Droids began prepping the ships for departure, crew ran from the ground up to the station to await assignment. The vessels hadn't seen a proper fight for some time, and the droids would scour every nanometer of the vessels to ensure they wouldn't rip themselves apart in transit.

The time it had taken Niki to actually get close enough to Vergesso and the system in question, she had drawn from the route a small modicum of the forces at her disposal without comprimising much safety.

A Bellicose Class-Frigate took up a center position between two CR90 MK VIII Assualt Corvettes, and three DP20 MK VI Siege Corvettes. Forces down the line would be to late in arriving at her appointed time for initial entanglement.

But she had also heard of pirates along the way taking advantage of the rather limited range of protection from her own stations. An oversight she might have been privy to if she hadn't stuck herself so squarely in Denon's business for so long.

"Make contact with the Vergesso space station to-" She was cut off before she could finish.

"The station has been cut off Ma'am."

The dark rings in Niki's eyes focused on the person manning the communication and information hub. The small command deck she had graced with Matthew seemed to become a lot smaller with her attentions. The Corellian beside her placing a hand over his mouth as Niki let her deadpan stare at the officer sink into him. Squirming beneath her gaze, the pilot finally spoke up as Niki shifted from one to the other.

"I believe she meant our station, not the private one." There was a quick affirmative that had the amber eyed woman looking to her assistant before long as the rest stop gave back a garbled choppy relay back to the Tourist.

"They've cut communication somehow. See if you can transmit signals out and see where they deaden the most." She directed the ships around them before pulling up the map beside the door.

"Lack of comms is going to make landing and regrouping fun. See if you can't manually signal our station." She advised, sighing at the sight of the deep-space station growing quickly in the viewport.

"We can't call the Darts down if we can't get a signal out." Matthew gave her a sharp look at the mention of the Darts. Weapons of war he'd thought she'd buried in the far flung planet called the Deep.

"You brought them to the Core? Are you insane!? Y-How!?"

"Nobody asked what was in the rocks. And I like reminiscing." Came a simple answer, with a smile that would skin a womp rat.

Aeshi Tillian
​

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

Well, this was going to be a problem. Kaia was in the suburbs of the Rimward Trade League and had been hearing the tell of a blockade near the Vergesso Asteroids. Her company didn't depend on transported goods… Well, not entirely, but if her materials weren't making it to the Concord and Alliance on time, there'd be hell to pay. Her own ship was making its way towards Susevfi to link up with any fleet that was coming. She'd even been able to pull one of the newer Liberators from the Home Guard. It was to be replacing one of the escorts for the Dawn Chaser but made its way to her first.

The Pulsar had lead the larger vessel through a patented Starchaser blazed trail from Sullust to Susevfi. There were a few other vessels with them, but they were more goods to be transported and a few other blockade runners. A quick call from Kaia was all it took to get a few people, Wardens of the Sky, moving and excited. The Rim focused on itself.

The Rim defended itself.

The ships following Pulsar reverted to real space, one newer model Liberator known as the Guardian IV arrived. Followed by a few Sullustan, Silk, and Gallofree transport ships, some for blockade running, some with supplies.

"Captain Starchaser of the Pulsar. Bringing some goods from the Rim and Sullust. Anyone need a ride out to Vergesso?"

She wasn't going to be wasting much time here before getting out to act.

 

[Osric Tev Sable]

Rimward Trade League
Siege of the Five Veils
House Sonador, D'Qar
(37 hours prior)

In a tower with walls made of windows, bright sunlight shone through panes of crystal clear theadin to illuminate a large conference room. The room's occupants were all ignoring the stunning view all around them, (lush green plains and sparkling blue rivers) because they were all thoroughly annoyed with each other.

"They're practically in our own sector."
"The loss on this has been minimal, and you're talking about actual war."
"We have the means to make a difference."
"Typical droid! You do things because you can, without thinking about whether you should."
"Negative. I have weighed the possible cost along with the possible gain. The RTL are a quickly-growing power with much potential-"
"Unrealized potential! And they're going up against Lux Astra, which is a fight they never should have started..."
"Don't start that again, I don't want to hear how the RTL is at fault. That's ridiculous and you know it."

It looked as though the conversation was about to go around in the same circle it had been for the last hour. Several of the people seated were gazing at the ceiling, or sitting with their heads buried in their folded arms on the table. This was going nowhere, and they all knew it. 22A, being a droid, was untiring in his argument. Vinsen was stubborn, and so he refused to relent, and Loriet was the most diplomatic, and still trying to get Vinsen to stop making a scene in front of the Chairman.

The Chairman, meanwhile, was entirely lost in his own little world. His eyes of bright turquoise surveyed the room, thinking of each board member's own personality, and how much he very much didn't want to drag any of these lovely people into a war. The tentacles of his beard fiddled with his pipe as his fingers drummed on the table in front of him. He took a draft from his pipe- the aromatic herbs and oils seeped into his mechanical lungs, and loosened up the gears in his chest.

With a heavy sigh, Osric looked around at the board. It was important they be able to talk these things through, but this wasn't a democracy. At Sable Interplanetary, Osric's word was law. And he'd already made up his mind on this rather contentious point. Setting his pipe down upon the polished stone of the huge table, he cleared his throat politely.

Immediately, all eyes turned to the head of the room as the back-and-forth bickering ceased. With a bit of strain, and the help of his walking stick, the Chairman stood to address his team.

"The last few years have been... dark, to say the least. For D'Qar, for our company, for The Confederacy. While we've made some limited contact with the Shiraya Expanse, actually getting there is another matter entirely. I understand those who feel our priority ought to be helping our confederate allies to Ascend once more." And he gave Vinsen a pointed look at this, to hammer home that the man wasn't alone.

"Of course I want to do everything in my power to help, but our power has been broken. The scars and fiscal damages dealt by the Unmaker and the Bando Gora have not nearly healed. Even this very house is still undergoing repair."

There was silence around the table, as heads bowed and thoughts turned to the people they'd lost in the desperate planetary defense against the cultist fleet. Osric allowed the statement to linger for a long moment. Huge white clouds rolled by in a beautiful sky outside. The Chairman's fist clenched as he remembered the young souls who would never again see that sky. Then his hand relaxed, and he continued.

"We will never give up on the spirit of the Confederacy, nor our allies who have sojourned abroad. But for now, we need the kind of funds we can only acquire though new trade and commerce. Which means we need new partners. This is the perfect opportunity to stake ourselves in with the Rimward Trade League. We make this problem go away for them, and before long we'll have the Shiraya Expanse awash in wealth." The quarren smiled a little as he added, "Besides, I've never liked the LACA anyways."

There were similar grins around the table, and several board members were already typing out orders on their datapads- there was so much to do, so much to prepare now that they new what the next words out of Osric's mouth would be. The man looked around at his team, and tapped his walking stick once on the floor.

"Alright people. Let's go to war. Get it done."

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Niki Priddy Kaia Starchaser Osric Tev Sable

Aeshi's fingers twitched as she stared up at the man, but her comlink beeped and she glanced down at the message, grinning at the message. She slammed the glass down on the table and rose to her feet, throwing down some talons to pay the bartender. She gave the bartender a salute and gaze up and down at the angry man, his face red with alcohol and broken veins prominent in his nose. She just shook her head.

"I've got a blockade to break, pal, you can either sober up and help up, or kark off. I'm not wasting time on you." Aeshi didn't look back as she pushed past. "Anyone who wants to help, we'll meet at Comet-Chaser Station to assemble a flotilla."

Her boots echoed on the floor as she strode out into the street. Murmurs of conversation followed along the door. She activated her comm. "I read you, Kaia. I'm across the street from my docking bay. Will be up on the way to Comet-Chaser Station shortly. May or may not have more Free Trader captains coming. Depends on if they have the guts to do anything more than swill cheap liquor."

She ducked through the loading bay door and jogged across the metal decking, up the boarding ramp into the hull of the Reqiuem. Her co-pilot poked his feathered head out of his cabin and screeched.

"Fething right," Aeshi agreed, dropping into her captain's chair and turning on the engines. The ship hummed beneath her. "About time we did something."

 

[Tales of the Outer Rim]

Kaia Starchaser Niki Priddy Osric Tev Sable

VERGESSO
LACA CUSTOMS FLEET
FIRST TASK FORCE
THE BULLION- Invincible Class Dreadnaught
THE ENTREPRENEUR- Lucrehulk-Class Battleship
THE INVESTOR- Lucrehulk-Class Battleship
DREADNAUGHT-CLASS CRUISERS

PICKET LINE
Marauder-Class Corvettes
Etti-Class Light Transports
Corellian Buccaneers
IRD Starfighters
TIS Zeta 19 Starfighters




Board-Admiral Ranax Jalaraen stood on the bridge of his flagship, an ancient but refitted Invincible-class, salvaged from some old junkyards and refurbished with modern components, although there was a perpetual mustiness that could not be gotten rid of.
Mothballs, he assumed.

"Board-Admiral, we have warships coming out of hyperspace," a burly human woman said, adjusting her headset and the eyepatch she wore beneath her cap.

"League ships?" Ranax replied, turning to face the viewpoint. The fleet had been organized in task forces around the League station, with his own task force focused on preventing the rear of the siege lines from being attack. Several others, each flagged by an Invincible and supported by two battleships. It was, as far he could tell, the largest fleet deployed in the Outer Rim regions since the dissolution of the Alliance in its war against the First Order.

"Negative," the reply came back, "Some sort of corporate fleet. Frigate-sized at the most. They're trying to make contact."

"Interesting," the Harch responded, clicking his mandibles together and stroking his chin. His many eyes blinked thoughtfully. "Decrease the jamming in their sector. Open a transmission."

He moved to the center of the bridge and adjusted his vibrant blue uniform, straightening the gold braids and epaulets before he got the nod for the message.

"Greetings, unidentified corporate fleet," the Harch said, clicking his mandibles to accent the friendliness of his greeting. "We are the Lux Astra Corporate Authority currently seeking to retrieve debt payments given in good faith to renegade takeover states. You are free to pass if so desired, and we will be glad to escort you safely away from these brigands."

He paused for a moment. "I am Board-Admiral Ranax Jalraean, in charge of this transaction. What are your intentions?"

 

[Niki Priddy]

FIVE VEILS TRADE ROUTE​

Objective: Assess the situation.
Weapon: 'Revy', "The Klaive" - PDW
Equipment: PCA/EA, x2 Hutt Cartel Kidnap Jabber Rings-One on either hand, Force Warning Necklace Pendant, Paralyzing Lipstick, ENVC-370 Bodyglove, Tinfoil Hat Band, Earsculpt Comlink, Magno-grip Formal shoes
Augmentation: PGEM-SAP "Amber Eyes"
Ships: The Tourist, 1 GR-75 Transport, 1 Bellicose Class-Frigate, 2 CR90 MK VIII Assualt Corvettes, 3 DP20 MK VI Siege Corvettes
Aboard The Tourist: x4 Nuisance Engine Mark I Droids capable of producing Nuisance Droid Mark I and SD-3 Firebee Security Droid

The contingent of her own vessels paused as the Tourist drew close enough to the station of her own influence. Slow and meticulous landing protocols followed to ensure the woman was in no way endangered at the manual landing procedure that normally was automated for her ease of mind. The pilot sighed as the landing gears mag locked to the private docking bay. Matthew giving him a small thumbs up as a message returned from the fleet that sat inside the Leagues Airspace.

The small protective fleet took up a holding pattern around the waystation as Niki listened, and glanced about at the sensors in the cockpit.

"They deign to make contact." She mused.

"We've got rough coordinates on the ship transmitting."

The smile that appeared was short lived, turning her attention to the communication line that the offenders had opened up.

"Jamming signal has lessened in our area. I believe the source signals are from the Lucrehulks." There was a quick affirmative that had the amber eyed woman looking to her assistant before long as the rest stop gave back a garbled choppy relay back to the Tourist.

"That would figure. Silence." She leaned in toward the microphone with a sigh.

"Lux Astra out here in the fringes? I'm surprised to see you all this way when the Senate is so ripe for influence with the events unfolding so close to their home." She chuffed as she turned over the thought in her head. A fleet of that size wasn't here for debt collection. That entailed a frigate, or at best a small contingent force of specialized marines. This was entirely hostile.

"Ah, the offer for escort is appreciated. I might take you up on that shortly. As for my intentions, I am simply checking upon my own investments in the region. If you are here to collect on a debt, that makes me wonder how much I have been skimmed from." There was a knowing look between herself and Matthew about the intent behind their message.

They weren't truly interested in collections. They wanted it for themselves.

"I will contact you again before I leave my station here on route to the next. I'll have to pass through the asteroids and the escort would be greatly appreciated. Until then, take care." She cut off the line as she glanced to Matthew and those on the bridge.

"You have an idea don't you?" Matthew shook his head, looking upon the glittering and feral smile his employer had.

She began her stall for time, those upon the Vergesso station would be in deep trouble, and she had to separate the triple alliance of vessels she could visually see upon the scopes. She had one of the vessels approximate locations, but sharing it would be difficult without eliciting worry. Unless she could play it off as otherwise.

The stations over Emberlene unloaded the crews on the Darts, the three vessels breaking off from their berths and slowly assembling in a flying-v formation before confirming their jump coordinates against the last orders they had received. Lie in wait outside the Vergesso system until they had firing coordinates and confirmation the Queen Mother was out of their trajectory.

"Do you like bugs?" She left it at that, with Matthew scratching his head.

Aeshi Tillian Kaia Starchaser Osric Tev Sable Tales of the Outer Rim

​

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

She was hoping this would be enough. If the Gallofree ships that were blockade runners and full of bait were targeted, well, they'd have some electronic warfare measures to deal with pursuers. And that would help with knocking out some of the blockade. Her Liberator was going to be there to knock down anything and fight the bigger ships ship-to-ship.

"Read you, Ash. Got a few Gallofrees, some for supplies, some as bait. All the more ships we can get in our fleet the better. Guardian IV is on standby and will jump in after we pull their numbers."

The Pulsar and other ships were moving to the hyperspace point. "Guardian on standby, Pulsar. Will jump when we receive the go ahead." Kaia nodded to the hologram of the Sullustan captain.

"All ships, we jump on my mark." She ordered as she started to count down.

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Kaia Starchaser Osric Tev Sable Niki Priddy

Comet Chaser Station faded quickly behind her as Aeshi pushed the throttle all the way forward. The acceleration pressed her further back into the seat.

Her jaw was set and locked as she picked up the signal from Kaia and the transmission.

"Sounds like a plan, Kaia," Aeshi said as she tightened a headset around her forehead and the safety straps. Her Imyni co-pilot did likewise and magnetized a sawn-down scattergun to the side of his chair. Aeshi's own pistols hung at her side, ready for whatever might happen. If it meant boarding and seizing a battleship, well, she would do her karking best. Wasn't that the whole point of the League, after all? "I'll be jumping with you shortly. See if we can't manage to bust this blockade wide open."

She synced her chrono to Kaia's countdown, watching the numbers flick down as the computer matched the jump routes. It was easy enough, just a few hops along the Five Veils. Nothing she hadn't done dozens of times. But this time, there were a bunch of corporate blockheads trying to squeeze people in the name of profit.

That, she could never stand. The stars blurred into streaks and then the mesmerizing clouds of hyperspace as the Requiem hurtled into hyperspace to meet their foes.