Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Flesh out Siobhan's retinue. Essentially, it's a collection of senior civilian and military officials in Firemane.
Image Credit: Here. The picture is not one hundred percent accurate, as it does not reflect the fact that Siobhan's chair is bigger than that of all the other members.
Permission: N/A
Links: Firemane General Staff, Firedawn, Board of Control, Kaylah Danton, Shazora Jai Vahal.
CREW INFORMATION
Crew Name: The Inner Circle.
Crew Type: Bureaucratic Management.
Base of Operations: Arx Aeternae.
Crew Size: 11.
Loyalties: Firemane Industries, Siobhan, House Kerrigan-Alcori
Description: The Inner Circle is an informal for a group of senior members of Siobhan's civilian and military staff. As can be expected from a megacorporation, Firemane is a massive bureaucracy. Apart from its business functions, it has also assumed many duties normally associated with a government and established informal protectorates over various groups, such as the main body of elves. Moreover, it maintains a substantial army and navy, along with its own Force Order, the Order of Fire. This, in turn, leads to more bureaucracy, which means that it is not possible for one person to run it on their own. Even an autocrat like Siobhan has to recognise this.
As a consequence, various bodies exist to ensure Firemane is properly governed and that the machinery does not come to a standstill when the chief is, for whatever reason, indisposed. The Board of Control is Firemane's civilian ruling group, while the General Staff administrates the military, plans campaigns and advises the boss. Kaylah Danton, an Eriaduan career bureaucrat, serves as Vice President and chairs the Board in Siobhan's absence. Moreover, Siobhan has her own private chancellery, which handles her family's personal affairs, administers her estates and provides personnel for her household. It is pertinent to note that these people are not shareholders. Firemane is purely privately owned. It also does not does offer shares on the stock exchange. The members of the Board and of the Inner Circle are appointees who can be hired and fired by Siobhan. Suggestions for them to increase their market value by floating the company are swiftly denied by Siobhan.
Inevitably, groups and factions form among the officials. One example is the Dahomian Clique, a term used for a network of senior Dahomian employees in Firemane. Likewise, there are some officials Siobhan favours more than others. They are considered part of the so-called Inner Circle and are important to the inner workings of Firemane and its associates. These are people Siobhan or Kaylah will often interact with. They tend to be important department heads. Siobhan is an autocratic ruler who maintains a tight lock on all major decisions, but the members of the group have a certain degree of autonomy within their respective spheres.
Moreover, they can influence the decision-making process. Siobhan has her own intelligence sources, but a lot of what she hears inevitably goes through a filter. Of course, all of Siobhan's lieutenants carry out her policies. But as important figures in their own right, they have considerable space for manoeuvre, patronage and intrigue against one another. conducting politics within the limits set by Siobhan's General Line. The politics of implementation can be just as significant as those of policy formulation. No autocrat's power is truly absolute, in the sense that it always depends on the loyalty directly below the ruler. While it exists on a largely informal basis, the existence of the Circle is also a way to keep centrifugal tendencies at bay. The influence of the individual Circle members waxes and wanes, as they rise or fall out of favour, departments are expanded, downscaled or amalgamated. Siobhan has a habit of reassigning senior officials whose conduct has displeased her but who have not gone beyond the pale to posts on the periphery so that they can prove themselves on the front, so to speak. Siobhan has one-on-one meetings with group members on matters of policy that concern them. However, the Circle also convenes regularly as a group to determine priorities and make policy decisions. It tends to meet once a week, though it will meet more frequently during emergencies or when matters of great importance need to be decided.
Each Circle member must find their own way of getting along with Siobhan, who regards herself as a queen and expects to be treated accordingly. Some seek to obtain her favour through servile behaviour and fawning, others maintain a more professional attitude. Two other important members of Firemane's leadership, who are not detailed here, are Kaykah Danton and Shazora Jai Vahal. Kaylah is a former intelligence officer and career bureaucrat from Eriadu. She has worked with Siobhan and Tegaea since the the rise of the Protectorate. Today, she is Firemane's Vice President and simultaneously holds the Administration portfolio, which also has Human Resources under its purview. She chairs Board meetings when Siobhan is absent. Kaylah is a well-organised, but also very ambitious woman. Shazora is a Qadiri and a former slave, who was one of the leaders of a successful slave revolt. To ensure that her people remained free, she sought out Siobhan and requested Firemane protection. Siobhan took a liking to the Qadiri revolutionary and aided her people. Shazora became one of her agents. Now she is in charge of Firemane's diplomatic service, and reports to Siobhan directly. She is also the patron of a Qadiri worldship inhabited by freed slaves.
The relationships between the members of the group range from alliances of convenience, friendships, bitter rivalry to affairs. While one should not overgeneralise, it is a rule of thumb that officials who have worked with Siobhan since the time of the Omega Protectorate tend to be more independent. Siobhan is a powerful woman, both politically and with her personal abilities. However, she has something of an insecurity stretching back to her time at Omega before. Even now, though a vastly more talented and refined person, she still cloaks herself in pomp, ceremony and majesty. Old Guard members who know her from before Firemane have more leeway, but would be wise not to overextend themselves. Siobhan dislikes intrigue and thus does not have a policy of pitting officials against each other because that undermines cohesion and has a disruptive effect on administration. She does make a habit of keeping tabs on them though. The line between public and private life blurs, as Siobhan may attend dinner parties with members of the circle or invite them to go on vacations with her.
CREW MEMBER 1
Name: Wicasa Tahoka
Age: Early Forties.
Species: Togruta.
Role: Head of the Treasury. In this capacity, Wicasa is responsible for economic and financial matters.
Description: Wicasa is the mother of Sano Tahoka, an acolyte in the Order of Fire and the Young Flames. Her brash, headstrong daughter is a member of the Champions of the Flame, a squad commanded by Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori, the adoptive daughter of Siobhan. Like many Togruta, Wicasa was born on Shili. However, she has done her best to leave the still wild, untamed Togruta homeworld behind her. She sees her kin as backward and regarded some of their traditions as cruel. Thus she tried to make herself as modern possible. Her path was not an easy one, as she had to deal with discrimination and xenophobia after leaving Shili behind her, but she refused to be held back. She started working for a company that was eventually bought by Firemane. Siobhan and Tegaea saw her usefulness and kept her on the payroll when they incorporated their new acquisition, particularly after she exposed a serious case of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. Wicasa was promoted steadily and rose through the ranks.
Now she is the director of the Treasury Department. Thus she is responsible for the management of the financial affairs of Firemane. She manages the finance and accounting divisions and ensures that the company's financial reports are accurate and completed in a timely manner. Siobhan is a woman of grand gestures, so in the end Wicasa is the person who has to make sure that Firemane has the means to fund whichever big project her boss wants to pursue, and that its policies are fiscally sound. She also has oversight over spending across all Firemane departments and bureaus. Moreover, her department oversees the collection of tribute from Firemane's vassals. This is particularly pertinent since Firemane has built arkships for various elf groups.
As mentioned earlier, Firemane is a corporation, but has also assumed many functions normally associated with a government. Indeed, Siobhan sees herself as a Queen. Its business and gubernatorial sides can have conflicting interests, as what is rational for one can be irrational for the other. As a result, Wicasa's relationship with her chief has been variable at times. Her relationship with her daughter is not without bumps. Sano was mostly raised by servants, but grew up wanting for nothing. Once she manifested Force powers, Wicasa hired private tutors. However, a teacher Sano had grown close to turned out to be a closeted Sith who wanted to manipulate the young neophyte. This has motivated Wicasa to put her daughter into the Order of Fire, even though she would have preferred it if Sano did not idealise Togruta heroes such as Shaak Ti so much. After all, the stories only speak of the glory and the excitement, not the terror and carnage.
CREW MEMBER 2
Name: Vivian. Her original name is Eloquence, as she is from Dahomey. However, she has chosen Vivian as a 'galaxy' name.
Age: 31
Species: Human.
Role: Director of Communications.
Description: Vivian is in charge of public relations and head of Firetruth. In this capacity, she bears responsibility for advertising Firemane products, communicating its policies to employees, vassals and clients and fostering a positive impression of Firemane and its leadership, particularly House Kerrigan-Alcori. She is the head of Firetruth, Firemane's news agency. Firetruth keeps the populace informed about Firemane policies and military operations. Firetruth journalists may be embedded into Firemane military units involved in armed conflicts.
Her department puts a positive spin on Firemane activities. It produces public service announcements, holodocumentaries, propaganda posters and movies. Its work can raise awareness of important issues, such as supporting the abolitionist movement by detailing the horrors of slavery. In that capacity, Firetruth works closely with Firedawn, Firemane's freedman bureau. It has also detailed the plight of refugees displaced by war and natural disasters. However, at the same time it seeks to spread propaganda that makes Firemane and House Kerrigan-Alcori look good. This has involved whitewashing more morally questionable actions committed by Firemane. Firetruth is anti-Jedi, anti-Sith and quite jingoistic. It interviewed Elpsis about what happened to her on Tephrike. The story they presented to the public was true, from a certain point of view.
Her position puts Vivian in the limelight and means she works closely with Siobhan, who is quite sensitive about her image and has particular views about how she should be presented to the world. This makes it vital for Vivian to have a good relationship with her boss. Unsurprisingly, she is an excellent source of gossip and has a good information network. Tegaea does not like Vivian much. She sees her as too slippery and too easy and ready to spin a lie when it is expedient. Because a lot of her job is about making the military look good, Vivian has a working relationship with the top brass, even though not all top officers like her. Incidentally, Vivian is a distant cousin of Tempest. However, the two do not get on.
Vivian is from Dahomey, a planet Firemane's founders have history with. The Dahomians have a curious way of naming their children, since around their tenth birthday they choose a descriptive name that embodies their personality and is different from their birth name. Of course, some name choices end up being awfully ironic. Her Dahomian name is Eloquence, but she uses Vivian on most official business. The Dahomian clique disapproves of her not using her Dahomian name. In terms of personality, she is very poised and a smooth talker. Witty, urbane and cosmopolitan are good ways to describe her character. She is an immaculate dresser. Vivian is a hard worker with an almost frenzied, managerial drive. Her perfectionist mentality means she will see a task through and, indeed, sees difficulties as challenges to be overcome. However, she quickly gets impatient with minions who cannot keep up with her or whom she perceives as slacking. She is not particularly concerned with ruffled feathers though and is rather merciless in firing employees she considers lazy.
Vivian has something of a 'working relationship' with the truth about her background and things in general. Before being hired by Firemane, she did work for the Omega Protectorate and later the Galactic Alliance. She was an embedded journalist during the Republic-One Sith War. Accompanying soldiers in war zones exposed her to her fair share of personal peril. Vivian gained respect from soldiers for not quitting in the face of combat, but what she experienced was probably the catalyst for her flexible relationship with the truth. Vivian covered the Battle of Kaeshana, but grew dissatisfied with the Galactic Alliance, as she considered it indecisive. She started working for Firemane from then on. Siobhan took a liking to her and her work, including a documentary on Eldorai refugees and a propaganda movie to attract recruits to the Firemane Auxiliary Corps, and promoted her.
CREW MEMBER 3
Name: Mikako Kuwahara.
Age: 40s.
Species: Human.
Role: Director of GRU.
Description: Mikoako Kuwahara is a Firemane officer with the rank of Colonel and the Director of GRU, a branch of the Firemane military responsible for military intelligence. Hence it is responsible for detecting, investigating and analysing threats to Firemane Industries and House Kerrigan-Alcori. In this capacity, it is also tasked with the protection of Firemane communications networks and information systems. The agency is treated as a branch of Firemane's military.
Kuwahara reports to the Chief of the Great General Staff and Siobhan. Reports are also sent to the Board of Control, House Kerrigan-Alcori has had issues with infiltrators and traitors in the past, so internal security is an important focus of GRU's work. The agency needs a warrant from high-up before it can investigate a high level employee, though its usual monitoring activities can uncover things. Vetting the members of Siobhan's personal household and conducting black operations also falls under GRU's purview.
All this makes Kuwahara an important figure, although officially she is only a field grade officer. The Atrisian spook is very aggressive in expanding the agency's jurisdiction into areas. Her understanding of what constitutes its mandate is rather broad. She is capable of mastering a complex brief and a good manager, but very ambitious. Kuwahara is a rather suspicious woman, as can be expected from a spook. She has a commitment to order, a penchant for secretiveness and a fixation on traitors and spies. Moreover, she has an inner drive to perfection in her profession and in her work.
She has been described zealous with an authoritarian mind set. Making use of dirty tricks is part of her repertoire. Kuwahara has a poor working relationship with Devotion, who strongly dislikes the 'whiteshirt'. In this capacity, she also supervises the Truthseekers, an investigative division composed of mentalists. This makes Ziva Khalan her subordinate. Of the two, Kuwahara is more of an idelogue, while Ziva is the more cynical. The Atrisian subscribes to the dogma of enlightened technocratic despotism, rule by competent professional experts. Unsurprisingly, she is not the most popular figure in Firemane. Kuwahara only rarely does field work, but is a good pistol shot and has significant technical skills.
Her outlook on the world has been shaped by her experiences in the Atrisian Empire. Atrisia reached for the stars, trying to reclaim the glory of the long-dead Galactic Empire. However, this ended in defeat and Atrisia endured repeated invasions and foreign occupations. In those days she was an officer of the Imperial Security Bureau, the Empire's state security agency. Among other things, she worked in the Surveillance and Internal Affairs branches, investigating cases of sedition and crimes against the state. She had success turning dissenters into double agents through bribery or blackmail. However, Madeline's purges alienated her and she defected.
After a Firemane unit turned traitor and defected to the enemy during the Battle of Kaeshana, Firemane carried out a thorough screening of its employees. Kuwahara was an agent who spearheaded the investigation. Feeling dissatisfied with the performance of her intelligence team, Siobhan ordered a shakeup. This led to the foundation of GRU. At first its remit was limited to investigating the events surrounding the Battle of Kaeshana and vetting Firemane employees. Where allegations of treason, Sith sympathies, corruption or hostile associations seemed to have substance, cases were heard by the Star Chamber. This was a military tribunal that convened in closed session and whose members were appointed by Siobhan. However, GRU's duties soon expanded and it evolved from an ad hoc task force into a permanent fixture. Kuwahara became its director.
CREW MEMBER 4
Name: Destiny
Age: Mid-Thirties
Species: Human
Role: Chief logistics officer.
Description: Whenever Siobhan says she is having a meeting with Destiny, it always sounds so terribly dramatic. Then again, Siobhan has a penchant for that. Regardless, Destiny is Firemane's chief logistics officer. The woman is extremely disciplined, ordered, and logical and her salute is always the most crisp in her department. These traits come in handy. Her name is courtesy of her Dahomian origins and ambitious nature. She holds the rank of Colonel in Firemane's army and is a General Staff Officer. The latter entitles her to wearing a carmine band to cap and broad carmine trouser stripe. Rather than being a field officer, she works at headquarters.
One of her responsibilities is helping the leadership determine what kind of resources can be allocated to operations. Her division oversees the planning and carrying out of the movement, supply, and maintenance of Firemane's military forces. She makes judgement using a mixture of intuition and scientifically weighing alternatives as the situation allows. Her judgement is based on professional expertise in the field of logistics, an understanding of military considerations and quantitative, statistical analysis. Her world is one of styluses, datapads and statistics. She likes things tiday and properly filed.
However, she often visits Firemane bases and production centres in order to get a more accurate understanding of matters. Her inspections are known to be rigorous. Destiny is very formal and focused on her work, which can make her come across as aloof or arrogant. Correct adherence to military protocol is important to her. However, her job is an important one, as logistics can be crucial to deciding the outcome of a campaign. A breakdown in the supply chain can be crippling. The way she sees it, she has a destiny and that destiny is in the stars. She is from Dahomey and grew up during a time of endemic warlordism, and foreign exploitation. She was a teenage soldier fighting the slavers and companies who had taken over Dahomey. After they were ejected she joined the Protectorate and then Firemane. There, she showed her talent for organisation. This allowed her to rise through the ranks in the quartermaster's branch. She still visits her homeworld though, particularly for ceremonies to commemorate the struggle for freedom. Destiny hails from the Emeka tribe, the same ethnic group General Devotion belongs to. She has been groomed by the older woman and looks up to her a fair bit
CREW MEMBER 5
Name: Taelon Far
Age: 125.
Species: Eldorai.
Role: Chief of Naval Staff.
Description: Taelon Far is the Chief of Naval Staff and thus the professional head of Firemane's naval service. This makes her the naval counterpart of General Devotion, the army chief. She holds the rank of Admiral and chairs the Admiralty. Taelon is an Eldorai noble who aligned with Firemane rather than the Star Queen from early on. This has given both Eldorai conservatives and revolutionaries a reason to dislike her. It is always nice when two diametrically opposed forces that feel naught but deadly hatred for each other are able to agree on something. For her part, Taelon regards both groups as dangerously short-sighted and naive. Having found the old ways wanting, she has hitched her waggons to Siobhan's star.
Formerly a Royalist, Taelon switched to Firemane after seeing that the Eldorai were incapable of defending themselves without help...so why not cut out the middleman? She was a minor noblewoman, who saw no easy path for advancement except through a move like this. She had been in charge of organising the Eldorai water fleet, such as it was, but felt like there was no way out of that position. When she made the switch, she brought all her assets and retainers with her, creating a bit of a network for Eldorai joining Firemane to work through.
This gave her ample opportunities for patronage, but Eldorai nationalists labelled her an unpatriotic sellout for joining the 'foreign devils'. She was targeted for assassination by the Red Eagles, an Eldorai rebel group opposed to the ancien régime and foreign influence on Kaeshana. Taelon survived the hit, but was injured. Today, the leader of the Red Eagles is one of the commanders of the Shadow Knights. Needless to say, this has not improved relations. Taelon is ambitious and driven, capable and a good commander and organiser. She is proud and less self-effacing than her colleague Devotion.
The admiral is married and has three children - two daughters and a son. As is typical for Eldorai nobility, these are not her biological children. Instead she hired a surrogate for her husband to impregnate and then raised the children as her own. Her way of thinking is still influenced by her noble upbringing and time at court, so her children having advantageous marriages is important to her. Taelon is officially still a member of the Church of Ashira, but not particularly devout. Her children have received most of their education in modern, secular schools. Stern maternalism is a good way to sum up her character. Taelon is Force-Sensitive, but only in a very minor way that does not merit training. This was a source of frustration in her youth, as Eldorai society has pronounced theocratic tendencies. To feel the Force, yet be unable to do anything even remotely meaningful with it seemed humiliating. Her sister was a 'true' Force-User and had served in the Angelii. It made her the favourite. Taelon was envious of her powers. Then her sister was abducted by slavers, who possessed tech far ahead of that of the Eldorai.
CREW MEMBER 6
Name: Gro'yald'thas. Or Royal for short. She goes by her core name.
Age: Thirties.
Species: Chiss.
Role: Chief of the House. This puts her in charge of managing Siobhan's household and personal chancellery.
Description: When people think of Chiss, they tend to imagine 'genius' admiral or sometimes spies. Royal is neither. Shewas born on Csilla, but did not have the good fortune of growing up in the family of an aristocra. Instead she comes from a low class family and used to be a servant girl. She served various masters in Chiss space, but left the planet and hooked up with Firemane. One of her previous employers was a warlord called Grand Admiral Brand - a self declared genius Admiral along the style of Thrawn, but without the latter's magical ESP and talent. She worked in his household. His belief in reading a species' music led to some insights, but rarely useful tactical ones. Royal has done her best to obfuscate her past, especially when pertains to various powers that have held dominion in Chiss space.
Today, she is an influential figure in Firemane's hierarchy. Royal is the chief of Siobhan's household. She has authority over its members, such as servants, PAs and 'personal attendants'. This makes Maerys Medea, Siobhan's Eldorai PA, and Harmony, one of the Lady's courtesans, her minions. She also oversees Siobhan's personal chancellery. That position gives her an official function in Firemane. In this capacity, she prepares and organises her boss' schedule, handles her correspondence, deals with complaints against Firemane officials, clemency petitions and Siobhan's personal affairs and finances. The Chiss manages the flow of information and decides who gets to meet the boss.
Royal accompanies Siobhan on trips, providing briefings and summaries of events and requests. Seemingly no assignment or desire of her chief is too daunting or too small for the Chiss to concern herself with. No sooner has her boss uttered a wish or expressed dissatisfaction with a situation, than Royal is already at work. She has acquired a reputation as the 'maid for everything'. It is said that one can reach her at any time of the day or night, even on holidays. She keeps very detailed notes of her boss' thoughts, translating them into directives and regulations. In bureaucratic routine she is readily adaptable and the classic embodiment of the dictator in the ante-chamber. She cannot hinder the access of court favourites and has no say in military matters, but possesses a good deal of informal power.
Royal never ceases to maintain a flattering tone with Siobhan. She flatters her boss shamelessly, doing her best to ingratiate herself with Siobhan. Moreover, she supplies her boss with gossip, particularly on her colleagues. This has given her a reputation as a sycophant. Royal is very efficient and skilled, but always seeking to make the best impression. Tegaea appreciates her, but does not react well to the obvious brown nosing. Quite what Siobhan thinks of the Chiss is ambiguous. Royal occupies a position of significant trust, and Siobhan rather enjoys watching the Chiss butter her up. The two are sleeping together. However, while Royal's job is important, it also leaves her without a concrete power base. This leaves her dependent on Siobhan's favour. She derives her power from the office she holds and her closeness to the chief. It is a good idea for her colleagues to be on Royal's good side, but she is not liked.
CREW MEMBER 7
Name: Ganath Antilles
Age: Thirties.
Species: Human
Role: Director of Trade.
Description: Ganath is a minor member of Alderaanian nobility. Naturally charismatic, he is a competent salesman and has a good head for slogans. Unfortunately, Alderaan, an important member state of the Galactic Republic, was occupied by the One Sith. Not content with annexing and exploiting the planet, the Sith allowed their Yuuzhan Vong warriors to Vong-shape it. This gave Ganath a perfect reason to leave and develop a grudge against Sith. It also exposed him to the hardship people outside of the one percenter bubble had to face. This motivated him to use his resources to provide support for Alderaanian rebels and refugee groups.
Amidst all the chaos and turmoil, he joined Firemane and worked his way up. Ganath is comfortable operating in a high-tech, high-stress environment. He is media-savvy, urbane and erudite. He has good networking abilities and exudes confidence, without coming across as arrogant. The kind of guy who is easy to get along with it and like. Sales is a highly competitive field, and he gets results. He acts as the chief negotiator who is responsible for negotiating and closing trade deals. Aside from Galactic Basic, he is fluent in many languages such as Mon Calamarian, Twi'leki and Huttese. He can understand Shyriiwook, but obviously not speak it.
His job requires him to work closely with Vivian, as she handles marketing, public relations and so on. Incidentally, he is the only male member of the Board of Control. Critics argue that this is a sign of tokenism, and that the presence of a token male is supposed to prevent accusations of sexism. Siobhan is well-known for having matriarchal views, though Firemane dismisses claims of favouritism. Ganath knows on which side his bread is buttered and has supported his boss throughout. Most of his colleagues like or get on with him. He is a pleasant, friendly fellow, and not a threat to the ambitious. This has been beneficial to him when other members of the group tried to intrude on his turf.
CREW MEMBER 8
Name: Roshana
Age: 43
Species: Mon Calamari
Role: Legal expert.
Description: Roshana is Firemane's chief lawyer and in charge of legal affairs. She grew up poor, but managed to obtain a scholarship and to go law school. There she threw herself into her studies. Roshana got a job in the office of Aurelia Saelari, the first Chancellor of the post-Dark Age Galactic Republic. The Mon Calamari provided advice on all legal issues concerning the Chancellor and her administration. In the early stages of her career, she accompanied Aurelia to Hapes, where the Chancellor negotiated that planet's entry into the Republic. The negotiations were interrupted by assassins, who did not want the Hapes Consortium to give up its independence. After all, the Republic might one day be ruled by a man and that unacceptable to Hapan matriarchs. However, the Republic's task force and loyalist troops could put down the insurrection. Roshana acted as a legal advisor in drafting the treaty between the Republic and the Consortium.
Her boss was a good politician, but also pompous and corrupt. Unfortunately for Aurelia, she lost the election after the Battle of Roche. Being forced to resign from office amplified her negative traits. When Lady Protector Cira offered Aurelia the job of Chief Minister of the Omega Protectorate, Roshana followed her to Fondor. The former chancellor probably hoped this would be a way to bring about a political comeback, even if it meant temporarily deferring to someone else. However, her job was mostly bureaucratic and rather circumscribed, especially after her negotiations with the Lords of the Fringe went poorly. None of this improved her demeanour. With an eye towards advancing her career and finding a more congenial boss, Roshana began looking for alternatives. She did not follow Aurelia when the ex-Chief Minister returned to Republic space. This was for the best, since her former boss was abducted by Archangel and processed into an HRD to serve as their puppet in the Republic's government. Roshana's path led her to Firemane.
Roshana is incredibly intelligent and extremely learned in all manner of subjects, but especially the law practices of the galaxy. She can go chapter and verse on the laws of most nations past and present. She is also incredibly hard to work with at times, being the smartest person in the room makes her arrogant and prone to making little in jokes and comments no one else gets. Siobhan finds this particularly annoying since she is no jurist and thus often does not understand Roshana's references. However, the Mon Calamari is also completely calm and unflappable, even when Siobhan or Aurelia were having a tirades she would just explain her point more slowly until they calmed down. Siobhan has a huge ego and can be very moody, but Roshana still finds her easier to work with than Aurelia.
CREW MEMBER 9
Name: Novra Kalcha
Age: 44
Species: Zabrak
Role: Head of Production.
Description: Novra is a former mercenary who started as a smuggler. Then she joined the Dark Stars, a mercenary company founded by Tegaea Alcori after she left the Republic's military. Although a talented soldier, she found her real calling as a quartermaster. This was quite important since the mercenaries were scarce on resources and had to economise, especially when they did not get profitable contracts. Novra worked closely with Tegaea and Anya Venari, who joined the group after being exiled from Kaeshana. This also gave her the opportunity to get to know Siobhan Kerrigan, who at this time was still a Jedi, but cooperated with Tegaea on occasion.
Novra's life took a profound turn when Tegaea agreed to merge the Dark Stars with Omega Pyre, Cira's paramilitary company. Suddenly they were no longer an irregular band of soldiers of fortune, but part of a rising galactic power. Novra participated in the early campaigns, such as Dahomey, Vandelhelm and Malastare. However, eventually Omega's sphere of influence became too large for a corporation to administrate, so it transitioned into a government, the Omega Protectorate. Novra assumed an administrative role. She developed a knack for organising goods, chaining together exactly what's needed and how. It's like Tetris in that you need to account for materials and labour to produce the optimal amount in the most efficient way - even if doing it that way may seem illogical. Novra was still working for the Protectorate when Tegaea became Lady Protector following Cira's disappearance. After her friend had to step down due to injuries inflicted on her by an assassin, the Zabrak followed her to Firemane.
Novra was given the post of First Quartermaster on the Firemane General Staff. Recently she was appointed head of Production. This is a civilian post that gives her a seat on the Board of Control, though she has retained her rank as a general officer. Hence she is now in charge of Firemane's factories and supply chain. She is still something of an irreverent outsider, unworried even in the midst of crisis. She does not give Siobhan the respect and honour the latter believes she deserves. Siobhan has considered firing her sometimes, but keeps her around.
Unlike Roshana, she possesses great energy and does not need to sleep - or so it seems. She has a droid that helps her out who she also communicates her orders with. One of her quirks is that she will correct people who use incorrect grammar, especially if they use 'who' in place of 'whom'. She probably only does this to mess with people. Her job requires her to work closely with Destiny, though Novra's job covers the civilian as well as the military side of things. There is a bit of a personality clash, as the Dahomian is prim and proper, whereas the Zabrak comes across as not taking things too seriously and likes to crack jokes.
CREW MEMBER 10
Name: Devotion
Age: Late 50s.
Species: Human
Role: Chief of Army Staff
Description: Devotion is a Firemane General and Chief of Army Staff. She is a career soldier with decades of experience in command and administration. Born on Dahomey as the daughter of the chieftain of the Emeka tribe, she had to fight for her inheritance. First she battled rival warlords, then slavers and exploitative foreign companies. The Dahomian tribal coalition she helped lead aided Tegaea and Siobhan when they led an Omega Pyre task force to topple the rogue Republic General Amherst. After that, Devotion worked with the new government to rebuild the planet and restore peace.
For a while she served as commander of the planetary defence force, before switching to the Omega Protectorate and then Firemane. Devotion has been with Firemane since the early days, serving in a variety of posts such as head of the military academy, organiser of the Qadiri Sepoys' formations, chief of staff of a battlegroup and finally chief of Firemane's ground forces. This makes her Firemane's most senior army officer. She oversees strategic and operational management and advises Siobhan on military matters. Devotion is good at planning, logistics and has a good head for office politics.
If Siobhan is a performer, then Devotion is a technician. She does not have Force powers and though she is no slouch in combat, she is not the warrior her boss is and probably less of an orator. Her role is to be the senior officer who handles organisational matters and diplomacy so that the frontline go-getters can achieve the operational goals set by high command. In the words of a fellow Firemane officer: "No one could have better suited Lady Kerrigan, who wanted a woman capable of relieving her of all detailed work, to understand her instantly and to foresee what she would need."
There are more charismatic, daring and hard-driving army commanders in Firemane, but she is the best chief manager of the corporation's ground forces. Flamboyance is anathema to Devotion, who is not fond of what she calls 'prima donna generals' and 'holonet star generals'. When Siobhan's fanciful ideas collide with sound military strategy, it is up to the Dahomian to convince her. Devotion has sometimes been frustrated by Siobhan's meddling, as well as her insistence that she should be on the front. At the same time she respects her for her leadership, even if she may be the most difficult person she has ever worked with. Devotion has very poor relations with Kuwahara, whom she detests. The General is married and has two children. Her husband is a fellow Dahomian and works for Firemane as a scientist. Her son is following in his mother's footsteps and serves as her ADC. By contrast, her daughter is a bit of a rebel and has become a pop star. Her music is quite popular with many Firemane members, including Elpsis and Tegaea. Devotion is a bit embarrassed by it.
CREW MEMBER 11
Name: Alaerni Samasarth
Age: 129
Species: Eldorai.
Role: Chief scientist.
Description: Alaerni is an Eldorai alchemist turned scientist and a friend of Varisanthra Lycaeni. She helped Vari leave Kaeshana, as her scientific views were heretical. She worked as a research scientist, making money on some patents which incorporated Force imbuement in the Dark Age galaxy. She was recruited by Siobhan and worked her way up the ranks. Alaerni is not a generic mad or absent minded scientist, but someone who is full of boundless energy and enthusiasm. Alaerni is the type who is peppy even at 3am on test #87. It is best to keep her away from stimcaf though. She tries to explain everything without being too patronising...or tries to anyway.
She also understands the importance of having plans, prototypes and backups for inventions. Moreover, she has a team of experts instead of doing everything on her own. She is a scientist, so she keeps detailed notes. The Eldorai has a strong interest in things otherworldly and arcane. Her Force study focuses on material alchemy, but she has branched out into the hard sciences. She has some tattoos on her body that display esoteric concepts. She finds the scattering of the Eldorai tragic, but is happy that the Matriarchy has less reactionary fossiles in its leadership now, as many went off to build a 'true Ashiran paradise' on Raevana, which went poorly.
Alaerni is famliar with Yohara, a fellow Eldorai scientist and scholar who defected from the Matriarchy. Both are on a similar trajectory, but have chosen different paths. Yohara has rejected the Matriarchy as backward, but considers herself an Eldorai patriot. She works for the Shadow Knights and considers both Vari and Alaerni to be sellouts. Alaerni always had a questioning attitude, which got her in trouble with the Matriarchy's authorities during the reign of Tirathana VI. Other than Siobhan herself, Alaerni is the only major Force-Sensitive member of Firemane's ruling group. She is an alchemist, not a combatant, so Siobhan does not feel that her authority is threatened by her. The Eldorai gets on well with Phylis Alince. The two have compared notes on alchemy. One of her fields of study is using the Force not just to imbue items, but as a power source, combining the Force with technology. She often has lively debates with Varosh the Hutt, a Hutt researcher and engineer employed by Firemane.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The day came when Firemane had grown too big for Tegaea and Siobhan to run on their own. Of course, the corporation already had a hierarchy and various bureaus before that. But these lacked the formal structure they would acquire over time. A small staff and a secretariat sufficed while it was just a small company on Kaeshana, but became woefully inadequate once it transformed into a corporation with galactic reach. Thus a governing bureau was needed. As a result, the Board of Control was born. The initial membership was comprised of old hands who'd worked with the couple since their Omega Pyre days. Over time, the Board acquired its present form. There was a marked shift when Tegaea took a step back from management roles and the Kerrigan administration took control. While both ladies are domineering, decisive types who like getting their way, Tegaea ran things the way a modern manager would and was thus open more open to debate and divergent opinions. She was also extremely averse to sycophancy.
By contrast, Siobhan cloaks herself with pomp, ceremony and majesty. To a degree, this is the result of insecurities that can be traced back to her Omega days, when she was mostly a Battering Ram. While she briefly held the title of Exarch and led the Protectorate's forces to victory against the savage Bando Gora, overall she did poorly as second-in-command of a galactic government. Believing that she'd wasted many years by just being a death charging warrior, she was determined to do better - and to make sure that no one would ever dictate her actions.
She was in charge. Everyone in Firemane would know that. She proved herself to be a decisive, but very domineering and autocratic leader. She also manifested a strong need for flattery and devotion. Some Board members were sent into retirement or given other posts away from the Centre. At the same time, new blood was brought in. The other main leadership in Firemane was the General Staff. Like the board, it had started out as a very small body during Tegaea's tenure as CEO.
Firemane had started as a private military corporation and mining concern. So its troops needed a professional body to provide direction. The core of the general staff was made up of old Omega Pyre and Omega Defence Force veterans who'd elected to join the fledgling corporation. This was only natural because Tegaea and Siobhan had been senior Omega Pyre leaders, founding members and for a while rulers of the Omega Protectorate.
By the time Siobhan took her place as Firemane's Executive CEO, the Firemane General Staff had acquired its present shape, so she made few changes. It was a professional military fraternity with formalised training procedures, strict admission criteria and clear procedures. To resolve issues caused by inter-service friction, the office of a Chief of the Great General Staff had been introduced. The holder of this office also acted as the principal military adviser of Firemane's head.
In the best traditions of autocracy, Siobhan maintained a tight lock on all major political, military and business decisions. However, no leader, no matter how capable they are or consider themselves to be, can rule alone. Moreover, she focuses on the big picture rather than micromanage. She set up a personal chancellery to handle her personal affairs and run her household, but also manage her schedule and act as a gatekeeper. Inevitably she bestowed her favour upon certain members of her civilian and military staffs. These satraps still had to follow her general line, but possessed a notable degree of autonomy within their respective spheres. These were people who worked with Siobhan closely, but also constituted a social circle for her. One might call them Siobhan's team. The Inner Circle is a more common term. Siobhan liked to think of herself as a queen and the circle was her privy council. Significantly, the military service chiefs possessed the right to report to her directly. Important events that affected the Inner Circle were, among others, the Netherworld Crisis, the Kaeshana Exodus and the settlement of Tygara.
Siobhan formally assumed complete control over Firemane after the Battle of Kaeshana. Tegaea stepped down as CEO, but retained a seat on the Board and remained a member of the Inner Circle. By that time Siobhan had already been practically running the board for many years, so it was not a revolutionary change. Shortly thereafter, Siobhan appointed Kaylah Danton as Vice President. As she put it at a Board meeting, the Vice President would be the Prime Minister to her Queen. Kaylah was an efficient career bureaucrat who had worked with Tegaea and Siobhan since the days of the Protectorate, though at times she was more willful than Siobhan would have liked.
With Siobhan focused on supporting the Galactic Alliance's war against the First Order, domestic affairs were largely left to the Inner Circle to handle, though she maintained control from afar. To coordinate efforts, the team was de facto formalised as a joint body of senior civilian and military officials. With Siobhan often preoccupied with military matters on the frontlines, many of its meetings were chaired by Kaylah. Siobhan suffered a stroke shortly before the start of the Contingency's strange incursion, leaving the team without its captain. Tegaea temporarily stepped in to fill the void. She and Kaylah acted as caretakers.
Siobhan's doctors were able to save her life. However, she suffered from memory loss, was crippled and unable to use the Force. For a while it was rumoured that she might be unable to resume her duties. Unsurprisingly, Siobha responded very poorly to this kind of talk, as she regarded it as lese-majeste. She convalesced on Arkas, but rumours about her health made her prickly and she was soon demanding to receive reports and memos again. The court was able to lead Firemane in her absence, but this aroused mixed feelings in her. She had been reminded of her own mortality and did not like it. Eventually Siobhan took the reins again. With the help of her allies Chesna and Tylania, she also regained her connection to the Force.
More recently, Firemane's leadership had to deal with the Tephrike campaign. The military operation was not uncontroversial, as it was far from home and officials were concerned that it could lead to Firemane's forces getting bogged down in a conflict without end. Siobhan, though initially committed to destroying the Dominion of Light for its betrayal and the possible murder of her daughter, ultimately declared that Firemane had achieved its objectives after giving the Dominion a bloody nose and rescuing Elpsis from an Inquisition concentration camp. Vivian got the opportunity to curry favour by commissioning a war movie about the battle. GRU set up a secret facility on one of Tephrike's asteroids to facilitate trade with the Republican Guard and carry out clandestine military research.
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