Where My Country Gone? [Red Dawn]

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Weiss"] | [member="Ayden Cater"] | [member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

This post has been redacted. Its contents are non-canon.

Spoiler

LOCATION:

Spoiler

In Orbit, Bridge of the Machinator
OBJECTIVE: Red Dawn and Chill

In orbit, the Hegemonic Automaton fleet had battled the clones. Their strategy had been a defensive one, largely. A group of Kynareth-class star destroyers maintained a tight formation around the Machinator, blasting to bits any cruisers or frigates that dared to come too close to the Lucrehulk. Hundreds of Vulture droids and Hyena bombers had been disgorged from the vessel, overwhelming the rogue clone troopers through sheer volume of force. The fighting had been brief, but intense. Suddenly the Garter woman was here. The whole point of this operation was that the clones needed to have their loyalty chips deactivated before they could be talked down. Now they were able to skip that step? The Garter woman appeared, spouted a few lines of dialogue, and somehow all the clones were complying despite being intensely loyal to the Prime Minister?

What this told Gerion was one thing and one thing only: they had been lied to. The Garter woman could have just walked into this building and ended this crisis herself. But she didn't. She sent Danger an e-mail telling her she was running off to the unknown regions to fondle children or something. Now she was back? And the loyalty chips were a non-issue? What kind of disjointed racket was going on here? Was there no consistency left in this wretched galaxy? Was he expected to just trust this person's judgement? She had started this whole debacle and tried to run from it!

A renegade ship descended and opened fire on the facility. Gerion was about to give the order to go after it, the Garter woman simply ordered the remaining ships to open fire on it. In a beautiful display of synchronized firing solutions, the offending ship was reduced to slag. Now it was more than apparent who these clones really answered to. Not Lasedri, but their 'mother.' The biochips had apparently just been an uninspired diversion. Did she have any idea how much money had been wasted to launch this attack? And all she had to do was just... Show up! And ask nicely! This wasn't anti-climatic, it was contradictory and stupid.

Whatever. All was not lost. Someone was going to trial for this madness. Lasedri would never be taken alive. Garter would be an adequate replacement. As such, Gerion would seek to establish a line of communication with the Republic's groundside forces.

"Colonel Weiss, it appears one of the individuals responsible for this debacle is entering the facility, allegedly on the grounds of assisting. She has also apparently been providing misinformation. Please assure me that this individual, one Patricia Susan Garter, will be detained sooner rather than later."

 

[Nick Sept]

Objective: Keep everyone form dying of sheer stupidity
Location: Spaarti base, en route to command chamber
Enemies: His willingness to be here, frankly.
Allies: Probably the other clones. Everyone else can kark off.



[member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Patricia Susan Garter"] [member="Gerion Ardik"] [member="Weiss"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="James Justice"] [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Sasha Santhe"] [member="Vaudin Miir"]



He did not like this woman's orders or attitude. Maybe it was the chip or the force or the stims or the brain damage or the broken eyes or the fact that countermanding prior orders left a bad taste in his mouth. Maybe it was luck. Maybe it was an image, nagging at his brain. Still, he answer softly. "Call me Nick, for now. Full introductions happen in person if you're able to make it alive. I'll maintain command, don't get killed or do anything stupid. We can't afford to make this worse."




The chip in his brain was...half-functional. Garter was right. He wasn't one of the Spaarti clones. He was cloned from a different stock, a decent time ago. He didn't even know who his "parent" was. The chip he had gotten was voluntary, as the sort of man who refused to give orders he couldn't follow. A dangerous code, but his own. By submitting to that chip, he'd given his trust to others--and they had lost the privilege. It had never fully taken with him, and for whatever reason, his will seemed to be stronger than it was today.



Still, he would follow the order. Sort of. He'd come. with one person. TS. Also known as the "Poet" for his long-winded and well read mannerisms. "Poet, you're with me. We're going to the command room, to await our guest."


"Aye, commander," TS said with a chuckle, following his friend happily.


They went to the command room with surprising speed, compared to others who would not have worked there. Someone with senses anchored to the force would have noticed a tinge of energy coming the man in black armor, the trooper with no helmet.


After a minute or two, TS settled in a chair in the command center, while Nick walked over to a Caf Machine and poured three cups. His instincts told him company might want some.



Nick sighed. And waited. His weapons were holstered, he wouldn't play dirty if no one else did. Honestly, he wanted to see what was next. His instincts had always kept him alive, and right now, he felt sharper than usual, as if those doubts he had earlier awakened a stronger part of him, a will that had been missing for the longest time. The man who followed orders was now the man following his gut again. Dangerous, but practical. He look over at the primary sensors. No major damage, things weren't on fire. He hit the base PA system. "This is field commander NC-0739. Ready weapons, but do not fire first. I repeat, do not throw the first blow. That is an order."


He handed Poet a cup of coffee, with two sugars. "When we're done with this mess, drinks will be on me."


The door wasn't locked behind him. The security wasn't running rampant. Things were, for now, calm. How long that'd last, who the hell knew?

 

[Weiss]

Objective: Secure Spartii HQ
[member="Gerion Ardik"] [member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Sasha Santhe"] [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Nick Sept"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

The lift lowered itself from the belly of the command walker. Republic troopers starting to swarm the exterior of the Spartii Head Quarters.
The whole site had taken much damage first from Weiss own artillery strikes as well as the brief orbital bombardment that had followed by unknown ships.

He threw a troubled eye toward the skies hoping that the fleet would have it under control. Otherwise lots of republic tanks and equipment would be easy targets from above. Apart from that the Republic were closing their line around the structure.
Id-checks and road blocks littered the area.

"Alright, lets enter." Weiss ordered and two platoons of marines started to move up the stairs and into the bottom floor and the entrance level. So far no shots were being fired and for now it appeared as if the clones had stood down.

As the lift hit the ground with a metalic complaint Weiss opened a channel to [member="Gir Quee"]

"Admiral, it seems the ground forces are standing down for the time being. I already have a strike team lead by Sergeant [member="Valkren Calderon"] inside and I will request to meet with whomever is in charge of the clone forces asap."
he reported and hung up. If [member="Gir Quee"] had any input or wanting to handle it differently he would let Weiss know. But for now it seemed that Weiss was the senior officer on the ground and would proceed accordingly.

He chewed some on his cigar and looked around. It felt bloody good not to send these soldiers into fighting the clones. His men were not softies but clones carried respect with them. He had fought alongside several ones during his time in the army and he knew that they were freaking good soldiers.

As [member="Gerion Ardik"] contacted them Weiss communication officer moved forward and offered him the holo-projector.
Weiss listened trying to figure it out.

"That is acknowledged Sir. On behalf of the Republic I extend our gratitude for your swift and resourceful initiative." he answered in a formal tone.

"And Sir, if you are able to assist further. We are having some problems with mercenary forces on ground. To ensure full control over who passes in and out I must ask for assistance on having them removed from the site until we have had the chance to secure that the clones will not continue their support of the illegal coup on Chazwa."

Weiss was referring to the men of [member="Ayden Cater"] Soldiers that were not clones yet not Republic forces either. They were politely but directly being asked to leave the area by any republic trooper they encountered. The Republic Marines were ordered to avoid unnecessary violence against them, but their chain of command was not obvious to Weiss or the Republic forces.

As soon as the Republic lock down on the bottom level was finished Weiss proceeded with an open message, meant for the leaders of the clones.

"This is Colonel Weiss, acting commander of the Republic forces on Cartao." he began transmitting. Hopefully [member="Patricia Susan Garter"] and [member="Nick Sept"] would pick it up. If none of them did some of their staff most likely would bring it to their attention.

"The building is surrounded by republic forces and put under lock down until further notice. Republic forces are now entering the facility and I will proceed to make contact with the leaders of the clone facility and the commander of the clone forces in the facility. Anyone leaving or trying to enter the building without clearance will be held in custody until current situation is resolved." he continued speaking

" If someone with the authority to control the facility wishes to proceed with the a peaceful outcome, I would recommend sending a guide to show me the way to the proper instance."

He then turned the com off and puffed some more on his cigar. He had no idea what was behind all of this, he had no insight on chips or the political game behind this all. Weiss merely followed the chain of command and would see them through.

Likewise, his forces were a blunt instrument, powerful and strong but not trained to handle force users nor take individual concerns into account. The gates in and out of the facility would most likely soon be filled with lines of desperate civilians trying to get home to their families.

Tossing the cigar on the ground in front of him he continued to crush it underneath his boot and then marched up the stairs, flanked by a heavy escort to enter the buildings first level.

 

[James Justice]

Objective: Well, I held up my part of the contract..... time to leave republic space

James--couldn't even believe himself. His anger rolled off him like a wild torrent. This was exactly what he expected from the powerful. They didn't care who they hurt, how much it cost, or who the used and stepped on. They only were interested in clashing with each other and proving who had more ideological mumbo jumbo. Meanwhile, those like James, worked hard to do the right thing and in the end got stepped on. They crushed freedom, they stepped on the good in this world and in the end they did not shed a tear. They lied to those sent to help them like this Garter had, and in the end did not bat an eye.

'Feth it," he muttered. "Feth it to hell."

He looked at his soldiers. His rag tag mercenaries. They represented the galaxy--the real galaxy outside of the manufactured perfection that these stupid ideologists tried to create and enforce on their victims. They were different, unique, and he did not try to squash it. They were also brutally furious. And he could totally understand.

"Come on," he grunted stepping down, "load back up, double pay. I will be making sure whoever wins this be paying ye all that ye be owed."

He stalked off with his forces, the spacer didn't care. He would make money either way, he always made sure of that.

[member="Weiss"]
[member="Nick Sept"]
[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Nick Sept]

(OOC: Okay, one more time for Jenny and the gi...er, wimp)



[member="Weiss"] [member="sasha santher"] [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Gerion Ardik"] [member="Weiss"] [member="James Justice"] [member="Vaudin Miir"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]



Nick Sept sighed, looking at the data screen. NO word from Garter. No back up from command. No word from Lasedri. No word from Chazwa. It was likely all a wash. Gods damn it. All the Gods damn it in fething order. He was it. The last hope of these men and women He sighed, activating the comm link. "Oi," he began with a non-commital grunt. "This is acting commander Nick Sept. I am goign to negotiate terms to surrender. In the current communique is a location beacon frequency, leading to where I am. Meet me here, and we'll talk terms. We're done. Anyone tries to pull anything else before we talk this out, like grown-ups, and I will be forced to make an example of them, and them alone. You are supposedly here for the will of the Republic, and the interests of the corporations. Slaughtering us benefits neitehr of thsoe interests. Talking this situation out, on the other hand, does. If you're already sneaking around the base, third floor, primary command chamber, opposite the mess hall. If you want to wait on orders but not negotiate, go wait in the mess hall. Caf tastes like fething spawnspit, but otherwise the grub ain't bad. Troopers, if you see someone who doesn't belong, escort them to the mess hall. Sept out," he said authoritatively. Enough had died on Chazwa. He could feel it, somehow. He didn't want to waste time adding to the body count.



He made himself another pot of caf. It seemed to help take the edge off the hyper battlestims he hit before this affair. It was weird, but the caffeine seemed almost calming by comparison. Probably a psychosomatic thing. Frankly, his mind was racing, but not as paranoid as one might think. Mabe it was because everyone actually was out to get him, so the paranoid behavior worked itself out into utterly rational thoughts. Today, anyhow. Stil, anyone reachign through the force to find this man, or his voice, woudl find a muddle mess of thought, exasperation, guilt, fear, and of course, uttter anger and revulsion at this whole situation.



He opened the command closet--a locker with a cheap lock that was easy to blast off, and put on a a commodore's jacket. Black, with tauntaun fur lining to keep out the cold. Fitting it loosely over his black armor, he sighed, adjusting himself in the mirror. It wasn't his best fit, but screw it. Had to look like a presentable authority for these jerks. Besides, regulations stipulated that a general could ignore uniform requirements for formal attire, yeah? Alright, then.

He then opened up a comm channel to the ships that had offered to evacuate. "Hey, I appreciate what you're trying to do here. C'mon to the command room. Third floor, fifth door on the left from the lift. We'll talk it out. Apparently, things have gone more than a little pear-shaped, and I don't mean in the fun way."

 

[Weiss]

As the republic troopers slowly gained control over the lower levels of the building Weiss marched on inside with them.

He was about to order a new broadcast when his com officer brought his attention to the message of [member="Nick Sept"]
Weiss nodded as he listened.
He had already ordered what the man asked for. He and his men were soldiers of the republic, not butcherers.
Since it was a tense situation he brought an heavy escort as he made his way to the room where the negotiations were to take place.

He stepped inside and straightened his posture and offered [member="Nick Sept"] a salute as he entered.

"Colonel Weiss, Republic Marine core. I will be negotiating for the immideate terms of your surrender." he spoke and looked at the clone commander with tired eyes. He was happy that there was a chance for a peaceful outcome of all this, but he knew that there was most likely more to this than a clean surrender.

 

[Ayden Cater]

[member="Nick Sept"] | [member="Weiss"] | [member="Vaudin Miir"]

"That remains to be seen, Colonel." Ayden said casually as he brushed into the room. He took a quick count of just how many clones were following the Republic officer and quickly tapped out an order on a wrist device of his. An equal number of his own droids and troops came marching in as he made his way over to try some of this famously horrendous coffee.

"Fact of the matter, Colonel, is that this is a corporate location and the headquarters for Spaarti Creations, not a Republic facility, and the previous owner of it, one Patricia Garter, handed all control of it over to Miss [member="Danger Arceneau"]." He took a swig of the coffee and gave a disgusted grunt. "This is foul, Commander. My compliments." Ayden set the cup on a console and turned back to the Republic officer. If he was even remotely concerned with the Republic soldiers in the room, he gave no indication of it. "That means that you do not have the authority to negotiate the terms of surrender for this facility. I'm also sure I don't need to mention that, between your side and mine, mine's got the bigger and more numerous guns in orbit. Now to be clear, obviously I'm not threatening you or the Republic, but I just want to make sure we're clear there." He gave a grim smile before continuing. If posturing was to be done, he was gonna do it his way.

"I'm here to secure this facility for Danger Arceneau. Since Danger is now the owner for Spaarti Creations, she is the one who will oversee any operations within it now. And since she appointed me to organize and oversee this operation on her behalf, then I'm going to be negotiating on her behalf here." He really was being genuine and wanted nothing more than to end the fighting, but the Corellian's choice of words and tone had a habit of irritating some people. It had almost gotten him into one war with Danger. This time it would hopefully keep her from getting into one. "If the Republic is not into following the lead of a crazed dictator, then I'm going to assume you'll not be attempting to seize the facility here or nationalize it in any fashion either. If that's the case, then I'm going to assume that you're here to make sure that a clear and present threat to the Republic ceases to be such. If that's the case, then I absolutely invite you to stay and make sure that what damage has been done to the Republic does not have to spread further than it already has because of this clone army."

At that, he turned to one clone commander named Nick Sept. "Commander, as you have already indicated that you are willing to negotiate terms of surrender for your forces here, I'd like to open the discussion between you, myself, and the envoy for the Republic. I can think of a great many things to ask, but I'll only ask for one thing before turning the table over to you for terms; All clone forces present on the planet should deactivate their weapons and place them on the ground." A bold request, but one that was only half complete. "I would also like the Republic forces to do the same, and I will have the corporate forces do the same. The ships in orbit will likewise power down their weapons and lower their shields. If everyone here is serious about talking about this problem, and if we're not looking to kill each other, then let's all take our fingers off the trigger and talk about this, shall we?"

 

[Vaudin Miir]

[member="Nick Sept"] [member="Weiss"] [member="Ayden Cater"]

The dropships landed as they had intended and Iktotchi medics and guards exited and offered cover for any Clones that chose to leave for a better life away from the exploitation and immoral parties that bartered for their lives.

Vaudin himself landed also and began offering evacuation and aide along with the others. He didn't know how these cloners excused the creation of life for the sole purpose of being meat shields for some rich schmucks, but he didn't like it.

"Let's get these boys outta here." he said to another one of his men, "They deserve better than this."

 

[Nick Sept]

Location: A meeting room
Objective: Don't screw up, don't die
Allies: 99 problems but a Sith ain't one
Enemies: With friends like these, who needs them.


(OOC: I believe the four of us are what's left of this thread, apologies if others wanted to jump in. Just show up and yell some things at me.)


[member="Vaudin Miir"] [member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Weiss"]


He regarded Weiss nominally. "Nothing immediate about it, Weiss" he said after a quick salute back. "Sit down and have a cup." He looked at the man. Trooper, Colonel based on his pauldron marks. Decent leverage. Not a lot of compassion. Gruff. Seen a lot. Didn't trust this, because it was too easy. Still, that was partially because conditions hadn't been delivered and everyone of import hadn't come to the table.


He then watched as another man came in with a hat and a coat almost as dramatic as his own. He watched the man take a sip of terrible caf as he announced that somebody named Danger Arceneau now own the facility. Lovely. He watched the man brace for the odd aftertaste not entirely unlike engine coolant and burnt beans and slightly off sugar that came from a shady acquisitions officer who was definitely buying spice form the One Sith, but was too damn slimy to prove it. He watched the man's reaction.


He chuckled. "Frankly, this is the foulest pot of caf on this planet, most likely. Regardless," he said. "I hope you have the sense to bring some paperwork to back up the claim that somebody new owns the academy. While I doubt you're dumb enough to lie about something that big, trust is in short supply."

He then listened as the man lobbed a veiled threat at the colonel and himself, and then requested a complete disarmament of all troops. Then he looked at the monitors. Many of his troops were already leaving. "Poet."


"Aye, sir?" The slightly gentler-sounding clone said.


"Open a comm broadcast. All channels. Don't close it until I order you to. Every person here needs an option to see what's happening. Period."


"Aye, sir."


"You're free to speak freely here, Poet. I don't believe either of these men will betray us. They ain't gentle souls, but they aren't here to fething double deal." He nodded to the men. "Don't prove me wrong, now. Should you do that, I'm gonna start killing people, and I might not get all of you, but I will not die alone," he said flatly, walking over to a potted plant that was definitely too healthy to be made of something other than plastic.

"Channel open, sir. The room is live."


"Thank you, Poet."

"This is Nicholas Sept, your de facto commander," he said calmly. "Those of you who are retreating, please continue to do so. It's my recommendation you elect to leave Republic space, as they will not be sending policing force away from the planet. I hold no grudges for your choice to leave this planet--it ain't home at this point."


He removed a pistol, sticking in the pile of rocks and craft foam that passed for soil for a fake plant. "For the rest of you, you will take note that I am currently disarming myself," he said as he stuck a vibroknife, and multiple grenades in the pot. "Our friend in the hat, who is here to represent the corporate interests, believe peace is best negotiated unarmed. He forgot to drop his name, but I'm sure we'll get it. The guy in white armor you don't recognize as a local with the local accent," he said with a chuckle as he remove a stickpin and two syringes with something in them, "Is Colonel Weiss. He is a Republic trooper, and is here to discuss the remaining terms. Before we begin, all soldiers who aren't currently busy leaving or fighting fires are to immediately disarm their weapons and leave them on the ground, as a show of good faith. Then, Colonel Weiss will do the same, then the guy in the hat will introduce himself and command his forces to do the same. They can use the table instead of this potted plant," he said with a nod as he pulled out a Trench knife, setting on the meeting table. He then pulled a cigar out of the jacket, and set it on the table. "Should they fail to order their men to do likewise, on this live channel here and now, I will start stabbing them," He said removing his gloves--hooray for extra weapons nobody knew about and actions in good faith, "and then I will smoke this cigar as I am inevitably killed in the ensuing crossfire."


He sat down in the chair, looking at the two of them. "Your turn to hold up your end, please don't disappoint me. Also, should any comm frequencies be missing from our arrays, please inform poet. The whole planet should get to see this, for the record," he said, smiling, his red eyes still shining slightly in the fluorescent light of the meeting room. "For the sake of full disclosure, I do have a few weaponized cybernetic enhancements. However, you'll have to take it on good faith that I've no interest in throwing the first blow, since I mentioned them up front. I don't think it's a good use of time to begin medical tampering with my own body right now," he said calmly. "Non-medical tampering, well, maybe after dinner," he said with a dark laugh. For a man looking a likely trial and execution in the eye, he seemed happy to be here.



"Once you two have that settled, we will begin discussing what happens next. Should either of you screw this up, there is a likelihood that the other will help me kill you with their bare hands. So, play nice," he grunted and took another sip of his caf. "You know, this is probably more dangerous than the knife. I'm gonna pour it in the plant..." he muttered and poured the caf in the plant, politely wiating for them to order their forces to stand down and calm down.

 

[Weiss]

Having arrived to the office things suddenly turned far more complicated then Weiss would habe liked.
He took a deep breath and listened to both men speaking.

The man with the hat seemed to be one of those persons that were used to get their way by simply bulldozering his way to his objective. Weiss could respect that to a certain degree.
The clone commander seemed a bit to mercenary like for Weiss’s preferred soldier but then, he was not here to make friends or socialize.
As long as they all could agree on their respective objectives here the job could be done.

The colonel remained standing wit his hands strapped to his back in an “at ease” posture eyeing them both.

“Commander, Sir,” he replied to [member="Nick Sept"] and [member="Ayden Cater"] in that order.

“The republic has no interest in the affairs of the private sector and holds no authority over them unless they are breaking Republic law. And this particular company has done so by providing a rebel army for the usurper and former Prime minister [member="Geneviève Lasedri"] on Chazwa.” Weiss stated.

“While your subtle point about you outgunning the Republic Sir,” he continued to [member="Ayden Cater"] "... is well noted I assure that that the Republic armed forces can bring in reinforcement, on ground as well as in space that would tip the scale otherwise. We were working her with the assumption that you were here to aid us. We are on the same side, yes?”

“I have the building surrounded by a Republic Army brigade, heavy vehicles blocking the streets and veneues leading to and from the site. This is republic soil gentlemen and my forces also function as a guarantee that the planetary defense forces don’t act on their own against this threat. The Republic is both your friends in that aspect.” Weiss knew that the clone army most likely was a too large threat for the local army to handle on its own, but now when the dust was settling and the threat diminishing their intent could quickly shift. He was not in control over them but as the Republics military representative and as such held a key position regarding the current defense strategies of the planet.

Removing his clip from his gun he placed it on the table and stood back again.

“I can have the bulk of the marines step down but considering that this is a Republic world and that the situation outside is not under control I will keep the lock down forces outside of the building active and armed to ensure that we can proceed with these negotiations and to uphold law and order at the outskirts of the area.”
Weiss shifted foot. He hoped to be done with this quickly, and tried to think of ways to speed the process up as his second came forth whispering into his ear. Weiss face turned a notch paler and then he turned to the second.

“Are there no Senate guards with him?!?” he burst out with a surprised look on his face.

“Well, don’t stand there, get an escort platoon ready right away and welcome the senator. Find out whether or not he is here to participate in these negotiations or if his interests are of no concern to these terms.” The recent arrival of a Republic senator to the planet was a both a surprise but not an unwelcome one. The second made a swift salute and gave the order to send a Republic platoon of Marines to greet [member="Vaudin Miir"] and inquire of they could assist him further as well as keep an eye on the mans safety.

He returned his attention to [member="Ayden Cater"] and [member="Nick Sept"]
“My apology. Let us return to the matter at hand.” Clearing his throat he held up two gloved fingers.

“I have two concerns; once they are addressed my job here is done.”

“One – I need an assurance that the clone army created here no longer can pose a threat to the Republic or that the…” he stopped for a while searching for the right word. “… the cloning process will not continue using any alleged brain washing methods forcing their loyalty toward a single person or organization. The free will is imperative to Republic law.”
With that he lowered his hand and clasped it behind his back again.

“Two, I need to be assured whether or not these clones are to be considered members of the Republic armed forces in which case they will need to answer to a republic war tribunal or if they indeed are to be considered a mercenary force where civilian and corporate law will override my jurisdiction. I am no lawyer but considering the circumstances I hope that we can reason around this together before deciding who holds mandate over what here.”

Weiss felt silent. He hoped that he had boiled down the republic interests enough to be acceptable for the corporate representative and the clone commander.

[member="Gerion Ardik"] [member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Ayden Cater]

Ayden watched as the clone leader instructed his men to stand down and began the rather impressive process of disarming himself. Quite a number of toys he had stashed away. Satisfied, Ayden typed out an order on his wrist device. Outside, the many CEC droids immediately shutdown and the conventional soldiers switched the safeties onto their weapons and holstered them. He listened as the Republic Colonel seemed to take a subtle jab at the Corellian, but he ultimately decided to not react. If it was a jab, then Ayden would simply be playing into his hands to react. And if it wasn't a jab, any action on Ayden's part would just cause a scene and further deteriorate the situation. He didn't care what the Colonel thought about the force match up one way or another, that wasn't what was important at that moment in time. In orbit, the corporate ships would begin powering down their weapons and shields while the starfighters began the long process of landing. A few squadrons stayed out for combat air patrols around their motherships while a single squadron patrolled around the perimeter of the facility.

"On the first matter, I understand the Republic's concern entirely. And I understand your concerns entirely, Commander." Ayden moved over to a console in the room and plugged in a device. "This is a device I prepared prior to our arrival in the system. It has the codes that were provided, granting us access and control of the facility. While this processes, I'd much rather discuss the ramifications of what has happened here." He moved away from the console and made sure to leave his lightsaber on the top of the console as the final part of the disarming agreement. This was a sensitive matter and he was making sure to keep up every end of his bargain.

"Once the facility is secure, Danger has pledged that Arceneau Trade Company will immediately begin the process of disabling the chips and immediately terminating their manufacture." Ayden walked around the room at a leisurely pace, inspecting the controls and various consoles as he moved. "Unfortunately, there are a few measures that we'll need to take in this process. As the clone commander has elected to have this whole conversation going on the public record, I'm not at liberty to discuss some of the finer details, but suffice to say that it will be a lengthy process. I advised Miss Arceneau while the situation was developing on a number of potential outcomes, and she agreed with me, and the corporate forces agreed at large, that we wanted to minimize any potential suffering or casualties amongst the clones during this period."

"To start with, the clones will be relocated to various ATC facilities to begin the rehabilitation process. The vast majority of these clones were created with a singular purpose, and never given a chance to develop their own personalities, dreams, or exert their own free will. This is a dangerous time period for them then. If we're not careful, psychosis can take hold. Without proper care and support, many could end up falling in with the wrong sorts or taking rather... extreme actions in what they view as an impossible situation. So the clones will be evaluated from a mental health standpoint. They will be given lessons to undo the indoctrination that they've been subjected to and then resocialization efforts can be made to allow them to fully integrate with the galaxy at large. Select members chosen by the Republic can be a part of this process to ensure all matters are completed to their satisfaction and that any sensitive Republic information is removed. When this is all said and done, none of the clones will hold any forced loyalty to a person or organization. Such matters will be their choice"

He paused and considered the second part of the Colonel's concerns that needed addressing. "As to the matter of jurisdiction... I think we can both agree, Colonel, that if loyalty chips were implanted within these men and were used to enforce actions supporting a radical agenda that gave no room for the clones to make their own choices and actions that military tribunals and trials are the last thing that are needed. These clones are victims, not aggressors. Any destructive actions that they've undertaken in apparent support to the traitor Lasedri should be pardoned. They need to be given time to undo the psychological conditioning that has been forced onto them and then they need to be given the freedom to pursue their own lives as they wish. Some might feel regret for actions they were forced to commit, in which case they might seek to make reparations to the Republic or voluntarily put themselves on trial. But that should be their choice."

[member="Weiss"], [member="Nick Sept"], [member="Vaudin Miir"]

 

[Nick Sept]

[member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Weiss"] [member="Vaudin Miir"]


He studied both the men, motion sensors on his goggles twitching slightly as they spoke. The colonel spoke of orders rather flexibly. How convenient to believe that. And of course, the old goat in the wide-brimmed hat--who the hell wears a hat to a negotiation?--continued to talk about this as an inevitable discussion. Still, he couldn't fight them. He rubbed his forehead, pausing a moment, thinking to gain some clarity.


Chazwa is likely to be slaughtered. We should at least save what's here.



He frowned. "Set the slaves free, and now they're refugees," he sighed. "Colonel, I'd have to agree with the tall one. My brothers and sisters acted under duress. Should any of them wish to be re-instated after their recovery, you can make that offer, but you can't fault a soldier for followign orders right up to the point some idiot with a conscience got lucky and called this off," he said dryly.



He stood up. "Well, I don't rightly have all that great an option, here. My brothers and sisters will have to elect on their own choices, for the first time in ever. I'll recommend they consent to your assistance, Mr. Hat," he said with a shrug. "However, I don't know you enough to trust you. Hell, you don't even have a name yet. And it won't be an order. Just a reccommendation."



He blinked as a holographic identifier bracelet made a series of inordinate beeping noises and other odd things, rattling off the man's name and titles. "Omega? You're one of the Pyre's old guard. Well, that explains the fashion sense."


He nodded calmly. "Colonel, I can assure you, both myself and others will work to secure our own free will. However," he nodded to Ayden. "Trust is hard to come by. The last time we accepted a command structure dictated by a corporation with minimal oversight, it went poorly. I propose the following as solution," he said, putting his hands behind his back. "First, all clones who assent to your assistance are allowed to live here. You said an ATC facility, this is an ATC facility, and honestly, it saves most of us the trouble of packing. Easier to do therapy in familiar surroundings, and let's face it, we need a lot of therapy."


He then wave his hands making some motions not unlike a politician at a pulpit. "Secondly, today, there will be an election among all clones gathered to choose a representative for the long term. If they choose me, I'll do it, if they choose somebody else, somebody else will do it. However, whomever is elected," he said calmly, "will maintain a long-term station here, and will supervise ATC's rehabilitation efforts. If they believe you or your corporate friends are acting in the best interest of someone other then the clones," he said picking up his knife chopping the tip off the cigar, "Then it will be very, very bad for you."


He then turned to Weiss. "I understand that having no responsible party to call to blame for all this is problematic, as is the issue of a large number of trained soldiers effectively resigning or entering medical leave for an indefinite amount of time. The Republic doesn't have the resources to waste on us, but if aid packages and possible reparations are on the table after the Senate has pulled their heads out of their shebs long enough to see the sky, that is fine. Also, every clone that elects to stay on Cartao, will have the opportunity to apply for citizenship, and re-enlistment after their recover should they choose it. They are people, and people get to vote. People get to choose."


He twirled the cigar in his hand. "Do either of you have counter-proposals, or questions, or some other ideas as to how this armistice should go? I'm apparently in one of my rare good moods today. Must be all the not-dying that's happening," he said with a nod, as he sat back down. The fats of thousands stood on his shoulders. How many could he save? All of them, that'd be nice. But in the end, they weren't slaves. Maybe freedom was sentence some of them wouldn't take to.

 

[Weiss]

It was not a comfortable position for Weiss. Not at all. The both men were business folks, they knew how to put their words. Weiss preferred to receive or give instructions, and thus was not the best negotiator to send on an affair like this. Never the less, here he was.

He took deep breath.

"Very well gentlemen," he began.

"It is most definitely in the best interest of the Republic to see the clones move on as free citizens. With the proposed..." he stopped to ponder about a word again. "... operation that you suggest to remove the chip I think we have come to an agreement."

Weiss shifted foot and looked through the window trying to figure out if he had forgotten anything.

"If the clones choose to live here I see no issue with it. But if they are not Republic soldiers they are, as far as I am concerned, free to go wherever they like." Weiss had many friends that were clones. He had some of them in his battallion, other had served alongside him in many past battles. He considered them humans, nothing else.

"That is their right according to Republic law."

"I will forward to the minister of science that you will be expecting a group to follow these procedures. the Minister's office will oversee this or delegate it to a party they see fit. They will require enough insight so that the Republic is assured that the free will of these clones is not tampered with any further." he continued looking at [member="Ayden Cater"]

"As for the building it is not Republic property and we will leave it alone as soon as we are assured of that the process has begun and the threat against our nation is removed. We will however keep a low profile. Is that acceptable to you?"

Weiss returned his eyes to the two representatives of the private sector.

[member="Nick Sept"] [member="Vaudin Miir"]

 

[Ayden Cater]

[member="Nick Sept"] [member="Weiss"]

Ayden nodded where appropriate as the other two men talked. He was busy collecting terms and putting together a package for [member="Danger Arceneau"] to review whenever she had the time. He didn't really think she would have any problem turning the cloning facility into something more like a first-rate medical recovery facility. They already had the space carved out. Sterile environments were already set-up as part of the cloning process, and there would be at least some high-grade medical equipment in place that could be reused. If they put the chips in in the facility, then they could certainly take them out. By and large, he saw nothing wrong with what the other two men offered up as proposals. However, there was a logistical one that he saw rearing its head pretty quick.

"While I doubt Danger would have any problem handling clones here, there are only so many personnel that this facility can house for surgery and recovery. A lot of clones came out of this facility, and not all at once. It's simply going to be impossible to treat every clone here on Cartao." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in thought. There had to be something they could do.... "The longer the chips are left in place, the more we run the risk of someone opening up a channel to activate them remotely. If we had the space to remove all the chips at once, we could do that and be done with this mess. But we don't." Again, Ayden paused and considered. There was one option he could immediately think of, but he doubted the Commander would like it.

"If the chips were programmed here, then I should be able to devise a method of reprogramming them. If we are exceptionally lucky then I may be able to simply wipe the list of people who can activate and enforce orders through the chip. But I've seen this kind of tech before... They tend to not make it that easy, otherwise the chips could be readily disabled in the field. More than likely, I expect there to be some kind of requirement that someone be given the authority to activate the chips. If that's the case, then someone is going to have to hold the reigns, so to speak, while we work on processing as many of the clones as we can and get the chip out."

Ayden turned fully to face Nick. "Commander Sept, since you presently seem to be speaking for them, and I don't forsee anyone else stepping up to take your current role and since you have a proven record of looking to keep the interests of the clones here at heart, I unfortunately have to recommend that you be given the burden of holding the free will of every other clone until we can get this mess taken care of. It's the only way to ensure that they are not further subjugated against their wishes, and given the alternatives I doubt many of them would object."

A beep from the console briefly tore Ayden's attention away. On the main screen in the room, a picture of him rolled out along with a message.

\\ Ayden Cater
\\ Error
\\ Root Access to File Structure C1N-GRA00941 Denied
\\ Authorization Code Denied

Ayden's face immediately darkened. Something was not right, and he already had a feeling of what. "Roland, what is located within this file structure?"

"The requested File Structure houses numerous projects and assets, including the rights to modify the behavioral and loyalty chips."

"But we have access to every other system and asset for the facility?"

"Yes sir."

"Can you tell me why the code didn't work for this particular file structure?"

"I am unable to provide an answer to that query. Insufficient data exists." That was a lie, and Ayden knew it. But Roland was disguising his status as an AI by pretending to be an assistant personality matrix. Such a limited creation would not freely speculate or attempt to come up with original answers.

"Most statistically likely reason from existing data?"

"Given the association between the previous overseer for the facility, Patricia Susan Garter, and the Prime Minister Lasedri, sufficient evidence exists to support the notion that Patricia Garter was attempting to activate the clone loyalty chips within the facility on Cartao in order to secure the supply of additional clone forces for the Prime Minister's agenda. As corporate forces led by Danger Arceneau had already begun moving on the facility, and had initially issued a bounty on the Spaarti Creations corporation and Patricia Garter herself until she offered control of the facility and root access to the loyalty chips, it is likely that she intended to misdirect the corporate forces with apparent cooperation in order to get access to the facility in which to enact her plan. Such sensitive data would have been locked behind a separate password. So as to ensure that she was apparently genuine with her offers for cooperation if the codes were scrutinized with intent to verify, normal operations would accept the given codes."

Ayden turned to Colonel Weiss and Commander Sept. "It would seem then that we narrowly avoided a blaster bolt for now. But this does represent both an immediate threat and a problem. If Patricia Garter does attempt to activate the chips, we could have a very serious problem. Colonel, for the safety of everyone within this facility, I suggest we immediately cut HoloNet access and scramble every comm frequency within the system until I figure out how to gain access to this file structure. Once I get access to it, I can devise an algorithm that will be capable of mass reprogramming the chips. Given the time sensitive dilemma that we have here, I can't guarantee that this won't hurt a bit for the clones. But I think Commander Sept would agree with me that a headache is better than having your free will ripped away. If this works, then the same algorithm can be transmitted across comm channels to any other world with clone presence to ensure that they stand down any operations under the directive of Prime Minister Lasedri. The clones cease being an immediate threat to the Republic, their futures are put in the hands of someone invested in their future, and we don't all die - I think that is about as win-win as we can get."

 

[Nick Sept]

[member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Weiss"]


Sept sighed. "Damn. And here I was, hoping to retire to a nice little island," he mused half-jokingly. "Love some nice big coconuts and enough to rum to lose my mind. But, I suppose command is a responsibility, and I can't walk away after having taken it," he chuckled. "Alright, commander hat. I will accept interim command until we pull out these cheaps. And Colonel, any neurosurgeon with the right expertise is welcome to join our team. I can promise them hospitality and kindness, provided they aid us in the maintenance of our well-being and rights."


He nodded to Weiss. "Withdraw in a time-table that suits you. I can't promise much in the way of parties, but if you'd wish to share a drink before seeing yourself off, we have a serviceable cantina in the mess hall, and the liquor is far less foul than the caf. Of course, anything fouler than the caf would probably involve raw samples of the gulag plague," he laughed a little.


"Alright, so, as de facto leader, I hearby appoint Poet to be in charge of the facility in my absence, should I need to visit other sites to ensure and discuss our continued safety with Republic or corporate forces. Poet, you're responsibilities will include keeping these folks honest and punching people in the face if they deserve it. The pay is terrible, and the accommodations show no marked improvement."


Poet snickered. "I'm hired, then."


He then proceeded to watch as Cater tried, and failed to fix the code. He frowned as the talking assistant--some sort plug and play slicer system, he guessed--hyptohesized it. "So, to count, Garter betrayed the republic, betrayed us to die against the republic, and then betrayed you so she could hijack our sovereign will again. Damn, and I though my ex-girlfriend on Carida had loyalty issues," he shook his head, trying to let the anger roll off him, not noticing that his mug of caf, now empty, was rattling, where he left it, on the table. "Honestly, the nerve! She could have killed everyone. Did that blonde bantha sniffing--"



"Sir--" Poet failed to interject into the stream of profanities, but tried heroically as the mug shot up an inch from the desk and then shattered, making a mess.


Sept turned around, blinking. "Who threw my mug?"


"Poet blinked. No one did sir. You start yelling, it shook, and when you about to go entirely profane, it hit the ceiling."


Sept raised an eybrow. "There's....detonite...in...the caf mug? Hell, even I'm not that paranoid. What set it off?"



"Wasn't an explosion sir." Poet shrugged. "Regardless, If there are no further points of order, I think we can kill the recording and broadcast?"


"Aye, Poet. Time to get things done. And hand me a broom. There's mug everywhere."

 

[Weiss]

There seemed to be progress here, or not. Weiss could barely tell.

"The republic holds most of the the communication satelites and rellays in the system. I think we can be of assistance on this matter." he regardless replied to [member="Ayden Cater"] and nodded to his second to carry out the order.

"But with all neutral and mandalorian interests operating just outside and within Republic space there are no guarantees." he added just to be sure he did not rule anything out.

"I will begin working on a schedule to abandon this facility asap Commander. There will be a small military presence nearby until things have settled down and there are no signs that the clones pose a danger to the republic from here on. Rest assured, that if these clones are given their free will back and they from here on will follow Republic law my men are here to assure their safety and civil rights as much as any other citizen on the planet." he continued to [member="Nick Sept"]

"I am afraid I wil have to decline the drink since if we are in an agreement I should head back and aid the local law enforcement getting the city back in order. There are reports of looting and protestings gone wrong all over the place."

"I will leave my second here if there is anything else you need me for. Otherwise I will report what has been said during this meeting to my superiours and leave you to your work."

He looked at them both and prepared a swift salute to mark his departure should none of them object.