Private A Budding Navy

[Laertia Io]

Hosting Grand Shepherd Burtch aboard: The Colossus of Shadows

Wearing: Hoodlum's Leathers

Armed with: De Lifte Crystal (Curved Hilt)

With:

Lyssa Io

Alicia Io

Miranda Io

7 days prior...

Darth Xiphos, Matriarch of House Io stared at the intelligence they had managed to gather on the Chiss Admiral known as Burtch from the comfort of her private Quarters aboard the Mobile Capital City of House Io, the Colossus of Shadows, a massive Stealth Vessel.

With her were her own hand made daughters, all highly advanced and lethal Androids disguised as beautiful human women due to the nanotechnology in their design. Each looked like they were wearing Metallic Silver Catsuits

She blinked over the service record. They had been unnecessarily tough on him, especially when it came to the First Order. But she could read between the lines when it came to reports. His piloting skills, and familiarity with a wide range of vessels and Space lanes made him more experienced than anyone else in this field in House Io.

They needed to build a proper, working navy, and someone to provide their experience that would trickle down to naval recruits. He had his own pursuits too...pursuits that didn't necessarily align with those of previous factions he worked for...

He was worth seven times his weight in Aurodium. No way they couldn't try to recruit him. They had Chiss natives in the House already. Mainly Warriors, though a few had been members of the Skywalker Order that The Maw had attacked. Others were from Csilla and Oyokai.

They had all sorts in the House these days.

It would be irresponsible not to recruit an actual fleet specialist at this point. They had the ships. Now they needed someone who would provide the best possible guidance on how they could be used. You could only get so far on synoptic teaching and data modules and training sims.

Power is useless without the skill to best apply it.

Her daughters had diligently uncovered everything they could.

"He's cute..." Miranda remarked. "In a Trickster God kinda way..."

"Really? That's the only thing you noticed?" Alicia asked, exasperated.

"Beyond his sterling record of service, yes..." Miranda asked exasperated.

"If he were to join us, he would need an incentive. He'd have to be made a Citizen, but the Requirements to become one are steep..." Lyssa pointed out in her creepily serene manner

"He was injured. No weapon left. They tried to bribe him, and he fought brutally...this man has been tested already...quite formidably. Besides, it's not like we would want to send him to his death in some ground engagement. No...this is a man you keep on a bridge, giving orders. He's no Thrawn. But we aren't looking for a Thrawn. We're looking for a man who can go anywhere, and train others to do the same..." Xiphos remarked, standing up. "His familiarity with the Elysium Empire would make him pretty valuable as a diplomatic representative in an emergency..."

The heretic Sith stared out of the viewport into the planet of Khemost below the great vessel.

"An overture must be made. I want to meet him aboard the Colossus, get a feel for him. We're going to start expanding soon. All the pieces are in place. And with a man like this at our side...our navy could become a formidable beast indeed..."

"We will contact him through private channels immediately, Mother..." Alicia offered.

Xiphos nodded. "Lyssa, see to it that some Quarters be arranged for his stay here. Every courtesy is to be shown him when he arrives."

"Ooooo, Ooooo, can I pick him up?" Miranda asked excitedly.

Xiphos rolled her eyes. "Sure..."

"YES!" Miranda said, giving a fist pump motion.

"Be on you best behavior..." Xiphos reminded her, though she was hiding how amused she was.


Present...

An encrypted communication had been delivered to his place of residence, one asking him to meet aboard a ship owned by Darth Xiphos, promising to compensate him for his time whether he accepted or rejected her offer, offering him a package of 14 Coins as a token of goodwill.

Miranda had gone with one of the House Io Corvette ships to meet him on a Space Station in the outer rim, which would then transport him to the Colossus.

Miranda waited at the docking bay, her gorgeous looks occasionally earning a glance from many eyes as she waited in front of the strangely designed vessel for her passenger. He would be allowed to bring any security he felt necessary to guarantee his safety, along with any self destruct devices he felt prudent to keep on his person to prevent hypothetical capture scenarios he might have envisioned.

The name Xiphos was something of a mixed bag with the Chiss. She had sabotaged the station that had destroyed Csilla, dealing critical damage to it's reactor, but had tragically been unable to sabotage it's path engine. She had rescued Chiss on Oyokai and elsewhere, opened her ships to Chiss refugees. But that didn't change the fact Xiphos was considered to be as crazy as a Straight Jacket by many.

That said, Xiphos always tried to honor her bargains, and the benefits she offered were concrete...

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Burtch's gear	Roz'yrn's Gear	Krristaa's gear
Navy Uniform Under-armour Hold-out Blaster	Standard Marine Gear Additional under-armour	Navy Uniform Under-armour ECP protocol droid

"…I'm just saying, I like a girl with a little meat on her face," sergeant Daro Roz’yrn stated conversationally.

"Her face?" Burtch blurted out loud without thinking.

"Yeah? Why, is there a problem with that?" Sergeant Roz'yrn replied, sounding a little wounded. Burtch knew from experience that Roz'yrn was just messing with him, but Burtch played along. The numbers above the main door to the turbolift continued to count down.

"Not really. It just intrigues me to think about what appeals to different species. It's obviously driven by the fundamentals of evolution, so it begs to question what would cause dorneans to prefer that sort of thing." Burtch explained in an apologetic tone with his clipped Chiss accent.

Burtch normally didn't typically indulge in "shooting the Sith" with non-commissioned officers such as Sergeant Roz'yrn, being a high-ranking senior officer. But the Dornean Sergeant had served in Shii-Cho's marine contingent for many years now and no-one else was around, except for his secretary Lieutenant Krristaa. She was going through her datapad, pretending not to listen. Her ECP protocol droid was hovering over her shoulder, looking at the datapad, pretending to do the same.

Roz'yrn just shrugged, "I'm not a scientist, Burtch. I'm just saying that human girls never really did it for me. Bony faces are just not appealing."

"Hence why you didn't want to go past the radar towers?" Burtch probed interrogatively, still confused.

Roz'yrn shook his head in exasperation, "the new radar tech that works there has been creeping me out, sir. I don't understand human female crushes, but I'm pretty sure this is one… anyways, what about you? I see Chiss with humans sometimes. What attracts you to them?" He was clearly trying to change the subject.

"We don't normally find them attractive, per se" Burtch stated flatly, a little defensive, "some rare Chiss do find humans physically attractive because they are both humanoids, but normally it's just an emotional connection. But most are like me, in that we can't really get past their impulsive nature. Physically, I've personally never been able to see past the dull eyes and the brown-shaded skin. And the infrared temperature of their skin is always a little off, suggesting that they could be sick if they were Chiss." Burtch felt a little shameful in breaking humans down to their physical appearance, but in the context of this conversation, it couldn't be helped. He had many human friends and he considered them all to be very dear to him, plutonically speaking,

"Zmooth zkin iz a deal breaker for me," Lieutenant Krristaa interjected. Both men turned to look at the trandoshan woman, surprised that she even spoke up at all. She looked up from her datapad with wide eyes, "what?"

Just then the turbolift stopped and the door slid open. They strode in step through the halls, following Krristaa's directions as she had a map loaded on her datapad. They reached a final door, and stepped through into an airlock that was dormant, and only used in emergencies when the hangar was depressurized.

Inside the massive hangar was a full-sized corvette-class warship of an alien-looking design, and several hangar staff were buzzing around it. In the middle of the hangar floor between them and the ship stood a young looking woman in a skintight catsuit. Burtch and his entourage straightened to professional postures and strode over to the woman in a half-march.

Burtch halted his little group just before the woman and extended his hand, "Greetings. I am Grand Admiral Burtch. This is my bodyguard, sergeant Roz'yrn, and my secretary assistant, lieutenant Krristaa. We are honoured by your visit, and you must be here for a reason of great importance for you to come all this way. How can I be of service to you?"

 

[Miranda Io]

Miranda smiled at Grand Shepherd Burtch . He was cuter in person!

"Many greetings to you and yours, Grand Admiral. I am a representative of House Io, which is controlled by Laertia Io. I come to extend to you an invitation to meet with my Mother aboard our Capital a Stealth Vessel known as The Colossus of Shadows."

Miranda swept her hand to the strange corvette.

"You have caught my Mother's interest. She intends to build a navy. A powerful one. This ship is but one example of what we are working towards. Our faction has sank great effort into creating next generation vessels just for that purpose. Vessels that can go toe to toe with even the worst other factions can throw at us. The problem is that we lack individuals like yourself, men of experience with all manner and workings of naval affairs to utilize these vessels in the best manner possible. If you and your allies were to accompany me, we would graciously compensate you for the time taken from your schedule, whether you accept our offer or not. If you did, you would be made a Citizen with all the rights and responsibilities it entails. We want to make you a Grand Admiral in our faction."

The hatch opened.

"Won't you join us for a short stay?" Miranda asked.

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

I wish I could have convinced Dorthea Dobson to join me for this…

Burtch lamented not being able to enlist his greatest advisor on the topic of diplomacy for this. Lieutenant Commander Dobson was a phenomenal manager, expert logistician, and a well-trained diplomat. Her previous career had put her as his chief quartermaster on board his ships, and quite frankly, she had been severely overqualified for the role. But she had gained enough notice for her work over the years and the trust of many highly placed people, which led her to her newfound role as the chief director of Damascus Station; the greatest production facility in this part of the outer rim. In summary, she was now simply too busy to help Burtch with meetings like this anymore…

But Burtch had something of a catalogue of advice from her over the years. In this instance, one quote stood out, "not only can everything be negotiated, but everything should be negotiated. Even if the sum of the discourse equals zero in the end, it's always good to hash things out so that you know where you stand."

In this case, the woman named Miranda Io was proposing a very aggressive deal that would demand Burtch's fealty. How much of his fealty he could offer was in question, but nothing was absolute until deals were completed. He certainly recognized the value of having powerful allies, and making them stronger. He also admitted to himself that he was curious about this Laertia Io person…

"Very well then," Burtch replied, "I will accept your proposed hospitality, and we can discuss what my potential services can secure for both of us over the next few days. Please lead the way."

 

[Miranda Io]

Miranda smiled at Grand Shepherd Burtch .

"Very well then..."

When Burtch and whoever came with him were finally aboard, Miranda lifted off and began describing some of the tech used in the Corvette once they were in hyperspace, giving him a tour of the House Io Corvette itself while wirelessly piloting the craft, explaining that, rather than typical Ship Rector's, the ones used by House Io ran on Solar Energy, the one on this ship in particular able to run for several months before needing refueling. Most Io starships had no need for hypermatter save emergencies and a built in ship wide healing field generator. It could also get closer to Stars than normal, and even operate underwater. For an Admiral who knew the importance of not having to refuel during extended operations in the field, this would hopefully get the wheels turning at the possibilities this offers.

Finally after a few random jumps, they arrived at the massive Colossus Of Shadows.

"This is our capital. We refer to it as an Super Star City..." Miranda explained. "We chose to forego armaments in favor of speed, stealth, and defenses. She can go Underwater too."

The ship docked at last and Miranda led him out, to where an honor guard of Model 1's awaited to greet them.

"Greetings, brothers!" Miranda called out, getting nods of acknowledgement from each of them.

"Come Admiral, let's show you to your guest room. Are you hungry?" she asked.

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

The next week of hyperspace travel was relatively uneventful. Burtch was able to manage things remotely back home with the aid of his secretary, lieutenant Krristaa and her protocol droid. Minor incidents came up, but nothing that demanded his immediate return. For the most part, he was able to put things off or redirect the issues to other officers.

On his downtime he did two things, besides, eat, sleep, and exercise. He spent a fair bit of time playing strategy board games with his bodyguard, Daro Roz’yrn , and analyzing the ship he was on.

In the former activity, he learned a lot about the old marine sergeant. For starters, he was actually quite a bit smarter than Burtch. He had a mind for simple strategy, and simple-yet-creative solutions for common problems. This was in contrast to the man’s apparent apathy, which was, no doubt, brought into being by many decades of brutal warfare. Burtch wondered if there was a way to coax more potential out of the man and convince him to strike for an officer’s role. But he’d need to consider that after this mission was over…

For the Corvette he was on, he spent a fair bit of time walking through the corridors and talking to technical staffers. Naturally, there were details that they weren’t willing to share with an outsider, but the details that Burtch had accumulated added up into a very clear picture.

The ship was an independent operative vessel, first and foremost. It had limited ability to serve in a battle-line, but the abundant amenities, high survivability, and long operation range indicated that this ship was built to support operations far from home. Operations that are predominantly ground based, Burtch had concluded at one point.

After electing to share these observations with Daro Roz’yrn , the older marine had offered some of his own analysis and observations. He had deducted that this House Io must put a lot of stock in having impressively deadly foot-soldiers of some kind. Whatever their doctrines were, they were likely centered around that.

Finally, they arrived as a massive supercuiser in deep space. The scale reminded him of the size of Damascus Station, but this ship was built to move. He briefly wondered if there was a birth anywhere that was even capable of sustaining the maintenance requirements of a ship that insanely big. Or maybe it’s self-sustaining? That would be hard to do…

Miranda Io proceeded to describe some of the basic capabilities of the massive ship and Burtch like what he heard. His own experience with submersible starships was questionable, but even the HMS Kay Arenais had merits for her ability to hide under a liquid surface. It was a unique solution that not many tacticians would think about.

They reached the dock and stepped out. There was an impressive entourage and something of a greeting parade. The gleaming metal armour of the powerful droids stood out to Burtch and Daro Roz’yrn, and their previous speculations on the foot soldier doctrine of House Io began to solidify. The droids looked pretty mean…

"Come Admiral, let's show you to your guest room. Are you hungry?" she asked.

Burtch smiled slightly, but warmly at the fair woman that had been his host for the past week and replied, “I’m actually quite hungry, yes. Perhaps you can help me prepare for my meeting with Laertia Io while we eat?”

 

[Miranda Io]

Miranda nodded and so began their tour of the mobile capital...

He would pass by Organics and Droids mingling freely with each other, working together for ship up keep or just hanging out. Security Checkpoints were manned by both Droids and Organics. The Mechanical Soldiers he spotted sometimes were wearing war paint and masks as part of their culture...

EVERYONE was armed. Even Janitors often had something deadly like a Heavy Sonic Blaster or even a Class D Disruptor Pistol holstered.

There were actual districts. An industrial and commerce sector, and direction signs in hologram form. There was even the occasional Chiss who gave him a strange glance of curiosity as they passed by them. Miranda led them to an open air restaurant, where one of the General Purpose Nuetralizers, HRD's resembling cute young women in skintight metallic green catsuits, who proudly introduced herself as the owner of this establishment and handed him and his fellowship a menu.

"Now, about Laertia. Speak plainly and honestly. She despises standing on ceremony...all the Nuetralizers are considered by her to be her Children. And they, myself included, consider her our Mother. Every Citizen in House Io is an equal and a Family Member, no matter how freaking crazy they would be considered outside the House. Every citizen must be willing to fight and defend their fellow citizens as if they were blood relatives, even if they only met an hour ago. We believe in opposing threats to the entire Galaxy when groups like the Jedi are too incompetent or too unwilling to do what is necessary. We have many, many enemies...Jedi Order included, who we have sworn revenge on for leaving the Galactic Southeast defenseless before the Bryn'adul while they fought the Sith Empire...our feud with them is personal, as most of our Organic recruits came from worlds the Bryn'adul destroyed..." Miranda said as the warm-up while they waited for his food and that of his guests.

"Any questions?"




Grand Shepherd Burtch

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Burtch, Daro Roz’yrn and Krristaa each accepted their menus as they sat at the table with their host Miranda Io to eat. Burtch, being a little stressed about the coming meeting, read his menu with a discriminatory eye towards exact calorie counts, varieties of vitamins and minerals, electrolytes, and fiber values. Being a Chiss, the tendency to take meticulous control over one’s diet was common amongst his people whenever faced with stressful situations. He was eager, but meeting people of such a high standing was always had a sensitive, nuanced nature to these occasions. He wanted to be sure that his previous meal wasn’t hindering his ability to think clearly in his next meeting.

Daro Roz’yrn on the other hand, chose the greasiest, most fattening, deep-fried seafood the menu could offer. He winked at the waitress as he placed his order and grinned at the Admiral. Burtch resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the other man, albeit, in amusement. Clearly, the 170 year old soldier had his own ways of dealing with stress.

And Krristaa chose a nice nerf steak. Her protocol droid hovered innocently near her shoulder.

Miranda Io then began to speak. She described her leader, Laertia Io to be an efficient, straightforward woman with a high regard for her people. So much so, that the culture seemed to be much more closely knit than anything Burtch had ever seen. The concept which Miranda described of how everyone in House Io was considered family felt very foreign to him. It starkly contrasted his experiences with the Chiss Ascendancy, the First Order, and the Elysium Empire, where gains and advancement seemed to be the driving force of every facet of life.

Burtch didn’t know what to make of this. He once had a family growing up, but they had always been quick to disregard him, in favour of his older brother. He had been a considerable disappointment to them and they never let him feel fully welcome. Even his only living relative, Keatoch, didn’t seem to have the time for Burtch, even though Burtch had climbed to the impossible rank of Grand Admiral of the Navy and accomplished a great deal in the past few years. Burtch did have dear friends, of course, but not many. And his position in the navy kept him from exploring the depths of those relationships in a more substantial way.

The way Miranda was describing this culture stabbed at a small wound that had gone beneath Burtch’s notice for many years now. The wound was hard for him to comprehend clearly, but it took him a moment to analyze the flavour of that pain.

Loneliness.

Burtch quickly shoved the silly… meaningless notion aside and listened to the rest of Miranda’s briefing. She outlined the nature of House Io’s foreign policies and how the house seemed to do its part to fight the darkness in the galaxy and stand up to the monsters that cause so much destruction.

Again, this was in contrast to Burtch’s previous experiences. When he was with the ascendancy, he served the ascendancy. When he was with the First Order, he served The First Order. When he was serving the Elysium Empire… well, needless to say, this whole concept of putting the needs of outsiders into consideration for the sake of the outsiders was also a bit hard for him to get his head around. He had always been taught to serve the state he answered to, and by serving the state, the state could serve its people. To help others outside the state was considered an effort to gain gratitude for the state, and that was all anything ever meant. This approach to foreign policy that the House Io seemed to behold felt very… principled?

The part about their population coming from the Bryn’adul conquest caught Burtch’s attention. Damascus Station itself had a population almost made up entirely out of refugees from the Bryn wars. Mind that, Damascus Station held a billion-and-a-half beings, which was a mere drop in the bucket compared to the trillions of beings that had been displaced by years of chaotic conquests by warring nations. These people in House Io were likely just another group that chose their own path. Whereas the people of Damascus clung to an attachment to space-living, the refugees seemed to cling to a sense of extended family. It caused Burtch’s mind to ponder the various ways that different cultures coped with terrible losses…

The Miranda asked if Burtch had any questions. Burtch took a moment to turn her words over in his head. He looked to his companions to see if they might offer anything. Krristaa’s expression gave no indication that she had anything to elaborate on. And Daro seemed to be more concerned with where the waitress might be with their food…

So Burtch turned back to Miranda Io and asked, “I think that Laertia Io has some fascinating policies and doctrines. But I wonder if she has the financial backing she needs to commit so many resources to the destruction of tyrants the way you claim she does. It seems to me that this vessel could simply avoid her enemies and protect her people without a fight. It begs to mind the question, how does Laertia sustain her war efforts and what does she gain out of them? Fighting wars for… personal reasons can become quite… expensive.”

Suddenly, a boot from Krristaa’s side of the table slammed into his shin, and he barely contained a yelp! He shot her a pained, questioning glance, what did I do wrong?

 

[Miranda Io]

"Oh you absolutely have a point. And if it was just about personal reasons House Io would have come to ruin already. And true. We could probably hide on this ship...but we would inevitably stagnate just keeping to our corner. A real power grows. It makes its presence known. And galactic threats are where we get many of our recruits and innovate tech wise. Seeking out and fighting these threats isn't just proactive, pre-emptive strikes, it draws attention from those that would be in the path of said threats and gets them to join us. We constantly are exposed to new methods of warfare, and discard ineffective ones as necessary. We want to bring order to any region of space we control, to make the inhabitants in what we control strong enough to resist the threats that created this House to start with. By making them as well trained, and, more importantly, as free as possible. Laertia does much of it to stop the most heinous enemies imaginable...but she also envisions a Galaxy that is always ready, willing, and able to resist such enemies tooth and nail. And that philosophy must be spread by expanding. By fighting, by welcoming those who have been betrayed or abused by every other power. That's what she gets out of it. And as for resources...well..."

Miranda leaned closer.

"Laertia would rather tell you this but we secured a planet of vital wealth. Obscene levels of vital wealth. Using it to invest has only generated more obscene wealth. Wealth enough to create among the mightiest of navies, enough to surpass even the fallen CIS and Tenth Sith Empire. Ships to rival or surpass the NIO or the Alliance. And a vision of a martial, but free society to drive all those terrible and mighty ships forward..."

Their food at last arrived.

"Our way is one of strife, but a purifying sort of strife. We accept any who join us. Rich or poor, light or dark, artificial, like I am, or Organic, like you are."

Grand Shepherd Burtch

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Burtch's gear	Roz'yrn's Gear	Krristaa's gear
Chiss	Dornean	Trandoshan
Navy Uniform Under-armour Hold-out Blaster	Standard Marine Gear Additional under-armour	Navy Uniform Under-armour ECP protocol droid

Burtch's shin still throbbed as he tried to contain his wince as he listened. As Miranda Io spoke, all four of them listened, Burtch, @Daro Roz'yrn , Krristaa, and her protocol droid. Daro was pretending not to listen as he went between fiddling with his helmet and looking for the waitress to finally arrive. Krristaa kept her talonned hand near her datapad subconsciously as she listened, as the datapad sat with a blank screen on the table. Her protocol droid simply hovered close by her shoulder, perfectly content to wait for instructions.

While Burtch struggled to catch every word the woman spoke as his shin hurt, he was able to gather the general grant gist of the House Io military strategy. House Io was a conquest nation, through-and-through. The reasons for that conquest were noble enough, but part of Burtch dismayed at the thought of how conquest was simply unavoidable in the Galactic climate as it was. Every nation always seemed to need to expand or die. Most died.

The food arrived and Daro grunted something of a growling cheer before greedily snatching it from the waitress's tray and devouring an oversized bite with reckless abandon. Greasy fish oils began slurping down his tusks, and Krristaa visibly winced in disgust.

The waitress nervously proceeded to distribute the rest of their meals, and Krristaa proceeded to eat hers right away, with a napkin tucked into her uniform, and daintily held utensils with small bites. Clearly an intentional offset to Daro's display of savagery. Daro seemed to not care…

Burtch chose not to touch his food yet until Miranda Io was finished speaking. When she was done, Burtch was just about to respond when Daro jumped in with an inquiry of his own through a mouthful of greasy seafood, "Sho it shoundsh like yer backersh from thish world that you got yer handsh on are big fansh of yer war effortsh." He then swallowed his slimy mouthful and continued, "Can you trust them?"

Burtch contained his irritation at the old marine's interjection and assumptions, but he cut in, "Daro, the lady did not say that they had backers on their world." He turned to Miranda, "my apologies,"

Krristaa then cut in, after swallowing a well-chewed mouthful of her own, "But you muzt have external zupport. It'z very hard for a faction to be entirely zelf zufficient in the galaxy we live in theze dayz. Even with a zhip az magnificent az thiz."

Burtch then visibly grimaced this time… maybe taking these two along was a mistake. At least the damn droid was behaving itself…

 

[Miranda Io]

"The world we found didn't have backers...it had been long abandoned. But it's wealth was...insane is the only word that properly describes the sheer amount we found. But we did have backers before that, yes. A Naboo Heiress, A CIS Weapons Developer, two different groups of decidedly heretical Sith, and of course, the vast number of scientists we stole away from the Tenth Sith Empire as it collapsed..." Miranda explained. "Whatever else we get is often taken from the battlefield and repurposed."

Miranda waited for them to eat before speaking further.

"When you are ready, I will take you to Laertia and we shall then continue our tour into the research labs and then engineering. I could also show your our weapons division."

Grand Shepherd Burtch

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Burtch proceeded to eat as Miranda Io replied to the questions of his subordinates. She spoke of how they had backers once, and how they seemed to reverse engineer various tech from previous battlefields. That last part triggered a bit of academic fascination within Burtch's mind. He was getting more and more familiar with military technology history recently and one thing he had learned was that technology in this era was in something of a strange state of mindless flux. Some things that were being developed in recent years were a genuine advancement in sophistication, but other things seemed to be a step backwards. As a whole, technology in the galaxy had remained generally the same for the past five thousand years, with minor innovations and trends flavouring tactical themes in every war. The last several millennia seemed to be more of a complex game of "rock, paper, vibro-scissors", and the faction that chose the right thing to focus on was usually the winner.

For example, in the galactic civil war era, the Galactic Empire seemed to prefer massive capital ships and super weapons at the expense of quality smaller units like fighters and troops. The rebellion had countered this with an asymmetrical approach of superior small fightercraft and greater intelligence gathering. The tricky part of strategic planning was choosing the right tactical themes to give your forces an asymmetrical advantage over the other side. If you guessed correctly, you won. If not, you lost.

The fact that House Io was scavenging tech from old battlefields was beneficial in that they could observe the nuances of modern tactical themes and discern the best counters. In an era where nations wer rising and falling daily, it was difficult to keep up. This was an interesting asset.

The rest of the meal was finished in relative peace while Burtch chewed his food only half as thoroughly as he did his thoughts. The plates were empty, then cleared, and the bill was settled. Then Burtch stood from the table and straightened his uniform. So did Lieutenant Krristaa, and Sergeant Roz'yrn donned his helmet. The droid was content to hover still.

"I think we are ready to see Laertia Io now, Miranda Io . If she is ready to see us of course."

 

[Laertia Io]

Miranda smiled.

"I'll take you to her immediately."

Fifteen minutes later.

Just looking at Laertia's private quarters told a great deal.

It was mostly very utilitarian in form or function, save for the displays of weapons and armors she kept around.

Miranda paused, looking at the display looking at the ornate but high tech Morpheus Chitin.

She glanced over it a quick second before heading deeper into what was basically a large apartment, In between a seeming fascination for swords and knives in particular, were shelves of Datacrons. There was no art or paintings on display, and no music was playing.

"Oh, she's in the Library!" Miranda realized as she led Grand Shepherd Burtch and his entourage, going through double doors of Solid Beskar.

Laertia Io awaited in a large library of stone shelves, filled with texts both modern or rare, seated at the center of a rectangular stone table with chairs already pulled out for Burtch and his friends. She wore a pitch black armorweave kimono with dark blue rose embroidery on the shoulders and neck. Her pale skin was like paper under the light, her black hair affixed in a tight fitting bun, the deep trench scars on her scalp only partially hidden. Her eyes fixed on him, one eye a Cybernetic eye with a gray iris and a glint of gold at the center, the other, a strange mutated color, the white of an eye a dull metallic bronze circling a dark green iris. A simple tea set with very small cups awaited.

"Welcome Burtch. I am pleased to finally meet you." Xiphos said, gesturing for them all to join her. "Are you enjoying your stay aboard the Colossus so far?"

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Burtch's gear	Roz'yrn's Gear	Krristaa's gear
Chiss	Dornean	Trandoshan
Navy Uniform Under-armour Hold-out Blaster	Standard Marine Gear Additional under-armour	Navy Uniform Under-armour ECP protocol droid

Burtch walked into the room and a message was made very clear to him. One did not have to have "Thrawn level" intellect to deduce the nature of Laertia's style. Threadbare decor, weapons on display, and knowledge lining every surface of the room all spoke of the pursuit of one thing and one thing only. Power.

Anything else was a distraction.

Burtch appreciated the pursuit of power for what it was, being the ability to affect change, but he himself couldn't grasp the need for a single-minded obsession over it. He was driven by a need for purpose and belonging, and that was what shaped his actions throughout the course of his life and career. Laertia Io , on the other hand, was clearly a woman of pure power, and she was not one to waste her time with anything that would deviate from her goals of gaining it. Burtch considered this in his approach in dealing with her…

Burtch bowed low towards the scarred woman as she spoke and then responded, "I am, indeed, Lady Io. Your vessel is unequivocally magnificent, and your troops appear to be of the highest caliber. And your hospitality has been enjoyable." He offered a nod towards Miranda Io and then continued, "I understand that you wish to enlist my services as a navy officer?"

 

[Laertia Io]

Laertia nodded. To the point. She liked that.

"I do indeed. I've been going over what records of you I could find. My blunt opinion is they weren't paying you nearly well enough for the work you were given." Xiphos replied matter of factly, clasping her hands together as Miranda Io sat next to Grand Shepherd Burtch , morphing her Nanites to make it look like she wore a kimono.

"Here's my problem, Burtch. My society is primarily space faring. We don't like hanging on planets if we don't have to. But we've yet to build up an experienced naval staff. My ships are top of the line. Next generation. But if this society is to survive it's going to need hundreds of people of your caliber. Thousands. The rigors and discipline of space demand it. Imagine it, Burtch..." Xiphos said, standing up, pointing to a view port where a strange House Destroyer could be seen.

"Crafting an entire navy from the bottom up, and it's doctrines in battle. That is what I am offering you. An opportunity to be a...father of sorts." Xiphos said, her snow pale skin even paler under the light.

"Your enemies would be my enemies, and my in turn, yours. But whatever resources you desire within reason would be mine to provide."

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Burtch glanced nervously at Miranda Io as she sat down next to him and her clothing began to… crawl.

Burtch tried his best to listen to @Laetia Io as he shot a look at @Daro Roz'yrn as if to ask, what is she doing? Daro, who was busy picking at his tusks, didn't even respond. Krristaa just shrugged furtively. Some bodyguards they are… the droid, of course, was at least listening to Laertia Io intently.

Burtch tried to do the same and returned his attention to his host, "Yeah, um, the work was great." Burtch responded to what he… thought Laertia had just said. Something about work and getting paid? Burtch felt like he could die of embarrassment right then and there, but thankfully, Laertia continued to speak.

"Here's my problem, Burtch. My society is primarily space faring. We don't like hanging on planets if we don't have to. But we've yet to build up an experienced naval staff. My ships are top of the line. Next generation. But if this society is to survive it's going to need hundreds of people of your caliber. Thousands. The rigors and discipline of space demand it. Imagine it, Burtch..." Xiphos said, standing up, pointing to a view port where a strange House Destroyer could be seen.

"Crafting an entire navy from the bottom up, and it's doctrines in battle. That is what I am offering you. An opportunity to be a...father of sorts." Xiphos said, her snow pale skin even paler under the light.

"Your enemies would be my enemies, and my in turn, yours. But whatever resources you desire within reason would be mine to provide."

Burtch listened as intently as he could to the rest of Lady Io's pitch and he felt relieved that the earlier blurb he had missed didn't seem as important as the context he was able to gather just now. So far, he liked what he was hearing. House Io was much like the nomads — in fact, they were nomads in their own right, by definition. These people were building a society that dwelt within space, similar to his own people on Damascus Station.

The contrast seemed to be in what resources each faction had in abundance. According to Laertia, House Io benefited from an abundance of modern technological variety, but was lacking in expertise. Damascus Station, while boasting profitable production capabilities, lacked exclusive military tech of its own, while hosting a hoard of defected ex-Elysium military professionals of the naval variety. Suddenly, Burtch was seeing some serious advantages to an alliance with House Io.

This could solve one of our biggest problems in the Nomadic Peoples Coalition, Burtch thought to himself, although, what was that part about being a father all about?

Burtch shot one more nervous glance at Miranda Io . The way she was staring at him made him wonder if she was there to arrest him if he gave the wrong answer to the question that Laertia was leaving un-asked. He then finally spoke to Laertia, "I think we can work out a formidable alliance between our two factions. Myself and my staff have tremendous experience in organizing military structure, ranks, doctrines, and protocols. I can personally see to the training of your naval officer staffs and shape them into a formidable admiralty. But my services are not cheap, as you can imagine.

"As you have stated, you have an impressive array of technology to offer us. But you should be aware that the people of Damascus Station have some… religious requirements that your ships must meet. Specifically, your ships must have the option to have the Angel Navis Operating System installed for our commanders to deem them as acceptable fighting "Angels", as they call them. The vessels you employ," Burtch gestured at the mighty star destroyer outside the window, "are impressive, to be sure, but the majority of our officers will simply not accept an assigned ship command that has not been properly blessed.

"Second, while our deal is not contingent on this, but it would be preferred that Scion Mobile Shipyards should set up shop on Damascus Station. We have access to literal mountains of Beskar, and the production facilities are second to none. If you facilitate the establishment of a branch of this company on Damascus Station, my people can help instruct your people on how our religious practitioners care for our "Angels". Such an act would go a long way towards building goodwill between your people and mine and strengthen our political relationship.

"Thirdly, as you say, we will indeed need to share our enemies. But more than that." Burtch suddenly felt incredible weight on his shoulders, as he realized that what he was about to tell Laertia Io was of grave importance, and a huge risk. But this was simply an opportunity that he couldn't afford to pass up. He hoped that The King of the Elysium Imperium would not learn of this meeting, but such things had a way of escaping confidentiality on the galactic scene. He sighed and continued to speak, "The people of Damascus Station are fed up with the Imperium. The desire to avoid conflict is strong on our end, but the circumstances are stronger still; we will inevitably wrest our freedom from the Elysium Imperium. When the time comes for us to fight for our sovereignty from the King, will you and your people help us fight?"

 

[Laertia Io]

Xiphos watched the gears turn in Grand Shepherd Burtch 's head.

But then came the demands. Xiphos listened, expressionless. Non hostile. He saw it. The possibility.

"I agree to your terms. In the future, House vessels--all House Vessels, will have the option to install your operating system. Scion Mobile Shipyards will establish a branch on Damascus Station and learn how to care for your Angels. I will also agree to your terms to help you wrest the Station's control from the Imperium. But we must exhaust all peaceful alternatives to open war first. I have an idea about that...a side project I had been working on...but all peaceful alternatives to conflict 'must' be exhausted. Mountains of Beskar is worth its weight in blood, after all. But if if truly is not possible, than yes, I will absolutely help you win your freedom through Force of Arms."

The pale woman paced about. She was beautiful, but the lighting above made it easier to see the terrible scars on her scalp that her raven hair hid.

"I have conditions too. I am not inexperienced with the Systems you desire installed in my vessels. I experiment with such systems heavily. It may be your OS, but it is my vessel. Your OS is intelligent and will be subject to our Criminal Justice System should it be violated, as will the adherents of your faith. Your OS will also be required to allow data-sharing between it and other Ship A.I.'s in our Navy not using said system. All Angels at Star Destroyer Size or lower are required to follow any field instructions from the A.I. system controlling my Warship The Leviathan of Sev Tok. All House Droids, HRD's, and otherwise artificial beings sapient enough to be a Citizen have the right to convert to your religion while you operate on our ships."

She paused, thinking more.

"Every Citizen is Family. To be in charge of our navy is to be a very high ranking citizen. But even as high ranking as you will be, should you agree to my terms, you must be ready to fight alongside even the lowest ranking Citizen or even assist them in other ways as though they were blood relatives. This goes for any other Navis Sacra adherents you bring with you. They in turn, will show you the same loyalty. And every Citizen is a Warrior, that must know how to fight when called to service."

She scrunched her brow, trying to think.

"All House Citizens have the right to free speech, freedom of Assembly, electing officials, the ability to own even Disruptors as personal weapons if you pass a test and get a permit, a bunch of other stuff. I'll mail you the details..." Xiphos joked.

"Now...tell me more about your problems with The Imperium..." Xiphos said. "Beskar of the amount you're talking about...I ain't surprised they aren't keen on letting you guys stage a walkout. But realistically, how likely is it we can avoid bloodshed without drastic gestures?"

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Burtch listened to Laertia Io as she accepted his terms and presented some of her own. The terms she presented seemed to take the individuality of the Angels into consideration. This pleased Burtch greatly, as he knew that ships were considered alive in the eyes of the Navis and deserved the respect that one would show a high class citizen. The fact that she was stating rules that applied to the sensibilities of a ship's AI was a sign that she was indeed a good ally to have. This deal was going extremely well.

"I accept your terms. I like what I hear, so this is all amazing news! I'll admit, I'm not much of a frontline fighter, but I can make arrangements to brush up on my combat training, and I'm open to any programs you might offer of your own. It would be appropriate for me to learn your people's style of combat anyways.

"As for the nature of our affairs with the Elysium Inperium, we are at odds with them. We recently succeeded in a hostile takeover of The King's share of the station, and the Nomadic Peoples Coalition now owns the entire stake of Damascus Station. The King is simply not happy about this, but we have agreed to continue to provide ships and equipment for his military, and thus, he is not ready to gamble away his number one producer of military hardware… Yet.

"Damascus Station is also harbouring people that the King has put out unjust arrest warrants for, and he is also not very happy about that. Already, many attempts have been made to apprehend those individuals when they have done nothing wrong. The people of Damascus are outraged by the abuse of power that the King is exercising at this time, and tensions are only increasing.

"I still retain my commission with the Elysium Navy, but only so that the Elysium ships will continue to protect the region, and to ensure that I am in a position to mitigate tensions wherever possible. But the King is slowly losing control, and it is a matter of time before he goes too far and I'll have a choice to make. Having you as an ally gives us the options we need to be able to be bold and push back against his tyranny. And we will push. But once we do, staying in the Praeda System will no longer be an option."

Behind him, Burtch could feel the air around Daro Roz’yrn get heavier and darker. Burtch knew that the Dornean man was 170 years old and had fought in more wars than any reasonable being should have ever lived through. To him, a war with the Imperium was simply another war that would not end well, and Burtch had to agree with him. We'd be fighting old allies. Why can't the King see that his actions are causing this?