A Clockwork Galactic Response: Kuat

[Flint Pherson]

Now people where thinking with their heads and not their guns. This was getting better. Slowly. Even if magical cures and phantom servers were still contained to the realm of gross speculation and fanciful heroics.

Flint's eyes moved as others talked. His helm did not. It remained, as ever, awaiting the Shadow's reply.

 

[Azza Mirim Xarax]

delete

 

[Flint Pherson]

The buzzing seemed to disappear. Flint shrugged.

 

[Soeht]

It seemed as if most of the ambassadors, if not all, have spoken a bit in this meeting. Darth Apparatus turned to those still within the conference room.

"L̡e͟a͟ve̴," he commanded.

On the assumption that Sergio and Valik would depart from the conference room as ordered, Darth Apparatus pressed a button on the console of his chair. By pressing this button, a signal was sent to the bridge of the ship he was on. The Sith's ship powered back up and began to emerge from the shadow of the gas giant it hid behind. In just a few minutes time, it would have been able to be visually identifiable as a Sith ship.

Then, Darth Apparatus pressed the button to unmute himself. For the first time at this meeting, he spoke up.

"Do͘es a̢n̶yo̕ne̸ believ҉e t͞hat ̢t̴h́e͟y can ͞s̛t̛op O͟mni?̵ D̛éep ͟dow̵n̸,͞ i͝s ̵th̕e̶re͢ a͟ǹy h̴ope̶?"

The voice that spoke from the shadow was saturated in the dark side. While some may have assumed that it would have been interference due to the holocom, the fact was undeniable in that Darth Apparatus had quite the distorted voice that made him sound as if his voice was synthesized by a robot.

 

[Flint Pherson]

Perhaps it was just his imagination. Hmm.

@[member="Darth Apparatus"]

But it appeared the Shadow had spoken,

"Now. Maybe I didn't make myself clear Shadow. You're here to contribute. So you start talking. Right now. ...Or I press this little red button and we say Bye-Bye to your Holographic Projection. ...And your Empire."

He did it to the bug out of necessity. He'd do it to the Shadow for free.

"Last chance. Here it is. Take it? ...Or leave it. Your choice."

 

[Darron Wraith]

The Teferi

Darron had stood in silence for the past few moments as his strategy had been pulled apart and scrutinized by those in attendance. A lesser being would have felt anger, frustration, or any negative emotion. Yet the reality was that the galaxy was at war, everything was on the line, and just because he was GrandMaster didn't mean he would assume to have all of the answers. This was the very reason why the best the galaxy had to offer were being called to the meeting, and Darron couldn't help but smile at it. There were several groups talking to each other when on most days they were attempting warfare with each other. It's amazing what wide-spread extinction, and the thought of being made a servant to Omni can do to most people.

Sensing that he had become more a listener than anything, Darron tried to keep up with the conversation before him.

After a few moments, Supreme Commander Flint then asked one who hadn't said a word yet to speak. It's the Sith, Darron thought. Just as he had considered the option, a voice laced with the darkside came over the comm. Several nearby Jedi jumped at the Sith Lord's voice, and the presence of Jedi Master Ben Watts didn't go unnoticed. Good to see you Master Watts, I think this meeting is almost over. The telepathic message was quick, short, and sweet. There still was the matter of saving the galaxy that had yet to be fixed so the Jedi listened intently to the words, as well as pushed his senses to feel them as well.

Turning to look right at the new head that had popped up in the meeting, Darron spoke straight to the robes that covered the Sith's face.

"Yes, hope is not lost. As long as there is one individual that Omni doesn't control, hope for his defeat should always remain. I've told you already Sith, we stand together in this, please see that."

 

[Ben Watts]

Ben stood with mixed emotions to the event that was unfolding. He felt as if a lot of the members present were speaking without thinking, but this was not uncommon, most people did. While Ben was not in support of sending a strike team, it did seem like the most viable option, but it was only because Darron was the only person in the room actually presenting an option. No one else seemed to have any ideas and were too stuck on trying to disassemble Darron's idea's to formulate their own. This was an intricate matter, though, so the fact that everyone else seemed so hasty and without a plan was justified but still disheartening to hear. The fact that this A.I. could stump everyone in attendance was not something that boded well.

Ben nodded his head in Darron's direction when he acknowledged him, not wanting to interrupt the proceedings and hinder the discussion. Though he was sure his input would be a little better than some of the others, but now was not the time to worry about that, he was not called here to speak. He wondered if they had any of the Omni technology that some of the scientists could examine and maybe make some weapons that could counter it. With the combined might of all the forces, surely they could cook something up that would be of benefit to them, and if they did not have any of the technology then that was what seemed to Ben to be of the uttmost importance. Instead of directly attacking the Omni, they could win a small battle and learn more about the A.I.

He never claimed to be a genius in these matters, in fact, Ben was rather useless when it came to technology. The fact that the greatest threat in the Galaxy right now was a super computer was not something he was particularly pleased about. The voice of the Sith came as no surprise to Ben, Darth Apparatus, he recognized the voice. Ben readjusted himself and squirmed a little bit at his voice, he could not shake the uneasy feeling of working with the Sith, but again, desperate times called for desperate measures. No one seems to trust us. Ben relayed to Darron through the force. We will never get anywhere if we are all fighting each other instead of the real threat. It was a no duh statement, but he was hoping he could quell Darron's mind knowing that someone else shared his sympathies. The hardest part of this battle was going to be everyone getting on the same page.

 

[Garza]

Darren thought about all of these 'plans' and 'ideas' that were brought forward if they were to make some sort of an offensive move against the weird droid army it wouldnt be thought sheer force. This would have to be done through thought out plans to over come the character Omni. With many of these people that would be easy. considering that they actually did think. "Kodiak i have to agree that we can not win this battle agaisnt Omni's army thought sheer force. we will have to like was mentioned, make a cure."

Darren thought for a few more moments while a bug was trying to get in on their conversation. "From what I have seen the Droids are going to attack the Sith first. They are the closest. and if the Sith are taken out in the very beginning, the droids wont have one of the most powerful empires breathing down upon them. I dont want to cause a war between the Republic and the Sith empire, but If we were to some how put our pasts aside for just once. We, the remaining free peoples of the Galaxy, could capture hem between the forces of the Sith and the Republic."

He continued before some on could object. "But we would first have to get rid of the Droids on our own planets. We dont want stragglers that could potentially restart the war after the war if finished. Start on one side of the Galaxy and sweep all the way across to run them down back to where they originated from. In doing so we get rid of them from our homes, and push them back." Darren looked at Kodiak "If we do this we will need the antidote ASAP. We dont want to become infected and fight among ourselves." Darren looked back at the rest of the people that were here. "To get rid of them we have to fight together. If we dont we will fall."

 

[Soeht]

The respective responses of Flint and Darron was to be expected, in the Darth's mind. He leaned forward, to appear slightly closer to the delegates.

"A͝nd͏ ̛I̛ wil̶l̢ ͟t͜a̧lk,͢ an̡d ̡c̢o̵n͡tribute," began the Darth, his voice still as alien as ever.

"Ye͝t͏ t̶he f̀acţ r̡e͡m҉àin͜s̶," he continued, "Y͏o͘ú ҉al͠l ̶rema̕in ҉di͜vided͢. S̛o̸m̶e r̨e͜jec̨ting thę ͏p̶la͘n th̴ȩ Jedi brou͏g͜h̢t f̨or͞t̡h,͏ oth͠er̕s ac͠ce̛p̨t̢in̢g.̷ Sa͞m̛e fo̢r th̨a̡t҉ ͢M̸a̢n̨dalori҉a҉n̕. ҉S͟am͜e f̸or ̕ýo͠ur̡ mis̀t̶r͢u̴st o̡f th̡e͟ S̴i͝t͏h͠. O̢p͝posing ҉O͜m̸n̸i ͟i͏s̴ a ҉f͢utile҉ eǹd͜eavor̕ s͝o͟ lǫng̛ ͏a̡s t͞h̴is d͝ys̢fu͘n̡c̛t̨i͞on̸ pèr̕sís̸ts͝."

With a second or two to pause, Darth Apparatus quickly attempted to discern how the rest of the delegates were responding to his words. He noticed Darren vouching for the cooperation of the Sith Empire and the Republic - which was close to the point that the Darth was trying to make. Unfortunate, Darth Apparatus believed that such cooperation was not going to happen due to the vast differences in how the Empire and Republic operate and handle diplomacy. Even with Desmius's power as Empress, who knows cooperation with the Republic was required, those with a similar mindset of Sergio yet with greater impulse are likely to sabotage any alliance despite the threat of annihilation by Omni. The same might have been said for the Republic for certain individuals.

Continuing, Darth Apparatus said, "I have a̧t̢tend͜ed t̢his ̵şu͜mḿi̕t͘ on҉ t҉hȩ ass̡umpt̛i͝on͏ ̛tha͡t yǫu ͠ar̨e ̡all̵ ͜r҉a͢tio̡nal ̀be҉ings.̷ ̵A̢s ̷sųc͟h̀,͟ I as҉s͜u҉me͘ ͏you̷ s̨e͏arc͝h̷ for ̨t̀h̸e m̵o̡s͢t̶ e̛ffi͡c̢i͞en͘t̕ s͟olu͜t̷io͞n to͠ ͢th͏i̡s͜ ̵c̸risis̶.́ ̷I̸ assu͜me yo͏u w̧i͟s̶h̴ t͜o ̧limit̛ ̨t̀h́e̡ ͞l̨o̸ss҉ ͞o͢f ͠lìfe. A͝nd҉, ͏I ͢a̧s̶s͠u͡m͝e y̨o̢u ͟deşire a ̕futu̷re͡ ̢fo͜r t̸hose̢ yo҉u ̴ca̧re̶ fór̸."

It seemed as if Darth Apparatus would have continued to ramble on, yet he quickly stated before any interruptions, "Therefore, ͢y̷ou̕ h͜ave̸ o͟ǹe c͏h̢a̸n̨c҉e to͠ a͡ccep̧t̴ ̴t́he̢ of͢f͟eŗ I̸ ͞am͏ a̵bo͞ut͟ t̸o gi̷v́e͡."

 

[Flint Pherson]

Fair was fair. Flint locked his jaw into place and awaited the Shadow's revelation.

Darren Shaw again touched upon the 'magic cure' that had yet to reveal itself either. Flint didn't believe it could be done.

 

[Ayden Cater]

Corellian System
En route to summit


Ayden growled and he stood on the bridge of the Starfall. The droids had made significant progress in the Corellian system in the team it had taken them to secure Fondor. It was problematic to try and reach the summit when enemy forces had entrenched themselves in the middle of your flight path. There was still a great deal of fighting going on down on the surface. Most of the population had retreated to the sparsely populated outback. In orbit, the best they had managed was a rough stalemate. It was clear that the fighting was still underway, and while Ayden would have loved to stay and help defend his homeworld, he knew that they were expected at this galactic summit.

"Target their gravity well generators. Blow them to pieces. All secondary batteries, concentrate fire on their transports and escorts." Outside the ship, the turbolaser batteries swiveled and began to pepper fire at every droid transport came into range. Their escorts scrambled to intercept the flagship, only to suddenly be lanced by the sudden onslaught of quad turbolasers. Meanwhile, the ship slowly maneuvered into place and targeted the first gravity well generator that blocked their path. The octuple-turbolaser batteries began to glow with a brilliant light before each unleashed a barrage of heavy, concentrated fire. The generator's shields flared angrily at the first strike, feebly attempting to hold the attack at bay, but to no avail. All too soon, the shield collapsed and the generator was torn apart.

With a hole in the enemy block, Ayden quickly ordered the ship to break off and jump to hyperspace. With a sigh, Ayden relaxed his posture some as the bridge crew gave a celebratory cheer. It was the little victories you had to celebrate in dark times. Turning away from them, he walked off the bridge and entered a side-room that only a handful of people on the ship would ever use. In the middle of a large, empty space, sat a sphere three times as tall as a man. "We should reach Kuat in just a few hours. Nice work, @[member="Cira"]."

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Rosa walked slowly round the bridge, always out of the holo projectors range listening with a small frown to the conversation going on around them. It didn't matter what group you supported, nor what planet you lived on, when leaders got together there was alays the game of politics to play. Threats were risen idea's cast aside. Rosa shook her head, her frown depending this wouldn't do. There was too much mistrust.

She had Darron's blessing for the mission but she was not leaving yet. He needed her support through this. She caught sight of Ben Watts and offered him a smile and a small nod in greeting. A cure?...I think it unlikely...perhaps a virus could be developed to attack the nanites but whatever is done to combat them is highly likely to damage the person. The only way to guarantee it doesn't is with test subjects...she left the rest of her thoughts unsaid, projecting them to both Darron and Ben. The use of test subject was likely to lead to casualties She came to a stop finally, standing next to Ben.

Closing her eyes she extended her empathy tentatively, an attempt to gage how everyone was feeling. Fear and anger and frustration we all that seemed to be coming back to her. Retreating again she opened her eyes, he fatigue showing more than before. Drawing in a deep breath she listened as the sith finally came forward to speak. He's right. We are divided, but then with such an impersonal meeting its not surprising. Everyone is thinking everyone else has their fingers hovering over the trigger...

 

[Soeht]

It seemed that the rest of the delegates did not have anything to say before Darth Apparatus made the offer.

Leaning forward, Darth Apparatus then told the ambassadors, "Th͠e͠r̛e is ̀bu̡t̸ ̡o̢ne t̢hi͟ng you͢ ͟ca͢n̵ ̷d̛o t̀hat̵ ͜gu͜ar͞ant҉e͜és your̕ ͞l͝ives ͟and ̸we̴ll ͟b́eing͟."

The Dalek-class Imperial Frigate continued to slowly approach Kuat, still at least an astronomical unit away. Yet, the ship quickly became a bed of chaos. A signal was sent out into subspace to several locations, including Commenor and Coruscant. Just outside of the conference room, the repulsorlift elevator lit up to signal that it had arrived on that level. Valik and Sergio would have been able to notice it.

When the door opened, two Seraph droids emerged. They would not have shown up on the holo-projections for other ambassadors, yet they could have heard the metal clack of their feet on the floor.

Their gazes fixed themselves on Valik and Sergio and would act to infect them if such action was necessary. Nearly the rest of the crew on board had already been infected and hundreds of more droids were smuggled into the cargo hold. If Valik and Sergio managed to escape being turned by the droids, they would have been able flee from the starship by commandeering a TIE Fighter in one of the docking bays.

At that moment, Darth Apparatus lowered his hood to reveal a tan metal helm unlike the crimson one that he usually wore. It had almost no distinguishing features that could have been seen through holo-projection, not even for the eyes.

"T͠o a͟ss̕u͞re̶ ͢y͢o͢u͟r҉ a͠s͜cenda̷n̵c̛e͟," he began, "And͜ ̨a̵s ͠a ͢re̶p͜r̵ese͏nt͢at҉i͡v̴e̡ ̴ǫf the ̸m͠os͝t ͏pow̶e͞rful͘ for҉c͜e ̡t͞his̶ ̀galaxy ͡h̸as̷ e͝v̢e͘r͞ ͘see̡n,͝ y̛o͢u ar͞e o͝ffe͡r͏ed̵ a cha͠n̵ce̶ ͞t͞o͠ j́o͘i̢n̢ ̵O͞m̀ni̶'͞s ̴Cl̡oc͝kw̵o͢rk̶ ͢Re̢bèll̡i̷on̛ with̡ yo̷u̴r̀ ͠liv̧e̶s҉ ͞- or͜ ҉per̷ish."

 

[Darron Wraith]

Dread.

Get the hell off of this ship now Rosa, take those I instructed for you to take.

The GrandMaster never looked back to his crew, instead he took a step off of the holopad and hit the mute button quickly.

"I want all turbolasers set on that ship, our main priority is to hold it off and hope there are no other infected units in system. Should that be the case, we make way to Tython unless otherwise instructed."

With a quick nod to make sure everyone on the bridge understood him, he saw all those who had prior commitments leaving to go to the hangar. Making sure to get Ben's attention before hitting the button that controlled his mic, he issued a request. "Please stay nearby, we can handle Padawans getting infected or even staff. I'm not losing a Master we just got back to Omni, and I have a mission for you." What he didn't say was, watch out for everyone while I handle this. Or even, stay near and cover my back so the Order doesn't lose another GrandMaster. No, those words would have to suffice as he reflected on his feelings for only the briefest of moments.

They had been compromised, and he was feeling dread. It wasn't fear, fear was an imaginiation of those with weak minds. Fear was worrying about events that hadn't happened yet, no Darron knew danger was coming. He didn't fear for his life, or those under him. After all they were all Jedi, they knew their commitments, and would do their duty to the last. It was the impending danger that he knew would be troublesome, danger was real . It had consequences, and one had to react properly to it or be lost in the wave of destruction. Luckily, all aboard had been trained for such circumstances, and their leader was not lacking either. Centering himself into the Force, the GrandMaster stepped onto the holo-viewer and activated his microphone.

"Negative Darth Apparatus, we will not surrender to you. Or join forces, in fact come closer and every ship infected by Omni's nanites will be fired upon. Your call...machine."

 

[Flint Pherson]

And they wondered why Flint wanted facts over strategies. Oh brother.

"At this time the Republic will have to decline Shadow. ...All units. Prepare for an attack."

There wasn't any raised voice. No sense of panic. Truth, Flint had expected this. In some small way. They all had.

"Cut his feed. Reshuffle to signal Beta. Get everybody back on the line. Pardon us a moment Ambassador's."

They dropped Apparatus and reshuffled. Successfully, this meeting was only beginning.

"Coms? What's our window?"

"Invites sent sir. Encryption is good. They've all got a thirty second window to reconnect. Then we are looping again."

"Understood. After the window close the Network. Then we'll switch again as a group to another line. Helmsman?"

"No enemy vessels yet sir. The Volunteer flotilla is requesting coordinates for the next Jump?"

"Negative. We'll be switching to Jedi communication only from here on out. No electronics. Have the Republic Knights to move the Volunteer Flotilla to the Rendezvous. Tell them to do their mind thing."

"Aye sir."

The helmsman left to use the lift as Flint waited for the Meeting to reshuffle to another secure line. Then. A few seconds later, they could reshuffle again. ...Can't be too careful these days. Ugh.

"Coms. Bring everybody back up. This meeting isn't over. ...We're just getting started."

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Force preserve us. Should have known something like this would happen.

His image cut off in the meeting chamber and he turned around to look at the bridge crew. Kamon didn't have a fleet to support him. All he had was a single IFAS, spared to be his transport vessel after the fall of Coruscant. The ship was mildly armed, but it was fast enough to outrun whatever it was that was likely coming for them. Or, at least, it would leave bigger, slower ships, to fall prey.

"Cut all comms until I give you the signal."

Reaching through the Force, he contacted the others, and the IFAS followed along with the plan at his direction until such a time as he was given the all clear to form contacts again.

"Open channel on Beta."

The comms went back online and his image flickered back into place in the meeting room.

"Commander. It's spreading more rapidly than predicted, as I mentioned it would. Our heavy reliance on machine craft makes us vulnerable. Clearly we need to move faster in this meeting so we can decide on a proper course of action."

 

[Flint Pherson]

@[member="Kamon Vondiranach"]

"Understood Jedi Echani Master. I'm pulling the Volunteer Flotilla out to a safe location. It's not ready for glory yet. Now. All the allied forces will be instructed to return to their worlds to fight the good fight and pursue any avenue against the machines. The Republic will continue to counter on all fronts and slow them down. ...But as you can now see? ...We have no solution but firepower."

Flint thought about how handy the Vong would be right about now. Of course, the rumors of their homeworld's prowess in combat seemed exaggerated. Still? The only option they had now was to survive.

"You my now take your leave. We have the Vanguard here. And thank you for coming. We'll be in touch."

 

[Soeht]

Despite being rejected by the officials and cut off from the holocomm meeting, Darth Apparatus made one final effort to reach out. A one way message was sent to each ship still in the system through subspace frequencies. It would require the ships to be willing to listen, yet the message might have been worth it to some.

The voice of Darth Apparatus played in this message and said, "F͞or ́t̨hos̵e t̴h͏a͡t wi͡sh̛ ͟to̵ liv̵e,͟ ҉send̨ th̶is͝ c̕ode҉ o͢n ̴rep̡ea̛t̀ t͏o͢ t̵h͢i͟s cha͘n͠nel. Cea̷s͘e͢ ͘a͡ll̡ ͝m̛o҉vem̷ent ͘a͞nd͞ a̶cti͠on o̶f y̷óu͝r s̵hi͏p ̴aņd ͝ýou ̴wi̶l҉l̴ ͠n̶o͝t͡ ͢b̧é des̸t͟ro͞ye͘d."

Along with the message would have been the very code and channel that the Darth mentioned. By sending the code in the prescribed manner, as well as not displaying any signs of aggression, the ships that did so would be ignored in the inevitable slaughter.

The Darth leaned back in his chair for a second and quickly went over, in his head, what lead up to this point. He predicted that one of the first reactions of organics would have been to reach out to all the nations of the galaxy. It logically gave them a better chance of surviving the onslaught and rejecting the invitation to evolve if all organics worked together. In the end, Darth Apparatus believed that his words were true in that all efforts to fight back were futile without mutual cooperation among all organics.

Due to being known as a Sith, Darth Apparatus suspected that this recent reveal would make the rest of the Republic and galaxy extremely wary in supporting anything to do with the Empire. He also thought that those not of the Republic would also most likely be afraid to attend another summit. Even if the annihilation or infection of all organics in the system did not occur, Darth Apparatus felt as if the seeds of dread had already been planted and that further attempts for such a summit would never be as fruitful as this one could have been.

Also, whether the Republic realized it or not, due to contacting so many different groups and individuals, Omni's forces quickly discovered the summit and its location. Many sleeper agents still lurked within the galaxy and now would have been the time for such agents spread among the collected starships to act against the organics. With forewarning of the summit assured, all that the AI needed was someone to lead the vanguard to offer one last chance of evolution.

Now that such an offer had been made, it was time to cull the galaxy of those that would reject what Darth Apparatus - in his current state of mind - called a gift. As those in Kuat would have suspected to happen, ships began to pour out of hyperspace and into the system. Some of the Sith armada, with many personnel infected by Omni's nanites, came from the Commenor system. Strange ships, esoteric in design, came from Coruscant and other infected worlds.

They all approached Kuat's orbit and were much closer to the gathered ships that the vessel Darth Apparatus was on. They posed an immediate danger to those that refused to submit to Omni, especially one type of starship that lagged behind in the background. While this ship, dubbed the Tycho, had no turbolasers dotting its hull, hundreds of missile tubes opened up to unleash a flurry of death upon the starships hovering over Kuat.

With the arrival of Omni's forces, just three simple choices were presented to the organics: submit, fight, or flee.

Those that fought or fled would have eventually found both to be challenging, if not daunting, endevors.

 

[Omni]

The ships dropped from hyperspace like a torrent tearing across the ocean. One after another the ships tumbled into realspace quickly filling the Kuat system with infected and corrupted ships. Star Destroyers, Corvettes, cruisers, and even frigates came from hyperspace, each and every one controlled by Omni. Behind them all came eight special ships, each of them arranged like two stars squished together. They moved forward, using the fleet was a shield, their forms shifted forward pressing on towards Kuat. ​

​

As Apparatus ceased his message another scrambled across the transceivers of the ship. The AI voice of Omni rang out across Kuat, every ship that it was quickly able to access, every frequency it was able to hijack rang with a metallic droning.​

​

“Ascendance has come, surrender to it.”​

​

Then the fleet began to open fire. It was like a rush of energy, every ship that was not broadcasting the code supplied by Apparatus was instantly targeted by Omni's ship. Turbolasers, ion cannons, and starfighters began to tear at those ships still holding out against the AI. In the back, behind the wall of ships the eighteen Tycho Droids began to shift.​

​

Their two star like forms shifted, one atop the other. The edge of one of the great spines moved towards the enemy fleet. Hundreds of Missile tubes began to open, massive Cuncussion missiles showing themselves. The AI's advanced targeting locked onto the republic fleet and then in a torrent of chemical propulsion the eighteen Tycho's let loose. A wall of Missiles flew forth each and every single one headed directly for the Hypderdrive of an enemy ship.​

​

This would be their breaking point, this would be where the organics finally lost hope.​

 

[Flint Pherson]

"ECM Cloud ready sir. You'll lose the meeting if we proceed." The Com's man shouted.
"Meeting's over. The guests of honor have arrived. Let's do it. Jam them. Burst for eight seconds. Then turn it off. I want to see those missiles go wild." Flint nodded.

Electronic jamming did wonders for missile and cannon locks. Coupled with how fast a star-ship can move? It was fair game to say that a few of these robot's toys would have trouble not using their computers for targeting. It could make missiles do wonderful things too. Like stop tracking and just fly straight. Troublesome indeed. The ECM was broadcasting like static from every Republic Cruiser and Star Defender vessel. Sadly, it worked both ways. Friendly vessels would notice it too. Thus Flint couldn't keep it up all the time without risking formation and his own Concussion Missiles.

"Flotilla has the orders sir!" The helmsman reappeared from the lift, "The Admiral reports they are already bugging out as fast as they can."
"Then let's give them the time they need to do so." Flint scowled against the observation deck of the bridge. It was time to get to fighting.

"Sir! The Drive Yards and the Defense Space Stations reported contacts just before we jammed everybody. All of Kuat's orbital and skirmish guns have engaged."
"Good. Then the eyes have it. Drop the ECM cloud and let's get back to keeping this orderly. We've got machines to kill."

The Meeting was over the moment the Cloud went up. Now it was time to embrace the Chaos.