A Star is Born

[Anya Venari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Genre savvy as she might be, Siobhan hadn’t quite worked out how her writers worked yet. Even at this very moment a vast warfleet was in hyperspace ready to begin a terrible campaign of vengeance! Unfortunately for them their antique hyperdrives would mean that it would be several weeks before they arrived…but that is the story for another thread.

“It doesn’t look good for public relations if I let you start telling people to ‘submit or die’. People tend to get…disgruntled,” Tegaea commented.

“I can’t think why! Everyone’s a warmonger these days! Especially the Levantines. Why, I heard they took over unoccupied planets…tyranny!” Anya mocked.

She coughed. “Ah, anyway, we’d better go in before they send Angelii to make sure you hadn’t kidnapped me as part of a plot to gain control of this planet.”

They headed inside, and indeed there were two Angelii waiting along with a servant.
“Majesty…the Princess. It is time to feed her,” she said, looking at the floor.

“Come by tomorrow, Lady Alcori, Lady Kerrigan, and we’ll tour the new defences,” Anya said in her best regal tone, before turning and leaving for family matters.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anya Venari"]


"And, like, a few months ago they did a dominion all about inviting war profiteering companies to come to a planet and put shiny guns on it. Why, it's terrible! And a few days ago they hosted a conference about trying to get people to fight Sith, although everyone knows that Dark Is Not Evil and the Dark Lord is just an Anti-Villain."


It was a little-known fact that Siobhan was quite fond of holo tropes, having recently discovered the site through hoogle, everyone's favourite search machine!


In any case she followed Queenie and Tegaea back into the room, resisting the urge to give her wife a swat on the butt for her comment. Admittedly it was true, but still! This one is uncertain about when this thread takes place timelinewise in relation to the one where Sio and Eyrecae subjugate natives on Tabiqui. Which may or may not end up with both getting a cult.


"It will be a pleasure for us, Your Majesty. We bid you and the Princess a good day," Siobhan spoke in her most formal tone, though she would probably never manage to sound like a well-bred lady even though she loved dressing like one these days, and gave Anya a short bow, then she and wifey departed.


Siobhan was obviously a bit slower, still leaning strongly on her cane, though she would probably decline any help. "Little Any's all grown up so fast. I'm really proud of her," she said softly once they were out of earshot of the Angelii. They would probably view it as a sacrilege to refer to Ashira's emissary in such a manner. Of course, the irony was that 'little Any' was probably older than both of them!

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Tegaea voiced this fact as they walked away. “Yeah, she’s come so far. Though you know she’s actually older than both of us combined!”
That was space elves for you. Young Ariane wouldn’t be an adult until Tegaea and Siobhan were retired and possibly in a nursing home!

Tegaea made sure she walked slowly so Siobhan wouldn’t have to try and hurry with her injuries. As they took the tram back home Tegaea looked up at Emerald which loomed in the distance quite near and above their villa.
“Once those Tempest cannons are in Santaissa will finally be secure. Of course, there’s the rest of the planet to worry about, of course.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


That was a very true fact, though one Siobhan did not like thinking about. After all, she was very vain! Being reminded of the fact that she too was mortal was not to her liking. Well, Shadow had just vividly showed her that by almost killed her. Speaking of him, she really had to go kill him at last.


Of course, before this could happen she would have to pick up a certain Scotchman first! Well, she did not know that yet, but her writer did!


Though she was too proud to ask for it or indeed any help, Siobhan appreciated Tegaea waiting for her. As the tram sped through the city they had a good view of Emerald. Somehow its close presence to their villa made Siobhan feel things were a bit safer. Perhaps almost dying had in a way been good because it brought home the fact that she was not invincible.


"Yes, it should be a solid defence for the city, and the troops stationed at the bases are a good crew. We'll have to reach out and put the rest of the planet under the umbrella as well though. Intensify training with the militia, get more refined command and control set up. The Hydra-class tanks make good mobile anti-air emplacements. Even if it means enduring endless negotiations with elf aristos yammering about human meddling," she said.


"After Coruscant I'm not in the mood to put much stock in the Protectorate's help. I know HK would come to help, but," she trailed off, not wanting to sour the mood. Her thoughts on the Protectorate's leadership were well-known and she had resolved to rant less. She trusted HK, but he apparently intended to step down as Exarch of Abregado-Rae. Not a choice she agreed with, especially in wartime, but not hers to make, and understandable in a way.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Now this thread had been officially promoted to dev thread status, it is beholden upon the writers not to get dragged off onto (too many) tangents!

"I think eventually we'll need several more of these bases scattered over the planet, and larger ones with several Tempest cannons...but baby steps."

They arrived back at the villa and retired for completely kid friendly activities like...prayer sessions to the Goddess Ardarvia...and literary discussions.

Regardless, the next morning the two were taken by private transport to the landing pad near Ruby base to meet with the Queen for her tour of inspection.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]


"Agreed. Due to our agreement with ArRGH we'll get access to some of the new tech they've been making. Their shatter rotary cannons and shatterboltguns will prove very yourself for strengthening the fortifications. It would also help if the Eldorai had a spaceport beyond the one in Santaissa."


And so our lovebirds went back home and retired for the rest of the day. Both Siobhan and Tegaea were devotees of the Goddess Ardarvia, a deity who strongly appealed to them, and so they had a shrine in their home. Likewise both were very strong on literacy and vivid poetry, so time was spent enjoying that.


Then on the next day actual work dawned. A private transport picked them up and soon they were swooping down upon what would soon be officially opened as Ruby, located in the mountains above Santaissa and guarded by some of the Eldorai's best troops.

 

[Anya Venari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Anya, in regal regalia, was waiting with her soldiers and courtiers on one of the landing platforms. The Princess was not visible, which was understandable. She was likely being cared for in one of the transports.
Beside the Queen was a new figure, an Angelii in black painted armour, carrying one of the new cortosis shields and a Sarix at her side.

“Lady Kerrigan, Lady Alcori, so pleased you could join us. I would like you to meet Aeda Shaytari, my new bodyguard, though we’ve known each other for many years.”
The guard nodded her helmeted head in greeting, but said nothing.
“Please, join us, and we’ll begin the inspection.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anya Venari"]


Siobhan was pleased to see the Seraph cortosis shields see good use. She had made them, after all! Well, actually she had not since she was neither a researcher nor a designer of weapons. But she been in charge of the Firemane portion of the cortosis mining operation and proposed the design, so it sort of counted from her perspective.



Eyes travelled over Aeda Shaytari, though the guardswoman remained stoic. Siobhan recalled hearing the name, way back after Silaqui had become Queen and Anya returned from exile, but she could not place it. "Thank you, Your Majesty. A pleasure to meet you, Grand Seraph," she said formally. The Grand Seraph was the head of all Angelii and thus functionally the equivalent of a Grand Master. "Please lead the way."

 

[Anya Venari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Aeda merely nodded, not bothering to reply. Instead she fell in behind the party, always alert for danger.

As they walked from the landing field they soon came upon the main entrance to Ruby. This landing area was outside the base itself and so any hostile forces trying to land would be under heavy fire if they tried.
Javelin and Ballista weapon emplacements covered every approach, and any frontal assault would be cut to pieces in seconds.

Two Ballista and four Javelin emplacements were assembled, and the garrison of the base was busily at work, showing their Queen just how efficient and useful they were being. There was a lot of saluting and extravagant gestures.
Above them was the unfinished mount of the Tempest cannon and the shield projector. Before them was the solid gateway, now open, which led inside the fortress. Any attempt to reach the gate was along a recessed overhang where soldiers could fire from above and to the sides from in cover without exposing themselves. Any assault would face considerable resistance.

“Impressive,” Anya murmured, walking along with Siobhan and Tegaea to either side.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anya Venari"]


Needless to say Siobhan liked the saluting and extravagant gestures as she limped along, trying to keep up with the illustrious group and appear as if her injuries did not bother her, though that was far from the case. Even though naturally she was not the centre of attention, that was obviously the Queen and the Grand Seraph.


No, Siobhan was not extremely pompous at all!


In any case she actually paid attention to the defences of the base. The Javelin and Ballista gun emplacements were formidable defences. Between the two of them they could take on gunships, fighters, light vehicles, even tanks and bombers, being designed to compliment one another by focusing on light and heavy defences. The Tempest cannon would be able to fire once a minute and require a brief opening of the shield, though things would be timed so that every cannon fired twenty seconds apart, keeping up something close to a constant barrage of fire. One weakness that stood out was the lack of starfighter hangars or capacity, though a handful of fighters could land in the open.


Of course, the Eldorai had a nascent navy that would do its best from deterring an attacker even getting to the planet, but in this day and age somehow forced seemed able to wholly bypass planetary defences and quantum tunnel directly into a capital. Perhaps it involved the forgotten art of teleportation. Well, if Sith and the like came to Kaeshana Siobhan intended to make them bleed.


Her eyes swept over the Eldorai troops that stood on guard. They were what had been called new model army soldiers; Eldorai warriors trained in the use of modern weapons and tactics. Many elves still resented the idea of taking advice from foreigners and using their 'primitive weapons', but there were enough who realised that the best way to beat the monkeighs was to turn their own methods against them. Thus many were armed with bolters and blaster rifles, Siobhan passed a gun emplacement where a Eldorai soldier clad in duraplast, the symbols of her people emblazoned upon the class seven armour, was manning a shattergun rotary cannon.

 

[Anya Venari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
The human chief engineer led them inside and did a tour of the facility for the visitors.
“If the enemy gets through the main entrance there’s a second gate here, just as strong, with two small turrets here to hold up any advance. Now we move inside the base, and you’ll see the quad-tubolifts which go to each of the six levels of the base. The Tempest cannon and shield projector is on the top floor, along with the sensors and transmitters. The level below that contains the command centre and officers’ quarters. This level contains the main area, where the other weapons are controlled from and the tunnels leading to the surface. The level below here contains the garrison and crew quarters. Below that is the storage and supply areas, and finally at the bottom is the reactor which powers the fortress.”

“These fortresses cost and absolute fortune,” Anya confided to Tegaea and Siobhan. “But I’ve been assured that they’re in line with the strongest facilities in the galaxy.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anya Venari"]


"Very well-thought out. They'll be a formidable defence once they're completed," Siobhan responded as her eyes swept across the base whiile the chief engineer led them across the facility.


"Once they're completed we could maybe look into constructing a hangar and starfighter base in the mountains, since that's one of the things these bases won't have. We should also have the means to upgrade your fighters and interceptors."

 

[Anya Venari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
“That’s definitely something to consider,” Anya agreed. “We may have to wait a little while…until we have some more money,” she added with a wry smile. Keeping up with the Space Nazis wasn’t cheap for a single planet, after all!

“The final step is to mount the Tempest cannon. As per spec, we have been advised that the shield, when combined with the other two, can resist almost any bombardment, at least for a limited time,” the Engineer continued.

They were taken down to see the massive and imposing reactor, protected by its own shield generator and several metres of rock and durasteel.
“Anything short of a superlaser will be unable to penetrate the rock down to here, so this is probably the safest place on Kaeshana!” the Engineer added.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anya Venari"]


Next project: Build a bunker deep in the mountains with a Tempest cannon for Tegs, Siobhan thought to herself. Well, she wanted wifey to be safe in case space orks, quantum tunneling Space Nazis or the Lost Rakata attacked!


"Good thing that any super laser is bound to be attached to a superweapon that has a conveniently exploited weakness because the design team had to cut corners to keep costs down," she quipped, then perhaps realised how inappropriate her joke was. "Err, yes, good work on it."

 

[Anya Venari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Several of the entourage were looking at Siobhan, but Anya laughed. “Well let’s just hope the back door of this base is locked, shall we?” she said.
The others in the group laughed. Some clearly just because the Queen had. No one could get a laugh like someone who could theoretically have you impaled on a spike over the palace entrance!

The Engineer looked a bit miffed, but had probably been paid enough to ignore random jabs. “Indeed. Finally, we have three months of supplies stockpiled in case of a siege.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anya Venari"]


Impaling people on spikes had a certain aesthetic quality, though unfortunately these days it seemed that every good tyrant had to pretend to be a villain with good publicity and a misunderstood anti-hero who just wanted to bring peace and order or some nonsense like that.


That said, this writer can see Siobhan, if ever in a position of power, ordering people who offended her to be impaled and such. Anyhow with this the tour was wrapped up. "Good work. Ashira's Crown is clearly living up to its name and should be a powerful defences. Thanks for the tour, Your Majesty."

 

[Anya Venari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
As they walked outside they could see the other Javelin and Ballista emplacements facing in all directions. Even if the shield went down, this fortress would be a hard nut to crack.

“Not bad for my hat, is it?” Anya said, unexpectedly revealing she knew the derogatory term. “Thank you for coming, Siobhan, Tegaea. My daughter needs me for now, but please come to the palace tomorrow if you’d like. I have some business decisions which need to be made, and I’d just like to see you anyway.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anya Venari"]


You're such a troll, Siobhan thought to herself. Doubtless Any would pass that on to her daughter! Well, it was better than her being cryptic. Speaking of which, this group really needs a cryptic space elf.


"Aww, you're so sweet to your favourite human monkeighs. Gracing us with the honour of visiting your illustrious self, Siobhan quipped. "We'll gladly come. Best wishes for your daughter and again congrats," she gave Queenie a loose hug, though the motion sent some pain shooting through her back and made her grimace ever so slightly.

 

[Anya Venari]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Again the disapproving looks of her group, but Anya ignored them and hugged Tegaea as well

As they left the Queen to it, Tegaea took one look back at Ruby. "Well, I know where I'm hiding when the Sith attacks!"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Anya Venari"]


Siobhan wanted to say that she would not let it come to that. But...she was not invincible. Being spaced and almost dying had been a sobering reminder. "Makes me feel better that there's a safe place for you. Hmm. I wonder whether there's a literacy module. Education is important!"