Climbing the Ranks [Sith Empire, Bosch Promotion!] COMPLETE

[Gregor Gideon]

Planetary Surface -- Dromund Kaas
Imperial Palace

Gregor Gideon sat in quiet contemplation as he worked. A series of datapads cluttered the finely crafted desk of his luxurious office, to which his attention was completely drawn. Various mission reports, personnel files and performance reports filled nearly every screen. One name in particular was reoccurring with some level of regularity. Aken Bosch. @[member="Aken Bosch"] was a rising star within the Imperial Admiralty. A rising star with quite a few powerful admirers.

Gregor had been tasked by the almighty Sith Emperor @[member="Tyrin Ardik"], to determine a suitable candidate for ascension to the rank and position of Grand Admiral. Aken Bosch was that candidate. So confident was Gregor in this fact, that he had already prepared the proper documentation. The rank was secured, ready to be bestowed. However, there was just one last thing to do.

Size the man up personally.

Which is why the Admiral was slated to be arriving in short order, to this very office, to meet this very Sith Knight. This very inquisitive Sith Knight.

 

[Onrai]

By no means was Aken Bosch anything above your standard run-of-the-mill officer. His dossier was likely similar to that of almost any other Imperial officer: work in the Outer Rim with obsolete Imperial technology, starting as a starfighter pilot before transitioning to a role as an officer, and receiving good recommendations from superior officers. Whatthen made him so uniquely special as a candidate to replace Viera Kisep's Grand Admiralty?

Perhaps it was Metalorn, where Bosch had commanded the Sith space forces and, rather boldly, led the strike on Republic ground forces surrounding the Unreal City prison that had allowed the Imperials inside to escape. That certainly seemed to be the turning point for a good deal of Imperial officers.

Entering the office in full dress uniform, Bosch had no smile on his face. He hadn't had one since his commission in the Imperial Navy. Sitting down across from @[member="Gregor Gideon"], he continued to sit in an "attention" posture, tensed as he prepared for the inevitable interrogation.

"I suppose it's time to begin, then."

 

[Gregor Gideon]

The Sith watched, quietly reserved, while the naval officer approached and took his seat across from Gregor at the ornate desk.

Gregor, for his part, began to wipe away the cluttered desk. Brushing the datapads to one side prior to setting his hands down, fingers interlocked as he clasped his hands together firmly.

"It is. You may be at ease." He was a Sith, but he was not without proper respect, nor was he unprepared to offer the courtesy to an officer whom had, most likely, contributed far more to the Imperial war effort, and overall Imperial ascension, than many of his fellow compatriot Sith officials.

"Would it surprise you to know I was present during the defense of Metalorn?" He offered at first. His eyes became focused, quite intently, on the Admiral.

Gregor wanted to see how the man would describe the events on his own terms, without prodding or directing - conscious or otherwise. How did @[member="Aken Bosch"] see himself? The hero? The villain? Just an officer trying to do the right thing? The answer may or may not be relevant to the proceedings - but it would be entertaining, at the very least.

 

[Onrai]

And as such, Bosch relaxed. Sitting back in the chair, he kept his look up at the Sith Inquisitor. Bosch was an extraordinarily emotionless man, and if he did show happiness or some other emotion, it never appeared at or above the surface of his flesh. He was a man dedicated to his ships, his crews, and his men, and he would do anything if it would ultimately benefit the Empire more.

But that was the issue.

Sometimes to benefit the Empire, you had to do things that would make people in the hierarchy frustrated. He had read about what Pandeima had done with Raxus Prime. The Emperor had been frustrated at her actions, yes, but he relented after realizing that the benefits outweighed the cost. Even now, several new types of starship and starfighter were under production, based off of vessels salvaged from the planet-wide scrapyard. He looked forward to putting them through their paces once they began production.

"Many Imperials were at Metalorn when the Republic invaded. I performed as best as anyone else who was there did. Everyone went above and beyond the call of duty."

And with that, he returned to silence.

 

[Gregor Gideon]

Gregor Gideon nodded along absently while the Imperial Admiral spoke.

He needed not rely on telepathic power of any kind, no mind reading was necessary to determine the truth behind Bosch's statements, nor the fact that he was unflinchingly loyal to both his subordinate crew men and women, as well as to the Empire itself.

The Force was not always necessary. Gregor had something else on his side; information. Knowledge was power on an equal scale as any blaster, lightsaber, or turbolaser - and in this instance, Gregor had datapads full of information, be it useful or not. He had the Admiral's entire service history, all of his performance reviews. Every piece of information that had ever been generated or released by the Empire regarding this officer, had been meticulously read and re-read.

"A fine answer, albeit incomplete. I do not want pleasantries, I do not want false truths to make me feel warm and fuzzy about the state of our military forces." He paused briefly, letting that sink in, before he continued.

"If everyone performed with such courage and dedication, this would not be the topic at hand. We would have a Grand Admiral amongst our ranks yet, would we not? No. Do not discount your own actions, nor our observance of you, Admiral. You performed with a distinction that is seldom discovered. But always rewarded."

The Sith Knight leaned back in his seat, and unclasp his hands. His right hand withdrew from the ornate desk's smooth surface, to a small cabinet underneath. Gregor removed a small, equally ornate cylindrical container.

Opening it revealed the rank insignia of Grand Admiral, which he gave a long stare before finally setting the container down on the desk. His hands folded directly back into their previous position together, as if reflex.

"Tell me. Why do you serve your Empire?" He asked simply.

 

[Onrai]

"It's my duty as an Imperial citizen to do so. Something many citizens of the Empire either shirk or take for granted. I care about the protection of the Empire, thus I chose to join the Imperial Navy. I've served since Moridin's day, through the reigns of Avicus DuSang, Desimus, Voracitos, and now, Tyrin Ardik. The Emperor is meaningless so long as the Empire thrives and prospers."

He looked up, the infamous steely gaze looking over @[member="Gregor Gideon"].

"My loyalty is to the Empire, not to the Emperor himself. I've done enough reading on the Sith to know that the Empire will last long after foolish Sith lords have squabbled amongst themselves for the pinnacle position of power. It's a waste, and only serves to weaken us when ambition trumps the skills of said ruler."

He paused, looking up for a moment and remembering the elder emperors.

"Desimus impressed me with her handling of the Empire and strengthening of our war machine. She was aggressive in pursuing technological advancement, which drastically strengthened our military. Under Voracitos, though, we've stagnated somewhat as a fighting force. I love the Invictus-class Star Destroyer, truly I do, but it has become very obsolete, and without an update, all of them should soon become surplus to requirements."

Deciding to push forward his doctrine of the Imperial navy, Bosch continued. "We've focused too much on the Tarkin doctrine. Our smaller ships are inadequate to deal with larger vessels, our fighters are cheap and mass-produced, and instead of making our warships more tactically flexible in value, we've produced vessels with exploitable flaws that the Republic or other factions are sure to exploit during wartime."

 

[Gregor Gideon]

The Sith Knight actually found himself letting out a rather unceremonious chuckle as he listened to the Admiral's response; mostly upon hearing of the man's expression of loyalty - where it was, or perhaps was not, necessarily placed.

Gregor himself found little fault in the sentiment. He would, most likely, rather agree with it. But to actually speak such a thing out loud was nearly tantamount to blasphemy.

"The Empire is strengthened by a stable ruler. A wise Emperor. You too, would be wise to remember such." Gregor's mind flashed to @[member="Tyrin Ardik"] momentarily. An Emperor who would bring about greater stability. Greater power. An Emperor to be revered and followed anywhere. This, Gregor truly believed.

He quieted down, however, and allowed the Admiral to continue speaking his piece regarding the degradation of Imperial war-machine supremacy. The man was smart, Gregor had to give him credit for that.

And he had ideas. Smart ideas.

"Tell me, what would you consider to take precedence in the.... Shall we say, modernization, of our war-making capabilities?"

Gregor had not anticipated the conversation shifting from approving or denying this man his promotion, into the state of military manufacturing within the Sith Empire.

This pleased him greatly. This was the sound of Imperial progress.

 

[Onrai]

"Aside from the augmentation of our navy with more advanced warships? Our starfighter corps currently suffers from extraordinarily narrow-minded thinking. We have a relatively cheap and underarmed interceptor being forced into the role of multi-role interceptor, a limited production starfighter known as the Dominus that very rarely is used en masse, and the Galaxy bomber, a ship which, with no offense intended, is very clearly a strike bomber, nothing more."

He paused, letting the reality of that sink in.

"If I am selected to be Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy, I will implement a project, the Imperial Starfighter Initiative. Our starfighter variety will greatly increase, with six primary starfighter types: an interceptor, a space superiority fighter, an assault fighter , a strike bomber, and of course a medium and a heavy bomber. There will be other secondary designs included in the ISI, of course, such as a stealth fighter and a Sith-only fighter, but those six will be our primary focus. Live fire exercises will help us determine which fighters and bombers will be suited to what positions."

She smiled, getting some more work done in regards to pushing forward his own agenda.

"We need more variety in our fighter types, if only to keep our enemies off-guard when war inevitably breaks out."

@[member="Gregor Gideon"]

 

[Gregor Gideon]

Gregor momentarily recalled a couple of occasions to which he was tasked with piloting various starfighter-scale craft. An Acturus gunboat, for starters.

He was inclined to agree with the Admiral in regards to the shaping up of future designs. A forward thinking commander was an occasional rarity in the galaxy.

"A surprised enemy is a dead enemy, yes. Keeping our enemies off guard..." He trailed off just briefly, and began to nod affirmatively as if confirming something that only he knew had been questioned.

The Sith Knight sat straight in his seat, and unfolded his hands once more. This time, he took his right hand and slowly slid the cylindrical container containing the rank insignia across the desk, closer to @[member="Aken Bosch"].

"Begin drafting your proposal for the Imperial Starfighter Initiative, Grand Admiral. I have no doubt you will be thorough. You must be, for the eyes of your Emperor will be upon you. Failure will discredit the both of us, and where would that leave our beloved Empire?"

 

[Onrai]

As Gregor finished, Bosch eyed the Grand Admiral rank insignia placed on the desk and slowly picked it up, removing his former rank and replacing it with his promoted patches and code cylinders.

"Understood. The proposal will be available for your access before week's end."

Saluting, it was with that that he left @[member="Gregor Gideon"] to his own devices. He had a navy to run.

 

[Gregor Gideon]

The Sith Inquisitorius returned the salute in a true display of respect to the newly appointed Grand Admiral of the all Imperial fleets, @[member="Aken Bosch"], before turning his attention back to the datapads which had been whisked off to the side of his desk. He collected them each, one at a time, while he focused his mind on another location; another servant to the Dark Side of the Force, and the highest living conduit between the itself, and the physical realm of the galaxy.

Gregor Gideon focused on the presence of his mighty Emperor, @[member="Tyrin Ardik"], and through the intricate display of telepathic power, sent a message.

--Unknown Location on Dromund Kaas--
My Lord, it is done. The traitor has been replaced by one whom I dare say I trust to place the care of your great navies.

And with that, he began to plan for his next task, of which there were many.