Faction Cpt. Azumi's Arrival [NIO] Prefsbelt Sector Space

[Vitani Azumi]

An Imperial Shuttle dropped out of hyperspace, escorted by a pair of TIE interceptors.
Inside, alone, Captain Vitani Azumi waited in the shuttle’s midsection. A protocol droid shuffled in with a platter upon a tray.

“Can I be of--” the droid hit the ground and sent the food along with it.

There was a brief flash of red from a firefight outside, which seemed to be over as soon as it began. The shuttle had lunged away in evasive maneuvers. Vitani felt ill. She dug her nails into the side of her seat. She swore at the droid as if it was entirely his fault, he quickly apologised.

Vitani was already disappointed. She sat with an empty stomach, re-reading a briefing on her datapad for the fifth time during her transfer. Now, she could see the Inceptus-class corvette rapidly approaching.

​

She overheard the pilot confirming their arrival and felt the change in pressure as the shuttle slipped into the hangar bay. The Captain was shaking, she could hear intermittent laser fire from the void outside.

By all accounts she should have been excited. This was the action she had been waiting for, the sort of thing she dreamed of while filing electronic paperwork back on Mygeeto. She thought about Mygeeto again. All the names and faces, dead or missing or somewhere screaming. She thought about Mygeeto over and over again.

The shuttle doors opened and the Captain tried to compose herself. She walked into the hangar bay, avoiding eye contact with the droids that moved in behind her to retrieve her luggage.

 

[FN-999]

Today was supposed to be an off day for FN-999.
​

Consequently, when he was called to guide a new officer through the vessel he was stationed on, he was understandably reluctant to leave his quarters. However, the trooper's loyalty to the Order ultimately got the best of him, and so he had departed from his company for the day after they had all finished their breakfasts. He had originally planned to clean out his quarters and meet with the company for an ice-breaking activity. The 19th was still a very new company, and it had lost fifteen men in its first engagement. Even if most of them had lost their lives to giant fireballs or giant cracks in the earth, surely the confidence of the company had dropped. He had tried explaining such to his superiors when they gave him his new assignment, but they argued that he could have more time with his company tomorrow. Brought to an impasse, FN-999 reluctantly equipped his full stormtrooper suit and left his quarters.

A short walk brought him to one of the vessel's numerous hangars, where vessels of various shapes and sizes were entering and exiting to partake in the nearby skirmish. A pair of troopers saluted as they walked by, and the captain returned the gesture. FN-999 had planned to arrive about a minute early, and took his remaining time to holster his pistol, clean his pauldron, and stand at attention.

Then, the shuttle arrived.

Following it were two starfighters of the TIE line, which landed flanking the shuttle. The shuttle's landing bridge began to lower, revealing a humanoid woman who FN-999 recognized as Vitani Azumi , the individual who he had been assigned to escort. She held a datapad in one hand and some luggage in another, which was rapidly taken by onboard utility droids. She wore a plain officer's uniform with her rank insignia suggesting that she was a Captain in the Imperial Army, on equal footing with the trooper.

Perhaps she's here to be the cruiser's new HOS. thought FN-999.

The stormtrooper captain took a step towards the army captain and introduced himself.

"Welcome aboard, Captain Azumi." recited FN-999. "I am Stormtrooper Captain FN-999, callsign Nines. I'll be your escort and guide through this Inceptus-class vessel."

 

[Vitani Azumi]

Cpt. Azumi nodded to greet the Stormtrooper Captain.

"FN-999," she stated in acknowledgement,

The Mirialan kept her eyeline fixed to his, trying to assess him somehow despite his armor. Perhaps it was an intimidation tactic, Azumi had a peculiar personality. She noted the clean pauldron and was reasonably impressed, this one had cleaned up. She was used to troopers being filthy, Vitani never understood why white was the colour of choice for so many generations of Imperial rule.

"Nines," she said, "Corellian, yes? A stellar example of loyalty to this new Order."

The utility droids followed sluggishly behind, Azumi had a lot luggage.

"I have reviewed the schematics of this vessel tenfold. This is quite the change of pace, isn't it?"

 

[FN-999]

IMPETUS-CLASS ASSAULT SHIP - HANGAR BAY 2
TAGS: Vitani Azumi

"Yes, indeed." replied FN-999, careful to keep his voice even.
​

How did she figure out? thought the stormtrooper urgently, referencing his home planet of Corellia. Surely she'd need at least O-"

Then, FN-999 remembered. As a captain, she had an identical clearance level to himself. Consequently, it would make sense that she could be able to access his personal files. Still, he was a bit unsettled by how openly she had stated his personal details. While his memories of his early childhood had been obscured during his original training as a First Order stormtrooper in his teens, he remembered a strong sense of injustice. It had been the injustice he had experienced on Corellia that had caught the eye of the First Order recruiters when they found him on the street, and it was an injustice that paradoxically fueled his will to fight but also urged him to seek peace. Yet it was a harrowing experience that he preferred not to discuss, even among his closest company officers.

"Come with me." continued FN-999.

​

As the pair walked, the stormtrooper made a quick, subtle glances towards the woman. The humanoid seemed to be about the trooper's age, with a slim body and refined posture that reminded him of an ISB officer. Her brown hair was curly and about shoulder-length, but it was her glaring eyes that caught his attention the most. FN-999 suspected that the woman's eyes in themselves were a weapon, their glance enough to intimidate a lesser trooper into submission.

"This is one of multiple hangar bays on this vessel." stated FN-999, gesturing to the surrounding space. "From a security perspective, they are some of the most important checkpoints on this cruiser."

 

[Vitani Azumi]

Research always paid off, Azumi reminded herself. When she was made Captain back on Mygeeto, she had a little too much fun reviewing the personnel files of the men and women beneath her. Much of the time, their records were in stark contrast to her own. These were soldiers who had seen blood and death and all that came between. Azumi had not, until Mygeeto.

While the seige went on below, Cpt. Azumi walked alongside her escort. She wasn't paying much attention to him at all, instead her mind wandered. she thought about the reclaimation efforts on the planets surface. She had managed to arrive with the luxury of not being deployed down there herself just yet. She wasn't ready to admit it to herself, but she was grateful to not have to fight. Azumi had barely recovered from her ordeal with the Sith Empire previously. The concept of facing them again, this soon, was terrifying.

"New Avalonia," Azumi remarked, "perhaps our chance to restore the Imperial Academy, another step towards progress."

She looked to Nines again, "you might be leading young those Avalonian cadets some day. At last, a cultural jewel returned to it's rightful owners."

"You are a quiet one," she said.

 

[FN-999]

IMPETUS-CLASS ASSAULT SHIP - MAIN HALLWAY
TAGS: Vitani Azumi

"My only duty is to guide you, Captain Azumi." replied the stormtrooper curtly. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to chat later."
​

He continued deeper into the warship, leaving the hangar bay behind as he entered a hallway extending through most of the vessel's length.

"This is the main hallway." continued FN-999. "It runs through most of the vessel, and it is connected to most commonly visited and vital areas such as mess halls, command quarters, and engine rooms."

The two captains continued uninterrupted, the halls empty except for an occasional trooper or commissioned officer whose duties were needed elsewhere on the vessel. As they continued, a stormtrooper with a lieutenant's pauldron and the 9 painted on his other shoulder plate that defined a member of the 19th Assault Company ran up behind them and announced himself.

"Nines!" called the lieutenant. "Sorry to interrupt, but the company finished eating a few minutes ago and is awaiting further orders!"

"What I said before remains valid." replied FN-999. "You and the other lieutenants should gather the company together and engage in ice breaker exercises, I should be back before you finish."

"Understood, I'll let the others know." concluded the lieutenant before jogging back behind the captains.

"Anyways..." continued FN-999. "...your quarters should be on the left with those of other Army officers, not too far up ahead."

​