Doing The Right Thing

[Krayzen Dratos]

Krayzen Dratos, an up and coming One Sith designer needed to meet someone to discuss something important, and that was why he had gone to [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"] to discuss about something important. The man was Krayzen's superior, a Sith Knight, and a Dark Councilor, meaning he had the funds to support what Krayzen wanted.

As the man stood in his ship, a Dark-Blade Dreadnought. The Liutenant General of the One Sith Army had contacted his superior, and they were supposed to meet soon. "Sir, your shuttle is ready."

"Excellent commander. Notify Major Konrad of my arrival." Krayzen ordered, as he prepared to leave the ship in his shuttle.

 

[cheshire_kitty]

“High General, Lieutenant General [member="Krayzen Dratos"] will be arriving soon,” one of Konrad’s subordinates had informed him as he sat at an antique wooden desk at his office completing paperwork.

“Have the Lieutenant General sent in here immediately upon his arrival,” the Sith Knight commanded the solider not bothering to look up from his paperwork.

“Yes sir,” was the soldier’s reply and with a salute he took his leave to wait for the Lieutenant. From the distance, the soldier could see what appeared to be a shuttle approaching the One Sith army fort where the High General awaited the arrival of his fellow Sith Knight and subordinate in the One Sith army.

Since taking his annual day or leave, something had changed about the High General that was hard for his subordinates not to notice. Instead of working in the forefront of the One Sith army, the man had chosen to work behind the scenes instead which was odd for the High General but as a subordinate, it was not his place to ask his superior a personal question such as this.

As the shuttle got near and near, the soldier prepared to greet the Lieutenant General when his disembarked.

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

Funding, approval, metrics, and 'reasonable concern' All the mire of bureaucracy. And here Cyrus had thought the Sith were above the sort of petty damning necessities of empire, but as it turned out you couldn't just bully you way into creating the most advanced battlecruiser in the galaxy from scratch. So here he was, meeting with a Sith Knight who had shown a remarkable amount of interest in the Navy (and an almost unprecedented level of competence, for a Sith, when it came to battle management and fleet tactics) and a High General (also a Sith, but word from acquaintances on the dirt-licking service was that he didn't live and breathe the force) who happened to control most of procurement and supply.

It was going to be an interesting pitch, given that Cyrus' last attempt to get a battlecruiser made had gotten totally mired down in the aforementioned swamp of regulation and controls. Perhaps lightsabers could cut through red tape as effectively as they did basically anything else.

He did have several complete projects to throw in to the pile. The Bastion Combat System was field tested and proven, and the various weapon systems made by R&D had all been employed, if not on an active combat vessel, in enough active simulations and field tests that they were all ready for regular deployment. The lessons learned from the failure of the 'Warhammer' prototype, well...

You didn't win a war in a day. Here's to the second offensive.

[member="Krayzen Dratos"] [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

Travelling with Cygrus Tregessar, a man that was one of the best admirals in the galaxy made the Anzat nervous. For the first time in forever, he was traveling with someone that had more influence than him, and the most senior Admiral in the One Sith Navy. The Anzat had wondered why Isamu had not promoted Cyrus to Grand Admiral. The Admiral deserved it, having proven his loyalty by eliminating the remnants of those that had rebelled against the Dark Lord of of the Sith.

"It is an honor to meet the famous [member="Cyrus Tregessar"]" Krayzen stated, bowing toward the man. The two would then be transported in the Anzati's own personal shuttle, Krayzen wondernig how the Admiral had been. It was rare for two men of two different branches to work together; then again, one could argue that with Krayzen's efforts, the Anzati was gave both equal time to the navy, and to the army. Even then, Krayzen was still primarily a General of the Army, but he could fleet if it was required of him to fleet.

Soon, the shuttle entered the gravity well of the planet, and they both descended toward a downward vector. They then reached the hangar, and the exit hatch opened.

"Shall we begin?"

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

Captain Malos Kas, a former Admiral of the Pantoran Navy, and member of the Republican Navy was also in the shuttle. He had helped Dratos in some designs, including the innovative Dolos Class Frigate that was the Sith's own EWAR frigate. Malos Kas stood next to General Konrad, being well aware of what was going on. The -hopefully- future Admiral of the One Sith was a proponent of Cyrus and Krayzen had done.

When they had arrived, Malos flanked Cyrus to the right, wanting to face the General. He nodded to Cyrus, his superior and a man he admired. Images of the ship fully being in production for the One Sith flooded his mind, the former Admiral wanting to get his own when he reached the rank; nevertheless, he Ephicanthix/Pantoran Hybrid knew that he had to pay his dues, and he would do that.

"Welcome both of you." he stated, as he waited for Konrad to speak.

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

As far as Cyrus could tell, [member="Krayzen Dratos"] was rather unusual when it came to Sith. Though a force user in an government that catered to their every whim, he appeared to actually respect the trappings of Empire and acknowledge their necessity, even going so far as to reject the traditional privilege granted to Sith with regards to control of 'secular' forces and actually bother to rise through the ranks in a manner that, if not quite in keeping with regulation at least gave a nod towards the authority of those who held the position. Admiral Veston, who had worked closely with him in the past, spoke highly of his competence and regard for his troops.

Sure maybe he'd choked an incompetent rear admiral death once or twice, but who hadn't? Cyrus certainly couldn't say he wasn't guilty of, say, bashing the head of an insubordinate rival into so much red paste because of a perceived insult. You didn't have to be a Sith to not tolerate the worthless drivel that often seeded higher ranks of any institution.

That sort of thing wasn't a problem in the Sith Navy these days, not since Cyrus and the late Admiral Boan Rein had purged the old regime under the nose of the Sith and then presented their severed heads as a trophy. Better to demand forgiveness than ask permission, they always said.

In the end it all meant that Cyrus was willing to give the young Sith the benefit of the doubt when it came to his ideas and plans, whereas normally he treated them as little better than fire and forget weapons, useful to point in one direction and say 'kill' and little else.

The other figure present was an up and coming Pantoran captain who had a lengthy service record, albeit one dominated by service to other factions. Cyrus had reviewed his file at one point, and the main thing that stood out was his service to the Republic. A red flag, perhaps, but there were plenty of prior-Republic officers serving with distinction in the Navy. Still, he deserved to be watched closely.

Combined with High General [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"], this was the assemblage that would create a ship that would make the galaxy shudder in terror.

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

The Anzati knew this was possibly the biggest design the One Sith had ever undertaken. He had seen the One Sith been plagued by problems, especially in its navy. Every ttime a game-changing design had been put on the table, the designer had been given false promises of it being produced soon, only to find that it was not going to be produced. Fortunately for them, Krayzen had worked to remove those problems, and under the leadership of [member="Isamu Baelor"], the navy was going to take up the place it once had, as the best navy the galaxy had ever seen.

Truthfully speaking, if the Anzati had been Cyrus, he would have defected due to him having to wait that long. The Anzat would have to thank the Admiral one of this days for staying with the One Sith Navy, despite its ineffectiveness. Krayzen would also make sure that this ship could only be used by the One Sith Navy, and not its Lords. Numerous times, Sith had taken the helm of leading a fleet, and they had lost. The Battle of Dromuund Kaas where an incompetent Lord had lead the naval force there, and had a much more bigger fleet, but had lost to an actual naval commander-Captain Rygel Larraq had exemplified perfectly the fact that such important materials needed to be put to men that knew the know hows of fleeting. Despite being a massive influence in the design, Krayzen would also show an example by not using the battlecruiser; that however would take place if his request was allowed.

I wonder what they will think when they see this the Anzat thought. The galaxy would soon realize the might of the One Sith Navy

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

The Pantoran Cyborg smirked, his cybernetic implants in his brain moving quickly to see what weaknesses the design had other than the conventional for a ship its size. He so some weaknesses, and he would recommend it to [member="Cyrus Tregessar"] when the time came. Under the "Iron War" Project, Malos had been able to help with some designs. What was most important for the design to be passed through.

Memories of his time in the Pantoran Navy came to mind. The Admiral remembered executing a Merg Sabl on a hostile force, to using an arrowhead formation to maximize the firepower of his fleet, as well as using a combination of snubfighters, and space superiorty fighters to overwhelm the enemy. It was true, he had a lengthy service record. Learning a combination of tactics from the Republic, the Pantoran Navy, and the One Sith made him know the naval doctrines of their navies by heart, increasing his effectiveness as a naval commander.

Malos then smirked, wondering to himself what would happen if he had stayed in the Republic Navy. It was there that his thrill of combat was held in distain by his former combat. Here in the One Sith however, making sure you completely bound an enemy ship's hull with turbolasers in order to completely eliminate them wasn't frown upon-something that he liked extremely. As he waited to give the go ahead, Malos prepared himself, ready to give his input if it was required.

[member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Konrad knew of [member="Krayzen Dratos"] who was a fellow member of the One Sith army and had briefly been his apprentice at one point in time although he did not have the time to train the man. [member="Cyrus"] Tregresser on the other hand was the Fleet Amiral of the One Sith's navy - someone who had heard a bit about here and there among the chatter. The Sith Knight stood up and gave each of the two and [member="Malos Kas"] - someone he had not much about a nod when they entered his office.

"Please sit," Konrad gestured at the chairs in front of his heavy wooden table. "Let us skip the plesantries and talk about the reason why you three have came for as time is of the essence. I am obviously no expert in ships as my battles are fought on the ground however, as the Dark Councillor of Science, I do have the authority to help should you need funding or anything else I can offer. I would like to begin about hearing about the technological specifications of the ship that has been planned and how, it would be of benefit to thr One Sith."

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

"In terms of shielding, the ship is highly efficient at that, featuring redundant shielding that is commonly used by other ships of its size, including the Mandalorian's Alor-Class BattleCruiser. It also features other designs, including a comm suite, a sensor suite that features things such as a Dedicated Energy Receptor, etc.

The ship also features the latest in One Sith Naval Technology-designs that were made by Admiral [member="Cyrus Tregessar"], and Krayzen, such as the Baelor Class Hyperdrive System, and hypervelocity canons." Malos stated. There were some disagreements that he had about the design, but the Pantoran would voice them later. He never liked getting into an argument, especially with an Admiral, but this was the first ship of its time in the One Sith, and Malos wanted to make sure it was fully analyzed to the last piece of hull(metaphorically speaking).

When the Ephicanthix/Pantoran Hybird had finished speaking, he waited for the Admiral to speak, and wondered if Krayzen would do so as well.

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

At this point the design was based as much on the technical know-how of the Anzat Sith as it was Cyrus' naval experience, but it seemed the assembled crowd meant to defer to him. Fine, he had an old spacers tale to tell anyway.

"There was an old design, one I had drafted up years ago. Things were different then, especially in the Navy. I had some high placed rivals, most of whom are now corpses moldering a grave, and they conspired to stage a raid on the prototype vessel. It failed, but the after action reports were doctored and the funding was pulled. Then there was the debacle with Titan Industries, and riding the high wave of success against the Republic there was no perceived need to shell out the exorbitant amount of money needed to fund a battlecruiser."

Cyrus paused, trying to see what impact his words had. He continued without waiting.

"But times have changed. The Immortals, proven less than that twice by the same commander, are no longer the preeminent offensive vessel in the galaxy. And neglected, the Navy has fallen behind. Sure, we cut out the cancer eating us from within, but now we're stagnant, caught in our old ways which worked well enough to get by and everyone forgets the losses we took to get there. Meanwhile the Republic continues to advance and reform, they've got top secret R&D projects drafting up super star destroyers. The Mandalorians have a whole class of dreadnoughts that can absorb a direct hit from a Proton Beam Cannon and keep coming."

He paused again, this time to take a breath and coax the frustration he was feeling back into simply a floating emotion. Anger was useful, especially when dealing with Sith, but for a technical meeting? Not for the first time did Cyrus think to acknowledge the due diligence his father had forced all those lessons in etiquette and manners.

"The current draft builds upon the old design but also incorporates a great deal of new technology and innovation, most of it courtesy of Lord Dratos. It is an aggressive, offensively minded ship, the Sith and the Empire of old never gained anything by lumbering defensive hulks. We must attack, with overwhelming force. An enemy that reacts should do so from a position of shock and disadvantage, or else not be able to react at all. In ancient times a battlecruiser was a vessel with the size and armament of a large line of battle ship, but with less armor and better propulsion so as to enable it to act as a flanking or counter-flanking vessel. The core concept is the same here, as are the sacrifices that have been made to get it operational."

He stepped forward and unceremoniously tossed a data tablet on the table. A holo-image sprouted form the screen, and and the complete technical readout for the proposed ship was suddenly floating above them all, down to the most meticulous detail.

"There you have it, the sum of every lesson I've learned thus far in the Sith Navy, though I'd venture there's room for improvement yet."


[member="Malos Kas"] | [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"] | [member="Krayzen Dratos"]

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

When the Fleet Admiral of the One Sith talked about the Immortals, the Anzati had always wanted to fight one. He had thought of a few ways of destroying one, notably wanting to use some of the Immortal's greatest strengths against it, but for all he knew, his main strategy for destroying the Immortals had been untested. He would love to try it in a simulation though, maybe against someone as competent in naval combat as the Admiral.

"Firstly speaking, I would like to apologize to the Admiral for having to wait that long. Ever since I joined the One Sith Order, I was well aware of your service to the One Sith, and despite the bureaucratic troubles, you have still chosen to stay with us. Thank you for that, Admiral Tregessar." Krayzen stated.

"In terms of the design, I have been studying it with my team for days. I completely agree. The One Sith Navy is in need of a total redesign. While my project, and the Admiral's own designs have been able to supplement the ship, we must work on continue working on creating ships that will rival the Galactic Republic's emerging navy; that is something that I will continue be working on my Lords."

He then looked at the Admiral, and then looked at Malos, and [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]. Krayzen himself had some critics of the impressive design, and he wanted to present it to the Admiral.

"Some of the things that I can think of at glance is that I believe you should add G-32 Evasive Plating. " Krayzen stated. The Sith would reveal all his other crtics in due time, but he wanted Konrad to reveal his thoughts on the design first.

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"That is a fine plan. I have never paid much attention to our naval resources, but I will take your word for it. It will not good for the One Sith if we were forced to overuse defensive tatics due to our fleet. In fact, it will make our look like cowardly dogs who are too worried about their potential losses than attack our enemies so, what designs does our esteemed fleet admiral have in mind?" Konrad asked looking over at [member="Cyrus Tregressar"]

"Before I can provide my support for it, I will need details about this ship – in layman’s terms so that I can understand what I am supporting. If you have had plans drawn up, you may lay them out on this desk.” The High General said as he cleared the surface of his desk.

[member="Krayzen Dratos"] | [member="Malos Kas"]

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

The Pantoran Admiral decided to speak now. He had wanted [member="Cyrus Tregessar"] to speak about the ship, but it seemed like he would be the one to do it.

"As you wish my Lord." Malos stated, nodding at [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

"As the Admiral stated, the One Sith Navy is in a dire state right now. This, along with Lord Dratos' designs symbolize a resurgence in the One Sith Navy- one that we need." He then cleared his throat, symbolizing he was getting ready to speak.

"The Baelor-Class Battlecruiser, nicknamed after [member="Isamu Baelor"] was created by Admiral Tregessar. In terms of shielding systems, both being redundant molecular, and particle shielding. As you know, molecular shielding transmits laser energy from an opponent's laser canon, and that energy can be used to fuel another part of the ship's systems; like all deflector shields, it protects against both laser, and kinetic based energy, among other things. The Admiral also added in redundant particle shields since we have seen a resurgence in the usage of mass drivers, and projectile based weaponry-especially with the Mandalorian Fleet.


Like most ships its size, it features the standard for a ship of its size. The ship features an encrypted comm suite, a standard sensor suite. It also features, like the Admiral stated, designs Lord Dratos created, including the MBLOR Missiles, and the Baelor Hyperdrive-another device named after the Grand General. The hyperdrive allows the ship to have a .6 hyperdrive rating, making it well suited to respond to a lot of threats.

In terms of weaponry, it features the Admiral's hypervelocity canons, and turbolasers. It also has an advanced targeting systems. One of its most prominent strengths is its high maneuvrability, its excellent defense system-courtesy of the Admiral's Bastion Missile Defense System, among other things." Malos stated.

Malos then signaled the Admiral to continue. He did not want to talk about his design, since it would be disrespectful. Lastly, the cyborg also snapped his fingers, the room showing a 3D Model of the ship's devices. For instance, it showed a 3D Model of the sensor suite, the devices that were in it, and all its functions. It also showed a description of the MBLOR Missiles, the Baelor Hyperdriev, etc. When he had done this, he stopped talking, waiting for Cyrus to speak.

[member="Cyrus Tregessar"]

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

Cyrus continued without a noticeable pause in the speech, almost as if it had been planned that way.

"Weaponry is focused around the concept of being equally effective at all ranges. The main battery of the Mk74's backed up with a respectable set of advanced ion and turbolaser gives it nearly unmatched firepower at long range. The Immortals could perhaps hope to go against it in a straight up fight, or if the intel is correct the battlecruiser currently being cooked up by the SSC.

I've also utilized the advanced mass driver design found on the old Pellaeon Mk II's as a means to both extend he range and the utility of the warhead launchers. They're fixed forward, of course, so for increased versatility there's also a set of flex tube launchers on the wings of the ship.

As forces close the long range weapon maintain their effectiveness, but you add in a standard large array of weapon batteries, and a few deck cannons to offset the fact that the Mk 74's are limited in their ability to adjust fire. Finally at close range there are Mauler turrets, and conventional fast mount turbolasers.

Rounded off with a large defensive weapon suite and the Bastion as mentioned. This leads us to the necessary sacrifice we will have to make to fit all this into ship."

A few presses of a button and the display shifted again, this time showing the relative armor density of the vessel, most notably how shockingly thin it was the further away from the keel one got.

"As you can see, the design is somewhat... controversial."

[member="Malos Kas"] [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"] [member="Krayzen Dratos"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Konrad listened intently as [member="Cyrus"] Tresgressar explained the design of the ship. It was an interesting concept, different from the ones that were currently in the armoury. "Interesting." was his reply after taking a minute to consider what he had just been told.

"It may be a controversial design, but it has my support. In order to advance and improve on what we have, it is important that we try out more 'controversial' designs. Another question I have for this design is how do you intend to make use of it during battle and what advancements to naval technology do you see a ship like this bringing? Will there be smaller ships inspired by this design being made for the One Sith?" Although Konrad was ready to give his support and the funding that came with it to the men, he wanted to hear their reply to his questions before he did so.

[member="Malos Kas"] | [member="Krayzen Dratos"]

OOC

Spoiler

Sorry I've been so slow and terrible at this thread. My muse for Konrad at the moment is rather low at the moment.

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

(OOC: Sorry for being late)
"Yes sir." he replied to his master. "My project is currently drafting plans to create escorts that can match the Republics; furthermore, our knew Dolos-Class Frigates, equipped with great EWAR weapons will certainly do the trick. We also have the Razer-class frigates we can use to supplement the ship." the Sith Knight stated.

"I have a few concerns; in terms of security, how will we be able to make sure that the Republic won't know, or at least won't sabotage our ship." the One Sith Powerhouse stated.

[member="Cyrus Tregessar"]
[member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

"The class is designed as the centerpiece of a fleet built around a core concept of a battle of maneuver. We have relied too much on overwhelming force to win, the sort of base strategy that will eventually fail to work against the Republic and our other enemies. This is true both on a strategic scale and on individual battlefields. We saw it twice, when Immortals were sunk at Manaan and Kashyyyk by an inferior but more dynamic opposing force. We shall see the same again if we refuse to acknowledge that the Republic has become an enemy who fights out of desperation. One brings a battering ram to take down a wall, but will find it of little use, and at worst a burden, against one who does not hide behind a wall.

That is the idea behind this ship. The armor is weak around perhaps two-thirds of the vessel. Only a few inches of durasteel, not enough to stop an assault concussion missile or even volleys of turbolasers. We have shielding to compensate, to a degree, but the in the end the point is to defeat the enemy before that weakness can tell.

I do have some interest in adapting the Proton Beam Cannon present on the Immortal to use on the vessel, as well as other designs. As for your concerns, Lord Dratos, the electronic warfare suite will be comprehensive, as one must expect on any fleet command vessel."

[member="Krayzen Dratos"]
[member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

In spite of his answer, the fact was that [member="Krayzen Dratos"]' concerns with regard to EWAR were valid. The One Sith was behind the curve when it came to advancing in that particular area of warfare, yet another product of their complacency. Cyrus had tasked as much of the Naval R&D as he could to come up with designs to counter and beat the new tech coming out on the new Mandalorian and Republic ships.

How much of that would be ready for deployment by the time this ship was ready was another story. That was all a discussion for another time, though, and he pressed a few buttons causing the display to shift, now focusing on the integration of the weapon systems under the Bastion Combat System.

"This is tech that was finalized several weeks ago but has yet to be installed on any vessel. I have the Contempt staled for an overhaul, but there has yet to be time to get it into the yards. This Battlecruiser may well be the first ship to see it operational, and you won't find a better test platform."

The holo display shifted again, and now showed a simulated strike by a swarm of what were clearly Republic fighters.

"As you can see, Bastion vastly increases the efficiency of defensive weapon employment. This is a variant of the classic Nova Flare maneuver, once of the bane of the venerable ISD-II class. Here as you can see, it is rendered effectively useless. Incoming ordnance is attrited by 86%, with the rest damaging shields. The strike craft are attrited by 39% on the inbound run, due to the system prioritizing ordnance, and subsequently are struck again on their outbound run, for a total casualty rate of almost 70%. If you've ever planned strike missions, this falls under 'karking unsustainable."

[member="Krayzen Dratos"]
[member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

"General Konrad, I suggest the use of heavy ECM-counter-countermeasures to be able to combat the Galactic Republic, and the Mandalorians. I would suggest the usage of polarization in order to combat jamming; to put it simply, it is something that can filter unwanted signals, which a jammer would make. I would also suggest using socket guards to reinforce our comm networks however Admiral [member="Cyrus Tregessar"] is certainly more experienced than me in that field my Lord." the OS Captain stated.

"I also concur with General Dratos about the protection of building such a ship; I recommend the usage of Admiral Tregessar's fleet, General Dratos' fleet, my squadron, as well as other One Sith vessels to be moved in to maintain secrecy of such a vessel. I also recommend the reposition of other vessels my Lord." he stated. "Perhaps we can take our advices to [member="Isamu Baelor"]." he quickly continued speaking.

Malos then waited for Konrad to speak.

[member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]