Fully Operational

[Decimus]

The Gunray Facility. Named after the infamous Trade Federation viceroy, it had been a lengthy construction project, originally began during the closing months of the Techno Union, and continued by the new fledgling CIS. Construction was all but complete. The expansive security systems of the facility were in the process of being installed by hordes of Geonosian Drones, provided by a nearby Queen loyal to the cause of the Confederacy.

While construction carried on, Aut-X had called forth a meeting of his most trusted allies, to make plans for a grand undertaking. One that might stabilise their current tenuous situation. Sat at a large round metallic table within the facility's newly finished meeting hall, Aut-X was flanked by a pair of IG-100 Magnaguards stood vigilantly at each side of him. The room was also guarded by half a dozen BX-series Commando Droids. The Super Tactical Droid prided himself on personal security, even amongst his allies. Security would, after all, something this facility would possess in great amounts. As his guests arrived, two full legions of the Confederate Droid Army were being deployed via landing craft from orbit to act as the facility's new permanent security force. Each legion numbered over fifty thousand droids, though not all would be active constantly, the majority going into storage to be awakened in the event of an attack. Their numbers were a perk of their ease of mass manufacture, something which would only be heightened further once the Gunray Facility came online.

A convoy of Sheathipede-class shuttles, escorted by two squadrons of Vulture Droids, soon arrived in the facility's surface hangar. As his guests departed their shuttles, they would be guided to an elevator which would take them two miles below the surface, to the facility hidden below. Meanwhile, Aut-X activated the holographic interface centred upon the table, contacting another influential Geonosian queen who would be joining them in this meeting via hologram....

[member="Gisela the Righteous"]
[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]
[member="Summer Sovereign"]
[member="Herr Vanderhing"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"I have received an invitation from Aut-X to inspect the Gunray Facility. This concerns the Confederacy at large. Oh, and Julie, you can have Charzon's seat. Catria will get one to herself"

"I'm a little uneasy with Werah: while it is obvious that you are the one responsible for Ryloth, Stalgasin was mostly Herr but Werah made it worse" Julie told Jessica, while riding her seat inside the Sheathipede.

The three Jedi in a Sheathipede flew from the ground floor of the Citadel in Zenturi and flew across the sandy dunes of Geonosis until they reached the coordinates of the facility as Aut-X transmitted to Jessica. She heard rumors pertaining to the future of Werah among the Confederacy, especially among the more radical Geonosian elements, and if they are to be believed, this is not going to be good. The best would be to move, during the next meeting of the Executive Council, a no-confidence vote, if Werah needed to be ousted as Supreme Commander of the Confederacy. She feels a little uneasy to support such a no-confidence motion, but given the events of Stalgasin, she has no choice. And, of course, a few Z-5s and B1/B2 battle droids, alongside a few odd BX-series commando droids, were there to greet any visitor. And Okikuti, the dark-sided police inquisitor, was apparently somewhere in the complex, too.

"Please, Julie, Catria, stay out of this, and wait for me there: your roles in the meeting are nonexistent"

[member="Aut-X"] [member="Gisela the Righteous"] [member="Herr Vanderhing"] [member="Summer Sovereign"]

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Herr Vanderhing arrived at the facility and exited his shuttle. He hastily limped out of the vessel having his cane tap on the floor causing the noise to echo down the hall. He had a huge grin smeared across his face as his right hand hurried to catch up to him. Vanderhing immediately whispered with glee "Now's the time Genf!!! I'll get my revenge on Werah for Stalgasin!!!! T-T-That moron made a fool out of me!!! But now's the time to strike!!!!" He chuckled to himself before Orkay whispered back "Sir..... Are you sure about this?! If Mr. Unon finds out about this..... Well he's already upset with you......" Vanderhing merely waved the Neimoidian off in dismissal of his statement as he continued to grin. Vanderhing continued to waddle down the hall to the elevator the two Neimoidians traveling down whilst inside.

[member="Aut-X"], [member="Jessica Med-Beq"], [member="Gisela the Righteous"], [member="Summer Sovereign"]

 

[Neldar Poska]

[member="Herr Vanderhing"] [member="Aut-X"] [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

Joost the Lawful

By the time the other two had reached the council chambers table, Joost was just arriving, flying in with speed as if on a mission. He came with several Geonosians, some armed with Sonic Blasters, and they didn't look happy. The major party stayed outside, while two with Sonic Blasters followed and guarded Joost. By the time he found the others, they had become comfortable at the table.

<"What is the meaning of this!? I get word that a Queen was secured, and maybe even moved to a Droid Factory? An entire army of droids are landed on Geonosis, for what? Why is there an army here, the Geonoaians are content, there is no equal force for these droids other than the Geonosians, but they have done nothing, I demand answers!"> He came in angry, his guards also upset. They weren't behind him, but instead beaide him. <"Herr, you treat my people well! Are they being targeted? I told you they better not be mistreated! And you! Droid!"> Joost walked towards Aut-X, but stopped before getting too close. <"Why are you attempting to see Gisela the Righteous, you have not even greeted her! No one has permission to go to her or communicate with her unless I, or she, allows it. We only have dealings with Herr. I am confused, why was I not informed of any of this!? I require answers, or my Geonosians outsode will be only the first to face any betrayal!">

 

[Decimus]

Aut-X arose from his seat when Joost. ''I assure you, Archduke, I meant no disrespect to Queen Gisela or to you. Mister Vanderhing himself will be attending this meeting to ensure all parties recieve a more than reasonable arrangement. And no queen was moved here. Quite the opposite, in fact. The local Queen is a steadfast supporter of our cause. She allowed us to construct this facility next to her hive in return for providing her drones and warriors work and her hive additional protection in light of our current situation. Our legions are here to provide security for them and this facility only. I assure you that most will be going into storage while our meeting proceeds. Now please, take a seat. The others will be joining us shortly....'', Aut-X said in a calming tone of voice, attempting to calm the Archduke before motioning to a seat at the table.

Herr and Jessica were eventually guided into the room by their escort, a small group of protocol droids arriving behind them to provide whatever refreshment they required. ''I bid you both welcome to the Gunray Facility, my finest achievement, and the future of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. I am glad to see you have received my invitation. Please, take your seats....'', he said, sitting down himself. He pressed a button on his chair, opening up the meeting room's windows to expose the massive underground foundry chamber surrounding it. Miles of conveyor belts and production machines could be seen, churning out Battle Droids, weapons and various vehicles used by the CIS. Hundreds of Geonosian Drones were slaving away installing the new security systems and manning the foundry terminals, directed by their Geonosian Warrior Overseers. ''I trust you all know why I have called you here today?''

[member="Gisela the Righteous"]
[member="Herr Vanderhing"]
[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]
[member="Summer Sovereign"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

The Gunray Facility was a maze. A maze filled with numerous assembly lines and with several products being manufactured: B1s, B2s, AATs, MTTs, spider droids (dwarf or not), vulture/tri-droids, hailfire droids and now MTT-Xs. If it could churn out a million B1/2s in just a few days, And, of course, Jessica used alchaka to keep calm even when he saw a furious Herr. Okikuti, meanwhile, was somewhere near the gate of the Council Chamber. By now she realizes that Aut-X summoned the Council to this location deep inside the caves because Werah was always in Zenturi these days.

"Ah, yes, the growing voices of unrest among the Confederate population towards Werah. The population is very unhappy: my holomail is filled with many, many complaints directed at the Confederate leadership, especially Werah, although I am not blameless in the Confederate problems, so I understandably have a share of the problem. I hope the Gunray Facility is more than just an attempt at quelling the unrest, or to otherwise support an attempt to oust Werah"

[member="Herr Vanderhing"] [member="Gisela the Righteous"] [member="Aut-X"]

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Herr Vanderhing heard the shouting of the Geonosian and limped towards the shouting with Genf Orkay behind him "Pipe down worthless tin can!!! You clearly aren't qualified to sooth our dear Archduke here...." He announced towards the droid

"Mr. Archduke I can assure you that despite how bad these morons have made this look.... They aren't here to mistreat your people...... They are merely here to discuss matters that concern us all... Your concerns will hopefully be sorted out within this facility today.... Maybe they'll even realize how bad this looks towards the Geonosians.... If you'll please calm yourself and take a seat" He said attempting to reassure the Geonosian. Soon after he took his seat as the droid and Jessica spoke up with Genf sitting to his right "I do hope that we can oust Mr. Unon before anymore problems occur..... I am truly sick of us being the laughing stock of the Galaxy!"

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"], [member="Aut-X"], [member="Gisela the Righteous"]

 

[Neldar Poska]

[member="Herr Vanderhing"] [member="Aut-X"] [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

<"Bah!"> Joost waved away the Droid. <"A Queen needing work for her people? Geonosians have a lot to do for their Queen everyday, you say that like they need to do more labor, have a need for wealth! Geonosian worth is defined by their Hives value in leadership, pride, and power! You have disrupted our traditions, our very way of life, Droid! Peh, you were made to serve, not be served. You were only designed to lead an army, not a nation or its people. You know little of Geonosians! A Droid is just a Droid. Protocol, Battle, or Tactical, they are all droids.">

Joost shook his head in anger until Herr came to his side in attempt to calm him. <"You have been good to my people, Vanderhing Herr. You know little of my people, but you try, try to do them good. You can lead a people, yes. But you should be leading your people. Geonosians are not Nemoidians."> Joost continued, putting a hand on his shoulder, walking with him to their seats. <"Not even this.... Eeeeeugh, Jedi, acknowledges my concerns for my people. Squat on someone elses planet, plant your feet in the ground and make the rules, and you don't even try to understand the people you've taken from.">


Joost sat down beside or close to Herr. He was the only one he had really spoken to, so he had the most trust, even little. Herrs contributions and leadership for the Geonosians under CIS rule was better than nothing. <"Now, what is the meaning of this?"> Joost asked, now calmed slightly by Herr. He leaned towards one of his guards to calm down, and send word to the Geonosians outside, telling them that they could take a breath, for the moment, but be ready in case he needed them.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"<Please forgive me for any lack of comprehension of Geonosian culture: it was pretty much accepted at the onset of my participation in the Executive Council of the Confederacy that my area of competence would be external affairs, as well as Force-user affairs, while domestic affairs were under Herr's and Joost's purview, with Aut-X being responsible for the military affairs. The Geonosian dossier is considered a domestic affair and hence outside my area of power. The only reason why Force-user affairs are treated separately, with a Force-user dealing with them, is their delicate nature, even though it's mostly the non-Geonosians, either on Geonosis or Hypori (and possibly Vulpter, Cato Neimoidia and Glyss) that asked for separate treatment of Force-user affairs. But the discontent towards Werah among the general Confederate population on both Hypori and Geonosis also extends to the handling of foreign policy: that is why I am here today. My responsibility towards Geonosians only extends as far as Force-users are concerned: Okikuti, a dark-sider Geonosian, is now at Herr's disposal for questioning Force-using criminals>"

Would Joost acknowledge that, while to Geonosians, the ability to use the Force was a skill like another, to most non-Geonosian species capable of producing Force-users, it was a much bigger deal? Aut-X was a product of Jessica's intervention on Agamar against the Rogue One Sith; he knows that battle droids must tread lightly around FUs.

"<Simply put, almost everyone is unhappy with Werah. At this point rallying the population to our cause is something we can do and they will respond in kind. If the population asks for Werah to be ousted, the question is how>"

[member="Gisela the Righteous"] [member="Herr Vanderhing"] [member="Aut-X"]

 

[Decimus]

''This facility is much more than merely means for rebellion, Miss Med-Beq. It is the future of our Confederacy. It will be the first of many more facilities we plan to construct. We shall create a droid army and fleet to rival even that of my time.....which is the reason why I seek to make your Queen a very generous proposition. Your hive holds a great amount of influence on this world, and I see to gain your future cooperation generously.....'', Aut-X said, activating the holographic projector in the centre of the table. A hologram of a small fleet of six Munificent-X's could be seen quite clearly. ''We will provide Queen Gisela with a fleet of her own, access to our technological databases, and total ruler-ship over this world.....all we ask for is your continued support of our operations here, and your assistance with future construction projects of facilities like this one.'', the droid said politely, trying to avoid offending the Archduke this time around.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]
[member="Gisela the Righteous"]
[member="Herr Vanderhing"]

 

[Neldar Poska]

[member="Aut-X"]


Joost looked over the room at the others, as he reached up to brush his chin. <"Ah, this kind of meeting... This meeting. Hmmm..."> Joost leaned over to whisper something in Geonosian to the Guard next to him. They spoke for a few seconds and Joost shook his head. The Geonosian guard left, jumping and flying off out of the facility. It gathered the small army outside and they headed off to their Hive.

<"This is very generous of you, droid. Vanderhing Herr has also made dealings with my Queen and I; nothing against the Confederacy, however. Yes... I will act as representative for my Queen among the leaders. My Queen will accept your offer, and you will make her very happy with the fleet. Yes... This will be a new day for Geonosis, and a new life for the Confederacy.">

Joost raised his staff and slammed it down, but not extremely strong, just enough to make a sound like a judges gaff. <"Word has been sent to my Queen, we can start immediately. Vanderhing Herr... You have earned an audience with my Queen, as thanks.">

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Vanderhing sneered at the thought of a change of leadership then heard what Joost and the droid had to say "An audience with Madam Gisela?! I give my thanks Mr. Archduke. Now droid.... What are your plans, to execute this, poorly cobbled together makeshift revolution?!..... I will not pledge my support if it means failure and death!!! And what of AFTER this revolution?!?! If we succeed?!?! Surely you don't believe any mere droid could run this organization!!! So tell me!!! What ARE your plans?!......"


[member="Gisela the Righteous"], [member="Aut-X"], [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Perhaps I'm way over my head but if it came to storming Werah's stronghold, we start with calling in an air strike. With the Hyenas, provided appropriate air cover, we'll have our ionite-loaded crowd control bombs dropped at strategic locations where concentrated formations of droid troops loyal to Werah are. That way there will be minimal collateral damage to sentients, while we soften up the enemy force, and then we will move in for the ground assault. Now I am far from the best attack craft pilot in the galaxy, but I can pilot attack craft if it came to that. The thing with ionite bombs is that it will fry all electronics within the blast radius, which will mean that safe distance will have to be respected by the attack craft. I'd rather have light bombs: it will allow us to move in closer to enemy droid troops, but with the drawback that the area of damage won't be as great. However, the population will probably support us in any way they could given a ground assault"

That was going to hurt. She might not be as good for tactics as [member="Aut-X"] would be, but that wasn't her area of expertise. Yet she might have designed stuff capable of taking out enemy communications or electronics, that is, the experimental ionite bombs, just that it could be dangerous to themselves, too.

"But you're right. Everyone wants change, but without a clear plan for the post-revolution, there is no guarantee that stuff will actually get any better. Nevertheless, we have been rather isolated and we should stay out of the Atrisia Campaign"

[member="Herr Vanderhing"] [member="Gisela the Righteous"] [member="Aut-X"]

 

[Decimus]

''There will be no lengthy revolution. I've been creating contingencies for this situation for a very long time...'', the Super Tactical Droid said in a rather confident tone. ''This may prove a shocking revelation to you all, but I took the liberty of adding code of my own design into our droid armies as.....insurance of sorts, should a situation like this ever occur. With just a simple command from me, all Confederate droid units will default to MY control. Werah will have few allies left should we make our move against him. I will not outlive another Confederacy of Independent Systems....'', the droid said with a hint of anger in his voice, slamming his metallic fist on the desk.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]
[member="Herr Vanderhing"]
[member="Summer Sovereign"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Good. Werah will be nothing more than a ceremonial cog in the Confederate machine, if that"

What Aut-X said was some sort of a Confederate version of Order 65. She only knew about Order 65 by name, so she took the liberty to look up what Order 65 actually said, and what Order 65 meant. It returned the following result, as applied to the First Confederacy-era Republic (i.e. the First Republic):

In the event of either (i) a majority in the Senate declaring the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) to be unfit to issue orders, or (ii) the Security Council declaring him to be unfit to issue orders, and an authenticated order being received by the GAR, commanders shall be authorized to detain the Supreme Commander, with lethal force if necessary, and command of the GAR shall fall to the acting Chancellor until a successor is appointed or alternative authority identified as outlined in Section 6 (iv).

"I suppose that the programming is much like the Clone Army of the [First] Republic's 150 Contingency Orders, and that your code is more than just some Order 65"

[member="Aut-X"] [member="Herr Vanderhing"]

 

[Werah Unon]

In the chamber hall, the lights began to flicker. All around the room, all outside sound faded away, drenching the room in a smothering silence. From all around them, a distorted voice began to speak: "Hello there...I think you might want to reconsider your positions. I happened to...overhear what you've been planning, and I'm not happy. If you plan to overthrow me, you've gravely miscalculated. The great majority of the population is still with me - only a select few are against me, though they pretend to have a bigger following than they do. You might be interested to know, that I can directly control every droid produced by the CIS - including the higher intelligence ones. All geonosian hives, have fatal GM virus bombs hidden within them. Right now, from where I stand, you are all charged with treason. There is enough firepower in the stations now directly above each of you, to blow you all to dust. So tell me, why should I let you live?

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"] [member="Aut-X"] [member="Herr Vanderhing"] [member="Gisela the Righteous"]

 

[Decimus]

Aut-X peered around the room upon hearing that familiar voice. ''Ahh, just as I calculated...'', Aut-X said as he slowly arose from his chair, pacing around the meeting table. ''All I'm doing is fulfilling my original programming, Werah. To ensure a complete and utter victory for the Confederacy of Independent Systems.....'', the Super Tactical Droid said, nodding at his guards, who suddenly pointed their weapons at those gathered at the meeting, another squad of BX-series Commando Droids suddenly entering the room aswell. ''......by exposing these traitors to our cause. I knew for a fact they were dissatisfied with recent events, and the likelihood they would accept my invitation to this meeting was over eighty percent. As they should have realised, I am not programmed to betray my superiors.....''

[member="Werah Unon"]
[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]
[member="Herr Vanderhing"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"We were simply discussing contingency plans if the Executive Council had sufficient reason to believe a Supreme Commander is unfit to carry out its duties. For now, we have no reason to believe such is the case. Now you added new information that will force us to rethink contingency plans. I understand such planning can make some people... unhappy but it is a good idea to be prepared for such eventualities. Simply planning for emergencies is not the same as carrying them out, or actual treason"

[member="Aut-X"] would have thought that Jessica was a traitor, after supplying several classes of ships in the Confederate Navy, as well as two classes of armored vehicles? She was too big a cog in the Confederate war machine to simply betray the CIS on a whim. As she was taken away, alongside [member="Herr Vanderhing"], Joost the Lawful (really a proxy to [member="Gisela the Righteous"]) and Jessica's Padawan, [member="Summer Sovereign"], the other attendees wondered whether there truly was a way out of this mess. Yet Summer mostly kept quiet for a reason.

[member="Werah Unon"]

 

[Herr Vanderhing]

Vanderhing sat comfortably with a sneer until suddenly out of nowhere he heard the voice speak. His eyes immediately widened and his sneer turned into a frightened jaw drop "Oh no......" He meekly spoke out as the droid spoke up "W-W-W-Werah!!!!! Old f-f-fr-f-friend!!!!...... It's so good to see you!!!!......." He shouted with an anxious smile. His anxious smile immediately turned into an angered scowl as the droid spoke once more. He immediately swiped his cane, stood up, and limped towards the droid leaning in front of it.

"You dirty........ Double crossing SNITCH!!!!!!" He shouted tapping the bottom of his cane hard towards the droid's chest "I-I-I-I ought to have you scrapped for spare parts then REASSEMBLED INTO A PIT DROID!!!!!!......... Explain yourself!!!!!......"

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]
[member="Aut-X"]
[member="Werah Unon"]

 

[Werah Unon]

"Ahh...Mr Vanderhing. So good to hear from you. But, I think, It will you who will be explaining yourself." The lights began to come on again, as the group of conspirators were marched away. "Good luck with your trial - you will most certainly need it."

-----------------------------------------------------

Zenturi, Temple of Justice

The bustling court was packed with crowds, everyone trying to get a look at the accused personnel. "SILENCE!", rang the voice from up above. A imposing figure, clad in towering battle armour, descended to the floor on a specialised platform. In the caged area where Jessica, Vanderhing, and many others were kept, droids began to open the door, letting out [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] first. As she was escorted to the stand, the crowds began to shout and clamour for a glimpse of the famous mascot. The voice rang out again, reverberating against the sparkling glass orbs. "You here, stand accused of treason! Against your country, and your Supreme Commander! As you know, the penalty for such a crime, is death! What do you have to say for yourself!" The crowd went silent as they waited for her to begin, while cries and whimpers emanated from the cage...

[member="Herr Vanderhing"] [member="Aut-X"]