Faction Gems of the Armada | Agents of Chaos | The Armada

[ROSECOM]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Theme: Trust Love - Casey Lee Williams and Jeff Williams
Tags: Bella Salem Norongachi Domino Jai'galaar Gred Dimitri Lindzinsky Sasmay Cull

“You told me these were supposed to be the best pilots in the Armada.” The stern-faced ex-Imperial admiral said to the captain as she walked into the briefing room. “In the last mission alone, one of the pilots reported that someone was flying while heavily intoxicated, another apparently was allowed to fly a Ballerina, of all things, with barely a scratch of training and no real flight credentials, and to add on to that, more than half of the squadron had failed to even report to the pre-mission briefing, one of whom missed it because they were reportedly busy painting their X-wing!”

“I can give you twenty classes of pilots who are fresh from accelerated training, and I guarantee that even the least of them will show more responsibility and professionalism than this lot of spacer trash!” The admiral continued. “This is a shameful display and I will not stand for such overt irresponsibility in this organization! I am this close to issuing demotions and punishments to the pilots I have written up in my report. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t shut this little...pet project of yours down this instant! As far as I can see, this meeting will serve only to formally reassign the few disciplined pilots in this squadron to more fitting placements, while discharging the rest to the streets where they belong!”

“Admiral, this is...a special group.” The emerald-skinned Twi’lek began with a coy smile. “Perhaps I was in error when I proposed it to you as an ‘elite’ squadron. I merely wanted to ensure that I had the leverage to select any pilot that I wanted, including those that otherwise would have been snatched up by other commanders for their squadrons.”

“And yet, only a couple of the pilots in this little swoop gang could be classed as ‘elite’ and therefore, likely to be selected quickly by other commanders for their squadrons.” Admiral Dalle interjected. “A placement such as this is an insult to their abilities.”

“Regardless, I am confident that given time, they will all show themselves to be worthy of that descriptor.” The Twi’lek continued, her features taking on a smug, self-assured look as she turned towards the admiral. “It will take time for them to develop the necessary chemistry to maximize each pilot’s unique individual talents. But once that happens, they will be more elite than any squadron of high-scoring variance clones.”

“Even the worst squadron of variance clones is more disciplined than this lot.” The admiral grumbled.

“Yes, but...they all seem so...soulless, wouldn’t you say, admiral? They are made to serve and they do that with great gusto, that much is certain, but they also lack a certain...character.”

“And yet, I remain thoroughly unconvinced.” The admiral deadpanned, drawing a rare frown from the normally-confident Twi’lek as she woefully considered her options.

In the meantime, the last few pilots were taking their seats in the briefing room. It seemed that the argument between the admiral and the captain would cause an unexpected delay to the start of the meeting, unless it could be quickly resolved.

Spoiler: Objectives

She Remains Unconvinced - Convince Admiral Dalle not to immediately sack Sapphire Squadron after their shameful display during the first mission. Geared towards Armada command staff, including admirals, captains, and various officers. In addition, feel free to take Dalle's side!
The Wild Child! - Socialize with other pilots in Sapphire Squadron! Make friends, frolic together, and giggle (or cry) at the argument transpiring only a few feet away between Armada big-wigs while you wait for the briefing to begin.

 

[Bella]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Objective: The Wild Child!
Wearing: Phase IX Anti-G Suit (No Helmet) │ X-8 Night Sniper
Tags: Salem Norongachi Jai'galaar Gred Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Sasmay Cull

So far, Bella was having a relatively good morning, even after Admiral Dalle and Captain Valla had entered the briefing, deep in an argument pertaining to the fate of Sapphire Squadron.

She initially made a token effort to tune out the raised voice of Admiral Dalle and the more consolatory tone of Captain Valla, wanting to focus more on reading the files on her dataslate pertaining to the upgrades and new systems included in the latest refit of the Ballerina. However, upon hearing the admiral mention the intoxicated pilot who had since left the squadron, Bella could no longer ignore the argument, the direction of which could potentially determine the fate of Sapphire squadron. In addition, Bella knew that she was partially responsible for the argument transpiring in the first place, as she had made mention of all the instances of misconduct that had occurred during the mission in her post-mission report, which was probably what the admiral had read in addition to many other documents before coming to the briefing.

Bella frowned at the realization.

Regardless, she was glad that something was being done about it, but she had never intended to usher in the dissolution of Sapphire squadron, especially when she had not yet developed any real chemistry with the other pilots, beyond Salem Norongachi. Even so, as a variance clone herself, Bella held mixed feelings regarding the issue. If Sapphire was sacked, Dalle would likely see her transferred to a new squadron, presumably one full of other variance clones. In that event, she would relish the opportunity to serve alongside her brothers and sisters, but she would miss Salem and the others, in spite of their apparent flaws. Nevertheless, if Dalle was there to whip the squadron into shape, Bella was all for it. The woman was an ex-Imperial officer and as such knew things about discipline that spacers, Mandalorians, drunkards, and bar owners probably didn’t.

No matter what occurred, it didn’t seem like the morning would pass without significant changes being made to the squadron, whether that took the form of more administrative oversight or a full dissolution of Sapphire, then a fresh assignment.

 

[Dasmi Lindervale]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Objective: She Remains Unconvinced

Dressed is his usual attire, Dimitri sat quietly listening to the pair go back and forth about the...team that had been assembled on one of the excursions beyond the standing borders they had now expanded outwards to give early warning. The fleet admiral had been waiting for the rest to appear, as his presence could be noted as having arrived stupendoualy early to review the data once more. Since he hadn't already read through the reports several times before coming here in his own office with Rimes beside him to comment offer her own opinion of the matter.

They also lack a certain, character.

And yet, I remain thoroughly unconvinced.

The two had long since been at it before they had hit the door given the intensity with which they were speaking. In a manner that made Dimitri want to rub his face several times, with increasing force. If only to dull the growing headache he was being made to bear.

"Firstly, this is an open discussion between those involved and the ranking parties. Matters of merit, or demotion are not final given the series of required approvals that they are required to be finalized, Admiral Dalle. Secondly, taking those parties with no training in the advanced starfighters we field is no laughing matter either, Captain. It was a danger not only to the untrained pilot but also to those in the squadron at large...however...small it may have been, at the time." He didn't punctuate his words by looking at them, instead leaning into his hand with the elbow resting on the table.

"As for the matter of their skill in direct comparison to a variance clone, that is neither here nor there. It is known to some degree that anyone given flash training follows patterns inately, simply by observing the black box data. Regardless of flash training practices, there is always a pattern. Again though, neither here nor there because as our duty dictates-" This time he did punctuate his words by looking between them. "As the commanding officers of the squadrons under our responsibility, we dictate the field of operation. The pilots dictate their actions accordingly unless given a direct command."

He held up a hand to silence the admiral before he spoke once more.

"This seperate group could be invaluable in data gathering alone in having a variance clone leading them with non-clone comrades to break away from the pattern. And as far as I am aware Dalle, the offending party who reported for duty drunk has since been removed. No further action is required on that note as it is already standard practice and doctrine to not report in such a state for assignment." He finished speaking finally.

 

[Domino]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Objective: The Wild Child!
Wearing: Admiral's Hat, Spacer's Jacket, & Work Pants
Tags: Salem Norongachi Jai'galaar Gred Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Sasmay Cull Bella

Foregoing her usual self-isolation managing her pet projects, Domino was down in one of the briefing bays watching Admiral Dalle chewing out a squad leader. An admiral herself, her position was displayed by the white uniform hat she wore and the rank pinned to her collar. Otherwise she wore her usual leathers and work clothes in violation of the uniform code. She was also munching on one of the doughnuts provided to the briefing as she listened in.

It wasn't her squad, and these weren't her pilots, but she saw the point and was more than a little upset herself. Someone she cared about had been allowed to fly with zero experience and had nearly gotten them-self killed. So she was all for this little band of misfits getting some much needed discipline. Dimitri was making some good points but Domino didn't see why three admirals needed to weigh in on a squadron that was already getting the attention it needed from its commander. Really though, not her Gundark, not her ears. So long as her interest was protected. She'd stay out of it for now.

Instead she sat her butt down on the desk next to where Bella was also wisely keeping out of it. She took another bite out of her doughnut and chewed it thoughtfully. She didn't really know the ace, having only met her briefly on Ryloth, but she had a good impression of the pilot and her's was the first report in the batch that her agent had forwarded to her about all this.

 

[Richard deWinter]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Objective: The Wild Child
Wearing: Leather Jacket, Stained Jeans and Smart Glasses (AI integrated into them).
Equipment: Blossom AI
Tags: Salem Norongachi Jai'galaar Gred Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Sasmay Cull Bella

It was Richard's first day as a captain and he felt slightly overawed by everything that had happened to him in the last few months if he was being honest with himself. It felt like only yesterday an Agent of Chaos had found him in his basement working on his gene craft before he had been whisked away to the Scintilla. There he had been given tests to grade his suitability for the Armada, needless to say it was child's play for him if he was honest. He had been accepted into the Armada's academy as a cadet and there he was trained in numerous fields such as, crew management, fleet simulations, piloting, coordinating with other commanders and many other fields. Needless to say he had graduated from the academy top of his class and within a few months of serving as a deck officer on a plethora of ships he had finally been given his own command.

Richard walked down the hall towards the briefing room. He was extremely nervous, his superiors had told him he was ready, but that didn't do anything to calm his nerves. Blossom his own personal AI appeared in his peripheral vision at the edge of his glasses.

"Father you're heart rate is well over 100 beats per minute you need to calm your nerves." She said in her liquid cool voice. Her voice resonating in his head due to the neural implants that were implanted on the back of his head. These implants allowed him to interface with his greatest ever creation.

"You're right I need to relax" He said, stopping in the hallway and taking a deep breath, before continuing to walk down the hallway. He walked into the briefing room and it seemed as if the briefing had already started. He looked across the room and saw an admiral giving one of her captains a thorough dressing down in front of two other admirals. Not wanting to get involved Richard decided it would be best if he didn't say anything and just took a seat and waited

 

[Jai'galaar Gred]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Objective: The Wild Child!
Wearing: Jai'galaar's Mandalorian Armor
Tags: Bella Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Salem Norongachi Sasmay Cull Richard deWinter

Jai leaned back a little, patting his Strill, Ortana, on head while Maliky sat under a chair. He was wearing his usual armor, and was armed. He was a Mandalorian after all. He also didn't understand the big deal with all this. Maybe he was still rough around the edges from his time as an insurgent on Concord Dawn, but it just made no sense to him. In his mind, the squadron wasn't any more or less organized than that. Even then, he was still considered to be in charge of the Cloud Breaker, and worked with the Wild Hunt and Silencers. Maybe it wasn't the healthiest thing, but.... It kept some things off his mind. From Concord Dawn. And to an extent he'd wondered how to handle the parade thing. Either way though, he'd just have to wait and see what the others would say. Right now though, he looked at the others, keeping his helmet on to hide his face.

It was then that Maliky, the more calm of the pair of Strill, walked over to Bella before pawing a her a little. Jai'galaar was quick to pick up on this, and looked at the young pilot. "You ok, kid? Seem a bit worried."

 

[Sasmay Cull]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Objective: The Wild Child!
Tags: Bella Domino Salem Norongachi Jai'galaar Gred Richard deWinter

Sasmay had been summoned to a meeting, the topic of which as Ya'Tau had told her, was the incident that had occurred with her piloting a starfighter a while back. Apparently someone had taken issue with it, which made sense honestly. She had no business being in that fighter. She was supposed to be there for backup in case of...something. Looking back, it actually seemed a little silly to have had her brought along altogether. The Fleet Admiral...guy, had asked for a small task force to be taken though.

And she had volunteered rather than stay behind.

Now, as she slunk into the meeting room in workout clothes, she spied Domino seated near who she had been told later was the squadron leader she had been under the command of. She snagged a doughnut on the way through, eyes nervously darting between the loud leader looking people at the table towards the front of the room. The chair slid out, her body wrapping around the back of the chair before she quickly slid into the seat.

She had totally been here the whole time.

"Am I late?" She spoke in a whisper to Domino before taking a bite of her doughnut and watching the trio at the head table.

 

[Bella]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Tags: Jai'galaar Gred Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Sasmay Cull
Objective: The Wild Child!
Equipment and Attire: Phase IX Anti-G Suit (No Helmet) │ X-8 Night Sniper

Bella smiled at the Twi'lek as she took a seat next to her, her eyes taking in the donut in the woman's blue hand. She made a mental reminder to pick one or two up on her way out after the briefing, but with Sapphire's active status at stake, it didn't feel appropriate for her to indulge in sweets at the moment.

Suddenly taking a deep breath, Bella very nearly shrieked when what she felt what she could only ascertain as an ugly dog-like creature come up against her legs, causing her to recoil back as the thing attempted to paw at her in a manner that left her feeling quite unsettled. The diminutive Togruta almost moved to call security, but it was only when she heard the voice of the creature’s handler did she calm down, albeit to only a slight degree since the man was wearing a full set of beskar’gam.

For the life of her, she did not understand why Mandalorians felt compelled to wear armor everywhere they went.

The morning had been going well for her so far, but seeing the Mandalorian and his two vicious-looking pets made her feel distinctly not okay, especially since she could count the number of times she had seen him before the briefing on one hand. While she had heard his voice in her ear during Sapphire squadron’s last mission, it wasn’t quite the same as seeing him in-person, accompanied by a pair of strange animals.

“I umm...” Bella began as she gracefully placed her legs up into her chair, so that they couldn’t be reached by the Mandalorian’s pet Strill. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She continued softly, not wanting to interrupt the argument transpiring only a few feet away “Just ready to fly after the briefing. I heard that the first shipments of a new fighter just arrived. They also did another refit on the Ballerina and if Sapphire is still a thing after this, I’m thinking to grab the entire squadron for flight training. You can never have enough hours in the seat.”

Bella paused, contemplating whether to say anything to the Mandalorian about his pets, but she quickly decided against it. The pilot didn’t really have anything good to say about them, even though they seemed tame.

“Umm...how about you?”

 

[ROSECOM]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Objective: She Remains Unconvinced
Tags: Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Richard deWinter

Captain Valla was quite pleased to hear the handsome admiral’s voice, even though the man did not entirely agree with her. At the very least, he seemed more willing to come to a compromise regarding Sapphire squadron than Dalle, who was so tightly wound that she was surprised that the ex-Imperial had not broken her back on the way to the briefing. Regardless, she was glad to work with the admiral and she hoped that he would support her in keeping Sapphire squadron alive.

“Admiral Linzinsky,” the Twi’lek began. “My, is it good to see you.” She purred softly, her eyes lending the dancer a wink before she shifted her attention to the young prodigy in the room. “Oh, and Captain deWinter! I heard of your new command. Congratulations. I am sure Admiral Domino here will be more than happy to show-”

“Let us dispense the pleasantries, captain. This meeting is already late and there is important business to attend to.” Dalle cut in, her tongue hissing over the words as she spoke. “Now, Valla, I will kindly remind you have not yet justified Sapphire’s active status to me, Lindzinsky, or Domino. I am sure that they all have questions regarding the performance of your squadron in the latest mission and you would be wise to answer them.”

“Of course! Alright then.” The captain cleared her throat. “First I think I should explain my decisions, specifically pertaining to the well, admittedly...risky situation I authorized with one of my trainee pilots, which by the way, I do take full responsibility for. You will all have noticed in reading Sapphire’s files that the squadron has an outsized ratio of Force-sensitive pilots. On my part, that was intentional. Now, I am sure that you have all heard the legend of Anakin Skywalker, specifically of his exploit in destroying a Lucrehulk-class during the Battle of Naboo, all while having virtually nothing in the way of training, beyond some podracing experience.”

“We do not put ancient myths over procedure that is proven to keep our pilots safe, captain.” Dalle spoke up.

“And normally, I would agree with you admiral, but...unfortunately, not this time. You see...when you are dealing with Force-sensitive pilots or really, any Force-sensitive learner for that matter, sometimes you have to...let them find the Force or to phrase it in the inverse, let the Force find them. That means throwing them into the deep end, even if your umm...for lack of a better term, logic circuits, are telling you that they aren’t ready.”

There was a brief moment of silence in the group as everyone paused to process the captain’s words.

“Hopefully, that will have cleared up any concerns regarding that particular issue, yes? Any questions before we move on?”

In short, Dalle had no verbal response for the captain, other than an expression of naked incertitude.

 

[Dasmi Lindervale]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Objective: She Remains Unconvinced
TAGS: Domino Richard deWinter Paragon of Vanity

Dimitri gave the woman a nod before blinking at her. An amused smirk appeared, knowing full well Rimes would have begun hunting Valla for improper conduct in his presence. He found it endearing so long as it stayed above board in a meeting. Supposed to be objective after all. Dalle kept the topic moving, and Dimitri listened intently. In regard to the risky call for an inexperienced pilot, that was a bone in his throat. He would like to see proper training given, but if they had potential, he would hate to clip wings with the full cessation of Sapphire Squad.

Her words however slowly began to draw a clearer picture.

When she finished speaking, the lean into his hand was quite severe. His foot was also tapping a number of times, suggesting something either deeply troubled him, or he was nervous about a certain subject. His eyes closed before sharply opening once more, a deep breath in and out before he spoke.

"So, you are informing us that your decision to make a force sensitive group of pilots came from a legend about a kid, destroying a large vessel. I guess, I am not drawing the complete picture here. Are you hoping to achieve a more supreme version of a...oh, whatsit called....battle....battle meditating. Meditation?" His hand waved once or twice. "The act that enhances battlefield acuity but hampers the person initiating the ability relatively helpless from what I understand of it."

He held his hands up before anyone could jump on him. "As far as I understand, as I have no experience with the subject. If anyone can provide more up to date, or pertinent information, please feel free to do so."

 

[Richard deWinter]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Objective: The Wild Child
Wearing: Leather Jacket, Stained Jeans and Smart Glasses (AI integrated into them).
Equipment: Blossom AI
Tags: Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Paragon of Vanity

Richard simply nodded in response to Valla's greeting as he sat across from the three admirals grilling the Captain. He listened to the conversation intently, if one were to look in his direction they would be able to see the cogs in his head shifting and moving as he put his brilliant but naïve mind to work. At the mention of the force Richard had to stifle a sarcastic laugh from coming out of his lips. He wanted to come the Captain's defense, but instead he found himself coming to agree more with Admiral Dalle. It was clear enough to him that the captain's actions were reckless and dangerous. From the few details he had been allowed this captain had sent an untrained pilot into the fray purely because they were "force sensitive"? To Richard's rational mind This seemed like a ridiculous course of action for a captain to take.

"I know I am not the most senior officer here, but Captain Valla this does sound a bit ridiculous." He said in a calm and measured voice as Admiral Dimitri finished. "This whole believing in force sensitive pilots thing sounds like a roll of the dice to me. You were hoping they could do the impossible." He looked towards the other officers in the room almost for validation of what he was saying, before continuing. "Also did you have any way of measuring how force sensitive this pilot was? Anakin Skywalker had the highest force sensitivity of any jedi according to legend. So making that comparison is ridiculous." He said, now more confident in himself as his words began to make sense. "As far as I am aware there are no force sensitive individuals since then have been recorded as being anywhere near his level. Therefore even making the case that the pilot was a force sensitive not a valid excuse." He finished, as he finished he realized that he was a junior officer here and he probably shouldn't have spoken so candidly and immediately shrank back slightly into his chair.

"I mean I could be wrong,." He said as he began to feel a bit uncomfortable having drawn all the attention to himself. In the corner of his glasses he could see the small figure of Blossom (his AI) smirk and giggle to herself. He glared at her, he could tell she was enjoying this just a tad too much.

 

[ROSECOM]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Objective: She Remains Unconvinced
Tags: Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Richard deWinter

Captain Valla smiled upon hearing the young prodigy give his opinion on the issue, even though he did not seem to agree with her reasoning regarding her decision to let the untrained Force-sensitive pilot fly.

“Mr. deWinter! Well, it is always good to see a sterling young officer of your caliber who is not afraid to make his voice heard.” The Twi’lek began as an appreciative expression came over her emerald features. “The Armada certainly needs more individuals like you, but since you have engaged in this discussion, I would like to clarify my intentions in allowing this pilot to fly. Now, obviously, I was not expecting her to take down a Confederate Lucrehulk-class as the supposedly mythical Anakin Skywalker once did as a little boy, though that would have been a very welcome surprise. Regardless, I firmly believed that I achieved my objective in authorizing her to fly. Based on the records and files from the mission, the pilot in question quickly gained control over her craft, in spite of an apparent glitch with the Ballerina’s heating systems.”

With a coy smile, Valla then turned towards the handsome dancer-admiral, seeking to honor the man’s argument just as she had done with the young prodigy.

“Battle meditation is but one manifestation of the Force out of many that pilots and commanders can use to their advantage in the battlefield. What I am referring to in this specific instance is...hmm...this one is slightly more difficult to pin down, but I think I’ll refer to it a sort of powerful intuition that Force-sensitive individuals possess that others lack. That precisely admiral, is what allowed our pilot to eventually gain control over her craft. In essence, I put her in a situation where her instincts were tested, and she proved to be worthy, just as I expected.” The captain finished with a wide, self-satisfied smile.

Meanwhile, Admiral Dalle felt as if she were about to puke.

 

[Jai'galaar Gred]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Objective: The Wild Child!
Wearing: Jai'galaar's Mandalorian Armor
Tags: Bella Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Salem Norongachi Sasmay Cull Richard deWinter

Under the helmet, Jai wasn't convinced it was nothing. Strill reacted to feeling quite easily, and if Maliky was trying to comfort the pilot, something was wrong. He figured he'd best not push it though. Didn't know if it was something like what he was going through, or something about what was going on now.

"New fighter you say. Can't wait to see them in action. As for me, I'm not too worried. Just let the big boys and girls of the fleet hash it out. We aren't any worse than the Mandalorians that kept fighting on Concord Dawn, so shouldn't be horrible. Then again... maybe I should mention that...." He spoke fairly nonchalantly to try and help the young pilot calm down some. It was good to try something to help her.

 

[Domino]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Objective: The Wild Child!
Wearing: Admiral's Hat, Spacer's Jacket, & Work Pants
Tags: Salem Norongachi Jai'galaar Gred Dimitri Lindzinsky Sasmay Cull Bella Richard deWinter

The absolute drivel that this woman was trying to hide behind! Domino was angry before, now she absolutely seethed. The temperature in the room noticeably dropped as Domino stood, no longer bothering with the decorum of moving within another Admiral's domain as she subconsciously pulled the Force to her. "You absolutely nescient fool." A blue hand reached out and grabbed the front of Valla's uniform and pulled her until they were face-to-face.

"I was going to let the Admiral handle this herself and just observe, I only came for two reasons." She held up a little finger. "You endangered my Apprentice." Her ring finger joined the first, counting the second, "and you endangered one of the women I love. And she is not yours to judge worthy." Her words were icy with barely contained rage and she practically spat out the last word as if it were particularly foul. "You were here to see your people finish their mission with minimal risk and casualties as their leader, not to put them in harm's way to satisfy your curiosities. Children do that playing with fire.
I can say with no hubris that I'm one of the most powerful Force users in this Sector, and I. Do. Not. Fly. Fighters. I'm not suited to them. Put her in a situation like this again and you won't have to worry about your career, I'll rend you to the last atom until your nothing but a memory and dust." Her smile left no doubt that this was no idle threat either before she shoved the woman away.

Rounding on Bella she snapped her fingers and pointed. "You, ace. You're Sasmay's new personal trainer. I want a hundred hours of classroom learning done before either of you even sits in a cockpit again, then at least half that in flight time before she's made active. Fully certified on fighters and small craft before six months are out. Understood?" Domino's half-eaten doughnut lay forgotten where she'd dropped it under the desk on standing.

 

[Dasmi Lindervale]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Objective: She Remains Unconvinced
TAGS: Domino Richard deWinter Paragon of Vanity

There was a pause from the fleet admiral as another weighed in. DeWinter, and a new face to the Armada. Not unwelcome, and giving his opinion on the matter. A wry smile appeared as he spoke before Valla returned with her own opinion. His mouth opened to speak, as Domino stepped up to speak rather quickly and with passion at that.

His mouth snapped shut as the twi'lek closed the distance and began on her own agenda for the meeting. As she spoke, he did little more than take a sip from a bottle he had stashed beside his chair, mindful of just how loud he was in contrast to the woman speaking currently. When her point was made, his eyes slid over to Sasmay Cull for a brief second before moving back to the gathered admiralty.

It seemed a bit chilly in the room as he zipped up his jacket, thankful for the lining it had as his eyes moved back to Domino before looking to the other pair. Then the woman rounded on the pilot in question, and Dimitri saved any further idea of speaking for the moment. He wasn't about to cut in on a force users tirade, and he certainly wasn't going to step into the line of fire when personal connection was in the mix either.

Taking another sip from the water bottle, he set it back on the floor carefully, mindful of the volume once more.

 

[Richard deWinter]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Objective: The Wild Child
Wearing: Leather Jacket, Stained Jeans and Smart Glasses (AI integrated into them).
Equipment: Blossom AI
Tags: Paragon of Vanity Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky

Simply nodded in response, he was after all a junior captain who had just been promoted. He wasn't about to argue with a captain who was technically his senior. However when he looked at Admiral Domino he wished he had said something. Strangely he felt the room temperature drop almost immediately. He shivered to himself but that wasn't the worst part. To say Admiral Domino was angry would be an understatement. Richard could feel her fury as she grabbed Captain Valla, and felt Admiral Domino's emotion wash over him like a disorientating wave, and he wasn't sure why. He gripped the desk beside him to keep himself steady as Admiral Domino raged at Captain Valla's decision to send her apprentice out without proper training. He could see Blossom's look of mischievousness turn to concern as she felt her father's disorientation through the neural implants that she was connected to. Richard sat down in a chair in order to settle himself. As he did this he watched Domino order Bella to begin training Sasmay in the simulator. 'This was one hell of a first meeting to be a part of' he thought to himself. He wasn't about to interfere and risk angering the admiral even more. As he worried that she was a bit to personally connected to this issue and that never ended well. Also for whatever reason, the way Domino had reacted, and the cold that had come with it, had made Richard sick to his stomach.

Blossom was taken a back by the sheer anger and fury of the admiral, but what she was more concerned about was her father's reaction to this outburst. He looked deathly pale and slightly sick. From what she could gather it wasn't from the actual things that the admiral was saying that had made Richard react this way. It was some form of energy that she was giving off that was making her father react like this. Was this the so called force that she had heard people reference? Was her father sensitive to it? Or was Admiral Domino making everyone in the room feel this way? She couldn't be certain.

"Father I am going to run some diagnostics, I'll be back." She said in his head, Richard simply nodded as she disappeared from his view in his glasses. This was of course a lie. Blossom disappeared to run a secret project. Ever since first coming into contact with those that could use the force she had been working on a project to see if she could devise a piece of software that could alert her and her father to their presence. She also had her own reservations about whether her father was a force sensitive despite his own claims that he was not. She knew that he would deny this accusation no matter what, as he disliked the idea of the force and it's illogical nature.

 

[ROSECOM]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Objective: She Remains Unconvinced
Tags: Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Richard deWinter Jai'galaar Gred

For her part, Dalle did not hesitate to pounce on the captain while she was down.

“Since you have failed to provide any acceptable reasons for your poor decisions in managing Sapphire squadron, especially pertaining to this...incident regarding a Force-sensitive pilot, I think we are all in agreement that you, Captain Valla, are unfit to manage a squadron, much less an elite one.” The admiral said.

“You are dismissed, captain.” The ex-Imperial finished with a grim finality, her expression taking on an ostensibly sadistic twist as she gestured towards the exit. “We will discuss the details of your reassignment at a later date.”

To her credit, Valla endured the chewing out sessions from the two women with a stiff upper lip. While it had been some time since she had been reprimanded by a commanding officer, she was nonetheless familiar with how to handle herself in such a situation, which was to remove herself from it as quickly as possible via any means necessary. Fortunately, Dalle had graciously given her an exit and Valla didn’t intend to waste any time in making a beeline to the closest, yet most out-of-the-way bar in order to drink off the morning stress. If it came to it that Dalle wanted to meet her that day, she’d contrive some excuse to not go, whether that meant hiding out in her office or taking some of the many sick and leave days she had saved over the last few months of war against the Confederacy.

And so, after giving a sharp nod of acknowledgement to the two women and the handsome admiral, Valla turned and left the room.

A few moments passed before Dalle broke the silence.

“There is still much to resolve pertaining to Sapphire’s fate.” The ex-Imperial continued once more. “But from you three, including you, Captain deWinter, I am willing to hear you all out regarding the squadron’s future, or lack of one.”

 

[Bella]

Location: Briefing Room A22, Armada Military Base - Eve, Scintilla
Time: 0700 Hours GST
Tags: Jai'galaar Gred Domino Dimitri Lindzinsky Sasmay Cull
Objective: The Wild Child!
Equipment and Attire: Phase IX Anti-G Suit (No Helmet) │ X-8 Night Sniper

Bella frowned.

The diminutive Togruta had no idea what had gone down among the Mandalorians on Concord Dawn. Of course, she had heard of the Sith’s sacking of Mandalore, but beyond that she had very little knowledge of Mandalorian history, beyond only the most recent events.

“That sounds...bad.” The pilot answered somewhat awkwardly. “I'm just ready for this to be over so I can get to the hangar.” Bella added with a frown. Just as she finished, the Twi’lek admiral began to chew out Captain Valla, making such a scene in the process that the room fell silent as everyone listened to the Rutian’s tirade, presumably hoping to stay out of the woman’s line of fire.

For all of her futile efforts to stay hidden in the midst of the salvo, Bella nonetheless found herself the subject of the admiral’s attention.

However, it wasn’t a reprimand, but rather a firm order. It was a reasonable one, since after all, Bella did have a bit of teaching experience, but she would never consider herself to be the first option as a flight instructor. There were plenty of better ones in the Scintilla, but she supposed that by virtue of being an ace and the fact that she was in very close proximity to the admiral, that made her a natural choice.

Nevertheless, if the admiral was being literal in her orders that Bella not sit in a cockpit again until she gave Sasmay hundred hours of classroom learning, then she would be...

Disappointed.

Holding back a sigh, Bella acknowledged the admiral’s orders with a nod as she quickly stood to attention. Ever the disciplined soldier, the diminutive Togruta didn’t hesitate to give the admiral her due respect, but there were some things that had to be questioned.

“Your orders are understood, admiral, and I will carry them out to the best of my ability.” Bella began, before taking a deep breath and swallowing her nerves. “Unfortunately, I can’t maintain even a mild degree of readiness without flying at least a couple of sorties a week. The sims are good, but they aren’t a substitute for actual flight hours. I understand why you want to keep Sasmay out of the cockpit, but I’d ask that you allow me to fly in between training sessions, admiral.”

Then, Bella let out the breath she had been holding and awaited the admiral’s response. Even then, she didn't agree with the admiral's order to keep Sasmay out of the cockpit as well, but she had learned in the fleet academy that it was best to handle one issue at a time when it came to communicating with superior officers.

 

[Sasmay Cull]

Domino Bella Richard deWinter Jai'galaar Gred

Sasmay was silent when Domino took to the chase of chewing out the offending admiral. There was a bit of a sheepish look to the woman however when she made their relationship completely public.

And then the sheepish look switched to that of stunned horror as Domino rounded on the togruta that had been the flight leader, ordering her to have Sasmay in the class for a hundred hours before sitting in the cockpit again. She thought to object, to voice her own opinion, but this wasn't her place to do so.

These people had rank and while most had been talking about her, Domino in her own way was actually talking to her.

Sort of.

Resigning herself to the gruelling task of attempting classroom time, she wondered quietly just how patient Bella was going to be.

To avoid commenting on the matter, the quiet bite of her donut kept her from voicing an opinion of her own.

 

[Dasmi Lindervale]

Domino Paragon of Vanity Bella Richard deWinter

The dressing down from Domino did little for the man other than assure him the choice to wear a thick jacket most everywhere was a wise choice. Her words however stuck with him through the whole situation. Once the relief of command happened, he did little more than nod to the woman as she left.

That discussion handled, he switched gears.

"As the inexperience of the pilot has now been resolved, and the relief of command been made clear, the discussion of their fate is rather moot."Dimitri replied quietly. His mood shifted drastically with the looming discussion as he shifted in his seat. His arms were now on the table, chin resting in the coupled hands as his fingers twined together.

"Unless you are making the precedance that every starfighter squad leader be held personally responsible for pre-flight checks in any situation, which could cause issues in deployment during combat scenarios; I would ask to have the party responsible for the whole fleet contingent they are a part of also be held responsible." His tone was soft, but did not fail to wield the weight of his position.

"Should any of you have issues with their continued existance as a squadron..." His eyes shifted to the ex-imperial for a brief moment before speaking again. "I will put myself forward as the new commanding officer of the squadron. I see potential in the unit, as I previously stated."

His hand waved towards Domino and the untrained pilot in the room. "As the training has already been scheduled, removal of the squadron and reassignment of their members to separate commanding officers would prove irrational for the training of the inexperienced pilot while paired with the ace of the squadron as most likely one of the more experienced officers would put claim to her while the latter would be left to their own devices in clear breach of the edict the was put forth." He spoke softly still, now shifting once more on that topic.

"Also, as the nature of your relationship was made public. The issue of Ms. Cull being under your command now becomes that of personal interest. I would ask that Ms. Cull be struck from any roster that you have to remove the chance for any claims of favoritism and save everyone, including you-" Pausing to nod at Domino. "The fruitless, or potentially harmful slander created by such inquiries for both you, and Ms. Cull."