Part I: A Darkling Sky

[Cyrus Tregessar]

Initial reports were spotty. Ships appearing out of hyperspace in frontier systems in the Ablajeck Sector, matching no known transponder codes or mapped energy signature. They attacked without any sort of dialogue, striking at civilian stations, trade depots, and even small military outposts. Survivors reported pirate hordes moving as an organized mob, demonstrating a unity in tactics and strategy that belied their haphazard appearance. Most unnerving was their apparent familiarity with First Order doctrine, and unwillingness to be drawn in to any battle they had a chance to lose, even if it meant giving up on valuable target.

With most military resources focused on the almost certain impending war with the Galactic Alliance, it fell to local governors and secondary military detachments to muster the defense of the frontier sectors. They found themselves surprisingly outmatched and outgunned. Forced to adopt unconventional strategies, they also appealed to the Knights of Ren and FOSB for assistance.

A small task force was assembled and dispatched to Annaj, the sector capital, where they were greeted on arrival by Moff Llorent Wiyaso. The situation, as he would soon explain, was quite dire.

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

​

Snow fell in soft blankets, the perpetual fog that engulfed the planet of Annaj having been turned into sleet by the onset of winter. Through the thick haze, Moff Wiyaso was practically blind, but he trusted in the planet's traffic control center guide his guests down safely. The storms had been particularly fierce this year, to the point that the central spaceport was operating its theater shield as a weather control device. But it was deactivated right now because visibility was simply too bad. A decision he had made, believing it to be the best one at the time, to prevent any mishaps.

That was sort of how things worked right now, everything one decision at a time. His decision to send a squadron to investigate the first reports of the raiders. An investigation that turned into an ambush and disaster, and left him with eleven fewer ships to secure the frontier. Thus far all his subsequent deployments had been failures as well. The pirate ships, dubbed Kosayck Raidships by the merchants and Naval personnel of the sector, seemed only to target stations and garrisons they knew they could beat. When Star Destroyers or Heavy Cruisers showed up, they fled. That made it reasonably easy to secure the major trade worlds, but with war on the horizon he had only so many capital ships to spare.

He ran the numbers in his head again, the list of his failure. Seventeen successful raids. Eleven ships lost. 2,359 Stormtroopers and Army dead, and over forty thousand civilian casualties, mostly lost when the pirates blew a station orbiting Trenwyth. That was the loss that hurt the most, his failure to protect the millions of civilians that had chosen to move out into the unknown, expecting to be protected.

In the end he'd been forced to call the capital for aid. Whether they were here to place him and chains and send him back to the capital, or here simply to aid in the investigation and operation, he couldn't say, but he'd face them here either way. He glanced to either side of him, where a small honor guard of eight Planetary Army troopers waited at parade rest.

Lights appeared in the distance, beacons from the approaching shuttle. Then, rising to meet them, a set of laser guidelines reached out, showing clearly the way in to the landing pad. In spite of himself, though maybe it was just the chill of the wind, Wiyaso shivered.

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

Cain Olper, a Commander in the First Order had decided been assigned to help Governor Wiyaso. He had not been the highest ranking official assigned to the mission, but Cain was eager to learn, as well as to prove himself among the large naval personnel of the First Order. The hybrid was well aware of what had occurred: pirates attacked in organized formations, striking at First Order facilities across the sector. He hoped that he could help finish them, as the naval commander firmly believed in never attacking civilian facilities, unless it was required.

He had heard that many blamed the governor for what had occurred. To him however, it seemed it was it was the commanders' inability to adapt to the raiding tactics used by them. He hoped to learn from the head naval commander assigned to the mission, as Cain had always had his own ideas on how to conduct a proper naval operation, but just like various fleet commanders, he had picked up ideas along the way.

The shuttle landed, aided by the laser guidelines on the ground. When the exit hatch opened, Cain was among the first people to come out, seeing Governor Wiyaso in that instance, and bowing toward him in respect, as there had yet to be a punishment on the Governor revoking the privileges, and the rank that he had.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

"Fresh, experienced and shows promise if used correctly"

It was a statement he'd been told when graduating from the First Order acadmemy. It was only hours later he had been pulled into a coms meeting with [member="Ludolf Vaas"] and told he was being drafted in as an Admiral of the First Order due to his experience in the transport industry before the fateful day, the day that broke him. He hated thinking about that day, the day that he'd recieved the news of the death of his wife and child in the terrorist attack on Correllia.

He was one of the higher ranking officers drafted in to help, to prove himself worthy of the rank of Admiral. He had yet to be assigned his feet, instead using a small frigate to transport himself to Annaj. The crew aboard looked scared but respectful, Jayden doubted they were used to having an Admiral aboard their small little transport frigate and he played on their fear, forced them to leave him the captains quaters. He'd demoted the Commander to sleeping with his crew, something he was all to happy to do, be it through fear or respect. Jayden loved that, he was the newest recruit and he held the power of the Admiral.

He'd taken a shuttle from the frigate, selecting the two best pilots to join him. He'd remained silent during the trip to the surface, only speaking when he felt the ship touch down. He missed Annaj, the place he'd trained to join the ranks of the First Order. He stepped from the ship slowly, his naval uniform spotless with his boots shining. He ordered the two pilots to follow him and they did so without question. All three men strolled through the snow, the distance they had to take small but necessary.

Governor Wiyaso had made far too many mistakes and had turned to the Capital to assist him and assist those who he had promised to defend. Jayden sigh lightly as he noticed the Governor. He'd only met the man once, he was an inexperienced man and someone who would always require babysitting. Jayden walked over to the Governer, nodding lightly as a show of respect. Technically the Admiral was a higher rank than the Governor, but the different beauru's made the entire thing confusing.

"Governor Wiyaso. I see you have again failed to maintain peace"

He turned to [member="Cain Olper"], scanning the man slowly, the two pilots matching Jayden's every single move. He wouldn't show respect, not yet. He was sure the man wasn't of a higher rank than him, but it was worth checking before making any show of respect.

"And you are?"

[member="Cain Olper"]
[member="Cyrus Tregessar"]

 

[Pharazon Draken]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Aboard one of the ships of the small task force sent to Annaj to assist and relieve Moff Wiyaso was a platoon of stormtroopers confused as to their role in the coming operation. The 4th Platoon of the 189th Grenadier Company along with the rest of the company, had been stationed aboard one of the ships as a defensive contingent as well as for use in case any ground or ship to ship operations were deemed necessary. Lieutenant Pharazon Draken, the commanding officer of 4th Platoon always felt uneasy aboard First Order naval vessels. He could never get used to not being a naval officer while about military starships given his history as a Lieutenant in the Royal Hapan Navy in a time that felt like a lifetime ago. Now that he was a stormtrooper he had few regrets in his place in the First Order that had given him sanctuary, but naval journeys were always unsettling and off putting.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]He had been running his platoon through exercise after exercise of mock boarding operations and continuing to subject them to his various other strict sets of drills in order to keep them fighting fit. They had practised offensive boarding procedures, defending against hostile boarding actions, mutiny drills, evacuation procedures, anything that they could do to improve their performance in ship based combat Pharazon had them drilling.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]After the task force had arrived at the sector capital of Annaj Pharazon grew more wary in regards to the reason they had been sent here for. Reviewing the reports and intelligence briefings that he was cleared for, he could see that these pirates or insurgents, whatever they are appeared to be far more dangerous than initially speculated. Thousands of stormtroopers and army troops dead, tens of thousands of civilians murdered. Pharazon did not know how he and his meagre in the grand scheme of things platoon could assist but even he, a lowly Lieutenant knew this was going to get far worse before victory was on the horizon.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]As he and his men finished a bout firing range training, Pharazon decided that he would ensure that his stormtroopers would be armed and armoured at all practical times. Returning to their barracks he drew up the orders on his holoterminal and sent it to all of his troopers helmet communicators and official communication accounts and the platoon general orders.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]“Cain” Pharazon said, striding over to his platoon sergeant who had just returned from an NCO briefing. “I do not like the feel of this assignment, I cannot exactly describe why, but I have a feeling these pirates are not all they appear to be” Pharazon continued, concerned but still professional and firm.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]“I agree sir, something feels off about the governor of this region, the Imperial reaction, and the pirates themselves, I think the new standing order should increase our readiness but if they strike solely with naval power I fear we may be rendered irrelevant” Cain replied, also evidently concerned.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]“Yes… inform the sergeants at your discretion of my concerns, Sandalphon may be of some assistance given his tactical aptitude and his natural empathy, he may be able to keep us further apprised of the men’s general mood” Pharazon offered, his tone indicative of his continued thinking as he spoke.[/SIZE]

“Certaintly sir”[SIZE=14.6667px] Cain responded [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]“I will keep this fairly quite for now beyond you, Sandalphon and myself, but will reevaluate once we receive additional briefings and orders as the task force begins to deploy properly”[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] he finished.[/SIZE]

“Very good Sergeant”[SIZE=14.6667px] Pharazon said, dismissing his protege with a slight nod and turning away to go organise for some weapon requisitions better suited to close quarters intra-ship combat. He still carried his Hapan Royal Navy issue Dirk but that would not be completely sufficient Pharazon drily mused.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Pharazon did not know how he and his stormtroopers would be utilised against the pirates, but he would mist well make sure 4th Platoon was ready for whatever orders he received.[/SIZE]

 

[Zmej Ren]

When everything else fails, they send a Force sensitive to do the job – or to properly motivate others to do theirs. Neither option speaks highly about those originally tasked to provide security and order, but once matters reach a certain point, there is no denying failure. Heads were going to roll, yet empty seats would not remain unclaimed for long, as fresh and hopefully more competent individuals faced the same problem as their predecessors, expected to succeed where others have failed. With a trapdoor constantly positioned under their feet, ready to open and swallow another failed career, everyone’s mind furiously grinds for solutions that would lead to success. Many sentients wished to replace the governor, all thinking their solution a sounder one. Whatever the case, reports of higher than acceptable have reached the Father’s ears as well, thus sending one of his best to ensure success and deliver harsh punishments upon anyone threatening the First Order’s interests came as no surprise.

It was most insulting when mere pirates wreaked havoc and destruction upon the First Order’s disciplined, professional soldiers. With the Galactic Alliance knocking on the door, manpower and resources required a careful distribution, thus failure was not acceptable nor tolerable. Arriving to fix the Moff’s soft approach to the problem was one Zmej Ren, more than ready to inspire fear among friend and foe alike. Even the winter welcoming her approach had more warmth and mercy than Sieger Ren’s young agent. If found guilty of incompetence, he would be removed – whether that was before or after the raider trouble’s been dealt with rested on Zmej’s shoulders alone. Given more freedom than usual signed the situation had to be solved swiftly and efficiently, no excuses or crying. If the fog shielded jewel she spied on from her shuttle had to have its surrounding vapours turn blood red to make a point, she wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

No matter what awaited her, Zmej wanted to carve her name into everyone’s mind, immortalize it within the First Order’s annals. Enough brutality to put even the most bloodthirsty of pirates to shame ought to do it, working wonders on incompetence and pirate scum alike.

Draped in traditional robes associated with various sects devoted to the Force, not an inch of Zmej’s skin poked out. Even the young woman’s blonde head found solace beneath a masked helmet that also provided cover for the eerily glowing eyes. If nothing else, then the cross-shaped metallic object hanging from her belt announced the Supreme Leader was watching through his agent. As soon as the shuttle pierced the frozen inferno and touched the landing pad, she would be unleashed – and whether the governor escaped with his hide merely tarnished and forgotten and not eviscerated depended solely on him, although the disciple already disliked the man. There was only one cure for weakness.

 

[Luna Terrik]

[SIZE=14pt]It was only a few hours ago that she was laying in her bunk, finally, after traveling for a solid two days beforehand to get to their new home ship, under the command of [member="Jayden Sanders"]. It had been two full days of sitting in their bunk areas, doing routine checks on their TIEs, and general boredom. But as soon as the three TIE carriers, holding four TIE interceptors each, met up with Admiral Sanders’ frigate, it had been total and complete non-stop work for the flight officer. The three carriers and the frigate took off for a mystery destination. No mention was made to where the destination could be, and because the squadron had no idea what they were walking into, they were kept on high alert at all times. It was a stark difference from the two days they spent in boredom. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]It had only taken a few hours for the convoy of ships to burst out of hyperspace above a dark blue planet. Raging, huge storms could be seen all over the planet, and from the viewport Luna was looking down from, the redhead could see that flying a Starfighter through the atmosphere of the planet would be absolute hell. Sensors would be completely useless, and the visibility out of the viewport of an interceptor wouldn’t be more than a few feet! ‘Why are we even here? There’s no point to even coming here if we cant fly!’ Luna thought to herself as she made her way to the crew quarters to take a much needed nap.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]A sudden, rude awakening shook Luna from her dreamless sleep. Her squadron commander stood over her, holding out a hand, with a serious look on his face. “Come on. You and I are going to the planet’s surface.” Not one to ask questions, even with them running through her head, Luna quickly pulled on her boots and hurried after her commander. Soon, the pair of pilots were on a shuttle, holding their black helmets under their arms. An admiral stood in front of them, the closest the flight officer had ever been to one. He seemed hard, almost in a constant state anger. Definitely not one that Luna would want to rub the wrong way. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]As soon as the ship made its way to the surface, the trio of passengers made their way off the ship and into the pouring rain. Both Cane Gavel, Knight Leader, and Luna Terrik, Knight Four, flanked the admiral as they made their way off the ship. Both slipped their helmets on, hopefully protecting their heads from the elements. They stood, completely still, as the admiral began to berate the governor and other men that had come out to meet them on landing platform. Luna shivered slightly from the cold, the suits providing little precious heat. [/SIZE]



[member="Cyrus Tregessar"] / [member="Cain Olper"] / [member="Jayden Sanders"] / [member="Pharazon Draken"] [member="Zmej Ren"]

 

[Jaya Tandris]

Battle Sirens​

"Hey Zoey, it's me. Got called up again, had to leave immediately. You know what to do by now- don't get the Eye in trouble, keep the boys and girls in check, the usual. I'm not sure for how long I'll be gone this time, it seems the FO forces are spread fairly thin so there will be a lot on everyone's plate. Gotta get ready now, talk to you later. Cupcake out."

With a few taps on the data pad, Jaya sent the recording to her right hand within the Eye of the Street. Despite her new affiliation with the First Order, it was her group. The crew was her family, and she wouldn't leave them. Period. Jaya's right hand, Zoey, was someone she trusted with anything. One of the founding members, she stuck at the agent's side through thick and thin, and knew how to lead. Above all however, she was a friend. As such, Jaya left the Eye in the care of Zoey whenever she was called upon by the First Order.

Cupcake rose from where she was sitting, stretching and looking around the shuttle as she did. She was tasked to find out was behind the group called the Ablajeck Marauders, why said person is determined to undermine the First Order, and punch them in the face. Well, the last one was made up, but Jaya was likely going to do it anyway. She didn't have much else to go on and decided to just go out and see what information could be punched out of the Marauders. It was a strategy that worked like a charm in the past, and Jaya saw no reason to fix something that wasn't broken.

After some shadow boxing as warming up the shuttle landed. Jaya wasn't a fan of cold weather and snow, but it wasn't too big of an issue. "Showtime." she said to herself, a grin forming across her face. Skulls would be cracked, terrible one-liners would be said and fun would be had. "Sound the battle sirens."

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

The Commander saw the Governor. He had heard he was a competent fellow, and for years, he had kept the sector safe. It seemed however that someone had best the governor at a game he, evidently, didn't seem to be familiar with. Despite him hating that civilian lives had been taken, he hoped the Governor would reassigned, at least to a lesser post. The opinion however wasn't popular, so Cain made sure he kept quiet.

"Commander Cain Olper." he said, nodding at the Admiral. He could sense the tone of the Admiral, one not showing respect to him. I guess that's how it is then. he thought, as he looked around at the people also in the shuttle. Cain then saw a Ren, a commander, someone who he didn't know was an agent, and a starfighter pilot. It certainly seemed the First Order intelligently deployed people with a wide array of skills to beat this opponent. Cain would have preferred it be a naval operation, but he would execute Sieger Ren's will with proficiency, and -hopefully- avenge the lives that were lost.


"Governor." he said, making sure his tone reflected no stance at all. He however was eager for the mission to actually begin, and didn't care about the formalities.

 

[Jaya Tandris]

Jaya looked around the shuttle one more time. She walked over to where she had put her gauntlets, and as she stuck her hands inside of them, a slight hiss came from the gauntlets, securing them around her arms and hands. The mechanisms sprung to life, and Cupcake balled her hands into fists a few times to make sure everything was in order. Satisfied, she made her way out of the shuttle, the snow beneath her feet cracking as it compressed under her weight.

Jaya's choice of attire was suited for the environment. She wore a thick coat, and her boots were durable. She saw a group of people form, and made her way towards them. In all honestly she had no idea who they were, but they were allies. That was enough for her. As Cupcake got closer, she started talking. "Is this where the party's at?" She came to a standstill as she stood with the rest, contrasting the serious looks with a broad smile. "Nah, this can't be a party. You all look way too serious!" Jaya chuckled before continuing. "Alright, I'll get to the point. Where is the enemy and how hard do I punch their teeth in?" Jaya 'cracked' the knuckles of her gauntlets, signifying she was ready for some action.

 

[Starling]

"Are you sure this is safe? That reentry profile looks awfully steep!"
"Who needs safe?" Erinn Laval chuckled derisively, glancing over at her co-pilot, Kazé. The Twi'lek frowned back at her, shaking her head in astonishment at Erinn's recklessness. The pilot ignored her and turned her attention back to the controls.

A point of blinding white light appeared above the snow fields on the western horizon. It flickered and danced, like a candleflame seen through water, growing rapidly brighter and brighter until it detached itself from the skyline and streaked overhead, a ball of heat trailing ribbon of red flame through the air behind it as it raced over the snow. Within a matter of seconds, the flaming comet had cooled, its light winking out to reveal the triangular, grey outline of the Light Cruiser CL-TC88 Ardent Redeemer, skimming, now at only a mere four times the speed of sound, just yards above ground.
The ship dipped for a moment and he keel grazed a clifftop, dislodging a slab of snow, which plummeted down into the crevasse below.

"I told you we were coming in too steep!"
"That was intentional!"

The ship sped on, her retrograde thrusters blazing in a frantic attempt to slow her fall, shaking and jumping as the harsh air currents buffeted her this way and that. For several crowded seconds, the ship fought to maintain stability, rocking and rolling as mile upon mile of snowdrifts fell away beneath her.
Then, almost without warning, there was a jolt; a roll; a flickering in one thruster. The Ardent Redeemer was wrenched suddenly sideways and whirled around on her axis, spinning violently through the air in an uncontrolled skid which came to a juddering halt in the air above the illuminated outline of the landing zone, in what seemed to be the anti-gravity equivalent of a handbrake turn. The Ardent Redeemer, now facing back the way she had come, hung serenely above the pad as though rested on some invisible cradle.

"Starling! What are you-?"
"Intentional!" Erinn glanced away from her Co-Pilot, who was busying herself with a paper bag, to the screen of her radio, where the "incoming transmission" indicator was blinking.
"Unidentified Cruiser, this is Command. Come in. Over."
Erinn leaned over and pressed down a button on her radio set, "Command, this is Starling Seven Bravo. Unidentified Cruiser is Charlie-Lima Tango-Charlie-Eight-Eight. Over."
"Charlie-Lima Tango-Charlie-Eight-Eight, your reentry clearance for Annaj is Negative. Repeat Negative. Over."
Rolling her eyes, Erin replied, "Whoops. Colon-Papa. Out."
"Laval, this is comple-" the tinny voice was cut short as Erinn flipped off her set's power.
"Mind the ship, will you?" She told the still retching Kazé, as she unbuckled the straps of her seat and slipped out of the bridge.

A handful of minutes later, Erinn was stamping her feet into the heavy boots of her old pilot's uniform. A violent twist locked the helmet into place with the satisfying click and hiss that told Erinn her life support had come online. She jogged briskly across the warship's onboard hangar, climbing aboard one of her three TIE interceptors.
As her finger touched the "Launch" button, she felt the hum that resonated through the entire ship as the hangar bay doors wound open beneath her, then the familiar Clunk-Clunk-Clunk of the interceptor being lowered in its davits, before a moment of silent stillness, followed by stomach-churning moment of weightlessness as the clamps released and the starfighter dropped into the blizzard. With deft, precise movements of throttle and stick, Laval brought the Interceptor spiralling down to settle on a corner of the pad as gently as a falling leaf.
She felt far more comfortable at the helm of a graceful starfighter than she could ever feel with the bulk of a great, lumbering warship. But warships were her job now and there was no getting around it. Oh well; she would have to make do.

Leaping down from the ladder of the TIE, Erinn Laval twisted off her helmet, "I believe you called..."

 

[Samuel Jones]

Samuel spent the time in light-speed to think about how sweat combat sounded to his ears. besides a few small encounters with small pirate freighter, this would he his first real combat situation where he was at the helm and in complete control of his ship. he was assigned to the Maelstrom, a Fortan Class Heavy Corvette, a few months back as his first command. he was ecstatic, until he found out his first assignment was to patrol the back worlds of First Order space. he could not deny that it was important, but there was nothing more boring, days on day with nothing to do but run pointless drills and eat the 'food' the served in the galley. while the FO ducted it out with the Galactic alliance over Kaeshana, and are trying to take Rakata Beta back under it's fold, they left some not as important ships with guard duty. And that's where Samuel came in, his space to guard was over Endor, where he could get a nice look at the remains of the 2nd Death Star. but there was nothing really left anyways, so he had spent most of his days reading and the likes. but two days ago he got orders to go to Annaj, which was only a light day away, so after confirming the Orders he set course for the planet. he was only told that there was some unrest on the planet and he was told to go as support. Samuel was fine with that but he also hoped for some combat, he turned towards the comms station.

​"Comms officer, notify the crew that we will be exiting hyperspace in two hours, and about 20 minute before fe exit give a 'all hands to battle station' command."

​After a quick yes sir, a loud voice came over the ships comms, "​this is the bridge, entry in to normal space in two hours." ​he would then spend the rest of his time staring out the viewport, waiting for his time to shine.

 

[Preliat Mantis]

A ritual. A ritual defined a culture's warriors. Paint came from early tribes. War trophies lining spears. Taking fingers, ears- from the more savage ones. But to the Mandalorians, each warrior had their own. Chants and songs were one thing, but the individual's rituals were his own. Some prayed. Some read. Some made music. Preliat- went over. Went over everything. What he had. How much he had. What he needed. It was laid out on a table, and meticulously at that. He put on each piece of Beskar'kandar armor individually. He went over the scratches in his mind. How he got them. How he got the Beskar leg he carried. He put on his crushgaunts. He put his blasters in their holsters. He made sure his jetpack was on tight enough- and the exhaust wouldn't burn the back of his legs. He made sure his rifle's sling was attached properly.


Finally, the tomahawk. A weapon he had used to claim more lives than anything else. He made sure the blade was sharp- and put it in it's usual spot. The Beskar knife was the last to go, stuck into the sheath on his forearm. He marched past Stormtroopers, who parted the seas for the Wolf.

He entered the shuttle silently, and turned to look through his hateful T-shaped visor at one [member="Jaya Tandris"]. In his younger days, he would have thought her cute and somewhat appealing. Now, he found her intolerable. He stared at her for a while, before sitting adjacent to her. He made sure not to voice his displeasure, although- his body language did more than enough in that regard.

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

Moff Wiyaso was a veteran soldier turned accomplished politician, and was very much used to dealing with hostile situations both on a personal and much more visceral level. If he showed any reaction to the presumptions of Admiral [member="Jayden Sanders"], it would take serious Force Sensitivity to see it. What they would pick up on was a great deal of annoyance, at being treated with so little respect due his title, especially given that it was very evident none of the individuals present had been given authority to strip him of his position.

"I believe," he said almost dryly, "that my title remains Moff, unless you are here to present the seal of the Grand Moff revoking it?" He turned to the rest of those assembled. noting in particular a Knight of Ren, whose youth belied an almost frightening intensity behind odd amber eyes. There were two other naval officers, a starfighter pilot, some stormtroopers, and most unusually a pair of Mandalorians.

Not exactly the A-team, but that was to be expected. The First Order did not reward failure, and anyway they would serve well enough.

With a wave of his hand the honor guard turned and marched back in towards the compound and the crowd followed, likely pleased to get out of the snow. They were ushered in past the more obvious military complex into a second set of buildings that those familiar with Annaj would recognize as the Moff's personal staff facilities. For several minutes they weaved through a maze of corridors and in and out of interconnected buildings. Finally the Moff, who had by now picked up several aides, beckoned the group into a conference room.

As the group began to get settled in the Moff and his aides made their way to front and began to set up what looked like it would be an extensive briefing. If anyone wanted to get another word in for a while this would be it.

[member="Cain Olper"] | [member="Jayden Sanders"] | [member="Pharazon Draken"] | [member="Zmej Ren"] | [member="Luna Terrik"] | [member="Jaya Tandris"] | [member="Starling"] | [member="Samuel Jones"] | [member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Jaya Tandris]

Before, on the shuttle

"You look like you've got a problem with me, and you don't seem like someone who talks out his problems with people." Jaya gave [member="Preliat Mantis"] a nonchalant shrug, signifying she wasn't at all fazed by the man. "We're both here for the same reason, but if you want to go once we're done be my guest." Cupcake didn't intend to agitate the man, she merely said what was on her mind, without any filter. She never hid her thoughts, as blunt as they were.

Now, in the conference room

Entering the conference room, Jaya sighed. She hated any kind of formality, and briefings were among the worst. She hoped it would be done quickly, and didn't hide that wish from anyone. "Could we make this quick? I want to get out there." She turned to the man who brought them here, clearly not impressed by his status. Jaya was a woman who based her respect on things she witnessed with her own eyes. In addition, she didn't gel well with people who would tell her what to do. She sat down in the nearest seat, sitting as casually as she could.

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"I look like a person who razed a city to the ground."

He stared blankly at [member="Jaya Tandris"], before rising to head to the conference room. He was again, infuriated by another one of her comments. Rushing and impatience got people killed needlessly. Preliat removed a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it. He rolled the smoke between his tongue and his mouth, before letting it out his nose.

He looked sternly at [member="Cyrus Tregessar"], who began to set up the briefing. It looked rather elaborate. Then again, the operation he was going to be on seemed to be that way anyway. Of the two Mandalorians, Preliat, by rank and reputation, was the senior. His armor and demeanor alone marked him as a seasoned veteran of too many wars. This would be yet another conflict that he participated in. But this time, the Wolf hoped to gain something out of it.

He patiently waited for the Moff to begin his briefing, dabbing his cigarette's ash into the nearby cup.

 

[Ria Misrani]

FIV Constellation; Conyers-class; INCC-1464
Edge of the Tokmia System

The Constellation hummed at the edge of the local star system, having recently dropped off scientists and research from Kaeshana to Tokmia. She rested at ease, feeling secure in her home waters. Crew members of the Constellation worked within her hulls. Among them, Commander Aermoira Cyone - the commanding officer of the science frigate. She sat on the bridge looking over reports from various departments onboard the ship. "Lieutenant Commander," her voice is firm with a gentle tone, "Valasquez."

"Yes, Commander?" Briana Valasquez, newly minted command officer serving as executive officer aboard the Constellation. Tugging at the crisp black uniform of the First Imperial Navy. She crosses from her tactical station toward the command chair.

Aermoira handed Valasquez a datapad, "what do you make of this?"

Taking the datapad, Valasquez adjusted the hem of her trousers as she took a seat beside Aermoira. She was reading through a report from Kaeshana. "We'll need a stronger generator - with that much radiation. Perhaps Riflor?"

"Perhaps. We could also find a more efficent way to do this, with less draw on the generator itself." She suggested, "it's possible anyway."

"It is but my question is can we do so on the same massive scale?"

Aermoira thought for a moment as she sat back in her chair. "We should call a senior staff meeting, get some more ideas on this."

"Sounds good, maybe we-"

Lieutenant Choi interrupted, "excuse me, ma'ams. I think you might want to see this." He rose from his seat taking his own mini-tablet with him. Handing it over, Choi placed his hands behind his back. "From Ablajeck sector, and a request as it were from Moff Wiyaso."

The commander's brows furrowed as she read through the report, "set a course for the Annaj system, Ensign Quentin."

"Suggest red alert," Valasquez adds, and with a nod from Aermoira she raises it. "All hands, red alert." It was an odd sound for those aboard the Constellation but training and diligence saw them to their battle stations. The Conyers-class was not meant to see heavy battle but could provide aid in the form of her ion torpedoes which were sure to render any defensive measures from the First Order's enemies, useless. "Lieutenant Choi, advise the Moff that we're enroute."

"Aye," Choi acknowledged taking his tablet back as it was handed to him.

[member="Cyrus Tregessar"] | [member="Cain Olper"] | [member="Jayden Sanders"] | [member="Pharazon Draken"] | [member="Zmej Ren"] | [member="Luna Terrik"] | [member="Jaya Tandris"] | [member="Starling"] | [member="Preliat Mantis"] | [member="Samuel Jones"]

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

The Commander listened to the Admiral, hiding his laughter, and showing no expression when [member="Jayden Sanders"] got a stern reply from the Moff. "Moff." he said respectfully, before he went to the conference room.

Cain then went, and sat at the farthest seat, analyzing the data that had been presented. He waited for the Moff to give a debriefing. As he did this, he analyzed for any other Commodores that were here. The Ephicanthix wanted to see who he was working with, as he only knew of Admiral Sanders.

He waited for the debriefing to begin, and for other people to settle in.

 

[Pharazon Draken]

[SIZE=11pt]Pharazon was not entirely sure why he had been called into what appeared to be some kind of strategy meeting. He had been to briefings before of course, but when he had arrived at the assembly point for the meeting and on the walk on the way to the conference room, he had found a Moff and numerous other higher ranking officers than him. However, there appeared to be a rather diverse selection of people in the conference room such as apparently a mandalorian, a starfighter pilot, and a Ren. Pharazon knew better than to second guess his orders to attend this meeting however and assumed he may be one of the only stormtrooper officers in the task force, he was curious why Captain Vortigern had sent him to the meeting rather than come himself, however.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]By the same [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]knowledge[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt], Pharazon knew to keep his mouth well shut when this apparent Admiral and the Moff exchanged their verbal barbs. He knew it was likely a concession that he was attending the meeting at all and so he did not wish to jeopardise his chance at information or his future career prospects. He kept his face absolutely stern and passive as many would expect from a Stormtrooper Lieutenant. Despite his orders to his men to wear their armour whenever possible, Pharazon was in his light grey lieutenant’s uniform in preparation for this meeting. He did not suspect he would receive too many favourable glances had he turned up fully armoured.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Taking his seat, Pharazon saw that the Moff appeared to have assembled extensive amounts of briefing materials and came to the conclusion this was to be a rather long briefing. However, he also knew that this likely meant that Pharazon was going to finally learn at least a portion of the specifics of what had been happening in this sector. He could only hope the information given by the Moff would give Pharazon some indication of the size of these pirates or insurrectionists and an indication on their command structure, motives, and predicted eventual goals. Everything that he had been able to gather on his own and from his previous rather limited briefings had not contained the whole body of the collected information on this enemy.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Deciding it was better that he did not ask any initial questions, or make any foolish and dangerous quips, Pharazon seated himself in his assigned place and kept his stern expression affixed to his face as he waited for the briefing to begin.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt][member="Cyrus Tregessar"] | [member="Cain Olper"] | [member="Jayden Sanders"] |[member="Aermoira Cyone"]| [member="Zmej Ren"] | [member="Luna Terrik"] | [member="Jaya Tandris"] | [member="Starling"] | [member="Preliat Mantis"] | [member="Samuel Jones"][/SIZE]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

He felt the cold glare of the Moff on him but he shrugged it off. The Moff was harmless really, he would learn that himself in time. Jayden lead the two members of Knight Squadron inside slowly, offering a small hand signal to tell them to stand down. They would be alright left outside of the briefing. Jayden would be personally briefing them in time, he knew that much. Instead he stepped into the room himself, taking a seat and watching the group with interest.

He outranked many of them, but that didn't concern him. The number of troops was good, each would serve well during the issue. The other naval officers would each have a part to play in resolving the crisis, and possibly in time they would come to be of more use for the First Order. The Knight of Ren was a peculiar one, whoever it was seemed prone to snap at any minute and Jayden made the mental note of staying away from him slash her. The Knight Squadron was his however, many based in orbit but each one ready to make him proud. He would find a use for them, if they survived and imprressed him there would be work for them.

"What then. Is the situation"

He had a certain way with his voice, the pause between then and is obvious and meant to make people aware of his snarl. He was annoyed at having been drafted for such a situation, but he knew that it was worth it to prove himself worthy of the rank he had been granted.

[member="Pharazon Draken"]
[member="Cain Olper"]
[member="Aermoira Cyone"]
[member="Preliat Mantis"]
[member="Jaya Tandris"]
[member="Cyrus Tregessar"]
[member="Samuel Jones"]
[member="Starling"]
[member="Luna Terrik"]