Part I: A Darkling Sky

[Zmej Ren]

Like others, Zmej Ren followed the cold procession lashed by powerful arctic winds. Snow seemed to be in infinite supply, eliciting a few shivers here and there, white clouds ascending from each breath. Nothing to be concerned about though; within the next few moments, everyone stood inside, surrounded by cosy warmth and led through a labyrinth of buildings and hallways. Prominent signs of Imperial design stole their way into every part of the compound, proudly announcing its current allegiance. The walk offered a welcome chance of spying on the rest of the team; Zmej took note of every individual, mentally branding several as non-Imperials. Not a hard thing to notice – the way they dressed and walked gave it away, yet also painted question marks over their purpose here. Surely the First Order had enough competent men and women in its own ranks? Whether this fact signed true desperation or perhaps a trial by fire, she did not know, but as long as the apparent outsiders understood their place, Zmej had no comment to offer.

Rushed into conference room, she was among the last to take their seat, head turned towards the Moff and his aides, more than ready to hear his case. Not all details made it to the report she had read, thus getting additional and more thorough information from the man himself would prove crucial if they were to develop a new strategy to deal with the situation. Even before the dark skinned man received a chance to explain himself and present his opinion on the matter, a voice of discomfort could be heard. Without even looking in the disturbance’s direction, Zmej raised her hand to silence and prevent any future interruptions from being birthed by the woman who had voiced the desire to get this over with quickly.

“Shut up.” Zmej Ren commanded, probably not something one would expect from a mere teenager. Although not the most patient being herself, such blatant disregard of proper procedures was something the dark disciple found impossible to tolerate.

“Moff Wiyaso,“ the girl cast her sickly gaze the man’s way, “Continue.”



[member="Pharazon Draken"] [member="Cain Olper"] [member="Preliat Mantis"] [member="Jaya Tandris"] [member="Cyrus Tregessar"] [member="Jayden Sanders"]

 

[Jaya Tandris]

"Well, I had nothing else to say. All you did was give me another reason to speak." Jaya spoke in a cynical voice, unable to hide a smug smile. She was completely unimpressed by the young blonde telling her to 'shut up'. If she'd go on like this it'd be likely that soon everyone would think her insufferable in one way or another, but in truth Cupcake really, really couldn't care less. All she came for was fighting, and the rest wasn't important. From here on out she would not speak however, and instead waited for the briefing to be over, tapping her foot while sitting.

Spoiler

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

 

[Samuel Jones]

​

Spoiler

npc's
Lopez
Redd
​

"ALL HANDS TO BATLLE STATIONS, REPEAT, ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS" ​was the sound ringing over the internal comms system. Samuel was in the bridge waiting to exit light speed. he didn't have a full report on the situation just that he was needed there for 'Protective measures'.
​he liked to know more before he entered a situation where he might be entering dangerous areas. the star lines returned to small dot as the Maelstrom came back to real space, and as expected, nothing but a few trade ships and one or two FIV ships patrolling the area. ​"comms officer Lopez, get me a Channel to the highest naval official in the area, and if not get me a direct channel to..." ​"we've got another ship coming out of light speed, it's one of ours. it's the Constellation, a Conyers-class." ​as radar specialist Reed interrupted. ​"belay the first order, Lopez get me a channel to the Constellation. I want to know if they know what is happening." ​"getting you the link now sir." ​it took a few seconds to get the encrypted link, but they eventually got it. ​"FIV Constellation, this is Commander Samuel jones of the FIV Maelstrom, requesting communication with the commanding officer. over." ​he wondered what was really going one in this system. there where already 2 war ships in the area and who knew how many more would be on the way, whatever was going one Samuel needed answers, and soon.
​[member="Aermoira Cyone"] | @Cyrus Tregessar

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

The Moff dismissed all questions with a shake of his head and a wave of his hand. A slight nod directed towards on of the aides who had attached themselves to the group marked the cue to start. At first it was a classic military briefing, including a basic overview of the situation and then pages and pages of documentation and data and analysis condensed down to a mere hour of FOSB agents and naval intel specialists breaking it all down to a moderately understandable level. In short, it went like this:

1. The attacks had only gotten noticed as irregular because of the uniform nature of the ships involved and the fact that the targets they struck were always strategically critical. Even the civilian station they had destroyed in orbit over Xal 3 was a logistics hub for the movement of military-grade hardware.

2. The raiders appeared to have in-depth knowledge of First Order Tactics and Procedures, going as far as to dupe long-range scanners by correctly following formation and approach protocol. They also demonstrated an almost terrifying aptitude to exploiting the weaknesses in the First Order naval lineup.

3. Compared with their abnormally high level of skill in space, they appeared to have only basic pirate-level competency in ground combat. However they had until recently carefully picked their battles to ensure they always had a significant numerical advantage. This applies in space as well as the ground, and Moff Wiyasao had quickly found he could 'secure' a system by deploying several star destroyers to it.

Once the brief finished the Moff himself took the podium to speak.

"The information you just saw was true until recently. Four days ago a pack of nine raidships hit a supply convoy making a refueling stop. The convoy was escorted by a Star Destroyer and several frigates. The raiders deployed gravity mines to prevent retreat and engaged in hit and run strikes until the Destroyer was disabled. Boarding teams ransacked the convoy and they destroyed the capital ship at range. A pair of frigates were able to escape. Survivors reported that these ships displayed a much higher level of coordination and skill than previously noted. This event is what prompted my calling for aide."

He paused a moment, and turned to look at the handful of attendants with him.

"We have determined two key points. The first is that there exists a mole in my offices who is feeding information to the raiders. The second is that they will consistently ignore even vulnerable targets of opportunity. We deduced both of these points just recently, by leaking the arrival of this task force, and yet they chose not to strike. This implies that they have goals well beyond simple piracy. Your job right now is twofold, to find the mole, and figure out what the long-term goal of this adversary is."

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

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Jayden offered a light grin, tapping his fingers off of the table lightly. These pirates had the weapons to bring down an entire Star Destroyer, something near impossible with fightera. They obciously has bigger ships than just fighters. That would be fun to deal with, he didn't have access to the ships of an Admiral yet so he would have to work with what he had. He shook his head, if these ships could take down a Star Destroyer then they would have tocome up with a plan B.

That was the easy bit.

"I can find this long-term plan. This mole however, who here would have access to the information we believe these pirates have access to?"

He watched the Moff slowly, his voice drawn out, clearly demanding authority and respect. His eyes then scanned the table, mentally making notes. He knew this plan would need two teams, splitting the group based on skills seemed like the reasonable option. Have the Knight Of Ren head up the search for the mole and himself head up the search for the long term plan. He outranked everyone in the room and the Knight of Ren had access to skills that would be useful.

"With a two fold plan, two groups are needed. Does anyone have any nominations to the leaders of those groups?"

[member="Cyrus Tregessar"]
[member="Samuel Jones"]
[member="Jaya Tandris"]
[member="Zmej Ren"]
@Everyone else

 

[Zmej Ren]

Entangling a telekinetic rope around the interrupting woman’s neck would have been an appropriate response, one clearly relaying the message when words have failed. Fortunately for her, Zmej had zero intention of wasting more time on the matter. Silent, attentive, the blonde leaned back in the seat and remained still except for when her gaze darted from one officer to another. The briefing itself lasted long, yet delivered an exhausting supply of information, particularly when it came to the new discoveries. Organized opponents always posed a threat to stability and order – but just like sheeps, they would scatter upon the death of their shepherd. Who was the brain behind all this though? Wearing a thoughtful expression, Zmej closed her sickly coloured orbs for a moment and listened to the currents of the Force.

SIS?

Such was the first suggestion to cross her mind. Given the secretive organisation had played a crucial role in the insurgency on Kaeshana, most likely responsible for the majority of rebellions the First Order had put down, it wasn’t hard to imagine the Galactic Alliance and its secret service pulling the strings from behind the curtain. Their modus operandi matched pretty well – arming and organising expendable rabble, telling them what to hit and when. Rebels, terrorists, murderers, pirates – the SIS hardly shied away from employing the worst scum this galaxy had to offer. Zmej Ren would buy their involvement without a second thought, as sowing chaos through the enemy systems meant a huge advantage for the Galactic Alliance in the upcoming conflict. Finding a weak fool to betray his allies also needed nothing else than time and enough credits. To find the traitor meant to end the pirate trouble – cut off their mysterious ally, the raiders would soon feel the First Order’s wrath.

The most important question concerning the hunt for a rat has already been voiced, thus the blonde brushed a few stray locks of gold from her face before speaking up.

“I believe to present good enough bait – my capture would force the First Order’s military into splitting a substantial portion of its forces for the sake of quelling this problem. If that is the goal the pirate vermin want to achieve, we should use it against them.” The dark disciple explained, a haunting smile curling the corners of her lips.

“Moff. Have everyone know the Supreme Leader’s daughter has arrived.”

Spoiler

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

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

He hated butting in, he liked everyone having a say. However this time Jayden believed it neccessary. He needed the Knight of Ren to find this mole, not go throwing herself to captivity when it wasn't needed. He raised his hand, silencing the Moff before he could even begin to speak. Instead he sat for a moment, planning the perfect words. He wanted to pursuade her to find the mole, not throw herself into captivity. He closed his hands on the table, scanning the table again before even clearing his throat to begin to speak. He wanted to judge each and every single reaction to his next words.

"Not this time Knight. I was rather hoping you would help us track this mole. You have a..unique set of skills no-one else has. Giving yourself to the enemy will not help us find the mole"

He shook his head, tapping his fingers off the table.

"I was rather hoping you would use your powers to interrogate any possible mole suspects. Show them the might of the First Order"

[member="Zmej Ren"]
[member="Cyrus Tregessar"]
[member="Samuel Jones"]
[member="Jaya Tandris"]
@Anyone else

 

[Preliat Mantis]

He stared at the various people in the room, his eyes falling on the Sith girl for a moment. He'd killed a lot of her type. They all had a lot of aspirations to be great Sith. He could only think of a few examples that it worked out well for. Preliat didn't even hesitate, dropping his cigarette into the cup that he fashioned into an ashtray before he spoke. He disregarded their ranks. They meant nothing to him.


"I think I'd like to personally find out what they're long term plan- although, the objectives may be one and the same if the mole is captured."


He tapped his fingers, looking to the Moff. He gestured a hand, agreeing with [member="Jayden Sanders"] in his query. Preliat existed outside the First Order's hierarchy- he was in his own right there. He was there simply because he was deadly and they welcomed his help and allegiance to the Order. Why he was really there, he remained to know even to himself. For now, it was mission and purpose.

"Forgive my..."He tapped his fingers on the table, thinking how to politely say it. To Mandalorians, he could've simply said it and be done with it. These Imperial types, however, didn't take too kindly to that."Lack of faith."He said, looking around the room."But I'm not entirely confident that the presently gathered people could effectively wage a ground war against a capable guerrilla force without an abundance of resources thrown their way."Mandalorians operated small and accomplished big. It was odd to think that he'd now be working with an organization that used a sledgehammer when a scalpel would do. Preliat was a razor, effective and precise in his operations. His tactical skillset was not without the ability to wage large-scale warfare between two opposing forces, but in the past several years it was more pertinent, and effective to conduct operations with a special forces mindset.

"Which leads me to another point- I only see a handful of individuals that I would consider special operations qualified in this room. Is this mission going to be primarily in space, and little operations on the ground- or are we going to deploy a company of stormtroopers in our hunt as well?"Preliat made a rare joke in the presence of total strangers. Maybe he was relieving stress. Maybe he was commenting that he had probably wiped out at least a company or two of stormtroopers by himself over the years."And by that, I mean- how do you want us to approach the pirates? Flag in hand, or would you rather us conduct it.."He thought again, thinking on how to respectfully tell the Moff he wanted to sneak around stab them in the neck instead. Then, the Sith spoke. It spoke of herself like a grand piece in a game of chess.

Preliat smirked at the blonde.

"They'd probably kill you, rather than capture you. At least, I would." Preliat took a long drag on his cigarette."And between us all, I think I am the subject matter expert on killing, maiming, and hunting Sith."Preliat locked eyes with the Supreme Leader's daughter."And you people have pissed off someone enough to attack your ships directly. They won't capture you. They'll kill you."He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table."We approach it with subterfuge and my way- I can guarantee that we take minimal risk to the resources we have available. The distinct issue is that if we scare them, they'll disappear and we could never find them. We don't have to put resources, opportunity, and most importantly people at risk- when we don't need to and there's not a distinct advantage to, compared to other approaches than this."

Preliat leaned back in the seat.

"Ma'am."

He added in, curtly.


[member="Zmej Ren"] [member="Cyrus Tregessar"] [member="Jaya Tandris"]

 

[Pharazon Draken]

[SIZE=11pt]As Pharazon sat quietly listening to and reviewing the information and intelligence concerning these pirates, Pharazon found his earlier suspicions confirmed. These were most certainly not simple pirates, in fact, Pharazon doubted they were even pirates, mere pirates did not seize entire convoys and counter and destroy Star Destroyers and have detailed knowledge of Imperial tactics, procedures, and intelligence. He could only take solace in the fact that they seemed to be relatively inexperienced in ground combat, something Pharazon would happily take advantage of if he ever had the chance.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Pharazon also sat quietly while some of the other people in the conference began to discuss and argue potential strategies and tactics to discover this mole and learn more about their enemies final goal. He also sat quiet through this apparent mandalorian’s joke at the stormtroopers expense, he fumed internally at he and his men being the subject of the man's joke,[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] but knew better than to rise to the bait, he also knew he was right. He then decided to speak after he had formed and ordered his thoughts once more.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I suspect as has been pointed out that Stormtroopers such as myself, my platoon, and my company would not be best used in any kind of subterfuge to discover this mole, nor are we capable of countering ships” he began, tone firm and professional but calm and non aggressive.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Though I would suggest that my men and I could effectively carry out a variety of operations against guerrilla[/SIZE] [SIZE=14.6667px]organised[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] forces, as based on their ground tactics so far they seem to have only a rudimentary understanding of ground operations and are overly reliant on brute force and numerical advantage”[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] he continued, speaking to this mandalorian.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I am of course aware this may be a part of their subterfuge but I am confident that with appropriate support from the task force and additional unconventional expertise from yourself my company could be of great use in ground based, and if necessary ship to ship and intra-ship operations” Pharazon finished, acknowledging that this man clearly was more experienced in unconventional warfare. Pharazon would stand up for his men and the rest of the company but he was not fool enough to ignore the expertise of others.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“However, though I am no expert in naval or intelligence operations, I would suggest that when determining their next moves and their ultimate goal we cannot ignore how much they seem to know of First Order tactics and procedures, as well as how much other intelligence they have managed to funnel out of the mole”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“The very fact they have yet to react to the arrival of the task force despite having it deliberately leaked to them as well as likely learning of it from their other sources suggests they have accounted for it, and that they have either prepared for a reaction such as this, or have incorporated a task force response into their plan from the beginning and are relying[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] on a response such as this”[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] Pharazon said, looking over the other people at the table with his steady emerald eyes.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I would suggest” again his tone was deferential to everyone else in the room, “that they have drawn us out for a reason, if we react too hastily as the honoured mandalorian warns against I fully agree we could fall completely into their hands, though I would suggest that any actions we take must be capable of significantly disrupting their operations as insufficient action would also likely just aid them in the next stage of their plan” Pharazon offered before falling silent again.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Turning to this Admiral Sanders, [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]"I would of course submit myself and my men to any area you feel we are best suited to, the company is likewise at your disposal"[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] Pharazon said respectfully, he knew as a deployed company they were not much use to either goal but Pharazon was capable and many of his men could do more than fight. But likewise an Admiral had little authority over Stormtroopers so Pharazon made sure the man knew that he was aware of his authority and [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]capabilities[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] and would not needlessly oppose him.[/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]

 

[Starling]

Starling 7B raised her hand cautiously, unwilling to speak out of turn "Ah... If I might offer a suggestion, Admiral Sanders?" she hesitated, waiting for his nod, before she went on, "If we were to draw up a list of... um..." Oh dear. She hated speaking in public. She blushed, but forced herself to go on, "If we could make a list of all the attacks that these pirates have made so far, we could isolate every file on our system which the pirates must have had access to." By no means an expert with databases, she fidgeted with her pistol as she sought for the right words, "By cross-referencing the access permissions of all of these files, might we be able to narrow down our group of possible moles to only those who have the permission for every file?"

"Unless," she added after a moment, "there's more than one mole... or they managed to hack the system... or... yeah, actually it's a stupid idea. Forget I mentioned it." Erinn bowed her head, ashamed. What was she thinking? She wasn't a strategist or a tech expert. She had come here to fly ships, not to be clever.

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

Cain listened to the other people speak, and made note of them. One plan that he had heard was that of @Starling. The former Chiss Commander agreed with his plan.

"I agree with Starling's plan.Divide and conquer, considering we numerically outnumber them." he said.

"Do you have any suspects Govenor?" he asked curiously, waiting for a response.

@Starlign

[member="Pharazon Draken"]

[member="Jayden Sanders"]
[member="Zmej Ren"]

 

[Starling]

"Sirs," Starling put in, "I cannot pretend to be of any use on the ground, but if you could ensure that our ships get the drop on them in space, we shall see how good their flying truly is.."