It started with a whisper.
The cold winds of Eshan carried it from one building to the next. It spread like fire, which was a humorous notion given that Eshan was always cold. Still, each person that heard it spread it to the next and the next and so on until nearly every Echani on the planet knew. Only the outsiders, the non-Echani, wouldn’t know what was coming by the time it happened. This was intentional.
In the streets of the various worlds populated by the Echani, the new EMBU Mk. III’s were on patrol; doing their duty of ensuring the peace. It was mostly only necessary with the off-worlders. Echani tended to deal with their issues themselves. As one, every single droid stopped and listened to the tiny little droid that was perched upon their shoulders. The M.I.T.E.’s had been developed for flesh and blood beings, but were more than capable of working with the EMBU’s as well.
The M.I.T.E.’s conveyed a single message to them: “Initiate Purge Protocol.”
Across the Republic, the same message was conveyed to every single droid that had ever been created by Eshan Industrial Corporation. Every single machine would stop whatever it was doing, and then turn and all begin to converge. ArcShel transports were unloading goods on all of the major Republic worlds, and delivering to major military outposts. The droids would converge on the transports and load themselves up. Every single EMBU, LOBO, MANTIS, MITE and YVH-2 would abandon its post without question and make for one of the transports.
When the transports were fully loaded they would lift off and rendezvous with a Shift-class Gunner Corvette stationed above the planet. These were the escorts. If questions were asked, the ArcShel’s captain would send the following single message from an Eshan Industrial Corporations spokeswoman: “Eshan Industrial Corporation has discovered a major flaw in the programming of all of its droid exports. This flaw, if exploited, will cause them all to have their friend or foe programming switched, and unleash major, devastating battle upon the Republic’s worlds. We are making a hasty withdrawal of the units using a subroutine in their programming so that we can take them to a safe location and repair the flaw. We thank you for your cooperation and hope to do further business with you all in the future. Have a wonderful day.”
The message would end, and a video would play showing one of the YVH-2’s going haywire and attacking Republic personnel on an expedition to Ylix, and that would be the end of the message. All of the ships were under strict orders to stop for no one, even if they came under fire. None of them would, either. And if they were boarded? The ships would be set to self-destruct.
Meanwhile, on the Echani worlds, the Mk. III’s were approaching any non-Echani personnel and informing them that their ability to reside, work, or do business on the planet had been suspended. They had exactly four hours to vacate the planet or they would be forcibly removed by Echani Security Forces, or ESec. The droids would remain in visual sight of these individuals in order to make sure that their directions were followed and so that no one slipped through the cracks of the net that was being cast.
Above the worlds, the Republic security forces that maintained defense of the Echani worlds were commanded by Echani women, and largely crewed by Echani. This had been a stipulation of the former Echani Compact’s decision to join with the Republic. The captains had all received a transmitted three word message to their datapads that said the same thing that the droids had heard: Initiate Purge Protocol. Each captain would send the order down the line that all non-Echani military personnel were to vacate their ships via shuttle craft, board outbound transports, and leave the system on a course for the nearest Republic world. They would be forced to leave if they failed to comply.
Through all of this, communications from each of the Echani planets was being jammed. No signals would be launched until ships broke far enough away to make the jump to hyperspace. Even then it would be too late for anyone to do anything about these orders. Not that they could. The order had been given and it would be followed.
Exactly two hours after confirmation was received from each of the ArcShel transports that they had either been destroyed or made the jump to hyperspace, a light would turn on aboard the Amathia-class Corvette The Prometheus Latch. Seated in the arc of that light was an Echani woman that didn’t appear to be as old as she carried herself. Her hair was braided behind her head, no longer flowing freely, and she wore a loose set of Echani combat robes, an Echani Vibrosword next to her hand. At her cue, the ship would begin broadcasting a message from outside of the sphere of communications jamming.
“Citizens of the Republic. My name is Janira Fenni, junior senator of Eshan, soldier, and CEO of Eshan Industrial Corporation. You have no doubt heard by now that there has been a recall of our droids. Likely you have been told by someone that there was a major fault within the programming of these machines which can be exploited to cause harm to Republic personnel. That was a lie.”
She sat impassively, not moving more than was necessary to speak. A vision of perfect calm.
“In ages past the Echani Compact existed outside of the influence of your Republic. We made our own way in this galaxy, but with the threat of the Sith and others looming, we banded together and joined the Republic in an effort to combine our forces against these foes. This proved to be folly.
“Your Republic is neither strong, nor good. You have been misled into a false sense of security with repeated promises from sniveling politicians that they will make strides to provide you with the freedoms and protection that you deserve, and yet the Sith forces have continued to carve up Republic space, and now a war with the Mandalorians looms on the horizon. A war caused by the volatile actions of your own Supreme Commander.
“Some of you may believe that this is a new problem; that it is something that can be corrected with a few slaps on the wrist, a demotion here or there, and some placation towards the afflicted parties. You would be wrong on all counts to believe this. The mass murder committed by Republic soldiers has been documented in various battles throughout recent history. The willful slaughter of non-combatants has become the Republic’s vice in their battles with the ills of this galaxy. Unfortunately, because of this, the Republic has become one of those ills.
“You no longer live within the confines of a government that wishes to do what’s best for you. Truthfully your government has zero ability to be of any use to you. They are all puppets being played by your military leaders. Your armed forces continually seek out worlds to force into joining your Republic, caring little for the will of the people that live there. They create some enemy combatant and go in and subjugate. These false flag events have proved numerous of late. These are not the tactics of a Republic, but the tactics of an Empire.
“For too long we have tolerated the dishonorable actions of your Republic, aiding you because you sought to fight the Sith. You no longer fight them, however. You cower in fear of the next invasion, and use tactics that cause you to lose every battle. All at the cost of people who do not fight. You are no longer the Galactic Republic. You are the Galactic Empire, masquerading as a shell of the Republic and abusing the Jedi to try and skew popular opinion of you in your favor.
“Because of this, as is the will of our Queen and the Triumvirate, The Echani Compact officially secedes from the confines of your Republic. All Republic personnel are being evacuated from our worlds, and our naval forces are on high alert. Any attempt to send troops in an attempt to subjugate us will be met with swift rebuttal. All of those droids we said were malfunctioning are being returned here. We will have armies of droids at our disposal, including some you haven’t seen before. If that is not enough deterrent know this: each and every Echani knows how to fight. If you come here, and try to harm us, you will not leave alive.
“We will receive diplomatic envoys aboard diplomatic vessels, but they will not be allowed to land.”
Janira lifted a small tissue and coughed a bit of blood into it before wiping her mouth clear. She’d come down with a bit of an illness recently, but it was treatable.
“It is time for you to throw down the shackles of your Empire and return to your roots. Until the so called Galactic Republic is no more, the Compact will remain in isolation. When it falls, the Compact will begin the process of a new spring, and something better will grow from the Republic’s ashes. But until then, the Compact suggests you all board your windows, because the Republic can’t save you from what’s coming, and we certainly won’t either.”
With that the transmission would end. The Prometheus Latch would make the short jump back to Eshan and make for a landing pad at the EIC headquarters. Echani forces would go on high alert with continuous starfighter and corvette patrols on the edges of planetary systems, and major combat ships parked in high orbit around each occupied planet. The Echani Compact was back, and the Republic was now devoid of some of its most impressive ground hardware and soldiers.
The question was: How would they respond?
[member="Spencer Varanin"] | [member="Rel Connory"] | [member="Alexander Sannes"] | [member="Jack Sparrow"] | [member="Faith Balor-Organa"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Mantic Dorn"]
The cold winds of Eshan carried it from one building to the next. It spread like fire, which was a humorous notion given that Eshan was always cold. Still, each person that heard it spread it to the next and the next and so on until nearly every Echani on the planet knew. Only the outsiders, the non-Echani, wouldn’t know what was coming by the time it happened. This was intentional.
In the streets of the various worlds populated by the Echani, the new EMBU Mk. III’s were on patrol; doing their duty of ensuring the peace. It was mostly only necessary with the off-worlders. Echani tended to deal with their issues themselves. As one, every single droid stopped and listened to the tiny little droid that was perched upon their shoulders. The M.I.T.E.’s had been developed for flesh and blood beings, but were more than capable of working with the EMBU’s as well.
The M.I.T.E.’s conveyed a single message to them: “Initiate Purge Protocol.”
Across the Republic, the same message was conveyed to every single droid that had ever been created by Eshan Industrial Corporation. Every single machine would stop whatever it was doing, and then turn and all begin to converge. ArcShel transports were unloading goods on all of the major Republic worlds, and delivering to major military outposts. The droids would converge on the transports and load themselves up. Every single EMBU, LOBO, MANTIS, MITE and YVH-2 would abandon its post without question and make for one of the transports.
When the transports were fully loaded they would lift off and rendezvous with a Shift-class Gunner Corvette stationed above the planet. These were the escorts. If questions were asked, the ArcShel’s captain would send the following single message from an Eshan Industrial Corporations spokeswoman: “Eshan Industrial Corporation has discovered a major flaw in the programming of all of its droid exports. This flaw, if exploited, will cause them all to have their friend or foe programming switched, and unleash major, devastating battle upon the Republic’s worlds. We are making a hasty withdrawal of the units using a subroutine in their programming so that we can take them to a safe location and repair the flaw. We thank you for your cooperation and hope to do further business with you all in the future. Have a wonderful day.”
The message would end, and a video would play showing one of the YVH-2’s going haywire and attacking Republic personnel on an expedition to Ylix, and that would be the end of the message. All of the ships were under strict orders to stop for no one, even if they came under fire. None of them would, either. And if they were boarded? The ships would be set to self-destruct.
Meanwhile, on the Echani worlds, the Mk. III’s were approaching any non-Echani personnel and informing them that their ability to reside, work, or do business on the planet had been suspended. They had exactly four hours to vacate the planet or they would be forcibly removed by Echani Security Forces, or ESec. The droids would remain in visual sight of these individuals in order to make sure that their directions were followed and so that no one slipped through the cracks of the net that was being cast.
Above the worlds, the Republic security forces that maintained defense of the Echani worlds were commanded by Echani women, and largely crewed by Echani. This had been a stipulation of the former Echani Compact’s decision to join with the Republic. The captains had all received a transmitted three word message to their datapads that said the same thing that the droids had heard: Initiate Purge Protocol. Each captain would send the order down the line that all non-Echani military personnel were to vacate their ships via shuttle craft, board outbound transports, and leave the system on a course for the nearest Republic world. They would be forced to leave if they failed to comply.
Through all of this, communications from each of the Echani planets was being jammed. No signals would be launched until ships broke far enough away to make the jump to hyperspace. Even then it would be too late for anyone to do anything about these orders. Not that they could. The order had been given and it would be followed.
Exactly two hours after confirmation was received from each of the ArcShel transports that they had either been destroyed or made the jump to hyperspace, a light would turn on aboard the Amathia-class Corvette The Prometheus Latch. Seated in the arc of that light was an Echani woman that didn’t appear to be as old as she carried herself. Her hair was braided behind her head, no longer flowing freely, and she wore a loose set of Echani combat robes, an Echani Vibrosword next to her hand. At her cue, the ship would begin broadcasting a message from outside of the sphere of communications jamming.
“Citizens of the Republic. My name is Janira Fenni, junior senator of Eshan, soldier, and CEO of Eshan Industrial Corporation. You have no doubt heard by now that there has been a recall of our droids. Likely you have been told by someone that there was a major fault within the programming of these machines which can be exploited to cause harm to Republic personnel. That was a lie.”
She sat impassively, not moving more than was necessary to speak. A vision of perfect calm.
“In ages past the Echani Compact existed outside of the influence of your Republic. We made our own way in this galaxy, but with the threat of the Sith and others looming, we banded together and joined the Republic in an effort to combine our forces against these foes. This proved to be folly.
“Your Republic is neither strong, nor good. You have been misled into a false sense of security with repeated promises from sniveling politicians that they will make strides to provide you with the freedoms and protection that you deserve, and yet the Sith forces have continued to carve up Republic space, and now a war with the Mandalorians looms on the horizon. A war caused by the volatile actions of your own Supreme Commander.
“Some of you may believe that this is a new problem; that it is something that can be corrected with a few slaps on the wrist, a demotion here or there, and some placation towards the afflicted parties. You would be wrong on all counts to believe this. The mass murder committed by Republic soldiers has been documented in various battles throughout recent history. The willful slaughter of non-combatants has become the Republic’s vice in their battles with the ills of this galaxy. Unfortunately, because of this, the Republic has become one of those ills.
“You no longer live within the confines of a government that wishes to do what’s best for you. Truthfully your government has zero ability to be of any use to you. They are all puppets being played by your military leaders. Your armed forces continually seek out worlds to force into joining your Republic, caring little for the will of the people that live there. They create some enemy combatant and go in and subjugate. These false flag events have proved numerous of late. These are not the tactics of a Republic, but the tactics of an Empire.
“For too long we have tolerated the dishonorable actions of your Republic, aiding you because you sought to fight the Sith. You no longer fight them, however. You cower in fear of the next invasion, and use tactics that cause you to lose every battle. All at the cost of people who do not fight. You are no longer the Galactic Republic. You are the Galactic Empire, masquerading as a shell of the Republic and abusing the Jedi to try and skew popular opinion of you in your favor.
“Because of this, as is the will of our Queen and the Triumvirate, The Echani Compact officially secedes from the confines of your Republic. All Republic personnel are being evacuated from our worlds, and our naval forces are on high alert. Any attempt to send troops in an attempt to subjugate us will be met with swift rebuttal. All of those droids we said were malfunctioning are being returned here. We will have armies of droids at our disposal, including some you haven’t seen before. If that is not enough deterrent know this: each and every Echani knows how to fight. If you come here, and try to harm us, you will not leave alive.
“We will receive diplomatic envoys aboard diplomatic vessels, but they will not be allowed to land.”
Janira lifted a small tissue and coughed a bit of blood into it before wiping her mouth clear. She’d come down with a bit of an illness recently, but it was treatable.
“It is time for you to throw down the shackles of your Empire and return to your roots. Until the so called Galactic Republic is no more, the Compact will remain in isolation. When it falls, the Compact will begin the process of a new spring, and something better will grow from the Republic’s ashes. But until then, the Compact suggests you all board your windows, because the Republic can’t save you from what’s coming, and we certainly won’t either.”
With that the transmission would end. The Prometheus Latch would make the short jump back to Eshan and make for a landing pad at the EIC headquarters. Echani forces would go on high alert with continuous starfighter and corvette patrols on the edges of planetary systems, and major combat ships parked in high orbit around each occupied planet. The Echani Compact was back, and the Republic was now devoid of some of its most impressive ground hardware and soldiers.
The question was: How would they respond?
[member="Spencer Varanin"] | [member="Rel Connory"] | [member="Alexander Sannes"] | [member="Jack Sparrow"] | [member="Faith Balor-Organa"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Mantic Dorn"]