Reformation of a World [Imperial Remnant]

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Crina

Mason sat in an office on the planet. The Requiem was currently being decommissioned, in favor of something newer and grander, so he didn't have the option of sitting in his usual office aboard the ship. That was alright, however, as a new ship was currently being constructed in the Crinan yards that would be more than a replacement for the ship he had been using. Now that they were officially set up on Crina, and were bringing in resources, production was set to increase.

"Sir?"

He looked up to the door.

"Yes?"

"The first ships have arrived at Kalee. You're wanted in the war room for direction."

"I'll be right there."

The aide left and he gathered up his things before standing. Pulling on his jacket, he left the office and walked down the halls to the war room. Here there were several individuals, including a general, waiting for him around the holodisplay. First things first, they needed to be assured of the fact that they could even get down to the planet. He set his things down and pulled up a diagnostics report on the planet.

"Air is breathable, but toxic. The ground is fully irradiated over most of the world according to the probe droids." He perused a little longer. "There's a threat here of mutated organisms. I want the Terraform Processor launched. Send some units groundside as protection, but make sure they're equipped to deal with the radiation."

"I'll send some soldiers down to deal with it," the general said.

"Good. Let's get this going."

Kalee

A frigate approached the atmosphere of the irradiated world and pushed through it. Strapped to the bottom of it was a special housing. As the ship neared the ground, the housing deployed away from the vessel and repulsorlifts allowed the station that was hidden within the construct to descend towards the planets surface on its own as the frigate then pushed its way back out of the atmosphere.

Ships were launched with personnel, equipped with radiation protection gear, to work in the station and to defend it from the irradiated creatures that roamed the landscape. Who knew what they would be up against, but they had to persevere and get the world terraformed so it could be used as a refugee planet. Sacrifices would have to be made.

 

[Caius Flavian]

Kalee
Equatorial Zone: Quadrant C10
Radiation levels: Minimal

I'm never really sure why I volunteer for these sort of things. It just kinda happened, 'I can easily attribute it to being given an order, but hell I just wanted to get away from the mess that is Crina right now'. Sighing I took a look around at what amounted to the command and control room for the station. I was not necessarily the only military officer here, but there was a very small group of military personnel on board. Klaxons began to wail as the frigate carrying us was getting ready to disgorge its cargo like a bird dropping a fish from its talons. The differences in gravity could be immediately felt. I took the liberty of getting a couple of the best shuttle pilots we had in the entirety of the fleet. Call sign Delta One came from the Crinan Systems Fleet. The other three went by the Call signs the Torchshots.
“Status report” I asked as the station rocked back and forth in the atmosphere.

“Sir we are descending too fast, the inertial dampeners are struggling to compensate.” Torchshot Three reported

“Shut down non essential systems and execute auxiliary boosters. Get the repulsors online now!”

“Yes Sir” Delta One shouted in an eager voice. ‘Looks like someone is having fun with this. Oh celestials I just don’t want to die like this’
“Veering off course by Mark 13 degrees we’ll be landing about nine kilometers from our intended LZ”

“That’s fine we’ll try moving the station later with the repulsors” I replied though just hoping we would be in one piece was really the only thing I cared about at this point.
The whole station began to shake for what felt like an eon .

“Minor turbulence sir but I think I got it!!!” Delta One screamed with glee.

“You think or you know!?” I shouted gripping my seat in fear. 'Damn dropship pilots are used to such touch and go landings…'

“Touching down in Ten…" Torchshot Two began counting down with a steely voice that left little room for doubt.
“Engaging landing jets” Torchshot One flicked a few switches on the panels above her head.
“Eight…” The swoosh of a tornadao could be heard underneath the station as the landing jets ignited
“Landing gear is green light” Torchshot Three put two thumbs up for me to see.
“Five”
“I’m just an angel dropping you down on the hell below” Delta One began to sing
“Three”.
“I’ll hold you tight to bosom before I let you loose” the others started to join in.
“One”

Expecting to crash I was thankfully disappointed. The station landed with a soft plop and a slight cringe could be felt as the material adjusted to the gravity.
“Helm, I mean cockpit, how are we?”

“Sir we are touchdown and all lights are green.” Delta One reported. I slowly relaxed my hands from the death grip I had on the arm rests.

“Great!” I let out a sigh of relief and turned to the comms officer. “Relay that the Mynock’s nest has landed”

“Roger that sir!”

‘Now I remember why I volunteer for these things, the sense of adventure!’ I let out a laugh that made the pilots look back at me curious if I had lost it…

[member="Mason Deschart"]

 

[Caius Flavian]

Kalee
Equatorial Zone: Quadrant C10
Radiation levels: Rising above minimal



Day 5 1730
Journal Entry 6th of Lt Commander Caius Flavian Joint Commanding Officer of the Kalee Reformation Special Task Group.
“ Well today has been another fruitless day of attempting to fix things there. We had several electromagnetic storms that have swept through the region overnight disrupting machines and systems throughout the station. I had to manually unplug one of our consoles and reset it because the off switch wouldn’t engage. Our communications have now been out for the last 24 hours and is an ongoing issue. Even without the storms there is a lot of atmospheric interference. Hell just sending a ‘hey we are still here’ signal is problematic. We’ve sent out four probe droids at 1200 to cover a 10 kilometer radius around the landing zone. The goal was to simply define the basic geologic elements, gather atmospheric data, and locate mineral resources. Unfortunately the storm seems to have left some lingering effects on the transmittal of data from probe four and its been intermittently sending us signals.”

I pause for a moment to the sound of laughter in the back ground. “The pilots are playing a sabacc card game in their quarters down the hall, along with some of scientists. Hmmmm it is just now occurring to me that they only invite the women on board to join… mischievous lot having all the fun”

“I’ve at least managed to get to know of the crew though and personnel. The crew seems to be in high spirits though despite the mundane work space. Once the probes are brought back in I’ll expand the radius with four more probes to a range of 50 kilometers. We’ll also make our first foray onto the planet’s surface tomorrow. I’ll be leading the group as we make 1 kilometer hike to a nearby hill. The scientists want to test the soil in the natural environment. They tell me that this is the preliminary step to determining what sort of plant life can be introduced to begin pumping oxygen into the air. I’m not too familiar with terraforming but the biologists from the Flavian Star Corporation and the Crinan Scientists are all too eager to share. I have to say when they prattle on about physics issues and talking about microbe nutrients I feel like a first year academy student all over again. Not having a clue. Still this has been a great opportunity to learn. I’ll be attempting again in an hour to submit a status report. Hopefully my battle group is still up there” I gave a beaming grin before reaching out to shut it off. I flicked it off once, but it didn’t stop recording without me noticing. A short circuit from the storm prevented the off signal for being received.

“Lt Commander would you care to join us?” A knock at the hatch along with a women’s voice could be heard.

“Well I’m off duty for the evening, why not?” I laughed opening the hatch.

The recorder continued to record until it ran out of battery. Its last few moments recorded the hatch opening several hours later. “oh sir how naughty…”

 

[Caius Flavian]

Kalee
Equatorial Zone: Quadrant C10
Radiation levels: Minimal


Day 8 0800
Journal Entry 7th of Lt Commander Caius Flavian Joint Commanding Officer of the Kalee Reformation Special Task Group.
[Online]
The Camera flicked on with the focus on the command chair of the Station’s Bridge or CIC. My arms could be seen moving the side of it. I sat down with a haggard look and a five oclock shadow. “Well it took a couple days to get this camera back on. The previous entries’ footage uploaded already and should be sent up in a little while. Which of course means that we managed to reestablish communication with the battle group! Now where did I leave off…” I paused and stroked my chin for a moment and it clearly could be seen that I debating whether to shave or not “First things first the probes are now expanding to a 100 kilometer diameter of reconnaissance. Thus far things seem to be going smoothly. We haven’t had any storms these last two days so it’s actually been fairly clear out for an irradiated waste land. Our foray outside was successful, I had Delta One come along and record the trip to the hill. The soil samples and air quality samples that we have been gathering are starting to give us a good picture. The planet does not have much in the way of H20 so we’ll have to look into that. The spooks or scientists are devising a way to introduce algae and other oxygen producing microbes. Chief scientist Nanally Cotz believes that we should build small green house domes across the world and gradually change the planet over time. Obviously this isn’t in keeping with our time schedule of things but she states that it is the only way to properly ensure the planet terraforms with minimal risk. I’m going to write up some plans on orbital stations for around the planet. A modular design so that later they can be converted over into other uses.” I paused again with a little sigh. “This planet is a bit of a wear and tear though. Despite no storms the station is requiring extensive and ongoing maintenance issues. I guess it keeps us busy and a lot of us are having to pitch in and work on unfamiliar areas. For instance our water recycler backed up. That was a mess I’ll refrain from mentioning the particulars,"

"It was poodooty!!!" Torchshot 3 in the background shouted bringing a chorus of laughter from the other personnel off screen.

"BUT... thankfully we were able to get our back up recycler working. It only took 12 nonstop hours of work but hey a crew has to stay hydrated. Well not much more to report. I'll submit the data on our other maintenance problems later today. I’ll be planning a second expedition in a day or two dependent on weather forecasting. We’ll be using speeders this time and go sightseeing.”
I got up and reached behind the camera…
[Offline]

 

[Caius Flavian]

Kalee
Equatorial Zone: Quadrant F13
Radiation levels: Minimal


Day 14 1600

[Online]
The camera flicked on recording what appeared to be a large gorge amidst the wastelands
“Is this thing on?” The voice of delta one could be heard muffled through a chirp and static of a helmets external speakers. “I swear that idiot can’t pack a bag worth a kark!” The camera shook violently for moment before settling down. “There, ask me to set up the tripod while he gets to venturing into some gorge…” Her voice was heated.
The camera panned up and above the wastelands. The gorge was deep and narrow. “This is ensign Kara Runo callsign Delta One. Our expedition today was to investigate a gorge found a week ago by probe seven. The probe was redirected to scan the gorge but due to an electromagnetic storm a few nights ago it crashed about three kilometers from here. Our recovery team is presently retrieving the probe and bringing it back to the station. Now as you can see…” The camera paned down to reveal that Delta one was on top of a hill shaped in a semi circle. “Our glorious leader has decided to setup a forward operating base here.” Her voice was filled with sarcasm. Snug inside the cut of the hill several prefabricated structures were being put up. Numerous storm troopers in hazardous environment gear moved back and forth from a lambda class shuttle parked just a dozen meters from the gorge.
“Our glorious leader has led a total of four expeditions now to several different locations all them fruitless and downright dangerous. Finally though we made a break through. Chief Scientist Cotz has been in an extremely good spirits after discovering this gorge. She keeps going on and on about how we could begin construction of a dome city here. I get what she is saying, it’s a lot easier to work with the natural environment that it is to have to change it. So if we build here we could start the terraforming process within a month. Of course Cotz says,” Delta one raised her hands in the air attempting to mimick the chief scientists empathic gestures in the stiff HEG suit. She spoke a high pitched voice “just one terraform facility will not do, no no no! We have to find at minimum seven other locations before we can even get this world’s atmosphere changed.” She stopped and let loose a giggle before turning the camera back to the gorge itself. A walker could be seen ascending from out of view at the gorges lip.
“Take a look you can see we have deployed a walker modified for excavation. We spent a good portion of the morning building a ramp to move supplies down. The scientists are going to set up some sort of spook lab down there.”
The camera panned back out across the wastes to the horizon. “Well once again not much excitement. I’m really missing being in a cockpit. Lt. Commander Flavian asked me yesterday if I would like to be his personal pilot. I’m not really sure what to think about that… Uhm well anyways I doubt any of you care to know about that. I’ll just have to edit that out later.”
“Ahem Delta One of the KRSTG signing off.”
[Offline]

 

[Alva Calvarona]

Kalee
Holding Orbit
Radiation levels: None

For now Alva remained in charge of the transfer of convoys delivering supplies to Kalee since the lull in her work with CRI provided her the opportunity to take action in the operations on the planet Kalee the Imperials were trying to terraform/reform/whatever back into a state of actual use. It appeared like Lt. Commander Flavian was making some headway in his command of the situation there. They already had a few facilities up it sounded like. Honestly though the only use Alva could see herself as on the ground would be leading combat squads of Stormtroopers and Crinan Royal Soldiers to hunt down the local mutant monstrosities that apparently were also wandering around the wasteland of a planet.

So as it was she was doing the very utmost she could with the situation. The Crinan Princess was in command of Three Venerable Class Invasion Carriers acting as oversized supply wagons being escorted by a number of Noble class frigates. Each Carrier would split off to each land and begin the procedures of off loading supplies to the different facilities already put into place. The Noble class frigates dispersing to either hold in orbit as the XT-12 Command Station was constructed in space, or hold altitude off the ground to provide very heavy support should any. . . .horse of monsters poke their heads out of any rocks.

Perhaps next rotation she would be sent groundside.

 

[Caius Flavian]

Kalee
Equatorial Zone: Quadrant F13
Radiation levels: Rising; Warning; Rising


‘A harsh world this is. The wastes are starting to get to me…’
It was late in the evening, or morning, I couldn’t tell. We had spent the last ten hours tracking a mutant creature. We had dubbed it a Kalra wolf after the scientist who first laid eyes on a pack of them. There were many others like it. They all had a unique fur coat that seemed to be able to resist the elements. It had a bizarre outer section of its body that glowed. We still haven’t determined too much else about these things. In fact it took several hours to catch this huge beast. They were as tall as a human being and nearly twice the length, or at least this one, was twice the length.

This particular wolf was howling and fighting against the restraints we had placed on it. We were attempting to put it inside a containment field with an observation room inside so we could better understand how these creatures lived in such a harsh environment. For a mutant this particular species appeared to have strong distinct traits that the spooks theorized to be part of their evolution in adapting to the new world.
The storm troopers and most my crew from the station were assisting in this endeavor. We had the wolf inside a large container. We were lowering the cage down by a tractor beam we had setup.

The beast was howling and rattling its cage. A gust of wind struck and the cage swayed tipped back and forth in the wind. Interference from the nearby storm blew out one of the spotlights. “Sir! I don’t think the tractor beam will hold!” I could hear Delta One screaming over the comms.

“Get the walker and see if it can guide the container down any further!” I bellowed. We were but 1 meter off the ground. The weather appeared to be also disrupting the controls of the tractor beam. If we couldn't get the container rotated so that it would could dock with the containment field we would be endangering the specimen. One of the sergeants of the storm trooper detachment waved the walker over, with it and a few other troopers they pushed the container slightly getting just enough of a turn so it lined up. I watched as one of the troopers gave the okay to another of his compatriots who was standing on top of a balcony overlooking the dock. Now came the tricky part which was to open the container and shove it against the dock so the beast could exit.

The trooper on the balcony hoped down and began unlocking the upper mechanisms. The door to the containment and the container opened simultaneously. The walker moved behind the beast’s cage and pushed it slightly. The push coupled with another gust of wind forced the trooper to lose his footing. He hit the ground next to the small gap between the containment field and the cage. Disoriented the trooper slowly got up. A few of his comrades moved to grab him but suddenly the beast let out a chilling howl and its fangs clamped down on the troopers leg with insane speed.
I had been supervising the operation and witnessed the entire event. “Stun it! Shoot! Shoot it!” bellowed as the men rushed to pull their comrade out of the beasts jaw.

“Shoot it!” I continue to scream. I drew my own side arm and rushed to the side of the container. I could see the beasts glowing six eyes as it tore apart the troopers legs. Blood spattered the inside of the cage. The unfortunate trooper was clinging onto the outside of the container as the rest of the squad either tried vainly to hold on to him or were shooting through the slits along the cage.
The trooper went limp and his comrades pulled the upper half of his body out… The beast was subdued after several volleys of blaster fire set to stun… We managed to get the cage docked fully and gathered for a moment of silence…

‘Now I’m looking forward to getting off this world…’

[member="Alva Calvarona"]

 

[Caius Flavian]

Kalee
In Transit: Exiting atmosphere. Approaching
Radiation: None

After everything we had gone through to capture that damn creature. Our first loss during this expedition. I still was a little shaken up by it. I had penned a letter for the man’s family expressing my regret for the loss and condolences. I still couldn't figure out a proper way to end the letter.

I gazed out the cockpit of the shuttle. Ensign Runo, or Delta One as she preferred to be called while piloting, was in a cheery mood to be flying. 'At least her spirits are up' I looked back down at my data pad. I was returning to orbit to give a report in person to Captain Calvarona and possibly Admiral Deschart if he was available. Ground to space communications were way to often having interference. Plus it be great to gauge from above what progress had been accomplished. Either way the ground side research operations had begun to expand extensively. Our initial expedition of determining how the hell we would even begin to Terraform this planet had gone exceptionally well despite the constant setbacks of technical difficulties. As we exited the atmosphere I felt the weight of the world underneath us lift from my shoulders, I breathed a sigh of relief to be back in the cold of space. We had finally cleared low orbit and began to make our way up toward the squadron of Venerable Carriers. Odd shaped ships but they did an excellent job of providing fighter support.

“This is Delta One to flight control requesting clearance for landing Taris-One-Niner-Yavin-Force-Seven”
“Flight control to Delta One code is green, you are green to begin docking procedures”
“Well Sir, thank you for the opportunity, I think after we are done with the mission here I’ll take you up on that offer to work as your adjutant and pilot.”
Well that was a surprise. I glanced over at her but since she was in her full flight suit I couldn't read any expression off of her. “Well Ensign Runo, I’ll begin the paperwork first chance I get” She turned to me and gave a thumbs up and I got the feeling she also winked but since I can’t see pass the helmet I would never know.

I turned my attention back to the void around use. The beauty of the stars and vast emptiness between them. Delta One began to approach the formation of vessels. They were all Crinan vessels. The carriers were deploying in rotation down onto the planet to off load supplies. I could see the spine to one of our star bases being constructed. It looked as though prefabricated parts were being moved into position to better facilitate the work. As we neared the vessel I glanced back down at my data pad. I was going to need to get in contact with my grandmother as well and see the full extent of the resources we will be lending to this operation. She was being extremely frugal at the moment and having placed the family’s remaining finances in supporting the Remnant was probably keeping her on edge. The endeavor and grand vision of a new Imperial Empire lay in the work we did now, hopefully she’ll continue to stay the course and work within the means of what we have left. My own ambitions were immense, I did not plan on staying in the mid ranks of the officer corp. No my sights were set on the lofty heights of becoming an admiral one day and achieve the rank of Moff over several worlds and then just then I could exact revenge on the Republic… One task at a time though for now I had to prove the ability to excel in my given post.

“Sir, Sir, SIR!” I felt Delta One punch me on the shoulder. I was surprised by this rash move but then again given our brief intimacy we had broken a few barriers to many to be pulling rank and doctrine. “Oh are we there already” I looked around surprised to see we had already docked. She took off her helmet and sank down into her set with a warm smile on her lips.
“Yes Sir, you looked like you were lost in a trance… Sure you are not a force user?” She gave a wink and then her face turned serious “Now get off my shuttle before I kick you down the landing ramp myself… I’m going to enjoy some alone time with her” She patted the side of the cockpit as if to make it purr.

“Well Ensign, I’ll excuse the disrespectful manner in which you are conducting yourself and take my leave then. We’ll be staying the night here so be back later tonight” I got up began to make my way to the landing ramp. I swear I could hear her already asking for departure clearance. The moment I stepped out onto the hangar bay the ramp began to close. “Well at least she is going to have fun….”
A Crinan deck officer approached, saluted and began to escort me inside. I finally came up with an end to the letter ‘His death was that in the service to others, the work we are doing here will aide thousands of lives in finding security and peace. I can think of no better way to pass than with honor, courage and dignity that your son carried with him and all of us continue to bear…’

[member="Alva Calvarona"]

 

[Caius Flavian]

It was undoubtedly the most difficult task I have ever come across. The world of Kalee had a rich history to it. Most of that history was lost to time though. The droid general Grievous was a Kaleesh, this planet was a world of warlords. A martial history. The xenos were a curious species. I could not recall if there were any Kaleesh in existence these days. I reread the old history of how the republic sided agains the Kaleesh in their war against the Huk. Then when the Empire rose so did the fame of the Kaleesh rise as well in the stories of Sk’ar.
Ancient stuff, my concerns in the planets history lay in the dark ages of the plague. The planet Crina experienced contact from the outside world at certain point either during or before the plague I could not recall, but still the fact that there were explorers out that far meant that people had traveled here before. My thoughts drifted back to the meeting of the crew of the Lost Cause.
Obviously the planet today was much different. It was unfortunate in the grand scheme of the universe that such world with an intriguing history become a wasteland. Again I had to bring my thoughts back down to this moment.

The deck officer had brought me to a reception room. An astromech droid was in attendance with beverages. I took the decanter of water and poured myself a glass. The taste was superbly refreshing, considering I had been living off of recycled water for the better part of a few weeks this was probably the most relieving thing. I requested a caffeinated tea then took a seat as the hot drink was being brewed. I relaxed a little. I was probably going to be here for another month or so before someone else gets assigned here.

There was so much to be done. The first of many mutant hunts had begun. Rumor had it before we had left Crina that a few young hot headed nobles were willing to spend some wealth for the chance to hunt on a different planet. I simply made the suggestion that they try here. So we’ll see if they show up or not. Nothing like playing the aristocracy’ I gave myself a grin recalling my youth in the core world back before the massacre of my family. Terraforming. The resources alone were immense. My mother would be dispatching our top scientist here eventually. She was a Chiss, and although I despised xenos, the chiss were in many ways considered a genetic descendant of humanity. I remember back in dorm rooms of my old academy day, those us who held the high human culture to be superior would inevitably argue about the chiss, I was personally on the fence as to whether the chiss are either the prime example of genetic evolutionary change or that they were just an offshoot of circumstance... Her name was Rae’rwna Ves’stahl, between her and Cotz the duo would be taking project lead on the Terra formation.

 

[Caius Flavian]

The astromech arrived after a few minutes with a fresh mug of tea. Rest and relaxation was an enjoyable commodity these days. I was all over the place. The work here on Kalee was a focus in the high tempo activity that was the Imperial Remnant. ‘By the celestial's I’m still just having trouble keeping up with everything, at least here I can consider this a refugee from everything’
I began to ponder a lot of events that I had in some way put a hand in furthering. While I pondered took out the stylus and jotted notes on a few different projects directly relating to the development of a few settlements and facilities.

‘Hmmmmm, In order for this to be a proper center to receive those who wish to emigrate from the war torn worlds of the galaxy we would need to prepare proper facilities. The worst issue to tackle would be medical issues of different species….’ I gritted my teeth at the inclusion of xenos in my concerns. ‘For humans and near human species the acquisition of proper facilities to ensure their… survival,’ the association of these words in my thoughts brought on a mild headache ‘I guess that will be something I’ll have to follow up prior to the moving into the official phase of colonization'

I looked at my original orders again and the present circumstances. I guess I would have to figure out some sort of organized manner to really pursue this endeavor to the end. I let out a sigh and felt at ease. To be back on a space ship was probably the best feeling. I despised being on the ground. I could never truly feel one with the ground. Space, the void, the darkness of the universe was where spiritually and physically I felt happy. Ground side I felt like a stiff, it was on the bridge of a capital ship that I felt free and relaxed to just be me.

My upbringing was that of high expectations. Courtly affairs similar to those of Crina, but the aristocracy of the Core was much different. Steeped in ancient blood lines of wealth and power beyond comparison. Words and moves I felt a sudden pang of sorrow, guilt, and regret ‘Hell before the purge I was married...’ I bit my tongue at the thought of those so close to me that were long lost.

My thoughts had become clouded. I struggled for a moment to curtail the emotional tidal wave I kept just below a boiling point. One did not have to in tune with the force to meditate. The struggle lasted for another moment… I took a sip of tea and let the soothing heat rejuvenate and calm my body and mind…

I took a breath and returned to a state of relaxation. I hadn't noticed my eyes were closed… I opened them and turned my gaze to the view port in the room.
It was strange to be out here on the edge of the galaxy forging something out of nothing. I feel like that the purge had given me a new life...
A second chance… The view port began to show the hue of the planet Kalee. Enthralled in the moment of looking at the desolate world and the potential future it held.
‘A future of peace and order’

 

[Rae’rwna Ves’stahl]

Rae’rwna was quite enthralled with the wealth of data that Chief Scientist Cotz had compiled. Caius had so diligently ensured I was kept abreast of the situation the on the ground with frequent video journal recording. A few of them were quite amusing for the circumstances and content. Rae’rwna was in a state of glee and joy to be undertaking such a bold project such as terraforming. All those years of studying culminated into this, to transform a world into nothing.

Rae’rwna sat on board a lambda class shuttle in one of the passenger seats. The shuttle was being escorted by a flight of star fighters. Along with a few assistants and a couple of Imperial officers. Not to unusual but one of the officers was actually a male twi’lek which was surprising with the often human centrist types that followed the Imperial way. Then again considering the original Fel Empire was inclusive to those non-human it was not unlikely this new rendition of the Empire was following such footsteps. Hell even the Flavians had flexed their views to hire Rae’rwna.

Rae'rwna went back to studying the details of the reports. The Terraform processor had been set up on the surface a few weeks ago. However the planet itself was proving troublesome for the lone relic of a machine the Imperials had hauled out here. There would have to be a comprehensive approach to this that required finesse and patience. Caius and his commanding officers were biting into a titanic undertaking. All in the name of providing a habitable world for new people seeking refuge from the numerous wars. ‘As if the Imperials would not bring more war to this system and those people…’ She briefly thought before shaking the thought away. The matter at hand was critical.

‘Cotz that brilliant woman!’ She had already initiated the establishment of a Bio dome. The first of many such structures would dot the planet to begin absorbing the high levels of different gases in the atmosphere and cycle out oxygen. Cotz’s preliminary reports on the necessary requirements to achieve a change in the atmosphere projected at least a six month long minimum intensive regime just to get to a 10% oxygen enrichment along with barely a 40% nitrogen enrichment. CO2 was in plentiful on the planet along with an absurd amount of Argon and a few other hazardous elements. The challenge was also figuring out how to reduce the extreme weather occurrences. Cotz wanted to begin a series of tests of the atmospheric storms but that was no practical means of doing that yet since machines seemed to be experiencing interference.

The surface gravity though was exceptionally appealing with Kalee being right in the habitable zone. Rae’rwna pursed a smile at the history of the world. When she could a get a chance a little exploration into the old Kaleesh temples and tombs might prove useful in understanding the world as it was before.
One of the reports contained a description of the few mutants that had been sighted or encountered. A few probe droids had been wrecked costing significant setbacks in gathering on site data. This required actual expeditions to be sent out to find the damned droids and continue with the research gathering. Already one death had been reported and hopefully no more will occur.

So enthralled in her reading Rae’rwna’s assistant had to snap the woman out of her focused mind “Miss Ves’stahl we have arrived on board to the command ship”
Stunned Rae looked around to see the others were beginning to pack up and unload material down the ramp. “Oh well, ahem let’s get going then I’m sure Caius will want to meet up with us soon rather than later” Her skin flushed into a darker blue as the change in oxygen rushed over her pores.
‘Well I’m finally going to get some serious work done’

 

[Kara Runo]

The thrill of being a star pilot was like nothing else. To move effortless between objects with nothing holding you back was a sense of freedom few enjoyed. I felt bad for leaving the Lt. Commander behind but he was on a path bound and determined to go to great heights.

I felt like having a little fun and pushed my girl to maximum speed. Often people always would go on and on about how moving fast was the hardest part of piloting. I disagreed, I think the toughest aspect is slowing down. Any fool could push their ships to maximum velocity, in fact any fool could go fast enough to traverse between objects easily. Slowing down though, well give me enough reverse thrust and a shunt I’ll make my baby turn on a dime… Most people had trouble slowing their ships down to make difficult maneuvers.

In the void there was no gravity and no friction. A fundamental rule of thumb is to remember that every part of the ship decelerates differently. You had to think as though you were swimming, every ship had a keel of sorts and my sentinel drop ship had a strong spine. I had made sure of it.
“Thank you Cradle,” I began a tight bank to the portside and began to fly past the star base…

 

[Caius Flavian]

It was a thrill to have Rae’rwna Ves’stahl here accepting what I would consider one of the toughest challenges in the galaxy. Any military could destroy a world, but to create a world, renew a world, rejuvenate it to a healthy stable state of habitation. Well that right there was the toughest challenge. Personally a great deal of the sciences alluded me. Still Rae’rwna and her team of scientists along with Dr. Cotz were the experts in these matters. Which is why I had made sure to gather them up and put them to work. Eventually the Seed of Renewal would be here and the full strength of the Flavian Star Corporation will be devoted to this project. She had joined me for Tea in the Wardroom where it was quiet. It was late into the evening and we had a few pastries available as we discussed the past, present, and most importantly the future. For a Chiss she was of a remarkable grace. My own reservations of non-humans typically subsided when we conversed. It was enjoyable to catch up with her on the affairs and experiments she had been involved with. The Flavian Star Corporation was going to be making a debut on the galactic stage in the next month or so. The work accomplished here would do wonders toward this project.

“So Rae I’m looking forward to where you desire to begin? The planet is quite a headache in terms of logistics. I've made arrangements with a few noble houses to siphon off a moderate supply of water from the north and south poles of Crina and Rodica. Not a tremendous quantity however, I wouldn’t want to disrupt their planetary ecology. Just a few million gallons to be imported. I’m looking to investigate just outside this system for ice fields to be our primary source of water. The atmospheric conditions have evaporated most of the water according to Cotz. A great example of an area where water needs infusion would be the Jenuwaa Sea along with the high mountain lakes near Shrupak.”

 

[Rae’rwna Ves’stahl]

Rae’rwna sat across from Caius, her legs crossed. The table they shared was of an oak genus that only studious eyes could tell that that it was just recently furnished. Having spent some time on Crina the Chiss could tell the wood was felled near the Tatiana Mountains. She swept her right hand across the top enjoying the wonderful handiwork of the crinan craftsmanship. Taking a sip from the dainty tea cup she had brought along from her personal effects, she gave a cooling breath across the warm beverage and pondered on what Caius had spoken of.

“Hopefully these initial results will be successful. I want to investigate if what may remain in terms of microbes still exist in the Jenuwaa Sea can be stimulated to be grown in batches on board the Seed or in one of the settlements Bio domes. If you are certain there are ice fields untapped out there that would certainly expedient the process. However I want us to exercise caution because the introduction of external elements. Granted the environment and ecology of the planet is essentially gone. Yet we should cultivate the native biology as much as possible…”

She tapered off for a moment to gather her thoughts. A simple purple and blue robed garb covered the entirety of Rae’rwna’s body. The sleeves were over sized allowing for her to hide arms from view if necessary.

“I would like to initiate a series of expeditions into the Shrupak temple ruins. I want to admire and analyze the culture of the Kaleesh. Perhaps I can learn a few things from their people. They are a remarkable species. I have only met a few in my travels during my junior years of University. Many expressed interest in returning home. It would be great to foment a resurgence of the native population again. Of course I doubt you share my view of fostering the development of xenos” she chided with a wry grin. The oxygen in the ship was quite recycled and stale. Rae’rwna’s skin was of a deep purple blending in with her clothing. Her red eyes glowed from under the shawl.

 

[Alva Calvarona]

[member="Caius Flavian"] [member="Rae’rwna Ves’stahl"] [member="Aurna Vern"]

Alva sighed as she entered the room where she and her girlfriend would be meeting with the Lieutenant Commander she so often seemed to be working with. Even with Aurna beside her at that very moment she couldn't retain the loudness of her sigh because of how very irritated she was with the whole scenario. They had only just been able to arrive on Crina when Caius had called out for her to travel to Kalee and bring along her new associate. There hadn't even been a moment to get to show Aurna around the Palace! As such she wasn't even appearing in uniform, still in one of her Crinan dresses she had taken on her trip. A huffing princess had had to give a run down of what she was taking her newfound girlfriend to. Not exactly the best way to bring up being a princess or the Imperials presence.

Well at least Caius was a good representative for her to meet.

Guiding Aurna to a seat and offering it to her, Alva would take the seat beside her as she spoke up. "Its . . . .somewhat nice to see you again Lieutenant Commander. I see you have much more lovely aid about yourself nowadays. As you can see I have run into a rather beautiful person as well. Your summons were a bit ill-timed though, we only just arrived back in the Luminita system when you called. As you requested though, this is Aurna Vern. We've been, spending quite a bit of time together lately and have enjoyed each other's company during it. You said you had something you wished to discuss with her so here we are though."

 

[Alli Vern]

Aurna took a seat and looked around awkwardly. She didn't really know what to do and she wasn't dressed for this, just a simple dress. She hadn't planned on doing much and then she was whisked away here of all places, and he wanted to talk to her. She blushed " I am sorry about my presentation, I wasn't aware we were going somewhere so formal. I am Aurna Vern, CEO and Owner of Tanlab Industries. " She smiled and hoped that he didn't mind she totally wasn't prepared for a meeting.

[member="Alva Calvarona"] [member="Caius Flavian"] [member="Rae’rwna Ves’stahl"]

 

[Caius Flavian]

[member="Aurna Vern"] [member="Alva Calvarona"]

I took a sip of tea and bit into a warm pastry. The late evening snack was proving to be a good idea. Although Rae’rwna’s suggestion was a bit tart for my tastes. Her eyes bore into my own as she held a friendly expression with that grin of hers. “Well now, its almost like we are back on the university debate teams again. I remember quite clearly how adamant you fought against my Human Purity Party during the debates. I also remember the persistence and steadfast ideals is what led us both to just being entrenched for several hours until I finally moved to concede to a compromise. In order to avoid that again I will go along with this Idea. It fits well with in the purview of the Empress’s wishes and she has begun to prove quite benevolent toward the plight of others.”
I paused for a moment and took another sip. I rested my arm on the chair next to me and leaned back. “Well I’m certain I can arrange for an expeditionary security detail. I may also have a certain specialist who is Chiss and has quite the keen eye…”

My voice trailed off as the door to the wardroom chimed. I was pleasantly surprised to see Princess Alva Calvarona and her latest of partners. Although the look on the Princess’s face and the audible sigh she gave indicated she was not exactly pleased. I removed my arm from the chair’s back rest as the princess took the seat. She was certainly frustrated, so I tried to make a lighthearted smile “It is good to see you too Princess Calvarona, my apologies if I inconvenienced you in anyway. My friends in the Intelligence services are quite informative of the comings and goings of people from our little region of space, but I was sadly misinformed on your arrival so my communique was in error…” I reached out and proffered my hand to Aurna Vern “I’m Caius Flavian, a Board member of Flavian Star Corporation and also an officer in the imperial military. This is Lady Rae’rwna Ves’stahl also a board member and one of the most brilliant scientists of biology and bioengineering. I’m glad you can join us, I’ll see if I can get the astromech to bring some more refreshments”

 

[Rae’rwna Ves’stahl]

Rae’rwna Ves’stahl giggled at the response Caius gave. It felt like old times. 'Such a stiff'

She was about to respond when new comers arrived. Two damsel like humans entered the room. A grin pursed her lips as it was great to have new company. Rae loved to meet new people. “Thank you Caius for the introduction, you may call me Rae for short!” She smiled. The baggy sleeves drooped down along the edge of the table. Caius had been sitting directly across from Rae, the regal women pulled the seat next to Caius out and allowed the other women to sit down 'How cute' The low lighting in the room and shawl certainly shrouded Rae's face with her glowing eyes filled with a look of delight “Its also quite a pleasure to meet such lovely ladies as yourselves. Do not worry Miss Vern I didn't dress for the occasion either, it would seem we were all a little off on timing for an unexpected meeting. Caius and I were actually discussing some of the details on the future development of this world. He mentioned that there might be a lucrative venture in store if you are willing to hear our proposal, but first I was hoping to find out exactly what services Tanlab offers?”

[member="Aurna Vern"] [member="Alva Calvarona"]

 

[Alva Calvarona]

[member="Aurna Vern"] [member="Caius Flavian"] [member="Rae’rwna Ves’stahl"]

This time Alva did hold back a sigh as she decided she had to maintain her composure especially when the Lieutenant Commander appeared to be trying his best to be polite and had apologized as well. As introductions were made the second princess of Crina couldn't help looking over the somewhat alien figure across the table. So close to human, and yet not? The only differences appeared to be that blood red of the woman's eyes and pale blue of her skin. Chiss. . . .they were certainly intriguing. Caius had said she was a biologist and a board member of his company, well that certainly was interesting, Alva wondered what sort of things they had found to do on Kalee with all the mutations and such the world was rife with. "Its quite alright Lieutenant Commander, I am merely . . . .irritated I could not allow my guest a proper experience on Crina before rushing over here. It does make me somewhat happy that you have something important for her to potentially work on. Its also a pleasure to meet you as well Lady Rae, you're. . . .quite lovely yourself. . . ." Except for maybe the blue? Alva wasn't quite sure yet how she felt about aliens. She certainly hated those that weren't even humanoid, but the ones like the chiss who were so close. . . .was it really nonhuman and not just something like a different skin color?

 

[Alli Vern]

"Well Tanlab, provides unique solutions for unique needs. But right now we have been working on a new smaller than ever holonet satellite. It also significantly expands what you can do with them, offering 3 separate networks for companies and governments that use them, to have greater control when using them in their holonet services. I also have a view caster that projects a view on your wall or window. We also build stations to order.

She said glad that Alva was nearby. It gave her so much more confidence.

" We haven't gotten any challenges from any would be customers yet so I have been pushing innovation, so we now use a revolutionary construction method using nano machines to do the work. It is all pretty exciting really."

[member="Alva Calvarona"][member="Rae’rwna Ves’stahl"] [member="Caius Flavian"]