Faction [Tarkin Initiative] After Action

[The Arkanian]

AFTER ACTION

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Space
Aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer, Vigilance

The Officer's Club aboard the Star Destroyer was the only bit of space and luxury afforded in the warship. A bar dominated one wall, with a droid bartender. The patches of all the units who had come through - mostly TIE pilots - decorated the bar. The Arkanian scanned them, looking for any he knew. The few he recognized were all gone now. Vaporized in the long grind of war with the Alliance for the Core. This used to be a Galactic Empire vessel, after all. The Arkanian snorted and accepted a Corellian whiskey from the droid behind the bar. How times changed.

Normally, the Officer's Club would be off limits for enlisted when the ship was underway. But tonight a gathering of tired and battle worn operatives, knights, troopers, and even a few scientists and politicos sat or stood gathered around in the club.

They'd had two swift missions back-to-back, the recovery of a data cache from the Death Star III and then an attempted infiltration of the Diarchy that had nearly gone completely to pieces. Between that and the training, always incessant training, the Arkanian suspected many of them felt as bone tired as he looked right now.

But he had every right to be, after getting interrogated by one of the Diarchs moments after attempting to infiltrate their armory.

Still. Didn't matter now. They had the data and they had the location of the next mission: Gree.

Some sort of artifact recovery. The Arkanian didn't understand it. The science types could explain better, but he hadn't bothered to ask yet. Too tired.

He sipped his whiskey and looked around the room.

What a motley crew.

​

 

[Althea Varrick]

AFTER ACTION

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Locaton: Officers mess - Vigilance
Tags: OPEN
Objectives: socialise

Althea and her companion had come aboard the starship by invite of some of the other higher-ups. Fraternizing had always been a slightly uncomfortable experience for the scientist, but she didnt really experience discomfort any more, so it was easier to allow others to feel uncomfortable around her with her awkward social graces.

"Synthenol, neat." she said to the droid behind the bar that furnished her with a margarita glass of her drink with a twist of citrus fruit on the side. She smiled at his little effort to garnish her otherwise very plain order, then walked away holding her drink.

"● ● ● - ● ● - ● ● ● - ○ ● ● ● ● - ● ● ● - ● ● ● ● - ● ● ● - ● ○ ● ● ● - ○ ●" she asked to her pet as it quickly jumped onto her shoulder and began sniffing at the garnish. It apparently didnt approve so jumped back down. "You are no help." she muttered and rolled her eyes. It wasnt his fault, he wasnt even sapient. Which did put him in the same category as some of the soldiers she gad dealt with in the past.

She smiled a suppressed giggle at her little private joke, only to refocus her eyes and realise she was looking right at someone and inadvertently offering them her smile.
​

 

[Kadann]

KADANN

The Officer's Club aboard the Vigilance had a way of smelling like every other Imperial mess Kadann had frequented over the last four decades.

It was a cocktail of stale recirculated air and high-grade floor wax. Still, every empire knew how to treat it's officers.

He moved up to the bar with a measured, slightly stiff gait. His Firrerreo blood was doing its best to knit together the deep-seated aches from the battle with Yuuzhan Vong, but the process was a sluggish, grinding affair these days.

To the younger troopers, he likely looked like a relic that had refused to stay in the museum. To those with a bit more sense, he looked like a man who simply knew how to survive. There was a long, pink line down his cheek where skin was still knitting after a razor bug passed him.

The Force was moving strangely around the people at the bar, but he paid it no heed now.

"Brandy."

 

[Lareva]

AFTER ACTION​

Lareva wore a dress uniform instead of her armor since she was, ostensibly, among friends. No need for armor.

Her blaster and telescoping baton were still strapped to opposite thighs, because one could never be too careful.

The Chiss had not been present when the Initiative had stumbled across a freshly thawed Yuuzhan Vong hive and she wasn't terribly upset about it. She had heard tell from others -- other Knights, enlisted men, whatnot -- of the horrors that had been visited there. The Yuuzhan Vong were a misery and that was an understatement. Still, it was impressive that the Initiative personnel managed to get out of it alive at all. Plenty of others would have been destroyed outright by the Vong.

Lareva was quietly impressed.

The operation she'd been part of at Atrisia was a success, too. Less dangerous than the Yuuzhan Vong, but no less strategically important. Rumor had it they would be on the move again as soon as the lab coats finished their analysis of the black box they had retrieved.

She sidled up to the bar, a meter or so down from Kadann , who she greeted with a nod. "Soda and lime, please," Lareva told the barkeep once he had delivered the older man's beverage. "Looks like it's healing up nicely," the Chiss said, offering a half-smile. "Might leave a good scar, though."

Kadann | Tydeus Shorn | Althea Varrick | The Arkanian​

 

[Linor Dragant]

AFTER ACTION
Linor Dragant, Head of the Imperial Mission

TAGS: Lareva Kadann Althea Varrick The Arkanian

The Officer's Club aboard the Vigilance was the star destroyer's sole concession to luxury.

A narrow dimly lit chamber tucked deep in the command superstructure where the thrum of the ion engines dulled to a distant heartbeat. Tonight the usual officers-only restriction lay suspended. The chamber held a weary congregation at first glance: battle-worn Imperial Knights in matte-black armor stripped of pauldrons, white-armored troopers with helmets tucked under arms, a handful of rumpled scientists nursing stim-caf, and a scattering of diplomatic attaches trying not to look out of place.

Two back-to-back operations the lightning recovery of a sealed data cache from the derelict husk of Death Star III, followed by a near-catastrophic attempt to infiltrate the territory controlled by the Diarchy had left everyone a bit hollow-eyed. Linor entered quietly as the automatic doors parted with barely a whisper.

He stood tall and composed in his signature diplomatic attire, a deep navy robe with golden decorations. The high collar framed his throat, where a polished obsidian pin bore the winged cog emblem of the Tarkin Initiative. A narrow tri-color ribbon (crimson, gold, midnight blue) rested in the center of his white pressed tunic.

No entourage followed the Chairman of the Imperial Mission, nor did he need to announce himself to the growing crowd. Linor had been focused on diplomatic efforts with independent plants and advocating for the fair and respectful treatment of war refugees within the Inner Rim.

On the surface he was without a doubt the most powerless person here...but beneath his veneer of humbleness lay a person with a large enough intelligence network to decide how the Empire would function with or without the Fel Emperor ruling over them.

Eyes wandered away from the bar for a moment to determine who to have a conversation with, ultimately settling on the Doctor Althea Varrick . "Forgive the intrusion, Doctor Varrick. I hope you do not mind the company of the Imperial Mission.." He let the statement settle in the air between them for a moment to allow her an opportunity to refuse.

​

 

[Althea Varrick]

AFTER ACTION

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Locaton: Officers mess - Vigilance
Tags: Linor Dragant
Objectives: socialise

The Mission Chair addressed her and introduced himself. She didnt know him well but recognised him easily and respected his office. She had been faithful once, was she still faithful, assessing... unclear.

"No apology necessary father, it has been a ride and I think we all benefit from the mission." she raised her glass slightly in a toast and took a sip of the shimmering clear liquid.

She gestured to one of the windows overlooking the prow of the ship as they passed a few light years from a glowing nebula, it was a scene that offered a spiritual moment for anyone should they care to look for it.

"How do you assess the feeling aboard the fleet" she asked, curious for his insight.

​

 

[Linor Dragant]

AFTER ACTION
Linor Dragant, Head of the Imperial Mission

TAGS: Lareva Kadann Althea Varrick The Arkanian

Linor accepted the unspoken invitation and moved to stand beside her at the viewport. The Vigilance glided past the nebula's outer tendrils, a vast, slow-motion bloom of violet, crimson, and electric blue that painted shifting auroras across the transparisteel's curve. Stars gleamed like distant lanterns through the gas clouds, and for a brief moment the raw beauty of it silenced the low conversations behind them.

He cradled his untouched whiskey in one hand, the other resting lightly on the railing. His posture remained relaxed, almost deferential, the deep navy robe with its golden filigree catching faint reflections from the nebula's glow as he listened carefully to Doctor Althea Varrick . The question she posed to him was quite challenging to respond to, especially since he wasn't particularly skilled in interpreting body language to gauge the fleet's emotions from an individual perspective.

"The feeling aboard... is one of misplaced hope." His voice stayed low, intimate, carrying only to her ears amid the murmur of the club. "They see victories, data recovered, infiltrations survived, the fleet still intact and they mistake momentum for destiny. It's understandable. Exhaustion does that; it narrows the world to the next objective, the next breath. But speed... speed is a luxury we have not yet earned." He noticed it in the eyes of the nearby Imperial Knights; their tired faces concealed a glimmer of hope.

A hope for the emergence of a New Imperial Power to govern the galaxy. However, if this new empire was built on weak foundations due to their desire to cut costs by hastening the production process, then the entire structure would inevitably crumble. He turned slightly towards her, as grey eyes reflected the light of the nebula passing by.

"We move too quickly, Doctor Varrick. Far too quickly. Each operation peels back another layer of secrecy, another veil the Initiative has worn so carefully. The recovery from the Death Star III was bold, necessary, even but whispers of it are already reaching the wrong ears. The Diarchy incursion... that was a gamble dressed as necessity. We left fingerprints on worlds that were not yet ready to see our hand extended." The Tarkin Initiative was in the process of consolidating its power from the remnants of the Galactic Empire, and it would be imprudent to expose themselves before they had assembled a more formidable fleet and secured some planets.

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[Althea Varrick]

AFTER ACTION

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Locaton: Officers mess - Vigilance
Tags: Linor Dragant
Objectives: socialise

"Hmm..." she said thoughtfully. His answer was not what she expected at all. He was a priest of the imperial creed, she had been certain that his response would be filled with faithful platitudes. "Thank you. I enjoyed you answer. Your diplomatic views intrigue me in particular, you might say our people had an over abundance of faith, yes?". Faith in the message, faith in the journey, faith in themselves.

"I think it is similar in my line of work, you dont release a thesis until you have worked on the fundamentals of the hypothesis." her eyes flicked to the Nebula and her eyes widened, it was so beautiful. "Your eyes are original I assume? Shame, the ultraviolet light from the Nebula is stunning, it looks like a butterfly." she leaned towards the window as if she might somehow get a better look. They wouldnt have much longer before their trajectory moved the show out of sight and behind the wedge of the enormous warship.

"What are... your goals?"

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[Kadann]

Lareva

The brandy arrived with imperial, clinical efficiency. Kadann took a slow, deliberate sip, letting the amber liquid sear its way down his throat. It provided a welcome distraction from the persistent, pulsing itch of the razor-bug's parting gift.

He turned his head slightly toward Lareva. His Firrerreo ancestry usually made short work of such trifles, but time had made his blood sluggish and his patience for physical frailty even thinner.

"A scar is a reminder that I was a fraction of a second too slow," Kadann replied. "I imagine this won't leave a scar. I heal slowly but I heal welll."

"I might be too old to be collecting lessons but this is one I should maybe keep. I'm not as quick as I used to be."

He shifted his weight, feeling the phantom ache in his joints. His gaze drifted past the Chiss toward the viewport where the Mission Chair and the Doctor were dissecting the soul of the Initiative.

He took another sip of the brandy, his blue eyes cold and focused as they moved back to the Chiss. The young chiss in dress uniform held his attention more than philosophy. He traced the line of the scar on his cheek with a calloused finger.

Kadann smiled from one corner of his mouth.

"Unpleasant creatures, the Yuuzhan Vong, as it turns out."