The Addled Jewel | Part 1 of The New Dawn Campaign

[Progflaw99]

​

​

The Rebellion had made an entrance on the grand stage only weeks ago in the Rimcee sector but even their momentary success seemed but a drop in the blazing inferno that was spreading across the galaxy. Lucky though they had been with the acquisition of a few solid command vessels, their luck was bound to run out sooner rather than later - at very least, their resources and funds would. Resistance wasn't cheap. It's why many who joined the cause could offer nothing more than the clothes on their back and their calloused hands, eager to pick up the torch against tyranny. *And that's perfectly okay.*

Atlas himself had showed up on the doorstep of the Rebellion with little to offer in terms of tangible goods but his skill as a pilot was a rare thing indeed. Rarer still were quality starfighters. It was why they had arrived on Sluis Van - to 'liberate' a former Alliance stockpile of to be decommissioned X-Wings. They weren't particularly pretty or top of the line by any means - arguably they were in worse shape than even the Mara-Perlemian Trade Council's vessels, but none of that mattered. They would make do, they always had.

Even counting their recent gains, the Rebellion struggled for funds, for raw materials necessary to repair their ships and construct new ones - and there was the ever impending threat of discovery. Three frigates made up their little flotilla, a few dozen starfighters, maybe a corvette or two. They'd be no match for a Sith reconnaissance force or a First Order patrol. It was that glaring need which had driven them deep into the core, mapping for themselves secret routes as they slowly progressed deeper and deeper.

The Deep Core was something of a gem, albeit muddled. The high density of planets and volatility of some of the stars in the region kept out all but the most determined, though some called it home. Worlds like Empress Teta, Tython, Byss, among others. None of these particularly held what Rebellion High Command was looking for however - no, they were looking for rocks. To be more precise, valuable rocks. They hadn't committed the whole Rebel flotilla to the task, but enough that they could remain largely undetected - and in fairness the worst they expected were pirates, easily dissuaded by the presence of the Spirit of Valor and her heavy fighter complement. Supplemented by a small complement of Wydah-class Corvettes and a wide spattering of civilian vessels refitted for strip mining, they formed a well rounded group.

While the Rebel fighter pilot wasn't terribly concerned about pirates, he knew very little about the corporate game in this sector of space. From experience, he knew that most mining corporations weren't likely to appreciate the skimming the Rebellion was going to be doing - and most could afford to pay mercenaries or even field their own fleets of space vessels to protect their interests. That's precisely why they had kept the plans simple. *Get in, get the ore, get out.* They weren't going to be hanging out waiting for a corporate fleet or otherwise to roll up on them.

Taking a long look outside the viewscreen of his Y-wing fighter, Atlas saw the massive field of asteroids near Prakith ahead. Two elements, both space and ground. One to strip the asteroids of as much ore as they could, the other to head to the surface and cut a large swathe of land open and rip as much of the valuable element as they could. Best case, they were here for a day, maybe two - then they'd be back into the great void. Talking helped keep his mind off the thoughts of what could go wrong. Tipping his head back over his shoulder he spoke to his co-pilot and friend in the seat behind his.

"You doing alright back there? How're the scanners looking?"​

​

[member="Petra Vitalis"] | [member="Kira Vaal"] | [member="Edwin Mad-Thane"] | [member="Lirranne Isaris"]​

 

[Kira Vaal]

For the Rebellion it seemed that such little time had passed since the explosive events of Rimcee. An event that had, in the Rebellion’s eyes at least fuelled a continued need for presence and mobility against an enemy that continued its march across the galaxy like a great tide. It was also noted that given these events more was needed in order for the Rebellion to remain relevant. The Sith would learn, the First Order adapt. Their small strike-forces would eventually be hunted down and removed by some element of the galactic powers of evil no matter how hard they tried.

Unless they too adapted.

Over the days following Rimcee the Rebellion started to gather support. Those who had until recently labelled them as dangerous extremists had started to gather, throwing their lot in with the small band, regional leaders, once mere freedom fighters of the areas had been given reason and command of the minuscule resources they did have at their disposal and most importantly the Rebellion had started to gather ships. First came the Organa, with its skeleton crew and strong will, then came the scattered group of X-Wings and other patched up fighters that Kira had managed to co-ordinate the gathering of from old depot locations known to her from her Alliance days. It was like a slowly filling pool, as more resource was gathered, more resource arrived. Yet command knew, as did each and every one of them that care had to be taken that the pool didn’t break and spill.

Several hours ago that had been the very conversation on board the bridge of the Spirit of Valor. Kira had done what she did best, pointed out potential pots of untapped resource within the Alliance sector, but they had settled on something more valuable. They all understood that stealing weapons and ships could get you far, but to go further, to re-establish a proper galaxy of peace they would need the one thing that the galaxy ran on more then anything else.

Credits.

Mining hadn’t been Kira’s suggestion. No hers had involved slicing and tapping into several means to do it, but the Rebellion had a lack of dedicated technicians at hand so had settled for one of the more common ideas. Their target wasn’t to her liking either, but as she sat in the cockpit of the Falcon and gazed out at the vast field of asteroids she had to admit, maybe they had made the correct decision. Charlwook was missing from the co-pilot chair, instead it was occupied by one of the Rebellion’s navigators who had charted the course from their last jump near Sullust into the Deep Core. The Wookiee that had been Kira’s mainstay had been missing for weeks, seemingly uninterested in his continued support of the young rebel jedi and her new freedom fighting friends. The thought made Kira sad to say the least, but no matter where he was she was sure they would meet again.

There had been some chatter over the waves since they had reverted into real-space, the Rebels throwing suggestions of landing points and mining suggestions, each of which would flow through the channels of the HEKD 400 frigate before being decided upon, probably by Vestra knowing the operation level and relayed back to the teams in their ships. Nearby a group of Y-Wings made way passed the Freighter, Kira smiling towards them in an unseen expression of happiness knowing that onboard were her friends and fellow rebels, each ready to take this task and complete it with minimal issue.

“I think I’ve got a safe route through the field.” The human navigator in the chair next to her said, his fingers having been busy turning through the Falcon’s navicomputer files. Kira knew he would have little to do with it, the Falcon would have given him the route, it always did. The ship thrived in situations like this, and lately it seemed more eager then ever.
“Patch it through. Let the Valor take a look.” Kira responded as she clicked a communicator. “Valor this is Vaal, patching through a potential strip,” She continued, “waiting on your confirmation.”


Just another day at the office.

[member="Atlas Viridian"] | [member="Petra Vitalis"] | [member="Edwin Mad-Thane"] | [member="Lirranne Isaris"]​

 

[Petra Vitalis]

Petra was not quite used to traveling in the cramped quarters of a starfighter. The Y-wing was no exception, but it was slightly alleviated by the fact that its cockpit was, by definition, big enough for two. Luckily, she was spared the onerous task of flying this bucket of bolts by the fact that she was with one of the best pilots in the Rebellion. Her role was to monitor the feeds and work the communications. When [member="Atlas Viridian"]'s voice crackled through the headset she wore, requesting a status update.

"Breaker breaker one niner, we've got clear skies except for all those asteroids, o-ver!" Petra responded in her best imitation of a slight Corellian twang. When she spoke again, her voice had returned to its typical, refined Galidraani accent. "Keep an eye out for corporate security. I'm marking them on screen for you. Nobody is coming our way yet, but we should be vigilant." Petra's black eyes scanned the readouts, eyebrows furrowing as she suppressed another wave of nausea. She wasn't sure if it was motion sickness, space sickness, or claustrophobia, but she had very nearly reached for the sick bag a handful of times during their journey. She clamped her hand over her mouth.

"Not to be that girl, but is there an estimate for when we'll be landing?" she asked over the microphone. "The ration cubes I had for lunch are repeating on me something awful."

 

[RC 212]

[member="Atlas Viridian"] [member="Petra Vitalis"] [member="Kira Vaal"]

RNV Spirit of Valor
Bridge

Veleri kept a wary eye on the scanners and stood arms crossed. Her uniform was something of a throwback from the days of old. Deck officers and the rag tag crew on Ensigns and 1st Lieutenants ran about the deck, keeping track of the Rebel assets afield. She tracked it all on her own holo tank. They'd scored a decisive victory during their initial rise, and that was what had drawn her to their cause.

This was her first major command, outside of commanding backwater sector forces.

And she was overwhelmed, but resolute to see it through.

"Ma'am, receiving transmission from the Millennium Falcon."

Well there's a Legendary ship.​

"Captain Vaal?"

"Aye, requesting scan of possible route through the field."

"Patch her through."

Veleri picked up a phone from her holotank.

"Falcon this Valor Actual, receiving your route and running the numbers now. Stand-bye."​

 

[Progflaw99]

A wide smile creased the pilot's features as his fellow rebel spoke with a faux Corellian twang. It was a comforting thing, humor, and boy did the two of them indulge. Atlas couldn't remember the last time he hadn't relied on some form of humor to get him through whatever plight he might have found himself in from smuggling in supplies to First Order space or sticking it to the Sith Empire in the Rimcee Sector. Again the pair of rebels found themselves working together - it was something of a comfort to Atlas. In the early days you never could tell who you were working with and having a familiar face present went loads towards increasing their efficiency. Glancing at the panel to his side Atlas saw the signals Petra was talking about. Definitely corporate, only the mining corporations had ships that large out here in the belts.

"Definitely noted. We'll make sure to steer clear of them."​

​

A mischievous grin stretched across Atlas' face as Petra voiced discomfort.

"What, don't tell me you're afraid to use the piddle pack?!" After pausing a moment to let the joke hang, he spoke up again. "I'm just kiddin', ETA looks to be about two minutes. Luckily for us, the stations are equipped with indoor hangars - just gotta be sure they still seal properly. You saw the briefing right? Looks like the corporations pulled out early, always hard to make money when it costs just as much to pull the rock out as you can sell it for. Bad for them, good for us - they even left all the mining gear here. Just gotta pick it up ourselves and be on our way."​

​

He rambled a little bit, sure, but it ate up almost the whole time they'd need. Swinging around a particularly jagged asteroid the station came into view. A hangar's gaping maw was open in front of them, a pair of X-wings already on the deck. Soon enough they'd touch down beside them.

[member="Petra Vitalis"] | [member="Kira Vaal"] | [member="Veleri Saranai"]​

 

[Lirranne Isaris]

The dull tone that indicated a long range sensor contact was a single, low gong sort of noise that was at once entirely nonthreatening and absolutely dominant at the same time. It was certainly more than enough to rouse the crew of the Postillion from their boredom-induced stupor and prompted the ships current commanding officer, a onetime Galactic Alliance major, to jump to her feet with a start.

It wasn't nerves really, not after Sluis Van, rather more the expectation of some sort of action. Sith or Imperial forces maybe, but more likely just some corporate security working under the First Order charter, rent-a-cops emboldened by by the boot heel of authoritarianism to come and shake their weapons and enforce some bullshit laws the hard way.

Second-rate scum with a badge.

"Eyes up schutta's, time to earn our credits." Lirri's voice echoed clearly out across the small command cabin of the Whydah-class ship. Up towards the front of the ship, someone gave a dry sort of laugh. The Rebellion wasn't exactly a generous employer. Hard to blame them, they barely had the funds to keep the little fleet running, much less provide a pension.

The three Whydah's that had accompanied the expedition had spread out taken up overwatch positions. Each was far enough away from any other Rebellion-aligned ships, and running quiet and dark, trying to look as much like anything other than a warship as possible. So far it seemed to be working. The spotty array of passive contacts showed a single cluster of corporate mining ships just lurking around a claimed asteroid. Nothing untoward showed on the display, a few small ships with a lot of inbound and outbound comms traffic were probably resource controllers, each in charge of a dozen or more mining pods. A single vessel departing the group was giving off a comparatively weak energy signature, probably a simple haulers, just a set of engines and a command cabin strapped to a big hollow container, full of ore now.

Except for one new anomalous contact. High energy reading, which either meant a lot of power in a small package, or just a big package. It wasn't particularly intense, and none of the passive sensors on the Postillion were picking up military-grade signals, so it was still a corporate ship. Probably.

By now the Spirit and her escorts would have received the signal as well, and gone through the same analysis. So far, there was no deviation from the plan. Drift in, steal some rare ores, walk away, all quiet like.

"Alright, nothing suspicious. Keep your eyes open everyone, but we're still babysitting for now," Lirri gave her brief speech and returned to her seat with a sigh.

This wasn't exactly what she'd imagined fighting the good fight to be like.

[member="Atlas Viridian"] | [member="Veleri Saranai"] | [member="Petra Vitalis"] | [member="Kira Vaal"]

 

[Kira Vaal]

“Falcon standing by.” Kira released her hold of the communicator and eased the Falcon into almost just a float, the idle stance of the engine causing a brief silence to fall over each and every one of them in the ship, which in itself was an eerie feeling with the giant rocks floating past. It reminded Kira of the flight to Omega for some strange reason, all those years ago when she had served in the Alliance like a good little soldier.

How times had changed.

“We’ve had indication of an energy source.” The navigator said quietly, it was odd how everyone whispered in a situation that did not require it. “I’ve mapped it so we can avoid contact range. We don’t know what it is but…” He showed Kira on one of the displays. “It’s safe to say it’s not one of ours.” She nodded and sat back into her chair, chances are it was a corporate hauler, or an old mining vessel still trying to pull some form of profit out of the failed venture. Then again it could be worse, the Empire or even the First Order. It wasn’t worth stressing over.

“Maybe this path isn’t as complete as we thought.” Again doubt filled everyone. The Valor remaining suspiciously silent about the confirmation. “Should I run it again?”
“No.” Kira squinted out into space. “If the Falcon found it, it exists. She has a knack for getting it right.” The internal systems had always confused Kira, any droid she had communicate with it had always come back different, liberated in a way and every time she felt the Falcon’s personality ‘evolve’ significantly. It scared her in a way, but not as much as it gave her a safe feeling, as if the ship itself was looking out for her. “Just wait for the Valor too—“

A green light was given. “—See always right.” She smiled at the navigator who grinned back, behind them another being, this time a Zabrak who had remained at a console with headphones over his ears the whole flight laughed and began to relay information towards the other ships in the group.

“Valor, Rebel Group.” Kira opened up a channel with the ships around them. “Potential route is a-go, the Falcon is going in, fighters stick close and we should be through the field in a few minutes.” She opened the thrusters and with a satisfying rumble the Falcon moved fast towards the asteroids. Now it was down to ability. Ability and dumb luck to get to where they had to be.

[member="Lirranne Isaris"] | [member="Atlas Viridian"] | @Veleri Saran | [member="Petra Vitalis"]