The Sentinel Initiative (PM For Invite)

[Eugen Aker]

The need to tighten the purse strings meant that the diminished Republic couldn't support the acquisition and maintenance of dozens of different armor sets and personal systems. As the acting Supreme Commander, Suravi decided it was high past time to reorganize the military and streamline their equipment as they regained their footing. Her efforts would begin with a uniform set of armor for the infantry component of the GR Armed Forces, soldiers and marines now rolled into a single corp of Troopers. As always, the daughter of Kiribi looked out for her own in whatever she did, using the opportunity to throw a bone to the companies of her home planet.

A mockup for the new armor was quickly devised by the Special Projects Division of Kiribian Systems Armory, derived from earlier developments on a previous contract from the Republic Military. Many of the features developed for that platform had been retained in the new design, but some were dropped as they were deemed unnecessary for general use by regular units.

Prototypes were constructed at the newest KSA facility, based on Dac (Mon Cala). The industrial titan was well protected by a formidable home fleet. As a member of the Silver Coalition, Dac enjoyed additional protection from its allies. Enemies of the Republic and Silver Jedi would think twice before attempting to assault the system.

Suravi paid special attention to all developments of the Sentinel Initiative, being a program she had pushed so hard for with what remained of the Republic Senate. She would be present on Dac to personally welcome the volunteers selected to assist in the next phase of testing for the armor and oversee their progress as the design was refined into its final form for mass production.

((For reference, everyone will be taken to Dac together by a frigate, then ferried to the new KSA facility planetside by shuttle.))

[member="Thoja Arlos"]
[member="Valkren Calderon"]
[member="Amelia Morvos"]
[member="Ayumi Pallopides"] (You're here for technical assistance, and supplying components from Sasori)

 

[Ayumi Pallopides]

[member="Suravi Teigra"]

Ayumi stretched out while she was walking and here to work on a Republic project was a nice thing, that she was looking to have all of Denon further secured and test out some of the nice new things they had been developing. "Well this should be fun." She said it to Cato while moving over with some attention on more of the things that they had in the tacpad. Additional resources now that Sasori and by extension every company under it were galaxy spanning including going into the companion galaxies with seeder and resource gathering ships. The mapping tech so they could go there and have access to worlds richer then many others are able to see before. "Helping out here should be able to get some of the needed contracts and works for development of groups like Shion and their construction efforts or even Sakura senator." Exactly, in this they could only go up.

 

[Valkren Calderon]

"Wait up! Kark me, this bag is heavy!"

The whine came from a Republic special forces operative that was lagging behind his other four comrades. Sergeant Valkren Calderon looked over his left shoulder, due to the view from his right being blocked by the large duffle bag that was thrown over his shoulder. "Come on, Michaels..Need a hand?" The small squad suddenly erupted with hardy laughter after this comment about a 'hand,' this due to the fact that Corporal Ken Michaels was the squads demolitions expert, who happened to had lost part of his right arm. During a combat deployment under the command of Colonel Weiss, Saber Team had come under fire and faced and unthinkable amount of enemies. It eventually led to the combat being fought right in the 'trenches'(CQB.) Make no mistake, Michaels was an expert when it came to demolitions, for it was actually opposition forces that had the one in a million chance of striking a thermal detonator mid-air with a bolt as it left Michael's hand..Thus, no hand.

"Har Har Har..How many times has that pun been used now, fellas?" Michaels retaliated as he lifted his own bag completely over his back, strap tightened firmly across his broad chest.

"Not enough." Piped up Lance-Corporal Young, their intelligence expert, and the youngest of the squad.

"Definitely not enough." Valkren stated as he climbed aboard the shuttle that was supposed to take them to their next location. More importantly, to meet up with [member="Suravi Teigra"], The Supreme Commander of this New Galactic Republic they were living in. Valkren dropped his bag at his feet, and the rest followed suit with the exception of Michaels. Along with Valk, Michaels, and Young, the squad consisted of three others: Watson, the teams designated marksman and reconnaissance expert; and O'Riley and O'Connor, Saber team's two assault specialists and the backbone of their team. As the shuttle took off, the Sabers took their seats, ready for their next destination at the KSA facility.

Usually if the commandos were en route to a meeting with the Supreme Commander, they'd atleast be wearing their Dress Blues, but this one was off the record. All five men were in dark civilian clothing and black combat boots. Valkren was the only one that had anything of different color on. Along with his black BDU's and combat boots, he had a dark-oliveish' jacket that he had brought from his home on Alderaan his mother had given him before one of his previous deployments. The Sergeant leaned back in his seat, raising his right hand up and rubbing his short, dirty-blonde hair as they came into view of the facility.

"So, any detes' on the situation bossman?" This question came from Watson this time, directly across from Calderon.

Valkren simply shook his head and let out a quick laugh before speaking. "You know the routine, Wat. We don't get the details until we're already assigned the mission and staring death in the face."

"Just make sure none of ya'll blink.." O'Connor spoke up, smirking. Just as one of the two assault specialists finished off his sentence, the shuttle came to a halt at the facility.

 

[Thoja Arlos]

Arlos walked to the deck of the ship, and looked at the planet below them. It amazed him that they'd developed so much to be able to just jump to any planet they wanted to. But now was not the time for such thoughts. He'd been summoned once again by the Supreme Commander, which was starting to become a habit of hers. Not that he was complaining, business was business after all, and whatever made things easier for the GR. One of the Ensigns approached Arlos.

"Sir, your shuttle is prepped for launch."

"Very good, thank you." Arlos replied, letting the ensign return to his duties. He'd take one more look out the window, before making his way to the hanger. Upon reaching it, he'd enter his shuttle, which was soon inhabited by other members of the 228th. He was glad to see them, and hoped they'd be able to stick with him for the trip. The shuttle launched, and after a short trip, arrived at the surface of the planet.

[member="Suravi Teigra"] | [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Amelia Morvos]

Jonathon Yates had volunteered for one reason. He wanted to prove himself invaluable. Ever since he was a child, he was raised to be a sword for the Morvos. When you grew up on Thumei, you heard the tales. Knew the legends. He was supposed to be a servant of Amelia, but Amelia Morvos took no servants. And so he had to find another way to protect her from the shadows.

He joined the Republic and became a private of the 42nd Mountaineer Division. Amelia’s very own division, although she never noticed him on base. Although they were in different companies, they were in the same battalion. When Amelia was deployed to a battlefront, he was right behind her, although he was normally on a different objective.

He was in a scout platoon that often provided overwatch. They did some hi-speed chit too, but Jonathon was glad for the times when he got to cover Amelia’s blind spots and boy were their several. No one could ever say she would lose in a one on one, but when it came to military tactics and maneuvers, Amelia still had much to learn, Jonathon realized.

He signed up for the Sentinel Initiative to finally catch her attention because he knew she was tracking the program. He boarded the frigate, wearing only a black hoodie and a pair of blue jeans. They might have had a dress code, but he wasn’t paying attention in the briefing to be honest. He just wanted to sign his name on the dotted line and be out of there.

When they finally arrived, he was among the first off the shuttle.

 

[Eugen Aker]

One by one, the volunteers would trickle into the lobby, representing the various branches of the military, from regular infantry companies to some of the most elite special operations units the Republic had to offer. She greeted each one with a handshake and a smile at the door. Together, they had all been through a lot the past few years, so it meant a lot her to see people still willing to serve the cause.

When it appeared that that all the volunteers had gathered, she addressed them all at once.

"Welcome to Dac. Today, you've all been brought together to assist technicians here at the KSA facility in finalizing the design for the Gladius Armor System, which will become the standard kit issued to regular frontline combat units in the future."

Right on cue, a life-sized projection of the armor set appeared right beside her. It was modeled closely after the Wraith Armor set, also sharing aesthetics with another armor design from the time of the Old Republic. An intentional choice to inspire.

"The Gladius is a semi-powered armored system that utilizes a series of micro-repulsors to enhance mobility and assist in reducing fatigue. New composite plating has been used in place of plastoid and durasteel, offering a superior level of protection against both ballistic and directed energy weapons in conjunction with the repulsor array. Features like an inbuilt medical suite help increase the survivability of the user in the event of injury and/or infection. Additional countermeasures have been added to protect wearers against hostile Force Users. There's many more features that I could mention, but the short of it is that this is a new, complete system to better respond to the battlefield of today."

"KSA is about ready for final production, but I wanted them to reach out to members of the armed forces to make sure that they hadn't missed anything in the design. Now, as we begin testing, I urge you all to be completely honest in your feedback. Don't feel like you need to hold anything back, the Gladius is for you."

She paused for a moment, looking over to her counterpart from the Senate, Ayumi Pallopides.

"I'd also like to introduce Senator Pallopides from Denon. Today she's also here as a consultant from the Sasori Group, which provides many components that KSA has been using in the construction of the Gladius, and other platforms. She'll be around to take feedback on behalf of Sasori."

"Senator, would you like to say anything?"

[member="Amelia Morvos"]
[member="Thoja Arlos"]
[member="Valkren Calderon"]
[member="Ayumi Pallopides"]

 

[Ayumi Pallopides]

[member="Amelia Morvos"]


[member="Thoja Arlos"]
[member="Valkren Calderon"]
[member="Suravi Teigra"]


Ayumi was looking at the others who had arrived as she stood there in the robes and new duster for herself. She was testing them out to work with the new underlay that they were developing for more of a specific talent. Though when she listened to what was in the armor she was looking at the systems with it and the heavy armor they offered. Duraplast would be superior to durasteel for the amount fo protection in different cases and regared most of it. Since Sasori had improved itself to one of the larger companies in the galaxy producing more of the highest quality armor in the galaxy. "Well there i a few things but I shall wait to see more and compare it to what Denon has been making and some of the new armors being developed for forces."

 

[Valkren Calderon]

The Sergeant and his rag-tag group of merry men stood together in the larger group that converged to the Commander and Senator, all of their bags down on the floor as a sign of a long journey. Valkren seemed to be the one that was paying the most attention, and in the best posture out of him and his men, his right arm folded over his chest, propping the left arm up to rub the slight stubble he had in a curious manner. They all simply nodded, listening along with what Suravi stated, then directed their attention to the Senator directly after.

The only point in which all of his men were at full attention is when Suravi brought up the display of the new set of armor. They had spent the past four missions in destroyed, torn apart and altered Republic armor, but now it looked like they were going back to the full set once more. Valkren smirked, dropping his hands down to let them rest on his hips as he admired the display projected before him.

'It better come in grey,' The Sergeant thought to himself as his eyes briefly scanned over the details about the model. He returned his gaze up to Suravi, speaking up momentarily. "When do we start, Ma'am?"

[member="Ayumi Pallopides"] | [member="Suravi Teigra"] | [member="Amelia Morvos"] | [member="Thoja Arlos"]

 

[Amelia Morvos]

Jonathon always got busted down to private for the same reason. He didn’t know how to shut up when he was around the higher ups. And so he kept his mouth shut while Suravi spoke and he tried his best to keep his eyes above her neck level, because she was certainly a looker. He didn’t want a repeat of last month when he got smoked into oblivion for trying to holler at a lieutenant from Echo Company, although that wasn’t his fault, it was the officer’s for wearing the wrong PT belt.


Truth be told, he didn’t care much for the particulars of this project. When someone to the left of him said, “When do we start, Ma’am?”, he gave a grunt of approval. Let’s just knock this chit out, he thought. He still wanted to make it back to his unit in time for their next deployment. He still wasn’t sure where the 2-42 battalion was being sent but the 42nd always got the short end of the stick when it came to assignments.

When the senator from Denon spoke up, Jonathon nodded approvingly. If these were the type of attractive people who were going to be overseeing his training, then he definitely considered himself fortunate. It was a lot better than basic when all of his drill sergeants looked like they could have been on a planet’s most wanted list.

He was looking forward to this. At least for the moment.

[member="Suravi Teigra"] | [member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] | [member="Thoja Arlos"]

 

[Thoja Arlos]

Arlos looked over the armour, which looked strikingly like the armour his own division wore. That was no problem, as long as the likeness was mostly cosmetic. An entire army with stealth capabilities may sound great, but that just means the tech can fall into enemy hands much easier. Two of the volunteers piped up, one with a grunt, the other a more audible response. This seemed rather informal so far, a fact that slightly annoyed Arlos. Military activity wasn't something to be joked about, nor to be taken lightly, especially in these times. But he stayed quiet, giving a silent nod to both the Supreme Commander and the Senator.

[member="Suravi Teigra"] | [member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] | [member="Amelia Morvos"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

"Officially, testing won't begin until tomorrow, but even then I imagine you'll be going through the details of the systems during orientation."

Death by holo-point. She lied, the first true test would come then, to see how many of them could last through the series of briefings from technicians. Ala Crescent, the Director of Special Projects, would also be present to provide an overview. She was a lot more animated with the material than most engineers, but it was still all pretty dry stuff to cover.

"However, I'd like to show you a demonstration of some of the things the armor can do before I release you all for the day. There will be a free dinner offered in the KSA cafeteria - professionally catered - that you can attend later this evening. Completely voluntary, and I mean that, so don't feel pressured to go."

That last bit was really directed to the officers and NCOs within the crowd, some who would undoubtedly try to press their subordinates into attending to look good.

"Now, if you would all follow me, then I'll take you down for the demo. Feel free to leave your bags here in the atrium. When we're done, you can check in at the desk for clearance into the living areas."

She turned and headed for the lifts. Since it was such a large group, there would have to be multiple trips. She took the first lift down, noticeably lacking any sort of entourage aside from Ayumi, so there was plenty of space for others to join her down (you call can hop aboard with me on the first lift if you want to ride with me <3). Much of the KSA plant on Dac was submerged deep underwater for security concerns, so it would take some time to reach the plant module. There were small viewports on the lift, to enjoy the sights of the aquatic that swam near. A low powered field had been put in place to discourage any animals from treading too close to the facilities.

At their destination, they would all be greeted with the bustling environment of the plant floor, all manner or people and machines moving about working on a range of systems, from small arms to vehicles. The war machine still going strong, not only supplying the Republic but also various powers across the galaxy in a shared fight against a common foe.

Once all the groups had been transported, she led them down the middle of the plant, giving an impromptu tour of sorts. While technically a secured area, most of the hardware on display was of the common variety, products well into the stages of mass production like the Gladius. The most important, and secretive projects would remain out of view, access restricted to other Kiribians like herself. The Republic had long been plagued by a string of turncoats, so the KSU only shared information on a need to know basis.

[member="Thoja Arlos"] [member="Amelia Morvos"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Ayumi Pallopides"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

A rather audible gulp could be heard from their demolitions specialist, Michaels after he heard the words 'professionally catered,' it almost seemed like he was drooling over the sudden thoughts of a lavish meal. Valkren simply blinked, unmoved from his reaction. Who could blame him, or any of them for that matter. After being off the grid with their operations for quite some time, they hadn't really gotten back to tasting things on the nicer side of life yet. In truth, they really hadn't found a way to spoil themselves while in hiding, their only hobbies consisted of keeping themselves in top physical condition and surviving..So maybe it wouldn't kill Valkren to have a drink or two, and some tobacco if they happened to provide it. It was a longshot, but before all this testing could be the small break that his team would need.

He kept his voice soft so only his team could hear him as [member="Suravi Teigra"] stepped aboard the lift, "Dinner sounds fun, doesn't it boys?" the team leader stated as he put his hands on the shoulders of both of his assault specialists, O'Riley and O'Connor, nudging them onto the lift infront of him. As they all stepped aboard, Valkren would turn about so he'd be facing the general way that the Supreme Commander would. As the first lift reached its destination, Saber team would step off when they noted it was their turn to move through the crowded lift, taking a moment to admire the parts of the facility that weren't blacked out by Republic censors and big red 'Classified' stamps. It was actually quite peaceful to Valkren, the mulling about of the staff like a simple workspace. Valkren had been to his fair share of secret and non-secret facilities under the Republic and allied factions, but most of the time it wasn't for leisure or to test some new gadget out. Usually they'd be called in while the facility was already swamped with hostiles trying to gather all the intel they could.

So it was nice for Saber team to walk through a facility without trying to destroy any bit of valuable intel for a change.

[member="Suravi Teigra"] | [member="Thoja Arlos"] | [member="Amelia Morvos"] | [member="Ayumi Pallopides"]

 

[Thoja Arlos]

Arlos and his men waited for the first lift to go down, wishing themselves to take another one. The five of them didn't have to wait long, and they all entered the elevator in an orderly fashion. The lift began it's descent, giving the squad time to adjust.

"I'm not the only one who thinks that armour looked rather a lot like ours?" Asked Renu, who clicked his fingers in the corner.

"As long as it doesn't use the same tech, there's no reason to worry." Replied Arlos, who stood at the front of the elevator.

"With all due respect sir, would it be so bad if everyone had our tech and training? We'd be unstoppable." Chimed Loff.

"No, it would be impossible. You've been through the training, you know what it's like. We'd have a tenth of the numbers we have at the moment, now pipe down, we're almost at our destination." Ordered Arlos, as the lift slowed to a stop. The squad would exit one at a time, joining the the others.

[member="Suravi Teigra"] | [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] | [member="Amelia Morvos"] | [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Ayumi Pallopides]

Ayumi was listening and walking with her hands behind her back as she felt the force energies going out with a small look at the others as conversations seemed to be going on all around. No real need to listen in and given she had stayed with and been staying with the Republic for a long time she was glad to see that there was a lot of work they could put everything through. Some of the new armor and equipment that they could put everything through the paces with. She could use some food while looking over more of the details and bringing up some fo the information on her tactical pad for their own enveavors. WIth the expansions it was giving them a lot more to work on. "THis is all looking very nice."

 

[Amelia Morvos]

The mention of a sneak peek caught his attention. He was curious about this armor and how it would compare against their current armor. He didn’t think it had to be anything fancy but he was hoping for something that would give them a edge over specific opponents. Like the Mandalorians and the Sith for example.

He thought back to Kashyyyk and his armor had held up for the most part. It wasn’t like Togoria where his armor was completely totaled and he had to get it replaced at CIF.

He stepped onto the lift and rubbed his chin while his mind shifted to other things. He wasn’t that hungry but he would never pass up a free meal. Or at least one that was professionally catered. The way she said it almost made him think they were getting ready to feast on a seven course meal and he was always up for that.

They arrived on the plant floor and Jonathon was quick on the heels of the supreme commander although he slowed down to look at a few of the things the Republic were working on.

He wasn’t surprise by the activity. In fact he thought it was foolish for people to think that the Republic was dead when they were still so many patriots who filled the streets in their member worlds and even some from the worlds who had already fallen under foreign occupation. Many factions had come and would continue to go, but the Republic had always existed in one form or another. They may have been down and out for the moment, but history had shown that they would always rise again.

Hopefully his mistress would have a part in it because he didn’t think she would be satisfied would just doing petty mounted patrols in Yutan for too long.

He continued following Suravi to the testing area.

((Already told Suravi but writer’s block/RL stuff. Feel free to skip me and I’ll catch up))

[member="Suravi Teigra"] | [member="Thoja Arlos"] | [member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Ayumi Pallopides"]