X Marks The Spot

[Kira Vaal]

SLUIS VAN​

THE SLUIS SECTOR

It was true what the networks were saying. The Galactic Alliance had indeed collapsed.
The rumours had started as any did, through the words of the smugglers and professional travellers that the information networks relied on so much for fresh news outside of their closed walls. Yet as with any rumour that did not sit well with those hearing it denial and disbelief followed, ignorance to what was happening in the once secure holdings of the largest bastion of free hope in the galaxy.

Sluis Van was one such world that was feeling the governments retreat as their borders, once roamed by a fleet of Alliance ships had found themselves empty and defenceless against raiding parties from the consolidating First Order and pirate forces happy to pillage what was so wilfully left behind. Rebel Command had picked up multiple requests for assistance across various Alliance channels both new and old, each of which had been unanswered leaving only more pleas to come across the radio waves.

Someone of course had been listening, the Rebellion having allocated a lot of their very minimal resources into assuring that should such incidents be reported that they would hear of it in some shape or form. Yet pirate attacks and rapid raids by the First Order, while hard to listen of, were not on the forefront of Rebel Commands attentions, but when information came through from one of their independent ground agents that Sluis Van was holding nearly two squadrons of old X-Wings that had been returned to the Incom holding bays after the Alliance had upgraded to the newer variants shortly before the synchronised destruction had taken place.

The orders were passed through with haste, twisting through the channels fast until they reached the people necessary to organise a team that could with haste get onto the planet, infiltrate the Incom holding bays and get the X-Wings out and back to the Rebellion for refitting, giving them the perfect platform to be able to strike where and where they would need.

[member="Atlas Viridian"] | [member="Petra Vitalis"] | [member="Lee Tanos"] | [member="Mariya Pyne"] | [member="Greyanna Elvanshalee"] | @The Rebellion

 

[Lirranne Isaris]

"What do you mean, gone?"

The man in front of her gave a barely perceptible shrug, then seemed to reconsider and scratched at his chin. His indecision was practically palpable, and he had the look of someone running through the motions of what they knew but with nothing but doubt to back it up. In other words, he was panicking and only some semblance of training and professionalism was keeping him from falling apart. One way or another he needed a push.

"Karking spit it out Chief, we're dealing with a crisis and I don't have time to play guessing games."

She thought he would crack, right then and there, but the moment of panic passed and that trusty armor of military discipline slammed down like a visor on a helmet. Good solid steel, that stuff.

"Well ma'am, he left. Admiral Dawson, most of his senior staff, all their families, and just about everyone he uh..." the man trailed off again, but it wasn't panic this time. He shrugged again, a more pronounced than before. "Well everyone he liked, or gave a kriff about. I don't think they even wore uniforms, just rolled up in force to one of those yachts that parked here the other day and kicked everyone off and then went to go home I suppose."

For several moments Lirri did nothing but chew air and try to stay calm. The Chief, who's last name she knew was Anders and who worked as a senior electronics tech in the yards, stood quietly and watched with the bored professionally disaffected gaze mastered by all senior enlisted of every military across the galaxy used in the face of officers they didn't trust. That part sort of hurt, and ironically enough, it was the only thing she could fix. That Admiral Dawson was a sniveling coward who would cut and run, she couldn't help, there weren't ships to spare and there wasn't enough of a functioning government to bring justice. She couldn't resolve that the Sluissans were demanding that all former GADF warships be turned over to the local system defense fleet. She didn't have a good way of handling the fact that First Order pickets were already harassing the edge of the system (incensing and encouraging the efforts of the Sluissan government) or that the entire shipyard, one of the largest in the Western Reaches, had maybe six functional warships in or around it to defend itself. And she really couldn't deal with the fact that she didn't even know who she was supposed to be defending the shipyards from, or for, or even if she still had any purview to issue orders.

But damned if she couldn't at least convince one chubby balding enlisted spacer with at least ten more years racked up in active service than she had that she wasn't some cut and run trumped up son-of-a-queen like Admiral Dawson apparently was. She inhaled slowly, let her anger subside, and then answered, picking her words ever so carefully.

"Well that's some karking bad news, but we'll deal with it. What else you got?"

"You're the senior officer left. You're in command. Ma'am."

"Kark off."

She'd have to work on it.


[member="Kira Vaal"]

 

[Progflaw99]

Unfortunately for the pilot, they'd been hard pressed to find a functioning fighter - or even a vessel with a functioning hyperdrive in their hangars. Plagued by weeks of supply issues due to the Sith blockade of the Core worlds, parts were scarce and even the ones they could find were often used or required more repair than it would take to replace the vessel entirely. Secretly, Atlas wondered if he'd made the wrong decision. Joining the rebellion instead of staying the course with the Trade Council. He was convinced he'd done the right thing in the moment, but they seemed to be making so little progress - if he'd stayed... *No.* He couldn't think that way. Doubt was the greatest killer in this line of work. A loud crackle of static woke the pilot from his internal thoughts, the voice over the comm steady and measured.

:: Castellan IV, you are cleared for landing at Hangar 1-7 Delta. Please proceed. ::​

​

The collapse of the Galactic Alliance had affected the planet of Sluis Van more than Atlas had anticipated. Already they'd been in a holding pattern for almost an hour, unable to get clearance. Whatever it was, it must have calmed down now. Keying up his own mic, Atlas responded in kind.

:: This is Castellan IV, Proceeding to Hangar 1-7 Delta. ::​

​

With a gentle push on the controls Atlas nosed the shuttle downwards towards the surface. Once there they were to offload, each acquiring means of transportation towards the GADF warehouses - the location they'd received the intelligence on. If Atlas had to wager, they GADF or at least those who remained wouldn't give up the vessels without a fight. Who would? Maybe there was still hope the news was a lie, propaganda meant to cause fear and disruption. If that was the case, Atlas counted it successful just by measure of the air traffic. Keeping his eyes forward he tilted his head, shouting back over his shoulder.

"We're almost there - steady on lads."​

​

[member="Kira Vaal"] | [member="Lirranne Isaris"] | [member="Petra Vitalis"] | [member="Lee Tanos"] | [member="Mariya Pyne"] | @The Rebellion​

 

[Petra Vitalis]

From Petra's perspective, the collapse of the Galactic Alliance had been a long time coming. In the future, in the history books, perhaps they would be able to pinpoint a day or a series of days when the political reality caught up with the actual reality, but for Petra, the lumbering corpse of the once-great Alliance had been shambling along on autopilot for almost a year prior to its official end. But even the pretense of a functioning government had been enough to keep things more or less stable. Now that even that had gone, the young Galidraani woman shuddered to think of what was happening to the billions and billions of citizens left in the vacuum. Rumor had it that the First Order and the Sith Empire had broken apart the empty space left by the Alliance's evaporation, and there were more than a few rumors of opportunistic politicians, officers, and others seizing the opportunity and highjacking portions of the GADF fleet and provisions.

Maybe they planned to set themselves up as warlords, waiting for the day the First Order or the Confederacy or the Outer Rim Coalition or the Silver Jedi came to collect the pieces. That wouldn't take long, Petra thought grimly.

Not that she was any better, working this mission to help rip off some equipment from GADF.

"Locked and loaded," Petra responded to [member="Atlas Viridian"]. She tucked her loaded pistol -- set for stun, naturally -- into the holster that held the gun against her ribcage under her elegant coat, and puller her kerchief up to cover her mouth and nose, obscuring her identity from onlookers. That done, she dropped into the jumpseat behind the pilot and looked over his shoulder as they headed for the surface. "How are we looking?" she murmured, her dark eyes peering out at the traffic conditions.

 

[Kira Vaal]

Kira had been to Sluis Van exactly twice in her life time. The first had been in the early days of the Galactic Alliance, before she had officially become connected with them in any shape or form and the second was far more formal, on a task for the now mysteriously absent Strategic Information Service that had kickstarted her initial moves as part of the founding of the Rebellion.

The planet was industrial to the core, designed for the production and designing of the many ships that had made up the Galactic Alliance’s fleet, countless shipyards had produced even more of these craft and dispatched them ready to defend and fight against the tyranny of the galaxy. Or at least that had been the idea.
Now there was nearly nothing, Kira was sat next to Atlas in the co-pilot seat. Expeditions into Alliance space had pretty much been assigned as such due to her general experience within the sector. She could see the shipyards, giant blocks of heavily constructed mass, each capable of churning out fighters for Incom and the Alliance fast enough that they had managed to stay in the fight. Yet where sparks and great shapes should have been a constant presence there were now only skeletons of a fractured past. The work had stopped, ceased to be as the planet prepared for what could be a bloody war against the First Order who had already declared Sluis Van to be a territory under their mandate.

“You know once this place was the industrial hub of the Alliance.” She would say staring out at the great orb of a planet. “Eventually other planets fell into replace the Tariffs but you could always count on a Sluis built ship.” She had already made sure that the team had been briefed on the location as best as she could remember, a series of older IDs handed out that in the confusion of mass retreat should easily allow them passage through the checkpoints if they were still manned.

“Im not sure what to expect down there now though.” She added with a glance towards Atlas. “These rumours of rogue Alliance fragments are worrying at best.”

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

 

[Lirranne Isaris]

Despite her outburst, or perhaps in spite of it, Chief Anders had been quiet and attentive, answering questions with what information he knew and generally backing her up. The two of them moved swiftly through the spacedocks, each had a datapad and was recording as much vital information as possible. She was grateful for that, if he had decided to run off and catch the next ship headed even in the general direction of wherever home was, she wouldn't have blamed him one bit. The feeling was there for her too, that dark urge at the back of her mind to just cut and run, let the Sluissi pick up the pieces and damn the rest. But there were almost eight thousand Alliance Defense personnel still hanging around, many of whom were still trying to do their jobs, and in spite of herself she felt responsible for them.

They passed yet another knot of Sluissi no longer wearing Alliance emblems who eyed them with something eerily akin to a predators gaze, and Lirri had the sudden impression that maybe the faded uniform coveralls she was wearing weren't quite enough of a shield against potential political machinations or the actions of a would-be turncoat. "Still with me Chief?" She asked in a lighthearted tone. "We're going to make a quick detour, grab something persuasive."

He caught on, he'd seen the Sluissans too. The species was known for being painfully law-abiding and sticklers for procedure. If they'd taken off their uniforms, that meant official sanction and movement by the planetary government.

The Sluis Van shipyards consisted a massive orbital structure divided into large pyramidal sections. Inside each section it was further compartmentalized, and each 'bay' was a large open area hundreds of feet high where Sluissi artisans could work their masterful craft. It also meant that there was a lot of room for people to hide, so each bay typically had a single point of access with a small security checkpoint. Humdrum duty most days, but now with no activity in the yards and basically all the ships that could fly long since departed, most of the posts were simply unmanned.

The section they entered gave every impression of being abandoned. Automated services had largely been shut off to conserve power, a process that had consumed much of Lirri's time over the past several days but only now struck her with its significance. At least a third of the station was in a similar state. As warships had left or simply been abandoned with no new projects started the need to keep entire sections running had dwindled. Not to mention the growing lack of trained personnel. Traffic Control was down to something like four qualified operators, ostensibly managing the movements of all ships in the system. This was the chaos Lirri had been managing for over a week, busying herself in work to guard against the fact that there was no relief coming.

Was this the death of the Alliance in a snapshot? Empty corridors, connecting disused offices, barracks', and shops, with no input or output, no duty to fulfill.

They collected the weapons and two other alliance personnel, a male Balosar Spacer and female Rodian Ensign who had apparently decided that the collapse of civilization was the perfect time to pursue unrequited desires. After Chief Anders had finished yelling about fraternization and discipline they'd volunteered to help.

Help with what?

Lirri couldn't shake that nagging voice, but she was in command she had to do something. Eight thousand people deserved better than that.

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

 

[Kira Vaal]

They had managed to get to the planets surface with relative ease, the freighter having been allocated to a bay and allowed to land without any real checks. The initial contact with orbital control had seemed rushed, almost as if they weren’t allocated the time necessary for the actual checks that they would have normally had to undertake. Not that Kira was complaining.

The rebels, all dressed as normal spacers had departed the hanger, the freighter would be abandoned there as there was no need for it should the mission be a success. The mission had to be a success she would add to her thoughts, the Rebellion needed these ships, with them they would be capable to hit targets across the galaxy quickly and efficiently before retreating back to their hiding holes ready to do it all again.

The city was like a ticking time bomb, Kira could feel the tension through the Force with ease. People wanted to get off the world as soon as possible, to not be involved in the war that was already knocking at their doorstep. It had been a constant feeling Kira had felt in her years on the Alliance borders but here, so close to Sullust, this was new.

“Intel said the ships are being held in a storage facility close to the Incom facility.” She check a small display on her wrist mounted communication unit. “Hopefully it’s as unguarded as first reports say.”

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

 

[Progflaw99]

Petra. The two only knew each other's first names - though both had probably determined the other came from a long line of some form of nobility. Atlas, though unpolished, definitely had the markers of a formal education and some sense of wit. Petra on the other hand carried herself more upright, her eloquent speech a giveaway at times, a nod to her upbringing. And that was where the two had left it - neither needing any further information save their shared distaste for tyrannical rule. The two had fought together against the First Order not long ago, barely escaping with their lives - now they again were testing the flames. In the wake of the collapse of the Alliance, valuable assets were at their fingertips, all they needed to do was reach out and take them - if they could do so.

"It's looking like a balmy day at the beach." Atlas replied. "Well, by that I mean it's looking clear at the moment."​

​

They all knew just how quickly things could go from routine to out of control. Thankfully, this adventure lead them well away from the clutches of the Sith Empire. Their run ins to date had rarely ended well for the rag tag rebel group, though most recently the merry band of rebels had scored a successful hit against the rapidly growing machine that was the Empire, crippling a station and supply lines in the Rimcee sector. Even so, Atlas and their defacto leader Kira Vaal, had not taken the time to rest on their laurels. As if her ears had been burning, the Jedi's soft voice spoke to the few gathered in the cockpit. Atlas pursed his lips, a nervous swallow proceeding as they slowly descended into the atmosphere, then headed towards their designated hangar. It wouldn't be long now.

Their journey to the surface and out into the street had been near silent, the sounds of the city and of unchecked crime filled the air. Far from a free for all, the streets were still filled with debris left in haste, forgotten in their rush to leave the city in fear of what it would become in the absence of a major governing authority - but not total anarchy. Yet. By the looks in the eyes of a few people they passed however Atlas recognized the fear, the uncertainty there. He too had felt the same way in the absence of the SJO after their consolidation. They'd push through. They always did. His attention was drawn as Kira's voice addressed the group. Atlas took a moment to check his own readout, confirming what the errant Jedi had voiced.

"I wouldn't count it, have you seen my track record?" Atlas asked jokingly, eyeballing Petra for a reaction.​

​

[member="Kira Vaal"] | [member="Petra Vitalis"] | [member="Lirranne Isaris"]​

 

[Petra Vitalis]

Petra followed [member="Atlas Viridian"] out into the streets. In the distance, sirens blared announcing the descending chaos outside the cities. Things weren't catastrophic yet, but as the Alliance's presence became less and less tangible, the opportunists of the galaxy would come knocking. Petra looked around anxiously, keeping her head on a swivel, taking everything in. Her eyes traced possible escape routes. Route one: Shimmy up the drainpipe there. Run along the rooftops. Disappear into the apartments. Blend. Route two: Dive into the river. Catch a passing skiff. Route three: Carjack a speeder. High speed chase.

The Galidraani noblewoman followed her traveling companion and listened into the conversation. Atlas' response brought a self-satisfied smirk, but she resisted the urge to chime in. Instead, her dark eyes met his light ones with a spark of joviality and her face covering shifted a little, indicating a smirk hiding beneath it.

"We'll find a way," she said softly to Viridian. "And if we don't, there's always tomorrow." She smoothed her coat and looked around a little more. "Now how do we get to those ships?"

 

[Progflaw99]

Atlas, much like Petra was looking for a route - but not of escape. It seemed this was but one leg of their journey. The readout on his wristborne datpad pointed them towards an atmospheric shuttle service. Upon further inspection, it looked like it would take them to the station in orbit used as an Alliance warehouse. Atlas smiled nervously. He'd misread that part of the plan. Warehouses typically were ground based, and the fact he'd skimmed the mission briefing wasn't exactly doing him any favors for the moment.

"Well, to be honest, I may have uh - well, here. We're supposed to take that."​

​

Atlas pointed carefully, footsteps following the direction of his extended finger.

"I guess this is what our ID's are for."​

​

Upon boarding one of the small shuttles, they'd be ferried to the general space dock in orbit - from there, they'd have to sneak out of sight and into the section of it allotted to the Alliance Military. Then they could see what they were able to acquire. It sounded easy, but Atlas knew these things had a tendency to get quite complex very quickly.

[member="Kira Vaal"] | [member="Petra Vitalis"] | [member="Lirranne Isaris"]​

 

[Lirranne Isaris]

The party grew, slowly, as Lirri vetted people based on gut instinct and circumstance. A Mon Cal Lieutenant and his two aides were brought in and then dispatched to handle reports of looting of one of the storage sectors. A protocol droid was found, briefly quizzed by Chief Anders in binary, and then put to work trying to fill in the gaps in all the administrative data. And so on and so forth, those who still had a shred of dignity or a sense of duty were given a task and by and large the rest began to tag along. For the first few hours, Lirri didn't even have a clear of idea of what the point was, just that it was better than sitting around waiting for the Sluissi to get anxious or the First Order to show. After about half a day, when she'd only had to draw her new Westar blaster half a dozen times, something clicked. It wasn't about waiting for the cavalry to ride in, because they sure as hell weren't coming. The GADF was gone, the Alliance was gone, and the best they could do was see to it that whoever came to pick up the pieces wasn't going to profit on the chaos.

That was the story for everyone else, at least. In a rare moment of quiet in an office near the docks she had chosen for her headquarters, Lirri penned an almost formal memo titled 'Orders for Final Disposition for Alliance Defense Force Personnel', signed it as 'Acting Commanding Officer, Sluis Van Alliance Naval Shipyards' and sent it off as a general broadcast on the local network. Then she began to make her own plans.

Sometime later the Rodian Ensign entered and gave a sort of quiet belch-whistle in the way only a rodian can, the alien gesture roughly equivalent to clearing ones throat. Lirri glanced up fr0om a report detailing the number, type, and location of all combat-ready smallcraft currently on the station. "Yes, Ensign Fayo?"

"There's a wave of civilian shuttles being prepped for launch from the planet. The Sluissi government agreed to the condition to transport anyone who desires out-system."

"Uh, ok?" Lirri sighed, remembering exactly what she had been like as an Ensign and having a sudden moment of pity for her former commanding officers. "Look, you don't need to make every report in person, a message will do, especially if it's routine. Don't chit out over small stuff, just send a message." She waved her tablet for emphasis.

"Oh there's more ma'am," the ensign said with only the barest hint of any smugness, "they're sending people up, apparently."

Now Lirri scowled. "That wasn't part of the deal, not yet anyway. Last thing we need is a bunch of stoopa snake men slithering around mucking everything up. Round up the posse, we'll meet them in the hanger. Don't forget your blaster"

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

 

[Kira Vaal]

Kira hated shuttles.
There was just something that put her off about them, maybe it was the fact that unlike the heavier ships she was used to travelling on there was much less substance between her and the void. Then again it could also be the fact that this particular shuttle was one of the older Alliance models, flown by someone who wasn’t part of the Alliance and heading straight for one of the larger silhouettes in the sky.

“So you lot trying to get off world too?” The pilot called back, a general curiosity in his almost too cheerful voice. “Wouldn’t be the first today, but with the pirate attacks i’m not going to blame you.”
Kira gave a glance around the group. “Just need to do an inventory count first.” She muttered.
“Inventory eh?” The pilot smirked, “Sounds fun. I guess the Alliance left a lot of stuff while they went running off into borders.”
“You have no idea.” Kira mocked, in a sort of off joke.
“I seen a whole bunch of those fighters Incom make last time I was up here.” The pilot casually remarked causing a slight momentary silence as the Rebels all glanced around at each other. “Just lying around in a hanger with no need or purpose. You know Incom right?”
“Yeah I know Incom.” Kira had taken out of her seat and was now nearer where the pilot was, acting as if the conversation was of real interest to her, which naturally with this turn was. “What I would give for one of those ships eh?”
“Tell me about it.” The shuttle pilot chuckled. “If you get the chance go and take a look at them. They are beautiful ships, shame they will probably be scrapped.” He pointed towards the station they were fast approaching. “See the bay we are going into? Take two left and three down. That’s the hanger I saw them in. Hopefully they are still there for you to see.”
“Oh.” Kira looked back towards the others with a smile. “So do we.”

“So do we.”

[member="Lirranne Isaris"] [member="Atlas Viridian"] [member="Petra Vitalis"]

 

[Petra Vitalis]

Petra was beginning to feel a slight crisis of conscience as they boarded the shuttle. As [member="Kira Vaal"] chatted with the pilot, the young Galidraani hung back with [member="Atlas Viridian"]. Of all the operatives on this mission, she knew him best -- not well by any means, but they could pick one another out of a crowd at the very least -- so she felt that by virtue of their established rapport, she could trust him with her concerns. She blocked the entry into the main cabin, stopping their progress in the vestibule, and after a glance over her shoulder, she leaned forward and lowered her voice.

"Don't you think -- sorry, I know there is a time and place for everything and this is not it, but I can't keep quiet -- do you think what we're doing here is just a little bit wrong?" she whispered anxiously, tugging her kerchief down to expose the lower half of her angular face. "I'm not saying it's not for a good cause, but we're basically taking away a means of these people to defend themselves." Her eyes locked with Viridian's, black but soulful and clearly troubled by the moral struggle going on within her. "I know the Rebellion needs supplies and materiél, but -- " She gestured towards the streets they had just left. " -- am I wrong to be worried about what could happen to these people if there's nothing left to defend them?"

She paused, her eyes glancing up at him after a moment of pensive reflection. "I guess it's better we have them than the warlords," she reasoned, doubt now clouding her face. "But that's not enough to make me feel good about this." Petra half-turned toward the cockpit, inclining her head as Kira glanced back towards them in a silent salute. She turned back towards Atlas, flushing slightly. "I'm not trying to be hysterical, Atlas. I'm just -- maybe there aren't good guys in this scenario. Just bad guys and people trying to make the best of a disaster."

 

[Lirranne Isaris]

The 'security party' that arrived at the docks consisted of Lirri, the Rodian Ensign Fayo and her Balosar paramour, and five other GADF spacers with all seemed to have some experience with blasters, including a Talpini who had managed to scrounge up an RTC-97C that was probably twice as tall as he was. Lirri didn't say anything, just gave a quizzical look that was greeted with a nonchalant shrug and a phrase in the alien's native language.

Well it wasn't like they were planning on a shootout anyway. Just a show, to let the Sluissi know that the GADF was still in charge for the moment.

They piled into a pair of electric carts and trundled off along the wide main passageways of the orbital shipyards. Here and there, small groups of GADF personnel at work looked up and gave brisk salutes as they passed. Just as common but in larger packs were knots of civilians, either former residents and families or personnel who had decided sticking it out wasn't on the books for them. They all moved in the same direction, headed towards the main docks, waiting for ships to take them away or shuttles to take them dirtside.

The Warrant Officer running flight control pinged her as they passed the lines near the main docks and rode on towards the auxiliary port where their guests were arriving. His voice was strained and tired but didn't have the dejected tone Lirri was getting used to dealing with. A proper professional, he wasn't phased by this, not after however many years of service he had to the Protectorate and then the Alliance. Just another crisis.

"ETA seven minutes for that shuttle, but you should know that Lieutenant Commander Iuro of the Crova Ist has finally replied, and then there's four priority calls for Admiral Dawson I figured you'd want to hear."

Everything happening at once again.

"Alright, thanks Warrant. Tell Iuro I'm occupied at the moment but I'll get back to him asap, and forward me the messages for Dawson. One thing at a time."

"Sure. Say, you get any spare bodies who can manage system traffic, could use a couple reliefs up here. Out."

They were all working on fumes at this point, but to stop now meant everything would collapse. Momentum had a way of carrying something larger than itself forward, and that was basically what Lirri was counting on for the next few hours. After that, the snakemen could do whatever they damn well pleased.

The carts stopped, and the posse filed out. They took up positions in a sort of wide V, with Lirri at the apex, hands clasped behind her back.

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