You Have to Walk-er Before You Can Run

[Tmoxin Temi]

Location: TIE Fighter Construction Facility above Nar Shaddaa

Now that her embezzlement scheme was underway on the smuggler's moon beneath her, Tmoxin's next order of business was to continue her recruitment drive for The Blood Monarchs, the stormtrooper platoon that would be supporting the Imperial Inquisition during its military endeavors. She had ground troops so far but no officers or mobile units.

The Hapan Commander looked out on the construction floor of the facility to briefly watch the fighters being assembled. Production had slowed in recent years but Sienar Fleet Systems still had a few stray contracts to fulfill. After watching the factory bustle around below her, she eventually made her way down a hallway and found a deserted office in which to do her research. On a holo unit she reviewed some candidates who had been sent to her with officer potential. Tmoxin lingered on a Bothan pilot and experienced driver of the AT-ST walker. She needed to get a better sense of his battle experience but out of all of the resumes she was sent, his stood out the most. The Hapan Commander also didn't have the luxury of a long, drawn-out search right now as operations were being planned with haste, so she quickly sent a message off to the Bothan, whose name was [SIZE=13.63636302948px][member="Fenn Kre'An"][/SIZE]

//begin transmission...

Dear Mr. Kren'An,

Your special skills have come to my attention through a colleague. I'm interviewing candidates for my second in command in an Imperial platoon of stormtoopers. I'd like to meet you in person to check your interest level and discuss the post in more detail. Can you make your way to the TIE Fighter Construction Facility in orbit above Nar Shaddaa? I'll have an envoy waiting for you as you arrive.

Tmoxin Temi, Commander of The Blood Monarchs, Unit 101 of the Imperial Inquisition Stormtroopers

//end transmission...

To occupy her time as she awaited his reply, she obsessively checked her Nar Shaddaa private account for signs that her little misappropriation of funds from the Red Ravens was beginning to yield results.

 

[Fenn Kre'An]

Downtime was usually sacred, usually free of work and a time to relax, to let military regulation relax for a few days and unwind. Many troopers would visit their loved ones, many would simply idle around their assigned base and simply shoot the breeze without worry for patrol schedules and reports, maybe kick back with a few potentially contraband drinks and watch the day go by. What leave wasn't for was potential reassignment orders, but as Fenn took his first steps onto the orbital factory that was the TIE Fighter Construction facility, with Nar Shaddaa looming beneath his feet, it seemed as if there were hardly a choice otherwise.

At least the message didn't lie. No sooner did the furred man's booted foot touch the ground was there a small security escort; two uniformed officers waiting to guide their guest to the appropriate destination like an armed GPS.

Why here, of all places? I suppose an army contingent is here to secure the place, but a walker would hardly be necessary, surely. Fenn could hear himself muse as the trio strolled the corridors, the plastic clatter of the stormtroopers' armor plates shifting with every step dragging the Bothan's sense of concentration slightly back to the real world rather than his own thoughts. The location ultimately didn't matter, the meeting could have been called aboard an escape pod for all Fenn knew, finding little information on Commander Temi other than what information they had given themselves, and whilst Fenn was far from a fan of stepping into the unknown, not replying to the message could have been far more dangerous than any risk this meeting potentially posed.

After what felt like several minutes of corridors overlooking various production lines abuzz with the flashes and sparks of welding and joining droids and their scrutinizing engineers, Fenn's escort stopped, causing the Bothan to halt with them lest he stroll right into a wall of plasteel. A slight, wordless gesture toward an office door to his right was enough for the furred pilot to get the idea, both the invitation to open the door and the potential that the soldier was hardly willing to talk to a non-human, but Fenn simply allowed both to brush aside; the faceless trooper wasn't worth the attention, the meeting beyond the portal was.

With the press of a button, the door hissed open, and walking through without the armed escort, Fenn offered a humble salute, making his presence known to the higher ranked officer standing before him on the opposite side of the room. Almost as soon as he laid eyes on her, the differences in rank and style practically slapped him in the face; she was dressed in proper officer's uniform, practically oozing authority, whereas as a simple crewman of the Armor corps, Fenn's uniform consisted of engineer's clothes; a loose jumpsuit-esque coverall lined with pockets, pouches and heavy boots.

It wasn't hard to tell who was the grunt and who gave orders in this scenario, but it was hardly as if the Bothan wasn't aware of that fact on the way in. Political power games, despite his kind's preference for them, were not something the man was well-versed in.

"Commander Temi." Fenn offered curtly, letting his hand fall to his side after a few moments of the regulated gesture, letting his hands fall behind his back as if taking the liberty to stand at ease on his own, his expression nonetheless cordial and honestly open as his bushy brow rose slightly, indicating the canine-man's slight curiosity toward the whole situation. "Speaking freely; I wasn't aware I was up for reassignment, sir. Not that the prospect is unwelcome, merely..surprising..to me."

( [member="[/COLOR][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/user/7020-tmoxin-temi/"]Tmoxin Temi[/URL]"] )

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

At Fenn Kre'An's greeting, Tmoxin nodded. The Hapan Commander wore the standard black double-breasted uniform of a Stormtrooper Officer. The black leather belt at her waist was snapped in tight, signaling a trim, athletic figure. Her reddish-brown hair was swept up and pinned back, exposing her slender pale neck. If he got close enough he would see on one side of her neck were faded bruises - either from the firm kiss of a lover or from another's fingers which had clenched there recently.

Tmoxin knew a little bit of Bothese as she knew many languages but she didn't want to let this on. They were not that familiar yet.

At first glance Kre'An was respectful and appeared clever. The fur-covered humanoid was slight in stature but that was fine for an officer, she thought. Unless he needed to pilot his AT-ST, he would be behind enemy lines with her in a more tactical role.

"You came to my attention through a colleague," she said. "I'll get right to the point. I'm building a legion for the Imperial Inquisiton and I'm hiring a Lieutenant for The Blood Monarchs, my Platoon." She didn't say my first platoon as he didn't need to know that there were areas of inexperience she had as well, that she would try to hide at every turn.

Tmoxin sat down at the superior's desk and motioned for the Bothan pilot to sit across from her. "Reassignment is to be expected in such a large organization, Mr. Kre'An. I imagine you are used to doing as you're told." This was stated very matter of factly as if his fate had already been settled. But then she said, "I hear you're one of the best drivers of the AT-STs. What other type of skills do you have to augment that? Preferably focus on your leadership skills, Mr. Kre'an."

[member="Fenn Kre'An"]

 

[Fenn Kre'An]

Taking the nod for what it was, and the invite for a seat, Fenn took his place and allowed his body to lean slightly into the backrest of the chair, not in a slump or in any disrespectful posture but merely allowing the seat to do its work and support his smaller frame. From behind bushy eyebrows and thin fur, the Bothan's hazel eyes scanned the well-dressed Commander as if out conducting recon, carefully and surreptitiously studying what details were obvious and, more importantly, what weren't.

She seemed well dressed, careful in her words but cutting to the issue at hand, giving away what information was necessary and leaving behind anything else that seemed extraneous, turning the focus from her to him without a second's hesitation. Talented officer material; Fenn couldn't help but find himself wonder if the entire conversation path had been carefully strategised by the human woman from the very start, playing the lower-ranked man like a pawn in her schemes.

"Oh, make no mistake, I understand the need for transference, sir; I'm merely surprised my CO wouldn't have tried to press a point." Fenn started, carefully stroking for a brief second the tuft of chestnut fur under his chin, his eyes ever so slightly narrowing for a moment in thought as the alien's gaze drifted from T'moxin, to the distant wall behind her, and back. "Then again, he being a Lieutenant, I would have thought you might have pulled rank."

There was a slight pause, as Fenn allowed himself time to consider the request, noting with care the subtle sense of tension beginning to form in the air. It was like standing before a wide open field laced with hidden charges; all seemed safe on the surface but one wrong step would spell disaster, leaving the Bothan to carefully decide on what words he would bring forward. The Empire, after all, was certainly known for its...effective authority and distaste of failure or ineptitude.

"Skills, sir? Well, outside of the walker, I'm a qualified engineer; give me specs and I can fix or build it, within reason. Half the repair jobs on my 'ST were done by yours truly, after all." Fenn offered, shifting slightly in his seat, carefully adjusting the combat fatigues around his body to sit a little more comfortably, feeling his boots press slightly into the ground for leverage for a brief moment, only to relax once more. "Naturally, I'm familiar with procedure for recon and patrol, and as for leadership, well, there's armor on those walkers for a reason; we're the ones drawing the big fire when hell comes down, and usually we're having to give information to the troops we're backing up. Where to go, sensor readouts of the terrain and subsurface scans, enemy positions; part of basic has us conduct a firefight whilst engaged in it; that elevated position we have is a real boon if used right for tactical movement on the field."

[member="[/COLOR][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/user/7020-tmoxin-temi/"]Tmoxin Temi[/URL]"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

As the Bothan spoke, Tmoxin's gaze at him never wavered. In fact, she appraised him with the most critical eye at every word. At one point towards the end of his summary, she briefly glanced away as if thinking or even bored - he wouldn't be able to tell which - but she quickly drew her eyes back towards his.

Bravado or not, it was a good sign that Kre'An was surprised his superior would give him up so easily. Either that or the Lieutenant was trying to curry favor with her as a higher ranking officer and was dumping the pilot into Tmoxin's lap like jettisoned fuel to make his own ship lighter.

But she'd rather dwell on optimism. Besides, the pilot's manners were impeccable signaling years in an unforgiving military structure. And he answered the lingering question about his leadership skills in a cunning way which impressed her. There were two ways of rising through the ranks in the Sith Empire. You either proved yourself invaluable, adaptable and whip-smart or you were assigned due to your political connections . A palm was greased, a gift given with expectation of recompensation or even a bed shared.

"Do you have any prejudice or fear of the Sith?" she asked him. They would be closely among them on the battlefield and at times their methods were unorthodox. The Hapan Commander was curious to see how Fenn Kre'An would answer.

[member="Fenn Kre'An"]

 

[Fenn Kre'An]

For a half second, the human's gaze seemed to wander, and for the briefest of moments there was a flash of curiosity, only to be trampled down by common sense. Her gaze was contemplative, blank but not stone-faced stupid so much as simply a mask of sorts, shielding her thoughts much in the same way the Bothan did his; leaving little to the obvious that wasn't required. It was likely her thoughts were milling elsewhere, other fields of metaphorical battle to plan, and the explanation made sense enough for Fenn to understand without feeling slighted, but old habits died hard, and he couldn't help but find himself wondering just what was ticking behind that soft-skinned head.

And then, out of nowhere, came the question of the Sith, bringing the Bothan once again to sense of piqued interest. The Sith were hardly distant from the Army and Navy forces; the clue was in the name of the One Sith, despite there being so many of the dark-side adepts present. The question was a probing thrust, Fenn recognised, into what could potentially have become a much larger issue, and once more the furry man couldn't help but find himself on the back foot to her tenacity, finding far too many similarities between her queries and the probing questions on the lips of Bothans back home; seeking any advantage and insight they could behind a shield of misdirection.

"I've yet to have the uh..pleasure..of seeing what the Sith can do, sir, but I have no qualms toward their sort, nor fear. They are on our side, after all." Fenn replied softly, a gentle roll of the nonhuman's shoulders shifting his shirt slightly, expressing his nonplussed attitude toward the question, bringing a hand once more up to his goatee in pensive thought. "I have heard rumor of what they can do, though. As long as their lightsabers aren't directed toward my neck, I don't think there'd be an issue."

Again, there was a slight sense of pause, before the Bothan began to speak again, once more taking liberty all on his own to turn the tables on his interviewer, his expression blatantly curious and inquisitive as his gaze once more affixed to his superior's. "How many armor units are attached to your legion, Commander?"

[member=tmoxin temi]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Finally Tmoxin smiled at the Bothan. "I run a platoon called The Blood Monarchs. It's made up of four units of all varying experience. There are no elite troopers. And no mobile units. This is where I see you fitting into the structure, Mr. Kre'An." She rose from her seat, straightening the hem of her jacket. Commander Temi then pressed a few buttons on the desk console activating a holounit which pulled up 3-D specifications of The Blood Monarchs. Tmoxin launched into a detailed description of each squad and for the first time he would notice an enthusiasm that wasn't there before. After she gave him the presentation on the Monarchs, which sounded almost rehearsed as if she had given it to Generals and Admirals in the Inquisition as well, she said, "They are a new platoon and I want to get them some experience so they can gel as a team. Maybe we can think of some good pratice drills..." Tmoxin trailed off and caught herself. She had said the word "we" betraying that she was more interested in working with Fenn Kre'An than she had let on.

She sat back down, leaned forward and smirked no longer feigning disinterest. Tmoxin looked into his perceptive eyes, noticing how silky the fur was that lined his cheeks and fell in tidy wisps across the collar of his coveralls. "What do you think, Fenn? Will you be my second-in-command?"

[member="Fenn Kre'An"]