The planning discussion thread for this story can be found here.

Coruscant, the brightest center of the universe as many beings came to know it. the capitols of the Old Republic, the Empire and now the New Republic. The home of the senate and former home of the old Jedi Order.

 The last time Jamayle could remember being here was the day he was honorably discharged from the New Republic Starfighter Corps two years ago. Though the monument Plaza in which he was currently standing in was one of the more attractive areas on the planet he could still see some of the scars from previous conflicts that this planet had been through. In fact he thought he saw a mark he left behind during the New Republic's liberation of this world years ago when he fired a torpedo a an imperial gun emplacement near on top of a building that was just across from where he was standing.

 But sadly his brief trip down memory lane was interrupted when his traveling comrade a young man wearing a blue jumpsuit with a white plastoid armor chest piece, utility belt and helmet tugged at his shirts sleeve. Sighing the thirty-eight year old Jedi apprentice turned to look at the slightly younger man and nodded at him. " Well?" he asked the younger male half heartily.

 "Sir the shuttle is primed and ready to go we should be on are way to Pelagon now." he said the hint of both frustration and eagerness in his voice. Jamayle stared at the young man eyes which was covered by an orange tinted visor that reminded him of the ones he used to wear during his time as a pilot for the rebellion and the new republic. He could tell the other man who was young then him by thirteen years was pretty upset with his decision to stop here but with the crisis going on in Tapani he felt that help would be needed to stop the fighting going on out there. Which is why he had chosen to make a side trip to the galactic capitol.

 With various problems facing the galaxy he hoped the Republic might notice the fighting going on in the Tapani sector and help him resolve the situation.
 Though he had his doubts that a bunch of dignitaries would pay heed to a retired X-wing pilot turned Jedi learner, he still felt it was worth a try. Also he knew that Helena would appreciate the gesture seeing as how her noble house had suffered during the empires rise and how her noble family supported both the old republic and the Jedi order that it would be a great political move on the republics part. " I told you…" he said with a sigh. " We are not leaving until we get an audience with the senate." he said in a tone that sound both determined yet tired at the same time as though he had argued this with his young escort many times before.

 "Sir Williams, with all due respect Lady Helena demanded that I bring you and only you to the Tapani sector and she made it quite clear that you are of the highest…"

 " And just what does Helena hope to accomplish with a retired starfighter pilot  and Jedi apprentice? I have experience fighting sure but once you seen one body drop or life snuffed out by starfighter lasers you seen it all. As a Jedi I've learned that there are other ways to end a conflict and this is the only direct course of action I feel make sense." He looked at the young man as though challenging him to argue but the other male remained silent obviously either seeing his point or deciding that auguring with him was not the best of choices.

 "That droid said it would probably take three days to months for the senate to hear me out or something like that…if there was anything this old war dog learned at Skywalker's praxeum it was patience." he added before turning back to look at the peak of the mountain top in the center of the plaza .

 " Just head back to the ship if we have to wait more then two days then we leave okay…two days is all I ask…" Sighing the young guard agreed to his statement and after doing a quick salute, which he sharply returned, the young man turned away and headed back toward their shuttles docking pad. Jamayle watched as the young guard made his way through the large crowd until he finally disappeared from view.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

Tapani Sector

 The floating palace, symbol of House Baranba's might. lied in ruin beside the foot of a great mountain. Millions corpses belonging to various commoners, peasants, house guardians and nobles littered the blacked ground. Turbo laser fire scorched the once vibrant and fertile green soil. In the distance buildings belonging to once great cities or humble villages burned  while the parts of various starfighters littered the ground. Over head two vessels traded shots with one another red and green turbolaser fire filled the mid day sky and pieced from both ships fell burning to the already  scorched ground.

 the ships Tapani-class assault frigates one carrying the seal of House Mecetti and the other carrying the seal of House Barnaba the rulers of the world they where currently fighting over, battled fiercely over the now burned out village and farmland below. Red and green beams streaked through the sky striking the hulls and shields of the mighty ships. Inside both ships crew members rushed to and from various sections of the ships. Medics carried the wounded from ruined gun emplacements while other gunners quickly replaced the fallen. Pilots inside their Manta class fighters exited out of both ships and began to fight in between the great vessels while below soldiers form both sides fought with blasters, vibrosword, or hand.

Else where a small fleet made up of ships from House Pelagia soared through the pitch black drop of deep space. Currently the people of Pelagia had to once again abandon their world after another assault. One far more destructive then the one it suffered in 19 BBY when both their old enemy House Mecetti and the Empire raided their world. One board the flag ship the Tapani-class assault frigate Elegance   stood a beautiful blond haired young female who appeared to be in her mid thirties. Wearing and elegant yet skintight Jumpsuit with a ornate blaster pistol tucked into her belt holster she calmly and quietly gave orders to the ships captain before turning to address one of the common soldiers.

 "What is it Soldier?" she asked the uniformed man beside her. " My Lady we have recivived word from private Jordy he says that the person you requested him to retrive has made a detour."

 "Detour? To where?"

" To the Galactic Capitol My Lady."

" …I see."

 "He also reports that the person you assigned to find is making his task difficult and that he is sorry that he cannot…"

" It's ok sergeant." She said cutting the older man off in mid sentence. "I understand what he is planning, hes hoping to get the Republic to send a task force here. Or at least respond to all the fighting that is going on in this sector."

" In fact with all the activity fighting going on and the Imperial activity on Tallaan I was kind of hoping they would have at least sent in a small scouting expedition. 'Tell private Jordy to continue his current objective and to give Sir Williams more time. Also tell him that the fleet will be jumping to the Nista system in two days but we won't be staying for long. I will give him that much time."

"At once my lady." The soldier said as he turned away and walked down the hallway behind her. Lady Helena Douglass sighed before turning her attention to a small woman who stood immediately to her right. The woman was older then her but still had an exotic beauty about her despite this this woman wore a green one piece with matching gloves and boots attached to her right wrist was a gauntlet that had a small crossbow attached. She appeared human though had pale white-green skin and had bright red hair and even brighter green eyes.

 " I take it my reunion with him will be delayed?" she said hint of both humor and disappointment in her voice. "Yes, your godchild certainly can be difficult I may even think he wants to avoid seeing us again…" Helena said with a giggle. The older female shook her head and looked directly into helena's light blue eyes. " He's avoiding seeing YOU maybe ha ha." she said letting a small laugh slip out.

  " Thank you again for letting me come with you Helena with all the fighting happening on Vycynith…." She began

" Don't mention it miss Isley after all you sheltered two of my agents and helped the Pelagia cause as much as Jamayle did. I was just returning a favor." She said smiling warmly at the older woman before her. " To be honest we needed the extra help at best we have only thirty ships in our fleet and as you know very little foot soldiers or pilots for our fighters. Even captain Melchi and the entire crew of the Benevolence had been drafted into the fleet. with all the fighting in the sector against House Mecetti and the uprising among the imperial base on Tallaan House Pelagia needs all the help it can muster. "

 The older woman nodded in agreement and turned to look at a one of the soldiers standing guard by the hatchway. This soldier was one of many that had barely escaped the second bombardment of Pelagon and had the scars to prove it. She then looked across the bridge and saw the same thing on nearly all the crew members there most of them sporting cybernetic arms or other body parts.

The image was wholly depressing though she could not bring herself to look away. Here was a lot that had suffered the destruction of their homeworld not once but twice and here she was aiding them again as she did when she secretly allied with them years ago.
 
 Suddenly the alarm went off breaking through her thoughts, she turned to she Helena shouting orders to the captain telling him to prepare the ship for an emergency jump. Though before the jump could take place a sudden jolt shook the ship causing her to fall over on the hard durasteel floor around her the bridge erupted in chaos as gunners, soldiers, technicians and officers ran about to their stations while Helena was busy shouting commands to several officers and crew members. As she carefully lifted her self office the floor the sound of Turbolaser fire reverberated around the bridge and several more laser blasts struck against the hull.

 After that things just seemed to melt together explosions, screams and shouts  all came together as though notes in some sick melody. She braced her self on the wall and struggled to keep from failing over as more turbolaser and blaster fire hit the ships hull.   

Outside the Elegance a small fleet of five imperial destroyers and ten Tapani-class frigates engaged the currently small ten ship fleet. Starfighter both Tie/In and Manta launched from the enemy ships and swarmed over the fleet while the Pelagia own fighters a hodge podge of older Y-wings, Z-95's, Manta and a few T-wings launched from the Tapani-class Carrier ship the Tiger's Claw and engaged their counterparts in between the two fleets.

 The two ships with in the Pelagian fleet one a Nebulon-B Frigate and two Corvettes positioned them selves in between the Elegance and the Approaching Imperial-class Star Destroyer. As they exchanged hits the captain of the Frigate sent a short transmission to the Elegance to make its escape. Already heavily damaged from the hits it received it slowly pulled away from the battle while its anti-lasers and fighter fought to keep the Tie Bombers at bay.

One of the enemy tapani-frigates bearing the House Reena seal slipped past the one of the corvettes and traded shots with the fleeing vessel but thankfully the Elegance was able to make its escape before the Star Destroyer could enter the fray.

 on board Helena, Pam Lil Isley and several crew members sat silently as they watched the welcoming blue white extra-dimensional tunnel swallow their burning ships whole. Though the jump was made blindly due to the direness of the situation. As such they did not know where they would end up once the emerged or if they would be in safe once they did. But for now it was a welcome reprieve from the carnage and death they had just escaped.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

The Galactic Senate an ancient building by todays standards yet still in use by the New Republics council in days long past it was the primary building where all government officials would meet and discuss various topics such as how to meditate a problem between planets or how to handle things such as laws and trade.

 After Emperor Palpatine dissolved the senate back in 0 BBY the building stood unused for years until the New Republic took back the world. Once it again it functions as the governments main seat of power and is again the center of democracy in the galaxy.

 Walking toward large domed building was a dark-skinned human male in his late thirties where a black short-sleeved shirt with a brown pilot's jacket over it. Black pants with a gold stripe running down the sides, black gloves and boots and a brown utility belt.  Beside him was a younger man dressed in some type of military garb that carried a E-11 Blaster rifle in has hands. The younger male had a serious look across his face with a hint of agitation in his eyes. The older man noticed the others frustration but seemed not to care taking no heed as he continued toward the large dome in front of them.

 Several air speeders flew low overhead in the often crowded sky ways while citizens of all races and species walked on the pavement below. It never ceased to amaze Jamayle on how many different race occupied the large city and how much the Force had swirled through almost every inch of this durasteel laden metropolis, especially around the area of the old Jedi temple that was not far from his current spot. As he approached the main entrance he could see dozens of republic soldiers stationed outside the door way. Most of them still wore the uniforms of the rebellions old navy fleet troopers, marines and vanguards of the past era.

 Upon seeing them his companion the Pleagia house guard Jordy holstered his own weapon though still keep his right hand old the handle of his weapon in case he needed to draw it quickly. Jamayle like wise padded his gun holster to make sure his own weapon was still securely strapped in it and checked to make sure his lightsaber was still clipped to his belt hook.

 One of the guards a young blond haired female approached them with a DL-18 pistol in her right hand and held up her left. "Halt." she demanded. The two stopped about one foot away from her and waited for the guard to begun searching them as was the normal procedure for all entering or leaving the senate hall.

 " If you would please hand over your weapons sirs." she said pointing at the holster blasters the two carried. Another guards joined her instantly and holster his own weapon before stretching out his own hand to receive theirs.
 Jamayle quickly unholstered his DL-44 blaster and handed it to the waiting trooper while Jordy hesitantly gave away his own gun. The trooper looked at the lightsaber clipped to Jamayle belt for a bit but decided against taking it and walked away with the guns in hand. Turning his attention back to the female guard Jamayle stood still with his arms at his sides while she pulled out a small scanning device she moved the item across Jamayle person in search for any hidden weapon or device that could prove harmful or lethal to the senators inside.

 Upon finding no such devices she turned her attention to Jordy and repeated the same scanning procedure this to failed to find any weapons or other assassination devices. " Alright you both check out…welcome to the galactic senate." she said before putting the device away. " I thank you for your cooperation and am sorry for the delay." She added before turning away with a sharp military about face and walking back to her post.

  With the usual security check out of the way the two moved inside past the guards and enter a large cavernous room that was adorned with expensive looking rugs that lined the floors pilers that hand the new republic banners hanging on their surfaces and various chairs, desks and other furniture.

 Jamayle looked around the large room noting the various guards, diplomats and wander droids until his eyes fell upon a familiar shape. " There TM-3PO." He said to Jordy before the two walked off to face the droid. TM-3PO was a silver protocal droid that acted as the sectary to the Tapani Sectors senator.

About a day before the senator had refused to speak to anyone and the droid was programed to tell anyone wishing to see him to wait. Two days had passed since Jamayle first tried speaking to this droid though each time proved fruitless now he had hoped that the droid would allow them to see the senator this time. " May I help…Oh its you again." The droid said a sound of indignation in its voice.  "Hello TM-3PO where here to try and talk to senator Kvarm Jia…is he in today?" Jamayle asked in a calm voice.

" One moment let me access the databank." It said suddely various electronic beeping could be heard coming from the droid itself soon the beeping stopped and the droid looked back at the Jedi padawan. "I'm sorry but the senator is in a session with the senate and will be there for most of the day. My data also indicates that he is booked but he does have an opening…say about four weeks from now. " It said apologetically.

 Jamayle let out a heavy sigh upon hearing this news and looked at his companion standing next to him. He knew the young man would not wish to wait any longer then necessary and that four weeks was out of the question. He also knew he waited two days already and that his time was up. He looked back at the robot and shook his head " No thats is ok TM-3PO we waisted enough of time as it is." with that both he and his escort turned and left walking back toward the entrance of the building. " I take it where leaving?" Jordy said with triumphant smirk on his face.

 Though upon seeing the stern disapproving and frustrated look on the older mans face he quickly made the smirk vanish. " Yes as soon as we get our guns back we return to the star port and leave this world. The republic may not care but I do…If we have to fight alone then so be it." he said a determined look in his now blazing brown eyes. The Pelagia guard could only smile as they exited the building and retrieved their weapons back form the guards. "finally" he thought as they walked back down the road toward a nearby and waiting air taxi. Before entering Jamayle cast one last look at the senate hall before entering the speeder and telling its bothan pilot where to head.

Turning his attention back to the sky he leaned back his his seat with his arms crossed and allowed his thoughts to drift on the people waiting for him in the Tapani Sector like his god mother and Helena. Suddenly he felt a cold simmer coarse through him and though it was only the wind though subconsciously he knew that it was the Force warning him of something. An image of both Helena and his godmother flashed in his minds eye along with the images of a star destroyer two fleets a battle and a huge explosion. by the time they had reached the docking platform where their ship was docked, he rushed out of the rear seat and quickly handed the pilot his fare before making a beeline for the shuttle. Though Jmaayle did not fully know what the vision meant he did know that his need to return to the Sector had become mush more urgent.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

The office was dark, save for the flickering light of the holvid. News anchors talked about the problems on dozens of different worlds as the New Republic strove to fill the gap left by the Galactic Empire. They talked about the Imperial Remnant, and the rogue warlords who refused to cooperate with them. They spoke of pirates, and Hutt cartels, and what it all meant.

Gandel sat in silence, datapad stylus rotating slowly between his fingers as he watched and listened. It had been some time since his fleet had run into a New Republic battle group, a task force sent specifically to hunt him. He wasn't eager to repeat the experience, yet it had given him an important insight into just how effective the New Republic really was. And his conversations with a captured New Republic admiral, Gabriella Nerys, had provided an insight into just what the Empire had become during his absence. He hadn't wanted to believe her, at first. But since that time he'd watched the holonet news services regularly, seen the documentaries, and even spoken about it with his current hosts, the pirate turned government Tigassi.

It was too much to be simple propaganda. Alderaan was definately gone. Footage of planets turned into wastelands by orbital bombardment could be found easily, along with testimony from thousands of sentients about the use of aliens for slave labor. The Empire had become something horrible while he was stuck in the unknown regions. Something far different than the thing he'd sworn to protect when he joined the Imperial Navy so many years ago.

There were many reasons why Gandel refused to join with the Imperial remnant. At first, he'd derided them for losing the war, for letting the Empire he'd loved fall to insurgent rebels and then making peace with those rebels. Though he still felt that way to some degree, he now worried should they win they would return the Empire to it's old and brutal ways.

While Gandel was of the mind that war was a dirty affair, there were some lines that shouldn't be crossed. Slavery was one of them. And the destruction of entire planets? Gods, if the news stories were to be believed the Empire had built two weapons of such destructive power!

He wished he could bring the Empire back. But not the one that the New Republic had brought down. A New Empire, a better Empire that would provide the safety and security of the old but without the brutal authoritarianism. The problem was how to do it, where to start.

Gandel was nearly fifty years old. With the aide of modern medicine he wasn't yet halfway done with life, but he could still feel a sense of urgency. He certainly wasn't getting anywhere now, not playing enforcer for the Tigassi. They kept his ships supplied and in repair, yes, and they paid his crews. He just wasn't getting any closer to his goal of restoring the Empire. And, he had to admit, this was just as boring as sitting around in the unknown regions. With two Victory class Star Destroyers to protect them, none of the Tigassi's rivals dared attack.

Gandels revere came to an end as his ears picked up on what the news anchors were saying. A map was displayed, clearly labeled "Tapani Sector". Several systems were outlined in red, and the voice over talked of battles. And Imperials…

"The Imperial forces left to garrison the Tapani sector seem to have turned against one another, fighting for a variety of Tapani Noble houses. Some Imperial commanders, we're told, have blood relations to the houses they're now fighting for while others are opportunists looking to hold power when their allied house wins the war. A significant portion of the former Imperial garrison, however, has yet to choose any side at all. The Imperial Remnant, for it's part, does not seem to be actively involved in the conflict. In fact, with it's attention drawn to other threats it seems to have written off the Tapani Sector entirely, unwilling to expend the resources it would take to get the sector - and the breakaway Imperial forces - back under control. That leaves the unaligned Imperial garrisons, such as those on Tallaan, in a precarious situation. With no Remnant reinforcements expected to assist them, they may well become targets for the Noble houses whether they want to be involved in the war or not. Here to discuss the situation is HNN correspondent-"

Gandel was no longer listening, though his eyes remained glued to the holonet news program. Chaos in a former Imperial sector provided an interesting opportunity, especially considering the beleaguered loyalist forces who were bound to be caught in the crossfire. Without the Remnant to turn to, the prospect of a few more Star Destroyers would no doubt be a welcome one… especially if there was an Admiral to take charge of the situation. Though he'd never returned to the Remnant, he would still technically hold an Imperial rank. It might be enough. Especially if he could then take advantage of the Noble Houses warring against one another… one was bound to come out on top as a major power in the sector. All he had to do was make it look like he was on their side.

Gandel turned off the holovid and punched up his comm. "Captain Decker, I wish to speak with the Tigassi representative. While we're waiting for him, prepare a readiness report on the fleet and schedule a senior officer's meeting. It's time for a change of pace…"

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

Life is built on decisions. Often these decisions are simple: up or down, caf or tea. Sometimes more difficult: yes or no, what to have for dinner. Sometimes even more difficult: lie or truth, kill or mercy. But sometimes it is the simplest decisions that are the hardest.

Like left or right, the decision that faced Haika Vibrose in the RatutoTech headquarters on Corellia. One could lead him into a pack of guards and mercs out for his blood, the other, if he was lucky, would lead him to freedom.

Unfortunately, Haika didn't have time to consider either, as he was running full tilt already, and would be at the turn in three…two…one…

He swung left instinctually. He heard voices behind him as the guards already on his tail reached the corner and began looking either way for him. They, too, would have to guess, though, as Haika had already made his way down a hall off his right.

There was a lift ahead of him now, but he didn't take it. Rather he opened a door on his right and began running down the stairs, the third set that he had come to. As he began reaching the next level down, he slowed slightly and stuck his head, Jensaarai helmet and all, around the corner and peered through the small window of the next door. Sure enough, three guards stood near the door, although they were intent on the lift and not the stairs.

Haika focused and with a push of his hands sent the door flying in, striking two of the guards and disabling them. The third started to spin to fire on him, but Haika had already closed the distance and was pushing the barrel of the mercs gun up, hard and fast. The barrel struck the guard on the nose, and a splash of blood popped out as the nose shattered. Three small droplets of crimson landed on the visor of Haika's helmet, but he barely even noticed. He drove a knee up as the merc went down, striking the poor guy again on the nose with his armor. This time four teeth popped out and skittered across the floor as the man's upper jaw below his nose broke.

He passed out in a heap at Haika's feet. Haika leaned down and checked the hired gun's pulse. The man was alive, which was a blessing. Haika had decided to deal no death on this day, if only to insult the mob boss Toydarian Ratuto.

Haika moved on. A left, a right. Decisions made without a second thought. Now he saw several signs pointing towards a docking area (the Force had willed an escape, it seemed), and he felt giddy with adrenaline. He passed several doors without a thought. He was almost home free, he felt, so close…

He drew near a door and suddenly stopped and looked at it. The sign on it read "Luke Sreet, Museum Liaison". A door of no consequence, but mighty in its peculiarity. Why did an "engine firm" have a museum liaison? Haika could only assume what it really meant was "stolen artifacts".

That is how he justified opening the door, although somewhere deep down he knew it was something else. He felt a draw to this door. He had passed many others like it and had not cared. Why this one?

He entered and found the room empty of occupants. There was a desk in the middle of the room, and several pictures of a man (who Haika assumed was Luke Sreet) on various worlds on archaeological digs. In each one he looked like a tourist pretending to be an archaeologist: dressed in cliche clothing from each world, holding a small pick in one hand and a brush in the other. He had a goofy grin and usually stood next to some artifact or alien.

But Haika didn't linger on the pictures. Rather his eyes were guided towards the desk. On the desk was a metal briefcase. Something was in the briefcase. Something amazing and beautiful and horrible. Haika, at this point, felt the case rather than saw it. The entire room had come into sharp focus, his body prickled where the lines of the room intersected him. He shut his eyes but knew where everything in the room was, from the lamp in the corner to the potted plant next to the desk. He opened his eyes and moved forward, each colour in the room like a scent. He was panting, but not from the run. His mouth was dry, and he was sweating.

He reached forward and turned the case towards him. He unlatched the clasps, lifted the top and saw…a twisted hunk of metal. It was in the shape of a ring, made of what must be tarnished silver. Three small triangular spikes rose from the top, no taller than an inch each. It was ugly and old, and yet it was the most beautiful thing Haika had ever seen, and it was terrible in its power.

It was a crown.

Haika heard footsteps in the room next door, which he only now noticed was connected by a door. He started panting harder, trying to turn from the case and leave, but he found he couldn't leave this ugly, beautiful relic behind. He tried to pull away, spent several moments that felt like hours trying to escape, but in the end, closed the case, grasped its handle and ran out of the room with the artifact in tow. Just as he shut the door, he heard the connecting door open and footsteps entr. He didn't wait to hear the man's reaction, but ran.

Finally he made his way into the docking bay. Technicians noticed him and made their way towards the wanderer, but Haika waved a hand, emboldened by his new possession. Two of the technicians were sent sprawling back, sliding across the floor for several metres before struggling to stand. A third was bashed into a Lambda-class shuttle, and a forth was sent high and hard into a wall, sliding to the ground in a heap.

Haika kept moving, towards a YT-1930 class freighter that was docked nearby. The two technicians who had been knocked to the ground were now up and moving away from him now, one of them talking on a walkie-talkie. Haika ignored them, and doubled his speed towards the freighter. Haika could see that its loading ramp was closing, but knew that the ship was his best option for escape.

Guards burst into the bay, and Haika could hear the discharge of several blasters behind him. With a movement of his wrist, one of his lightsabers was in his left hand. Activated in a second, Haika deflected three shots away as he moved and leapt into the freighter, which shut behind himself a second later.

Surprised, four crewmembers turned in the cockpit before him. Haika saw one begin reaching for his gun, so the Force User raised his hand and disarmed the man without a second thought.

“Alright, boys,” he said. “You are going to do what I say and we’re all going to be fine.”

“Screw that.” The pilot said, standing and pulling a pistol from his side. Haika knew that these men were smugglers for Ratuto, but he also knew that they were young and untested. He moved forward against the man faster than would have been possible for most men and sliced the barrel of the blaster off with a movement of his saber.

“You are going to take off as normal and leave. Now.”

“Frak you, Jedi.” The pilot said, moving his disabled gun as if he still wanted to fire.

Haika now loomed over the other man. “No,” Haika said, “no Jedi here.” His voice sounded as it once had, years before when he himself had worked for Ratuto, dripping with anger. Whatever presence ay dormant in the crown below now quivered with delight. Haika breathed deeply, the joy of the crown touching him, making himself joyful.

“Haika?” A voice said behind him.

Haika turned. In the entrance of the cockpit stood a man, much older than the other crewmembers. He was tall and grey haired, about 45 years old. His beard was shaggy but short, and his hair fell to about his shoulders. In fact, he looked much like Haika might in about ten years.

“Jax?” Haika said. The man was Jax Youngstar, a former friend and partner who had worked with him when he had bountied for Ratuto.

“Haika, you dog,” Jax laughed, opening his arms for an embrace. Haika met it.

Everyone else in the cockpit looked puzzled as the two men disengaged. They looked up at Jax, who looked back at them.

“Well, you frakkers, take off!” He said.

“But Cap, this guy just came on and…” the pilot said.

“Haika here is a good friend and none of you will threaten him.” Jax said. Haika removed his helmet and held it in the crook of his shoulder.

Blaster fire could be heard heavily outside and the comm crackled to life. “Fallen Angel, this is Tamis. The man who just snuck onboard is dangerous and has stolen property from Ratuto. Disable him and abort take off.”

Jax made his way to the comm and spoke. “Tamis, this is Youngstar. Give Ratuto my sincerest apologies, but I am regretful to inform him my services are no longer his. Goodbye.”

And with that the ship took off and blazed from the port, blaster-fire following ineffectively. A part of Haika was disappointed that Ratuto’s help had become so lackluster over the years.  Another, stronger part of him was fighting to keep himself from jumping in the turret and blasting back. He felt, for some reason, like killing everyone in the goddamn hangar.

As you should…, a voice very like his own said in his head. Haika shook it slowly.

“Come with me,” Jax said, “we’ve got some catching up to do.”

“Shouldn’t we worry about escaping?” Haika asked, looking sidelong at the rookie smugglers.

“They may be wet-behind-the-ears, but these nuggets know how to handle an escape, trust me on that.” Jax said. Haika nodded, and followed Jax the short way to the captain’s quarters.


Jax whistled between his teeth, a talent that he had perfected moreso than anyone Haika had ever met. It sounded like a teapot at high heat, mixed with dropping bombs and a rushing wind. “That’s quite a story, H.”

“All of it’s true.” Haika said.

“I just can’t believe you of all people got hitched, let alone are bringing implets into the Galaxy.” Jax laughed.

“All true.” Haika repeated.

“And you’re a Jedi.” Jax said, sipping from the cup he held. In it, a fine rum was sloshing. Haika tended to down such things as quickly as possible to avoid lingering on the flavour, but Jax sipped his calmly, holding each drop on his tongue. Haika wrinkled his nose at the thought.

“I was before the first time I met you. I’m not now.” Haika said.

“So you’re, what, a lost boy? A Force wanderer?”

Haika looked introspectively at the ceiling. “Force wanderer…” he mused, “I like that.”

“What about the case?” Jax asked, gesturing at the suitcase that lay next to Haika’s chair. “What’s in it?”

Haika instantly got alert and shot a deathly gaze at Jax. “It’s nothing. It’s mine.” He shot defensively.

Jax held up his hands in surrender. “Only asking.”

Haika shook his head. “Sorry, mate. It’s just…whatever this thing is, it’s got a weird…bend in the Force. It’s not exactly like a living thing, but it has that feel to it, like a weight placed in the middle of a taut piece of cloth…like a dip.”

“Can I see it then?” Jax asked. Haika shrugged and struggled against a voice inside him not to open the case. He undid the clasps slowly and opened the case, turning it so both of the men could look at the crown.

“It’s a silver crown, mate.” Jax said.

“I know.” Haika replied.

“What are these, along the side?” Jax asked, pointing along the side of the crown. His finger was a little too close for Haika’s comfort, but it did help Haika see something he hadn’t noticed before. Etchings in the side of the crown.

He looked closer. Unfortunately, the tarnish that made the crown black also made it near impossible to make out what they were. “They look a little like story pictures or something of the sort,” Haika said, “but they’re too dark to make out.”

Suddenly, a voice buzzed over the in-ship comm.. “Cap, we’re about to jump out of hyperspace.”

Jax stood. “Come on, Rex.” Jax laughed at the jibe about the crown.

Haika followed him to the cockpit. Indeed, the thin lines of stars rushing past made their familiar passing across the viewport. And then, quite suddenly, it stopped. The stars stood still and Haika gazed now down at a moon.

And ships. A fleet of battered and broken ships. At least one lay on the moon’s surface, having jumped too close to the gravity and getting sucked towards it. It lay like a black skeleton, lonely and forlorn.

The other ships still appeared to have some life in them. “Comm them, see if they need help.” Haika said instinctually.

“We’re smugglers,” the pilot said, “we don’t exactly do help.”

“We’re smugglers without a job and a shitload of cheap parts in the back, and those folks seem to need parts, as I vidi it.” Jax said. “’Sides, Haika here’s a friend, and I do right by him. Let him comm. them.”

Haika made his way forward. Taking control of the comm he relayed a message over several frequencies. “Unknown ships, this is freighter Fallen Angel under command of Jax Youngstar. We are prepared to offer services. Respond.”

For a few minutes there was a crackling noise, and then someone responded. “Fallen Angel, this is Tapani Warship Helena. Please dock and be prepared to be met. We’ll take any help we can get, but we’ll have to search you. As you can probably guess, we have certain enemies to avoid.”

“Understood,” Haika responded, turning to the crew. “Well, you heard them. Dock!”

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

All across the heavily damaged bridge twist parts of durasteel support beams stuck dangerously outside of the wall, sparks from various exposed wires hazardously dangled from several opened panels and computer consoles while the sound of numerous warning sirens blared loudly through out the ship. Lady Helena clutched her left side using a torn pierced of her once elegant and expensive custom flight suit to  cover the deep gash she had on her side. She was busy helped one of the crew members ,a young rodian to pull a older zabrak  male out from under the remains of the navigation console.

 Behind her Isley carried a large emergency medical kit she recovered from the remains of the medical room and went to from person to person applying bacta patches, band-aids and even splints to their fractured bones. The entire bridge was in chaos the screams of a dozen wounded and dieing filled the air almost drowning out that alarm sirens. Suddenly a voice cracked over the comms causing both ladies and some of the crew members to jump in shock.

"Unknown ships, this is freighter Fallen Angel under command of Jax Youngstar. We are prepared to offer services. Respond.”

 For a few heart beats no one moved most afraid to answer it believe the speaker to be a part of some Mecetti ploy. Helena glanced back at Pam who was busy attending to a fallen Herglic fleet trooper then at the rodian beside her who only shrugged in helplessly uncertain of what to do. Helena looked at the Zabrak below her who was unconscious and probably in a lot of pain before taking a second to look at the speaker again.

 Suddenly Isley appeared right beside her and pressed the button for the comms speaker. “Fallen Angel, this is Tapani Warship Elegance. Please dock and be prepared to be met. We’ll take any help we can get, but we’ll have to search you. As you can probably guess, we have certain enemies to avoid.” she said before taking her gloved finger off the speaker button.

“Understood,” the other pilot said before the comlink finally died returning the room to its gloomily sounds of pained moaning and annoying sirens. Helena just stood dumb struck and stared at the older female  her face was a confused mixture of shock and frustration. The older woman picked up on on her mood but dismissed it with a simple wave. " Look we need all the help we can get and since we don't know where in the galaxy we shouldn't turn down any acts of kindness we're offered. " She said wisely before walking off to aid the other wounded spacers on board. ' Trust me Helena I know what I am doing." she said from across the wrecked bridge as she pulled out a syringe and injected it into the arm of a young human spacer.

 The young noble woman could only nod in response before resuming to help the rodian in pulling the unconscious zabrak from under the debris. Elsewhere a in the remains of the ships hanger a small detail of marines stood outside the freighters boarding ramp dressed in full space suits. With guns at the ready for any sneak attack they waited for the crew of the "rescue" ship to descend. Though they where hurting quite literally for help they weren't going to take any chances the last thing the shattered remnants of House Pelagia needed was to be taken by another sneak attack.

Bridge of the Celestial Shadow, Hyperspace

Crys stared out the viewport  into the chaotic swirl of hyperspace. Most people, she had been told, went completely mad after staring into hyperspace for more than five minutes. In her mind, she found peace in the chaos of hyperspace.

The Shadow was returning to Corellia after running medical supplies to a neutral Medical Station that had been moved to the Tapani Sector by one of the  major medical conglomerates. So far, it had been a blue milk run.

She started walking towards the helm, ostensibly to oversee how good the new helmsman really was. Before she go there, a call diverted her attention towards Comms.

"Captain, we're receiving a distress signal. Very faint."

"Nav, plot me a course. Helm, as soon as you have it, get us there as fast as possible." Crys reached over the Comms tech and toggled a couple of switches, opening up an internal communications link with the Med Bay and Hangar Control. "Medical, have triage teams standing by to receive casualties. Hangar Con, prep the shuttles for action."

A chorus of "Aye, sir!" answered her from the various stations. She looked over at her XO, and nodded to him.

"Jack, sound General Quarters, and then mute the fraking alarm in here."

Her XO grinned as he pressed the appropriate buttons. "Aye, Captain."

Straightening a little bit more, she turned back to the viewport. "Alright people, let's go to work."


******

The Shadow exited hyper five minutes later, right on target; on top of a scene of carnage. There were warships everywhere. Or, rather, pieces of warships everywhere.

"Sensors, report." Crys ordered briskly.

"Sensors show catastrophic damage to 90% of the vessels, sir. Life signs showing from the Assault Frigate at Point one-five." It was hard to miss the trembling in the young woman's voice as she read out the report.

"First action Jezz?" Crys asked her.

"Y-yes sir." Jezz stammered back.

"Trust me, it never gets easier. Jack, get the recovery teams on the shuttles now. Launch when ready, but hold for my directives. Comm, opem a channel to that Assault Frigate."

"Aye sir." Jack threw over his shoulder as he departed the bridge.

"Channel open, sir." Comms reported.

 "Unidentified Vessel, this is the Celestial Shadow. How can we be of assistance?"

"Celestial Shadow, this is the Elegance. We could use a few medics and some engineers, if you have any to spare."

Crys nodded, even though the channel was audio only. "Understood. We have shuttlecraft on the way."

"Shadow, inform your people that they will be subject to search once they are aboard. You understand, we cant have any more surprises."

"Understood. Contact us if you need anything else. Shadow out."

As soon as the channel was closed, she turned to the Comms tech. "Relay the information to the shuttles, and give them the go-ahead for boarding."

"Aye, sir."

As the young man turned to his work, Crys straightened and stared out at the crippled Frigate drifting in front of them. So much for a blue milk run.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

Haika cut a clearly impressive figure as he made his way down the Fallen Angel’s gangway into the flagship of the Tapani fleet. His gold armor sparkled, and his helmet, in the shape of an eagle’s head (curving beak and all), stared out at the people on the deck with cold security. His cloak, a remnant of his time as a Jedi, flared behind him, torn, tattered and old. He looked new and strong, old and battle-worn, all at the same time.

Even the case, which would have cut down this image somewhat, was placed in a safe hidden away in a secret compartment of the YT-1930. Only Jax and Haika himself knew the safe even existed, let alone the combination.

As Haika reached the bottom of the gangway, Jax and the crew behind him, a group of stunned soldiers made their way forward. Haika removed his helmet, a rush of air as the sealed atmosphere of the inside of the armor was broken, and held it in the crook of his elbow. Even without the helmet, there was something different about Haika that held him apart. He was clearly no older than thirty-five, but he had grown old before his time. His hair already held a spattering of grey, his face was laden with tiny scars, and not-so-tiny scars. His eyes were cold. He seemed like the type of person who would be invisible if he wanted to be.

The soldiers stopped short of him. “Sir,” one of them said, most likely the boldest. Haika took mark of the man’s name. which was embroidered above a pocket on his combat vest.

“Thatchen,” Haika nodded. “I need to be checked, correct?”

“Yessir.” It was amazing how the man had so quickly chosen to call him ‘sir’.

Haika flicked his wrist next to the plates of armor on his thighs. From the small holding niches on the armor slid his three sabers, which he held softly. He lay one, his “back-up” saber, which was made for two-hand use on the floor in front of him. With a press of his thumb, his other two sabers flared to life, purple and hot. He twirled them softly, deactivated them, and picked up the other saber. He activated it too, it’s greenish-blue glow softer than the others. Once again he deactivated it and placed it back in its niche.

“The helmet has some systems in it, but nothing you haven’t seen before.” Haika said. “I’d like to meet the officer of this ship now.”

“Of course, Sir Jedi,” a woman was striding towards him now. “We didn’t think the New Republic would send anyone.”

Haika looked her up and down. She was older than Haika himself, but not unattractive. She wore a green bodysuit, gloves and boots. There was a crossbow attached to one of her wrists, which reminded Haika sharply of a similar weapon wielded by his friend Howldan. Howldan, too, had attached his bowcaster to his wrist, rather than carrying it.

Haika shook his head. “No, not a Jedi, madam. You can call me…a Force Wanderer, if you so wish.” He turned and winked at Jax, who grinned. “And the Republic didn’t send me. The Force, like a wind, blew me here. Something, evidently, wants me to help you in what ways I can.”

“And our need means that we must accept.” The woman said.

“I don’t think it would matter if you accepted or not,” Haika laughed, “I would help one way or another.”

“Well then, I suppose I must accept then, so that we don’t have someone of your…stature…dogging us.” Her eyes dashed for a moment to the helmet under his arm.

As if answering a question, Haika spoke. “I’ve trained under both Master Skywalker and a group called the Jensaarai, who you may know of.”

“And what is the name of the person who has trained with so many?” She asked.

“My name is Haika Vibrose,” Haika responded.

“And I’m known as Isley.” The woman responded.

“May we be well met.” Haika said. “These are my friends, under command of Captain Jax Youngstar.”

“A pleasure, milady,” Jax said.

“I’m certain,” she nodded at the old Captain.

“We may be able to help some of your ships get back into working order. We have parts for engines in the back. We could repair your fleet enough to get you somewhere where you can get a proper refitting.” Jax nodded.

“Any aid would be most helpful.” Isley nodded.

“Of course, and this is purely business, milady, my crew and I would expect repayment for what we give you. We must keep ourselves fed.”

Isley seemed to measure up the man. She seemed to notice whatever signs of wear came with smuggling, and her face pursed for a moment. “That would have to be dealt with later.”

“We can wait,” Jax spoke, and turned to his crew. His voice grew gruff, back to his regular stardog bark. “Right, you frakkers, get this ship unloaded, now!”

The crew went back inside, Jax following at their heels, barking orders behind them.

“Interesting company you keep, Mr. Vibrose.” Isley said.

Haika laughed, thinking of half the folks he had called friends in his time. Howldan, Ahikg’har, Teke and Caedmon. “You don’t know the half of it, Ms. Isley.”

“Come,” Isley responded, “let us meet the true commander of these forces.”

“Of course,” Haika said, replacing his helmet on his head. Their was a his as it sealed. “Let’s go.”

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

The bridge of the VSD Dominator was somewhat smaller than that of Gandel's former flagship, the ISD Decimation. Given the size variations between the classes, it was really no surprise. It still irked Gandel to have lost his command ship during the battle with the New Republic battle group. Every time he had to set foot on the Dominator's bridge, the difference reminded him of that loss. Someday, he told himself, he would avenge that defeat.

Today was the day he started. The Tigassi had been unhappy to learn that Gandel was departing. They had no doubt hoped that the arrangement would become permanent. Still, they seemed at least to understand Gandel's eagerness to rejoin what he continued to call 'the war'. And Gandel himself had made certain not to close any doors. Should this endeavor in the Tapani Sector (gods forbid) end in disaster, he would still have a safe haven to run to. And, he determined, should he ever succeed in restoring the Empire, the Tigassi would be appropriately rewarded for their past cooperation.

The jump clock counted down. Captain Decker walked slowly through the crew pits, making certain that everything was as it should be. Gandel watched him from the command walkway. Decker had taken over for the Dominator's previous captain, Harlen Marachek, when he'd decided to retire and return to the core. Gandel had wished him luck, and hadn't heard from the man since. Now that the fleet was headed for Tapani, he likely never would.

"All stations report ready for jump," Decker reported. "Garbage dump is in progress. One minute to hyperspace."

As the clock wound down, the stars began to move. They flew by faster and faster, until space seemed to rip open before the Dominator's bow. The ship was swallowed up by the swirling vortex of hyperspace.

The time it took to reach Tallaan was spent reviewing the tactical situation in Tapani. Gandel had dredged up as much information as possible before leaving the Tigassi, but little of it was the sort of military intelligence he would need to mount an effective campaign in the area. Still, it did tell him a lot about the political situation - especially notable was the fact that the New Republic didn't seem to want to interfere in the area. Not yet, anyway. If Gandel could establish himself here before they decided to interfere…

But that was yet to be seen. The first step once the fleet arrived at Tallaan was to contact the garrison's commanding officer. If Gandel was higher up in the chain of command, he might be able to convince them to hand command over to him. If the officer in command was reticent, or if they were equal to or higher than Gandel's own pay grade, things might get complicated. Either way, though, Gandel was certain they would be eager to see a few more Imperial warships in their skies.

The trip went relatively quickly. The Victory class star destroyers had faster hyperdrives than the Imperial class Gandel was used to traveling in. Perhaps it was just that he was unused to the faster ships, or perhaps it was his eagerness to rejoin other Imperial forces - either way, it seemed, the fleet arrived at it's destination only a short time after they'd left Tigassi.

Gandel was present on the bridge as the ship exited hyperspace. As the deckplates hummed beneath his boots, he couldn't help but remember his arrival at Bilbringi some time before. He has expected a warm welcome then, as now. An Imperial held world happy to see him back. Instead, he'd been fired upon by a enemy he hadn't even known existed. He silently hoped that this one would go better than the last.

The hyperspace tunnel collapsed back into stars, and the world of Tallaan rushed up to meet him. Gandel could see shipyards in orbit, tenders and transports swimming through space above a green and blue world ringed with wisps of cloud. It was a beautiful world.

"Sensor reports coming in," an officer announced. Gandel nodded and turned his attention to the tactical holo as it started to populate with coded symbols. Blue, Gandel said silently, Please be blue…

One by one, as sensors picked up the IFF signals being broadcast, the symbols turned blue. Gandel breathed a sign of relief. On the tactical holo, blue meant friendly. Friendly meant Imperial IFF signals.

"Admiral," Captain Decker broke into Gandel's relief, "We're getting a challenge from the planetary garrison. They're challenging us to declare what side we're on." Gandel eyed the tactical holo, noting that a number of warships were moving towards his fleet and that fighters had apparently been scrambled.

"Well, aren't we jumpy," Gandel muttered. But then, with Imperial factions fighting one another in the service of Tapani noble houses… "I suppose I can't blame them. Comms, open a channel." He waited until the comm tech gave him a nod. "Tallaani Garrison, this is Admiral Gandel of the 105th Imperial fleet. Stand down, please, we're on your side."

There was a brief pause as whoever was on the other side thought this over. Perhaps they were looking up the 105th, or even Gandel himself. Finally the reply came, "105th fleet, maintain your position and stand by for further contact."

Gandel acknowledged the directive and gave Decker a wry smile. "Well," he said, "At least they didn't start shooting at us."

"Yet," Decker added dryly.

"Yet," Gandel agreed, smiling more in amusement now. Despite the cold reception, there was a tingle running down his spine. These were Imperials he was dealing with, even if they were suspicious of him for the moment. Imperials… yes, it was good to finally be back amongst other Imperials. It had been far too long.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

"Sir we've arrived at the Nista system." Said the pilot of the small shuttle to a figure seated behind him. Jamayle looked out of the view screen at the volcanic planet in front of them and cast his eyes toward the sensors. "Okay but where is the fleet?" he asked dryly a hint of worry creeping into his voice.

 The pilot looked and the sensors and radar screen then typed something into the computer console. " The sensors pick up nothing so far sir I believe they could be running behind."

"Or." Jamayle said putting up his right index finger as if to indicate something. "They could have ran into trouble. With all the action going on in this sector I would not be surprised. What was the fleets last known location?" He asked.

 " Their last location was coordinates 3-delta-00 near Barnaba Sir Williams."

 Getting up from his seat Jamayle told the pilot to prepare to depart for the location and ordered him to ready both the shields and cannons. As he walked down the metal corridors he allowed the Force to swim around wrapping around his mind like a blanket images of fire, laser shots and even the sounds of people screaming and the cries of speeding starfighter engines filled his mind as he neared the turrets access ladder.

 Placing his right hand over his ear his finger bent slightly to hit the communicators activation button. Suddenly he could hear private Jordy voice in his ear telling him that he was already in position. " Sir do you expect any problems ?" the young trooper asked. " At this point I would expect it wrong not to expect problems alright prime you guns up just in case." He said as he climbed into the gunners chair and securely strapped himself into the seat resting his hands on the double blasters controls. By the time he had calibrated the targeting computer he could see the stars begin to merge together taking the shuttle craft outside of the system.

Else Where: Near the wreckage of the Elegance

Outside of the wreckage of the once great fleet laid a predator feared by various spacers and star pilots. this predator was a ship a large dreadnought painted black with the symbol of the Void Wings painted on either side of the bridge. Through out its metal corridors beings haling from different walks of life, sullustians, humans, twi'leks, wookiees, duros, weequays and rodains all dressed in hodgepodige battle armored and armed with an assortment of weapons each one as hardened, treacherous or as wicked as their rap sheets had said about them.

 Though the worst of this breed belonged to their captain a tall blond haired human male name Corjeck Herlock. This figure was dressed in dark battle armor with his faithful pet Kwokian Monkey Lizard Winkle C. Caboodle resting on his left shoulder. " Any survivors mate?" he asked a rather tough looking rodian dressed in obviously stolen scout trooper armor.

 " Yes sir not much but I bet my right antenna that one of the survivors is a Tapani Noble." The thug said confidently. The captain smirked at the rodains bravado before looking up at the wookiee standing beside the rodain.

 " Tell the men to ready the fighters and prepare for attack. Its time we let these Nobles know who really runs this Sector." The crew gave a small cheer at their captains words before rushing off to their battle stations. Across the ship several beings readied their weapons vibro-swords, light foils and blaster pistols for the eventual boarding while the hanger was alive with activity several fighters mostly Uglies like the Tie-wings and X-ties where being preped for combat and soon rushed outside of the hangers gaping maw.

Swarming around the dark ship like hornets swarming around a nest. Back inside the ships various turbolasers, laser cannons and ion batteries came to life as eager gun jockeys prepared for the fight that lay ahead. Back on the Bridge the captain ordered his helms men to begin entering the debris field and told his fore gunners to blast any large debris that came their way.

 "Remember if we die no pay day for anyone." He said Before taking a rest on his chair. " Well Winkles how much credits or valuables you think well get on this endeavor?" he asked his pet playfully. The only response the captain received was a shrill laugh from the creature.

 "Sir we got a communication from the ship below and another one!" said the Qurren communications officer seated at the station behind him.  " They want to know who we are and."

 " Queit you squid brain yokel and tell those sorry sacks of life that their lives are now in the hands of the Void Wings. And Tell them to Prepare to Stand and Deliver their goods." At this the entire bridge crew let up a cheer and condifent, eager and willing to get the fight started.

Bridge, Celestial Shadow

"Comm, status report." Crys called out from her position near the OD Console.

"Commander Taggert reports they have successfully docked with the Elegance. He also reports that the initial damage estimates indicate at least forty-eight hours till they have any sort of power to the auxiliary thrusters, and around sixty hours till they have the main drive engines back online." Comms noted. "He also reports that the most severely wounded have been transported to Medical for treatment. Initial casualty reports state nearly one thousand dead, seven hundred wounded, and one hundred MIA."

"So basically half the crew is out of action either temporarily or permanently."

"In a word: Yes."

"Very well. Inform Commander Taggert to continue operations."

"Conn, Sensors. New contact bearing three point seven, mark eight. Designation Tango-1. Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruiser. It's Launching fighters, Uglies, mostly Die-wings." Jezz reported.

"They're hailing us." Comms noted. "They identify themselves as the Void Wings, and they order us to quote 'Stand and Deliver our cargo'. What are your orders Captain?"

"Tell them that we have no cargo. Tell them also to recall their fighters and depart the area, unless they want to be blown to hell." Crys told the man, a smile playing across her face. "Use your choice of words."

"Aye, Captain." He said, also smiling. Toggling a switch, he opened up a channel to the pirate ship. "Unidentified Cruiser, this is the Celestial Shadow. We are unable to process your request at this time. Please call back later."

"Nice one." Crys smiled to herself at the man's enthusiasm.

"Danke, Captain." He replied.

"Shadow, are you crazy or insane? Don't you know who we are?" An angry voice cut back across the channel.

"As a matter of fact, we do. You're pirates. We don't like pirates. When we run across pirates, they tend to find themselves just a little bit dead." Comms returned. "Last chance. Leave now or die."

"No." With a loud click, the communications link between the two ships was cut.

Crys Sighed. "So much for the easy way. Launch all fighters. Alpha wing is to cover the shuttles. Beta is to attack the Uglies, and then make runs against Tango-1."

"Aye, Captain." CAG called from her position.

"Helm, bring us between the Elegance and Tango-1. Weapons control, lock all
batteries on Tango-1. Fire when ready. Target weapons blisters first, followed by hangars and propulsion units."

"Aye, Captain." Weapons responded. "Targets locked. Firing now."

Beneath them, the Shadow's deck shook as her gun batteries opened up, filling the void between the two ships with angry bolts of energy and missiles.

"Weapons, report."

"First Salvo to us. Sensors indicate damage to multiple weapons blisters, and hangar bays."

"CAG, Status?"

"Beta reports enemy Die-wings are living up to their name. "

The Shadow again shook, this time as the pirate ships weapons found their mark.

"Weapons control, fire at will!"

"Aye, Captain."

As she turned her attention back to her console, Crys grimaced. This definitely was not going as planned.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

Haika was lead briskly my the woman (Isley, she was called, although whether this was a first, last, or stand-alone name, Haika knew not) to the command bridge of the ship Elegance. The crew that they passed cast him queer glances, sidelong glances. He knew that to them he must look a mixture of bounty hunter (there was something in the single slash of visor that called back to a certain Mandalorian warrior) and mythic creature. A true “knight in shining armor”, as the phrase went. However, they saw no weapons on him (although a few knew already that the man carried not one, not two, but three lightsabers), and so didn’t keep quite as much of a distance as they would have otherwise. Although, Haika noticed, they did keep some distance. Better safe than sorry.

He had always had a particular skill outside of fighting and the Force, and that was to be what he wanted people to see, to adapt and change. For much of his life, he had utilized this to remain invisible, to blend with crowds, to not be marked as special. He was a large man, and an impressive man when he wanted to be, but he could always disappear when the need be, just through pure self-molding, making himself something new. In another life, maybe he would have been an actor, should the Force not have touched him. Now, however, he made himself important. He wanted to stick out here. What these people needed was a warrior they could look up to. Haika could be that.

Isley eventually lead him, silently, to the command bridge. Once inside, Haika’s eyes darted out from behind his visor taking stock. Things weren’t good up here either, but there was one thing that seemed absolutely fine. Out of place was the perfect way of describing it. At the head of the room, where the viewport flared out and where she could look out upon all the officers who worked to keep the ships systems operating, was a woman. A very attractive woman, clearly of Tapani noble blood (her choice of dress hinted at this, but her bearing gave it away), stood as commander of this ship. Isley bowed to her as she turned.

Haika dropped to one knee. “My lady,” he said, bowing an armored head.

“That’s quite enough,” she said to Isley. Haika noted she was slower in bidding he himself to stand. “Stand, master Jedi.”

Haika was slightly tired of explaining he was not a Jedi, but did so anyways as he stood. “Not a Jedi, milady. Not anymore. You can call me Haika, if your mind tends to less formality. If not, Wanderer will do. Master Wanderer, if you wish to keep a Jedi epithet.”

“As you wish, master Wanderer.” The woman found this amusing, clearly, and there was a slight turning up of one corner of her mouth, quickly hidden, but not so quick that Haika didn’t catch it. It reminded him of Jenia when they had been to see his wife’s family. Controlled, but not so entirely that Haika (who knew her as the playful woman he hafallen in love with) couldn’t pick up on how her family affected he.

“As I wish,” Haika nodded. “Now you know what to call me, but I am unfortunately at a loss, Lady…”

“Helena,” she responded, “Helena of the House Pelagia.”

“Milady,” Haika said, bowing again. He bowed in a style he had seen in certain sections of the Galaxy (Tatooine came to mind), one foot ahead of the other, heel planted and toes pointing to the sky. His hands were held wide away from him, palms facing the noblewoman. He was bent almost double for a few moments, and then rose, hands once again returning to his sides. It took his foot a moment to follow suit.

“That’s more than suitable, master Wanderer,” Haika sensed Helena of Tapani was about to laugh, but the seriousness of the rest of the situation stopped her.

“You cry my aid?” Haika asked.

“I’d like to see the face of the man who offers help.” Helena said.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Haika reached up to remove his helmet. “You can learn much from a fa…”

Suddenly, Haika dropped to his knees, the words caught in his throat. It felt like a great weight had been placed on him.

Haika had been plagued by visions as far back as memory served, but it had been long since a true vision had come to him. Before Lorrd, or during? he thought. This was a true vision worse by far than any he had had since childhood. Worse even than those. Haika thought, Even Alderaan didn’t feel like this.

That was his last thought before the vision gripped him tight and drew him into the darkness.


She knelt before him. A man behind her. A blaster. A shot. Down she goes. Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down.

He now. He in crown. He standing in different place. He laughing. Laughing after her death? Yes, laughing. Standing with another. A great darkness. Similar, though.

He now. He in place with nothing. All white, no horizon, all white. No, not all white. Half white. Other half, black. Gray throne on black side, gray rock on white. Man on throne, man on rock. Both chained? Neither chained? Does it matter? Black creatures swirl behind gray throne. Nothing behind gray stone. War? Perhaps. Battle? Not quite. Matching, always matching.

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.


Haika awoke. He knew the smell of this place. It was not a med bay, but it was damn close. A room made to be a med bay? Likely.

He opened his eyes. The roof was not that of a Tapani ship. The Fallen Angel, then. Haika turned over. He was still armored, but his helmet stared back at him from a table next to the bed. Impassive. Impressive. Both.

Jax’s room, as there was no other bunks. Haika groaned and sat up.

“Well, there we are then,” Jax’s voice floated from the side away from Haika. Haika turned.

“I had a vision Jax.” Haika said.

“That, anyone with half a brain could tell,” Jax said, “damn well frightened everyone. They brought you to me, thought I could help. What the hell do I know of the Force? Damn well nothing! When we pried your eyes open, you had no pupils. They had shrunk down to nay but pinpricks. And your eyes were the wrong colour. They were…gray? No, but something like gray. Darker and lighter than gray at the same time. What was your vision of?”

“I’ll tell you, but first I need to know how long I was out.” Haika said.

“Three hours, give or take a minute or two.” Jax said.

“Too long for what I saw.” Haika replied.

“Perhaps,” Jax mused, “tell me.”

Haika recounted his vision.

“So,” Jax said when Haika concluded, “who are ‘he’ and ‘she’?”

“I’m not certain,” Haika whispered, “their faces didn’t exactly exist properly. But I have my guesses.”

“What then?” Jax asked.

“I think she is my wife, Jenia. And I think I am he…” Haika said, still whispering.

“You seem less fazed by that than I would be,” Jax pointed out.

“Don’t get me wrong, Jax,” Haika answered, “but I have experience with visions. I know that there are two things I can do…attempt to stop the vision and perhaps cause it in so doing, or let things come to pass. Yes, I am worried, but I have no choice in the matter. I can’t be the one to cause this, no matter what…”

Jax nodded slowly.

“So, what has happened in the last three hours?” Haika quickly changed the subject.

Jax brightened, “About an hour ago, another ship jumped in and offered help. Twenty minutes after that, a pirate ship showed up. There was a brief exchange. About half an hour ago, they started battling. They’re still fighting, but with the Tapani-folk operating at less than half strength, it’s up to this Clayr person, the commander of the new ship apparently helping us out, to lead the fight.”

“Us?” Haika asked.

Jax grinned. “You know who captains the ‘rates?”

Haika thought for a moment, brow furrowed. Suddenly, realization passed over his face. “No way…”

“A certain mutineer…”

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

Galaar Solus flashed through hyperspace, the white streaks of starlight providing a tunnel, at the end of which was glory. The quiet hum of the engines betrayed the speed and power that sent the ship hurtling like it’s namesake towards the end of that tunnel. Jax Tagren turned his brown eyes to the raven haired woman sitting in the pilot’s seat, “ET on dropping out of hyperspace, Banshee?”

The pilot’s nimble fingers tapped along the control panel, though her eyes remained fixed ahead, “Three minutes and twenty-sev… six seconds.”

Jax nodded, rising to his feet. The conflict in the Tapani Sector had not come as a surprise. Neither had it been a surprise that so many factions were lining up to take advantage. From the Noble Houses to Imperial Garrisons to Pirate groups, everyone wanted a slice of the Tapani pie; and that drew the Basilisks. Whichever side won there were credits to be made, perhaps more than credits if things went well. Step one was to acclimate yourself with the locals. Nobody liked pirates, and they didn’t pay well enough to make them an employer so it wasn’t hard to take out a contract on one of the local groups. It would make a nice gift, whichever side hired them.

Turning away from the front viewport, he walked through the sliding doors that separated the cockpit from the rest of the ship. Although little in Galaar Solus was original, the design of the Skispray Blastboat meant that space was still cramped. When the crew was not at their positions the only other place for them was the twenty-ton cargo hold that had been modified to hold their bunks and weapons. Comfort was not a priority on Galaar Solus, but the Basilisks were warriors, not tourists. The Basilisks themselves were hard as nails; a squad of Mandalorian Supercommandos, the finest warriors the galaxy had ever seen… and he would stand by that statement. Jax had personally trained the three other members of the squad; selecting them from a pool of one hundred volunteers and training for three years in the harsh jungles of Dxun. This marked their tenth year operating as a squad, each knew the other instinctively… he would put this group against an entire army and give good odds.

“Realspace in three, vode. Banshee will drop us on their sheb and we’ll take these chakaar down,” Jax stated calmly, giving a thin smile before his face disappeared behind the expressionless black helmet that he showed to the world, “Gear up.”

“Mar’e!”, Ash exclaimed, jumping down from the top bunk, “It’s about time!”

As the youngest member of Basilisk Squad, Bendik Ordo, was the closest thing to a hothead that could survive as a Mandalorian commando. Crewing the starboard side guns on the ship was his duty, but like all of them his pleasure came on the ground. As the finest demolitions expert Jax had ever seen, he got his tag, “Ash”, from his ability to reduce anything to that state.

From the bunk below him rose Jarg Bralor, “Ice”. It took only one glance from his cold, dark eyes to show the reason behind his tag. He flashed a white smile as he lowered his helmet over his face and walked to the portside guns. Ice was a warrior’s warrior. He was the biggest of the Basilisks by far and the best shot in the unit, which said a lot. You could count his kills by the number of bolts he had fired, because if Ice shot at something, it was dead. Outside of his armor he was a joker and something of a big brother figure to Ash, but once that helmet went down he became an emotionless, expressionless killing machine.

“Once again into the breach, vod?’, said the calm voice of Slicer, tapping his fist against his chest and bumping it against Jax’s. “Pirates won’t know what hit ‘em.”

Kal Mareel, “Slicer”, was an absolute genius in all technical and tactical matters. He kept the men patched up, the weapons in firing order, and the ship running smooth. There was not a security or computer system that he couldn’t master in time. Jax had known him longer than any of the others and it was an unspoken that he was the second in command of the squad. He walked with Jax back into the cockpit and took his place on the sensors.

“Hyperspace countdown, thirty seconds.”

Dala Tagren, “Banshee”, was his riduur and the squad’s pilot. They had been together for six years and although she was not a Supercommando, she was a Mandalorian warrior through and through. Utterly fearless, she pulled off maneuvers in Galaar Solus that made fighter pilots envious. When the squad was deployed she ran the entire ship off of the pilot’s controls, providing everything from close air support to extraction.

Jax settled into the co-pilots seat, running his hands across the firing controls. Jax Tagren, “Headhunter” with his helmet on, stared at the thin streaks of hyperspace; they were reaching the end of the tunnel…

Suddenly the streaks conglomerated into the tiny pricks of stars as the ship returned to realspace. The sight that greeted them was carnage. Battle raged all around them…

“Osik! Status report, Slicer,” Jax ordered calmly.

“Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser, Void Wing, it’s Herlock alright. We’ve got a badly damaged Tapani-class frigate, House Pelagia markings, transponder matches “Elegance”. Most of the fighting seems to be coming from the Centaur-class patrol cruiser, no matches yet.”

“ The enemy of my enemy… Banshee, get us into the fight. Weapons free, Basilisks. Oya!”

Galaar Solus leapt towards the Dreadnaught like an enraged animal charging a creature many times its size. Laser fire blazed across the blackness of space as the expertly wielded guns ripped into the uglies swarming through the area.

Jax watched with a grim satisfaction as their unexpected arrival caught the pirates by surprise. One after another the fighters began erupting into small balls of flame. Tapping a sequence into the control panel, he opened a comm link to the Elegance and Celestial Shadow.

“Attention all vessels, this is Galaar Solus. We’re currently engaging Void Wing dreadnaught and fighters. We’ll be in close proximity; do not attack us. I’m sending our ID code.”

“Headhunter,” Slicer’s voice interrupted quickly, “We’ve got company coming in; two CR90 corvettes dropping out of hyperspace behind the Elegance. Void Wings.”

“Attention Elegance,” Jax turned back to the comm, “You have a pair of pirate corvettes coming in on your six. We’ll stop one of them, but the other may get through. Prepare to repel boarders or otherwise attack at your discretion. Galaar Solus, out.”

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

“I thought that…” Haika began.

“That I had that bastard shoved into a cargo crate and then airlocked. Yeah, I thought so too, until a few months ago.” Jax finished.

“What the frak happened?” Haika asked.

“There must have been enough air and heat in that frakkin’ crate to let him live long enough for someone to pick him up.” Jax looked solemnly at Haika. “However he survived, he took over the ‘rates calling themselves Void Wings. Calls himself Corjeck now, but the last name is the same as ever. Herlock.”

“I bet he probably killed those ‘rates original captain and took them over himself.”

“Wouldn’t put it by him to kill in cold blood, pirate victim or not.” Jax replied.

“You want to take him out don’t you?” Haika had felt the raw anger held back only by Jax’s usual façade of calm. He once would have told him to avoid feelings like that, but now Haika knew that a healthy dose of anger could get things done, if it was controlled.

“I’d already have shot that bastard down by now if it wasn’t for wanting to see the bastard die this time. I need to know for sure that his corpse is cold.” Jax nodded.

Haika reached over and held his helmet in his hands, looking it in the visor. “I know how you feel.” He was thinking of the man who had killed his master. It must be the same for Jax. Herlock had shot Jax’s first mate, Maria, in the stomach. That’s all Herlock thought she was, a first mate, but Haika knew another tidbit about Jax, something he had kept hidden even from Maria. She had been his daughter.

Had been.

Jax hadn’t cared for her like a father. He had never raised her, maybe never loved her, but she was his daughter and that was a thing he understood. She had shared his blood, and Jax avenged any of his blood that was spilled. “Every drop,” he had once told Haika, before the events with Herlock had happened. Before Herlock had even joined his crew.

Jax looked at the wanderer. “I can believe that.”

Suddenly, a voice blared from the intercom of the Elegance, one of the few systems not damaged at all. “All remaining hands to port hangar bay, boarding crew landing. All remaining hands to port hangar bay, boarding crew landing.”

“All remaining hands?” Haika raised an eyebrow. Jax shrugged.

Haika placed the helmet over his head. “We’re already there. Wanna shoot some womprats?”

Jax grinned. “Never wanted to more.”

Haika grinned back, then realized Jax couldn’t see. He stood and ran out of the room, down the ramp and into the hangar, Jax on his heels. The captain was unholstering a blaster pistol that looked heavier than ordinary, and heavily modified. Haika gripped his violet-bladed sabers and activated them as he made his way down the ramp.

Indeed, a landing craft was settling in the hangar even as Haika hit the floor. A few Tapani soldiers stood ready. Haika rushed over to them. “Why are there so few of you?”

“Anyone who has ever been in a cockpit has been sent out there,” a trooper nodded out of the ship, “and everyone else is in med-bay or up on the bridge.”

“Matters little,” Jax responded, catching up. “You’ve never seen my friend here fight.”

By this point, the dropship had landed and opened far quicker than Haika would have thought. There was a moment of silence and then, as if from nowhere, twelve pirates ran from the ship, blasters flaring.

“Let’s go,” Haika whispered, tightening his grip on his lightsabers and dashing forward, using the Force to propel himself. Along the way he deflected two shots heading towards him. One flew back and hit the ground just before the shooter, and the second flew high, striking a loose cable near the roof, which severed, spitting electricity as it swung.

Haika entered the middle of the group, his sabers beheading one pirate and impaling another before they had time to turn towards him. A bolt from the Tapani soldiers (maybe even Jax) hit a third in the shin, dropping him to the ground. Haika followed up with a kick to the throat, the man’s windpipe shattering inwards. Haika could feel it, like stepping on a bundle of twigs. The man sputtered for a few moments, turned blue, and then fell forward into a twitching heap.

A fourth and fifth were picked off by the Tapani soldiers, but the other seven had dispersed, finding more advantageous positions. Three Tapani soldiers fell, two stone cold dead and the third wounded on his upper-thigh. Haika dashed forward to a pirate who had hidden himself behind a pile of crates. With a wave of his hand, Haika sent the crates toppling, but the ‘rate leaped from the falling pile, firing as he made a run for a peeled up section of floor that made for good cover. Haika made a wide arc as he ran, the shots missing cleanly, and leaped, his feet meeting wall and allowing him extra propulsion as he shot like a bullet towards the pirate.

Both Haika’s sabers passed through the man’s chest like a drill. Blood flooded the man’s eyes, and then he fell, his one weight causing the blades to sever him from chest to head. He slipped nearly in half, like a book. Haika made as if to retch, but caught himself, and then jumped over the peeled up floor panel.

Two more Tapani soldiers had been taken down, and another pirate lay in a crumpled pile on the floor near a ruined fighter. Two more pirates had made their way up a ladder and were laying down coverfire from a catwalk as their three compatriots dashed for a door leading towards the inner guts of the ship. Haika threw one saber high, severing a supporting bar of the catwalk. Already weakened (as was most of the ship) it swung down as if on hinges, throwing the pirates down. One landed on his head, shattering his skull and his neck. Blood drenched the area around his body. The second had grabbed onto the support bar of the catwalk, but couldn’t hold on forever. He fell, landing in his crewman’s blood. Haika heard a crack as both the pirate’s legs broke. The man cried out, but was knocked out by the hilt of Haika’s saber as it returned to the Force User’s hand.

The last three soldiers were easily taken out by the rest of the Tapani soldiers. Jax shot one in the back, whistling as if performing a chore as he did so. “Told ya, boys,” he said, then noticing two of the soldiers were women, “and girls. Haika’s an old hand at this type of thing.”

“That one’s only knocked out.” Haika gestured at the one with the broken legs. “Wanna keep him for questioning?”

Jax raised his pistol and shot the man in answer.

“That works too…” Haika said.


“Corjeck” Herlock watched as the remnants of the Tapani fleet made their way from behind the nearby moon. Three more ships, none of which was in working order for laying down more fire power.

“Looks like we get six for the price of one,” he said. “Strip them down when we’ve killed them. We can sell them for parts.”

Laserfire flew from the Void Wing cruiser and instantly tore through one of the ships in answer to the captain’s suggestion. The ship broke in two, already weakened by previous battles. One half (the one with the bridge) was sucked into the gravity of the moon. The other (the one with life support) was sent floating into space.

“Sir,” a pirate said. “That might be a little…assumptious of you. They’re beating as back in the air.”

“ ‘Assumptious’ isn’t a word, you idiot,” Herlock said, and shot a bolt into the man’s head. “Anyone else care to complain…good.”

“We’ll take them captain,” a pirate said.

“I like your attitude,” the captain said. “You get his job.”

He gestured to the corpse.

“We’ll have the day…” Herlock whispered.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

As the count down to real space continued The Gunners Jordy and Jamayle sat patiently in their seats hands ready on the triggers in case of trouble. Though the Jedi hoped that he was wrong he knew something was going on which made him more edgy as time went on. Eventually the timer finally came down the zero and the shuttle reverted back to real space. As soon as it did Jamayle was bombarded with a volley of emotions from the Force fear, death and desperation filled his senses and left him reeling with the effect taking it in all at once almost made him lose focus but once he regained it he quickly turned the safeties off on his turret and aimed for the nearest TIE ugly craft.

Outside his view port he noticed a huge battered looking dreadnought-class heavy cruiser slugging it out with another ship that hovered over the remains of the Tapani-class assault frigate the Elegance. " Pirates." Said the gunner down below as he fired at an approaching pirate fighter killing it in two shots.

Jamayle followed suit firing at two attacking fighters the first one was crippled as he fired at its engines when it was turning around for another pass. The second one wasn't so luckily killed as it tried a head on attack the quad lasers tore through its inferior armor like a lightsaber through the armor of an imperial trooper. Sending the unfortunate pirate pilot to a fiery end. Switching on the comm he then announced then broad casted a message to the Elegance.

" This is Shuttle Gamma-02D4 "Titan" to Elegance, Jedi Apprentice Jamayle Doyae' Williams to Lady Helena Douglass of House Pelagia. We are here to offer our assistance and I am ready to aid you on your battle. About five pirate fighters are in our way and we detect a bunch of shuttles heading to your location we'll be there to assist in a matter of minutes and Helena…Sorry I'm late.'"

Suddenly another voice com on over the comms this one of an older yet familiar female voice. " Well Its about time you arrived son i thought I would never get a chance to hear your voice again." Isley said in mock annoyance. Jamayle smiled as he heard the voice of his god mother a woman had hadn't seen in a long time. " Glad to hear from you again god mamma." he said joyfully before switching to a more serious tone. " Whats the situation down there are you alright is Helena okay?" he asked with concern in his voice.

" I am fine Jamayle." Said another familiar voice. " We have your message and informed are allies of who you are The few fighters that remain are heading to your position to escort you. Hurry the pirates have sent a boarding party and we have few men on board. Most or dead or in the medical bay or the hospital ship above us. We have another Force User on board that is aiding us but we could use the hand of another Jedi and Jamayle…Apology accepted." She added with hint of humor in her voice before the transmission switched out. Turning his focus back on the targeting computer he cycled it until it landed on a nearby X-Tie turning his turrets to face the fighter he let lose a fierce barrage of deadly laser bolts and then cycled through to the next fighter after he obliterated the first one. The next to fighters meet similar ends under his and Jordy guns leaving nothing but bits of debris fried fighter parts to drift in the endless void. Already their radars detected a number of small ships closing into the area most likely squib salvager's by the looks of things.

 After ten minutes of fighting two Manta-class fighters bearing House Pelagia symbols appeared and pulled alongside the shuttle together they flew into the thick of the battle and fired at any enemy fighter that deared come close. Once they where safely through the fighters peeled off and rejoined the battle while the shuttle made its way to what remained of the hanger. Quickly unhooking his seatbelt Jamayle jumped down from the turret seat and headed for the entery ramp quickly grabbing his lightsaber of his belt and activating his belt mounted shield he waited for the pilot to land the craft and held the weapon readily in both hands beside him Private Jordy and two other House Guards prepped their E-11 blaster carbines emotions of eagerness, edginess and bloodlust filled his minds which brought back memories of Jamayles old mission during the galactic civil war.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

A streak of green laser fire danced across the tail of the pirate DIE-wing, sending it spinning off into space. The rapid fire movements of the fighters on both sides could be staggering when compared to the slow and steady courses set by the capital ships that slugged it out just beyond the viewport of Galaar Solus. With the Void Wing flagship already engaged, the stealth insertion that had been planned was impossible. The arrival of the pirate corvettes had further shot the original plan down, thankfully it was the Mandalorian way to always have a Plan B… or C… if need dictate.

“Listen up, squad,” Jax’s voice cut through the static, “Plan One is a no-go. We can’t let the Elegance go down; House Pelegia is a potential customer and I don’t want us to lose too many options. Banshee, break contact with the Dreadnought and set course for the port corvette. Basilisks, prepare for Maneuver 81…”

Jax barely heard the chorus of confirmations that greeted his new order. Of all the plans in the Supercommando tactical arsenal Maneuver 81 was amongst the hardest to successfully execute. Used primarily by Republic Commandos during the Clone Wars, 81 required absolute coordination between every member of the squad and the pilot. It was difficult, but not impossible. The Basilisks had carried it off several times before, and he knew that, if nothing else, it would impress whoever was watching… and that could mean a big jump in credits.

Galaar Solus slid through the boiling cauldron of battle, dodging the large blasts of turbolaser fire that flashed between the capital ships and rolling between the debris that littered the area. With all the grace of Dreyberian hawk on the hunt, Banshee piloted the ship towards the CR90, until the larger ship filled the viewscreen. Jax tapped a couple of buttons on his control, slaving all ship systems to the pilot, and stood up. The next section was out of his hands…

Back in the cargo bay Jax geared up, grabbing his DC-17m. Clone War vintage the DC-17m remained the weapon of choice for the Basilisks, due it’s interchangeable weapons systems that made it everything from a sniper rifle to a anti-armor launcher. The ability to adjust to any situation made the weapon a favorite in the hands of the squad, who often had to do the same.

With a deep breath he stepped into the tiny decompression chamber on the starboard side of the ship. Barely large enough for the squad to stand in, it was one of the first alterations made in Galaar Solus. He looked about, Ash and Ice were already in the chamber, and Slicer would join them as soon as he finished the hacking code that would make or break this mission. Set off at the touch of a button, Slicer’s code would shut down the shielding systems on board the opposing ship for a brief window of time. It had worked numerous times in combat against far greater opponents that this pirate rabble… dropping the enemy shields was vital. Failure was death.

“We’re all in, Banshee,” Jax said, as Slicer appeared in the chamber door, giving a thumbs up sign. “Begin decompression, it’s all up to you now. Oya!”

For a moment all was silent except for the soft hissing of the chamber decompressing. Then came the sound of tapping, Ice beating out a cadence on the armor of his chest, one by one the Basilisks took up the cadence on their own armor, then, even in the cramped chamber, began to beat out the rhythm on the back of the warrior next to him. It was an ancient ritual, as old as the Mandalorians themselves. Soon their voices rose as one, in a battle chant that had frozen the hearts of countless enemies on a thousand worlds since the dawn of time.

“Kom'rk tsad droten troch nyn ures adenn.
Dha Werda Verda a'den tratu,
Manda'yaim kandosii adu.
Duum motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.”

The final words were still in their throats when the outer doors slid open with a hiss, revealing the void of space. Directly across from them, perhaps thirty yards away hung the pirate corvette, a small hole, eight feet across, blasted in its side, the result of a concussion missile launched at the instant their shield’s fell. Ice slapped Ash on the back and the two dove out of the ship. Jax turned to Slicer knocking their fists to together and leapt out into the emptiness.

Each commando knew his armor like himself, he knew its limits, and he knew its capabilities. Although the Mandalorian armor was not created for survival in space for long periods, its construction made it possible to remain depressurized for short times. Likewise the small jets of air that made it possible to move, similar to an ARC trooper, were something that had to be known by the warrior as well as anything. Trying to hit an eight foot hole in the vastness of space, where a miss meant a slow and lonely death, was not to be attempted by novices.

One by one the Basilisks reached the hole and entered the enemy ship. Jax was the last to enter; making certain that the others has safely arrived. The sound of an electric hum, coupled with a pale blue light in the hole behind them showed the shields were back online. A split second later and the jumpers would have been disintegrated by the shield’s power. He breathed a sigh of relief, from here on in, it was pure hunting. Ash was already engaged in spreading a thin layer of plasticene on the interior wall of the corridor in which they had landed. With the ship sealing off this section of the ship due to the breach, it was imperative to get out of this area with as little additional damage as possible to keep their presence a secret.

After ten seconds the plasticene had burned enough to allow a quick kick to grant them passage into the adjacent room. Sealing the door behind them, they were finally inside the ship and pressurized again. Jax tapped his helmet and pointed down the corridor, sending Slicer and Ash towards the shield generator. Meanwhile, he and Ice stealthily made their way towards the power plant in the rear of the ship. With all the pirate hands on battle stations and doubtlessly preparing a boarding party for the Elegance, it was quick and quiet going. Due to the prevalence of the CR90 in the galaxy, schematics were readily available and such large systems as generators and power plants were not easily moved, regardless of the other upgrades made to the ship.

Jax and Ice paused for a second outside of the door to the power plant. So far it had all been quiet, that was about to change…

“Let’s keep it quiet as long as we can, Ice. Oya, vod.”

Pivoting quickly the door slid open with a hiss. The commandos broke, Jax right, Ice left, with a drilled precision that was awesome to behold. A quick scan showed only a half dozen or so visible pirates, most undoubtedly were gearing up in the hanger and manning the guns. Jax vaulted the railing to the floor six feet below, landing knee first into the spine of one pirate that had been looking the other way. Hooking his hands beneath the pirates chin he jerked upwards, rewarded with an audible crack that gave first blood to the Mandos.

In an instant he was up and running into a group of three that still stood with their mouths open at their sudden appearance. He grabbed the first by the hair, slamming him face forward into the wall with a sickening thud. Retaining his hold on the first, he launched himself forward kicking the second in the groin which caused him to crumble to the ground. The third had barely reached his pistol, when Jax came down on him with an elbow to the jaw the sent him sprawling. Raising his foot, he brought it down on the base of number three’s skull with a crunch, before diving back onto number two and jamming his thumbs down onto his throat. All was silent.

Jax turned to see another two lying across the floor at Ice’s feet, their necks twisted at awkward angles. He held his palm up for silence, all movement froze. A second… all quiet… his hand clenched into a fist. The two commandos sprang towards the humming power plant, each removing and setting a charge upon the sides of the generator. The detonation would cause a huge meltdown in the core, resulting in the ship being torn apart from the inside out… it was art; this ship the canvas, the Basilisks the painters.

“Status report,” Jax spoke quietly.

“Charges set, all quiet,” Slicer’s voice crackled over the comm.

“Pull back to extraction point.”

Jax slid back into the corridor, leaving the grisly room behind him. With Ice on his six, the two made their way quietly and quickly through the winding corridors back towards the location that they had entered the ship. Only once did their hearing enhanced helmets detect movement coming towards them; one pirate, separated from the herd, walked unknowingly into the path of the predators and was dispatched before he knew what happened. When they reached the corridor through which they entered the ship they saw their brothers waiting for them already.

“Get us out of here, Banshee…”

“Elek, vod. Be right there.”

The sight of Galaar Solus pulling alongside was a welcome one. The streaks of laser fire running between her and the corvette they were aboard were both beautiful and deadly.

“Get rid of these shields, Ash,” Jax ordered.

Grabbing his detonator, Ash punched the button. They were rewarded with a muffled explosion from deep within the ship. The shields flickered once and then died. Rotating the ship, Banshee opened up with everything on board, knocking out turrets and blisters all along the side of the ship.

“Make the jump, vode, we’ll see you on the other side.”  

One by one the Supercommandos leapt again into the void, using their jets to return to the decompression chamber on board Galaar Solus. Jax took a final look around and then dove through the breach and into the vastness of space. He fingered the detonator in his hand as he steered himself towards his own ship. The range of the detonators had always been the toughest part about this maneuver. He ran through the distances in his head… it was going to be close. Steadily the Solus grew larger. Soon he would be out of range, it was now or never. He punched the detonator.

They say in space no one can hear you scream. That’s a lie.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

Gandel sighed and resisted the urge to fidget. They were keeping him waiting… and they were doing it on purpose. He smiled a little, knowing it was a trick often used by those who wanted to impress their importance upon a guest. He'd even used it himself, on occasion, though only on people who truly irritated him.

"Sir," the pilot called from the shuttle's cockpit, "We've just received confirmation from traffic control. Major General Corvae's shuttle is on approach. ETA is two minutes."

Gandel nodded. Shortly after his fleet's arrival, a message had come in from the Imperial garrison on Tallaan. A representative from Gandel's fleet was to take a shuttle to a set of designated coordinates, sans fighter escort, and await the arrival of a representative from the garrison. It had all struck Gandel as needlessly complex and more than a little paranoid, but he'd agreed. Agreed and informed them that it would be no mere representative from the 105th. Gandel himself would go.

It was the only proper thing to do, he reasoned. He was not afraid of his fellow Imperials. He was here to render assistance, and nothing showed more goodwill than meeting with them himself. He'd hoped the garrison would respond in kind, and sure enough he was about to meet their commanding officer. Well, that's what they claimed. It remained to be seen if this Corvae fellow actually showed up in person.

The pilot once again called back into the main cabin - Corvae's shuttle was about to dock. This, Gandel knew from experience, was a tricky situation. Deep space rendezvous involving small craft had been the subject of several lectures during his academy days. While those days had begun to go fuzzy around the edges, he did recall the immense amusement of himself and his classmates during the holographic demonstration of shuttles docking. It looked, he remembered, something like an awkward mating ritual between two large, inflexible metal birds.

From a more practical standpoint it was thankfully easier than it looked. Flight computers were truly a blessing of modern spaceflight, and quite often all a pilot had to do was initiate the sequence from a distance then watch for any warning lights.

There was a small shudder as the shuttles connected, followed by brief chatter between the pilots. "We are docked," the pilot called back. "Corvae and his escorts are coming aboard." Smoothing out a wrinkle in his uniform, Gandel glanced at the two stormtroopers who protocol dictated be present. They stood silent and resolute, impenetrable in their white armor. He favored them with a smile nonetheless and turned his attention back to the cabin's only door.

The first people to come through were Corvae's own guards, the escort the pilot had mentioned. Unsurprisingly they wore the same pristine white armor as Gandel's own stormtroopers, and he imagined the two pairs sizing one another up through their visors. Who stood more stiffly? Who's blaster was held at the more precise angle? Gandel stood, preparing to meet his own opposite number, preparing to size him up just as the stormtroopers were no doubt doing.

He was not expecting the woman that stepped through the door. It was enough of a surprise to give him pause. He saw it in her eyes when she noticed that pause, and he could tell it gave her a measure of amusement. No one had ever mentioned that Major General Corvae was a woman. No doubt they had omitted this fact on purpose, and he had been appropriately taken off guard. He couldn't decide if this made him annoyed, or if it gave him a new measure of respect for the Imperials of Tallaan. Either way, it was time to get things started.

"Major General Corvae, I presume?" he asked as he belatedly began to analyze her. She was, he had to admit, attractive. Ivory skin, dark hair, tall and athletic… she wore her uniform well. But it was her eyes that really drew his attention. There was a hard look in them, something that spoke of discipline and an iron will.

"Admiral Gandel," she replied. He didn't miss the stress she placed on the word admiral. So they had looked him up, then. That would make things more… interesting. He had hoped that nobody of significant rank would be in charge, thus giving him claim to command. A major general, however was roughly equivalent to Gandel's rank of admiral. True, it would be more level with a rank such as rear admiral, but when it you get that close and factor in actual forces commanded it pretty much ceases to matter. And then there would be the matter of Gandel's promotion from to admiral from senior captain, an event which took place in the Unknown Regions with Thrawn. It would no doubt be absent from any databank Corvae had access to.

"I'm glad you could meet with me, general. We've got a lot to talk about." He gestured to the cabin's cramped seating arrangements. Given the ship's usual role as a staff transport, it had a small table flanked by several seats. Not exactly the opulence one would expect from an admiral's personal shuttle (Gandel still regretted the loss of his personal shuttle on the Decimation), but it would do.

"Yes, we do." Corvae slid into a seat on the opposite side, folding her hands together on the table. "We can start with why you've suddenly decided to show up at Tallaan after being gods know where for the past decade. It all seems very convenient."

"I'd like to say that's a long story, but it's really not." He shrugged, deciding it would serve no purpose to lie. "As your research has no doubt shown, my fleet was attached to Thrawn. He left me to guard territory he'd annexed for the Empire in the Unknown Regions. When he didn't come back, and after I'd gotten tired of waiting, I gathered my fleet and headed for home."

"Your fleet," Corvae repeated, the implication clear.

"Yes. The Unknown Regions aren't exactly a resort destination. There were casualties. Admiral Quatarn was among them." He carefully neglected to mention the fact that Quatarn, former commander of the 105th, had attempted to mutiny against Thrawn. "I was deemed fit to take his place."

"I see."

"Anyway, when I got back I ran into the New Republic. Needless to say, it wasn't the warm welcome home I'd been expecting." He smiled thinly. "As for why I'm here…" he met Corvae's gaze, hoping to match their steel. "You need me."

"I don't remember asking for any help," Corvae said coldly. "I think you're here, admiral," again the emphasis, "Because you saw an opportunity. I think you've been off playing warlord and it hasn't worked out. And I will be damned if I let you use my troops for your own ambitions."

"My ambitions are to see the Empire restored," Gandel countered.

"Yourself in command of it all, no doubt," she interjected. Gandel ignored her.

"And you don't need to ask for help, general, it's all over the news vids. The Imperial Remnant has hung you out to dry. There aren't any reinforcements coming, and your own forces have been depleted as officers and troops desert to join one Tapani Noble family or another, taking valuable equipment with them."

He straightened in his chair, going for as much presence as he could, "The Empire, or what's left of it, has given up far too many times while I've been gone. They've all but abandoned their war with the New Republic, and they're losing ground every day, cutting loose system after system because they don't have the stomach to fight for them any more. I do. I've been at war with the New Republic since the day I got back. I've lost ships and men, but I'm not ready to give up. Not yet. Yes, general, I saw an opportunity… an opportunity to help Imperials left behind by the Remnant. To try and hold a sector and show the galaxy that we won't just roll over and die like the Empire has been doing for too long now."

"The Empire used to mean something, general. Something good, something positive. Not the monsters they've made us out to be. I aim to bring some honor back to the Empire, to bring back Imperial order, because the galaxy needs it. So I'll say it again, general. You need me. You need my ships, and you need my crew to help defend against the Tapani Nobles or the New Republic, or whoever will eventually decide that they want Tallaan for themselves. Unlike those who have deserted already and those who have yet to do so, my fleet and I have one loyalty," he stabbed the table with his finger, "To the Empire. To our fellow Imperials. And I will be damned if I let yet another beacon of hope be swallowed by the darkness of chaos."

Silence descended on the shuttle, echoing loudly in Gandel's ears as he finished speaking. He'd gotten a little carried away, he thought. But then, he'd meant it all. Corvae sat across the table, eyes drilling into him. He thought he saw the corner of her mouth twitch up in a smile, but then it was gone. "That's quite the speech," she said at last. "I especially liked the 'beacon of hope' and 'darkness of chaos' at the end." Now she did smile, though it didn't seem as mocking as Gandel would have thought. It was the creasing of the skin around her eyes that softened it.

"Yes," Gandel actually had to fumble for an answer. "Well. I never claimed to be a poet."

"And a good thing, too. Well, you've at least managed to convince me that you're on our side." Now her demeanor changed again, hardening once more as if her moment of softness had never happened. "But make no mistake admiral," for the first time the word held no sarcastic tinge, "I am in charge here. Despite your rank, and however you managed to acquire it, this is my command. I will not brook any question of that fact."

"I understand. However, you must understand that I have been used to a great degree of operational freedom this past decade… and while I came here to help, I didn't come here to be kept on a leash."

"I'm sure we can work out an appropriate arrangement," Corvae agreed. "One that benefits us both." She stood, and Gandel followed suit. "I'll have space set aside at our orbital facilities, your fleet may dock there as needed. I'll also want to follow this up with additional meetings do discuss operational procedure and how to best make use of your forces. Welcome back to the Empire, admiral. And welcome to the 1st Tapani Assault Battlegroup." She favored Gandel with a salute, which he returned, and made for the exit. She stopped when she reached it, turning to face Gandel once more. "And admiral? Thank you for coming." And then she was gone, her guards following after.

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

Somewhere in the Tapani Sector

---

"Jari, We're getting a lot of mass con alarms on this track, think we should drop into normal space, get a sighting and see if the navcomp can plot a cleaner path?" Miki suggested as yet another alarm went off and the autopilot adjusted course to avoid the new hazard.
"Sounds good to me, those alarms are starting to get real annoying. Let's get up to the flight deck and get back to normal space." The two tall blonds head up to Trident's flight deck and dropped Trident into real space. While Jari was setting up the navcomp to recompute the trip from their present position, Miki was checking to see if there was any new info on the current situation in the sector.
"Jari, Think that load of portable heavy weapons will help House Pelagia keep it together?" Miki asked while searching the news & info channels, including some that civil craft aren't supposed to be able to receive.  "It has to be of some help since Mecetti has conned some of the other houses line up against Pelagia they have been having a rough go of it trying protect their worlds while also trying to kick Mecetti out of their space things have been a bit rough for them."
"It may have got even rougher, I missed the dateline but a report said that Pelagon had been bombed from orbit, isn't that where we were heading?"
"It was but with that report I don't think it would do any good to continue since I highly doubt the starport is in any shape to receive any ships of decent size so we'll have to resort to the secondary plan which will require a course replot since that world is some good distance from Pelagon." Jari turned back to the comp to clear the previous entry and start the new one.

"Hold on that Jari, I'm getting an automated distress call, here are the numbers" Miki transfered the coordinates to Jari's screen and she sent them to the comp, which chewed on them for a bit then came up with a course that was quickly implemented.
"Since those weapons weren't designated a 'without delay' cargo, they will have to wait a little longer since distress calls are more important."

Trident dropped out of hyperspace near the fight and quickly moved to a safer area to avoid being shot at by anyone, while Trident's shield can take anything a fighter can carry, starship class weapons are a different story.
"Transponder codes ID the crashed ship as 'Elegance' "Jari  told Miki  "You call them while I go get my armor on, looks like I might be needing it"
"Will do. You know, sometime I'd like to find some blaster proof armor because that last shootout we got into I spent more time ducking than I did shooting, envro suits are not resistant to any weapon except a stunner."
"We'll have to look into that, I know some people that maybe able to come up with something. I'd hate to loose you to some goon that gets a lucky shot."
"I'd hate for that to happen too, for purely personal reasons. Since you're not a full Jedi you couldn't bing me back to to life."
"There is that too but first things first, we have assistance to render."
"Right, You go armor up and I'll call what's left of Elegance".
"Elegance, Elegance, This is Trident calling. We picked up your distress call and are prepared to render aid and assistance. The owner of this ship is a former Marine therefore well trained in combat and has her own battle armor. We also have a Wookie engineer who can fix most anything. We await your answer."

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

As soon as they entered the hanger blaster shots wildly sailed past him and struck the hull of the shuttle. With lightsaber in hand Jamayle brought his blade into a defenses position and was able to block the forth shot sending it directly back to its shooter. "One hell of a homecoming." he thought as he quickly rushed toward one of the turned over durasteel crates.

 Behind him his two guards traded shots with the pilots managing to kill at least two of them. Though it was clear the pirates had the upper hand by keeping the guards pinned down. Summoning the force into his legs Jamayle kneel down then swiftly sprung upwards catapulting himself into the air pointing his blade down wards he descended toward a nearby Human wearing a tatter tunic and bandoleers. Before the pirate could react the blade plunged straight through his neck killing him instantly.

Pulling his blade out from the deceased buccaneers neck Jamayle turned to face the others and lifted his weapon to block the incoming shots. His distracted helped the two guards reach the safety of the overturned crate he was behind just seconds ago now protected the two returned the favor and began firing at the pirates.

 Deflecting the now wild and inaccurate shots with his blade Jamayle advanced on the pirate. The mon-calamari backed away firing his twin blasters in a futile attempt to hold him off but in the end it proved useless. With his shield catching most of the shots he failed to deflect Jamayle was able to get up close to the pirate. With one swift motion he lifted his blade over his hand and brought it down upon the pirate slicing the space bandit in half.

"Two down and more to go." He thought to himself as he turned to face the next wave. "One hell of a homecoming indeed."

All across the hanger shots, explosions and fire filled the atmosphere of the already ruined landing bay. Keeping his blade firmly held in both of his hands Jamayle rushed toward the incoming mob and began to slash away.

Behind him his two guards had continued to lay down covering fire which helped in the long run. But still a few pirates boldly or perhaps foolishly tried to face him though many ended up either with missing limps or bisected on the dirty durasteel floor most still persisted. "Get the Jedi scumbag!" cried one as he swing the butt of his rifle at him. Ducking under the swing Jamayle slashing upwards taking his right arm clean off the pirate pulled back and cried in pain before turning to shot him at point blank but unfortunately for him Jamayle was faster and thrust his blade through his abdomen. "Gahhh!"

Pulling his blade out of the dead pirates stomach Jamayle turned to face the next attacker but when he saw the gungan holding a frag grenade he immediately began running for cover. "Guys hit the duck!" he yelled

Re: The Noble Wars: Tapani Civil Wars (Open)

"Officially," Corvae was saying, "We're still under orders from Imperial Naval Command to hold Tallaan and maintain order in the Tapani Sector." She followed the statement with a derisive huff. "You can see how well that's worked out."

Gandel nodded gravely, shifting his weight and resting both elbows on the conference table, fingers steepled. "It's unfortunate, but from the force lists you've shown me I'm not surprised. The Empire never had enough troops in the sector to hold it down against an armed rebellion."

"They didn't need to," Corvae responded. She was standing, pacing around the room. Whether it was to make herself more imposing or simply because she had to fidget, he couldn't tell. "All they needed here was a reminder of what could be called upon at a moments notice. With the Empire at it's height, nobody dared rebel. Well, not here anyway," she added with grimace. "But that's besides the point." Touching a control pad built into the conference table, she brought up a holographic map of the Tapani Sector. Another touch, and Imperial outposts and troop concentrations were highlighted.

"We've lost over half of our forces to defection or desertion. Those who didn't defect were mostly overrun." She tapped at the controls, turning the majority of the highlighted positions from Imperial green to rebel red. "Those that survived quickly withdrew to more fortified positions, mostly within the Free Worlds territories although there are some in the more pro-Imperial noble territories. Tallaan is our largest citadel, the greatest concentration of our forces and our most fortified position in the sector."

It reminded Gandel of his time in the Unknown Regions. An isolated military detachment, cut off from reinforcement and facing hostiles everywhere it went. At least Tallaan had shipyards. If they could keep supplied with raw materials they could replace lost starfighters with ease and, given time, repair any damage sustained by their capital ships.  

"Supplies won't be an issue," he told Corvae. She no doubt knew this already, but it helped him think to say it anyway. "We're right on a major trade route. Is the Empire sending anything your way?"

Corvae nodded. "They're still providing us with supply lines, at least. Food, medical supplies, equipment. They just won't commit to sending any more troops or ships."

"Not officially."

Corvae gave him a curious look. "Officially or not, if they don't have the forces necessary to pacify the sector they can't send them."

"No, I meant that the Empire can send us reinforcements, they just won't be in the Imperial Navy yet." Seeing that Corvae was not following his train of thought, Gandel decided he'd better clarify. "Recruitment. I mean we can start recruitment drives in the Empire, or here in Tapani, or across the galaxy even."

Corvae immediately started to object. "The time and effort required to train those recruits-"

"Yes, I know," Gandel admitted, holding up a placating hand. "It will take time and effort. But we're going to need those people. You said it yourself, most of the Imperial forces in this sector are gone. We're outmanned and outgunned, and while Tallaan might have sufficient forces to deter an outright attack, that won't be a deterrent forever. We'll have to go on the offensive at some point anyway, and that will incur casualties. If it comes down to a war of attrition, we're going to lose."

Corvae was forced to agree. She'd seen the situation in much the same light herself, though she'd pinned her hopes on somehow convincing the Empire to send her the troops she needed. But it was looking more and more like that wasn't going to happen, and she refused to simply give up. "Ok," she said, "I'll grant you that. But that will still take time. Until then, we need a more immediate way to reinforce ourselves." She slid into the chair across from Gandel, who pulled back from the table and folded his hands in his lap. "The pro-Imperial noble houses are the best way to do that. They haven't been too happy with us since we've pulled back to avoid the worst of this mess, but they're the closest things we've got to allies in Tapani." She grabbed a datapad from nearby and began making notes on it. "Draw up a plan for this recruiting scheme of yours, including provisions for training anybody who actually joins up. Now, about putting your ships to use in the short term."

"I was thinking of hitting enemy supply lines," Gandel offered. "Make it harder for them to wage war… if nothing else, it will prolong the conflict. Keep them fighting one another and not focusing on us."

"Actually, I had something more immediately effective in mind."

"Oh?" Gandel raised an eyebrow.

"Since the start of the conflict, piracy has skyrocketed. We've especially noticed the effect on our supply lines. Whether they're just being opportunistic or they're trying to undermine out ability to support ourselves, it's got to stop."

"I see."

"I know you came here for something a bit more than that, but right now it's a prime concern."

"Then might I make a suggestion?" Corvae nodded her assent. "Don't just limit it to our supply lines. Send forces to clear the hyperspace routes between us and our potential allies. It will engender good will, and a little propaganda about 'Imperial Order' never hurt, either."

"Very well. I'll also be assigning you a new ship. You may not be familiar with the class, as they were introduced shortly after you were deployed to the Unknown Regions. It's called an interdictor cruiser…"