o.o.o.o.o
If one could pick between Thellus and Tawa for a place they would rather live, many Clan Askar Bothans and the humans who lived among them would have picked Tawa.
Smaller than Thellus, the asteroid habitat also boasted a lower population and a correspondingly lower crime crate.
This made it a relatively desired destination for many within the Dressel Belt and, accordingly, immigration from Thellus was highly competitive.
Though given the overall state of the Dressel Belt and how impoverished it was, 'lower crime rate' was relative.
Nonetheless, the competition between the two asteroid colonies continued. Though Thellus was more politically important given the presence of Fort Otrek, several consulates, and the Grum's offices and primary residence, Tawa officials were not above making scenes from time to time.
Such as having a Republic Navy warship dock at its priority berth...
o.o.o.o.o
Kelia Los'ean
Tawa, Dressel System
Kelia, backed by a quartet of Clones led by Sabre, stepped up to airlock hatch leading to the connector from Tawa's main port.
The pressurized hatch slid open to allow the party to egress off the ship.
On the other side of the door were a quartet of 2-meter tall Bothans, three of them clad in security grade RIS armor.
Standing with them was an equally tall individual in traditional Bothan administrative garb that she recognized as the asteroid's port administrator, Fen Ver'skar.
She only knew who he was because he was one of her father's cousins, and in turn Kelia's first cousin once removed.
Why that was the proper terminology, she had no idea.
Sabre glanced at his men and watched them shift nervously before turning his own gaze forwards. It was clear that none of them really knew how to react to Bothans being taller than they were, especially after a day or so of interacting with far shorter members of the species born on standard grav worlds.
The dark furred Bothan smiled as he recognized Kelia, but quickly put on an all business face. "While under normal circumstances, we'd welcome you to Tawa…" He said in formal basic, a practiced response from any member of Clan Askar that interacted regularly with those that didn't speak Askar Creole.
She smiled at him politely as she replied. "But these aren't normal circumstances. I am aware of that cousin Fen." Kelia stated in basic, the Clones looking at eachother in surprise at the revelation.
He nodded at her and gestured for her and the Clones to follow, the party making their way past a marking labeled DOCKING TUBE 5/САСАК КОНЕКОМАТ Aл in both Aurebesh and Botha Cyrillic, some long-faded Cyrillic indicating the tube had gone by another name before the contention.
After a few minutes of walking, the small group finally reached the port admin office. As they did so, Fen pulled Kelia aside and spoke to her in Bothese. ["I wish to talk to you, cousin."]
She blinked and gave him a look. ["Alone?"]
"Kiz. Nomid panam kasruk usmu." ["Yes. Without our guards."]
The spaceport police officers shifted nervously upon hearing Fen's last statement.
For their part, the Clones seemed none the wiser. Though Kelia caught Sabre and Rori looking at the spacer Bothans after noticing their body languages.
Vex, by contrast seemed to have noticed nothing, just like the other two troopers.
Kelia nodded and gestured at her men to stay put before allowing Fen to lead her into the office, Ver'skar's secretary looking at them as they passed through the antechamber.
"Welcome back gir." She stated in a more 'formal' dialect of Askar Creole.
Fen nodded at her. "You too Mithir. Please make sure nobody interrupts us. Kiz?"
"Kiz gir." ["Yes sir."] She acknowledged, Kelia tipping her officer's cap at the grey-brown patched female as she followed her cousin into the office.
o.o.o.o.o
The moment the door slid shut, Fen sighed and sat down in his office chair. ["I hate to say this... But you've put us in quite the situation cousin. Us referring to our people in general."] He informed Kelia as she stood there in the relatively plain room, which was about as typical for a port authority office as one could get.
["What? How?"] She asked in Bothese, fur rippling anxiously.
He sighed and waved his hand dismissively. ["Politics, few Bothans are fond of Republic warships being in our space. Less so now that the CIS is demanding we grant them greater access as well."]
There was a moment of pause, as the dark-furred male thought about what he should tell her. ["Not that anyone actually wants to give the Seps access since they only border us at Dalaang. Still, the pressure is coming down since both Torolis and Bothawui have had multiple incidents with patrols in that region since the war started."] Fen explained as he settled into his seat. ["To say nothing of the Shadowfeeds."]
["Shadowfeeds?"] Kelia inquired warily.
There was a visible frown on Fen's face as he began to speak again. ["CIS HoloNet alternative from all appearances, they seem to be using Banking Clan comms relays to piggyback onto the 'legitimate' HoloNet signals from what I've heard."] Her cousin informed her, pausing to check something on his terminal for a moment. ["Their inaugural message nearly caused a major economic crisis after some Lurmen began dumping trillions worth in legit creds on Coruscant, which seemed innocent enough before San Hill interrupted an official broadcast to claim it was in goodwill for the people of the Republic and everyone started panicking. Don't even ask how bad the Zav fell for a moment after that debacle."] He groaned, remembering that bit of panic in the markets. ["We're lucky that the speculators were brought under control and the Chancellor took decisive action, otherwise it would have been a disaster."]
Kelia frowned, Muuns never parted with money without a good reason. Even if the creds were legit, there was no way to trust that Hill truly meant well.
She was also equally disturbed it had taken her this long to hear of such a damaging event despite it having happened mere days ago.
Still, she felt reassured that Chancellor Palpatine had stepped in to resolve the crisis where the banks and Senate had likely failed.
Fen continued, now a bit softer. ["Closer to home though, the Separatists have begun disseminating defamat here in Bothan Space to cause unrest."]
He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. ["Several ranking members of many leading clans, all of whom are conveniently pro-neutrality or pro-Republic, are currently being investigated for poor conduct. It's already caused a massive stir on Bothawui after Liska Gyar'trek was forced to retire and step down as Otrek Grum after her 'methods' of military discipline came out."]
Kelia frowned but said nothing in response. There was a reason she tended to ignore Bothan politics. It was messy and somehow even stupider than anything involving the Galactic Senate.
She wasn't surprised about Gyar'trek though, the only Bothan she knew of who was possibly scarier than the Otrek Grum was one of her great aunts one her mother's side.
Few pureblooded Bothans, male or female, could claim to have defeated a Shistavanen in a drunken fistfight before building a relationship with them that ended in one of their grandchildren becoming Clan Aean's current Aliit'alor.
Ver'skar then gestured at the wall, the movement catching Kelia's attention, with his hand pointing roughly in the direction of where the Kestrel was berthed. ["You on the other hand have caused almost as much of an uproar, somehow. Especially among the Onels and Tannens. Nobody was expecting an Aean to be the first Bothan to take command of a major Republic warship. This has reheated their already tense relations with your clan given Torolis's isolationist stance. I give it another week before the Marshals have to step in to de-escalate another border incident."]
Kelia frowned, she knew her assignment would be controversial at home, but not this much, and of course she didn't expect old rivalries to act up again. ["And now the Torolisian Navy is thumping its chest here since a whole bunch of Republic ships just showed up."] She finished for him.
He nodded. ["They're aggravated by the fact you're even here, so expect them to harass your vessel at least once as a measure of saving face."] Fen warned her. ["There's more reasons their ships are here than just returning their clanmates back to Torolis."]
She nodded at him. ["Thank you for the warning, cousin."]
He waved it off. ["Consider it on the house for being family. Even discounting your father's blood, our clans are bonded through the sole fact that Aean were the only ones outside Torolis to take pity on our state after…"]
["After Dressel."] Kelia finished for him.
Sov'skar closed his eyes and gently nodded. ["Indeed…"]
Kelia let the matter drop, the Dressel contention was a touchy subject for many Askars. Especially those who were part of the Bothan supremacist cults.
She hoped Fen wasn't in that latter party but who knew.
When he opened his gold-flecked eyes again, Fen sat up straighter in his seat. ["Now, on to business… We're currently transferring as many of the passengers and the crew of the Memory of Kad'shtarn to other vessels for transit to their destination."]
Seeing Kelia nod in understanding, Fen continued. ["Tawa, while a capable habitat, just cannot handle a sudden influx of thirty-thousand new beings without preparation. We're not as large as Thellus and we don't have much in the way of food or atmosphere to spare at the moment, not with the main habitation sectors currently using the reserve air scrubbers while the main cleaning units are replaced. We could make efforts to try and house them on our sister colony, but... Unless they're Askars or Clanless I expect they'll find transport to their clanworlds or elsewhere in short order."]
He paused for a moment before adding something to the end. ["Were the situation different we would love to give you the chance to make a proper port of call though."]
Kelia rolled her eyes. Aside from the obvious bullshtak of not wanting to deal with non-Askar Bothans longer than was necessary for either personal or political reasons, it was obvious Fen also wanted to have her crew come visit the fancier Tawa brothels, which had a rivalry with their more numerous Thellus counterparts.
Which reminded her of a question she'd had occasionally...
Did the Clones even get paid? Hopefully they did, because the implications were not something she was sure she could stomach.
["Right… Okay, so how do we speed up the process reasonably?"] She asked, only moderately comfortable because Fen was family and thus less liable to use anything against her. ["I have a timetable of my own, as much as I'd like to take the unloading of beings and cargo slowly."]
["Well…"] Fen leaned back in his chair. ["Honestly, there's not much you can do. Admittedly it should be done when it's done."]
She sighed and leaned back in her own seat, conceding defeat on the matter. ["Right…"]
Clasping his hands ahead of him Fen cocked his head at her as he noticed Kelia's expression. ["Something else you need?"]
She looked up, realizing she had an out. ["Actually yes… I want you to send a message back to Krant… Tell my family I'm alright. I would do it myself, but we have a departure schedule to adhere to. And well, opsec prevents me from issuing any transmissions while underway."]
He nodded at her as they stood up. ["Alright. We can do that. But first... Well... I do believe there is a press conference that I would like you to accompany me to regarding the convoy battle, it shouldn't take much longer than the time required to unload the civilians."]
Kelia's fur rippled anxiously and she knew Fen had her in a trap.
Either she went to the conference and nearly made a fool of herself, or she didn't go and seemed indifferent.
["I'll have to ask for approval."] Kelia said strategically, smiling enough to show off her white teeth.
Fen smiled back. ["Then by all means."] He told her.
She sighed internally, Admiral Zsinj was going to hate this.
o.o.o.o.o
The two Bothans exited the office and gestured for their guards to follow them.
Peeking out of the office doorway, Mithir smiled as she watched them leave for the interview.
Almost unnoticed, Vex walked next to the doorway as he passed and discreetly handed her a datadisk, at which point she retreated back into the antechamber and pulled out a Hush-98 Comlink.
Pressing the transmit button, Mithir spoke as she held it up to her mouth. ["This is Agent Septoid, I've made contact with Asset Ha Sasak and have acquired drop one, will transmit data ASAP."] She reported.
o.o.o.o.o
Kelia remembered once again how much she hated crowds as she and Fen stood behind the pickup devices for a Holo-Megacaster in a plaza just outside a cargo dock. A crowd of human and Bothan reporters from local and sector networks, along with a few press attaches from CIS, out-sector, and Republic outlets, lingered below under the watchful eyes of the Tawa Police and a small unit of Marshals.
Several squad cars and speeder vans with comms antenna and news network markings were parked near the edge of the area, a few Bothans, humans, and some droids and other species monitoring the equipment as the cameras rolled.
Fen so far was handling the announcements well enough, though Kelia was expected to field a few questions on behalf of...
The entire Republic military...
Why the hell did Admiral Zsinj approve this again? Whatever, she had her job to do.
Fur swimming nervously, she closed her eyes and exhaled softly as she tried to calm down.
"And now, to field some questions briefly on behalf of the Republic, Captain Kelia Los'ean." Fen announced before waving her forwards.
Expectant Bothan ears perked up as Kelia approached the audio pickup, all of them staring at her. Thankfully, one of the reporters decided to be a 'proper Bothan' and decided to be the first to speak, drawing Kelia's attention to her just before the informal competition for being the loudest voice in the area could begin.
A red and white striped female raised her hand. "Qinir Vy'dra, Bothawui Central Broadcasting. Do you believe that the Separatist's attack on Bothan ships within the convoy violated the neutrality agreement?" She inquired in Basic.
Kelia almost swore, that was hardly a question she was qualified to answer. "With all due respect, I'm a fighting ship Captain, not a political advisor. I'm not qualified to say with any certainty if their attacks on the Bothan flagged vessels were legal. But I will state that attacking unarmed civilian shipping, regardless of the presence of a military escort, is a violation of the Concord of Galactic Systems, of which the Separatists have reportedly claimed to be in observance of."
Somewhat mollified, Qinir backed away.
In her place a brown and grey patched male stepped forwards after being selected by Fen. "Olek Kar'lya, Kothlis News Network, what can you say about reports of Marshalcy misconduct while aboard your vessel?" He asked.
Kriff, the civilians must have started complaining already.
"I can neither confirm nor deny any claims of misconduct by officers of the Bothan Marshalcy." Kelia replied strategically, her jaw held tightly.
It was true enough, aside from being conspiratorial idiots the Marshals had done nothing wrong besides be annoying.
Still, better to err on the side of caution.
The reporters murmured among themselves as one of the Clones stepped up to Kelia. "Sir, bridge reports that the civvies are about ninety percent unloaded." Sabre whispered softly. "We should cut this short."
Kelia almost let out an audible sigh of relief as she glanced over at Fen, who nodded and took the stage. "I'm afraid that will be all, Captain Los'ean has a military schedule to keep, so I'll be handling further inquiries from here on out." He interjected, taking most of the heat off Kelia as she and her escort were ushered away.
o.o.o.o.o
Jural Dan'lya
RSD Kestrel, Dressel System
Dan'lya awkwardly stood by a hatch as she gently guided the last gaggle of civilians out into the Tawa docking areas, having decided to just.
With the bulk of the Kestrel's impromptu cargo and passengers offloaded, the Marshals were being moved out as well.
She honestly was not sad to see most of the Marshals go. They had been aggravating and rude throughout their brief time aboard, with the least of their offenses being making more noise than necessary.
Typical Marshal things. Most Bothan cops not from Torolis or its sub-colonies prided themselves on being fairly polite, even when they were corrupt as hell, due to Bothan societal pressures regarding first appearances.
Marshals by contrast were largely self-absorbed and egotistical, even worse than a lot of Judicials she'd met, given their wide-ranging legal authority. They were the metaphorical swinging genitalia in the room unless someone more important showed up, and they generally acted like it whenever they could.
Most of the Clones now shared her opinion after word had spread about their behavior during the trip, and she had no doubt the Captain saw it similarly.
On that subject, part of her had wanted to talk more with her superior, but… Well… They hadn't exactly had a lot of downtime between learning how to run a ship and being in combat.
That and Kelia's atrocious schedule, which continuously irked her to no end.
She still had confused feelings about the captain, she knew any possible relationship wouldn't work out for various legal and moral reasons, but Jural was borderline obsessed with the other Bothan.
Almost like a lot of her school projects back in her youth.
Resisting the urge to slam her head into a bulkhead brace at the thought of treating her superior like a kriffing shalk tadpole, Jural dismissed her thoughts and turn.
Walking to the closest side-hall, Jural stopped for a moment and looked back at Tawa through an armored viewport.
A large group of stubby-snouted and downy furred Bothan children of varying fur colors and heights could be seen on the other side, waving at her.
Smiling, she waved back at them as the Kestrel began to pull away.
At least the children were okay. So she did some good in the end.
It was the little things like that which kept her going sometimes.
o.o.o.o.o
Kelia Los'ean
RSD Kestrel, Dressel System
"We're standing by to depart sir." Perth informed Kelia as the Kestrel began undocking.
She glanced at her XO. "Any messages from the Retaliation?"
"Yes sir." He informed her as the Kestrel slowly began to move away from Tawa, Perth handing her a datapad in the process. "We're to meet up with the rest of the taskforce and head down through the Reena Trade route to Bothawui via Nexus Ortai, followed by a period of leave once we reach Manda."
Kelia frowned, while this removed most untoward situations involving interacting with Clan Onel, there was still an encounter risk, especially with civilian ships trying to show off their patriotism.
Still, it would give her time to try and get a grip on her command, Kelia felt like the Clones were walking on eggshells around her the further and further she got from the bridge.
She also didn't have to deal with another press conference, so that was a plus.
"Perth."
"Yes sir?" He replied, giving Kelia an inquisitive expression.
She pursed her lips. "Ah… Can you inform me if anything comes up between the pilots and ground troops? I would appreciate it if you did so I can talk to them if necessary." Kelia stated, fur rippling nervously as her anxiety spiked at the thought that she was undermining her own leadership. "Tell Commander Kursk, Commander Wardog, and Major Tecs to do the same, please."
"I'll… Keep that in mind sir… Are you alright?" Perth inquired, not used to getting a request from her rather than an order.
Kelia looked away in shame as, once again, the dull sinking dread of feeling like a failure settled into her stomach.
"No. I'm not." She admitted.
Perth's expression changed to one of concern. "Do you need me to have the medics take a look at you sir?"
"No…" Kelia sighed as she looked out the bridge windows as the Kestrel made her way to the jump point, a police Citadel-class escorting the massive Star Destroyer as it powered through the system.
Exhaling, she closed her eyes and contemplated the recent course events in her life had taken.
"Sir! Incoming vessel! It's some kind of frigate!" Sweep yelled from his station.
Kelia's eyes snapped open to see a wedge-shaped black and orange painted Torolisian Navy Owolan-class frigate barrel towards the Kestrel.
It was a sight that almost caused her to lose her cool. But thanks to Fen's warning, she knew that the Onels would undoubtedly be testing Republic resolve.
Gritting her teeth, she decided to call their bluff. "Reinforce shields, double front, and hold us on course." Kelia managed to grind out even as her façade of determination risked crumbling under her strained nerves. "Sound collision alarm."
Playing dubdub with a Torolisian frigate wasn't what she wanted to do today, but here she was.
The frigate suddenly jerked to port, passing the Kestrel's bridge tower close enough that Kelia was able to shoot a glare at the largely heterochromatic Torolis Bothans manning the frigate's own bridge stations for a split second, startling them even further.
"Kriffing dumbshtak Onels…" She growled under her breath as it passed, the noise hidden behind the blare of the alarms as the Kestrel made its way clear of the belt and headed towards the rest of the fleet. "Cancel collision alert." She ordered. "And set a reminder for us to file a complaint with the Torolisian embassy on Manda once we arrive."
"Yes sir." Perth replied, equally aggravated by the entire affair.
The shrill noises silenced, and the Kestrel eventually joined formation with the rest of her taskforce at the jump point.
"Sir, we're receiving nav data from the Retaliation." Yap reported from his station after a few minutes.
The Bothan nodded at him. "Right, we'll jump with the rest of the fleet." She turned to Perth. "Sound the transition alert."
"Aye sir. Ready to jump once the fleet is synced." Her XO acknowledged.
o.o.o.o.o
As a group the Republic ships positioned themselves facing their desired course direction. Then, to an outside observer at least, they rapidly surged forth like a ripple in the water starting from the lowest tonnage vessels to the highest.
For the briefest of instants each vessel seemed to suddenly burst forwards in a form of pseudomotion as they immediately transitioned to superluminal velocities and then vanished into the aether of hyperspace through subspace tears that were open for but the briefest of moments.
o.o.o.o.o
Korsk Los'ean
SpyNet Station Besh, Krant
Korsk blinked the blurriness out of his eyes as four medtechs and a doctor checked him and Linay over after they had finished decanting from a pair of cylinders out of a bank at the back of the room while a pair of droids dried them off.
The two Bothan agents promptly had hospital gowns shoved over their heads to preserve their modesty after.
["Doesn't seem like you're suffering any immediate effects from the consciousness transfer, but we're keeping you under observation because of possible health issues with your enhanced civilian bodies."] A tan and white-furred Afon-smelling tech half-mumbled through his surgical mask after setting up a couple sensors on Korsk's body while a grey and brown female did the same to Linay.
A nearby cream-furred male shrugged at his colleague as he showed them a datapad displaying their biometrics. The Afon-smelling male nodding and tapping his chin.
Linay's now black-striped orange fur rippled nervously. ["Don't you guys run biometrics on these things for a reason?!"] She whined softly.
The doctor, a male with stark white fur and wearing a gas mask with a large rectangular visor over his pink-red eyes looked up. ["Biometrics aren't the same thing as actually putting a mind back into them. There's all sort medical conditions that could pop up just from your minds trying to get these bodies fully functional."] He explained.
One of the med-techs decided to chime in as well. ["Not to mention preventing any complications with the implants we had to put in. So be thankful that we took the time to modify certain strands to eliminate some genetic ailments while we were at it. Good thing for you as well Agent Los'ean, I would have given it six years otherwise before you suffered from your first bout of testicular cancer. In that event we would have had to transfer you to a cloned body if treatment failed, which would bring up all sorts of issues if that was noticed."]
Korsk's fur fell flat and shivered as he nervously glanced over at Linay, whose snout contorted into a disgruntled expression as the medtechs continued poking at their bodies with various sensors and other implements while they stood there like mannequins before finally finishing up once they were mostly satisfied.
["Alright, we'll keep you under observation for a day or so, at which point we'll update your medical records in the event you need treatment at a civilian facility."] The doctor remarked as he looked on in casual disinterest while tapping idly through a datapad.
The two SpyNet agents looked at eachother. ["And then what?"] Linay groaned, eyes half-lidded in annoyance. ["Wait for the replacement team to call us in for backup? Or do we get another tasking?"]
The white-furred male with the gas mask shrugged. ["You act like I know. Your handlers will give you that information in a couple days. I'm just the Bothan in charge of the Krant division of the subletting program…"]
The doctor shook his head as he began to walk away. ["What a stupidly obvious name…"] He mumbled as he walked down a side hall while looking at his datapad.
The four medtechs looked between eachother as their superior left before one of the two females, a tricolored Bothan with white and rust patterns on her jet black fur, turned back to the agents.
["Alright, we're gonna need to do a few exercise tests, come with us please."] She requested, gesturing for them to follow her.
Linay audibly groaned, Korsk shooting her a glare. ["Don't mind my partner. Please lead the way."] He replied courteously as he turned back to the medtech.
The female nodded and then turned before walking out.
Rolling her eyes, Linay settled in behind Korsk as they strode after the tech.
["At least the pay's good."] Linay groused softly to him.
["Shut it."] Korsk replied as he gently elbowed her.
o.o.o.o.o
Kelia Los'ean
RSD Kestrel, Hyperspace
Kelia hummed idly as she tapped at her office terminal, looking for the ship's pay records.
A nagging question had been on her mind for a while. Especially since she'd had to field some questions about pay to the Clones before.
"Let us see… Should be under personnel records…" She muttered softly as she clicked on the tab of the same name.
Her gut sank as she saw only two names in the ship's records, even though there was accommodation for more.
Kelia Los'ean.
And Jural Dan'lya.
"What the kriff…?" She breathed as she checked the registry for Perth's number.
It took a minute for the engine to find it, Kelia twice clicking the up arrow that would take her to the main folder containing the folder which in turn held Perth's file.
The results were not what she ever wanted to see.
Raw fury flooded through every fiber of her being as she resisted the burning urge to grab her DC-17 service pistol and empty the entire power cell into the screen in a fit of rage.
There was no just universe where living, sentient, beings should ever be classified as equipment.
Her first instinct was to call Admiral Zsinj and raise hell.
But then a more subversive idea crossed her mind.
A more Bothan idea.
She was the ship's captain, which meant that she had total administrative authority over the vessel's computer network.
A soft smile appeared on Kelia's face as she looked over at Jural, who was idly working at her own desk.
"Dan'lya."
The Alya female looked up at the mention of her name, violet eyes blinking. "Yeah?"
"I need you to come over here and help me with something." She asked, waving the other female over.
Her cream fur rippling in confusion, Dan'lya walked over and leaned over Kelia's shoulder. "What is it ma'am?"
Kelia looked up at her. "If I give you admin permissions, can you move all of the Clones from equipment to personnel?"
Dan'lya's eyes widened in horror at the simple statement, not that Kelia was abusing her authority, but at the fact living beings were labeled as 'equipment'. Her personal feelings on humans aside, she had never felt comfortable with the Clones being presented as 'wet droids'.
"Yes ma'am." Jural acknowledged while firmly nodding in agreement.
With a soft smile, Kelia patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks."
o.o.o.o.o
Kelia strode onto the bridge a half hour later after some freshening up, letting her mane settle into a natural messy state, which she had found herself growing fond of while she was in uniform. Perth glancing over at her as he noticed she seemed to be in an obviously good mood. "Something happen sir?"
She made a smug hmphing sound. "You'll find out soon enough. I'm sure you and the rest of the men will appreciate it."
He raised an eyebrow as the Clones in the crew pits exchanged looks between eachother. "Sir?" Perth inquired.
"I'll tell you when we arrive at Manda… In the meantime, I've sent a file that you need to disseminate to the crew."
Her XO raised an eyebrow. "Like the basic rundown on things you gave us a few days back?"
Kelia waved her hand in a so-so gesture. "Less like an educational thing and more like… Well actually it should be educational." She conceded after a moment.
For a moment, Kelia wondered if she shouldn't have included the bits regarding prostitution, especially considering how widely tolerated it was in Bothan Space and a few neighboring sectors when compared to the core.
No, they would have figured out anyways at some point, better to educate them than leave things to chance.
Still, there was something she had to get out of the way.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Kelia looked over at Perth. "I… Would also like to apologize..." She inhaled and resisted the urge to look down in shame before she continued. "For insinuating that you and the rest of the crew were derelict or incompetent during the comms call between myself and the rest of the taskforce command staff."
The Clone blinked in surprise, standing there for a few moments as the men in the crew pits muttered amongst themselves while a few of the Clones, troopers, naval officers, and crewmen alike, looked on from their positions around the outer bridge walkway.
Her fur rippled nervously as she waited for a response.
"Ah… Apology accepted, sir." Perth remarked, still completely off balance by the fact Kelia apologized at all. "It's…"
"I was out of line…" Kelia said softly. "I just…"
"Sir." Perth interrupted. "You're fine, we all understood you were angry at the Seps."
Kelia's fur shifted anxiously as her mood worsened. "That's not an excuse…"
Her XO sighed and merely put a hand on her shoulder. "Sir… You only made a mistake."
"A mistake that cost lives…" Kelia sighed as she looked down.
The Clone pursed his lips, realizing that Kelia was still beating herself up over the convoy losses. "Well, learn from it, remember what happened and apply those lessons to the next battle. That's what they taught us in training. They probably taught you the same if your instructors were any good."
She looked up at him and nodded, her snout twisting to form a smile. "Thank you."
"Don't think anything of it sir." Perth laughed. "Anyways. I'll get that information distributed as you requested."
Kelia nodded in thanks as her XO strode off, the Bothan turning to face the fore of the bridge with a warm expression on her face.
"Navigation, ETA to the Both system?" She asked.
The chief navigator looked up at her from the port-side crew pit. "Approximately four hours, sir."
Kelia nodded and relaxed her shoulders, she could make do with that time.
Maybe ask about…
Wait… Perth was gone.
Kriff. She had wanted to ask him some things about Kamino.
Oh well, later it was.
o.o.o.o.o
Commander Kursk
RSD Kestrel, Hyperspace
Kursk walked into the main ground vehicle bays and passing a line of quadrupedal All-Terrain Strike Enforcers as he made his way towards a small meeting of ranking officers in the 608th.
Flare and Tecs were present, as were several other company commanders from the unit's infantry, armored, and combat support elements, along with a few gunship pilots.
All of them were clustered around a group of AT-RTs and BARC speeders sitting near the edge of the vehicle pool.
Captain Stex, in charge of one of the Mobile Regiment's armored companies, walked over to Kursk. "Sir, the men are getting…"
Kursk frowned and nodded. "Restless, I know. They've been led to believe we'd be seeing ground combat, not pulling security on a warship and running drills all day while unlearning half the tactics the Kaminoans drummed into us. Especially since we've got so many vode out there dying for the Republic."
He was personally not happy himself to have learned that the tactics his troopers were using were idiotic at best. He personally blamed the Aiwhabait for having never fought an actual war, nor kept any records on how wars were even fought, for that.
Stex shook his head. "My crews are already on the verge of coming to blows with the pilots because of existing tensions, but there's not much I can do. The flyboys have gotten insufferable since losing two of their vode." He conceded grimly.
That was a concerning development.
Kursk sighed before speaking again. "Right, try to keep it as defused as you can. I'll get in touch with the Captain and…"
"With all due respect sir." Captain Riddic, one of the 608th's infantry Captains, snapped dryly. "A lot of the men are still rather... Iffy regarding her. They respect her authority, but she's just another officer to them. Her admissions of fault are a start, but... Not enough."
"Not to mention how some of the pilots are blaming the Captain for Blaze Squadron's losses." Captain Falco, one of the unit's attached gunship pilots noted grimly.
That was almost assuredly out of the Captain's hands. The fact the squadron had only lost two pilots was a minor miracle.
Luck like that wouldn't hold though.
Still, they had assembled for a reason. "Alright." Kursk began. "Just keep an eye on the situation and inform me if anything changes."
There was muted discontent, but the others fell into line quickly enough.
Clones were too disciplined to mutiny or disregard orders unless their superior was discovered to be absolutely guilty of treason, regardless of competence, and he sincerely doubted Captain Los'ean was a traitor.
Still, he was mildly concerned as to how the Captain would take this given her erratic behavior over the past few days.
Hopefully, she would understand.
If not... He didn't want to think about that actually.
o.o.o.o.o
Kelia Los'ean
RSD Kestrel, Hyperspace
Relaxing in her room, Kelia hummed softly to herself as she reclined in bed, clad only in a tanktop and underwear briefs.
Her mind was still focused on the convoy battle, though her emotional state was sounder than before.
The opinions she had on what she could have done better remained the same. Though she was relieved that the civilians had survived at the least.
Still, she remembered the destroyed freighters, her failure of command.
Closing her eyes. She frowned as she contemplated her own mortality in light of this.
All her anxieties remained, but…
They seemed less important in her mind compared to her failings. Even her personal doubts about Linay.
And as Kelia drifted off to sleep, she briefly wondered why that was before she finally passed out.
o.o.o.o.o
Sheev Palpatine
Senate Office Building, Coruscant
Palpatine steepled his fingers as he looked over a series of reports about the Denon convoy part-way into the Coruscanti night as traffic zipped about endlessly, punctuated only by the bright flashes of emergency airspeeder lights or the speeding outline of a Coruscant Guard LAAT. While normally of little interest to the Chancellery, its high diplomatic value and the Bothan reactions as such had ensured it crossed his desk.
His investment in ensuring Kelia Los'ean graduated early appeared to be paying off. The Bothan was not only motivated, but quicker to anger than Yularen's reporting had initially made obvious. Oddly reminiscent of young Skywalker now that he thought of it, though he supposed that Los'ean hadn't wiped out any Tusken tribes in a fit of rage quite yet.
It had been a near thing of course, that aborted terror attack had nearly cost him a potential asset. Not to mention the damage it would have done to the naval buildup he wanted.
In keeping with appearances he had told Armand Isard to start tracking down how a radical cell of military cadets suddenly acquired a large weapons cache, military grade ones without serials to boot, and then diverted his attention to more pressing matters.
It irked him that one of his future pieces had been nearly swept from the board before even being placed. A minor annoyance compared to if something had happened to anyone with actual importance to his plans, but it was not a situation he was willing to accept happening if he could help it.
Regardless, Los'ean was in command of a Star Destroyer now, the ideal situation he desired for his potential pawn to be placed in.
What mattered now was further manipulating her to suit his purposes. And for now those consisted of preventing the Bothans from becoming a future issue by mollifying them in one way or another.
He knew well of the Bothan oath of Krevi thanks to some of Plagueis's teachings regarding exploiting the cultures of certain species, but to convince her to make one would be difficult.
How to do that indeed...
Idly Palpatine brought up Clan Aean's historical records from a secure drive, as well as transactions between them and Damask Holdings, which he had acquired from the remains of the financial group via Plagueis after its destruction not long before the Naboo crisis.
It was rather complete, showing the credits lent, what they were requisitioned for, and how well said investments were paying off on a year-by-year basis.
They also showed the severe debts Clan Aean owed to the Banking Clan as a result. Debts which had accumulated disturbingly quickly given the clan's rapid expansion in recent decades, all done to solidify the clan's place among the Bothan elite and prevent themselves from being absorbed into mainstream Bothan culture.
An effort which had brought them to the brink of financial ruin.
That was something he had learned firsthand by speaking to a handful of the clan's less scrupulous elders during one of the gatherings on Sojourn that were hosted by his then-master, an interesting moment in an otherwise unmemorable affair.
Aside potentially using their enmity towards the Jedi and the ruling government of Mandalore, he personally had not found a reason to put them to use at the time, as he had far more potent forces to array against the Jedi and Mandalore was a minor concern at best beyond some minor rumblings and his own slowly growing concerns about Kal Skirata and his Null ARCs. But now…
Slowly, Palpatine hummed to himself as he rubbed his chin.
Admittedly, he had kept track of Clan Aean's economic situation for only a short while before it grew irrelevant, but he was aware that the clan had begun paying off the debts by allowing the Banking Clan and Trade Federation to establish facilities in the Krant system. Some of which were already in use by the Separatists if Tyrannus's latest report was any indication.
It clicked in that moment.
A soft grin graced his features. Oh, this was too good an opportunity to twist the young Captain Los'ean and see if her loyalties lay more with her family.
Or with the rule of law.
And if it manipulated Clan Aean to suit his whims, all the better. Mandalorians did their finest work whenever they were the unwitting pawns of the Sith after all.
Palpatine suddenly stood and made his way to a doorway, which was guarded by two of his red-clad Presidential Guards, force pikes braced against their shoulders.
Both stood stoically as the Chancellor made his way up to them.
"Inform anyone who attempts to enter my office that I shall be busy with some sensitive communications." He informed them as he paused for a moment. "Nobody is to interrupt me except for Sate Pestage, Mas Amedda, Sly Moore, or Kinman Doriana. Do please inform anyone else that I am conducting several calls and that they are to wait until I am finished."
Neither man said anything, nor made any motions of acknowledgement, but Palpatine knew well that they understood.
With a soft smile on his face, he walked through the doorway and, as he went down a hidden passage, cleverly disguised behind some furnishings, to a waiting turbolift.
As he walked, he adopted his true persona as he shed his robes of office and placed them on a nearby rack before raising the hood of the deep, black, Sith robes he wore underneath over his head.
Darth Sidious had a few 'errands' for his interim apprentice to run.
o.o.o.o.o
Kolir Vi'ean
Vi'shtarn, Krant
From her office overlooking Vi'shtarn's main downtown sector, Elder Kolir Vi'ean sat quietly and watched the traffic pass across a nearby elevated roadway and through one of the city's designated skylanes.
She had been informed of the expansion going on at Entello Chemical from images her guards had brought back. The rate of which concerned her greatly.
Sighing, Kolir leaned back in her chair. Wondering if something was going on that the other elders were doing behind her back. She'd never felt confident in this back-room economic dealing nonsense the other elders had dragged her into that started with some past generation borrowing money from Damask Holdings.
It stunk too much of the things the Grums of other clans did, and was something the current Aliit'alor and Grum, if either knew of it, would likely greatly frown upon to say the least.
Which was a shame given how good of a deal they'd gotten at the time.
Unfortunately, Hego Damask was dead now and his economic group disbanded... Which left Aean in the lurch regarding payments.
San Hill was patient only to a point, and she'd had to make great sacrifices regarding increasing Krant's resource and industrial output to pay off the debts Aean owed.
And yet the others still insisted that continuing to borrow was a good idea, ideas they'd gotten from the incessant tendency by Drev'shtarn and Tal'cara to undermine their own corporate tax and tariff incomes in order to attract businesses that did little but add flimsiwork jobs to their worlds.
For kriff's sake she was nearly sixty, she was getting too old for this.
As she mulled the matter a single Bothan wearing a modified variant of the same type of gear used by the New Mandalorian Secret Service walked into the room. ["Elder Kolir. You have a priority transmission."] She reported in Mando'a. [ "Channel One-Nine-Eight-Four."]
Odd, that was the old channel Damask used when issuing summons to Sojourn or to discuss business. ["Thank you, Captain."] Kolir replied, the House Vi'ean Secret Service Captain turning and walking out of the room as Kolir pressed a button.
The holoscreens mounted on the back wall shut off.
A few more switches instituted a full room lockdown, sealing off the doorway and instituting anti-echo procedures in the venting.
Once the room was plunged into darkness, a blue holoprojection flared to life from a sphere mounted in the ceiling that was cleverly disguised as a light fixture, bathing the room in an eerie sapphire glow that made Kolir's fur look almost ghostly.
Once the projection resolved, standing before her was a life-size projection of Count Dros Dooku. ["Elder Vi'ean. A pleasure to speak with you again."] He remarked with all the practiced grace of a Count of Serenno.
"Count Dooku." Kolir uttered softly in basic, greying red fur rippling slightly and betraying her unease. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
["Business."] The Count stated matter-of-factly. ["And a way for you to pay off your clan's debts to the Banking Clan in full."]
"An admission of their support for the Separatists?" Kolir inquired, prying for what information she could get in the event she needed to cover her shebs.
Something about this call was off. Normally she interacted with San Hill or Nute Gunray if Aean's debts needed to be addressed by higher authority.
That Dooku was calling only made her deeply nervous.
["Only by those factions within the Banking Clan that have backed our efforts to restore the right of self-rule to the peoples of the Galaxy."] Dooku replied simply, with all the grace expected of the leader of the Separatists. ["It is but a simple request that is well within your abilities to fulfill given Vi'shtarn is one of your planet's primary spaceports."]
Frowning, Kolir knew she was at a crossroads, one that could bring her clan to greatness or ruin.
She also had the inkling feeling that said crossroads was on a railway and that her choice had been already made by others around her. "Very well then… I'm listening…" She conceded.
If this was merely a formality she might as well go along with it rather than earn the ire of one of the most powerful beings in the Galaxy, especially one who was a dar'jetii.
The Count smiled at her. It was a thin, predatory, smile that sent a chill down her spine, and it took all of Kolir's willpower to prevent herself from shuddering as he spoke again. ["I thought you'd be interested… Very well… The terms are as follows..."]
o.o.o.o.o
AN: To pre-empt anything, dar'jetii simply means 'no longer a Jedi or not a Jedi' depending on context, and while it equally applies to actual Sith, Dark Jedi, and former Jedi alike.
Dooku just so happens to fit all three definitions over the course of his life.