Author's Note: Well, I am happy to bring you all Chapter 2, and I appreciate those who have started to read the story, and I hope I may have your viewing pleasure in the near future, however; something I forgot to add in the first chapter was that I appreciate any input you have for the story direction, because right now, I have a set story and outlook on how I want to push this, however; upon a viewer bringing up a good addition, or perhaps a plot point, I am all ears to include it, whether modified, or unmodified. Not to mention, whether it is criticism, or something I could work on, or just a simple comment about looking forward to the upcoming chapters, anything helps. Anyways, with that out of the way, I present you the second chapter.
Director Krennic was the first thing I noticed in the early morning of the following day. He seemed to have left me a holo-message on my datapad, which I had no idea he even knew. The message pertained information on how he would like to get together sometime for a lunch, get to know me better, however; considering if my academic reputation precede me, he might see me as a great associate to keep close if I ever made it high up in the ranks. I replied back that I would be sure to tell him whenever I would be available, considering I will most likely be on the Acclamator-II that the Admiral described to me formerly. I selected sent, and waited a few minutes for a reply I did not receive, so I placed my datapad down and went towards the balcony of the suite.
The high and prosperous life of a Coruscant Citizen must never get that old, unless you would prefer to change it up and get a view of nature, but the silver-lining on the horizon, the almost endless skyscrapers touching the sky majestically, and the modern architecture makes the planet seem to give off the illusion of endless bounds for what a person could achieve on Coruscant. However; I am well-informed on what goes down in the lower-levels of Coruscant also, where the prosperity people seek up here, is limited to nothing but criminals, low-lifes, and scoundrels down in the lower levels. However; I decided not to dwell on the lower levels, and decided to get dressed in my uniform, and taking with me, my suitcase full of necessities I would need for the trip and life on the Acclamator.
As I was leaving the coruscant suite, I heard the sound of a faint repeating beat, and pulled out my holo-transmitter which seemed to have an incoming message. I pressed the red, slightly faded button to only see a holographic figure appear on the screen. The figure had the same features as the General I had spoken with yesterday, the same long side-burns, and the formal uniform and rank placard.
"I assume you will be taking that opportunity sooner or later, Lieutenant Praxon?" The voice seemed to carry a slight hint of boredom, as did most of the admirals that previous night.
"I was just packing up to go to the Shuttle Port. Do you know which Pad I should go to?"
The General said that I would be heading for Pad Eleven which was on the North-eastern side of the Senate Building. He also told me that he would answer all the necessary questions when I get on board his command ship, The Orion, and also ask the questions he would like to ask me, upon arrival. I affirmed his statement with a statement and nod of the head, before ending the transmission and taking a taxi over to the Senate Building.
To say the least, the Senate was also a very impressionable building, considering the bronze statues that decorated the areas and steps around the Senate, and the adornment of Imperial banners around the multiple entrances. The amount of citizens and denizens going to and from the Senate was also quite surprising, whether it was senators from the core worlds, to the mid world systems like Eridau, Alderaan, and the like. Coruscant always seemed to be a big melting pot of different cultures, races, aliens, and profiteering for multiple peoples, especially those commanding high-up companies, and those senators I formerly mentioned pulling themselves high up in the political game.
I took a turbo-lift to the 32nd floor of the Senate building, where they had a space port with platforms on the other side. The 32nd floor seemed to be a commerce and business level, with the vast amounts of guilds, the main office for the Techno Union, and the Banking Guilds, and other memorable companies from Bonadon. There also seemed to be a small scale area of some sort of stock exchange, pretty similar to the ones my father would occasionally go to on Eridau to spend some of his 'inherited' capital that he received from benefactors. If I was to be honest, I believe that my father might've been the one secretly ruling the senator, considering he practically ran the campaigns for the election of the Senator.
Eventually, I came to the Shuttle Pad and was meet by a Lambda Class Shuttle with a few Stormtroopers standing guard near the ramp to enter the vehicle. I began to approach the ramp, where I was halted by one of the storm-troopers with a red shoulder-guard. He gripped his blaster as I approached and the tone underneath the vocoder seemed to bear a sense of annoyance and fatigue.
"May I see your papers to board this shuttle, Lieutenant?"
I dug into my suitcase and pulled out the authorization papers that I had received via datapad, and showed the screen to the trooper. Without a second glance, he gestured to board the shuttle, as he re-purposed his hand onto his E-11 again, while scanning the surrounding area. I stepped up the metallic ramp towards a door, and upon pushing it open, I found three more imperial officers, two were a lieutenant like myself, who were conversing about something, and another seemed to be a captain. I took my seat in the small room, and took a glance back at the captain who had crossed his arms, while looking blankly on the floor. I decided now would be a great time to make a new friend, and if luck would have it, perhaps this would be the captain I would be serving under.
As I approached the seat, the captain looked towards me defensively. "This seat isn't taken, I assume?"
The Captain merely scoffed at me and stated, "Of course not. We've just been waiting for you, so at least we can finally get going."
I slowly sat down, while looking forward to not pressure forth any comment or statement until I felt the time was right. I also heard the hydraulics pulling up the metallic ramp, and the intercom in the shuttle going off. One of the pilots stated that they would arrive out of hyper space at the main fleet in roughly eight hours, and that he was happy to have us on board. I returned my gaze to the captain, who was looking down at the floor again, possibly just trying to retreat to the recesses of his mind.
"You must be working under one of the Admirals for the fleet, I would assume?"
The comment was more or less a probing to see if the Captain was actually under an admiral or not. He turned to me for a second, before unfolding his hands and visually seemed to lighten up and returned with a much more even voice.
"Actually, I'm one of the four captains that command the secondary and support ships for General Tagge's fleet."
It seemed I had either found the captain I was looking for, or he was the captain of another support ship. I pressed on to ask which support ship he ran in the fleet, but to my dismay, he said that he ran an Arquitens Anti-Aircraft Cruiser. However; that didn't deter me from being friendly and trying to seem like an 'okay' guy in his eyes, because no matter who you are, you will always need someone to have your back, and considering the rebel insurgents liked to use fighters a lot in carrying out their attacks, it couldn't hurt to know the captain that might save a Star Destroyer's life, and result in a promotion for himself.
He also began to talk about his life in the academy, however; he never went to the Royal Academy on Corulag, and it was just blind luck that he ended up as a lieutenant under the Fleet Commander on his main command ship. I was interested to say the least with his story, and he seemed to be non-conceded with his position and ambitions, not to mention he was pretty level-headed, as I would soon find out.
"Well, there was this one time that one of Tagge's scouting fleet which consisted of my Arquitens Cruiser, two Tartan Patrol Cruisers, and an Acclamator-I came into contact with a rebel cell near the Brentaal IV system, and they were much more prepared and armed than we were. They have probably twice the amount of fighters we had, and the frigates they were carrying were much more durable than our Acclamator. Even though we lost the Patrol cruisers though, they served their end, by taking out most of the fighters, thus letting the Acclamator concentrate fire on the Dreadnaughts. In the end, they managed to retreat, but they had suffered more casualties than the two cruisers combined."
He continued to talk about his many exploits as a Captain, and his many victories, and sometimes his little loses where he was ordered to retreat by another Admiral. He then seemed to shift his attention from himself, and began to ask questions about me, where I went, what I was doing in General Tagge's fleet, and how even got here considering I was a fresh batch from an academy, on the count of my freshly pressed uniform. I told him that I was from Eridau along with my name, however; before I could even continue, he seemed to be all too aware of who I was on account of my last name.
"Praxon…now hold on a second, isn't that that one representative for the senator on Eridau?"
I was slightly shocked by the fact that an Imperial Officer like himself would keep his nose in other conflicts, aside from just issues with Tagge's fleet, but I confirmed that he was correct about who I related too.
"Have you heard about what your father did? It is quite interesting how he just flips allegiances just like that."
I was a little curious and caught off guard by his vagueness, for I didn't understand what he meant by flipping allegiances, and I only assumed the worst that he had defected to the Rebellion or something, and that now I would be under scrutinization by the General.
"He didn't support the campaign of Senator Ulsan, and actually ran to be the next Senator for Eridau. I must say, your father sure pulled the rug out from under Ulsan, considering he considered your father a great ally and friend."
I was relieved to hear that my father wasn't switching sides, and that it was just a political move he did, due to the time most likely being right for him, not to mention, him trying to push forward his agenda. I nodded in agreement with the Captain, and we continued to talk on and on about current issues, and some pressing ones dealing with the empire's control in the Outer rim, considering those are were rebellions are starting to rise up, and publically declare war on the Empire. Not to mention the all too present name through-out most officers in the outer rim, and especially Onderon, was the extremist Saw Gerrera, who was carrying out vicious guerrilla attacks against Imperial occupied worlds.
Eventually, however; the two other lieutenants decided to join in on the conversation, and try to get to know me, and the captain a bit more, and who was being assigned where. Apparently, one of the lieutenants was going to be serving with the Captain on-board, and he welcomed and congratulated him for being part of his crew. Whilst the other lieutenant seemed to actually be going into high places with one of the Admirals of a Star Destroyer inviting him onboard as a crew resource manager. All this conversation ended up coming to me, where everyone asked where I was going, and I was told that General Tagge had assigned me to one of his Acclamator-II support ships and that I would serve under the captain there.
"Oh boy, am I going to be praying for you, Reylan. The captain onboard the Justicator has been rumoured to be quite a brutal and unnerving commanding officer, especially when something horrendous happens onboard his ship. There are even rumours that he flushes incompetent officers and Stormtroopers out the airlock when they fail one too many times…that may explain why he sent you there."
I could only express chagrin upon hearing that news and thought that this was going to be a very horrendous way to start my career as an imperial officer. My thoughts were later expressed with a sense of pride and anxiousness to actually impress the captain and show that he isn't an incompetent officer much like the other officers before him and that he will not fail at achieving his own goals. After so much time however, the pilot got on the intercom and said that we were approaching the fleet and to prepare for boarding on the Orion. You couldn't see it, but you definitely felt when the shuttle came out of hyperspace, much like how all the other ships felt. It's almost like going up a turbolift, and then feeling that slight jolt as soon as it rapidly stops on the floor you desired.
We landed in the secondary hanger on the Star Destroyer, and Tagge's second in command, which was another admiral, greeted us with two marines by his side. The captain said that he would take his lieutenant and be on his way back to his cruiser and that he would hope to see the two of us in the near future, and I nodded my heads, whilst I followed the admiral. We took a turbolift to the bridge, which contained multiple lieutenants and information officers going back and forth, whether it was managing terminals and consoles, to chatting to other officers, and then them in turn, leaving after a minute or so. One figure stood out on the bridge though, and that was General Tagge as he stood at the front of the bridge, overlooking the Star Destroyer, and seemingly proud and pompous of himself.
"General Tagge, the new enlistees have arrived." The second in command stated, before walking off.
The General turned around to look at both of us, and then with a small grin appearing on his face, he held out his left gloved hand for a shake with both of us, and welcomed us on-board his personal star destroyer. The lieutenant to the side of me started to answer the orthodox questions that Tagge had been asking him, and the lieutenant also began to talk about his track and achievements whilst inside the academy. Tagge told him that he was an honest officer and that he will make a fine addition to his Acclamator-II support ship, and that he should be proud to be under the tutelage of his fleet. The lieutenant was then shooed off by the General, and then he turned his gaze towards me.
"And of course, Lieutenant Praxon, I must ask before I start the due process, what did you think of my star destroyer? Think it could take on any rebellion forces that dare attack us?"
His voice carried an unknown tone, and I could not tell where he was going to go with this question, however; I answered truthfully.
"I haven't seen many Star Destroyers, let alone imperial ships aside from a Gozanti or Acclamator, I mean…I've seen pictures, but I've never been on one. However; this is a great first example in my mind."
The General seem to nod at my statement and said that it was a good answer considering how proud he was of his ship. He then began to ask the same base questions that he had asked the previous lieutenant, such as what my aspirations were, what I expected to achieve while being a lieutenant on-board his fleet, what I was bringing to the situation, how well I did in the academy, and more or less, built-on questions that he also asked while in the Imperial Palace. By the end of his questioning, he had made his decision and stated that I'd be a wonderful addition to his fleet, and that he'd expect nothing but great things from me while on the Acclamator. However; he assigned me the position of working directly underneath the Captain, which was a fear of mine, since the Captain had recently 'lost' his lieutenant due to an 'unfortunate' event.
It didn't take long to make my way over to the assault cruiser, and upon reaching the bridge, a much more diverse tone was on this bridge, than on General Tagge's Star Destroyer. While on the Destroyer, the tone was mellow, somber, and everyone was relaxed yet hardworking. In stark contrast, everyone was silent on the bridge, or when talking, it was done in a very hushed whisper, and the Captain had a less prominent aura on the bridge, since he was studying the map that was near the beginning of the bridge. His eyes locked on me as soon as I walked into the room, and a few people seemed to look at me with terrified gazes, and soon enough, the captain began to walk over with his upright stance.
His voice was very deep and monotonous, with a hint of grogginess from lack of sleep. He stopped a few feet away from me, and began to examine me from the black boots I wore, to the very details on my forehead. I could already tell that the man exuded seriousness and a lack of empathy by the time he began to speak to me.
"Mmm…another lieutenant coming to fill the shoes of my old one…I pray you aren't a disappointment, and that Tagge has actually sent me a decent second-in-command. My name is Captain Beunrthof, don't you dare forget it while you are in my service. You understand?"
I nodded my head solemnly as I gazed at the ships' captain in the eyes. His eyes were very intense, despite them being only grey. They seem to give off this soulless and tired look when you stared at them for too long, but that is perhaps why the presence of the bridge seemed to give off an unpredictable and intimidated hue. It also seemed that the man had seen multiple combats with the General as his hair had most likely faded grey due to the stress that the man had endured.
"Lieutenant, I will require you to be on your game today, because I do not have time for incompetence and fool-hearty today for we have an assignment to take this vessel along with two Arquitens to the Lothal territory, where a band of rebels are apparently causing utter chaos for the soldiers there. I suggest we do well in this, for Governor Pryce is considering enlisting the help of the Seventh Fleet if this situation doesn't get solved within the year. Afterwards, we will have to head to the Wobani system, since Pirates have been threatening prison and cargo ships."
I went over to the map terminal with the Captain, and looked at the schematics and local maps of the main cities of Lothal, along with the garrison of the planet. I was also given access to the Acclamator's database and the files and report concerning the raids in the Wobani system, and the problems the rebel cell has been causing for Lothal. It would seem whether it was cargo runs from city to city, terrorizing public propaganda events, or simple infiltration and some few Stormtrooper sending up as casualties; the band seems to be well-trained. I brought up the inference with the Captain, but he shrugged it off since he said he already knew that. The military hardware that was also being destroyed by the rebels was also becoming a concerning factor for the system.
Time in hyperspace seems to be longer than expected in my opinion, but we came out of the 'blue tunnel' within a few hours, and came face to face with the grass-plain filled planetoid from space. There was a single star destroyer stationed outside of the planet that practically supplied the garrison and supplies for the planet from what the reports stipulated. However; I brought up the fact that a single star destroyer for a single planet is not really sufficient in stopping small fighters or freighters that the rebels might be using. The captain agreed with me that that was a shortcoming that would have to be dealt with in our report. Eventually, the Star Destroyer made contact with us, and we stated that we were here to reinforce them due to the increase of rebel activity.
The two Arquitens were constantly patrolling around the planet with its sensors set to the finest of details, so that if there were ships that were leaving the planet without correct access codes, or those that were trying to leave stealthily, could be found within a split second. During the two weeks I was stationed around the planet, no real rebel threat came about, except for the few freighters that were trying to smuggle the precious fruits and commodities that the planet had been growing, along with some stolen imperial goods, such as rifles and stolen cargo. By the end of our tour, we had to leave for the Wobani system since nothing important was going on in the Lothal sector, and that the former system was having increased attacks from Pirates, and the Tartan Cruisers could only do so much.
Wobani was a prison colony more or less where a prisoner of all walks of life, and all walks of crime went too to serve out their time for the offense, whether it was the cold hard time, or working their bodies to the maximum to lower their sentence. In-fact, considering Wobani had a lot of precious materials in the rocks, and mining was a major export of the planet, it was practically a work camp that was slowly sucking the life force out of every living thing that was in that installation. I knew a friend back on Eridau that went to the Wobani system due to stealing some luxury items from a rich merchant, and the imperial courts of course going in the way of the merchant. He had to serve five years in an Eridaun prison, but for two of those years, he was shipped over to Wobani, and when the time came for him to be released, he told me the horrors that went on inside.
Whether it was the countless murders that were committed in there, the laws and mores of normal society being bent and modified, the homosexual acts against the weak and powerless inside the prison, and the discrimination aliens and non-humans, aside from some exceptions such as the Chiss, or Cyborgs, there seemed to be always something going on in that prison. Thankfully, he said, that he didn't have to worry about most of that considering he stayed in same cell, with the same cell mate for those two years, and were put in seclusion zones with other human workers.
To be quite honest, I feel really bad for trying to defend the prison world of Wobani, considering what my friend told me, in-fact…if the pirates attacked the prison transports, at least the prisoners wouldn't have to work, and they can be simply held for ransom, but it's a double edged sword. The pirates might just kill you if no ransom is given, or you are forced to live as a slave to the pirates, or much worst…so that's assuming if you kidnapped by 'decent' pirates.
As we began to patrol and orbit around the planet, we were always sent transmission on when we should expect a transport, and if they weren't on time, to expect something, and if they were over-due, to go out and search the space around the planet for a few parsecs. The first week was completely routine, and nothing really happened, so we were given false hopes and thoughts that this would just be like what happened at Lothal, however; that changed by the time it reached Primeday, for that was the first time a pirate fleet came tailing behind one of the Tartans and a distress signal from a startled officer began to play over and over again. Five Interceptor Frigates that were shooting their infamous 'side-door turbolasers' at the cruiser's engines was coming into view at about two parsecs away, and it wouldn't have been noticed unless a specialist and myself didn't see it happening.
The Tartan Cruiser eventually was hit with a critical hit, and the engines were shut down on the cruiser, whilst a single interceptor frigate came over to the Tartan to dock. The Acclamator hit full-power on the engines to hurry over to the scene, and the Arquitens increased all power to the engines to make it there faster than the Acclamator. A stand-off between the two Arquitens versus the four opposing vessels began, as the proton torpedoes and four turbolasers batteries on each Arquitens began to open fire against the four frigate's eight turbolasers combined. Before the Acclamator could even get over there, and deploy the two squadrons of Tie Fighters and Interceptors, a bright light emitted the horizon, as one of the pirate frigates blew up in a glorious haze.
When we were en-range, the Acclamator's superior turbolasers batteries, ion cannons, and proton torpedo bays laid siege to the terribly obsolete frigates, two of them blew up in consecutive motion, whilst the other two were disabled by the ion cannons concentrated fire. As the tides of the battles turned to us, and the Arquitens went in to dock with the interceptor frigate currently docked with the Tartan, one of the pirates must've started a self-destruction, as the previously disabled frigate blew up, and as if in a chain reaction, the Tartan Patrol Cruiser, and the two Arquitens followed suit. The entire bridge was in utter shock as our two support ships were utterly annihilated in one fell swoop, and in a rage, the Captain of the Acclamator commanded the ship to open fire on the remaining frigate to show what we do to traitors and treachery.
Upon return to the main fleet, General Tagge was upset at the reckless of sending both Arquitens near the Tartan Patrol cruiser instead of just one, and stated that there will not be a third time he will tolerate of his failure. I was in a bit of shock that he had failed previously, considering how high he expects his crew to act, and his 'stories' about shoving his incompetent officers into the airlock; I noted this for a much later time, whilst General Tagge stated despite the loss of the two support ships, he was glad to have stopped a small fleet of pirate vessels, and the attempted kidnapping of Imperial prisoners. General Tagge then gave us a new assignment to do a patrol duty around the Kuat Shipyards, due to an ISB agent disclosing some information about a possible imminent attack by a substantial rebel fleet.
A Quarter of Tagge's Fleet was dispatched to Kuat to assist in the defense of Kuat, should the rebellion forces come, which consisted of one of his Star Destroyers, two Victory-II cruisers, and four Acclamators, which was in cooperation with divisions of smaller frigates and fighter squadrons that the shipyards already had for a defense force. Tagge had ordered us to remain at the Kuat Shipyards for a full month, to make sure that there was no early, or much later attack. An attack was almost certainly a guaranteed, and eventually the time came to where I would need to prove my skills in this battle, for it was the third week of our defense routine, which was six days later then the predicted rebel attack.
They came in a very rapid succession that we barely had any time to warn the Captain that there were multiple signals coming out of hyperspace. The Kuat Shipyard alarms sounded like wildfire, emerging from one side of the docks, to the factories on the very end, and in between the multiple space stations defending them. The rebel fleet consisted of four Nebulon-B frigates, multiple CR-90 corvettes, and squadrons upon squadrons of the stolen X-Wings, the outdated Z-95 Headhunter, and Y-Wings. The Star Destroyer made quick work of the frigates as that was its main concern, while the Victory-II cruisers focused on the CR-90 corvettes. Tie Fighters were dispatched to quell the multiple fighters, however; the garrison from all seven of our ships soon dropped to a handful which was too small to target the now closing Y-Wings.
While the X-Wings and the Z-95's went for the Victory cruisers, the Y-Wings went straight for the main Star Destroyer. I immediately could predict what the outcome of their actions was going to lead too, and I immediately urged the captain to move the Acclamators out of the radius of the two Victory cruisers and the Destroyer. Even though the combined forces of the large ships took down the four Nebulon-B frigates, and took out a majority of the corvettes, they fell to the concentrated fire from the fighters, and as soon as the Y-Wings finished their strafe with the Destroyer and bombed the bridge, X-Wings that were trailing behind them unloaded into the bridge, proton torpedoes and there lasers, which signed the death of the Destroyer.
However; the destruction of the Star Destroyer, and the two Victory-II cruisers would've made any admiral probably concede and retreat with the Acclamators, I pressed the Captain to continue the attack, and to use the proton torpedoes to destroy the remaining corvettes, while we utilize the turbolasers, and laser cannons to target the remaining fighters. Each remaining corvette feel, leaving only the few squadrons of X-Wings, Z-95's, and the Y-Wings left which were still a heavy problem, no matter what anyone says. Even with the combined fire of the cannons for all four cruisers, and the shields holding on the vessels, most fighters were still evading the turbolasers, and the Y-Wings were taking pot shots at each cruiser. The battle might've actually garnered us a defeat and quick retreat, if it wasn't for the Tartan Patrol cruisers that were dispatched by the space stations to come and quickly dispatch of the remaining fighters.
The news of our pyrrhic victory was one that didn't carry well with General Tagge as we returned with only the Acclamators, and upon being disappointed in the Captain one too many times now, he demoted the Captain and evicted him from his duties. General Tagge began to explain that the rebellion is too well equipped despite their rudimentary hardware and vessels, and the fact that their training and guerilla tactics seem to do them well. I was then called into Tagge's personal office on his Star Destroyer, and was offered the position as Ruling Captain over an Arquitens Light Cruiser that he had received as a 'commendation' and 'resupply' for the victory won at Kuat. I decided now would be a great time to prove that I could prove useful, and even though it isn't an Acclamator, I will definitely use this vessel to carry out my will, and the orders of General Tagge. Plus, with the added freedom of having my own vessel, I might finally for once be able to that lunch with Director Krennic.
Upon the approval for a free day by General Tagge's permission, I was able to take my personal vessel to Coruscant where I let it remain in orbit, while I take one of the Lambda shuttles onboard down to the Senate building. I previously sent a message to Director Krennic stating that the current day would be perfect for a lunch and a little sit-down for our conversation, which he approved of since his work with Project Stardust has been going exceedingly well and it is nearing completion. Upon landing on the same pad I departed Coruscant from not two months ago; I made my way towards the café that the Director knew had some decent food and would set a nice environment for a talk.
I would've stayed on my ship to do some paperwork, and read some more information that my rank had supplied me with, if not for the tardiness for the Director. However; I played off that the Director was a very busy man, and just talking to a previously made Captain probably could be put on the afterburners until his said tasks were done. Despite two hours passing though, my patience was rewarded with the white uniformed man with his prominent cape walking into the café with an exhausted look on his face. Upon meeting my eyes and my face, he made his way over to the table I had picked near the corner of the café, and took a seat while apologizing for his tardiness.
"I'm sorry for my horrifically late arrival, however; I had some…unfortunate events happen while I was working on the project. However; I do not want to fume about how aggravating some of my 'superiors' are."
I pulled up the porcelain cup to my mouth and took a sip of the coffee I had ordered, and placed it back down on the table. A waitress had come along and asked what the Director wanted to eat or drink, and he stated he would just take a glass of his usual. The waitress must've known him for she said she would have it right up with a wink, and that is great to see the Director on Coruscant again. While he waited for his drink, he began to ask me questions on where I was stationed and what I was currently doing.
"Well, that General that was with us at the Imperial Palace apparently saw it fitting that I be under the 'command' of a previously incompetent Captain that controlled an Acclamator-II assault ship. However; after a battle over Wobani not going favorable and his small fleet he sent to Kuat to defend the shipyards was destroyed underneath the command of an even more so inept admiral, and Captains, most, if not all of them were demoted and dismissed by the General, and I was placed as the Ruling Captain of a Arquitens Light Cruiser."
The Director seemed to be pleasantly surprised at what I had accomplished and congratulated me on what I had achieved, considering most lieutenants don't get the shot to become the captain of a ship, let alone commanding a ship for quite a long duration. The Director's bottle of some sort of liquor came, and he poured a wine glass full of the stuff, before slowly sipping away at it as we conversed. He wasn't one that didn't like to give too many details about him, but he often would complain about how his superiors were inadequate and didn't know how to appreciate to what he had done on his previous projects. He also added that he would make a much better commander over the project he was currently doing, but due to his lack of favor or contact with how high up the project goes, he has been attempting to get into contact with one of them to make sure the project remains in his hands.
Upon the conclusion of our meeting, we both bid each other farewell, and the Director said that we will remain in contact much more often, whether it be over the Holonet, or just having simple lunches or meetings like this, since he saw me as a useful ally, and considering how high he was up in the status quo, he implored me to keep him close considering he may land me a job when he takes over the project from his 'superior' he kept on referring too. After the Director left the café, I took a sip of what was left inside the bottle and whatever it was, he must've had a strong resistance to alcohol, for it was a bitter, crude, and very strong tasting liquor. As I got up to leave however, I was faced with the reality that the Director had left me with the bill.