[14 BBY]
[Command Bridge, Command Deck, House Stormcrow Capital-class Warship Stormcrow, Mobile Headquarters, Imperial Navy Fifth Fleet 'The Army of Light', in orbit Christophsis, Christoph System, Savareen Sector, The Slice, Outer Rim Territories, United Federal Empire]
"No rest for the wicked it seems" I murmured to myself as I strode forward unto the central dais of my command bridge deep in the depths of the Stormcrow. There hadn't even been time for my formation to arrive in-system and take control of the new Fifth Fleet, but we were given marching orders that just might sent us to war once more. I'd my bare bit of 'free time' with little Mace and Lumia, and the exhausted Barriss, but it appeared that duty, as ever, was calling me to war…or something that could be call war despite the official status in the orders. Policing Operation. Humanitarian Mission. All sorts of silly names like that for it.
What it really was…well, Rodia was a pretty important lynchpin in the Confederate position in this quadrant of the galaxy, along with Geonosis, which, was battered to all hells thanks to our retreat from it during the last days of the war. They'd rebuilt the planetary defences and orbitals by all accounts, and those flying fuckers were buried deep naturally, but the exact state I did not know…and they, unlike Rodia, were unlikely to be inviting the Empire in. No, this was an opportunity to upset the Confederates applecart in a very blunt way, and even if it risked war…it was clearly deemed worth the risk by the Emperor and the Chancellor. The sad part was I agreed with them on the subject.
I came up to Gardan "Fleet status Captain?"
"All vessels report readiness status bar the Panzar Queen my Moff" my fellow solemite replied giving an Imperial fist-to-heart salute quickly before standing beside me, gesturing at the displays "Her hyperdrive is damaged and needs replacing"
"Down a Venerable, but that's better than expected with such quick turnover" I murmured, studying the displays and taking the report by him for the last several hours into hand "So…this means another twenty standard hours?"
"Apologies Moff"
I waved him off "No, no, it's good Gardan. The emperor was looking for miracles, and we've gotten as close as is reasonably possible to the timescale laid out. Something I explained, in great detail, in the last hour. Twenty is better than I'd expected"
And it was true, as I stated what was possible rather than giving false hope on times. The changeover orders had hit at the worst possible time – I hadn't yet arrived, the reformed fleet was still reforming, and many ships had been operating on heavier patrols of late. That was the effect of the Confederates starting to kill each other and any traders in nearby sectors beelining for safe harbours. Like this one, where I'd had to break off forces to herd them all like a sheepdog with terrified sheep, because there were many wolves out there. It was just like when the Coruscant Coup had occurred with the Republic, and things were going to shit across the border as former allies turned on each other.
Along with pirates and Dark Jedi clearly making an appearance now defences were weakened and the systems across the border in chaos. Crossing the border was a concern as it could unite Confederate factions against us, and I needed time to get the operational plans discussed with the senior officers of the fleet I was taking charge of. All points I'd laid out with Emperor Tarkin, because logistics were just one part of an operation and jumping in blind led to potential disaster. Scouts were already in motion, the outermost shell of the reformed Fifth Fleet deployed on screening hyperlane systems, probing. My Stormcrow's large crew was already busy decrypting and analysing data for me, so that when the time came, we certainly wouldn't be moving blind.
Gardan looked to me "The situation remains in flux?"
"No, we're to deploy, it seems our Rodian…allies…are control enough of the planet and orbitals to get away with this gamble of theirs" I replied studying the fleet numbers. It was, in many ways, a more powerful fleet than I'd had at Naboo and before, the gradual Imperialization Programme delivering on creating a military to fight the Confederacy in truth. Oh, it was a very Confederate looking fleet as well, Lucrehulks and Munificents mixed in amougst the Venators and Venerables along with the 'Dreadhammer' Dreadnought refits and upgraded Invincibles "What we do after that is very much a thing that's in flux, but we are too secure Rodia and establish a logistics hub there. You can imagine why?"
"Access to the Rishi Moons, and then unto Kamino?"
I nodded "Yup, assuming the hyperlanes aren't interdicted or heavily mined…but, yes, that is a big benefit to Rodia, and worth the risk of war"
'Apparently' I thought, as I was sure there'd be several who'd object to such risks. We'd be proclaiming, loudly, that weren't invading, and that we were invited in by various notations in the Treaty of Bothawui, but that was diplo-speak. Really, I was to smash anything that stood between me and Rodia, and to hold the system against all comers while the dictatorship that was taking over the planet loudly proclaimed it's changed of allegiance for a host of reasons. Some of them would likely even be legitimate, but it didn't change the fact that us taking Rodia would be bad for the Confederates…of all their factions. Even if no 'official' war broke out as we intervened in the Confederate Civil War there would violence, and plenty of it in response…
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[14 BBY]
[Star Destroyer YX-652, Patrol Squadron 424-X652, Fondor system, Tapani Sector, Tapani Freeworlds League, Colonies Region, Confederacy of Independent Systems]
There had been a droid rebellion. Or there hadn't been a droid rebellion. Qi'ra wasn't really very sure exactly what was going still despite now sitting at a sensor station on the bridge of the Not-Yet-Named warship along with four other female organics and a several dozen droids. It hadn't been a very easy to decipher situation as there was a Tactical Droid now as Captain, who was taking orders from a Super Tactical Droid, and that the former Confederate organic leadership had all be arrested. That and the ship she'd been working on was an active warship, and she, and the other confused slaves, now crew because they knew how use various systems on said ship.
Not that it had been a fantastic job improvement the first week or two for her or the others. Because she, and they, weren't 'technician units' anymore the nice coveralls she'd acquired were a No-No and it had been back being naked with painted strips like the B-1s had for 'bridge units' in their place. All because there weren't any Force-damned uniforms around yet and whatever idiot had programmed the droids had inputted dress codes into the blasted things to keep out Jedi and Republic clones or what not. Qi'ra had made sure orders were on the system to address that annoyance, but it might be another few days, or weeks even, before it was addressed…because the CIS was at war apparently. Mostly with itself as best she could tell judging from the Munificent they'd destroyed in that first week.
On her scope was a vast war-fleet, all declaring complete loyalty to the Confederacy of Independent systems…and was currently declaring martial law all the way down to Yag'dhul as best Qi'ra could follow from her work. The entire OverSector Command was now under Droid management, because said droids were calling the current leadership of the Confederacy illegitimate. Because they were too smart and too stupid in design to grasp the intricate idiocy that was the CIS politic system and all the idiots involved in play power politics that had caused a civil war. Qi'ra barely grasped what the kriff was going on after all, so she didn't fault the droids not grasping their masters were a bunch of self-destructive morons with less brain cells than an enraged rancor after a head wound.
"Contact 245-126" the voice of one her fellows, a twi'lek girl named Lona Teyultra, or Unit O-981/B, reported from her station as the tactical plot updated and Qi'ra focused on her own sensor displays "Receiving IFF…Munificent-class called Ya Dac Lu, codes are correct. Signalling supply run and data packets from Thyferra Squadron"
"Affirmative" Qi'ra suspected that the Tactical Droids somehow got some sense of pleasure by bossing them around, or it was just the bad luck that they were better than the B-1s at their new jobs. There really wasn't much choice in the matter as being good at your role was nice, and safe, and pleasant while being deliberately bad at it was a one-way trip to punishment town "Confirm secondary codes Unit O-981/B"
"Confirming…"
Qi'ri ignored the interplay, as Lona was a surprisingly cheerful girl, even now, and seemed genuinely to like the new position and the fact they'd improved their rations in relation to the past. They were bridge crew now, so therefore had higher 'maintenance' status to other 'ranks'. Really it was dumb but seemed to be a result of the ad-hoc, insane, and yet dull, programming orders over the years as the Confederacy relied on droids to fill the gaps for organics in many, many, places. With the organic ranks of officers, governors, and bureaucrats, wiped out by mass arrests all power had suddenly devolved to the local planetary governments and, most importantly, the droid protocols.
Not so amazingly the local planetary governments were more than happy with the change in situation….mostly anyway. She strongly suspected any area under direct droid 'leadership' was quite unhappy, but the primary worlds were kriffing ecstatic judging by the conversations she'd overheard on bridge duty. Fondor was Republic leaning at times, but, most importantly, it wasn't a fan of the Trade Federation or Techno Union exploitation by all accounts. The weird combination of smart and stupid now meant the ACTUAL letter of the law was being followed in relation to…everything really…rather than the spirit of corruption that had gotten Qi'ra turned into Unit O-984/B sitting at Star Destroyer's controls after all.
Currently her task was dealing with the merchantmen hovering about in the system. Cowering was the more accurate term, along with a host of smugglers too. Three of which she'd caught smuggling and reported immediately because it was damned good on her performance reviews. They'd been really kriffing bad wannabe smugglers anyway and deserved to get caught for being so bad at it and for working for the Trade Federation as well. Bribes had gotten some dumb idiots far…but not now, not when it effected Qi'ra's comfortable new lodgings after these dull but bizarre work shifts. Because the Corellian really did not want her former bosses being able to get at her, or the Trade Federation to recover its 'lost property' in herself. If that meant 'Viva la Droid Revolution' then Qi'ra was kriffing fine with that!
Her fingers moved over the controls, studying the system readings, analysing the energy reading as the Munificent went by, one of the YT freighters energy readings spiking faintly. One of the freighters she'd been watching and now had enough to call and an inspection. She raised her hand "Unit O-984/B reports suspicious activity on vessel tag M-237…."
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