Officers and Gentlemen (Pirate Hunt)

[CaptainBonkers]

Eudon Mecetti took a look at his time piece. The sensors had picked up a hyperspace signature at edge of the system about fifteen minutes ago, followed shortly by a request for LZ coordinates. Barring any unexpected delays caused by rough winds or space weather the Republic delegation ought to be making planetfall in a few. Right on time then. Good. There were few things in this world that Eudon disliked more than unnecessary delays.

He had been very much been looking forward to this meeting, not least because it meant that they were finally close to eradicating those accursed renegades plaguing the trade-routes between Republic and Tapani space. It had taken far too long for his father and the Parliament to decide what to do with the filthy pirates, if you asked Eudon, but at least they had finally made a good decision, though only after debating over it a good six months. Sometimes Eudon felt that father had allowed the Parliament to have too much power in matters of security and defense but at least its existence kept the great houses mostly in line. Mostly.

Of course, as pleased as he was to be finally about to be allowed to pacify the Tapani border regions plagued by piracy, Eudon was still of the opinion that, strictly from the point of view of the military, Republic’s assistance was unnecessary. The Tapani Royal Navy could have easily handled the pirates by itself; after all they were nothing more than a bunch of ill-disciplined peasants that had been able to weld a gun on their freighter. Hardly a challenging foe for the well equipped and seasoned Royal Navy. However, he did recognize the diplomatic merit in inviting the Republic to join in on the operation. Such cooperation did much to heal the rifts caused by the High Kingdom’s sudden exit from the Great War and their subsequent secession.

Finally a group of shuttles bearing Republic navy insignia pushed through the thick cloud cover and began their descent towards the landing area of Fort Arafo, where they would be greeted by a welcoming committee of sufficiently high ranking officers as well as a detachment of Royal Marines and Regulars. Some of the former would even be taking part in the anti-pirate operation later. That was all, though. For now at least. Since this was not an official diplomatic delegation more pomp and ceremony wasn’t necessary or even proper. Merely welcoming the military delegates properly and then escorting them to inside to begin with the work was the best approach. Of course, they were still looking to make a good impression to the Republic brass arriving. The lads were dressed in new and shiny uniforms and all the officers were in proper uniforms. Just because there was no parade did not mean they couldn’t put their best foot forward.

Fromikeable , @meira, @harukei, 

[Harukei]

Saul Talion hadn't slept in some time. Not out of a sense of desperation or boredom, but for there was work to be done. Even as he had boarded the shuttle that would take him and the Republic entourage down to Fort Arafo, he did not stop his work. His mind tired as it was still moved with great speed as his fingers tapped unto his personal datapad, relaying his orders as he left the bulk of the 4th Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Miwikizi. He trusted the Duro, the male was a good commander and a sound strategist, but even so, Saul preferred to do things his way.

With the departure to meet the Tapani officials in light of the recent surge of piracy among their sector, Saul had deemed of importance to call the best of his battle groups for this assignment and as such Battle Groups Aurek and Besh had been pulled from patrol duties and awaited to jump inside the sector when clearance had been given. As such, even in this brief instances before touchdown the Admiral didn't dare to stop, not he did care for the jumpy flight as the shuttle kissed the threshold of vacuum and gravity and began atmospheric flight. With units reassigned to his liking, he relayed the information through the secure network and finally took his tired eyes from the screen. 

He rubbed his eyes as the ship began its final descent and was ready once it became to a halt and the perennial whine of hydraulics was heard once more. The sight that greeted him did little to ease the urgency that was accumulating inside him. A detachment of the famous royal marines that had an uniform that seemed new, tailored made, and well press to the point many would take them for over-glorified guards. Behind them a cabal of officers of High Ranking with so many medals pinned to their chests that they almost took all available space on the doublet, epaulets that shone with cloth-of-gold to bring up their ranks even more, and an assortment of hats that made the one Saul held in his hands look rather simple and austere. 

Saul could appreciate the professionalism of having a clean uniform. He wore his as such, although he preferred to wear his service one over the dress uniform. He simply disliked the pomp that came with the Tapani.

"A single rifle squad would have been enough." He mused softly as he continued the path towards the Tapani delegation, adjusting his cap over his head. 

[Fromikeable]

The Republic hadn't take the departure of the Tapani forces during the war well in any regard, but nowhere had they been more hated than in the 465th Division, 36th Army. Better known to most as the The Bloody Fifth, the division had been stationed on Sneeve, one of the border worlds during the midpoint of the war, reinforced by the 332nd and 128th Divisions. The 332nd and 128th had both been Tapani in nationality, and when the call had been made, they had abandoned their post, flown to their ships, and left.

With no reinforcements to be spared and only a third of their original strength, he 465th had been wiped out the following day by an opportunistic Imperial admiral. Sneeve had fallen a few days later.

Stories like that could be found in abundance following the war. Worlds that had packed it in, either out of ambition or weariness, had left the Republic armies that had protected their space beaten and alone. When those beaten, lonely armies had been run over by Imperial invasion forces, the newly-independent worlds had cited the defeats as proof of their justification. Horst had a lot to say about that, but typically, he had to bite his tongue hard enough to only point out one thing.

There weren't any independent worlds surrounded by Imperial space.

"Gotta' make it look like they're strong, Saul." Adjusting his shirt, Horst did the button on his collar as they walked off the shuttle, eyeing their escorts. They moved in groups, each group of Republic diplomats, soldiers, and commanders surrounded by Tapani guards, both factions dressed formally. For his part, Horst had cleaned up a little, his brass on clear display, but little else. Honestly, he'd wanted to take a page out of Saul's book and forgo even that, but without the full get-up, it would be tedious to explain that he was the one in charge.

So for now, he'd feel like a monkey and play the game.

"After all, when you run from a war with your tail between your legs..." Finishing his review of their escorts, Horst grunted lightly, not caring if the soldiers around them heard. He wouldn't flat-out call the High Kingdom a "goddamn den of cowardly bastards" when invited to their world, but he wasn't about to pretend that they'd done nothing wrong. As far as Horst was concerned, he'd been sent to ask a bunch of would-be Imperial aristocrats if the Republic could help them do their job for them in space that the Republic owned anyway.

Officially, of course, he was here to offer Republic assistance to the honorable Kingdom and its citizens.

"Don't tell anybody I said that." Offering a quick grin at the admiral, Horst finished with his collar, marching on.

[Meira]

The chrono on his desk chimed its alarm. Leo, having lost himself in his task, blinked a few times as he looked up at it. He squinted, trying to remember why he'd set an alarm in the first place. Bubbles butted his head against Leo's leg, then pressed his whole body into the man before hopping up onto the desk with a chirrup. Leo set down the wooden figurine he'd been carving at and gave Bubbles his due scratching under his chin. Leo then stood, tapping the chrono to stifle the alarm and stretched his arms high above his head. The Republic officers were arriving, that's what it was.

He brushed the wood shavings from his pants and shirt and then turned to the closet. Leo had arrived at Fort Arafo the evening before. Too late for dinner, he and Eudon had caught up over a quick drink before retiring for the evening. They'd both been kept busy in recent months with their respective duties, and so it had been some time since they'd been able to get together. Leo had regretted not being able to arrive earlier. A good sparring session with Eudon would have been nice before they had to get into this business with the pirates. But alas, the work of a House Liaison was never finished. He'd been wrapping up a trade agreement with his Calipsa counterpart and simply couldn't arrive any sooner. No bother. Perhaps he and Eudon might be able to spar once they'd routed the pirates.

"Hey, leave that." he said as he put one arm through his uniform jacket. Bubbles had been about to swat the figurine from the desk. Leo was quick, however, and snatched up the unfinished squall and placed it into a drawer before the tooka could damage it. Bubbles, seemingly unaffected by the chastisement, jumped to the floor and moved quickly to pace by the door. "Not this time, Colonel." Leo said, buttoning up his jacket and checking himself in the mirror that hung on the inside of the closet door. "Maybe later." He shooed the tooka with his boot as he moved toward the door. Bubbles, looking quite offended, watched his master slip from their quarters.

The room had not been much, but Leo was accustomed to the accommodations of military bases. The most spacious quarters had been claimed by the Grand Prince, as expected. Leo might have held some claim to the next best rooms, but he had declined. Better to leave those to their Republic guests. Guests who, Leo realized, should be landing any minute. He picked up the pace into a half walk-half jog until he reached where Eudon awaited them all. Slowing down once he was in sight of his friend, Leo smoothed a hand along his hair and then down the front of his uniform. Next to the Grand Prince, Leo's uniform seemed spare to the point of almost looking more like a servant than a Tapani nobleman. But Leo had never been one for flashy clothing. Sophisticated, yes, but not flashy. His only real adornments being the Cadriaan House emblem, which he wore as a pin at the collar of his jacket and the lightfoil that hung from his belt.

"Your highness." he said in greeting to Eudon as he came to stand beside the Grand Prince, giving the man a quick bow.

[CaptainBonkers]

Even without the aid of the Force, Eudon could tell that many of the Republic officers were unhappy of being here. Most did an admirable job of hiding their displeasure but a few sported fake smiles so deplorable that they would have been cleaned in sabbacc by a schoolboy with only rudimentary understanding of the intricacies of reading people. Their anger, even if misplaced and ultimately pointless, was still quite understandable. Eudon himself was more than willing to admit that the way the Tapani forces had departed from the front lines was less than graceful. However, he would never apologize for declaring independence and making separate peace with the Empire. The price of each mile had simply grown too great to bear. Had the Republic Senate not been infested by blind, Jedi worshiping warmongers willing to disregard their own democratic customs in pursuit of their ideological crusade against the Sith Empire then perhaps things could have been different. By throwing out the proposition Eudon's father had made to open peace talks with the Imperials without even allowing a debate on the matter the Republic had forced the Tapani hand. 

Just in time to welcome the Republic delegation, Leo appeared. Though Eudon despised tardiness, the only admonishment he could muster against his friend was a mildly disapproving look. "Your lordship. Good of you to join us." he replied curtly. Had the Republic delegation not been approaching, he might have taken a few moments to jokingly comment on Leo's ability to lose the track of the time but alas the demands of diplomacy left no room for friendly banter today. 

As the Republic officers reached him, Eudon gave a polite, sharp salute. "Welcome to Fondor, gentlemen. I hope that your trip went without any complications." 

[Fromikeable]

There they were. Horst couldn't help but notice the contrast between their aesthetics, the cultures of the Tapani and the Republic on full display. There he and Saul were, dressed in the standard gold and red, both colors plain and in simple patterns. Many of the Republic personnel had donned their red caps, the greatest amount of flair being their nicer dress boots and their military ribbon badges. Horst was arguably the fanciest of them all, sporting his small five-star arrangement just above his brass.

With the amount of medals the Grand Prince was wearing, it was a wonder he wasn't glowing like a lighthouse.

Returning the salute he was offered, Horst took a second of silence to observe the two men before him. Eudon surely fit the bill of Grand Prince, but who was this guy next to him? Devoid of the same level of medallions and only sporting a small house crest, he looked more like a bodyguard than a noble.

"Was a little awkward crossing the border, but smooth sailin' otherwise." Unaware of just how thick his Corellian accent must have sounded after Eudon's, Horst raised a hand all the same, holding it out to the prince.

"General Horst Stellar, Chief of General Staff. This's Fleet Admiral Saul Talion, Chief of the Navy, heads the Fourth Fleet." His other hand motioned at Saul before dropping to his waist.

[Harukei]

The Admiral was not impressed by the amount of medals that whom he assumed the Grand Prince had. It was unsightly, a couple of medals, campaign ribbons was simply more than enough. A soldier was meant to look organized and ready for combat, not to be made into walking, prancing peacock that showed its accolades to everyone. But once more he decided to keep that to himself. There would be no use of a need to start working if he accidentally worsened the relationship between the Republic and the Tapani. 

"I am glad to be of your acquaintance your Royal Highness."

Saul would finally say, not entirely lying. He had heard the some of the reputation of the man, essentially acting as someone that walked with a stick up his ass, and that, when devoid of weapons, would use that same stick to fight. In all honesty he would reserve his opinions to him until he understood how the Tapani fleet under his command worked as well what sort of information or intelligence the man was willing to share. 

He took a look to the other man and approved of his attire, decidedly more simple and functional than the over the top, shiny new soldier uniform that most of the honor guard and entourage of military personnel was wearing. If anything the man on the side of the Grand Prince gave a different air, somewhat more soothing and calm. 

[CaptainBonkers]

Eudon seized the General's hand and shook it firmly. He was willing to shake hands with a fellow soldier, even if doing so violated the official royal protocol slightly. It wasn't the kind of violation that would cause a scandal if the press ever found out about it, merely something the lords that already had it in for him would love to complain about. Assuming of course that news of it ever reached their ears. And seeing how this was not a public event by any means and everyone close enough to witness him shaking hands with General Stellar were not known for having loose lips the chances of Eudon's enemies hearing about this were quite slim.

"I'm sorry to hear that, general. I hope no one gave you too much trouble."  he replied. In truth, Eudon suspected that the mention of awkwardness of crossing the border might have been a veiled comment on the fact that there was now a border to cross between Tapani Sector and Republic Space but chose to leave it be. This might not have been a diplomatic summit but diplomacy was still required.

The Grand Prince turned his attention to the Admiral whom Stellar had introduced when the man spoke up. Eudon gave him a polite nod. "The feeling is mutual, admiral. It's always a pleasure to meet a distinguished soldier such as yourself."

He had of course read up on the members of the delegation, with particular attention paid to Stellar and Talion. Correlians both, which was hardly surprising. The Republic military was so full of them that they should seriously have considered some form of affirmative action program to ensure that people from other parts of the Republic could reach the higher echelons of command. Well, maybe the situation was not that bad but the fact remained that many Correlians seemed to gravitate towards the Republic Navy. General Stellar was something of an outlier in that regard. Few of the flyboys were interested in drudging through the muck with the grunts, as he had heard some Correlian naval officers joking back in the day.

Both were quite distinguished commanders, of course, as expected. Eudon would have taken it as an insult if the Republic had sent anything sort of their best to take part in a joint operation like this. True, dealing with pirates was a fairly trivial matter but given the diplomatic overtures of this whole shebang to send some junior general officers would have been insulting at the very least and likely to cool relations between the Tapani High Kingdom and the Republic.

"Right then. Allow me to introduce Lord Albus of House Cadriaan, the liaison officer to the House Guards of the same. They will providing a number of specialist craft and personnel for the operation." Eudon said, gesturing at his friend. "Then there are Sir Peronti here, Admiral of the Seventh Fleet and Lady Arrad of House Callipsa, Admiral of the Ninth fleet..." he continued through the other fleet commanders as quickly as possible. The sooner they could get the formalities over with, the sooner they could get to planning the operation. 

[Meira]

"Gentlemen." Leo said, giving a slight bow of his head to each of them.

Inwardly, Leo was trying his damndest to remember anything about these two soldiers. Eudon had sent him a summary report on the Republic officers that would be joining in on this exercise, but Leo had only skimmed it. It didn't really matter. Eudon would have it all memorized, so all Leo had to do was be charming and supportive. Luckily, charming and supportive was his specialty.

After Eudon introduced the remainder of the Tapani officials present, Leo gave the General and the Admiral his best smile. He was here as the official Cadriaan House Liaison, yes, but Tapani had many Houses capable of aiding in this extermination. The truth was that Eudon, while a great military mind and a more than competent politician, he lacked the finesse that Leo naturally possessed. Eudon was a leader and an imposing figure, but he rarely dealt with anyone who considered themselves equal to him these days. Leo was here to ensure that such interactions went smoothly.

"We have prepared some light refreshment." he said, gesturing toward the doors that led into the fort. "If you'll follow me."

Leo had insisted, in their brief conversation the evening before, that some sort of reception would be necessary for the arriving officials. It would be improper to not show at least some hospitality toward their guests. In the end, they'd agreed that non-alcoholic drinks and light hors d'oeuvres would suffice. Leo agreed with the stipulation that they'd at least give the Republicans a proper sendoff after the mission was complete.

Being a military base, Fort Arafo was unfortunately short on scantily clad waitstaff, so Leo had made do with simply uniformed junior officers to distribute the drinks and finger foods to their guests as they entered the Fort. Once they all had a drink in hand, Leo raised his. Toasting with non-alcoholic drinks was borderline sacrilegious, but there was nothing to be done about it.

"To a successful hunt, and renewed friendship." he said, before taking a quick sip.

[Fromikeable]

Horst did his best to commit the first few names to memory. As the tenth rolled around, he settled for remembering faces. By the twentieth, his mind had checked out, maintaining a polite nod and "hey there" to each as the earlier had received. There was no way all of these nobles would be important to him, and even less chance that they'd all have something to do with the pirate operations. Hell, Horst would be shocked if any of these men had ever held a rank that had placed them anywhere near a battlefield. That just wouldn't do. Think of the children!

The poor, poor, richer-than-hell noble children!

The general didn't let his mild disgust show as they managed to get through the last few noblemen. His relief was apparent as they were finally ushered away, however, clearly glad to be free of the waiting rulers. Horst was a general, not a diplomat. Eudon he would tolerate, even if he proved to be the most elegantly-up-brought of pricks, because Eudon was at the very least a commander. Eudon worked for his money, even if he hadn't needed to make it himself.

The rest of 'em? To hell with the bastards, Horst couldn't care less.

Finally within the familiar confines of a military base, Horst surveyed Fort Arafo as they walked. The architecture looked familiar, damn near Republican. Hadn't this place been a Republic fort before the secession? It was probably rude to ask. He'd have to look it up later. In the meantime, he gladly accepted a drink from one of the junior officers, raising it to Leo's toast.

"Cin cin." Going with one of the more formal Corellian toasts he knew, Horst clinked his glass before taking a long sip, visibly relaxing. Hooking his free hand in his pocket, the general swirled his drink lightly, the ice within clinking.

"So let's get to it. What's the deal with these pirates?" Looking to Saul, Horst motioned at him with his glass. "We're not even sure where they're based."

[Harukei]

Saul would ponder as the sweet flavor of juice invaded his mouth and washed down his throat, having some disappointment about the actual lack of any proper drink, even a distilled spirit would had been appreciated. He took a look to the men of the Tapani sector and the army, all rather well dressed, all proper and with far too many medals and pins to be accommodated on the chest of any uniform. He looked at their eyes as they talked among themselves, some had the eyes of experience, of warfare and understanding of combat first hands which he himself had. Even Eudon and Leo had that look and that made him feel with some ease about the situation. 

However for most, they seemed too green, too inexperienced. Having seen too few a solar rotations and others simple seemed too soft around the edges, preferring to keep themselves well dressed and pretend to be actual soldiers and that took whatever confidence of this being an usual military operation away.

The Admiral allowed Horst to speak first, and he would agree with his quick assessment. The Tapani had been less than gracious with the information they shared. Saul had prepared a detachment of his fleet to work, preferring the most flexible approach due the lack of information, deciding how to further change the permutation of the fleet once he had enough data to work with. All and all, the lack of information had been the most frustrating part of the whole ordeal, it felt as if it was a situation that the Tapani themselves felt some shame at how the problem had escalated. 

"Obviously they're just more than simple raiders."

He said as he looked at Horst and then turned towards Eudon and Leo. 

"They seem rather well organized and know when the patrols are not in that area."

[CaptainBonkers]

"I wouldn't exactly go so far as to call them well organized." Eudon responded while signaling one of the aides present to activate the holoprojector. "They are nothing but opportunistic rabble whom have had the fortune of finding a well placed no-man's land to base their operations in while having someone with the will and vision to keep them from tearing each other apart in charge."

His opinion of the pirates ability in combat was fairly low. Eudon had devoured every recording and report of their attacks and raids he could get his hands on, meticulously assessing their tactics and equipment, and had concluded that had the pirates been up against a properly organized and equipped force they would have been defeated nine times out of ten. After all, soldiers did not surrender just because the enemy managed to board their ship. All in all, Eudon had seen impromptu citizens' militias with better tactics, though the pirates did at least show a modicum of ability to coordinate their movements in battle. But it was their equipment and vessels that saved them from being a complete joke.

It was a sad fact that following the ceasefire that had ended, or halted if you were a pessimist, the war between the Republic and the Empire a great deal of obsolete or salvaged military grade equipment had made its way to the black market. This specific group either possessed excellent connections or had found a cache of salvage they had gleefully taken for themselves, seeing how much of their craft was a jury-rigged mix of civilian ships fitted with do-it-yourself armoring, military grade weaponry and overcharged engines and salvaged military ships you could just recognize under all the home-made modifications as models used in the early parts of the War. Had the pirates been better organized, and possible possessed a safe harbour on some planet, they might have actually posed a serious threat to the stability of the region but in their current condition they were merely a financial drain and a nuisance. 

"As what comes to them evading patrols, well, it is unfortunately fairly easy to evade patrols when the region they are based in is as rarely patrolled as this one." he continued as the map of the stellar region the pirates were operating from was projected into the air above the central table. Apart from a medium sized nebula, glowing softly purple and extending it's tendrils in winding spirals towards the Galactic Core, there was little of note in the disputed region. Few small rogue asteroids floating in the void, an abandoned commercial refueling station and a solitary star with no orbiting bodies. Certainly nothing the pirates could realistically use as base. “The border there has been a bit, shall we say, unclear ever since our independence. Apparently the initial border was decided on with outdated data and now its ownership is something of a diplomatic headache.”

Headache was the most polite way Eudon had heard the situation being described by politicians and members of the diplomatic service in private. Strategically and economically the stretch of void was nearly worthless but the parliament would not approve renouncing Tapani claims to the region. To even suggest such an action would destroy an MP’s career faster than being caught with their pants down in a gentlemen’s club. The Republic on the other hand would have probably already renounced their claims on the region had it not been for the lobbying by many worlds bordering Tapani space. They were still understandably crossed about Tapani independence as well as the toll that the Crown of Tapani was imposing on non-Tapani ships passing through the important trade-routes crossing through its territory. It wasn’t a large toll, after all over taxation would have quickly stifled the routes, but still widely detested by the financial circles of surrounding Republic worlds.

However, since neither side was ready to drop their claims but weren’t willing to press the issue of the region either over diplomatic concerns, neither side had committed to patrolling the void in this particular sector as to avoid provoking the other side. Hopefully, with this joint operation the issue of the region could be brought up in a peaceful manner, opening up a possibility to solving the problem it posed to both sides.

“We haven’t pinpointed the exact location of their base yet but we have narrowed it down to the Havar’s Eye.” He said, gesturing towards the nebula. The map zoomed in on the glowing cloud and highlighted a number of points of interest within its bounds. “While we are still trying to ascertain the exact location, we are fairly certain we can cross of this section of the nebula. It is locked in near constant ion storm that makes it less than ideal place for hiding in for prolonged periods of time. However, with a pack of Mirages now observing the Nebula around the clock, we should soon be able to locate their hideout.”

[Meira]

As Eudon began the meeting in earnest, Leo stood back quietly, allowing the Republic men plenty of space to see what was being presented to them. The true questions of this exercise surfaced rather quickly. Where were these pirates, and how had they managed to evade capture. Leo could appreciate the straightforward nature of their questions, those questions did, however bring up that touchy subject of the boarder. That minor dispute was likely the answer to the third questions, the one that hadn't truly been asked. Why work together? With the Cadriaan province edging right along the edge of said no man's land, Leo had a vested interest in the hope that this joint mission might be the proverbial stone to their two bird problem.

"We have some images of their ships." Leo said once Eudon had finished. He stepped forward to the table, reaching into a pocket. Not finding what he was looking for, Leo paused and searched a different pocket. "Recovered..." he tried to continue as he searched, "from... ships that were attacked... along..."

Something butted softly against Leo's leg. He glanced down to see Bubbles, rubbing against him. He'd managed to escape again. And he had something in his mouth.

"Ah." Leo said, recognizing the data module. Holding up a finger to ask for the others to hold that thought, Leo bent over and scooped the tooka up with one arms and pried the module away from him. "May I introduce the good Colonel." he said, hefting the small creature for emphasis before setting him down on the table as he inserted the data module into the table's port. "Bubbles."

Above the table, the display changed to a number of free floating screens. These screens cycled through several images of what appeared to be a number of objects that looked more like floating scrap yards than a fleet of ships. Many of the images were lowe quality, blurred, or otherwise difficult to make out too clearly.

"They are obviously taking advantage of high mobility in their raids." he said. "They are almost always long gone before any help is able to arrive for the trade ships. They began fairly small, attacking only light freighters. But they've grown bolder in recent weeks, and the larger operations are beginning to report sightings."