Coral City (open)

[TheRedChair]

It was one of those shuttles. Those many, nameless, medium-sized shuttles that are the blood of interstellar commerce. At first glance, it wasn't much different from other shuttles-- careful scrutiny, however, told a different story. Complex sensor arrays and comm-relays adorned the hull of the craft, with the emblem of the Jedi Order painted boldly on the wings. On board this shuttle, invariable and special all at the same time, was Garyn Velrith Caligar, a High Councillor, and now General, of the Jedi Order. He came to prepare the defenses of Coral City, and even Mon Calamari as a whole, in the war that was so quickly escalating.

The shuttle landed on a pad not far from the main city, but tucked away in one of the marinas that skirted the edges of the floating settlement. Garyn, dressed modestly and with a relaxed attitude, stepped forth with two escorts-- Republic troopers. Together they met with a Dacian envoy, and started towards the downtown area (called so because of the numerous tall buildings) of Coral City. There he would address the Mon Calamari Council, prior to his preparations.

[Regnier]

Syn paused from reading through a datapad filled with daily reports and glanced at the beeping comm' unit on her desk. After a few seconds, she tapped it. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Jedi Council member Master Caligar has just landed in Coral City, Ma'am."

Syn glanced at her holoclock. She still had a few minutes before she had to leave. And a pile of work. She reached for her jacket. She wasn't dressed particularly formally, just in her basic service uniform that only held her rank, but the Mon Calamarians didn't tend to care whether or not she presented herself in front of the council in this or in her finest dress uniform. They weren't vain enough to require it, which she liked. She did, however, leave her sidearm behind. She opened her office door and stepped outside. The lieutenant seated behind the desk beside her door glanced up, then at her own holoclock. "You shouldn't have to leave for another few minutes yet, or so I thought, Ma'am."

"Only if I take a ride. I'm walking to the Council."

And so, she walked. With four Republic soldiers, two in front, two behind, much to her ire. She could barely swim without a guard these days. And now she had a Jedi, a member of the Jedi Council, no less, coming to adress the Mon Calamari Council. She had a suspicion the meeting wasn't going to be greatly enjoyable.

[TheRedChair]

It was only awhile until Garyn met the commander in charge, the respected Brigadier General Pace. She was known for being a practical, competent soldier, and despite her young age the Jedi Councilor had heard about her growing reputation before. He had been told to expect meeting her, and was pleased that he got the chance.

General Pace, flanked by four guards, met with him outside the Council building. He bowed to her, and then looked to the low-built dome, supposedly housing a rather large chamber within.

"Brigadier General Pace, I assume?" he said, turning back to her.

[Regnier]

"That would be me, yes." Syn replied to the Jedi, inclining her head stiffly; more out of actual stiffness than anything else. Polite, stiff, and precise lined both her stance and her voice. No, military procedure did. "And you would be Jedi Master Caligar, of the High Council, yes?"

"Or, I should say, General Caligar, sir." She said as she straightened slightly and gave the Jedi a formal salute, as did the four soldiers around her. It irked her somewhat that she had only been planetside three months, and already someone had been sent that outranked her, though she didn't let it show. She had nothing personal against the Jedi, but she would have liked, for once, if the person with more actual military experience were just left alone to do their job. But, that was how the Republic and most of its pieces worked, and she was used to it at this point. At least he seemed the acceptable sort so far and wasn't lording his position. She glanced at one of her guards, who glanced at his timekeeper.

"Uh...two minutes, Ma'am."

She nodded and turned back to the Jedi and folded her arms stiffly behind her back. She raised her chin slightly and straightened her jawline. "Well, I'm afraid we don't have time for smalltalk right now, or even a quick briefing. You're the ranking officer here, so, the lead's all yours. I'll be right behind you if you need me. The Council should be ready for us, sir."

[TheRedChair]

"Too true," Garyn said, smiling again. The party started into the Dome of the Mon Calamari Council. Garyn, who was unfamiliar with the architecture, was amazed by its aesthetic perfection and delicate curves. The building was not built in the Republic style, with hundreds of entrance rooms-- a large, wide access bridge, which overlooked the city and the seas in the distance, led directly into the Dome, which in the interior was set up like an amphitheatre. It did not take them long to get there, and when they did they arrived to see the current debate end as hundreds of pairs of large, bulbous eyes moved to meet them.

"Jedi Councilor Caligar, and the venerable General Pace. We are glad to see you have made it, for there is much to discuss." By the time the greeting had ended Garyn, Syn, and the bodyguards had just made it to the stand. The troopers, out of respect for the conference, stood to the side, but still kept a close eye on the matters at hand. The speaker for the Council motioned for Garyn to speak, so he took wide steps towards the podium, silently admiring the intricate shell-designs that surrounded the otherwise bleak council room.

"Greetings, Mon Calamari. You have all been informed of why I am here, and of course, what is happening across the Galaxy. I want to personally ensure you, that although the Republic has seen fit to aid in fortifying your planet, we will not usurp your autonomy nor meddle in local affairs in any way. I have heard of concerns of garrison troopers abusing their powers as protectors once they arrive en masse. This will not happen-- our troopers are very disciplined, as you might already know if you have met one." There was a pause, as a few chuckles hit the stands. Trying to conjure up something else to say, he realized there really wasn't, and got ready to hand the stand over to the General.

"Anyways (laughs were still intersparsed throughout here), I would like to pass the mic over to someone who can better describe to you the changes that might take place. Someone of far more military accomplishment and ability then myself, and probably far more accustomed to yourselves (again, small laughter), Brigadier General Pace." And thunderous applause.

[Regnier]

Syn raised a hand modestly and waited for the applause to wind down as she moved to the podium. "Please, ladies and gentlemen...I've been stationed here for three months, along with a brigade of some very fine soldiers. You know me, have seen the way I work. I personally garuantee that the level of professionalism I have maintained in my soldiers will not diminish as times wears on. Let's face it, my friends...I'll always be a hard-ass." She paused for a few chuckles. "Honestly, the only thing I intend to do is make sure this planet doesn't fall if attacked. I think it's safe to say that at least a few of you have witnessed how far I try and keep myself and my men out of local affairs. I'm a soldier, not a politician, and not a policeman, and I intend to keep it that way. As General Caligar said, we're her to help, not take over, and you have my word that that is what I intend to do."

She paused for a few seconds and folded her arms behind her back again. "Now, onto the specifics. As of now, I have at least a single infantry company in every city and installation we've been allowed full access to, with platoons of Special Forces in every installation and city, plus anti-air units and Air Defense towers in every topside installation, anti-armor units just about everywhere, anti-personnel turrets on every major and minor installation, and a battalion of sea units operating at full capacity. Commodore Xalor should be arriving with his flotilla, though I am unsure currently as to its strength, along with, I believe, three or four starfighter squadrons within two days. I have not been informed of any more reinforcements slated to be relocated here, though my superiors do sometimes neglect to tell me a few things now and then." She paused again for a few more laughs, as well as to organize her thoughts. It was a good, solid defense for the world. You couldn't put too many troops on the planet, because there simply wasn't that much room, and you couldn't put much of anything in the way of armor, and certainly not heavy armor. If it came down to an attack, the Navy's end would be important, and the ground would be working with urban infantry combat and with trying to take down as much of the landing craft in midair as possible. Anti-air destroyers positioned in the water around the cities would play an important role, as would their frigate, destroyer, and cruiser escorts. Then it was up to the submersibles littering the oceans to pick off as much of the attacker's underwater transports and attack-craft as possible, before it would once again up to the infantry placed in the underwater facilities and cities. The only thing more she could have asked for were a few more Triple R A squads, a horde of Jedi, and a lot more Naval units. And a lot more ground troops. But she would make due with four squads, one Jedi Council member, one flotilla, and one brigade. She only hoped it would be enough to even stand a chance against an invasion.

"Captain Raz'el-" She said, motioning towards one of the troopers that had come with her, who stiffened slightly. "Has the specific numbers and locations of all my forces, for anyone that is interested. He will debrief you once myself and General Caligar have finished. Now then, as of his landing, General Caligar is the ranking Republic officer on Mon Calamari, and is in full command of all our forces as of now."

She turned slightly to face the Jedi Master. "If there are any questions before I give the General back the podium?" She asked as she took a step back and waited.

[TheRedChair]

There were a few questions from the councilor, well-founded and articulated (as is always with the Mon Calamari). After the Brigadier had answered them, Garyn took the podium, and received an unanticipated question.

"General Caligar, I am curious; what is the Council's view on this war?" Garyn laughed inwardly, knowing there was no direct way to answer the question. The Council was... divided, to say the least, with the Grand Master being averse to open confrontation. However, there had to be an answer to the question, and answer Garyn did.

"As always, the Council supports the Republic, our ward. If our own innermost wishes had been gratified by the Powers that guide us, then perhaps there would be no war. Regretfully, we are here, and we will fight for the Republic, for our citizens, and for Mon Calamari." A good reply, in any case. Announcing that he had business to attend to, he stepped down from the podium, and, along with the General Pace, received a final round of applause.

Then, the good Captain Raz'el took the stand, briefing his audience with specifics. Garyn and Syn both headed to the backstage, where hopefully they could talk about the matters at hand.

General Pace," he began. "I thought I'd let you know that although in this particular case I may outrank you, that I will respect any and all advice you give to me. It has not been often that I had an expert with me on the nature of my missions."

[Regnier]

"Well, I hardly consider myself an expert, General Caligar. Just a soldier with a few too many marks. But I'm glad to hear that. It's not every day you run into a ranking officer that actually listens to his subordinates. As long as you don't seriously screw up, you'll have my full support, sir." Syn turned slightly to glance back at the council chamber. "Well said back there. You told them as close to what they wanted to hear as possible without lying. You may just actually be an honorable type, afterall."

She turned back to the Jedi, whatever amusement her gaze had hrld before now gone, replaced by the solemn face of a career soldier when the bad news came out. "You want my advice, sir? My opinion? I want you to disregard half of what I said back there and call in a whatever favors you can from wherever you can. I sure as hell will be. Believe me when tell you, General, that even with Commodore Xalor's flotilla, we don't stand a snowball's chance in hell of holding this planet if a full-fledged invasion force comes at us. Simply put, if a fleet gets past that flotilla, we do not have enough men on the ground to hold. Period. I'd be uncomfortable with a full division out here, but a brigade? I have every faith in my men, Caligar, but we just don't have enough. We are on the ass-end of the galaxy; if push comes to shove, the closest I can honestly expect reinforcements that can actually help us are either from Onderon or Bothawui. We're on our own out here." She shook her head in agitation and turned slightly away again. She sighed and folded her arms behind her back. Numbers weren't everything, and she was sure she would have her men sharper than ever in no time, but one brigade was simply too little to be able to hold long against any real invasion force, and nobody would be coming to help for some time if that happened. "I'd feel a lot better about this place if you had a full four-star Corps and a platoon of Jedi with you. Since I honestly doubt I'll be able to convince anyone to send much of anything of use out here...I think I used the last of my favors just getting that flotilla...I'm going to advise you to crank up the training regimens. If we have to make due with one brigade, we're going to need them to have sharper teeth than anything else out there."

"I can feel a storm coming, General, and a big one. No Marshal is going to believe a simple hunch, granted, and I don't ecpect you to...but that feeling has saved a lot of people's lives before."

[TheRedChair]

Garyn nodded, listening intently to every word the General had to offer. When she was finished, he stood silently, contemplating her advice as the Council Chamber on the other side of the barrier began to empty.

"I will have to see what I can do," he said, settling on the fact that he really would have to meditate on this one. Taking a notepad from within his robes, and borrowing a pen from a Dacian aide, he scribbled down a series of numbers and handed it over to Pace. "This is the number to my quarters-- contact me tomorrow and I will give you an update. I plan on making contact with the Council and will ask them to petition the Senate for forces, but I doubt we will get any Jedi, scratch perhaps a few volunteers. The Grand Master has an isolationist policy concerning what is happening, and has told me himself he would only fight if the Temple itself was attacked." Letting that settle, he looked to the exit and rubbed his soldier, crawling with anticipation. Turning one last time to the Brigadier General, he saluted her in military fashion, saying "Until tomorrow, General." There was much work to do, and little time; if an attack was being planned by the Sith, then they had to make sure they were prepared as soon as possible.

[Regnier]

"That's all I ask." Syn said simply as she took the notepad. She honestly doubted the Senate would send the kind of forces needed to actually hold the planet, not when the planet was as far out of the way as Mon Calamari. She dropped the pad into one of her pockets, stiffened, and returned the salute crisply. "Until tomorrow, then, sir."

Tomorrow was going to be either a day of good news and better news, or good news and very bad news. It all depended on persuasive the Jedi felt and how stingy the Senate felt. She sighed and shook her head as she started for the exit, her guard falling in behind her as she keyed her personal communicator. "Lieutenant Livayyin?"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Open a slot in my schedule tomorrow, early afternoon, preferably before Xalor arrives."

"Right away. Are you coming back to your office, Ma'am?"

Syn paused and thought for a few seconds. "Unless you feel like finishing that stack in my office for me, I suppose I should. I'll be there in a few minutes. Find food."

"Yes Ma'am."

[Axelpro]

The trip seemed like it took hours as Zeale and her Padawan came out of hyperspace with the enormous blue planet staring them in the face. To most senses the planet's external appearance could be described as bedazzling. Zeale continued to look at the planet while her personalized Scout fighter hovered in space, lifeless. It was another moment or so before the Master Jedi opened her mouth to speak again.

They've been expecting us and have already cleared a dock for our two fighters. It's over in this section of Coral City. We'll touch down and meet up with the one leading the operations here. Is that okay?

Not really waiting for the yes that young Zul had no choice but to respond with, Zeale directed her Scout Fighter towards the planet and the engines ignited vaulting the slick heap of metal into motion. The fighter was already delving into the atmosphere of the planet as Zeale prepared herself for what she might find on the planet's surface.

[Ardenator]

The Liberty came out of hyperspace before the sphere of Mon Calamari, three hundred warships at its tail. Commodore Yuar Nedra stood at the bridge, watching the blue planet grow in the bridge viewport. Mon Calamari, last major border world in the Republic.

He looked over to his First Officer, Captain Derna. "Hail the planet. Tell them Commodore Yuar Nedra, with the 109th Systems Force Battle Group, has been assigned to Mon Calamari. I request an audience with the political and military leaders of the world immediately if at all possible."

"Aye-aye, Commodore."

Nedra bristled a little. He still wasn't quite comfortable with the title. Mere weeks ago he had still been a Captain, fighting for his life with his men on Dantooine. The entire battle had turned out to be a fiasco. A Sith fleet of over a thousand ships had appeared in the system, and dropped over thirty-thousand troops on the ground; all headed for Khoonda. The joint Republic and Dantooine forces had been successful in fighting the Sith to a standstill: they could have lasted an entire week, if not more. But the Jedi Master Baumm had seen that victory was nearly impossible. And, penetrating nearly all the Sith lines, had gone to the Sith commander, forcing him to declare a ceasefire. In return for the planet, he would allow all Republic and Dantooine forces to evacuate. All in all, the Republic had done outstandingly well: outnumbered thirty to one, they had forced the Sith into a truce.

But the report afterward had placed all blame on the Republic, saying that they had incited violence, and that the Sith had merely fought in self-defense. The Republic had even gone so far as to formally apologize to the Sith. It was as if there wasn't really a war going on at all.

Even worse, the Republic had used Baumm as a scape-goat, accusing the hero of starting the conflict. He had been stripped of all power and banished back to Jedi Space.

And of course, the Republic needed a hero. Captain Nedra, in landing his Hammerhead in the Tooko Pass, had discouraged a massive Sith "counter-attack" and therefore helped to ease the bloodshed. For his heroic actions in "scaling back" the conflict, Nedra had been given the promotion to Commodore.

He shook his head. Of course he would be branded the hero. High Command had no love for Nedra, but when forced to choose between an "arrogant" Jedi and one of their own there was no hesitation.

The Commodore sighed. He felt cheated. He hadn't done anything amazing. Yes, the defense of dantooine had been fantastic, but his promotion came from political necessity, not any recognition of skill. It was hollow at best.

And now, rather than commanding a single warship, he had three hundred: one hundred Hammerheads and two hundred GN-2 Correllian Assault Cruisers. Five squadrons of sixty. Usually battle groups only had four, but Nedra's fame, combined with the fact that he was the only flag officer with experience in battle against the Sith, had assured a numbers boost in his force.

At least I'm in a position to do something now. Nedra had absorbed all Republic and Dantooine forces after the evacuation; all were a part of his Battle Group. That meant that he now controlled the only troops with real combat experience in the Republic. The rest had all gone through vigorous training and indoctrination in order to meet Nedra's standards. They were all his men now, and they would die for him.

He focused again on Mon Calamari, and something seemed to drop in his stomach. He had a feeling they would be doing a lot of that. Soon.

Nedra's thoughts ran wild. What could he do for his men, for his Republic? How could he be a good commander, how could he be a good man? What was the right thing to do? Send them all to their deaths? Why was he even questioning himself like this now?

Suddenly he realized it. He had three hundred times the power, yes, but with it came three hundred times the responsibility. It was almost too much to bear.

But I will bear it, damn it. I have to. For them, and for my country.

Turning around, he regarded Colonel Chase, stationed close by. She had been a simple scout at Dantooine, but she had proved to be smart, strong, and cunning. Her team had been the ones to bring down the Crystal Caves, destroying the Sith dream of sneaking around the Republic lines. She had fought hard that day, and had lost a good many friends. But most importantly, she had proved that she had something in her; that spark that Nedra was looking for. He had had her promoted to Colonel, and put at the lead of Nedra's Intelligence/Reconnaissance/Special Operations programs.

He addressed the woman. "Colonel Chase. I want you to gather all the intelligence you possibly can about Mon Calamari, the system, and this entire sector. I want to know everything; it's interstellar politics all the way down to the behavior of the microbes on the ocean floor. I expect a full report promptly. I have another much more exciting mission for you afterwards." He smiled mischievously.

Nedra turned to once more regard the pristine world. Whatever the circumstances that brought him here, Mon Calamari was now his mission, his charge.

And he would die to see it free of Sith control.

He chuckled grimly.

Chances were that he'd be doing just that.

[projectsunfire]

((Nice write up Ard!!))

[Ardenator]

(thanks! I edited up the little things that bugged me. I'm pretty proud of it now. )

[Regnier]

"General Pace?"

"Yes, Livayyin?"

"Captain Markalis is on the line for you. He says an incoming Republic fleet has arrived and is hailing."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Put him through."

"Yes, Ma'am."

In barely a second, Syn's communicator clicked and a male voice came over. "General Pace, we have just received a transmition from the Republic ship Liberty under Commodore Yuar Nedra. He and his command, the 109th Systems Force Battle Group, have been assigned to Mon Calamari. Commodore Nedra has also requested an audience with the political and military leaders if possible."

"Thank you, Captain. Inquire of the Liberty if Nedra would prefer to be met aboard his ship, or whether he would prefer to come down here."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The comm' line switched again.

"Lieutenant? Send word of the Commodore's arrival and his request. And find General Caligar, would you? Oh, and check with the Republic on Commodore Xalor. I want to know where he is. While you're at it, check on this Nedra fellow. I want to know more than the tabloids are saying."

"Yes, Ma'am."

An entire Battle Group. After the mess at Dantooine, there was little more she could ask for. It was certainly more than she expected. She only hoped it was enough.

-----

"This is Captain Markalis of Mon Calamari control to Republic vessel Liberty. Hails have been received. The Council has decreed a minor audience will be held at your leisure. Brigadier General Pace inquires as to whether Commodore Nedra wishes her to come aboard the Liberty, or whether the Commodore will be coming planetside."

There were a few moments of silence.

"Liberty, you have been cleared to take up formation around the planet. Choose formation at your discretion, over."

[Ardenator]

Nedra waited patiently for the planet's reply. No doubt his appearance would be a surprise; there weren't any more forces cued up to be sent to Mon Calamari. In actuality, Nedra wasn't really even assigned to Mon Calamari, he was simply using it as a base of operations against the Sith. But something told him that staying here would be more prudent than rushing off to retake Dantooine, so here was where he would be.

Nedra was torn out of his thoughts when the comm officer spoke up. "Incoming transmission from Mon Calamari."

The Commodore nodded curtly. "Broadcast through the bridge speakers." There was a pause, then with a crackle a crisp Captain's voice echoed throughout the bridge.

Listening to his words, Nedra smiled. Even just a minor audience with such short notice was a nod of respect. "Oh, I think I'll be coming planetside, Captain." He listened to the Captain's next statement, and his smile seemed to widen. "Thank you very much. Nedra out."

Turning, he addressed Derna. "It seems like I've got a date to get to. Bring us planetside."

Derna blinked at him. "The Liberty, sir?"

Nedra nodded, placing an of-course look on his face. "Yes, and the entire Battle Group as well."

The burly Captain's jaw dropped. "The entire fleet?"

"Yes, in parade formation. We've been cleared to move as we please, and I'm wanted planetside anyways. Besides, the Mon Calamari need something to get them excited. 'Force knows the times are dark enough already. We can also directly offload the troops that way. Launch starfighters and descend towards the capital."

Derna nodded, still looking a bit unbelieving. "yes sir."

He turned back towards the planet as the Liberty's bow began to drop. He watched as blue began to engulf the entire viewport. Within moments they were in the low atmosphere, gliding over the pristine waters. In the distance a grey dot appeared, slowly growing and taking the shape of one of the Mon Calamarian floating cities.

Aurek fighters and L-wings soared by as the Battle Group came over the massive metal expanse, followed by groups of shuttles and transports. Everything had been scrambled for the occasion.

Nedra grinned. The General must think him a pompous ass for this little move. No matter. Planetary morale would need a boost, and if he could impress the council, they might give him leeway in shoring up the system's defenses as best he could.

Even as he watched, the Battle Group came to a halt over the City, the Liberty over the Capital and Military buildings. Each vessel began to fire, issuing a series of twenty gun salutes to the Mon Calamarian government.

After the salutes were finished the Liberty dropped below the group, close to the tops of the buildings. Turning, Nedra strode towards the Bridge doors. "Derna, you have the helm."

Leaving the command center, he made a B-line for the hangar. There he found his personal shuttle, as well as an honor guard of Navy Troopers waiting. He boarded the vessel and settled in for the short ride. Lifting up on its repulsorlifts, the vessels bounded for the military buildings.

Best to meet this Brigadier General Pace before addressing the council, he thought.

The craft settled on a landing pad, and Commodore Yuar Nedra strode down the boarding ramp, his Honor Guard in tow, ready to meet the defender of Mon Calamari.

[Regnier]

"Showoff."

Standing on one of the military landing pads, three humans, a near-human, and a Devaronian looked out over Coral City and the vast waters beyond, though their focus was more on the rather impressive display above the water.

"Sergeant Vadd! Make sure everybody knows we're being saluted, not attacked!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Pace stood with the remaining three of her personal guard, all members of the same Special Forces unit she had once been a part of, as the fourth moved to a communication terminal and started barking through it.

There was no grandeur to Nedra's reception, just two men and two women wearing medium blast armor optimized for maximum resistance and maximum flexibility and painted several dull shades of gray, adorned with the Republic crest on their shoulders, and wearing combat helmets, visors open. The four stood at parade-rest, battle-rifles slung over their shoulders, around a lone woman in a simple Republic Army service uniform marked by a single star on the chest, with a silver outlined gold bar on the shoulder, side-arm strapped to her hip, who was also standing at parade-rest. The group watched as a lone shuttle set down on the pad, unmoving, and as its human cargo disembarked.

"Offisher on deck!"

The group's heels snapped together in near-perfect unison.

"Troops, pre-sent arms!"

The four soldiers moved as one, every inch of their bodies snapped taught as they formally presented to the Commodore. There was no thought involved in the surgical precision with which the moved. It was pure instinct. And yet, you could still see every ounce of lethality that lurked just beneath the skin if you looked close enough. The Triple RA were, and would always be, soldiers second, killers first. Synyri was no exception. In nearly perfect sync, the four soldiers presented arms in salute and the Brigadier General stiffly snapped one hand to her brow.

It wasn't a grand reception, but it was a precise, honorable, and respectful one, and it wasn't one many officers would ever see, let alone Naval officers. TRA forces didn't do parades, and they didn't often to welcoming committees. Anyone who knew TRA knew the Commodore was being afforded a much greater honor than he probably knew.

[Ardenator]

Nedra came to a stop before the small reception, looking them all up and down. They saluted as one, their movements betraying the strength and lithe of their forms. The Commodore eyed them carefully, and a shiver ran up his spine. These men were killers.

Thank the Force they're on my side. The Naval Officer thought.

Briskly Nedra clicked his heels together, his body going rod-straight. His troops followed with precision that came only with years of training and battle.

"Present arms!" The Navy Troopers moved in unison, presenting to Pace in the picture of perfection.

After years of battling on the frontier Nedra had slowly begun phasing out troops of the Republic Army on his vessels, replacing them with Navy Troopers. He had even gone so far as to eliminate Marines in his fleet. Far from favoritism, Nedra had found that using troops from his own branch eliminated competition, insubordination, and the other problems one had when dealing with separate branches of the military. High Command had been incredibly resistant at first, but after Dantooine they had ended their protesting. His Navy troopers, on the ground, had halted a Sith Army invasion force fifteen times their number. The field test had proved Nedra right.

At first it had been difficult, training men who specialized in ship-to-ship and space combat for surface roles, but in the end it had all worked spectacularly. His men trained day and night, combining the regimes used by the Navy, Marines, Army, and Special Forces. He would tolerate nothing less than the best performance in the entire Republic.

And now they showed the fruits of that training.

Nedra eyed the reception once more as he brought his hand up to return the salute given by the General. TRA, by the looks of them. The General was probably TRA as well. She had the look of it, all right; as well as the fatigued look of a planetary defender on the front lines with only a small force at her command. It was the sad story of many Outer Rim worlds: the rich core kept the fleets all to themselves.

It was a damned good reception, although it was a little small. Members of the TRA weren't ones for ceremony, especially for Navy men. Nedra knew the military well, and he knew when he was given a rare honor.

Lowering his hand, he allowed a large smile to mark his features. "Brigadier General Pace, it's a pleasure." He strode towards the woman, offering a hand.

"I trust there are facilities that can support the landing of my craft and the unloading of troops and supplies? It would be much easier than using my shuttles and dropships."

He gazed out towards the Governmental buildings. "So, tell me everything I should know about Mon Calamari. What are our defenses, minus my additions? And is there anything I should know about the local culture and it's politics before addressing this council?"

[Regnier]

Pace's hand snapped back down to her side, with the four soldiers around her following suit.

"At ease."

The five moved to a parade-rest. Pace could tell the 'Navies' before her were a little more than the average of their kind, and for that, Nedra earned a few brownie points. He had his command kept sharp, and that was a good sign. She hated lax commanders. But this Nedra fellow...she could already tell she was going to get along considerably better with him than she sis with most Naval men...and if she got along with him, then her men could handle his without quite as much prejudice.

Synyri didn't smile back at the approaching Commodore; she rarely smiled much these days anymore, instead she cocked an eyebrow and raised her chin slightly, before nodding in respect. She grasped the proffered hand with a solid grip backed up by a solid arm, and shook it once. "Commodore Nedra. I'm sure the pleasure will be all mine once you get to know me." She said with a wry glance. "Damn glad to see you. Welcome to Mon Calamari."

She turned her head slightly to one of her guards. "Spread."

"Yes, Ma'am." The man in question, a particularly short, yet incredibly solid human, replied quietly, in an almost gentle and soft baritone that belied the fact that he could probably pull the arms off a Wookiee. Two of the four Special Forces un-shouldered their arms again and adopted wide and seemingly random staggered positions that were anything but precise. There, they simply stood, facing completely opposite directions, tense as springs, yet alert as high-powered scanners. The other two, a heavily tattooed and lithe Devaronian with several earrings and a ghostly pale humanoid woman, adopted the same stances, but stayed within a few feet of Pace.

Pace herself moved beside the Commodore and started for an armored hover-carrier parked on the other side of the hanger, motioning Nedra to follow. The Devaronian kept several feet in front, while the woman moved an equal distance behind, and the other two kept decidedly out of formation, though they still managed to keep pace and going in the same direction.

"In answer to your first question, Commodore, yes, there are. I'll have my controllers send coordinates to our runways and production yards. Not exactly what they were intended for, but...they will suit the purpose. Kreenig."

"Yesh, Ma'am." The Devaronian replied with a heavy accent. He flipped his communicator to another channel and started relaying several orders through it.

"And as to the second...before you arrived, we were in a real bad way. I have only First Brigade in-system, and no other real ground forces on the way. That includes four heavy weapons companies, four AT company, four light armor companies, four undersea companies, which is eighty submersibles, two engineering companies, two recon companies, two Triples RA companies, and eighteen infantry platoons, plus twelve anti-air cruisers, three sea-bound battleships, six sea-bound destroyers, eighteen sea-bound frigates, six GN-2's, four Hammerhead Mark 1's, and half a fighter squadron of Aureks and Legionnaires. We've also got a Jedi Master running around here somewhere who's supposed to be running the show, but I haven't been able to reach him yet. For stationary stuff, we have somewhere around on to two armed garrisons in each city, plus one small fortress in every major city, and between ten and twenty anti-air and anti-infantry turrets in every city, plus no more than five anti-armor installations in each." Syn paused and glanced at the Commodore with a slightly irritated look. It was nowhere near enough on its own, and any soldier worth accepting into the military should have known that. She was counting her blessings with Nedra's arrival. He had just given them an actual chance at holding the planet in case of an invasion. Before, she'd had a drawn-out and painful resistance at best.

"Commodore Xalor is set to arrive with his flotilla of thirty Hammerhead Ones, twenty Hammer Twos, a hundred GN-2's, and two full squadrons. He doesn't have much in the way of ground, though, and certainly nothing dedicated. His Marines can take to the ground well enough, but he doesn't have near enough to make much of a difference if we get hit by a Corps."

She stopped as she reached the armored personnel carrier. It wasn't her preferred method of travel, but it could pack two full squads in full kit, albeit a bit uncomfortably, and still haul ass. "The Mon Cals have, I believe forty-five to fifty various capitol ships of their personal make, and I believe two fighter squadrons, plus, I believe, one minimum regiment of militia. I'll have to check on that to be sure. They Mon Cals are fresh off a bit of a war and have disbanded a lot of their armed forces. I won't even bother mentioning the Quarren; aren't enough of them left to even put up a proper regiment, let alone a battalion of solid soldiers. I've also written a draft of a petition to the Mon Calamari to instate a passive draft and to have them put a lot more into ship construction. You should probably look at that. Words and politicians were never my thing. Also sent a petition to the Republic to authorize construction of some more orbital platforms, but haven't received a response, so I'm stuck with three light platforms and one orbital cannon that's older than I am."

"As for the Mon Calamari themselves, well...they still seem a bit apprehensive about getting into another war so soon, and the fact that I'm so confident we'll get hit out here is starting to make a few of them nervous, so tread lightly on subjects of war. The last thing they need is two of us telling them we're certain to be attacked en force. Other than that, be respectful, act like a guest until they get used to you, and try not to be overly-prideful in front of the Council, and you'll be fine. I've broken them in to our presence for the most part."

She turned to look at Nedra fully. "So, any ideas? Any favors you can call in?"

[Ardenator]

Nedra nodded at her statement, his Elites fanning out in a standard escort as they followed here to the hover-carrier. "Very good. Transmit everything to the Liberty, my second-in-command will handle everything."

He listened intently as she described the meager defenses Mon Calamari held. To the untrained ear it seemed like a lot, but any trained Military man could tell that it would be about as useful as a heard of nerfs against a fully-fledged Sith invasion force.

He shook his head. This was bad, real bad. Combining the local Mon Calamari and Republic forces, they had a single battle squadron in-system. That would bring their strength up to six full squadrons with Nedra's force.

But Nedra commanded thirty-thousand Naval Troopers; the maximum his ships could possibly carry. The Sith force that attacked Dantooine had a similar force. Combined with existing Republic and Mon Calamari forces, they could hold well on the ground. But if the Sith controlled the space around Mon Calamari it wouldn't much matter. They could place the planet under blockade and siege until there was no fight left in it, or simply bombard it into submission.

No, they would have to win the vacuum around Mon Calamari in order to win.

He smiled again at the mention of another Commodore. He only controlled two and a half squadrons, but that would bring the odds up to 3 to 2, in the Sith's favor. The man's Marines would help bolster the ground defense as well.

Still, they needed more. Traditional strategy called for an advantage of at least three-to-one for attacking a planet; five-to-one for one that was fortified. Still, the Sith were advanced, battle-hardened, and ruthless. Nedra wouldn't feel safe until the odds were at least dead even.

The brief description of Mon Calamari's politics didn't help much either. How could they defend a planet that didn't want to hear anything of the war?

He met Pace's eyes, and finally spoke. "If we can instate a passive draft, and bring industrial and agricultural production to epic levels, we can fortify this world. We can begin large-scale weapons purchases as well. There is a lot Mon Calamari can do to defend itself. If economic production is increased and the population involved in the defense effort on a large-scale, we can make this a Fortress World. The planet could even purchase more ships and defense platforms.

"As for the Republic, it'll give no more help. After the Dantooine fiasco they're hell bent on showing themselves as the defender, not the aggressor. The senate's willing to leave a planet open to invasion just to prove the point. I had to use all the influence I had after the battle to get this assignment. There'll be no more following me, I'm afraid."

He shook his head. Damn bureaucracy, they were ready to sacrifice innocent lives just to hold up a certain image. Didn't they realize that this was a war?

His thoughts strayed towards what he could do personally, and he sighed. "Well, my father is one of the richest men on Onderon. He owns a sector-wide manufacturing company. I own twenty-five percent of the company. I could put in a large order for defense platforms, orbital canons, and other security measures, but under Republic law I must have a local headquarters and large operations on-planet. It would be a stretch under the law, but we could do it.

My family as a result has a lot of influence on Onderon. Besides, my best friend is Commander of all Onderon Military fores, and I know the current Queen... well. I would have to call in all my favors and use all my leverage, but I think I could get Onderon to enter into a political, military, and economic Alliance with Mon Calamari. It would have to go both ways though; Mon Calamari would have to support Onderon were it ever under duress."

He looked back to the Governmental district. "I could do all these things, but the Mon Calamari have to support it. It's their planet, we can't do a thing without their permission. But what can we do if they don't even want to hear about the war? How have you talked to them all this time?"