Bakura

[Tycho Kosk]

OOC: Some of you may have come to know that Havoc is absent. I sort of need him to post the departure and actions of the convoy, so we're kind of stuck for now.

 

This really sucks, because we've been preparing for weeks and the raid itself shouldn't take more than a few days. It shouldn't be this hard to launch a single mission, but I imagine it will get quicker once we have more experience under our belts and the organization has had a chance to get used to all its members and find its niche.

[Renn Hamis]

Renn stood at attention in the bridge for a few seconds, then realized why everybody didn't seem to recognize him. It was that damned SEED helmet covering his face. With a groan, he slid the helmet off.

 

"Reporting for duty."

 

If Puffi Maa was capable, he would have rolled his single eye.

[Tycho Kosk]

"Alright, we're leaving," Tycho gave the order. "Move the ship to hyperspace entry point."

 

He had had his ship, outfitted with Jarnok's makeshift gravity well projectors, moved into the hangar bay to produce the desired effects. There would be no escapees from the unsuspecting Imperial convoy, regardless of how many were disabled in the opening seconds.

 

The Corellian gave a signal and the lone SEED frigate entered hyperspace with a blur of pseudomotion.

[Amidala Skywalker]

After some sarching of the Holonet, Induran discovered the location of Open Sky.

 

She quickly popped out of hypersapce above the planet and sent an urgent comm directed to the highest ranking commander of the organization available. "This is Induran Habithae of the Death Strikers, currently representing Admiral Starlisk of the Republic. The Republic is in dire need of your help. Coruscant is being attcked by an enormous fleet of Star Destroyers. The Admiral asks for your aid. He said to tell you to go to Coruscant ready to blow up some Star Destroyers.

 

"It's bad," she added. She hoped they would respond. They might be the planet's last hope.

[Tycho Kosk]

Colonel Wilton received the comm and assured the sender that Open Sky would be mobilized shortly to honor thier alliance and large debt to the Rebellion.

 

He then relayed the message to Tycho Kosk, who was currently on a deep space mission. It would only be a short time before he returned and Open Sky could mobilize.

 

Agonizing minutes passed by, but Tycho arrived in his SEED frigate, having had to completely abandon the mission they were on.

 

The Corellian vigilante quickly transferred to the flagship, the Rejuvenator, which was one of three Mon Calamari MC90s that were supported by the two frigates, 25 Skipray Blastboats, and twenty-four TIE Defenders that made up the Open Sky fleet.

 

Tycho only hoped it would be enough for his purposes. This was an all-out war. Having Renn and the others transfer to other ships of the fleet or go down to the planet to sit out the battle ((specify in your next IC post)), Tycho ordered that the fleet move into hyperspace towards Coruscant immediately.

 

There was no time to think or plan--Open Sky had to be there now.

[ObliviousKnight]

((I know that this is the wrong alias. This is Renn Hamis speaking here, and I've just missed a huge battle and 3 days because my modem went kaput!))

 

Renn reported to one of Open Sky's Mon Calamari cruisers. And wherever Renn went, for reasons only understood by Renn's faithful companion, Puffi Maa followed.

 

The two were a comical sort. Renn was now wearing his favorite black trenchcoat and exoskeleton armor, complete with his small arsenal of weaponry. Puffs, right beside him, was wearing a customized suit of body armor that fitted around his five tentacle limbs. And both of them looked very determined to show the Empire what sort of mayhem the two could cause when they worked together.

 

That, and Puffs was looking forward to find out how much destruction he could cause in as short a time as possible. The droid was practically giddy with anticipation, much to the annoyance of anyone in his vicinity.

[Tycho Kosk]

The Open Sky fleet returned to Bakura unscathed, Tycho not wanting to risk everything in a battle he knew they could not win.

 

He spoke to everyone on a comm, "The Alliance is decimated, everyone, as is Coruscant. The way I see things, we need to meet and discuss the future of Open Sky."

 

He then took a shuttle down from the Rejeuvenator and made his way to the conference room that the group had already met in once, sending orders for all the others to meet him there. If there was no Alliance (at least temporarily), there was no one for the Open Sky to be allied with, at least for the moment.

[Amidala Skywalker]

After seeing the Open Sky fleet leave, Indy wondered what she could do to help out the most. It appeared Coruscant was lost, but she knew she could do something. She turned the ship around and headed back.

[Tycho Kosk]

OOC: Renn? Vash? Jarnok? Where are you guys???

 

IC: Tycho continued to wait, beginning to grow impatient from the lack of a response he was receiving. He did, however, do his best to conceal his frustration and he maintained his countenance of calm.

[Renn Hamis]

Renn practically ran into the briefing room, embarrassed at being late. Puffi Maa followed in a few seconds later, his metallic tentacles clinking coolly on the floor.

 

"I... ah... sorry, sir. Apparently I failed to hear your initial request for your meeting." Puffi Maa muttered something under his "breath" about careless, forgetful organics and that Renn could use a cybernetic implant so this would never occur again. If Renn heard, he gave no indication of it.

 

"Reporting, sir."

[Tycho Kosk]

"Well, Renn," Tycho half-smiled. "It seems that you're the first one here despite being late."

 

The Corellian glanced around, almost half-expecting someone else to rush in right after Renn. When no one did, he sighed and looked back at the former Rebel. "Well, I guess we can start the meeting with just the two of us, seeing as no one else got either call," he decided. "Have a seat."

 

The leader of Open Sky paused and searched for a good way to start the correct coversation. "I think we now have one of the largest fleets in the galaxy, rivalled only by SEED and the Black Sun, seeing as both the Alliance and the Empire lost their fleets at Coruscant. Furthermore, I think if we're going to act openly against the Empire, now is the time. Any thoughts?" he asked.

[Vash Mammon]

OOC: Sorry

 

IC: Jidai Geki slowly opened the door to the meeting room, and slinked in ashamed of his late appearance. This was surprising given the fact that he was rarely like that about anything, especially if it was humans he was being rude too. He had caught the last part of Tycho's speech,

 

"I don't think the Empire will come back from this blow anytime soon. I suspect they'll be out of commission for a while, leaderless, and with no apparent high ranking Empire officials to take over."

 

Of course, Geki's death hadn't been confirmed, and the Empire had been so secretive anything was possible. Nonetheless at this point he felt the Empire was a wasted effort.

 

And if that's the case my whole motivation for being here is lost. Well, I'll stick around for a while anyway.

 

He noticed them staring at his appearance.

 

"Oh, right. I decided to stay appearing as Geki for a while. I think it suits me, and tends to catch people of guard. Now that I think about it, perhaps we could cause some confusion if we make some key appearances in public with me looking like this."

[Tycho Kosk]

Tycho nodded. "I think you're right, Vash. The sudden and mysterious disappearance of Geki can be manipulated to some effect if we plan things right," he said. "As for the Empire, if we can locate a key planet or shipyard, now is the best time to take it."

 

He paused hesitantly, then decided to say what needed to be said. "The truth is, Renn and Vash, I do not feel fit to lead this faction alone. I need the direct help and ideas of both of you to make this faction what it was intended to be. Honestly," he continued uncomfortably, "I'm just a simple vigilante off the streets of Coruscant who wanted to take a crack at leadership."

 

The Corellian awaited a response, hoping that his connections with Renn and Vash were close enough so far as to not have them lose complete confidence in him and leave the faction.

[Vash Mammon]

Vash didn't pity Tycho, though the man looked worn. What none present realized was that Vash was not what was considered a "good person" by those with unevolved thinking. Vash was beyond morals, and what he said next was out of self interest, not any desire to see this organization succeed.

 

"I will remain with you as long as you need me too. Warfare is not my specialty, I'm an assassin, but I will do what I can to help come up with the ideas here."

 

Vash wasn't a warfare expert, like he said. But he was very old, and experienced in the workings of the Empire. He had had something working in his mind for a while now. Since Tycho asked, he saw no reason not to bring it up immediately. The Shi'ido, still in Geki mode, continued with little pause,

 

"How important is it for you to remain loyal to the Republic, Rebellion, or whatever it is calling itself now? The primary goal is to take down the Empire, yes? Obviously we all didn't hold much stock in the Republic since we came here to fight the Empire instead of running there."

 

Though Vash had come here because he'd tried to find a way into the Rebel base, and aroused suspicion, they didn't need to know that. His desire to snuff out the Empire was sincere.

 

"So, if we accept all that, we should realize that destroying the Empire is the number one priority to protect the galaxy. We need to strike at the Rebels."

 

Vash knew that would be hard to swallow, but he continued quickly.

 

"We wouldn't kill anyone. Just make a few attacks on them, destroy a bit of equipment and flee. We convince the Rebels we've turned against them. At this point, we make an announcement that we wish to join the Empire, and that Jidai Geki is in command of Open Sky. Once they have accepted us, it shouldn't be difficult to do what we to do."

[Tycho Kosk]

Tycho considered these words carefully. "This is an interesting idea, Vash. We may just have the assets. Geki is apparently missing and there are already rumors spreading around the galaxy as to where he'll pop up next. Maybe he'll pop up as the next leader of the Open Sky. We could use Vash to pose as Geki...I'm not sure if I want to attempt to join the Empire itself, as Geki's no longer its head."

 

He continued to mull over his thoughts. "After people begin to believe that we have Geki, we could have Vash meet with the current head of the Empire, if they have one, and take back over. That way we'd have controll over the faction we want to destroy, and we can tear it apart from the inside out."

 

The Corellian slowly allowed himself a smile. "I think it's worth a shot. One thing--do you think we should contact Admiral Starlisk of the Alliance and have him coordinate with us on this, or should we go without even them knowing?"

[Vash Mammon]

"It is up to you of course, I've never even heard of that guy."

 

Vash betrayed no emotion, but inwardly he had to give Tycho a lot of respect for agreeing to such a plan. The man was not a Shi'ido, but he had the guts of one. This plan could easily backfire, leaving Open Sky hated by both the Republic and the Empire. Nonetheless, Vash honestly believed it was their best shot at finishing the Empire for good.

 

"My recommendation is that no one outside of Open Sky know the truth. We need the Rebels to be as realistic as possible in their opposition of us. Even if it was only their leader that knew, there is no guarantee it couldn't slip. The less that know the better. But like I said, you know a lot more about this Admiral than I do."

[Renn Hamis]

Renn was torn in his support. Even though he greatly appreciated the irony behind Vash's plan, he wasn't so sure about engaging the Rebels. He also knew the risks of the plan backfiring. Then again, he used to be a bounty hunter, one of the most despised professions in the galaxy. Being loathed wasn't anything new to him.

 

"If we inform the Rebellion, we run the risk of the deception being exposed if a high-ranking officer is captured. It's happened before." He experienced a brief pang as he remembered Forn Dodonna. "If that happens, all of our plans will come to naught."

 

He sighed heavily. "Sadly, I think that it may be best that we follow through with this plan with minimal contact with the Rebellion. If the campaign appears coordinated, our enemies will suspect a hoax.

 

"I can see only one problem with this plan. Eventually, the campaign will have to escalate. I've never met Geki, but I know his reputation, and I know that he would never hold back against an opponent."

[Tycho Kosk]

Tycho nodded in agreement. "Well, the Admiral is a Jedi Knight, I believe. We may not be able to do this without him finding our true intentions. It may just be better to tell them to him so he can at least act surprised," he said. "I'm not trying to persuade you, I just want to make a good decision.

 

"Also...as for Geki not holding back. We have a limited fleet, and we have no way of rebuilding without a shipyard. Even the Emporer would use hit-and-fade to try and keep his ships operating as efficiently as possible," the Corellian added. "Going back to the Admiral's being a Jedi...wouldn't he be able to tell through the Force whether Vash was the true Geki or not?"

[Vash Mammon]

Vash had considered this problem as well.

 

"Like I said, I don't know him. So I can't say for sure. It depends upon how strong of a Jedi he is. I have limited psychic influence, but a reasonably powerful Jedi Knight could see through the disguise. Though I'm not sure he'd be able to figure out what exactly was going on. My species is unknown to just about everyone except you guys. I can think of no other shapeshifting species that can transform to the level of a Shi'ido. Nonetheless he would be able to tell something was up."

 

But Vash didn't see that as that big of a deal. Even the Force had its limitations.

 

"But I don't see how it's going to be a problem. The only way he could tell is if we met in person. Things would have to go pretty bad for me to end up face to face with the Admiral. But if you're that concerned, ysalamiri would solve our problem. My psychic influence helps sell a transformation, but for an easy human form like Geki, it is not necessary."

[Tycho Kosk]

Tycho nodded. "You're right. We should be fine without giving him an advanced notice," he agreed. "Renn, I imagine that just sitting around isn't going to get anything done, so if you two wish to get started right away, I'm up for it."

 

The Corellian had always been one to get straight to the action, and sitting around certainly wouldn't get them anywhere. Besides, the Empire could be rebuilding as they spoke, making it only more difficult for the plan to succeed--the longer the Empire had an Emporer, the less likely they would accept Geki with open arms.

[Vash Mammon]

Geki/Vash stood up as if ready to depart. He spoke once more,

 

"If you don't mind Tycho, I'd like to have a word with you in private.

[Tycho Kosk]

"Of course," Tycho said. He then left the room with Vash following him and the two stood outside after the door shut. "Do continue."

[Vash Mammon]

Vash stood for a moment looking away from Tycho. He appeared to be deep in though. Though Geki's eyes stared forward, Tycho could see a long and hard life reflected within.

 

"If we're going to pull this off, you should know the kind of man I am. I don't do this for the sake of the galaxy. In fact, I would normally never be associated with a group like this. Lofty moral goals are alien to me."

 

Vash felt a bit of honesty was necessary here. Especially if he wanted the rest of his speech to go over smoothly.

 

"But that does not mean I am any less loyal. I just felt as leader you should fully understand the nature of those that work under you."

 

Vash took a deep breath.

 

"Now that you understand me, I need to understand what kind of man you are. Are you content with merely stamping out the Empire, or do you seek to make this galaxy a better place? Because we have are in a unique situation. Even if we manage to pull this off, I doubt the Republic will continue to tolerate Open Sky. They will not want a military organization around that they cannot control, especially one that has attacked them. If we destroy the Empire they will throw it in our face."

 

Vash allowed this to sink in.

 

"The struggle between the Empire and the Republic has torn this galaxy apart for thousands of years. Let's end it now. Once we control the Empire, we will have the most powerful combined force this galaxy has seen for quite a while. If we go the extra mile, and finish the Republic, perhaps we can finally have peace. I know you Tycho Kosk. You are a man of great principles. Can you really say the Republic has done any better than the Empire? Corruption runs rampant. This is not the democracy the galaxy is entitled to. We can create that democracy."

[Tycho Kosk]

Tycho was taken aback by the Shi'ido's opinions. To fight the Empire was one thing...to take over the galaxy was something entirely different. "My original plan was to simply wipe out all the evil in the galaxy, but your plan does have some charm to it. I'm not sure if I'm fit to try and install a galactic government, but I do agree that the Republic has hardly been effective in controlling the galaxy itself," he said.

 

The Corellian's voice then turned more distant. "I've oft wondered if the system the Republic has in place is the best thing for the galaxy. Even the Empire had better means of control than they do, although they were responisble for the deaths of countless innocents and were ruled by the Dark Lord of the Sith," he continued.

 

"Vash, have you ever heard of a great alien called Grand Admiral Thrawn?" he asked. "He was a brilliant tactical leader, but he did not appear to be corrupt enough to slaughter innocents or commit blind acts of cruelty. Perhaps that's the kind of Empire we could have, only to turn it into a democracy--a working one--after the galaxy is ready for it."

 

Tycho smiled slightly. "I'm not sure that Renn would agree with this, but we wouldn't necessarily have to tell him. He used to serve the Alliance, you know."

[Vash Mammon]

Vash couldn't help smiling. He'd taken a great risk by proposing this to Tycho, and it had payed off. Kosk was clearly a man of vision.

 

"Thrawn was a great leader, I agree. Many years ago I was somewhat of an anthropologist. I was able to study Thrawn and his activities. We need someone like him now more than ever. I have a feeling Tycho Kosk will go down in history as the man to actually fulfill Thrawn's vision."

 

Vash glanced back at the door where Renn had exited.

 

"Yes, keeping Renn in the dark is wise. It will be some time before we're ready to reveal the full scope of all of this. We'll tell him when he needs to know."

[Tycho Kosk]

Tycho kept a straight face. "I hardly wish to bring such fame upon myself, Vash. There's an old saying, 'The measure of a man's true character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out'. What I'm doing here is not for me, but for the galaxy."

 

The Corellian nodded again and strode back into the room where Renn waited. He stayed standing, but spoke. "I believe we have a great deal of work to do, and I wish to do it with all haste--you can never tell when the real Geki will return."

[Renn Hamis]

When Kosk and Geki/Mammon opened the door to the discussion room, they found Renn bellowing at Puffi Maa, practically red-faced with anger. "That is absolutely nothing to joke about! Even pretending to toss a hidden mic on someone, in the middle of a secret base, could get us thrown in the brig!"

 

"Relax, Renn. It could have been any number of things--a sudden, unexplained spasm in my servomotors. After all, I've been needing a good lube for a while." The tentacled droid's tone turned sinister. "Or, perhaps, one of the many--how did you put it? Ah, yes, 'quirks in my programming.'"

 

Renn stopped dead in his argument. "What the--you weren't supposed to hear that."

 

Puffi Maa actually chuckled. "I wasn't 'supposed to.' That phrase means nothing--"

 

"--not when someone's dealing with you." Renn muttered out of the side of his mouth.

 

"Shut up, Renn. If you haven't noticed due to your illogical temper tantrum, Mr. Kosk has returned." The former bounty hunter jumped about a centimeter into the air, hastily turned around, and tried in vain to cover his embarrassment.

 

"I... ah... a slight misunderstanding between a man and his insane droid partner. He pretended to throw a hidden mic on your clothing," he shot Puffi Maa a resentful look. "Probably just to see if I would panic. Mission accomplished, Puffs.

 

"But no need to worry. Your conversation was not recorded."

 

((Just having some fun at Renn's expense, that's all. He didn't hear nothing. Let's move along.))

[Tycho Kosk]

Tycho smiled and would have laughed if the conversation hadn't indeed been deliberately kept from Renn. "No harm done, right?" he gave a wink.

 

"At any rate," he continued, "we need to make our first move right away. The Empire is still leaderless, as far as I know, so we should make our first move against the Rebellion as soon as we can be ready. I suggest that we take the Rejeuvenator, so it's clear that we're Open Sky, but we'll have Vash/Geki aboard to make first contact. We can attack at Mon Calamari, their shipyards."

 

Without another word, the Corellian turned sharply on one heel and left the conference room, making his way towards the hangar, where he found a Lambda shuttle and took it up towards the MC90a Starcruiser above.

 

Landing aboard, he found his way to the bride. "Captain," he said, "prepare to move out."

[Vash Mammon]

Jidai Geki moved to follow Tycho Kosk, taking a transport into the MC90a. After a hundred years of preparation, he'd failed to get anywhere close to his goals. But now, by sheer dumb luck an entire fleet had fallen into his lap, and he was poised to conquer the entire galaxy.

 

For the sake of democracy of course. Mei de Kracht is met ons.

 

Smiling, Geki made his way to the bridge.

[Renn Hamis]

Mon Calamari: one of the Rebellion's primary shipyards. It would definitely be well defended, and Renn sincerely hoped that they weren't building any capital ships at the time. If they were.... things could get very nasty.

 

Relax, Renn. Focus on the task at hand. Worrying about it will get you killed. Renn tried to keep his mind occupied elsewhere as he took the Warwitch into one of the Rejuvinator's hangars. Beside him, Puffi Maa was already preparing the freighter for a battle, his robotic mind apparently elsewhere.

 

As soon as Renn landed, he reported to the bridge.