| Chapter Two: Vigilance | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 16 2014, 03:05 PM (46 Views) | |
| cipherhornet | Jun 16 2014, 03:05 PM Post #1 |
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STAR WARS PASTS REBORN: THE BLACK TALONS CHAPTER II: VIGILANCE Following the Black Talon's victory at the Battle of Kemper against the combined force of HOUSE MECETTI and HOUSE CALIPSA, the former Old Republic battle group has gained the support of HOUSE PELAGIA, earning the trust of their old allies and setting the stage for future endeavors. As news trickles in of conflict spreading across the TAPANI SECTOR, the Black Talon's leaders begin to consider their own role, forced to juggle their commitments with their new allies with their intentions of helping those in need. But as conflict threatens to further fragment the once fragile state of peace in the sector, they must decide soon. Regardless of what is to come, the Black Talons mobilize their forces, and work to the end of being a force for good. But even as the valiant clone troopers and their Jedi comrades in arms prepare for war, there is still a lingering darkness that looms overhead, and remains a great mystery... |
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| cipherhornet | Jun 16 2014, 05:01 PM Post #2 |
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Pelagar, Pelagon The Admiral's Theta-class shuttle gracefully cut through Pelagon's atmosphere and began it's final approach to Pelagar, an artificially constructed platform on Pelagon's ocean surface. While Admiral Hollinger had his own flight crew, Senior Commander Pazzak opted to take control for the final approach, escorted by a pair of Pelagian Manta assault fighters. The Black Talons had known the fighters were decent, having procured them for Aureti's militia, but the Battle of Kemper really put them into perspective. That battle had put a great deal into perspective, but not all of it bad, Darael thought to himself. Considering that the Mecetti-Calipsan forces hadn't been able to make landfall at all, and lost eight Victory Star Destroyers, it wasn't a bad engagement. But it did identify a number of weaknesses in the fleet, weakenesses that would be addressed. He glanced up at the officers he had picked for this "mission", which was more to meet with Pelagia's leaders to get to know them. Darael had not known High Lord Paddos's father personally, but had heard good things about him, and it seemed that his son had been quick to take charge of Pelagia, especially in such dark times. Naturally, Master Rigel was present, and Knight Chanden, and he had brought Marshal Commander Blaze, Senior Commander Pazzak, and Senior Captain Kene, as well as Lieutenant Marks and his honor guard. Admitedly, Blaze look quite out of place in the Army's black uniform instead of his ARC armor, and both Jedi had opted for their standard tunics, slacks and boots instead of the heavier and more formal cloaks, due to Pelagia's warmer climate. Senior Captain Kene was an interesting one, as close to a daughter as Firmus Veir would have. He had taken the clone officer as his protege, and it had paid off, as she was fast in coming to being another good fleet officer. Like the new generation of clones, her DNA had been randomized, using the Fett template as a base, and Darael knew that Vice Admiral Veir's own genes were in there too, so perhaps the daughter analogy was a bit more fitting than just based on personality... "Just about to set down." Pazzak reported from the cockpit, as he brought the Theta shuttle down gently onto the landing pad. As the shuttle powered down, Pazzak joined the others in the passenger cabin, clad in his gray Starfighter Corps uniform. "Alright, sirs, ma'ams and Jedis, get your shoes on, we're here." Pazzak said with a sideways grin. Darael chuckled as he stood up. He had come to respect the pilot's levity, it had proven that they were down but not out in the darkest of hours, and it helped to have at least someone with a cheery disposition when surrounded by serious and somber personnel all the time. And he knew that the pilot could be serious when he had to be. Lieutenant Marks and his honor guard led the way down the ramp once it lowered, taking up their positions on either side of the ramp in their polished Phase II armor, which the sunlight reflected off of it with a bright sheen, and held their DC-15A rifles across their chests. Darael followed after they were in position with his entourage, where they were greeted by the House's honor guard, and High Lord Paddos and his wife, High Lady Coni Cadriaan-Paddos. Darael took the lead, meeting them halfway between their honor guards and bowed in respect. "It's an honor to meet you both in person, m'lord and m'lady." Darael said in greeting, "Admiral Darael Hollinger, Black Talons." "The honor is ours, Admiral." The High Lord replied, bowing his head in return, "I am glad to finally meet the leader of the ones who saved Kemper." "I just gave the direction, it was the efforts of my people and the fine personnel of the Pelagia Household Navy who truly deserve the credit. Commodore Isabela Ajai was invaluable with her insight." Darael explained, "Please, I'd like to introduce you to my senior personnel." "Of course, Admiral." Theus said, "Baron Tendd mentioned your honor guard in his report, clearly you have not slackened in maintaining discipline in your exile." "It keeps us who we are, sir. And I appreciated having the opportunity to meet Baron Tendd." Darael replied, and approached where the others were standing in a line in front of the clone honor guard. "This is Master Alyisa Rigel, our ranking Jedi." Darael said. Alyisa bowed in greeting. Both Lord and Lady nodded in greeting, but it was Lady Coni who spoke. "It is an honor, Master Jedi. I am pleased to know that your august order has not been entirely destroyed." She said, "I know Pelagia has been a source for numerous Jedi, and I still remember when the Jedi were peacekeepers, not the villains the Empire's lies claimed." "Thank you, m'lady. Our flame has been greatly diminished, but so long as the sparks of the Force and hope exist, so shall we." Alyisa replied with a small smile. The line moved down to Neza. "This is Knight Neza Chanden. She's personally led countless ground campaigns during the Clone Wars, and has helped establish our training regimens for our recruited Jedi." Darael explained. Neza also bowed once, and both Lord and Lady nodded in reply. "We've been looking long and hard for estranged Jedi and those who show promise to be trained. I believe we even have a few of the Jedi from your House in our ranks." Neza said. "We're pleased to hear that, Knight. Perhaps one day, the Jedi Order will return with your efforts." Theus replied. They moved down next to Blaze. "Marshal Commander CC-8492, but we just call him Blaze." Darael explained, "He's among the first batch of clone commanders who were trained on Kamino before the War broke out, and he's been instrumental in keeping our troops in top notch condition." Blaze snapped to attention and rendered a salute, which the High Lord returned. "Sir. It's an honor. Your House Guards and militia on Kemper showed signs of being a good force. We didn't get to engage the enemy that day, sir, but from what I saw, the enemy would have regretted setting foot on the ground." Blaze explained, "They might not have had numbers, but they had courage and determination, and those always count." "Thank you, Commander." Theus said, looking perhaps a bit uncomfortable with speaking to a Fett-clone. Clearly, the Empire had set the wrong image for them. "My brothers and sisters have sworn our allegiance to the Black Talons and the Jedi Order-in-Exile, sir. Those of us who were original Fett templates hate what the Empire turned our brothers into. Whatever they did to your people, I know words can't undo the damage, but we do not serve Palaptine or those who pretend to his broken throne." Blaze said. That seemed to at least answer the unspoken question as they moved on. "This is Senior Commander CC-2020, known to us all as Pazzak." Darael introduced the pilot, "He's our senior most pilot, and also probably the best card player in the organization as well." He added with a chuckle. "It's an honor, m'lord and m'lady." Pazzak said, bowing to them both, and even went the step further of kissing the Lady's hand, which neither seemed to take offense to. Court procedures were so confusing to Darael, but maybe Pazzak was just testing his luck as usual. "I know there are a few in the court who claim to be quite the gamesters as well, Commander. Perhaps you could join them for a game or two." Theus said, more at ease with Pazzak it seemed. "I don't know, sir. I don't exactly have a bank account to play with, and I'm sure the Admiral wouldn't like me gambling away our fighters." Pazzak replied with a grin, "I've had plenty of practice, but we just use plastic chits." "Oh, I'm quite sure on all regards, Commander. I'm sure you could find a few willing players who don't need high stakes. Some of them just play for the thrill of the game." Theus replied, "Besides, it wouldn't do if my inner circle gambled away our coffers to you, either." He added with a smile of his own. "Fair enough, sir." Pazzak laughed. Darael nodded in approval and moved down finally to Captain Kene. "Finally, this is Senior Captain Brinna Kene. Vice Admiral Veir was unable to attend, due to issues requiring his attention, but Captain Kene is his protege. She's also a representative of our new generation of clones." Darael explained. "Interesting, Admiral. I thought only Fett's template was used." Lady Coni commented. "Yes, ma'am, that was true in the Old Republic Navy. But my generation was created using a mixture of templates from a number of non-clone volunteers. Partly to save the Fett template until we could stabilize it, but also so that if one of us were caught or killed, it wouldn't lead back to us so easily." Kene replied, "We're all brothers and sisters, in the end, but we no longer all share a face." "Quite facinating, young lady." Theus replied, before looking to Darael, "Admiral Hollinger, you have a fine group with you. But please, let us return to the palace, so we can mingle in comfort. I want you all to get acquainted with some of my people, before we have to get down to buisness matters. Your guards are welcome to come as well, I'm sure they can mingle with their opposite numbers in the House Guard." "Absolutely, sir." Darael said. The group followed after the Lord and Lady and their guards to the luxury speeder that had delivered them here from the palace. At the palace, Darael was relieved to see that it was set up for exactly what the High Lord said, to get everyone acquainted. Naturally, there was also the motive that they would be able to better understand how to deal with their new allies, but that was fine in this case. Food and drink were plentiful, as was the company. Master Rigel was off talking with High Lady Coni and their eldest child, Lady Verinia, while Neza and Blaze had found out that one of the court knights, Dame Zanthe Nadia, had been a Rebel operative during the war, and were exchanging stories. Pazzak and a couple of the members of the Court were at a table, having already broken out a set of pazzak cards and were engaged in a friendly game with the clone pilot. Poor Captain Kene was the focus for Baroness Mellona Gantrolo, a real social butterfly (if also a bit overbearing), as the latter was trying to introduce her to just about every eligible bachelor in the Court, and Brinna was just trying to keep a straight face throughout the entire ordeal. Darael found himself conversing with High Lord Thaeus and Baron Tendd, and while the subject of the Clone Wars was covered frequently, they were also equally interested in his time when he was an officer with the Cuitric Sector patrol force. Despite the Baron's Imperial ties, Darael found the man quite agreeable and honorable, and it was little question as to why he became a Baron of the House after the Empire departed. Theus struck Darael as incredibly shrewd and the quiet sort that you really had to watch out for, a man who said little but did a great deal, and Darael respected that a great deal. Coming to power in such tumultuous times, the High Lord had kept his House afloat and on the verge of a rebirth, despite the Empire and Mecetti's best efforts. There were reminders everywhere of what they had done, and yet that seemed to also serve as a source for the determination that he saw with the Pelagians... |
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| cipherhornet | Jul 2 2014, 12:14 PM Post #3 |
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Tactical Operations Center, Talon of Justice Bethal System, Pelagia Space Blaze waited until Pazzak arrived before hitting a command on the holographic projection table to secure the room and dimmed the lights. The only other occupants in the room were Firewall and Mako, the last four original Fett-template clone commanders. He looked between them for a moment. "Brothers. Looks like we got some mail. I wanted you all to be the first to see it with me, because I think it's pretty important." Blaze said. "Who sent it?" Firewall asked. "Good 'ol CT-7567. Rex." Blaze replied with a smile. "Rex? I thought he was Imperial." Mako commented, frowning. "No one knows for sure. Hell, remember when I got spotted by Cody back on a recon mission? He didn't even know what happened to Rex after Appo took over for him with the 501st." Blaze said. "Well, let's hear what he has to say." Pazzak chimed in. Blaze nodded and hit play. Captain Rex appeared before them, wearing civilian clothes, but still had his trademark bleached blonde hair cut to nearly baldness. Aside from aging, Rex looked about the same as he had when Blaze, Mako and Firewall trained with him. "Hello, brothers. I hope this message finds you well. I can't tell you where I am and I'm unable to make it to reach you. I've still got work that needs to be done, and I can't include any of you in it. But I needed to give you some answers to some questions that you likely never could answer." Rex said. "Back during the war, the 501st was sent in to Ringo Vinda to support the effort to secure the orbital space station from the Seps. During one of the skirmishes, one of my troopers, Tup, inexplicably turned and murdered Jedi General Tiplar. It cost us that fight, General Skywalker had to pull us back. We sent Tup back to Kamino, escorted by one of my officers, Fives." Rex paused for a moment. "Tup died, but Fives found out the truth about us, about the control chips that you were warned about." Rex said. The Black Talon commanders looked at one another. Part of a series of anonymous info packets was intel about the bio-organic control chip implanted in the clones. The Kaminoans who joined them were able to safely remove the chips and it was no longer included in future generations. "Master Shak-Ti took Fives to Coruscant to plead his case, but shortly thereafter, he was accused of trying to kill the Supreme Chancellor. Commander Fox and his troopers started looking for him, but I was contacted by one of my medics, Kix, who said Fives had found him and told him he wanted to meet with me and Skywalker." Rex continued, and began to show signs of sadness, "We got to him first, and he trapped us in a ray shield, and when Fives tried to make his case, he just sounded like he had gone completely Section Eight. Fox and his men showed up, and I guess he felt cornered, or maybe he knew that bastard Fox was in on it, but he went for one of my pistols, and Fox's men killed him..." "For a time, I thought Fives had succumbed to some virus or whatever the hell the cover story was. You all remember it. Then I began to ask myself questions. And quietly, I began to realize that my friend, my brother, was gunned down to silence a truth." Rex's emotions changed to anger, "So I started looking, after I was relieved from the 501st and rotated back to Kamino. I met a medical droid that had helped Fives. He told me everything, and I realized that we had been part of one big sham. That's when I found out about our contingency orders, and that we had a chance. I was planning to send out Order 65 to every unit and warn the Jedi Council, but Palpatine was already sending out Order 66." "So. I had to pick one unit to not get the order. That unit was yours. You were far enough away that I knew you would be able to find a way to go underground until you could fight, and most of your non-clone officers were going to be arrested anyways that I figured if Palpatine couldn't trust them, you could." Rex took a breath, "So I sent you Order 65. Sent you the information packets. Told the rebel Kaminoans where to go." "My brothers, I swear to you, I did this because I wanted the best for you. Palpatine and his Empire reduced us to second-line slaves, and the Rebellion thinks us the heralds of that very thing they were fighting against. We have no place in this galaxy, so we'll make one. I've done all I can for you, and I know you'll do the right thing." Rex said, "Remember our brothers. Remember how we all stood tall that first day as we boarded our assault ships to go to Geonosis. Be the legacy that we were lied about, make it a truth. So long as you all live, Palpatine will have failed. Stand proud, fight hard, and show the galaxy that we weren't mindless drones working for Palpatine in secret. Good bye. And keep fighting." Rex's image disappeared from the table and the lights came back on. For a while, there was nothing but silence as each man wrestled with the revelations that had been laid before them. But after several minutes, it was Mako who spoke. "Rex did the right thing. He couldn't save everyone, so he saved the ones who had the best chance to do something." Mako said. "What about the others?" Blaze asked. "If he could have saved them, he would have. We all know that." Firewall replied. "So wait, someone knew about this but no one did anything?" Pazzak demanded. "You heard him. The only one who knew what was going on was falsely accused and murdered." Mako replied, "And would you have believed it back then? Would any of us have?" "But surely the Jedi..." Pazzak started. "They were clouded by all the dying going on during the Clone Wars. Master Rigel told me about it. It was like a smokescreen, they couldn't sense the bigger scheme going on around them." Blaze said. "What about the rest of our brothers? The ones who are wasting away with the Empire?" Pazzak said, "I had good friends that are probably space dust or living on borrowed time as TIE pilots." "Rex did what he could for those of us he could save. And we weren't there, we can't judge him." Mako replied, actually showing signs of being frustrated. "When I spoke to Cody way back when, he was a tired and bitter old man. The Fett clones were a minority and shrinking in number every day, replaced by those Spaarti imitations or non-clone recruits. He hated them all, and only his duty kept him from just abandoning his post and coming with me." Blaze said, "I don't think any of our brothers are happy in the Empire's service. And Rex will take that to his grave, wishing he could do more for all of his brothers and not just some." "Mako's right. Rex did the right thing. And more over, we shouldn't blame him, we should be thanking him for this new lease on life. Two of us are married, and we've evolved our forces to a level no one would have thought possible. Frankly, wherever he is now, I hope he's alright and he knows we're grateful to him. I know I am." Firewall finally said, "Because we're not the Empire's slaves, and we're not all off on Mandalore pretending to be Mandalorians just because we share Jango Fett's face." "Those Nulls and RCs weren't programmed right from the incubation tubes. They just had the advantage of better training and gear at the time, but I wouldn't trust them." Mako snorted. It was no secret that Mako thought very little of the ARCs and Commandos even before Order 65, and had taken every step to make Shadow Company better than them. It was the one subject that got Mako worked up. "We've been given the tools to succeed, and we have made our own destiny. So yes, I think Rex did us a great service. And I'm going to pass this on to the Admiral and Master Rigel. They deserve to know." Blaze said. "Should we tell the rest of the troops?" Pazzak asked. "In time. I want them to know of their legacy, and Rex has earned his place in our halls. I want to come up with a way to honor him among our ranks, maybe name a tank or something after him." Blaze said. "I don't think I can design a tank that's got a stick up it's tailpipe and dual wields pistols." Firewall replied. All four clones started laughing. "He might be a stick-up-the-six by-the-book hardcase, but he's our stick-up-the-six by-the-book hardcase." Blaze said. |
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1:47 AM Jul 11