Confederation in the Crisis:
(or in other words, the events of the Cataclysm and the Confederation's response to them. If I misunderstand or get anything wrong about this, feel free to correct me via PM....)
Kashan Defence Academy, Solace, Kashan
“Confirm with Voice Authentication…”
Corise rolled his eyes. Security can be a hassle at times like this…
“Admiral Lucerne-”
“Confirmed,” interrupted the automated voice.
The blastdoors slid open, and the two leaders nearly fell through the doors; being pressed up against by some fortunate cadets and families who had escaped the initial onslaught. The two dozen of them passed through before Corise slapped a button: causing the blast doors to shut upon not only the alien invaders, but a few Contegorians who had just begun to run for the doors. Through the closing doors, he could make out an either insane or desperate cadet try to stab one of the spiders with his dress sword. The blade merely bounced off the thing with a muted ping. The door shut. The spiders have metal or armor plating of some sort. We’re either dealing with a group of intelligent arachnids that wear armor, or we’ll dealing with a battle droid of some sort. Seeing that we don’t even know of any intelligent beings like that, it’s safe to say it’s a battle droid. Maybe some variant of the dwarf spider droid the CIS used… Thorn grabbed his shoulder.
“Where are we?”
“A panic room essentially,” answered Corise, pushing his way past the woman, “It was built in case of a bombardment.”
Thorn frowned. “Well, they aren’t exactly a bombardment…”
Corise nodded. “Which is why we’re going to solve it with a bombardment.”
The Pro-Consul paused….“What did you just say?”
***
Pegasus-class Star Destroyer Pegasus, in orbit via Kashan
“No, none of this makes any sense,” snapped Captain Thompson, “there aren’t any space vessels around to have transported them-”
“Signal from the surface sir. It’s the Admiral,” reported an officer.
“Erhh…patch it throughout the room…”
“And…it’s done,” continued the comm. specialist.
“Captain Thompson?” questioned a reverberating voice.
“Yes Admiral?” replied Thompson briskly.
“You will have all KDF vessels in the area equipped with magnetic-pulse ordinance bombard Solace and the surrounding communities with the said weapons. Immediately. I want two salvos, and then no more. You will hold your position over Solace then.”
“Ah…yes sir.”
“Lucerne out.”
Thompson dragged his hand over his face. “Well, I guess we do it. Comm, inform all other vessels of the Admiral’s orders. Weapons…well…you know what to do.”
The wedge-shaped starship swung about as if to stab the planet. Pegasus knifed over the emerald greens of the worlds forest, the swirling blues of the sea, the goldenrods of the prairies till it crossed into the planet’s night side to hover over the only gray and lit up part of the world: Solace. A dozen dark darts surged from the star destroyer’s sides…plunged into the atmosphere…and exploded mid-air. Up in space, the lights on the surface faded from view. Several Seraph cruisers and Juaire gunships approached, launching their own Starflares equipped with Mag-pulse warheads.
More detonations, less light.
Five minutes later…
Solace, Kashan
Corporal Hrakniss stared out of the upper story window with his militia’s commander, Colonel Spenser. Upon the detection of the invaders, sirens had alerted the Confederation militia to action. Men and women pulled out weapons and uniforms to ready for the coming action…and stayed for the most part in their homes; eliminating spiders that encroached on their own property. The reserve droid legions were called up by High Command, summoning thousands of automated warriors from their earthen bunkers to face the alien invaders. The plasma disruptors of the aliens were matched by an assortment of weaponry from the battle droids: plasma assault rifles, repeating blasters, missiles, corrosive gases, along with any other payload the Paladin IIs were capable of carrying. While the automated warriors fought for each side in the streets of New Solace, Colonel Spenser merely watched from a distance. The spiders in the immediate area were long gone: dispatched by the four dozen Paladins which constituted the defence unit for this, their militia’s command post.
“Command says we’re about to lose our power…energy. Anything that’s either connected to the power grid or that uses computer programming.”
“We’re going to lose our Paladins?”
The Lieutenant shook his head. “Their ionic shielding protects them from ion and EMP attacks.”
Hrakniss winced. “We’re hitting our own city with mag-pulse weapons? There are hospitals and other places that simply need that to survive…”
“I know. But we’re talking about the Admiral. He doesn’t see people: he sees numbers…We’ll lose a dozen people in the hospital and probably save hundreds of others simply hitting our own city. Of course, restarting the city life after that will be a pain, but hey. It’s better than being dead…”
Below them in their house, a quartet of Paladins silently stared out of the open windows. The droids had already decimated down the initial spiders with their proton rockets. What was meant to take out Imperial tanks and walkers had little difficultly wiping out clusters of the interlopers. Of course, in doing so, they had destroyed most of the road that the spiders had been standing on. THX-1138 spotted one of the spiders creeping towards the front door from another house. Perhaps creeping was not the word; perhaps it was stumbling, almost as if it were a certain drunk Kuati admiral. But the droid did not process this. After all, machines are stupid, but they are efficient.
Scanning…
Target acquired…
THX-1138 lifted up its right arm to point at the spider. The thing skittered about uncertainly, dazed, as if it were dying. Maybe it was. Electronics, cybernetics…none of that typically fared against electromagnetic weapons…but it was still not dead. The Paladin II fired its oversized assault rifle: a quartet of fusion slugs smashed into the creature and detonated, sending superheated plasma into the innards of the thing. Another set of slugs smashed into the spider’s legs, this one fromTHX-1142. Two legs of the disappeared in the fusion reaction’s haze, sending the damaged thing sprawling onto the ground with a clatter. The spider seemed to spasm as if in its death knell. THX-1138 ran over to the spider and promptly bashed the broken machine with its rifle onto the ground. The thing stopped moving. Across the capital city, the reserve droid legions of Paladin IIs backed by Confederation militia and armored vehicles began to tediously clear out the surviving spiders which hadn’t succumbed to the electromagnetic bombardment. There were likely spiders in other places on Kashan, but it wouldn’t matter much; simply because there was no-one there. The few places located far away from the capitol city, like Shipwright Academy, were military facilities manned by military personnel with military equipment. It might have been an even battle there, save that the defenders knew their turf, while the spiders did not.
Atlas Hall, Brandenburg, Genon
The sublevels of Atlas Hall were known as the center for the COnfederation's governmental elite. Scientists, politicians, corporate officials, and military officers all weaved in and out of the building; all hoping to eventually enter the sublevels to get to the Council. The intrigue and the understanding, the friendship and the animosity, the debate and acception, simultenously repelled and drew in new peoples to the Council, or at least made political life in the Council tumultous. Change was always upon them. But seldom had the Confederation dealt with the sort of change falling upon. In their luxurious settings, instead of discussing intricate political, military, scientific, cultural theories, concepts, and et cetera, they found themself discussing one of the most basic needs known to most people: that of eating. Ideas and alliances quickly formed and broke in the crisis. Everyone had some idea. That is, everyone but B53439, or "Bates". Unsurprisingly, the Uffel Councilor councilor didn't have much to say was that from Uffel; mainly because as a droid representing a moon populated soley by droids, he didn't understand or have much of a stake in the crisis.
“…the debacle at Kashan was devastating. I understand Madame Pro-Consul that you yourself were hurt during the graduation ceremony…”
The Pro-Consul winced. “It was nothing that bacta could not heal...please continue with your briefing however. It is far more important than what happened at Kashan.”
“As I was saying,” continued Councilor Harding, “our government food stores are gone. Even on Kashan, what should have been one of our safest worlds. This suggests that it was an inside job, as no outsider knows the position of the planet, nor the route through the hazardous nebula. But the losses on Kashan are insignificant compared to what we have lost elsewhere. Surplus grains on Audacia and Almas mysteriously vanished into thin air. Our siege stores have mostly disappeared on planets...”
“Does the public know?”
Harding shook his head. “Officially, no. But the problem is widespread enough that it’s bound to escape the lips of some government workers, some guards. CSIS has already rumors about an upcoming feminine…”
Rearden leaned back. “Agriworlds will have to pick up production. It’s not as if every plant or animal on a planet vanished over night, is it?”
“Growing food is not quite as simple as manufacturing ships or droids, as on your planet, sir,” answered Councilor Swits, “growth takes time. And time is something that we do not have. If the people get too hungry, well, riots and worse will occur.”
“If they get hungry,” reiterated Admiral Lucerne, “the obvious key to the dilemma is not to let them even think about being hungry. As much as I hate it, some information is best kept secret from the public. I would like to suggest to the council that we use our trade partners to deal with this crisis.”
“Relying on outside influence? It’s a surprising risk that you’re willing to take; a complete turn-around from your own philosophy to make the Confederation independent of every other country in the galaxy…” mumbled a man.
“The galaxy in general is having a rough time,” replied Thorn, “people will have to rely on people they have never met, never trusted to simply survive. I have talked to several Coalition diplomats. Their agri-worlds Leritor and Ambrossis are both willing to sell the Confederation food…”
“But the question is will it be enough? Enough for over forty worlds?”
“No,” admitted Thorn, “but it solves part of the crisis…”
“I might add,” stated Lucerne, “that the CCMF regularly trades with neutral planets. I have already ordered for a priority for that fleet to obtain as much as physically is possible…”
“Bah,” exclaimed a green-skinned Kon’me, “it sounds like a huge government deficit in the making, if we even manage to survive.”
“The fleet has already netted the government a significant amount of income, both through the Unity ships and the CCMF,” reminded Lucerne, “enough that I believe that the military will actually be able to account for the funds for the Coalition purchases, and likely for many of the purchases made by the CMF. Though I readily admit, it does not solve or pay for the entire crisis…”
“Has the food disappeared from any of your warships, Admiral?” questioned a woman.
“Not that I am aware of. Each ship does have enough foodstuffs to last their crews a little over a year…are you suggesting that the ships offload their consumables to provide for civilians?”
She nodded. “I want it to be a possibility. Better to have a ship run out of food in twelve months when things will be better than let a child starve within the next week…”
Rearden shook his head. “That is an option we should reserve for a last-case scenario. There are not enough consumables in an entire fleet to feed one of our most populous planets, like say, Reaper’s World…”
The representative from the planet nodded vigorously, “But we will take it if nothing else. At for the rest of you, most of the planets can grow food or have things on them for to readily eat. We cannot eat duracrete and steel…”
“No,” replied a blue-uniformed man from the back of the room, “but you may certainly be able to recycle enough to make food…”
“What?”
Lucerne rose from the table to greet the man, “This is my chief advisor on technology, Minister Locris, Councilor.”
Harding frowned. “The Minister of Technology? For food?”
“Technology can solve a lot of problems, or excaberate them,” offered Locris, “I believe that I have talked to several industrial councilmen already here about switching production from military machinery to food-recycling systems…and so essentially, a being’s wastes, along with other chemicals, are turned into edible foods. It is widely used on scouting starships, heck even the Eye of Palpatine-”
“You’ll forgive me Minister,” interrupted Thorn, “if other people might find that idea revolting, if not unappetizing.”
“I have already ordered all military factories switched over to the design,” informed Lucerne, “as of three days ago. They will be used; that is, unless people would rather starve or we find another source. The first production batch was completed nearly twelve hours ago, and I’ve already ordered them to be installed in all military facilities.”
“Rather rash Admiral,” chided Briggins, “I hope for the Maker’s sake that we are not attacked and find ourselves out of missiles or ships…”
“I think we have enough for the moment…” countered Lucerne dryly.
(or in other words, the events of the Cataclysm and the Confederation's response to them. If I misunderstand or get anything wrong about this, feel free to correct me via PM....)
***
Kashan Defence Academy, Solace, Kashan
“Confirm with Voice Authentication…”
Corise rolled his eyes. Security can be a hassle at times like this…
“Admiral Lucerne-”
“Confirmed,” interrupted the automated voice.
The blastdoors slid open, and the two leaders nearly fell through the doors; being pressed up against by some fortunate cadets and families who had escaped the initial onslaught. The two dozen of them passed through before Corise slapped a button: causing the blast doors to shut upon not only the alien invaders, but a few Contegorians who had just begun to run for the doors. Through the closing doors, he could make out an either insane or desperate cadet try to stab one of the spiders with his dress sword. The blade merely bounced off the thing with a muted ping. The door shut. The spiders have metal or armor plating of some sort. We’re either dealing with a group of intelligent arachnids that wear armor, or we’ll dealing with a battle droid of some sort. Seeing that we don’t even know of any intelligent beings like that, it’s safe to say it’s a battle droid. Maybe some variant of the dwarf spider droid the CIS used… Thorn grabbed his shoulder.
“Where are we?”
“A panic room essentially,” answered Corise, pushing his way past the woman, “It was built in case of a bombardment.”
Thorn frowned. “Well, they aren’t exactly a bombardment…”
Corise nodded. “Which is why we’re going to solve it with a bombardment.”
The Pro-Consul paused….“What did you just say?”
***
Pegasus-class Star Destroyer Pegasus, in orbit via Kashan
“No, none of this makes any sense,” snapped Captain Thompson, “there aren’t any space vessels around to have transported them-”
“Signal from the surface sir. It’s the Admiral,” reported an officer.
“Erhh…patch it throughout the room…”
“And…it’s done,” continued the comm. specialist.
“Captain Thompson?” questioned a reverberating voice.
“Yes Admiral?” replied Thompson briskly.
“You will have all KDF vessels in the area equipped with magnetic-pulse ordinance bombard Solace and the surrounding communities with the said weapons. Immediately. I want two salvos, and then no more. You will hold your position over Solace then.”
“Ah…yes sir.”
“Lucerne out.”
Thompson dragged his hand over his face. “Well, I guess we do it. Comm, inform all other vessels of the Admiral’s orders. Weapons…well…you know what to do.”
The wedge-shaped starship swung about as if to stab the planet. Pegasus knifed over the emerald greens of the worlds forest, the swirling blues of the sea, the goldenrods of the prairies till it crossed into the planet’s night side to hover over the only gray and lit up part of the world: Solace. A dozen dark darts surged from the star destroyer’s sides…plunged into the atmosphere…and exploded mid-air. Up in space, the lights on the surface faded from view. Several Seraph cruisers and Juaire gunships approached, launching their own Starflares equipped with Mag-pulse warheads.
More detonations, less light.
***
Five minutes later…
Solace, Kashan
Corporal Hrakniss stared out of the upper story window with his militia’s commander, Colonel Spenser. Upon the detection of the invaders, sirens had alerted the Confederation militia to action. Men and women pulled out weapons and uniforms to ready for the coming action…and stayed for the most part in their homes; eliminating spiders that encroached on their own property. The reserve droid legions were called up by High Command, summoning thousands of automated warriors from their earthen bunkers to face the alien invaders. The plasma disruptors of the aliens were matched by an assortment of weaponry from the battle droids: plasma assault rifles, repeating blasters, missiles, corrosive gases, along with any other payload the Paladin IIs were capable of carrying. While the automated warriors fought for each side in the streets of New Solace, Colonel Spenser merely watched from a distance. The spiders in the immediate area were long gone: dispatched by the four dozen Paladins which constituted the defence unit for this, their militia’s command post.
“Command says we’re about to lose our power…energy. Anything that’s either connected to the power grid or that uses computer programming.”
“We’re going to lose our Paladins?”
The Lieutenant shook his head. “Their ionic shielding protects them from ion and EMP attacks.”
Hrakniss winced. “We’re hitting our own city with mag-pulse weapons? There are hospitals and other places that simply need that to survive…”
“I know. But we’re talking about the Admiral. He doesn’t see people: he sees numbers…We’ll lose a dozen people in the hospital and probably save hundreds of others simply hitting our own city. Of course, restarting the city life after that will be a pain, but hey. It’s better than being dead…”
Below them in their house, a quartet of Paladins silently stared out of the open windows. The droids had already decimated down the initial spiders with their proton rockets. What was meant to take out Imperial tanks and walkers had little difficultly wiping out clusters of the interlopers. Of course, in doing so, they had destroyed most of the road that the spiders had been standing on. THX-1138 spotted one of the spiders creeping towards the front door from another house. Perhaps creeping was not the word; perhaps it was stumbling, almost as if it were a certain drunk Kuati admiral. But the droid did not process this. After all, machines are stupid, but they are efficient.
Scanning…
Target acquired…
THX-1138 lifted up its right arm to point at the spider. The thing skittered about uncertainly, dazed, as if it were dying. Maybe it was. Electronics, cybernetics…none of that typically fared against electromagnetic weapons…but it was still not dead. The Paladin II fired its oversized assault rifle: a quartet of fusion slugs smashed into the creature and detonated, sending superheated plasma into the innards of the thing. Another set of slugs smashed into the spider’s legs, this one fromTHX-1142. Two legs of the disappeared in the fusion reaction’s haze, sending the damaged thing sprawling onto the ground with a clatter. The spider seemed to spasm as if in its death knell. THX-1138 ran over to the spider and promptly bashed the broken machine with its rifle onto the ground. The thing stopped moving. Across the capital city, the reserve droid legions of Paladin IIs backed by Confederation militia and armored vehicles began to tediously clear out the surviving spiders which hadn’t succumbed to the electromagnetic bombardment. There were likely spiders in other places on Kashan, but it wouldn’t matter much; simply because there was no-one there. The few places located far away from the capitol city, like Shipwright Academy, were military facilities manned by military personnel with military equipment. It might have been an even battle there, save that the defenders knew their turf, while the spiders did not.
***
Atlas Hall, Brandenburg, Genon
The sublevels of Atlas Hall were known as the center for the COnfederation's governmental elite. Scientists, politicians, corporate officials, and military officers all weaved in and out of the building; all hoping to eventually enter the sublevels to get to the Council. The intrigue and the understanding, the friendship and the animosity, the debate and acception, simultenously repelled and drew in new peoples to the Council, or at least made political life in the Council tumultous. Change was always upon them. But seldom had the Confederation dealt with the sort of change falling upon. In their luxurious settings, instead of discussing intricate political, military, scientific, cultural theories, concepts, and et cetera, they found themself discussing one of the most basic needs known to most people: that of eating. Ideas and alliances quickly formed and broke in the crisis. Everyone had some idea. That is, everyone but B53439, or "Bates". Unsurprisingly, the Uffel Councilor councilor didn't have much to say was that from Uffel; mainly because as a droid representing a moon populated soley by droids, he didn't understand or have much of a stake in the crisis.
“…the debacle at Kashan was devastating. I understand Madame Pro-Consul that you yourself were hurt during the graduation ceremony…”
The Pro-Consul winced. “It was nothing that bacta could not heal...please continue with your briefing however. It is far more important than what happened at Kashan.”
“As I was saying,” continued Councilor Harding, “our government food stores are gone. Even on Kashan, what should have been one of our safest worlds. This suggests that it was an inside job, as no outsider knows the position of the planet, nor the route through the hazardous nebula. But the losses on Kashan are insignificant compared to what we have lost elsewhere. Surplus grains on Audacia and Almas mysteriously vanished into thin air. Our siege stores have mostly disappeared on planets...”
“Does the public know?”
Harding shook his head. “Officially, no. But the problem is widespread enough that it’s bound to escape the lips of some government workers, some guards. CSIS has already rumors about an upcoming feminine…”
Rearden leaned back. “Agriworlds will have to pick up production. It’s not as if every plant or animal on a planet vanished over night, is it?”
“Growing food is not quite as simple as manufacturing ships or droids, as on your planet, sir,” answered Councilor Swits, “growth takes time. And time is something that we do not have. If the people get too hungry, well, riots and worse will occur.”
“If they get hungry,” reiterated Admiral Lucerne, “the obvious key to the dilemma is not to let them even think about being hungry. As much as I hate it, some information is best kept secret from the public. I would like to suggest to the council that we use our trade partners to deal with this crisis.”
“Relying on outside influence? It’s a surprising risk that you’re willing to take; a complete turn-around from your own philosophy to make the Confederation independent of every other country in the galaxy…” mumbled a man.
“The galaxy in general is having a rough time,” replied Thorn, “people will have to rely on people they have never met, never trusted to simply survive. I have talked to several Coalition diplomats. Their agri-worlds Leritor and Ambrossis are both willing to sell the Confederation food…”
“But the question is will it be enough? Enough for over forty worlds?”
“No,” admitted Thorn, “but it solves part of the crisis…”
“I might add,” stated Lucerne, “that the CCMF regularly trades with neutral planets. I have already ordered for a priority for that fleet to obtain as much as physically is possible…”
“Bah,” exclaimed a green-skinned Kon’me, “it sounds like a huge government deficit in the making, if we even manage to survive.”
“The fleet has already netted the government a significant amount of income, both through the Unity ships and the CCMF,” reminded Lucerne, “enough that I believe that the military will actually be able to account for the funds for the Coalition purchases, and likely for many of the purchases made by the CMF. Though I readily admit, it does not solve or pay for the entire crisis…”
“Has the food disappeared from any of your warships, Admiral?” questioned a woman.
“Not that I am aware of. Each ship does have enough foodstuffs to last their crews a little over a year…are you suggesting that the ships offload their consumables to provide for civilians?”
She nodded. “I want it to be a possibility. Better to have a ship run out of food in twelve months when things will be better than let a child starve within the next week…”
Rearden shook his head. “That is an option we should reserve for a last-case scenario. There are not enough consumables in an entire fleet to feed one of our most populous planets, like say, Reaper’s World…”
The representative from the planet nodded vigorously, “But we will take it if nothing else. At for the rest of you, most of the planets can grow food or have things on them for to readily eat. We cannot eat duracrete and steel…”
“No,” replied a blue-uniformed man from the back of the room, “but you may certainly be able to recycle enough to make food…”
“What?”
Lucerne rose from the table to greet the man, “This is my chief advisor on technology, Minister Locris, Councilor.”
Harding frowned. “The Minister of Technology? For food?”
“Technology can solve a lot of problems, or excaberate them,” offered Locris, “I believe that I have talked to several industrial councilmen already here about switching production from military machinery to food-recycling systems…and so essentially, a being’s wastes, along with other chemicals, are turned into edible foods. It is widely used on scouting starships, heck even the Eye of Palpatine-”
“You’ll forgive me Minister,” interrupted Thorn, “if other people might find that idea revolting, if not unappetizing.”
“I have already ordered all military factories switched over to the design,” informed Lucerne, “as of three days ago. They will be used; that is, unless people would rather starve or we find another source. The first production batch was completed nearly twelve hours ago, and I’ve already ordered them to be installed in all military facilities.”
“Rather rash Admiral,” chided Briggins, “I hope for the Maker’s sake that we are not attacked and find ourselves out of missiles or ships…”
“I think we have enough for the moment…” countered Lucerne dryly.