I was nursing a cup of caf as I stood over the bridge. We really needed some downtime after Pammant. The crews of my ships had returned to normalcy over the course of the last week and I finally felt my shoulders relax fully. Maker it was wonderful to not have to worry about an imminent battle.
That wasn’t to say there weren’t any fights within the command. Senior Captain Thorr and his 409th O.R. Section were harassing enemy shipments near Hutt Space, Commodore Abelard’s 419th O.R. Squadron was both raiding Sep convoys within the Ash Worlds and overseeing the establishment of the Cophrigin V supply depot. Though Abelard was also pulling double duty in deploying a series of defensive platforms and sensor buoys throughout the sparsely inhabited sector whenever he secured a patch of space with an inhabited system significant enough to be put on a regional map.
Things appeared to be looking up. I continue to nurse my caf as I turn to the datapad with my newest status update. The Targonn campaign was progressing well. Apparently there was an assassination attempt on Governor Squeak while he was boarding a train to the front to visit the troops. It had been stopped by one of his bodyguards.
As probably planned, an assault along the front was attempted by a coalition of warlords practically minutes after the attempted assassination. An assault which had been turned back by a counterattack led by the 12th Alsakan Volunteer Regiment. Their Colonel Cain had personally led the counterattack and pushed back the enemy beyond their own trenches before halting to fortify their newly acquired position. This had apparently scared one of the remaining six warlords into beginning negotiations with the legitimate government. Looks like the situation at Targonn might be resolved within the next two weeks if this pace is kept.
On a more practical note, the administrative offices for the regional command have been opened for business and Colonel Bvinsk was now proudly taking on a large chunk of the administrative duties of the command’s command structure.
The 159th Logistical Section should be arriving soon too. They had passed the checkpoint at Pammant about half a day ago. Any minute now, then. I frown at that. That couldn’t be right. It was about the middle of the year. The Purrgil would be migrating in larger numbers. Commodore Hugh would be cautious and take more jumps to be safer. Better adjust her time of arrival to sometime tomorrow then.
Surprisingly the 159th didn’t arrive alone on the following day. I was quite shocked to see a brand new Venator alongside a duet of Dreadnoughts. I didn’t know what to expect, but I boarded a shuttle after receiving a request to appear on the Venator by the Jedi General in command.
I was not overly optimistic. Out of all the Jedi I had met so far Masters Koth, Rancis and Koon seemed the most agreeable, Kenobi and Skywalker were borderline insane, Master Gallia was abrasive and Master Fisto was distant. Not to mention all but Masters Koon and Rancis knew anything about naval traditions.
I had R4 and an assortment of reports with me as the shuttle lands within the Venator’s hangar. The ramp lowers and I see myself welcomed by a squad of Clones and their Captain. The Clones give the appropriate salutes which I return without hesitation.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The Clone Captain speaks up first: “Commodore Dericote. I am CT-2314, the Captain and commanding officer of the 450th Battalion assigned to the 9th Heavy Outer Rim Section under the command of Jedi General Pong Krell.”
“Rear Admiral Thraken Dericote, commanding officer of the 120th Battlegroup, the 97th Outer Rim Squadron and the Little Revenge, Marshal Administrator of the North East Slice Command. I suppose you are the General’s second in command?”
“Yes, sir. General Krell is looking forward to meeting you. He is expecting you on the bridge.” The Clone replies.
I nod and allow him to lead me along, R4 trailing behind. Eventually I ask him something which was bugging me: “Do you have a name, Captain?”
“No, sir.” comes my reply
“I could have sworn most Clones have a name before they leave Kamino, at the very least they appear to have one by the time they’ve survived their first few fights.” I say back trying to keep the conversation alive.
“It seems so, sir.” Comes my annoyingly stoic reply. I quiet down. The Clone seemed to be closed off in general. I turned towards an escorting Clone, but he shakes his head at me. I frown, something was off.
We enter the bridge and I see the General. He is tall, even for Besalisk his brown skin and black hair already imposing from behind. When he turns I almost trip over my own feet, yellow eyes. Very imposing yellow eyes and I suddenly know what it feels like to be a lizard about to be pounced on by a mudpuppy, or a street fowl about to be hit by a train.
I regain my composure and snap a salute: “General, I am Rear Admiral Thraken Dericote commanding officer of the 120th Battlegroup, the 97th Outer Rim Squadron and the Little Revenge. Marshal Administrator of the North East Slice Command, I am at your service.”
The Besalisk returns the salute with his upper right hand before speaking: “Rear Admiral. I am Jedi Master and General Pong Krell of the 9th Heavy Outer Rim Section and 450th Clone Battalion. I welcome your service and offer my own.”
My eyes widen in surprise. Oh my goodness. He did everything correctly. The greeting was on point. The salute was without mistake and his cadence was on perfect. I had commanding officers who failed to do this correctly even in basic training. Maybe my original perception of how he ran the ship was incorrect.
“Sir, what can I assist you with?” I ask.
“High Command has assigned us a mission. There is a Karkarodon colony within the Confederacy which has been found to produce aquatic battle droids and other weapons of war. We have been ordered to raid the colony and permanently disrupt arms shipments to Mintooine. It is just south of the Florn system, though it resides within the Pakuuni Sector. I understand you have fought in the area previously.”
“That I have, sir. We should be able to smash through any resistance they put up, though I would hesitate to stay in system for any longer than strictly necessary. We would be quite close to Raxus, a bit too close for comfort to be honest. However I think it will be quite possible. Especially with your reinforcements. I would request time to finish the resupply of the 347th Outer Rim Section and the 503rd Light Outer Rim Section before we advance.” I answer.
“No, we will advance with my section alone and we will leave in 20 hours. You will accompany us as the expert and tactical adviser and second in command of the Section.” He gestures with his hand, “Maybe you could even write a paper on the effectiveness of modern turbolasers on an ocean world.”
That sounds like a good idea to support my career, does it really? Yes it would certainly assist in my next jump in rank, I don’t know a lot about the physics, I’m needed here: “Yes, that sounds like a wonderful topic. I am not replacing the Navy officer in command permanently, am I?”
“No, Senior Captain Onnory Poak has already agreed to take her leave for the duration of the mission. She has accumulated quite some shore leave in her short tenure and wished to revisit her home of Empress Teta.” The Besalisk says.
“Of course, it would be my honor.” I reply, “May I return to my quarters to gather my things.”
“You are dismissed, Admiral.”
I snap a salute and return to my shuttle. R4 whistles something about my lack of knowledge in advanced physics for the paper Krell suggested I do and I had just agreed to. She was right, but I … wanted it? I shook my head and boarded the shuttle. I could do the observations and data gathering for a preliminary paper I suppose. I would need someone else for help with the actual effectiveness. And I would need to commandeer some deep sea probes from the Mon Cala. This was suddenly becoming more and more difficult and the timeframe was not forgiving at all.
Kark.