Suarbi system
ISD II Invidious
Leona Tavira had had a very bad day already. Her pirate force had already lost half its strength in that battle with the Remnant. After reviewing the files, she had concluded that the Remnant must have laid a trap for her. It was quite an old trick as well -. have a heavy ship jump a few minutes behind the convoy to lure the pirates in and then deliver the killing blow. Imperial intelligence must have had neutralized her own spies on Axum in order for this to happen. I was overconfident and getting to lax. Where the kriff am I supposed to find new fighters? And if those torpedoes had not malfunctioned....
Whatever brooding Tavira was doing at the moment was rudely interrupted by the general alarm being sounded. Apparenlty, her troubles had not even begun.
Allegiance-class command ship Loyalty
The Imperial forces jumped into the system right outside the turbolaser range thanks to the telemetry feed from the sensors attached to Tavira's ship. While the Interdictor cruiser Constrainer brought its gravity generators online, the ISDIIs Eviscerator and Majestic launched their fighters. Leaving them behind to protect the interdictor, the two Star Destroyers then fell into formation besides the Loyalty.
On the bridge, Daine Jir took a look at the tactical readout. The pirate fleet, being composed of the surviving Strike Cruiser Red Nova, the CR-90 corvette Backstab, the gunship Lazerlord, the Bulk Cruiser Booty Full and the ISD-II Invidious, was clustered around a small base on one of the moons orbiting a gas giant. It was also clear that the Empire had caught them with their pants down, so to speak, for there now was a flurry of activity, with shuttles coming from the surface and heading towards the pirate fleet.
None of that would save the pirates as even if they had been combat-ready, they still would have been outgunned four to one. And with them having no fighter support at all, their situation was even more dire.
This time, a demand for surrender was broadcast. “Attention, pirate fleet. This is Field Marshal Daine Jir. You are outgunned and outmaneuvered. Surrender your ships and yourself to the Empire now and your lives will be spared. If you do not, you will be destroyed without hesitation or mercy. I await your surrender within the next five standard minutes.”
On the bridge of the Invidious, Tavira was pacing. It was true, she was outnumbered. There was little chance of them getting out of here and she didn't think for once that Jir would keep his word. Unless...she had something to bargain which. “Open a private channel to the Marshal, my com unit only”.
Soon, the private comm units of the two ships were lit by holograms of the two opponents. Seeing the rumpled uniform of his opponent, Jir barely could keep himself from smirking. “Tavira. Have you come to beg?” “On the contrary. I have come to offer you a deal.”
Jir chuckled. Whatever else she may be, the 25-year old was certainly no coward. “I am listening.” “I want free passage for my ships and their crews as well as a sum of 200.000 credits to be disposited in a location of my chosing.”
Jir's smile faded and this time there was steel in his voice when he replied: “Guns, destroy the Lazerlord”
The Lazerlord was the smallest of Tavira's ship, a corellian gunship. Renowned for their bite in anti-fighter combat, they still were unable to stand in the line of battle – a fact that was once more proven when the Loyalty's guns lashed out and turned the ship into a miniature sun with one salvo.
Tavira's facade began to crack for a split second, but then immediately composed herself. “You want to stop destroying my ships when I can fire a turbolaser barrage any second.”
“You are more deluded than I had previously imagined. You have no chance of penetrating my shields. Guns, destroy the - “ “It is not aimed at you. It is aimed at the moon and trust me, you really don't want me to press the trigger.”
Momentarily disabling the connection on his end, Jir quickly brought up the sensor images of the moon. It looked like nothing special – a bit of infrastructure to refuel starships and a small colony of people. Mostly humans, from the looks of it. In short, nothing special. He reconnected the communication. “Why should I care what happens to your supporters?”
“Because they are not my supporters, Marshal – and because they are force-users. I think the empire can use some, considering you have a sith empire next to you? And I don't think you get many jedi these days, do you? So here's my offer – I turn them over to you and you let me go.”
Jir's mind was racing. On the one hand, force users were a necessary asset if the Remnant wanted to have any chance against the Sith. On the other hand, there was no way he could let the pirates go free. “Tavira, is your crew listening?” The assumed Moff snorted. “What do you take me for, a fool?”
“Good. Here is my final offer. You will turn over all your ships and surrender yourself to Imperial authorities. You will then be given a new identity and placed under house arrest in a luxury suite on Ord Cantrell. The Empire will pay your expenses as long as you live, provided you turn over all booty from your raids and turn all files on your crews over to Imperial authorities.” “But -” “Last offer. There are not enough force-users in the galaxy that you could bribe me with that would convince me to let you get away.”
Tavira seemd to consider this offer and after looking at Jir for a long time, she nodded. “What happens to my crew?” “Do you care?” “Some of them have...talents I might require.” “I don't give a kriff. This offer is for you and for you alone. Don't try my patience any further.”
Tavira sighed and all the energy seemed to have left her body. Or so it looked – Jir had heard enough about her to not believe this was not an act. “Very well, Marshal. I am your prisoner.” With a gesture of submission – one that she made sure displayed ample cleavage – she shut off her comm unit.
Jir's smirk meanwhile was back in full strength. Two minutes and that snake is already trying to seduce me. But he had more pressing matters to attend than to spent further time musing on it. “Bridge. Ready boarding teams for all ships and tell the Imperial legal service that we have over fourty-thousands prisoners that require processing.”
Five hours later
Not many pirates had believed Tavira's assurances that the Empire would not harm them. But faced with running a gauntlet composed of two fighter wings, two ISD-IIs and one Allegiance-class command ship, most of them had elected to surrender. Only the corvette Backstab had chosen to try to outrun the Imperial ships. In theory, it was a good plan – use the moon as cover and use the superior speed to get away before Imperial ships caught up with them. However, as the Backstab immediately became the target of every ion cannon in the Imperial fleet, the plan never had a chance to come to fruition. One by one, the pirate ships had been boarded and the crews taken into custody. The Invidious with its crew of former Imperial soldiers had been most cooperative, while others had been less so. Tavira herself had been taken into custody and was now transfering files to the computer databanks of the Loyalty from her quarters. The pirate ships had been crewed with prize crews and had moved out of orbit to ready themselves for departure.
Which left the Loyalty in orbit, providing cover while Marshal Jir was heading for the surface of the moon in a Lambda-class shuttle.
Suarbi 5
The town – if one used to the cityscape of Coruscant could call it that – was deserted as Jir and his Red Guard escort walked from the shuttle into what could only be described as the town plaza near the former Governer's palace. But someone who had survived as many ground battles as he and someone who survived being Vader's aide-de-camp for as long as he did knew when to trust his instincts. Rising an amplifier disc to his lips, he called out, his voice booming from the walls of the houses. “I am Marshal Jir of the Imperial Remnant. Please identify a representative.”
As if on response, the plaza around him lit up with lightsabers of all colours and about twelve figures clad in sith-like armour stepped forward. Jir's guards dropped into combat pose around him at the sight, but Jir himself recovered quickly enough to call out to his troops to hold fire, seeing that the Jensaarai stopped short of the Yalsamiri bubble and made no move to attack. Instead, they held their weapons at the ready and had dropped into parrying stances. Jir was remembering one time when he had been privy to Vader's combat practice. They are preparing to repel blasterbolts. They are not here to attack – they are here to defend. They think I am the attacker.
“I come with an offer of peace and friendship.” Was he only imagining it or were some of them chuckling behind their helmets?
“We already lived through both of it and have no desire to experience it again.” The voice, female and strong, was directed towards him, but it was impossible to find out who had spoken.
“I am unfamiliar with the history of this planet. Rest assured, we do not want to harm you.” “That is what Vader said – and then came the Inquisitors. They too came with promises – and we suffered.”
Jir nodded. So this had just been one of the numerous cleanup operations undertaken by the Inquisitors. But whoever had been in charge of exterminating this particular group had certainly failed. “The Inquisitorius has been disbanded. There are no Inquisitors among the Imperial forces anymore.” “It doesn't matter. You are Imperial. You cannot be trusted.”
The Marshal took a look around him and weighed his chances. They were not that good – for neither of them. If the warriors decided to charge, they would be cut down – but there was a high chance of him being killed by a lightsaber was quite high, Yalsamiri or not. But if he would be killed then his ship would exterminate the whole settlement. In that light the Jensaarai deployment made no sense at all. Why would they risk their forces out in the open when they could just as well run and hide? And then it struck him. They must have guessed Tavira sold them out – nay, sensed it. So they did run, but when they saw me....
Jir unconsciously fingered his rank insigna. They must have tried a hostage grab – which the Yalsamiri stopped. So they tried the same with numbers...but why have they not attacked yet?
“I can't allow you to fully scan my mind, but if I step out of the bubble for a minute, will that be enough for you to sense my intentions or whether I am lying?”
“Yes.” This time, the voice came from behind him and was not amplified anymore. Swirling around, Jir noticed a cloak unraveling around a warrior – a woman by the looks of the armour surrounding a slender figure. The woman shut off her red lightsaber blade and stepped up to the boundary of the bubble, waiting for him to step out of it. Which he did. Immediately he felt something – a strange sensation, as if someone was brushing against his thoughts and then disappearing. But it must have been enough, for the woman reached up to her facemask and removed it, revealing a beautiful face framed by wavy brown haird and complemented by blue eyes.
“I shall take you to our leader.” This caused a bit of movement among the ranks of the Jensaraai, but a glance by the woman ended it. “Your troops will stay here.”
Jir didn't like that one bit, which she apparently caught radiating from his mind. “It is called trust, Marshal.”
Jir quickly weighed the option of leaving or risking his life once more for the good of the empire. “Very well. Lead the way”. Besides, there are worse kinds of death than being impaled upon a lightsaber.
A distant mental chuckle was the response to that.
After a walk of about thirty minutes, Jir was led into a room, where another woman stepped out of the shadows, her face mask displaying the features of a beautiful young woman. But this one was not young anymore, as her white hair showed. But her piercing blue eyes still showed an excess of energy.
“I am the Saarai-Kaar.”
About sixty minutes later Jir had finished telling the Saarai-Kaar about the situation in the galaxy and that his forces had defeated Tavira, while receiving a brief history of the Jensaarai in return. Their bland of Jedi and Sith techniques was highly interesting to him. Of course, eventually the discussion turned towards the purpose of his visit and he was asked what plans the Empire had for this world.
“I am not a politician. Would you mind if I was speaking freely?” The Saarai-Kaar nodded. “The Imperial Remnant is bordering a sith state. We need force users to defend us, and we need them sooner or later.” The Saarai-Kaar shook her head. “We will not help you against our brethren, the sith.”
“The Sith are not your brethren. You spoke of Vader and the persecution you suffered. But Vader was a Sith – I know, I served as his aide.” As soon as he spoke these words, a red lightsaber snapped up and almost touched his chin. Jir however remained staring at the mask of the Saarai-Kaar. Soon he felt his mind being brushed again – but this time the brush was deeper and a touch darker. After a little while, the Saarai-Kaar motioned for the woman who had accompanied Jir to lower her lightsaber, which she did.
“You think you speak the truth”. “I am speaking the truth. Vader held the title Darth, he was the Dark Lord of the Sith. The Emperor himself was a Sith as well and if you want to, I can provide documents that prove it.”
“Assuming that this is indeed true, why should we ally with you after all your state did to us? And don't lie to me, I know you would do the same thing again if you felt it was necessary. All you Imperials are the same – so technocratic, so merciless. So cold.”
“I would say that this charge is unfair. But, let's not quibble about that. Here is my offer – the Remnant will recognize and guarantee your independence. We will not set a foot on your world without your permission. We will further, in accordance with your wishes, of course, install defence installations on this planet. You will have full control over them, providing you wish it. For starters, I propose that a XQ station be constructed in orbit of your world, to be mutually commanded by Imperial Officers and some of your delegates.
As a token of goodwill, we will even donate a warship to your planet to be crewed by your own personnel and station other warships in this system to safeguard your planet, should the situation require it. We will also hand over some recently-recovered sith and Jedi artifacts to you. In return, I ask nothing of you except that a delegation of your people visit the Remnant – and assurances that you will not support any other power. We ask nothing of your world.”
“And what if we come to the conclusion that your people are worth supporting?” “Then we would ask that you provide some of your warriors for our cause and train potential force users.”
The Saarai-Kar turned away, deep in thought. Or maybe she was conversing with the others through the force. Whatever it was, after a moment she turned to face him once more. “You are aware that we number less than a hundred and that any Jensaarai serving you would have to be a volunteer?”
Jir nodded, relieved. “That is all I ask.”
The Saarai-Kar nodded. “Then we are in agreement. I shall dispatch some of my charges to accompany you and report back on me if you people are worth supporting.”
Jir bowed. “Very well, madam. As representative of the Imperial Remnant, I accept your terms.” The Saarai-Kar chuckled. “My terms indeed. Don't you think I didn't notice your plans if we would refuse? You would destroy this world.” Jir blanched, but straightened back up immediately. “I do not deny the charge.” He cast a glance around. “But I would not have enjoyed the task.”
“Yet you would have performed it. I'll keep that in mind, Imperial.” Then the steely voice softened a bit. “But I also saw the devestation of Coruscant and that you were speaking honestly when offering the terms.” The Saarai-Kar turned around and this time it was clear it meant 'goodbye'. “Sent a shuttle in three standard hours to the plaza. My delegation will be ready.”
After Jir had been escorted out, the Saarai-Kar allowed herself to sit down and relax her posture. She would have to be very careful. She also had no illusions about the Empire – it was either sending at least a token force to guard them or annihilation. But as the old saying goes – he who invites the Terentatek risks getting eaten. In any case, her delegation would also carry the complete Jensaarai lore in order to prevent them being destroyed should the Remnant change its mind. And she knew just who to lead them.
Allegiance-class command ship Loyalty
After Jir had completed his report to the Imperial Ruling Council, he fired off another series of orders. “Have the Majestic assume orbit around the moon. I want continous fighter patrol throughout the system. The rest of the fleet will jump with us to Ord Cantrell as soon as the delegation is onboard. That reminds me, lock Tavira's quarters and position a unit of red guards at her door – I don't want them to run into each other. Red guards are also to be stationed on the bridge and in engineering. Have quarters prepared for our guests.”
Now to the grim part.
“Signal the core fleet. I want the IC-52 and IC-53 to be dispatched to this system immediately.” IC-52 and IC-53 were two Assasin-class corvettes tasked with mine laying duties. “ They shall mine all hyperspace routes to this system. Transfer the following orders to the Majestic – under no circumstances must this planet be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Prepare evacuation procedures, if necessary, perform a Base Delta Zero operation.”
Exactly an hour the Jensaarai delegation – 20 humans, three Rodians, plus the woman who had escorted Jir to and from the Saarai-Kar – arrived and after they had been ferried to the Loyalty, the Imperial fleet jumped into hyperspace with their prizes, leaving the ISD Majestic to circle around the colony, while Imperial fighters started to set up Patrols and Imperial troops ferried down the first of many aid shipments to come.
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The Bakuran Times.
Disaster at Dekka-9
A Bakuran fleet was ambushed by pirates, taking heavy casualties
It was an Imperial success – and a Bakuran loss. In one battle, the Bakuran Navy lost 12 percent of its strength, while the fleet assigned to protect Ryloth and to combat pirates lost a quarter of its strength. 7452 persons lost their lives in pursuit of a course that many thought were foolish to start with. But the numbers alone cannot reveal the tragedy of Bakuran families. Hardest hit was the Thoms family of Salis D'aar, who lost three of their four sons. Prime Minister Captison has personally spoken with the family, but the words of a politician are cold comfort. It is currently unknown how this will impact the reelection of Prime Minister Captison.....
The city of Salis D'aar, where many of the now bereft families reside.
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The Imperial Times
Imperial forces led by Marshal Daine Jir and Vice-Admiral Thanas struck a decisive blow against one of the more notorious pirate gangs out there. The Invidious, home to the pirates led by former self-proclaimed Moff Leonia Tavira, has been captured.
It all started when a daring plan by Admiral Thanas resulted in a costly victory over the pirate fleet, which then was pursued and captured by Marshal Jir.....
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Windcaller News Service
Newspaper to Ord Cantrell
The courts of Ord Cantrell these days are busy – so busy in fact, that naval judges from the whole Empire have been brought in to handle it. With the capture of over 50.000 pirates, the courts will have work for a whole year. Rumours are already circling about a possible pardon for former Imperials, but Imperial citizens can rest assured that these are just rumours.
The official proceedings started off with the commencement of the trial against pirate captain Jacob Nive, who was charged not only with being the commander of the Khuiumin surivvors corvette backstab, but also with the murder of retired Imperical captain Zlece Oonaar, who was ejected into vacuum by the pirates.
Thanks to the detailed personal files of Tavira, which the Imperial Navy recovered, this and many other trials are sure to result in a conviction.
During the hearing, Captain Nive ranted about the “backstabbing [expletive deleted] Tavira.” Tavira herself was shot resisting capture when the Imperial forces boarded the Invidious.
********************
Ord Cantrell
Imperial Council Meeting
some time later
The council had deliberated and – after some heavy opposition by Captison and Thanas to Tavira being allowed to go free – decided to approve Jir's plans with a 8-2 vote . The council then decided to approve preliminary plans for the Jensaraai planetary shields and the XQ6 space station, construction to be started as soon as the Jensaraai decided to join – which, as the Jensaarai delegate had put it, would take some time. It was also decided that Marshal Jir would be the primary liaison with the Jensaraai. It was also decided that the Sith would need closer watching and that the Jensaraai – if the rest of the galaxy were to discover them – had to be protected at all costs.
The meeting then turned to the upcoming signing of the alliance treaty on Coruscant. Marshal Praji, Baroness-designate Feena D'Asta and Moff Saenger made a joint report and stated that the preparations were complete. With that in mind, the council decided unanimously that it would temporarily relocate to Coruscant in order to be present in full at the signing ceremony as soon as the other business was completed.
Feena D'Asta was the first to speak.
“Fellow councilmembers, it seems that our alliance has already brought fruit. The Star Empire of Manticore has generously offered to provide a Venator class carrier and two Victory Star Destroyers until our losses are made up. Admiral Thanas, what are your opinions on that?”
Thanas' hologram nodded. “Very well. I can use any extra ships I can get, especially after that last battle. I'll gladly take them – they seem to be as professional as any other Imperial ship. And what good is an alliance if we don't trust them? So I would support having them at Ryloth.”
The other councilmembers agreed and Feena continued.
“With regards to our arms queries, we have received two very tempting offers. The Star Empire of Manticore has offered to sell us 3 Escort Carriers, 8 Nebulon-B Frigates, 4 Lancer Frigates, and 10 VT-49 Decimator Assault Ships for little above the normal price.
We have also received an offer from Sienar Fleet systems:
Your thoughts?”Beowulf wrote: Republic Siener Fleet Systems (with the approval of the FDPRH) is willing to sell you two(2) Vindicator-class cruisers. Cost will be a total of 68.75 million credits (read: 11 pts).
It can also supply 4 Lancer-class Frigates. Total cost is 87.5 million credits (14 pts). RSFS regrets it will be unable to fulfill orders larger than specifed, due to existing commitments to the FDPRHN, and preplanned yard expansion.
After a short break for deliberation, Lord Praji spoke up first. “I would suggest we first talk about the pirate prizes. We have captured an ISD-II, one Nebulon-B frigate, an assault frigate, a strike cruiser, a bulk cruiser, a CR-90 corvette and a Tartan cruiser. Obviously, the bulk of these ships will go to the Core Fleet.”
“I protest.” Captison and Thanas responded in sync. After a short glance, Gaeriel mentioned for her husband to go ahead. “Bakura bore the most casualties, we deserve to receive the most ships. I therefore claim the Star Destroyer, the strike cruiser and the corvette for Bakura.”
Before Praji could respond, Regent D'Asta interceded. “Gentlemen, no shouting, please. Now, with the casualties suffered I do not think the Bakuran Navy can crew a Star Destroyer. However, you suffered the most. So I propose that the Star Destroyer and the Nebulon B-frigate go to the Ord Cantrell fleet – we need more protection here anyway and they would fit well into our command structure here. Plus, if we continue detaching units from this fleet, we need more to make up the difference. These ships are also the least damaged and do not require additional yard time in order to be up to Imperial standards.”
The regent took a sip of water, then continued.
“As for the Tartan cruiser, more of a very outdated corvette, I vote we turn it over to the Jensaarai. We promised them a warship of their own, here they have it. Repairs on that ship are also finished if that data is correct. The bulk cruiser is also a very outdated design. I move that once that ship has been modernized to Imperial standards, we turn it over to the Naval Academy of Coruscant as a training ship.”
“This leaves the Strike Cruiser, the Assault frigate and the corvette. The Bakuran fleet has lost one Vindicator class cruiser, two Carrack cruisers and two Assassin-class corvettes. The strike cruiser, the assault frigate and the corvette should fill the hole of the Carrack cruisers and one Assassin class corvette, which leaves us short of a Vindicator class cruiser and one corvette. Also, many of the pirate ships need repair. Which brings us back to the arms deal.”
The regent paused for a moment, taking another sip of water.
“I would suggest we take up the offer of the Star Empire of Manticore in part. We buy two Nebulon-B frigates from them for the Ord Cantrell fleet, which brings our count of those ships up to a half-squadron.”
“We should also consider the offer of Sienar Fleet systems. We should reject that offer in part and modify it according to these plans. We need to have the pirate ships repaired, as well as repairs for the Cruiser Dominator. We furthermore need a place for new fighter squadrons – our current factories are at full production for the fleet already. Sienar has always done outstanding fighter and repair work.” After a sign, several aides handed out datapads. “I propose the following – and I would like a vote on that.”
After a few minor adjustments, the council voted to go along with the plan of Ragez D'Asta.
“Now, what about our manpower shortage?” Marshal Praji answered that. “Sir, the pirates include a number of former Imperial personal. I would like to offer a pardon to those if they accept a reduction in rank and a permanent demerit on their record, provided they have not taken part in atrocities. As for the rest of the pirates, the courts will see to them. The Imperial Navy is able to crew all assigned ships. I don't know about Bakura, though.”
Gaeriel Captison's eyes shot daggers at him. “The Bakuran Navy can and will meet the challenge. Yes, we have suffered a severe loss. But we will persevere.”
Moff Saenger interceded before this could get out of hand. “Axum heavy industries is also looking into ways to further reduce our demand for manpower, we might invest heavily in AI research for that.”
D'Asta once more spoke up. “Then it is decided. Thank you all, this has been a most productive meeting. Before we go, I have one bit of good news to share – In my capacity as Regent, I have reviewed the battle logs and have decided to award the Imperial Medal of Order to both Marshal Jir and Vice-Admiral Thanas for the success of their plan against the pirates. The ceremony will take place on Coruscant, right after the signing of the treaty. It is my opinion that both officers conducted themselves with great bravery and competence during recent events.”
The Imperial Medal of Order.
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Genon
Grappa's palace
Grappa the Hutt watched the court proceedings on Imperial holovision with great joy. Now that Tavira was out of the picture, his gang could expand. The failure of the Imperials, as always, was to think that piracy could be eradicated. And with the newest plan in motion, his profits would double.
“All is in place, don't you think?” “Yes, Grappa, all is in place.” Macus Kayniph, the Black sun liaison, nodded.
*******************
Coruscant
A week later
All is in order, Feena D'Asta observed. She was standing on the edge of the Skyhook's landing platform, ready to welcome visitors.
Her father had already arrived earlier, brushing past the honour guard to discuss urgent business with Mirith Sinn.
Her old friend had barely paused, only to offer a reassuring smile to her.
The rest of the council had arrived yesterday and were now busy attending to their luxury suites. The Jensaarai were there too, staying with Jir's entourage. The ruined cityscape of coruscant provided an apt background to the proceedings. Like dancing on graves.
“Nervous?” Moff Saenger, in his white dress uniform, appeared at her side. If he had been anyone else except for him and Mirith, she would have bitten his head off. “Yes.”
“It is going to be alright, you know. Worst case, you start an international war and look like a buffoon.” “Why, thank you for that great figure of speech.”
“Seriously though, it is going to be alright.” “I know....I just have this sinking feeling that something is up. And I don't think you came out here just to comfort me.”
“Well, that too. But I have just been informed the first delegate ship has entered Axum space and will arrive at Coruscant within minutes.”
Here come the delegates – and the party crashers.
*******************
Results:
- Remnant starts dealings with Jensaarai, transfers 1 ship to them, ISD Majestic assigned to combat patrol around their world. Jensaarai delegation to observe Jir and the Remnant, then decide if they should be supported.
- Imperial arms deal start (Beowulf, Master_Baerne please check your PMs)
- Tavira's gang is out of business
- The losses cause some fallout at Bakura
- The Remnant accepts the offer of the Star Empire of Manticore with regards to the fleet support at Ryloth
- the delegates of the alliance members and anybody else who wants to attend the signing ceremony can arrive.
