| abstract | - Operations -- NRSC Deliverance This room is similiarly composed of the gleaming white walls common throughout this vessel. However, its appearance differs from most of the others in two major respects. First, the room is rounded, and slopes down, providing ampitheater-like seating across three quarters of the arc. The second is the massive holoprojector unit at the base of the room, capable of rendering crucial details in a three dimensional area above it. Towards the aft of the room, near the exit archway, the library computer controls the holoprojector, as well as the trio of transparent data windows arrayed around the top of the room. The final quarter of the room is available for personnel to run briefings or hold additional equipment as needed. Arands enters the room. He nods simply. "She's secured in the brig. How long I can keep a force user there, I'm not sure, Skywalker." Now Arands notices Leia, Han and Chewbacca. He nods to Han, "General... seems you've returned just in time." Another nod to Leia, "Councilor..." He gestures to both of them to take a seat. "You better sit... I don't think either of you is going to like this." Leia, Han, and Chewbacca aren't exactly hard to miss. Ever since he and the Princess and the Wookiee Chewbacca have been hustled into the room full of tense, nervous faces, Solo has been trying his best to keep from pacing. At his flank is Chewbacca, who yorfles out a greeting to Luke even as the Corellian General's gaze shoots in the direction of the incoming arrivals. "It's about time," he says gruffly towards Arands, though he shoots Skywalker a sharply concerned glance as well. "We got here from Corellia as fast we all could." A solemn-faced loosely-uniformed man stands next to a data terminal, tapping a message into it quickly, and reading the response. With a frown, he turns. Slim, five-foot-eleven, a dark build. A single patch lies on his uniform, with the letters NRI. He continues to stand there silently, peering between the various faces in the room quietly, without a word. Looking more than a little drained, Luke smiles wanly at General Arands as he comes into the briefing room alongside him and glances with darkened eyes at those he already knew were present here. He gives Leia a cursory, knowing look, before approaching her and Han, speaking to Arands over his shoulder. "Just take as many precautions as you can, General. She can be held if no one gives her an opportunity to escape." Then he gives his attention solely to the Princess and Solo as his shoulders slump. "It's been a long day," he says with bitter resignation. "It seems we have another Death Star on our hands." Kelvis enteres from the open archway. Kelvis has arrived. Kelvis enters Operations -- NRSC Deliverance The well-disciplined crewman who had escorted Eva Sargent from the hangar bay nods crisply and disappears into the corridor after showing her into the ops room. She looks around, her deep eyes sharp and alert, but frosted with concern. All business, her thin short legs step further into the room with clipped steps. Her lips are pressed together in a stony but reserved frown. The junior diplomat's first destination is where the some of the senior leadership stand conferring. From their gestures and voices, it appears they already understand the gravity of the situation. Stopping just over a meter from them, she dips in a swift plie as her bow in greeting. Her tone is sheer professionalism. "Your Highness. Generals. Luke. Have you been briefed on the situation?" THAT bit of news slices through every conversation in the room and silence falls over all assembled. Death Star? Many of the officers here look at Luke in disbelief. Even some of those officers that had served since before Yavin. Arands can only nod at the information, his own eyes dropping to the floor. "Gastus ... is ... gone..." he says quietly. Kelvis slips into the room. He's terribly underinformed, and terribly out of place. He didn't even have time for a change, after filing the paperwork about why Morganna was being detained. He shakes his head, and slips to a spot on the wall, trying to look as unobtrusive as possible. The NRI officer sighs, taking the news a little better than the rest of the group. He makes his way across the room, and towards the brunt of the higher-up officials, breathing in, and out slowly, trying to relax. This won't look good on his part, nor the rest of the NRI. Leia had not sat and had not refrained from pacing. Her fingers steepled before her coral lips, she has walked many times back and forth on the lower floor. As her brother enters, she is immediately drawn to his presence, but she doesn't move, allowing him to approach she and her husband. Luke's new is delivered like a thermal blast to her hope. "No..." She moves from fear to anger to determination within seconds. She doesn't speak of action, but her every fibre feels the need for it. At the young diplomat's approach, the Councilor shakes her head. "We're about to be. What do you know...?" She doesn't get the question out before she hears Arands' news and her soul reels again as it did when she first sensed the destruction but didn't know what it was. Grasping the back of the nearest chair for support, the strong woman shows no other signs of distress at the news for now but sets her jaw firmly as her mind searches for a response. "This must end, and quickly. Why did we have no word at all of this before now?" Her dark eyes search the room sharply for an answer. An explosive roar bursts out of Chewbacca, shattering the horrified stillness even as Solo's eyes go hot and wild. If he weren't already on his feet, having declined Arands' suggestion to sit down, the Corellian would have shot back into a standing position. Now he reaches a hand for Leia, steadying her, biting back the demand he's about to make with an effort as his wife makes it before him. Howie enteres from the open archway. Howie has arrived. Howie enters Operations -- NRSC Deliverance Feylin enteres from the open archway. Feylin has arrived. Feylin enters Operations -- NRSC Deliverance The Jedi Master winces slightly at Chewbacca's jarring howl of anger, and Han moves to Leia's aid before Luke can do so. But while she and Han are full of restless energy and purpose, he finds himself weary from the experience and sits in a chair nearby, rubbing his temples. "We saw Gastus destroyed ourselves," he murmurs. "I won't know why we had no intelligence reports before. I had sensed... something. But I had no idea it was this." Entering the Ops room quite a bit behind everyone else, Feylin is being shown in by a helpful member of the crew. She thought she was *right behind* the Jedi Master when she managed to lose track of the sentient convoy. She nods somberly to the vast group of people who she doesn't know and is looking a little uncomfortable, even for all of the things that have gone on tonight. Silently, she hurries herself to the back of the room, folding her hands and casting her glance towards the floor. Arands shakes his head to Leia. "I have no idea, Councilor. One moment we were approaching Gastus. The next, 'IT' appeared and dispersed all of its TIEs." He looks up now as Howie enters the room. He was sure the Captain was as visibly shaken as he was at the attack. "It seemed to happen so slowly. The beam just sort of... hung there before it hit the planet. Like a dream..." Howie apparently arrived a little later than usual, needing to speak with a few other people on the ship before entering this meeting. "I'm sorry Ladies and Gentlemen for coming here a little late, I had urgent business to attend to..." The Captain apologizes to everyone in the room as he enters, trying not to look shaken but is. He thought the nightmare in the past was over, apparently it was reawakened. "Perhaps more like a nightmare, General... now this is a handful." Perhaps that is an understatement by the Captain. Arands has connected. Sargent takes one step back from the group, the timing of the Wookiee's roar coinciding fortuitously with her decision to give the General the appropriate amount of room to continue the briefing. She already knows most of what Arands is saying, but defers to him as the proper person to give them the details. She stands as erect as her short stature will allow, the heel of her right food tucked neatly into the arch of her left. As she watches the alarmed reactions of those assembled, her own worried face aims to maintain control and discipline. "We didn't know about it ahead of time," The NRI officer coughs slightly, and continues, raising his voice to cut into the conversation slowly. His voice is monotonous, meticulous, and carefully constructed... each word chosen with extreme caution. "Because we didn't know the Empire was creating another one. Our intelligence reports are still coming in from across the galaxy, and it's very sketchy so far. I'd like to give you all more information, but as of yet, I am unable to do so without causing more confusion than that which already exists." He lets out a long sigh, slowly moving his arms into a crossed pretzel, slowly kneading at his arms, dressed in some black cloth. Bazil walks in, catching the tail end of the NRI officer's message, his face still red, but in a new set of clothes. He seems worn, and has due cause for that particular look. Droopy eyes reveal a tired man... he needs sleep, but this is important. With everything that's going on, it's doubtful he's going to be getting much sleep the next few weeks... or longer. He pauses inside the room a few feet, before working to the side, and he finally leans back against the top wall, watching the proceedings with extreme attention. Arands moves to one side of the table now. The Captain is here and he has no desire to 'lead' this meeting. His eyes fall upon the Jedi Master, then to Han, and finally to Howie. He seems at a loss for words. Of course, of all of them, he was the only one who had witnessed the entire thing from a viewport, from beginning to end. He hadn't been able to pull his eyes from the space station or even sound an alert. If it weren't for the quick thinking of the Angry Rancor's crew, they would probably be in Imperial hands by now. "How do we combat a fully operational Death Star without intelligence. We have no plans for the station. We have no idea what new defenses it might have over its predecessors." His words are quiet and distant, as if he's reliving the memory over and over again. Not even his torture at the hands of Cimber had affected the man quite this deeply. Kelvis blinks, and in an unguarded moment, stammers, "A DEATH Star?!" He shakes his head, eyes bugging out a bit. "How...did....THAT get past Intelligence?" Yes, that's all loud enough for anyone to hear. The Quarren is, quite simply, stunned.... The Councilor's eyes close against a wave of internal pain at Arands' description. Within, she digs deeply into her being for the strength to face the Empire's destruction yet again, finding the strength to do as she has done so many times before. Act...fight...survive against the odds. Moving to the front of the room, she approaches Arands. Unconsciously, she lays a hand on his shoulder, emitting a level of comfort to the soldier worn by trials. Having seen her own homeworld destroyed in such a way, even if she could not amplify her empathy for the man, she would feel what he feels now from her own memories. She listens to the NRI officer's report and nods with solemn accord. "Obviously, our intel is lacking. But, what matters next is that we know where the Empire may be headed with their new monster." Looking to the Junior diplomatic Representative to this system, Leia queries. "Representative Sargent...have you any contacts with the local military or their intelligence agents? And this Gastus...was it a Caspian holding?" Surely this time, the independent system they have all 'invaded' as a base for now could not expect to defend itself against this new threat without aide from the New Republic. Bazil's reaction to Kelvis is a sigh, and his eyes close, trying to keep himself focused on this. Everything here is so chaotic. How did it happen, anyways? He'll have to find that out, unfortunately... so many lives lost on that planet. Why? The NRI agent sighs, and shakes his head softly, obviously very embarassed about the whole situation. This isn't something to put highly on one's record. "We don't know how they managed to slip it past our agents..." The comment was more directed to Kelvis than the rest of the room. Once Leia takes command of the briefing, Chewbacca settles down again -- but not without emitting a softer, worried whine of distress in reaction to the incoming Quarren's question, the demand that's already shot around the room and back again. "Yeah, tell me about it, Chewie, what, did we run outta Bothans?" Solo's voice has turned to a harsh gravelly rasp now, but his eyes are still heated. His stare shoots back to Leia, and like her, the General is radiating a fierce purpose. Luckily Leia has taken charge of the meeting, and Luke can relax at last, rolling his shoulders to ease the tense ache that has settled between his shoulder blades. Haunted by what he witnessed and what he sensed, as well as the subsequent confrontation with Morganna, Luke listens to the flurry around him, then blinks as he sees Feylin alone at the back of the room. He motions for her to come over as he adds to the debate going on, "It's no use worrying about what we didn't do. Now we must focus on how to face this threat. We've all been resting on our laurels too long, and the Empire -- and the Sith -- have grown stronger because of it." The Captain of this ship seems oddly quiet, gently leaning against the projection device as he tries to think throughout this chaos. "Alright everyone... first thing's first. We all need to try to calm down a bit... heck I'm not sure how to do that since I'm still very stunned by what has just occurred but if we're to get through this, we'll need clear heads." He then nods to Luke as he is in agreement with the Jedi, "Thank you Master Skywalker." With that stated, Darklighter looks around the room at the various people from council member to old heroes to the New Republic staff. "Alright... first, we'll have to assume that the Imperials did an excellent job hiding this new weapon of destruction from everyone, including their own people. I know your people tried your hardest, thank you." The Captain nods to the NRI officer at hand, at least he doesn't have to feel any worse since it wasn't his fault, lets not kill the messenger. "But we'll need everything that Intel has on this new weapon or anything that is related to it. Another thing, Master Skywalker, I know this doesn't exactly link to the Imperial weapon but... I have heard that we have a captive onboard, yes?" As Intelligence's lack of knowledge about the weapon becomes apparent, Sargent's alarm grows. While the Death Star was at Gastus, more of the Imperial fleet could have been anywhere. She recalls with disappointment how many New republic personnel were on the Angry Rancor. Officers, pilots, herself included. They were so unprepared. Thankfully, the problem was not compounded by a two-front attack. She steps forward again, taking a deep breath to focus on her answer to the Councilor. "Yes. I have developed connections with several CDU military officers, and I have informed President Laarken about the attack. To the best of my knowledge, Gastus was not a CDU world." The use of the past tense is painfully accurate. If it had been a CDU holding, the attack could have made a strong argument for potential alliance. Arands relaxes somewhat as Leia eases some of the pain of the memories. As she takes control of the meeting, Arands reaches up and rubs his eyes as the finger-pointing begins. He shakes his head but says nothing. As Luke speaks up, he begins to agree with the man ... until his remark about 'resting on our laurels'. This prompts a glare from the pilot as a surge of anger rushes to the surface. How dare he ... and just as quickly the anger subsides. No, the Jedi Master was right. They may have been on the offensive lately, but Luke was speaking of the NR as a whole. And with that assessment of the state of the NR, he couldn't disagree. A soft beep ushers forth from the NRI officer's terminal. He blinks, and turns, heading back over to it with deliberate ease. He doesn't even bother to respond to the thanks his group got... tapping the terminal back to life, he reads over the latest message solemnly, without a word. He continues to stand there, reading through whatever it is that's there, before tapping the terminal closed, and returning to the group slowly. He seems a bit more embarrassed now... even with all his restraints, he can't keep something like that hidden forever. The quiet, observing young woman nods slowly as Luke beckons her towards him, and with several steps, Feylin stands behind the Jedi Master, and a tad off center. She places a comforting hand on his shoulder for just a moment, offering a brief squeeze before the fingers fall back to clasp at her waist. No vocal interjection is offered, but the hollow, haunted look in her eyes proves that she too was witness to the evening's charades. Not the first time she's witnessed destruction at the hand of the Empire, but truth be told, the most agonizing. Kelvis blinks a bit, and makes another statement, this one a bit more calculated, and being the only alien here, other then the Wookiee, it could be because of his mind, "Are we even sure that the Imperials built it?" He asks, after all, this could be the first chord of a new enemy. Glancing tiredly over his shoulder at Feylin, Luke smiles his appreciation to her before he stands and takes a few steps toward the Captain. "Yes, and if we're wise, we'll take advantage of having Moff Tazecks in our custody." As whispers move through the room, exploring other possibilities and doubting the Empire's involvement, Luke shakes his head. "No, it was Emperor Valak. I sensed his presence on board that battle station -- that's why he sent the TIEs after us," he admits lowly. "And we have other proof, more or less. A half dozen of our best undercover operatives have gone missing... from Imperial territory. They're trying to cover /something/ up..." The NRI officer adds to Luke's statements. Obviously what the terminal had to say. "Thank you, Eva," Leia nods to the young woman. With her calm accord, the Princess scans the room again, nodding to the Captain in agreement. "Yes, we can't spend time kicking ourselves over what we've missed, but must grow more agressive in finding out what we need. Imperials have always been able to be bought. We've proved this numerous times." The Councilor's dark eyes meet those of the Jedi Master, and the Corellian General one at a time while she continues to keep near General Arands, a bond growing between them, though no time exists now for sorrows. "We must have plans and soon." She now regards everyone within her sight with a slow sweep of the room. "We can't allow Valak to use his new toy again if we can help it. All of our member worlds need to know of this threat." She seems almost to be working out the situation aloud, yet she speaks with purpose. "We must secure our borders, vast as they've become. We can't possibly offer individual protections. Our members have grown faster than our resources." Kelvis blinks, then nods his head. Well, that cinches that it's the Imperials, and agents turning up missing.... he mutters, probably so only those at the back can hear, "Intel really dropped the ball on this one... those missing agents should have set off bells." He shakes his head, settling in to listen, jaw set in a scowl now. "Lets not try to blame ourselves for anything that links to this event... what has happened happened, we can't change the past but we can shape the future and we have to focus on that." The Captain quickly replies, wanting everyone to atleast have a spirit to fight for now. "What I'm worried about right now, Master Skywalker, isn't how we're going to manipulate Moff Tazecks but instead, how safe this vessel will be. Being the Captain of this vessel, I must ensure the safety of my crew and the people that are currently onboard, which includes everyone here. I want to know how... safe this ship is from Moff Tazecks. Is there anything extra we need to do to maintain ship security?" He then nods to the Princess as she speaks of plans, "And to make the plans... we'll need fresh information." With that said, he turns to the NRI representitive, "Will you be our liason for the time being, so we can work together as well as the new information streams in?" The question is somewhat rhetorical, allowing the NRI officer to 'make up' for Intel's lack of knowledge of the weapon. TIE fighters, shooting at Luke. A Moff captured -- and Morganna, too, apparently. And a planet destroyed, most of all. No wonder the Kid couldn't tell him and Leia and Chewie sooner what had been going on, huh? Chewbacca is trying not to roar again, but the Wookiee is almost vibrating with the apparent desire to rip something in half, and as Leia asserts the need to make plans, he chimes in with a decisive, "We secure our territory, then we go in and we blow the thing up. We've done it twice before and we'll do it again. I don't see too much in the way o' complicated here, people." A crooked grin that might seem a bit inappropriate considering the gravity of the situation skews his mouth -- but it's not exactly an expression of levity, not given the almost feral spark in his hazel eyes. Indeed, Han looks almost... hungry. "I'm not commanding the army any more. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit on my hands." "Of course, captain. I'll be at your disposal for as long as you need me. We already have agents running errands right now, trying to piece together what exactly happened tonight. Hopefully, we can re-infiltrate the Imperial infrastructure by tomorrow evening... or at worst, the week's end. We /will/ get your information." The officer replies sternly, resolving his entire group to the utmost level of work. It may take time, but they'll get that information... He has fallen silent now. Watching as those gathered speak. At Solo's words, Arands jerks upright. "No offense, General, but if Valak is playing with his toy, he's pretty sure we can't touch it." He nods his head to the heroes of the Rebellion with some respect. "But let's be realistic. The battle at Yavin nearly cost us all of our available resources. Without Master Skywalker, the Rebellion would've all but been crushed." The StarOps general looks to Luke for a fleeting moment. If he only knew how jealous Arands had been when Luke had returned victorious. Without a fighter, Arands had no way to join in the battle. "Endor was a victory against a partially completed Death Star." He pauses for a few moments, then looks at Solo squarely. "This is a fully operational Death Star ... and Valak has to have learned from Palpatine's mistakes." "Perhaps," Luke muses, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "You should consider keeping the Moff sedated until she can be transferred to a maximum security facility. I'm sure she's knowledgeable about the Death Star." He clears his throat, refraining from volunteering for that job himself. He approaches Leia as Han gives his two credits' worth, and grins in his direction. "Last time we had the plans to work off of," he reminds the Corellian. "We don't have anything this time." The Jedi places a hand on Leia's shoulder, briefly sharing his concern and sense of weariness. "I'm going to go rest, and check on Artoo. Someone brief me if we find out anything else." Turning, Luke paces across the briefing room, pausing by Feylin to whisper to her before he makes his way to the exit. Sargent chides herself again. She had been totally oblivious of the first Death Star, and totally powerless to do anything against the second. And now this. It must stop here. After they flash, she stubbornly pushes such feelings far from her mind. Just one step above insignificant in the scheme of things, she is here to do whatever she can. With the Councilor's urging to make plans, she is all ears. General Solo's words are a definite encouragement. A fresh gleam breezes like oxygen to a flame, and Eva Sargent stands up even straighter than she was before, if that is at all possible. But the flame is dimmed in accord with Arands' assessment. She knows all too well how the Empire operates. The tension in the room is appropriately thick, and all Feylin can find to do with herself is stand rigidly, arms folded protectively across her chest. She bows her head to listen as Luke murmurs to her. She nods, looking up to those with enough importance and holding in the galaxy to be gathered. She nods her silent reverence before casting her gaze again to the ground as she strides purpousfully to the exit. Captain Diggs has arrived. Bazil drops Captain Diggs. Captain Diggs enters Operations -- NRSC Deliverance Bazil says, "Say hello to Diggs. The NRI liason. ;)" Kelvis shakes his head, as the middle aged Quarren is at a loss for words. He was in Tech school for the first Death Star, and it was hardly even a blip on his sensor screen. The second one, he was more cognizent of, but he was working in the private sector, and well away from anything to deal with it. And now, a third one. The one thought that has suddenly come into his mind, 'Why did I join the New Republic Armed Forces again?' And he suddenly can't shake it. Bazil frowns softly, still in the back of the room... he stifles a large yawn, and pushes himself upright. It's time to sleep. It has definately been a very long night... he turns, and steps out the door swiftly. Leia turns to Arands with increasing determination. "We'll find away. We can't lose faith." As her brother makes her exit, she sees the wisdom in it. "There isn't much more we can do tonight though, until we here from our field agents. Let's all get some rest and regroup in a few hours." Her own weariness begins to show as her voice grows huskier. She goes now to Solo, gathering up his hand in hers. A million thoughts run through the tiny Princess' mind. She herself won't sleep, as many others will not either, but at least some clarity of thought may be acheived. Howie nods to the Princess as he releases the sigh, the thought of rest not exactly entering his mind as he knows he'll have a ton of new paperwork to work on now. "Perhaps a little break can help us clear our heads a bit so we can begin to create possible ideas." The Captain grows silent afterwards, at a loss of word with nothing else to add. Arands nods, nodding to Altair, Bazil and the few other pilots who have been here all this time. His office would have to suffice. He had never bothered to furnish his new quarters in the senior officer area yet. Of course the captain's cabin aboard the Tia was rather comfortable too. He nods to Leia, Solo and Chewbacca. His face too is taut with fatigue, but he had just woken up a few hours ago. Or was it days? Regardless, he needed some time alone to deal with what he witnessed today. Silently, the General makes his way out of the room with a respectful nod to Howie. Kelvis blinks, and mutters, "How the Sith am I supposed to sleep?" He mutters, and turns for the door. Maybe he can find a ship to work on, or something. They are gonna need them all.
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