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Captain Cynis gathers her trusted officers and allies to discuss the current events and future plans.
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Shift Time: Sunday, Jul 25, Alpha -1
Audience: KDF and allies
Event Type: Social RP
Starting Point: Risa Summer Event map
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GM: @gulremal
Meeting transcript
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:nods to all gathered, managing a smile Glad to see you all again. I’ve got the place set up for the meeting, please join me.
T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris follows Sadia inside.
Aestae Vali@crystyl heads in as well.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:<FX> Room is well air conditioned, as you enter your trained eyes notice forcefields on the windows and doors, and the sounds of the outside are gone.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:<FX> Refreshments and food are available on the tables by each seat.
Egzo@HF_Mud grabs himself a can of something, slams it, and crunches the empty against his forehead.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:First of all, I congratulate you on the work with Rhombus issue. It seems Tal Shiar is still kicking around, and this was one of their way to say “we are still here”. Getting back the stolen data was a far shot, but taking out their op was necessary to prevent all kinds of problems.
Egzo@HF_Mud belches loudly, then: “aahhh. needed that.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Imperial Intelligence is keeping an eye on the black market for stolen data, and that’s all that can be done regarding that at the moment.
T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris nods, “I will keep you informed if any sensitive Klingon data appears on Underworld. I still have a few contacts from the old Scryer Network there.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:All in all, mission accomplished. I’ll already sorted out bonus pay, so good time to spend it. nods to T’Vek Good, we’ll pay for any leads like that.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Unfortunately, this is where the good news ends.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:And as much as I’d like to wait for this until the shore leave, situation doesn’t allow me for it.
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“What is the situation?”
Egzo@HF_Mud nods ruefully. “Lemme get another…”
Egzo@HF_Mud reaches over and fishes another drink out of the cooler
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:to Egzo First of all, the Death Rally event has been delayed. Breen states have gotten serious with their internal struggle. The location Redline chose for the race was hit by one of the factions, and well, half of that moon is missing. So until Redline finds another “suitable” location, Rrit will have to wait. Luckily, their internal hasn’t spilled over the external borders…yet.
Egzo@HF_Mud hnns and nods
T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris nods, “The internal conflict has been a benefit for us so far. We have not had many problems with Breen in the Expanse since it began.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Alarian Fiefdoms have mobilized more of their Clans to keep control of the conquered Almavian space. They’ve been laying it hard on the locals, and now they have a full scale rebellions on practically every conquered colony. While it’s only the matter of time before they put the rebellions down, with all that psychic crap they can sling around, they are missing the opportunity to grab a bigger slice of Breen pie.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Which means, once Breen get their shit together and stop being a juicy target, Alarians might be looking for a land grab elsewhere…
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:And that bring us to the actual issue. she fills the glass with a purplish liquid, and takes a deep sip
Egzo@HF_Mud pops the tab on his second can and takes a swig as well. “Okay, hit me.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Three days ago, all House vessels have been recalled back to their holdings. High Command followed suit almost immediately, and recalled third of our standing KDF assets. Including the most of the heavy hitters. Good chunk, I’d say almost half of the mercs went with Houses, too.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:That leaves us at…approximately 35% of strength we had just a week ago
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“That is a very significant reduction of strength. Do you have plans to reinforce our numbers?”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:drinks the rest of her glass and refills it On, that’s not all. Councilor Lagos informs me there’s agenda on the High Council table to recall all outlying forces and return then back to main klingon space. That either means they are gonna either return the Starbase 151 back to life support as it was 7 years ago, or they might close it completely and shuffle all KDF forces back home.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:IF the motion passes.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:And all of this because of that Mokai bitch.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Anyhow, within a tenday I expect to get orders from High Command to put entire task force on standby, followed by whatever High Council decides on.
Egzo@HF_Mud nods grimly.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Even if we are not recalled fully, we’ll probably have even less forces to handle our zone of operations. Everyone in the Empire is gearing for the incoming conflict. J’ula has somehow managed to restore her House, and she managed to get a lot of support in last year. I guess J’mpok made much more enemies within the Great Houses than previously expected.
[Local]Egzo@HF_Mud:“Yeah. And without the regulars 'n house forces to provide the backbone, the rest of the mercs won’t stick around.”
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“How widely known is this recall order to the locals of the Expanse?”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:It’s not, unless Houses wanted to spread the info for whatever reason. So we do still have some leeway before everyone starts noticing - there’s no way we can hide loss of two thirds of our numbers.
Egzo@HF_Mud shakes his head to that.
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“The civil conflict would have produced a number of derelicts beyond repair, not to mention those already in junkyards. If we purchase a number of these ships which are little more than derelict hulls and project false energy readings, we may be able to convince most scanners that we still maintain a sizable KDF presence. And if they believe there is still a significant KDF presence, most would not approach for closer scans.”
Egzo@HF_Mud drinks and ponders. “Could work.” He doesn’t sound very confident, however.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:nods See what you can dig up. Look for hulks that need the least amount of work.
T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris nods, “I will do so. This should not cost you much- with the influx of derelicts from the civil conflict, there are no doubt more ships going into junkyards than being hauled out.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:I’ll get my own techs to get out our holoprojectors we got years ago, see we can modify them to make false reading for patrols.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:We’ll be on high alert anyway, so most of ships on duty will be under cloak, that will also help misguide any unwanted snoopers.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Aside from that, we’ll have to recruit whoever we can that can hold a disruptor.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:I’m not a big fan of this, but considering the situation, not sure we have much choice? looks at Egzo
[Local]Egzo@HF_Mud:“Like I was sayin’, most of thems what’s left won’t hold. They’ll follow the latinum and job with whoever’s payin’ the most.”
[Local]Egzo@HF_Mud:“That leaves us with those who can’t or won’t leave the Expanse… the dregs. Spacedock trash. No guramba at all.”
[Local]Aestae Vali@crystyl:“Lovely…”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Okay, so scratch that. Actually, we’ll raise the recruitment requirements. Might get nobody, but at least we won’t be signaling everyone we are desperate."
Egzo@HF_Mud nods.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Less chance to get spies or other troublemakers.
[Local]Egzo@HF_Mud:“Zactly. Or cutters who’ll run first time they get shot at.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Any other ideas?
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“I have one suggestion, but it is almost precisely the opposite of these ‘spacedock trash’ Egzo mentioned.”
Egzo@HF_Mud looks to T’Vek curiously, though he doesn’t do the eyebrow thing.
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Let’s hear it. leans back
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“You recall the region where we were searching for the Scryer’s base, to the galactic south of the Expanse? At their height, the Cardassians’ influence reached the edges of that region, including an occupation of a system called Meht, home to a spacefaring civilization known as the Mehrae.”
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“The Mehrae are not unlike the Klingons- a warrior culture subdivided into numerous clans which live by codes of honour. They seek glorious battle as the Klingons do, and actually provoked the Cardassians into the occupation.”
[Local]Egzo@HF_Mud:“Think they’d help?”
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“Unlike Bajor, when the Cardassians left Meht, they failed to maintain any local government and the clans quickly descended into civil conflict. They never had a chance to rebuild, and with their culture and pride devastated, many of their clans turned to operating as mercenaries, but most of them still cling onto their traditions.”
.
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:"In Underworld, they have a reputation of being dependable -
muscle who would stand their ground where many others would run. There is only one problem, and I suspect the reason you do not hear much of Mehrae mercenaries in these parts."
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:sips her drink That being?
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“Their technology. In comparison with the larger Alpha Quadrant powers, their technological level is roughly equivalent to the late 23rd to early 24th century.”
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“The Mehrae actually partook very briefly in the Dominion War when they raided several Cardassian convoys. The Dominion responded with a single battleship supported by a squadron of fighters which tore through their fleets. They were unable to put up any effective resistence. The Dominion, occupied with allied forces at the time, deemed them a non-threat and simply destroyed their shipyards and did not bother to occupy them.”
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“The Mehrae have since rebuilt and improved their technology with salvage left behind from the war, but the wider quadrant has still outpaced them with recent improvements prompted by the Klingon-Federation and Iconian Wars. The ones in operation at Underworld are all hired as physical muscle, equipped with modern handheld arms and equipment.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Okay, so, they mostly hire as ground forces?
Egzo@HF_Mud turns back to Sadia. “I was gonna say, any of the locals that /ain’t/ fightin’ each other right now, we could maybe call in a marker.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:to Egzo I’m already having a “tour” prepared to pay our local friends a visit, see what we can get in terms of assistance.
T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris nods, “Their starships are occasionally hired- primarily for use as disruptor fodder in larger engagements. A few have been retrofitted with more modern technology, but even they are only as effective as refits of very old ships. As I said, the precise opposite of what Egzo mentioned previously- they have more than enough guramba, but they are not very dangerous.”
Egzo@HF_Mud chuckles and nods.
T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris grins slightly, “Those who know of them tend to think of them as…very fierce targ pups.”
Aestae Vali@crystyl mutters to herself, thinking out loud, “Shame we can’t take the ships from the cheap spacedock trash and fill them with those…”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:to T’Vek Okay, how do we get about recruiting these Mehrae?
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:"Most of their clans have some presence on their homeworld. It would be the most optimal place to recruit them. Like the Klingon Empire, there are rivalries and feuds in play between the clans; -
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:- hiring the services of one may alienate another, though they should not be a serious threat to us, that will not dissuade them from /trying/ to bite, at least while we are on their world."
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Great. That’s not really a good selling point. You have a contact there?
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:“Not permanently stationed on the planet, but I know a Carran who often manages Underworld contracts with the Mehrae. They are not precisely optimal mercenaries,” she glances to Egzo, -
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:- "Nausicaans, Corvallen and Klingons tend to be more effective and are in demand for good reason. But if I were to choose between entrusting my life to a more skilled fighter who may abandon or -
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:- betray me when the odds favour the enemy or a loyal bodyguard who will honour their contract even to death, the loyal guard would be the preferred option."
Egzo@HF_Mud nods. “Fair.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:All right. she puts her empty glass down How do we get about meeting this guy?
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:"I can put you into contact with the Carran. They can await you in the Meht system, or meet you elsewhere. Their service will come at a fee, of course, but they know which clans to contact. You can -
[Local]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:- always cut out the middle man and proceed to Meht yourselves, but you may run afoul of Mehrae politics this way."
T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris taps on a PADD before standing and handing it to Sadia, “In either case, here is the contact details for the Carran and the coordinates of the Meht system.”
[Local]Sadia@gulrema:Yeah, not interested to get us involved in another political shitstorm. I’ll take the contact option, thanks. takes the PADD We’ll be paying this person a visit as soon as the shore leave is over.
T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris nods and moves back to her chair.
[Team]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:Of course we’ll get involved in politics anyways because plot!
[Team]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:Hehe
Local]Sadia@gulrema:gets up Anyhow, that’s enough bad news for now. Get some R&R, I have a feeling this might be the last one in a while.
[Team]Sadia@gulrema:of course
[Team]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:Got a basic story idea for these Mehrae guys if you want a break and want me to run a few.
Egzo@HF_Mud nods, draining the second can and doing the crumple thing again
[Team]Sadia@gulrema:I’m taking a two week’s off, so we can run that stuff afterward.
[Team]T’Vek of Vulcan@anncaris:Sounds good!
[Team]Sadia@gulrema:also need to coordinate on the entire klingon civil war stuff, as this thing will kick off soon
[Team]Egzo@HF_Mud:for us and Argo, yeah
[Team]Sadia@gulrema:anyhow, that’s it for today, thanks for coming
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