Chaos III
50 Hours after the Battle of Endor
Chandrila System, Bormea Sector
-
Admiral Shara Vaere sits on the edge of her bed, staring across her quarters at a painting she'd had commissioned of
Indefatigable by an artist of her acquaintance shortly after she'd taken command of the powerful battlecruiser.
She stares at the wall and draws in a deep breath before letting it back out, her hands resting limply in her lap as she gathered herself from a far too short nap in order to carry out more duties as
somehow, things got worse.
The last two days of Vaere's life had been defined by that phrase: "And then, somehow, it got worse."
The fleet defeated at Endor has finally regrouped at Annaj!
Somehow, Admiral Prittick (Admiral by the grace of his brother's pocketbook) then lost control of his nerves, and now the fleet that survived Endor was falling back to Yag'Dhul.
Yag'Dhul which is, to check Vaere's mental map of the galaxy, not in the outer rim where Endor system is. It wasn't in the Mid Rim, which was next to the Outer Rim, nor was it in the Expansion region, which was next to the Mid Rim. No, Yag'Dhul is was in the
Inner Rim. Which is: one, two, three,
three entire sections of a galaxy that only has seven agreed upon concentric sections.
A fleet headed to Yag'Dhul that was, somehow, light the forces of Admiral Blitzer Harrsk, who had fucking vanished taking an entire battlecruiser with him.
So, okay, sometimes you have to regroup, that's fine. As long as someone is in charge. And someone was now in charge!
So now there is a Regent: Sate Pestage!
Which made sense because Sate Pestage was Grand Vizier, the chief bureaucrat who ran the Empire's day to day for the Emperor.
On the other hand, who THE FUCK is Sate Pestage? Some faceless bureaucrat that barely anyone's ever heard of.
Thankfully the Imperial Ruling Council is stepping in to help take up the slack. Which is fine because the IRC are -
were- the innermost council of advisors to the Emperor…
Just seven hundred or so of Palpatine's closest friends and associates. Vaere is certain that
this particular batch of fractious, self-interested, and greedy politicians will govern the Empire better than the old Senate's fractious, self-interested, and greedy politicians did.
Somehow, overnight the Empire had found itself with a government that combined all the worst parts of the old Republic with none of the upsides.
Bureaucrats and self interested politicians.
Eugh.
Vaer slowly stands up and begins to stretch, pulling an arm straight and taut across her chest, cradling it with the other arm. Then switching arms.
Even in Vaere's own operation area,
somehow, things got worse.
When she was in Corulag snagging her vessels back from that fat scrotum wrapped in cracked leather of a man that was Planetary Governor Snopps, (And even picking up an ordinance task group in the bargain!) General Thiromer had been busy not just declaring martial law and shooting another couple thousand people, but trying to assert command over Seles!
Naturally, Seles told him to fuck off, that he couldn't command Navy resources like that. And that was that, but an Army man trying to force the Navy to provide decryption assistance and air support was still an additional annoyance that Vaere didn't need. Hopefully he'd stop freaking out now that the new chain of command was clear.
And, speaking of the chain of command, she had new orders and requests coming in: requests from the Imperial Ruling Council, orders from the newly appointed Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Uther Kerman (Ruthless and Stubborn, said the filing cabinet in Vaere's brain, but otherwise mostly harmless), local needs, and requests from neighbouring fleet officers.
As Vaere finishes a stretch that involves standing on one leg and pulling up the other leg behind her body, she becomes resigned to the fact that there is so much that is going to need doing and only a limited amount of will and resources to do it with.
Vaere knows that she's going to have to start picking and choosing her battles, which is likely to put her at odds with all kinds of people.
But first, now that the Empire had maintained a legitimate command, it seemed to Vaere that it was now her duty to inform her people of recent events, and to inspire them in these dark times. As she finishes stretching and moves to exit her quarters, she knew what she had to say, she had to deliver the news to her people and deliver a message of-
[ ] -Perseverance and Hope.
The Navy will endure and bring the dawn.
For a thousand generations the Vaeres have served the Republic via the Navy, and in that time there had been darker periods for the galaxy, with much greater threats. And they and the Navy had survived and fought until they'd secured peace and prosperity.
The Republic had survived many shocks on the back of its Navy: the dark millennium of the Pius Dea era when the Republic had become a brutal xenophobic theocracy, the Tionese Wars, the Great Galactic Wars against the Sith Empire, the wars with Jedi, Mandelorians, and Sith. And most recently, the Clone Wars. Through all of these events the Navy stood firm in the face of overwhelming tides of darkness and persevered.
These times are no different. The Navy endures, the Empire endures, and the Galaxy's People will endure.
In Admiral Shara Vaere's estimation, the primary mission of the 1st Bormea Superiority Fleet will be to act with caution and patiently build up its strength for the struggle to come. (This will influence future operational choices)
[ ] -Unity and Order.
The Empire remains united, as do its people.
The Emperor may be dead. But he is one man, the Empire is its institutions and people, and those remain. The Imperial Ruling Council and the Grand Vizier have risen to become the Stewards and Regent of the Galaxy.
And below them the Chain of Command remains intact. The fleet at Endor may have taken losses, but the vast bulwark of the Imperial Navy that enforces order across the galaxy remains. Once before, when the galaxy stood on the brink of chaos, when the senate hesitated between success and ruin, the Emperor chose success. And now the Navy will choose success.
As the Emperor always maintained: one Empire, one code of law, one common tongue, and one education in social progress.
In Admiral Shara Vaere's estimation, the mission of the 1st Bormea Superiority Fleet will be to wait for orders from Imperial Center and coordinate operations with nearby Imperial units. (This will influence future operational choices)
[ ] -Duty and Sacrifice.
The Navy has a duty to protect the Empire's people from chaos.
The Navy exists as the thin grey line between the galaxy's innocents and those who would do them harm. Everything that the Navy must do is for the greater good.
The Navy must continue to carry out its duty, to abide by the principles laid down by the Emperor and carried out every day in every part of the galaxy. The Navy lays down everything on the line to keep chaos from sweeping away everything that civilization has built.
Every day the Navy sacrifices itself and sacrifices others to keep people safe from insurrection, from extremism, from every horror the universe has to offer. Even if it has to cut out chaos and corruption from within, the Navy doesn't flinch from sacrifices in the name of duty.
Every day the Navy will do its duty: its duty to the Empire, to the People, and to its own Traditions.
In Admiral Shara Vaere's estimation, the mission of the 1st Bormea Superiority Fleet will be to take the initative and act to secure the Bormea sector from piracy, from corruption, and from insubordination. (This will influence future operational choices)
. Though at least one that'd make sense given that an intelligence career would represent a very definite out of the stereotype whilst still having it pertinent to discussion with said character
