Ask Borderless Empire

[Caduceus Ramage]

Ramage was aboard his shuttle, an Upsilon III Command Shuttle, as he stared out the cockpit viewing port. The Harch was still not entirley fixed up, his fur having regrown rather well to cover the scorch marks. His large left eye and one of his left arms were still gone, but he was confident he had strength for commanding this vessel. His eyes were wide open, the fact they had given him such a chance again was breathtaking. A grand design, the heavy cruiser was loaded with the exact compliment he had requested. It surely was a magnificent ship, with a magnificent crew. And now Ramage was the one in charge of it. It made him metaphorically weak at his knees just thinking about it.

The ISS Tarkin was named after the legendary Wilhur Tarkin, the first Grand Moff and one of the major proponents of the Death Star project. He was rather noteworthy even beyond that as he was set on the Strategic Advisory Cell, assisted with Project War-Mantel, and promoted the doctrine of fear. Indeed his name was mighty and his legacy was grand with only some minor blemishes to some. And to have a ship named after Tarkin under his command, Ramage felt, it was quite fitting. After all, he would move from his early career and he would become a great Commander or even Admiral.

The first mission for the newely returned Ramage was to assist with securing the planet Columex. In the part of the Outer Rim known as "The Slice", and along the Perlemian Trade Route, it was a rather urban planet filled with a mostly Human population. It was a major trade world with a sizeable gambling economy. Or at least that is what Ramage had learned from his preliminary studies of the planet. He had made sure to research much of the planets culture to figure out the best strategy to subdue the sector and bentd it towards his will. But he would wait until high command called in to ensure the mission details, yet Ramage knew his plan would be satisfactory for almost whatever they would be wanting the Tarkin to do. So he would wait for his shuttle to land, and after that happened he would simply make his way towards the bridge and await the other mission leaders and the communication from high command.

Spoiler: Ship and Compliment

ISS Tarkin
- 2x TIE/BRs
- 4x TIE/VTs
- 8x XG-1 Starwings
- 36x TIE/STs

@Eccles @DMCK

 

[Lorven Kravus]

Lorven strode through the pristine corridors of the ISS Tarkin. It was an impressive vessel and, at present, a hive of activity. The task at hand was clear: to secure Columex. It wasn’t a place that Lorven had visited before, but he was aware of its reputation for gambling. He was expected at the bridge to receive a communication from high command. Rounding a corner, he nodded towards a peacekeeper that he recognised. Lorven was wearing his usual peacekeeper uniform that he had always made great effort to keep in good condition. He couldn’t help but sigh when he spotted a comrade who failed to maintain similar standards.

Lorven didn’t know much about the person who had been placed in charge. He knew their name: Caduceus Ramage. He also knew that they were a Harch; a species he didn’t have much experience with. As long as they know what they’re doing. Arriving at the bridge, the doors slid open. His eyes were immediately drawn to the Harch stood by the holoprojector. They were taller than he expected. Their naval uniform was well-kept. “Sir.” Lorven saluted the Harch.

 

[Caduceus Ramage]

"Ah, yess, welcome." It seemed the arachnid like alien's eyes widened and his mandibles moved as if to emulate a smile as the officers gathered around the tactical table infront of them. "I am Lieutenant Caduceus Ramage. Before we recieve our transmission I would like to address something.

Yes, I understand my reputation. To some I am an incompetent waste of carbon who made the old navy crumble. To others I am a simple officer who was put into an unenviable position. As I stand before you, I atleast hope we can set our opinions aside and at least think that our commanders had a reason they assigned me temporarily to this vessel. So let us get comfortable and wait for our signal." His arms spread somewhat to motion towards the whole table, one of his left arms a stump from the elbow down. It was clear the Harch still bore the scars of previous engagements, which hopefully would mean he would learn from those mistakes.

@Eccles @DMCK

 

[Lorven Kravus]

Ramage’s greeting was friendly. He almost seemed to smile. Lorven couldn’t help but notice the Harch’s partially missing limb. Perhaps a battle wound. He respected those who were battle hardened. Ramage then took the time to give a short speech. Lorven wasn’t aware of Ramage’s history. He didn’t think it was the most inspiring motivational talk he had ever received. Nevertheless, it didn’t shake his confidence. If Ramage was assigned to the mission by imperial command, then they must have confidence in his abilities.

Ramage indicated that they would need to wait a bit longer for the communication from command. “So, comrade, do you have any idea of what they might say?” Lorven wanted to try and build a rapport with the Harch. It would hopefully help the mission progress more smoothly.

@Olwin

 

[Caduceus Ramage]

The Harch would turn his arachnid-like head towards the one known as Lorven as his mandibles clicked softly. "Intelligence," he spoke in a matter of fact tone, "intelligence and battle plans. We are getting a report of all ships that would be entering the area for the next few weeks, along with military and support details of the planet we shall be blockading. This way we shall not be going into a potential hot zone without a clue." And as he finished his sentence, a soft glowing red light flashed on the table control panel infront of the arachnoid. With a swift tap of the correct control key, the message was recieved and broadcast to the meeting room.

The image projected was of a young human male, with pale skin and short dark hair covered by his uniforms hat. He took a moment to ensure the communication stream was flowing steadily before he spoke, his voice clear and youthful. "Good morning ladies, gentlemen, and all beings nonconforming to those nouns. The planet you are to bring under Imperial rule is Columex, a decently wealthy trade hub along the Perlemian Trade Route. Their economy is centered not just around trade, but entertainment and leisure industries.

"Their military is rather poor, with the majority of their defence being small orbital stations and starfighters. Ground forces are similarly rather lackluster. Most are security operatives for the major trade centers while the small military they have is lightly armed and armored. A few well placed platoons may be enough to take the capital, and the Tarkin may be enough to overwhelm their defences. Long live the Empire." The image faded after the short speech was given, tactical readouts of the force compositions being given at each point in which they were mentioned. They were pulled up again once the man had vanished.

It was clear that Ramage had a plan even before this information came through, and it was also clear he was sure that his plan would work with what he was given. But instead of forcing everyone to take it on, Ramage felt opening up and taking suggestions from the other leaders there. No matter how stupid they would be, no matter how absolutely braindead, Ramage would listen to them. He didn't have to act on them, mind you, but he could at least listen.

"So, does anyone have any plans, or just ideas in general, on how to bring this planet into the fold?"

@DMCK

 

[Lorven Kravus]

Ramage’s response as to what they could expect from the communication from command was clear and straight to the point. Lorven appreciated that. No needless prattling. As quickly as Ramage had finished his sentence, the communication came through. The hologram projected over the table. A young officer greeted them. He was human. Dark hair and pale skin; his uniform was neat. Even though it was encouraging that the Empire could still attract new blood, Lorven had expected someone older.

The communication was only short. It made the conquest of Columex sound like a mere formality. Given the difficult situation the Empire found itself in, Lorven welcomed the prospect of an easy victory. The room had remained quiet after the communication. Ramage broke the silence. Interestingly, he asked for suggestions from those in the room. It seemed sensible to assume that he had already formed a plan. However, Lorven did respect the fact that Ramage was at least willing to listen to others.

Space warfare was something that Lorven didn’t have any great familiarity with. He wasn’t from a naval background. “Space combat is not really my area. So, I cannot make any informed observations on that. Ground engagements are where I am comfortable.” He did want to make sure things went how he wanted when it came to taking the surface of the planet, starting with the capital. “It is imperative that we quickly establish aerial superiority and neutralise the enemy’s capacity in the same area. Bombers with escorts should suffice. Defeating their ground forces should then be a straightforward task, particularly with air support.”

@Olwin

 

[Caduceus Ramage]

Ramage leaned back in his seat and bridged two of his hands together, absorbing information from his comrades. Almost all of the ideas the officers had were absolute garbage, so all of those went into the drain. Karvus however had an idea that actually was of sound mind and of sound reasoning. The plan to bomb out their military and drop ground troops to secure the land was not half bad. He would have to wait for a secondary craft to enter the system, potentially a carrier loaded with dropships, but beyond that it was a very solid plan. It seems Plan B is a locked in.

"Thank you all for your suggestions," Ramage spoke once the entire group had finiahed, his frame leaning forward and gently nodding his head to the rest of the group, "and many of them have been taken into consideration and formulated two. Plan A is rather simple, a one ship blockade. The planet size wise is not very large, but it is rather busy through trade and ships using this trade spine. We need to park over their trade port and either scare off any other craft or fire upon them with our ion weaponry to disable them. If we need to we can even launch boarding craft to hijack the ships and confiscate them if the crew's do not follow our orders.

If this does not bring them to their knees, then we preform a proper landing action. We use strategic bombing runs on military targets, before land strike teams in specific strategic points to squeeze them tight. With that we will require another craft, most likely a Quasar Bulk Cruiser, filled with a complement mostly bring made up of starbombers and troop transports. The latter plan is going to paint the Empire in the worst light of the two, but neither plan is necessarily the best optics for the Empire. If any of you have a better idea while we are in transit, please consult me with it and I shall reconvene this council once we have arrived to our destination. That is all, you are dismissed."

With that, he turned to filling out paperwork as the navigation calculations were being done. He filled out the forms for the Quasar and it's compliment, but did not submit them. Instead they sat just in case. By the time he had saved them and got up from his seat the ship began to jump to hyperspace.

@DMCK

 

[Lorven Kravus]

Lorven listened as Ramage outlined his plan. It seemed well thought out. The prospect of being able to subjugate the planet without need for any lengthy ground engagements was an appealing one. However, Lorven couldn’t help but feel that Ramage’s backup plan may end up being necessary. He agreed with Ramage’s suggestion that the endeavour could have a negative effect on people’s opinion of the Empire. Still, sometimes the end justifies the means.

Upon being dismissed, Lorven made his way to the ship’s berthings. He had been assigned a bunk. The rest might only be short, but Lorven had learned to survive on the little sleep he could get.

@Olwin