Ask Lothal Preserving Liberty

[Orenth]

No longer were the remains of the Galactic Empire control core that used to dominate the cityscape. Byron had been to Capital City before and seen the memorials to those lost during the war. The forces had followed Protocol 13 and evacuated the surface leaving behind a mark on the planet. The Imperial Complex had exploded in orbit after being used to defend the city during the Liberation of Lothal which would have probably failed without it.

Past events and methods on one hand and new cutting edge technology on the other. The Jedi Knight had come to the world to help the Senator of Lothal @Cal Starros on behalf of the Jedi Order. Byron was already working extensively in the area with other Jedi and historically there were records of a Jedi Temple though that too was destroyed a long time ago.

The people of Lothal were getting some help from the Jedi Order at the Knight's direction. Encouraged coordination with members of the galactic senate would hopefully improve the Order's standing as well. There were a lot of reasons to be here.

Dressed in his jedi robes, the Knight waited to meet the engineer from Rodia. They were to install point-defense turrets to intercept airborne threats like missiles or torpedoes and other threats. The man had seen heavy anti-air defenses on worlds but this was going to be a decent shield for Capital City on top of the actual deflector shield.

The Knight walked down the ramp of the sojourn shuttle. The Jedi ship closed behind him as he pulled out a personav. Just to make sure, the man wanted to see if he was at the right meeting place. Stowing the device after a moment, the bearded Jedi opened his mouth and yawned before looking out over the city. It was easy to want to take the day off and walk around town. But he had work to do which was evident also by the placement of his tools on his built.

 

[Cal Starros]

Lothal always felt a bit empty without a Jedi presence, Cal thought to himself as he made his way through Loth City to meet his guest. It was almost as if the planet wanted the be close to the Jedi - he dismissed that thought with a chuckle, superstitious rubbish as his wife would say.

A planet couldn't have wants, after all.

Regardless, he was secretly quite excited to meet a Jedi in person. Having grown up on stories of their legendary prowess in battle, Cal, like many boys of his age at the time, had wanted to be a Jedi. He even tried to convince his parents that he had a
'high medical chlorine count' when he was seven, alas, to no avail. Chuckling to himself, which was fast becoming a habit, as he fondly recalled his younger days, he walked up to the shuttle and spotted the imperious looking Jedi, adorned in the robes of his order, and offered a bow by way of greeting.

"Master Jedi, you honour Lothal with your presence here, and on behalf of the people of Loth-City, I offer you our heartfelt thanks. With the galaxy rapidly gathering pace for greater conflict, your support in getting the defences of our city up and running is immensely welcome. May I introduce our guest from Rodia, Estoon Palla?" he gestured to the Rodian walking with him, who bowed in turn.

"This marks the largest investment into the defence of Lothal in the history of our planet, with the installation of a large shield generator to swathe the city, and a ring of defensive turrets to fight back in the event of an attack. We are inspired by the defensive measures of the Rodian dome cities, which have served well in ensuring minimal civilian deaths in the case of an attack - such as the one we have witnessed on Ferrerra."

He turned, to walk in pace with the man toward the site of the generator construction.

"My hope is a simple one, to save the lives of the people of Lothal, should war come to our peaceful world."

 

[Orenth]

Byron noticed the approaching Senator and turned to meet him. When he bowed Byron returned the gesture to be polite though perhaps it was a bit more casual than ridged. The man was generally a laid back person, at least he thought so. But that also meant sometimes when official business came along expectations were altered. Most of the time he wore a greasy flight suit or plain clothes and working onboard a starship. But today he thought he should somewhat look the part of a jedi. His other set went with a mask but that was not a good look for this situation.

"Thanks Senator. It's good to have friends like you in times like these. Lookinng forward to working with you." His voice felt a bit gravelier than usual when he said those words. Clearing his throat it sounded a bit smoother. "Nice to meet you, Mr Palla." He gave another bow of his head before listening to Cal continue.

The news of Ferrerra was fresh. It stung to think about and caused him to tighten his fists momentarily. "I might add then, tat you get more than a ring around the city." He looked between the Senator and the engineer before explaining additional options. "You could have a few aurospace-crawlers inside the city that can move through the streets if need be." He understood those were not cheap but neither were adding more point defense lasers all around the city. "If you had control core, with its own built in defense systems those too would add to the city's overlap. But for now it's a good start." A bit grim in tone. The knight had seen the damage done by the Sith Order and the Dark Side long before the countless losses of Ferrarra.

@Nor'baal

 

[Cal Starros]

As the group continued their walk toward the building site, Cal listened to what the Jedi had to say. After all, that was why he was here. The idea of the crawlers inside the city itself was one he had not considered, not being a military man himself, but he could certainly see the appeal and the expense. He would need to twist the arm of a few friends in the Governor's Mansion to get that signed off. As for a control core, that might be an easier sell once the defence grid and shield was in place - especially if he named the core itself after the Governor.

A bit of flattery never hurt.

"These crawlers, forgive me, Master Jedi, why would we need them? I am not a military man." he added, attempting to explain away his ignorance on matters of war. Finally, they arrived at the building site, and the Rodian engineer was immediately in his element. "You see here, this main shaft connects to the couplings below. You bury the power generators underground, and then slot this on top - and you've got yourself one of the best generators on the market."

Cal had no idea what the Rodian was talking about, but nodded along regardless.

 

[Orenth]

Byron walked with the Senator and the engineer. The Jedi was fine with explaining things a bit further to clarify things. "You're trying to secure the air space over the city right? Well if you only have it around the edge of the city on the surface then what about if say...a wing of starfighters fly towards the center of the city form high orbit."

Byron stopped after saying that. Turning to look at the bright spires of the Lothal architecture his bearded face raised while Byron's eyes danced around the architecture. He had flown through the skyscrapers on Denon. His ship had fought against even Darth Stolas's starfighter in the space at the battle of Byblos. Years ago he would not have considered himself a combat fighter. But now his experience at the hands of military craft and in the theater of war had caused him to develop wisdom he wished he did not need.

"Crawlers with anti-air could help and have the benefit of mobility or just putting in place stationary turrets in the city could help with that." His hand pointed towards spots and made motions of field of fire. "When trying to defend a planet Senator, you need to think about plans of attack in all six directions." It was not meant to be a critique. Mearly a suggestion for the state of mind Cal Starros had to take on if he wanted to be effective in this matter. "But..." He continued to try to get on a more possitive note. "...the Order will do its best as peacekeepers to prevent anything like that from happening." It was already happening though. It just had yet to reach Lothal as of yet.

@Nor'baal

 

[Cal Starros]

Cal had to admit to a degree of relief when the Jedi confirmed his orders commitment to keeping the war as far from Lothal as it could. It was no secret that the Jedi Order and Lothal enjoyed a well-documented history of good relations; ever since the discovery of their temple during the age of the rebellion, and cal was pleased to hear it was still going strong.

He had, however, not considered the impact the war could actually have.

Thus, he was relieved to be in the company of an expert. "These crawlers are something we shall have added to the defences then Master Jedi." he was comfortable in taking the man at his word, clearly, he knew what he was talking about. "Please, ensure this is factored into the plans." Cal added, intending his comment for the Rodian engineer, who nodded.

"Our hope is that the shield and defensive structures will reduce the impact of an assault on the city. Partnered with our security forces against a ground attack, of course. Master Jedi, there is something else I would wish to discuss with you. Lothal and the Jedi enjoy a rich past, and I am aware that there used to be a presence here from your Order. Is this something the Jedi would wish to renew?"

 

[Orenth]

Byron nodded in agreement. "They will help" But even the pragmatic side of the Knight knew that if the Sith were bound and determined to destroy, then defending the world would be a difficult battle. "The Sith deal only in absolutes Senator. Keep that in mind. While they are not using a Galactic Empire in this day and age, they commit any means to attain their ends." Byron stated his feelings about the dark siders. The Sentator would benefit to know they were not the type to deal with diplomatically. "You are either wholy at their mercy and cruelty or you are destroyed. That is how they will treat Lothal Senator Starros. That's how they've dealt with everything." It was a terrifying prospect but if anyone thought anything to the contrary, they would be taken for fools by the Sith and meet oblivion with ignorance.

"I would, if that's something you would be willing to discuss." Byron answered. "I know there used to be a temple on Lothal and I can feel the connection to the Force. I can understand why the Jedi Order had a presence here in the past. From what I've heard though, the temple was destroyed a long time ago." Records were limited and accounts scattered. Even after painstakingly tracking down tid-bits of information Byron lacked the details. But that was what intrigued him about history. The mystery and truth behind their reality's past.

"What kind of security forces are at your disposal?" Lothal was a backwater planet with a history for starship manufacturing. Aside from a supporting wing of starships for a planet this size he was not sure how far the planet would have to go to become effectively fortified. "The Sith are still like any other danger. You probably don't get mercenary raids or brigans as often out here anymore but a dangerous target will give even a Sith pause, Senator. All things considered I think when we're done, deterrence will be our first line of defense." The bearded knight looked to the older gentleman for his thoughts. He wondered if Cal had thought about what type of attention would be brought to Lothal with the Jedi Order returning. They had been targeted on Ajan Kloss openly and sent running. Byron did not want to send anyone to a place they would just end up fleeing. Let alone, bring more destruction down on the heads of the innocents of Lothal.


@Nor'baal

 

[Cal Starros]

"The Sith are a threat we have allowed the grow for to long. The Free World's continue to ignore them at our peril Master Jedi, of that, I think we are agreed. At Firrerre, I have seen first hand the chaos they bring with them, and I will not allow it to befall my home." Cal said with a surprising degree of zeal in his voice. "The temple here on Lothal is, by rights, the Jedi Orders, and I would be pleased to see it opened once again. Some voices spoke out against this, suggesting we would attract the Sith Orders ire in doing such a thing but," he shrugged "I imagine we did that when we did anything other than opt to submit."

Cal was not concerned with Sith attention - no, he was preparing to meet it.

"Our security forces are mostly volunteers outside of the Capitol, where our main 'forces' are guard units for key locations and people. We are not a warlike planet, but our people do bear arms and are ready to use them. I am working with my colleague from New Alderaan on a fleet, but other than that, this" he gestured to the plans to Rodian held "is our defence."

The Jedi was probably expecting more. But, Lothal had little more to give.

 

[Orenth]

The bearded Jedi gave a nod of his head and a smile came to the corners of his mouth after hearing the Senator's reply. "Thank you, Senator. I'll let the Council know. I'm sure they'll be pleased to hear the news." He was looking forward to visiting the old ruins to see what remained. His use of psychometery sometimes gave wisdom to the state of life at one time. On the rare occasion it gave an enlightening experience. His mind also thought of more tangible finds. Though the hope for that was even slimmer than sensing something given his luck so far.

So far the Sith had not moved deeply into the Lothal Sector as far as the Knight knew. But it was just a matter of time. "I can make some recommendations for equipment and maybe even have some training for your forces along side some padawans." The younger and less experienced Jedi were still capable fighters but also needed to get experience as well. Visiting other temples and gaining some experiences with the world like Lothal would be exceptional. It would be a good way to introduce the civilians of the planet and Order once again.

Looking to the Rodian engineer he would pull up a portion of the city in a holoprojector. "I think we'll be fine with what we've got as long as we make some good preparations. More is more though and Senator..." He looked back at the older man as he scrolled over to the starport. "...you'll probably want more. Here, I'm sending you the makes and models of the military craft used by the Sith Order. You probably have some of them on file but there should be specific transponder codes, drive signatures, etcetera."

After Byron provided the details spoken about he scratched his beard for a moment with his right hand. His gaze angled up towards the sky for a moment to stare at the visible two moons. "How do you think the people of Lothal would react to having a space station in orbit?" He asked since there was a possability of a floating jedi temple that could be moved from place to place. Also a trade station type model that would maybe be good for being a good buffer for the planet as well and keep smuggling to a minimum on top of that.

@Nor'baal

 

[Cal Starros]

With the temple agreed, Starros and his newfound Jedi compatriot continued through the construction site, whilst their Rodian friend fretted with some cabling. As far as Cal was concerned, the addition of a Jedi Temple on Lothal would serve to give a group of powerful force users a reason to protect his world - what wasn't to like? Partnered with the Jedis offer to train some of Lothals forces, alongside the Padawans, and Cal was confident this was an exceptionally good deal.

"That would be a most welcome additional Master Jedi. Introducing our people to the ways of the Jedi, would be something the people of Lothal welcome."

He took receipt of the files from the Jedi, and handed them to his aide, who would return to upload them to the Lothalite Governments database for analysis. Cal nodded his thanks as the Jedi and he continued their walk.

"How do you think the people of Lothal would react to having a space station in orbit?"

"Master Jedi, we would need to be clear on this. As long as the station was above some of the less populated areas, in case it, well - in case it came down - I see no issue at all with this Master Jedi."

 

[Orenth]

Byron Ryker was pleasantly surprised by Cal Starros. The Senator was showing himself to be open minded and the future looked brighter for it. "I hope to make the Jedi Order more approachable, less mystical and off putting." The strangeness of the Jedi Order and its stance with the public was always going to be an obstacle for some galactic citizens.

"Of course. With that in mind, actually I was wondering if maybe one of the two moons of Lothal would work." There were two different types of stations that the Knight had in mind. One was a customs platform while the other was the fabled brighthome class station. It would take some work to get either of them and he would not want to insist if the Senator thought it was not in the best interest of his people.

The Jedi changed subjects after a moment. He looked towards the Rodian engineer that was focusing on the immediate defensive measures for the city. "Are there any natural anomalies that happen? Regular thunder storms, earthquakes, anything that really messes with technology or infrastructure is really what I'm asking." That was the type of thing he would exploit if he wanted to take down a city's defenses. "There are sewers that run underneath each city right? Is there anything beneath that?" The Jedi Sentinel thought about more than what could come down on the planet but also what could come up from it.

@Nor'baal

 

[Cal Starros]

Ensuring the Jedi had a presence on Lothal would go the distance on the proposed 'demystification of their order, as Master Ryker was suggesting, of this Cal was certain. "The Moons would be an effective solution for sure, at present there is not much activity on either of them, bar a few ingress stations and mines. I believe that one of the Moons is owned by a Lothalite family actually, one of the post-Imperial industrial moguls, so we would need to requisition it. Alternatively, I am sure we can reclaim part of the land for defence. I'll have my team look into the legality." the Senator added, already working up ways to legislate a section of the Moon over to the Jedi.

On the subject of natural anomalies, Cal was sure that none had occurred in decades, and so he responded as such. "We are reasonably disaster-free on Lothal, thankfully." admittedly he had spent many years off-world, so was probably wrong. "And yes, we have a network of large sewers under the city, mostly looked after my automated cleaning droids. There are some natural caves down there as well, mostly flooded" he wrinkled his nose.

Flooded sewer caves. Lovely.

 

[Orenth]

Byron had no idea that a family could own a moon. Then again he was sure a family called the Kelborns owned a space station over Contruum Prime. Though, their casino station was not the same as an actual planetoid. "Both seem like good ideas. I'll be happy to mediate any interactions on the Order's behalf." A pleased smile showed on the Knights face. Multiple options could lead having a more secure space for Lothal and solidify the Jedi presence all the more.

"That's good to hear." His head nodding at hearing the good news, believing the Senator. The less pleasant subject of the sewers made Cal noticeably grimace and Byron couldn't help but get a bit more of an idea about the man. But the Knight couldn't fault the man either. It wasn't in his job description to go wading into muck like he did.

"Don't worry about it. We can look into that when I have a fellow Jedi arrive in a few days we could check them out ourselves. Maybe with a few volunteers and a couple of the probe droids from the Sector Rangers we could knock it out in the following afternoon." With the right coordination that would be possible for this single city. It would take more time for each settlement on Lothal. But with the help of the locals and maybe a few resourceful individuals they would get a good idea of the underground system of caves and any weakness to fortify. "

@Nor'baal

 

[Cal Starros]

Starros could not fault the attention to detail this Jedi adhered to, and he was beginning to get a good measure of the Jedi - especially from his subtle reaction to the idea that a Lothalite family owned and entire moon. Cal had always found that a little odd himself, but on the occasions in his life he had been able to meet the owners, it was clear that their wealth was opulent to say the very least. Successive generations hoarding their money like dragons, and maybe soon a Starros could own a moon!

He laughed to himself.

What would I even do with a moon?

"I think they'd be quite delighted to meet a Jedi, not sure they get many guests up there." Starros replied, confident the family, who were patriots at the least, would oblige. "As for our sewers, probe droids we have from the old mining stations, so that should not be too hard. With that all together, I think we have a solid plan for a well-defended capital, and a new home for the Jedi!" Starros remarked, with some finality.

"Now tell me Master Jedi, does your Order drink...."

/exitthread

OOC - 21 days wait for a reply. Worth every second.