Ask The Bastion Plan

[Otto von Bastion]

Space
Traveling from the Cyborrean Reach to Raxus Secundus

Otto was aboard the Raider-Class Corvette, having concluded his conversation with some opportunity rich pirates. He was finishing a meal as one of his Sergeants came to find him, notifying that there was another individual reaching out in regard to the release of information on letters of marque.

Finishing the last bites of his meal as he walked to the holo-projection room, Otto would finish buttoning his uniform top and position himself in the hip high semi circle that was the apparatus. Opening the channel, he would be presented to whomever was on the other end of the line in hologram form.

"This is Imperial Army Lieutenant Otto von Bastion. I don't want to assume, but if you're reaching out to me I would guess you're interested in talking about letters of marque? With whom am I speaking?" He said as he pulled up his datapad to go through the motions of registering the captain and their ship in the Imperial Database should the conversation be productive. @Olwin

 

[Yossk]

Powerslave had lived after her previous battle, her buckled and twisted and punctured frame rebuilt stronger than ever. She still was obviously a Carrack-class Frigate, but she was rebuilt in a way that she had her own style. Her chassis was painted primarily a deep red, with deep black detailing and a pop of a reflective brass color etching out a scaled pattern all across the craft's armored exterior. Along the front was a repainted mural, an altered design that was birthed in the image of the original. The eyes were still aflame, the head dress was still present, and the facial wrapping around the corpse-likw fave all were there. But instead of a humanoid skull it was more reptilian, like a Trandoshan's. It's lips parted in a mean growl with a chain being crushed between its teeth.

The much smaller Raider-class Corvette was stared down by the much larger vessel, the eyes seeming to pierce the souls of those on the very bridge who had hailed the craft. It was clear the shields were up, but only defensive turrets were online. The Turbolasers, which could possibly tear the tiny corvette in two by themselves, were dead and lifeless. There was no attempt to jam comms or sensors, and nothing to make this craft seem hostile. This was a massive show of force, a power play. And from the bridge of the Powerslave, the hail was answered by her captain.

"Greeting, Lieutenant von Bastion." The figure that appeared before the Lieutenant as a hologram was a rather youthful Trandoshan with a softer voice than most others of his species. He was lithe, stood tall with nobility, and clad in a light battle armor. On one hip he had a virbo-axe, and on the other it was clearly a lightsaber. If the Lieutenant was familiar with past galactic politics, this was clearly Yossk Wassak, son of Rrodossk Wassak. Former Warlord of the Trandoshan Military.

"I am Yossk Wassak, Captain of the Carrack-class Frigate Powerslave and leader of the Trandoshan Liberation Movement. And I have an offer your government will not want to pass up." And with that, an ugly smile would creep across the reptile's lips.

@Rimrald

 

[Mae Tecono]

Mae was hesitant to connect with the Empire. After all, her latest job was in service to the Hutts. As it goes with the syndicates though, is loyalty to one may change in the matter of the next sunrise and when planets have multiple sun's, that can very quick in some cases.

She coughed as she thought of being loyal to the Hutts. She hated them, their kind and almost everything they stood for. Being loyal to someone other than the Pyke Syndicate was the true question.

But with these contracts as a pirateer really asking for loyalty? Mae thought about it for a moment. No, they were just a way for the Empire to hire out the problem and hopefully buy out a valuable resource for the Hutt's. In a way, the Empire is selling its own loyalty. With these papers of marq, she could get out of some trouble with the empire and naybe even operate within their borders without penalty and for what? The promise to attack Hutt ship when the opportunity arises? As if she would not already do that given the chance.

Her mind has been made up. Too many pro's with very few con's and no vow of loyalty to boot.

She told her first officer to open a holographic channel with Otto.

She stood in her stolen Mandalorian armor, with no helmet of course, and her tattered battle torn matching red cloak as her first officer made the connection.

@Rimrald

 

[Otto von Bastion]

Otto stood in the holo-projector and was quickly joined by the hologram of Yossk Wassak who proceeded to give some details about himself. Punching in the name of his ship and the name of the Trandoshan before him.

With a few moments of loading, the data available in Imperial Databases would populate on his screen. "You've been quite busy Yossk." Otto commented as he flipped through reports and intelligence findings. "The Trandoshan Liberation Movement..." Otto parroted before returning his gaze to Yossk and the newly apparated hologram of a female. Helmetless and in Mandalorian armor, she did not speak at first so Otto continued to address Yossk. "The liberation movement is not foreign to me, and your plight under Hutt rule is no secret."

Otto knew he could not commit to any proposal here and now, he was only a Lieutenant grasping at the next rung of the proverbial ladder in the Empire. "I am on my way to meet with a number of ranking Imperials that oversee a variety of responsibilities within the Empire. I can most definitely bring this to their attention and see where we can assist." This was true, Otto would bring it to their attention, but it was not his decision to make.

"With your planet in the same system as two important planets to the Jedi - I would hesitate to tell you to get your hopes up about seeing Star Destroyers and legions of shock troops landing on your planet Yossk... I would assume you may see support in the form of funding or perhaps mercenary forces. But again I can not promise you anything in this moment." Otto concluded, turning his attention to the silent female as he punched in Yossks information to begin issuing a letter of marque.

"Who might you be?" (@Trix) Otto asked with a cocked eyebrow.

@Olwin

 

[Mae Tecono]

"I am Captain Maez of the Trinity Pir..." she paused and prevented herself from saying pirate. "....Privateers...I am here on behalf of my organization to talk about a letter of marque."

She once more paused as she previously saw the man in the holo projector before her state to another that he must talk to ranking imperials hinting to her that he was no one of much rank. She saw his rank I signia upon his uniform but was unfamiliar with the ranking codex for the Empire.

"Or should I be speaking with someone of more rank and position?"

She finished with a raised eyebrow of her own.

@Rimrald

 

[Yossk]

Before the Captain could finish the Trandoshan had enough. He knew that the Captain would not be a good fit for Yossk to be in this meeting with so he simply sat back silently and thought. It would be a risky plan, but he would just have to postpone this meeting.

"Another time may be better Lieutenant", the Trandoshan spoke before he left, "I'll have my people contact yours and we shall find a new date to hash out the deal."

/exit thread
@Trix @Rimrald

 

[Otto von Bastion]

"Very well Yossk - it is a sensitive topic. We will coordinate soon, oh and your letter of marque is being processed. You should have it momentarily." Otto nodded respectfully as Yossk's hologram faded away.

Turning to address the other Captain "Maez of the Trinity Privateers..." Otto paused as he queried the information and a similar result returned itself from Imperial databases "You can say pirates you know. We aren't currently discriminating against interested parties for their past." Otto said, flipping through the data for a moment.

"I am someone of sufficient rank to approve a letter of marque, I am not someone of sufficient rank to sign off on something like a planetary coup on my own." He tossed back to Mae with some frustration on his words. It was not like she would necessarily know how Imperial structure worked, but that was the frustration one might have to expect when dealing with outside forces.

"Tell me about yourself Captain, I like to know something about the people I do business with. Besides this is going to take a moment or two for the paperwork to process."

@Trix @Olwin

 

[Mae Tecono]

"Well..."

She tried to be cooperative but a criminal sharing her past dealings with that of a cop or in this case Imperial officer just did not make a lot of sense to her.

"My organization has been pirating for nearly 5 years. Mostly Outer Rim and shipping lanes. My ship, the Wolf, is masterful at disguising itself as a cargo vessel so it can get close to other vessels of the same until it is too late and we spring our trap... which is what we will be doing for you... and instead of freighters, we will act as juicy targets and let the Hutts attack us and spring our trap on them..."

Mae explains. She hated spilling the whole plan but figures it may also benefit her if he knows of its success in the past.

"You may also wonder how this could work more than once when those first Hutt pirates get free of your prisons and tell the others of our ship type and plan?"

Mae brings up a valid point.

"But the good thing about hiring out this work to a Pirate like me, is you don't need to worry about holding these scum in your prisons or a leak from them, as I will either gain them as crew or execute them on the spot.... As the old saying goes... 'Loose lips, spacewalk ships'... "

Mae finishes with a smirk across her lips.

@Rimrald

 

[Otto von Bastion]

Nodding as he listened and continued to keep his gaze on the datapad. Looking up to acknowledge the pirate captain as the task the datapad was performing had completed.

"Sounds like you all have some fantastic experience in this realm of things." Otto said in return. Tapping through some of the final forms and signing off on the action he was taking. Looking through what record they had of this Captain Mae.

"I have the utmost confidence you and your people can accomplish a great many things while in pseudo service to the Empire. If you have not already heard - any captured Hutt vessels, cargo, and crew are yours to do with as you see fit and will serve as compensation for this agreement." He paused, sending over a data transfer to Mae.

"You should be receiving your formal authorization to pirate Hutt vessels legally under the protection of the Empire. Should you be stopped by vessels of other galactic entities, you are not guaranteed favorable treatment. This I believe you understand but I must stress this regardless." Otto summarized as he put the datapad down and returned his attention to the Captain.

"Do you have any additional questions? Need any additional information? I have some time if you do." He asked, unsure if the Captain would have any or would want to continue talking being that the business to be conducted was essentially completed.

But none the less, he would leave the floor open for Captain Mae to respond or finish communications.

@Trix

 

[Mae Tecono]

Mae's first nate spoke to her for a moment and she nodded confirmation in his direction before speaking once more through the Holo-projector .

"Yes, you speak of compensation in the form of ships taken as prize. The Hutts do not have a large trade fleet. They mostly out source their shipping needs to smugglers or even honest tradesmen. It's not a problem to take these vessels, but it won't hurt the Hutts very much as they did not actually lose the ship, they only lost the cargo that they were carrying. Hell, they don't even pay until the job is complete so they don't even lose their credits....."

Mae paused to let that sink into the commanders mindset for a moment before continuing.

"If you want to hit the Hutts where it hurts, we will have to go after their bulk freighters and even larger warships that they own and ate part of their military fleets. These are not cheap nor easy to come by, so losing them would definitely hurt the Hutts in our way or another..."

Again pausing for the commander to think about it.

"My fleet can take some of these on but at a much higher risk. One of my lieutenants has informed me that you have a pair of old moffballed ships in your scrap yards... if we could get those as a deposit as part of the deal, we could turn them into ships capable of hitting these larger targets...what do you think?"

As she finished, she sent the coordinates and description of the 2 ships in question to the commander.

@Rimrald