RP Battlegroup Warden: Green light

[Gunhand4171]

RP Date

YE 46.5

RP Location

Starbase Hayes, Nepleslia

The starbase was a hive of activity, with administrative clerks and officers running to and fro. Even with all the commotion, the NSN personnel moved with efficiency. There were no traffic jams or bumping in the halls; it was all business. One officer slipped into the stream of people, moving through the 1st Assault Fleet's headquarters and to the heart of the station. One does not keep a Grand Admiral waiting...

As the officer arrived in the foyer, he removed his cap to run a hand through his messy crimson hair. The ensign sitting behind the desk saluted as the man approached. "You are right on time, Captain Valentine. Let me inform the Grand Admiral of your arrival. One moment, please." She said, turning to her desk and tapping away at her console. Valentine took the opportunity to smooth out his uniform and give himself a once over. There wasn't a wrinkle or crease on the 6'3" man's frame. With that settled, he returned to the ensign, who stood again and moved to the doors. "He will see you now." She said, motioning for the Captain to enter.

Valentine strode into the ornate office and offered a salute. "Captain Wayne Valentine, reporting as ordered, sir!" He said, his baritone voice echoing off the walls of the quiet space.

The Grand Admiral of the 1st Assault Fleet, Barret Valke, gave Valentine a once over, giving a slight nod of approval. "At ease, Captain. Please take a seat."

"Aye, sir," Valentine replied, moving to one of the chairs in front of Valke's desk and taking a seat.

Valke also took a seat at his desk. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions. I would if I were in your shoes. I'll cut to the chase: you are being promoted to Rear Admiral, effective immediately. Congratulations. And to answer the next question, no, that isn't the only reason you were called to my officer." Tapping the console on his desk made the screen behind Valke's head change to one of the Kikyo sector. It soon changed to that of the newly discovered Armageddon Sector. "As you are well aware, the discovery of all these new sectors has kickstarted a land grab of galactic proportions. The Sky Marshal will not have Nepleslia sitting on the sidelines while the maps get redrawn, and neither will I. We have the green light for Operation CAGE: Capture, Assess, Guard, and Expand. The NSN and the NSMC are deploying elements for Operation CAGE, and you just got picked as the tip of the spear. You will command the new Battlegroup Warden and secure us a foothold in the Armageddon sector." The Grand Admiral explained. Sliding a data jockey to Valentine, he added. "These are your Captains. You will also be transporting a division of Marines, 2 Ironclass Shipyards, 10 Rook Defense Platforms, and some NAM and IPG personnel."

Valentine read over the information before nodding. "Understood, Sir. We will get it done. What's the first target?"

Valke smirked. "Not even fazed. I knew I made the right choice when I picked you. Your first target is this star system." With another tap, the screen zoomed in on a trinary star system. "Offical designation Gamma-145 in grid sector 0219. The lab coats have been calling it 'Trinity.' It has four gas giants and two habitable planets in the Goldilocks zone. Your first task is to get to those planets and have the labcoats decide which is best to set up shop. One is an arid world, while the other is an atoll world."

Valentine nodded again. "What ship will I be commanding?" He asked, his hazel eyes still scanning the multitude of dossiers.

"You can keep your ship, Rear Admiral. I think the Spirit will make a fine flagship for Battlegroup Warden." Valke replied.

Wayne paused to let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Thank you, sir. The Spirit is a good ship and has an even better crew."

"I thought that would give you a sense of comfort. Now you have an expedition to lead, and I have more meetings. That will be all, Rear Admiral Valentine." Valke said, standing.

Wayne stood up and gave a crisp salute. "Aye aye, sir!"

 

[Gunhand4171]

Starbase Hayes: Briefing Room 13

While the Rear Admiral was getting his marching orders, the newest members of Battlegroup Warden had also been ordered to the station. Each CO was ordered to report to Briefing Room 13 and to await further orders.

As they entered the space, they would find a lecture hall with rows of seats on one side and a raised stage and podium on the other. On each wall were large display screens, each displaying the NSN emblem.

 

[Soban]

The NSS Invictus slid through space and into the slip at Starbase Hayes. Much like a knife sliding into a sheath, in Captain Lysander's mind at the least. "Connections established, we are on shore power." His operations officer reported.

Captain Lysander stood, his freakish height accented by his hatchet like face and thin body. One hand rested on a cane that he used occasionally when his leg hurt. His eyes swept across the deck, "Good, anything that we need to deal with?" He asked the officers. Practiced litany of 'no' came from each of his officers. "Excellent, set condition green, stand down from quarters, and set shore watch. Soon as I'm sure we won't be leaving immediately again, I'll grant shore leave. Commander Scott, you have the bridge."

Commander Scott acknowledged the transfer and took the Captain's chair as he left the bridge. From there he transferred over to the station and headed towards Briefing Room 13. He entered and found a chair to sit his lanky Half-ID-SOL bulk down. He was taller than his father by a few inches who was himself tall by ID-SOL standards. However, unlike his father, he had come out lanky and awkward rather than burly and barrel chested. So he waited for the others to arrive.

 

[Nameless]

Disembarking from a newly-docked Cobra Gunship, the NSS Sagacity, was a pair of female Nepleslian officers. The one in the lead held a stern and focused look as she marched towards briefing room 13, icy blue eyes momentarily looking down towards her datapad before making a gesture towards her subordinate to make a left turn and go up some stairs. The one following her held a soft smile as she spoke. "I know where to go, Ali. Come on, I'm not going to get lost a second time."

The two had a close resemblance to each other, sharing the same blond hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. But where the Commander was a flat 6', the Lieutenant was just an inch shorter. The former had her shoulder-length hair tied into a bob, while the latter was content to let her hair down, parting her bangs from right to left. She also wore a pair of red-rimmed glasses, behind which were eyes friendlier than her superior's.

Aliasse and Rosetta Ryley. They had been in the navy before, but after a near-lethal injury befell Aliasse that took her out of action, Rosetta had requested a dismissal to take care of her. After which they had a short contract with a paramilitary group before continuing their military career, leading up to their recent command of their very own Cobra Gunship.

The pair arrived at the briefing room, and took their seats, giving polite and cursory nods of acknowledgements to their fellow officers as they passed. And while waiting for the briefing to commence, Aliasse took to her datapad to review some technical data while Rosetta was looking around the room to take in who else was there and who were going to be joining them.

 

[Arbitrated]

Starbase Hayes
Briefing Room 13

A new arrival announced their presence to the room with heavy, mechanical footsteps. The three-legged Chadwick Rocktooth, standing at over six and a half feet tall, puffed the very last of his cigarette before extinguishing it in the receptacle at the entrance. Rather than taking a seat in the lecture hall's provided rows of chairs, Chadwick took to fashioning his own seat by splitting his two mechanical legs to four, taking the weight off his one remaining organic leg. The captain of the NSS Hold My Beer was more than a mutant - he looked like he was born on an assembly line. Half his body was mechanical, and he took advantage of that to give himself an ungainly collection of additional limbs and extremities. His head had taken on the vague shape of a damage trapezoid thanks to the mechanical lower jaw, covered in a stainless steel plating decorated with the nicks and scratches of abuse, from brawls to bullets.

The bulky mutant seemed content to stay silent, brooding over an empty mug of coffee carried in his clamp-terminated third arm.

 

[raz]

Captain Hector Pontius reported to Briefing Room 13 aboard Starbase Hayes on the appointed day at the appointed time.

Until only a few days prior, Hector's NSS Battle of Nexim Arsenal had been part of Battlegroup Havoc—a formation assigned to joint operations under Yamatai's Task Force 282—so the stern Nepleslian officer and his crew were fresh from the fight, and one of the few Nepleslian ships that'd seen real action since the Kuvexian War ended at Glimmergold. He'd enjoyed the assignment well enough. Fighting Kuvexians and Mishhuvurthyar in support of the Kikyo Sector's vanguard instead of whiling time away on exercise or in port was honest and fulfilling work, after all. But Hector didn't think twice about the change of posting for his ship; it'd been selected for the crew's experience, apparently. There would be glory for Nepleslia on its own out there somewhere in the galaxy and the Arsenal was chosen to be part of it.

Fine. That was all he knew for now and it was enough for any good Nepleslian captain.

So he took a seat in the briefing room and waited for his new commander to show up, sipping coffee from a scuffed aluminum tumblr with its old Kennewes University sticker still adhered to its weathered black paint. Hector would learn soon enough what his ship's new mission was, not that it mattered much in the end, and he'd see his men to victory wherever they were sent.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Starbase Hayse - NSS Immortal She

Long legs with shined dress boots clacked satisfactory on the deck of the starbase as Commander Miska Vinogradov disembarked the open bay of the Longsword class frigate and into the infamous headquarts of the First Assault Fleet. Five and a half foot tall the effeminate ship captain looked like the spoiled rich brat daughter of a crime lord as her entourage disembarked with him and followed their commander to the ends of the deck like a pack of attack hounds as her Half-SOL executive officer, Full SOL marine contingent captain, and the almost as tall amazonian of a hanyadi lead engineer all towered protectively but still behind the knife of a flag officer as last minute orders were issued, corrected, or delegated down the line as the crew of the NSS Immortal She disembarked and in packs like starving predators descended upon the station after the end of its trial three-week fight run.

Logistics and ordinance officers streamed by to hunt down requisitions while marines in packs cleared their path to inveitably break away for R&R and back rooms dealings. The ships marine armorer already having comandeered a heavy moving jack was already disapearing with a mischevious glint in his eyes, six marines, and a number of crates with the ships name on the side that were it not for the mans ability to scrounge up anything in the age old tradition of beg, borrow, or steal, then Miska would have had him busted down a rank and thrown in the brig for daring to tap into the ships own stores to trade.

Had the armorer not aquired a wishlist that the captains adjutant had left about carelessly and would no doubt return home to the ship with most of it in hand and somehow on the books legitimately the first port call the She had made then there would be a new opening in the ships armory.

Veering off one by one for their own tasks required of a ship at home-call the commander was left alone with only two of her marine escourt and her XO, the large and imposing Ensign Ajax of the Vanderhuge clan whom the young captain had only by merit of three weeks seinority and a generous word from his former commanding officer been given command of the 'She'. The two had found an easy rythm in their working relationship as the Benevolant tyrant and the easy going and approachable Executive.


"R.adm Pick has a taskforce investigating the coves' latest activity." Ajax offered to their continuing conversation as they walked. "Some free captains are reporting pirate fleets have been skirting the nebula now that the LSDF is more active."

"Thats pack-work. Jackdaws and Warhawks, At most a cruiser as flag." Miska scoffed. "No, most of the ships on roster are too broad-duty. It's going to be either a security action or show of force on the border with the Empire. With the 4th fucked off to who knows where and the 3rd in shambles like usual the Marshal is going to have us playing fence-duty to make sure no cats blow through the 'gift' without at least the courtesy of asking first.

Eventually he too broke off. The duty of an executive officer at times even more demanding than the captain as the needs of the ship were to be overseen as Miska was directed to and guided to his post. Leaving his guard detail behind the feminine knife of a captain stood in the doorway to Room 13 before entering, pulsing hearts in his eyes looking over all those already assembled before scoffing self satisfyingly and making his way towards the front most row of seats where he daintily sat and crossed his legs one over the other and blowing away a curl of his long, curled immaculate green hair while absently scrolling though requisition reports of his officers and following through on the transfers to those on his crew not up to his standards while in turn expecting new-transfers hand-picked by his executive to Miskas standards by the time he returned from the 1st Assault Fleets prolific and mandatory sessions of meetings, meetings, and more meetings as the DIoNs most infamous and elite fleet slowly declined into stagnancy as its admirals grew too old and irrelevant and forced sessions like this onto their staff officers to feel relevant and be seen as active and still go-getting.

If he had to sit through one more meeting while some admirals adjutant lectured them all on enforcing proper shoe-shining of all sailors in duty uniforms and the proper scheduling of hull painting routines in times of conflict to appear presentable and respectable at all times he was going to start tearing out his hair.