The Rebel Faction

Vos nodded. "Zhukov will be glad to serve the Empire in that capacity." And I get the guaranteed support of the government in whatever I do, thought Wes silently. After a pause, he stared directly at Desaria and replied, "Grand Admiral, Sir, if I was to fail at this operation, I would personally end my own life rather than suffer the shame of defeat or cause you to suffer such shame because of me or my men. We will accomplish all you ask."

Vos paused once more, then continued, "If I may ask, Sir, you are from Kuat, are you not? One of my commanders, Colonel Racen Selere, is also from the nobility there. He has told me he idolized you as he grew up. You were a few years ahead of him in the military academy, I believe."

Vos thought for a moment. "I don't know, Sir. He never said." A short pause followed, then Wes continued. "He's head of the SS Kommandos now. As a matter of fact, he's here with me on Coruscant, and I'm sure he would consider it an honor to meet you, if you have the time." Unashamedly, Wes was attempting to promote the SS, though Desaria would not know this. Selere, though he could be brutal at times, was refined. Besides that, he was quite large; in fact, the Empire had been forced to custom-make his armor. His chest alone measured 55 inches around. And he was Imperial to the core. It might give Desaria a bit more confidence in the upstart Schutzstaffel were they to meet.

[font=Arial]That Night[/font]
[font=Arial]ISD V Tyrant[/font]
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[font=Arial]The massive ship hung suspended from the sky above Coruscant, dwarfing all that surrounded her. From the perspective of those on board those surrounding craft, she was humongous. But from a distance, she was but a speck next to the city-planet. To those who knew the ship's class, they might have been able to notice certain subtle changes even from the outside. They would be completely unprepared for what greeted them inside.[/font]
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[font=Arial]As a shuttle landed, it would be greeted with the sight of multiple E-web and light blaster cannon turrets. Around the edges of the hanger were multiple blaster-resistant bunkers, the largest of these near the exits. It was an extraordinarily defensible position. Were the observer extraordinarily observant, he or she might notice protrusions from the wall, nozzles projecting into the hanger.[/font]
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[font=Arial]As the officers of the Imperial Guard exited their shuttle, they were met by one company of Waffen-SS marines and two companies of regular marines standing at attention. At the forefront of the group stood twelve SS Kommandos in full dress blacks, hard and cold as ice. They were led by Commander Rhytrian Thrahrn, and they were Black Squadron, the best pilots in the Kommandos. Thrahrn himself had led the assault on Bothuwai, and it had been these pilots who had destroyed the shield generator on the planet with one volley of missiles.[/font]
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[font=Arial]Thrahrn, a strict military man, stepped forward and saluted crisply. "Grand Admiral Desaria, Vice Admiral Count Messhir, Lieutenant-General Count von Strachwitz, Vice-Admiral Makarov, Colonel Jurror, Colonel Meyer, welcome to the Tyrant." Salutes were returned, and Thrahrn continued, "Colonel-General Vos has asked me to give you a short tour of some of the unique features of the ship. He apologizes for not being here to meet you himself, but a problem arose in the remainder of the fleet stationed at Echtabahn that needed his immediate attention; I'm sure you as military men can understand. He will still be at dinner, though."[/font]
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[font=Arial]Desaria nodded, and Thrahrn turned sharply. With a nod to the Kommandos, they fell into step as an escort, four to each side and three behind the group. Thrahrn walked with Desaria and the other Guardsmen, explaining the features of the Tyrant. "As you can see, we have expanded the standard defenses of a normal Imperitor and have made it much more difficult for a boarding party to come through the hanger. Not only are there E-web and blaster-cannon turrets - which, by the way, can be fired remotely - but the blaster-resistant bunkers hold fifty men each, and the larger ones can hold up to a hundred soldiers. If you look closely, you can see the nozzels protruding from the wall; these are gas emitters. Depending on which ones are activated, we can quickly fill the room with either poison gas or a sleep gas. If this does not work, we can always vent the hanger to space, but we try to avoid this as it generally leads to the destruction of fighters. We try to avoid the destruction of Imperial property as much as possible."[/font]
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[font=Arial]Depending on the guest, one might take the standard turbolift from there to wherever they were headed. Or they might, as this group did, take a special turbolift from the hanger to the deck on which the officer's lounge was placed. The turbolift was a bit unusual for a Star Destroyer, as it was fitted with padded seats. Thrahrn, seeing the disapproving looks of some of the Guard, said, "Don't worry, we only use this turbolift for distinguished guests. The SS does not waste money on useless comforts."[/font]
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[font=Arial]When the turbolift stopped, the Guardsmen were greeted with the sight of two repeating blaster cannons at the end of a long hallway. Thrahrn said, "We picked up the idea for those on board a ship at Li'eston. When Colonel Selere led a boarding party onto an enemy Star Destroyer, they were nearly stopped by a setup such as this. The Colonel's innovation got past it, but not before we had lost several men. Several of the important corridors are already outfitted in like manner, and we plan to have the rest done within the month. Every so often we also have begun adding sets of blast doors fifty feet apart. Within that area, it is wired so that electricity can be sent to fry anyone inside once the doors are shut."[/font]
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[font=Arial]A few minutes later, the group reached the officer's lounge. It wasn't extraordinarily large, but it was of a decent size. All manner of recreational devices covered the room. Thrahrn explained, "We in the SS have found that the particular tasks that we perform place enormous amounts of stress on both the body and the mind. It is important, therefore, that we have a place outfitted for officers to be able to relieve themselves of that stress while off-duty, if only for a brief time. It is also important that we keep ourselves in top physical condition; hence the weight room and multiple exercise devices in adjoining rooms. The Kommandos have another smaller lounge similar to this one on a lower level."[/font]
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[font=Arial]Passing through the lounge, the group finally came to the officer's dining room. Thrahrn asked the Guardsmen to wait outside for just a moment, then he went through the doors and the Kommandos departed for various other duties. Less than a minute later, Thrahrn reappeared and said, "Your Excellencies, the SS is prepared to receive you. If you will follow me."[/font]
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[font=Arial]Entering the room, the Guardsmen could see a richly furnished and decorated dining room. It was the most comfort they had probably ever seen aboard a warship. As they entered, the officers of the SS entered from the other side, Colonel-General Vos, now wearing his new insignia, in the lead. The two groups met in the center of the room, and Vos saluted Desaria. "Your Excellencies," he stated, "welcome to the Tyrant. May I introduce Colonel Racen Selere, head of the Kommandos, Captain Typton, commander of this ship and de facto commander of the SS fleet, General Dietrich, head of the Waffen-SS, General Demelhuber, commander of the 1st SS Division, Colone Krutz, commander of the 1st SS-Panzer Regiment, Commander Tarash Fleetfire of Gray Squadron, and Commander Myrax Lomax of Green Squadron of the Kommandos."[/font]
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[font=Arial]The officers were all in dress blacks, with the various trim and the collar insignia indicating branch of service. The one thing in common was the double white lightning bolt on the left collar of each uniform, the symbol of the SS. The SS officers, especially the Kommandos, looked at the Guardsmen with a cold, appraising eye. The numerous medals caught Fleetfire's eye, and he muttered softly under his breath, "Kriffing tin-chesters. The arrogance!" Fleetfire, and the SS for that matter, did not believe in excessive decorations; they saw them as a hindrance to the mission. If medals did not matter, then individuals would be more likely to work as a team. The air between the two groups was tense; something would be needed to break the ice.[/font]

Fleetfire's face turned bright red at the remark. Whether it was from anger or embarassment, no one could tell. His response never came, for a loud guffawing came from the center of the line. Colonel Selere, his massive bulk shacking with laughter, commented through the laughs, "Well spoken, Colonel!" Selere was actually the only SS officer to have come close to holding an Imperial Cross; however, the fact that he had not actually participated in the fight on Valinor but instead directed it from behind the lines had disqualified him in the minds of several. Instead, he had been awarded the War Merit Cross, a step down. That medal was displayed visibly, along with his others. But medals were few in the SS, an intentional omission. They were not much for showing off.

Selere continued, "Forgive the Commander, Your Excellencies. We are used to only seeing medals displayed on those who cannot let their abilities speak for themselves. Your Excellencies most certainly do not fall into that category. I know of the accomplishments of some of you, particularly Grand Admiral Desaria and Colonel Meyer, and they far outpace anything that we have done."

Wes smiled. Selere might be big, and he might seem rough, but when it came to formal occasions his training among the nobility of Kuat came in handy. The SS officers lost their hardened look at Selere's words, more willing now to accept the over-decorated Guardsmen. If Selere, one of the most prestigious of the Kommandos, was willing to dine with them, then how could the others do any less?

Newly-appointed Colonel-General Vos, of no nobility at all, twice defector, smiled as the Guardsmen caught on to the humor and laughed along. He replied, "Aye, Admiral, I much prefer to criticize my superiors from a sitting position."

The circular wooden table was a work of art. Seemingly seamless, in truth it could be manually expanded or contracted to fit an exact number of guests. It's red-brown wood hid perfectly the panels that had been laid to accomodate the Guardsmen. There were exactly fourteen place settings, to accomodate the eight SS officers and six Guardsmen. Seating had been an issue; should it be arranged by rank? Or should the SS and Guard alternate seats? In the end, an alternate seating arrangement had been worked out. Wes was just glad he hadn't needed to determine who sat at the head. That could have been very sticky.

The guests were seated, and the first course was brought in, an appetizer originally from Valinor. The SS had been introduced to it during their combat there, and it had been transported to Echtabahn from there. It consisted of a large white vegitable, considered a spice by some, fried and cut to resemble its name, a 'blooming onion,' for it was made of onion and the cuts resembled a blooming flower. A native Valinorian sauce was also provided for dipping.