-Krant-
-One Month After the Battle of Geonosis-

The Republic’s air support arrived in force several hours into the battle between General Tann’s droids and their own Clone troopers. It had only taken so long because the Clones were able to rapidly entrench themselves and their ground support into the rough terrain that surrounds the refinery that the Chiss general had occupied to serve as her base. The arrival of the Republic’s fighters and bombers meant that your gradual advance was slowed to a grind, but it also meant that the enemy general’s apprentice, a Padawan Commander, took to the ground. Several minutes after an outdated and unshielded bomber was shot out of the sky by a lucky shot from one of the Tri-Droids accompanying you and General Tann at the middle of the formation of droids, you caught a flash of blue deflecting oncoming blaster fire from one of the forward Clone squads, before the padawan, still clad in her flight suit, and the accompanying troopers ducked into the nearest trench.

General Tann, upon spotting her dogged pursuer’s apprentice take the field, sprang from your position with a contingent of B2 super battle droids, the unactivated hilt of her lightsaber in-hand.

That was just under five minutes ago, but something, be it your gut or the Force (if there is truly any difference, as Master Trebor liked to ponder), made you stay in place, slowly moving forward as the Republic’s forces were pushed deeper into the hills. It’s that same feeling, which confirms that it was the Force that draws your attention back in the direction of the refinery. Nothing about it has changed visually, but there is a weak disturbance in the air around it, certainly imperceptible to any who are not attuned to the Force. It’s likely invisible to those who aren’t as well-trained as you are, and an ability like Shatterpoint, or even Psychometry, which you don’t possess, would help further.

A single gossamer thread, visible only thanks to Shatterpoint, stretches from some point deep in the facility off in the direction of General Tann, where the thickest fighting is. Your hand goes to the hilt of your own lightsaber.

>1/2

>[A] Remain where you are, but direct the droids at the back of the formation to turn and defend against a possible attack from inside of the facility, if that’s where the Jedi General is, as the Force seems to indicate.

>[B] Return to the facility, you can’t let General Tann’s work in securing the Decimators amount to nothing, even if she’s seemingly willing to let that happen. You’re not sure if Shen-Jon, the Jedi General, will be able to completely wipe out what General Tann has managed to glean, but you’re not going to risk it.

>[C] Pursue General Tann, she was trained in the Jedi arts by Count Dooku, so the two of you would be able to make quick work of a single Padawan and whatever Clones are by her side. Not to mention that the two of you, though you’ve never fought together, should be a handful, even for a Jedi Master trained by Mace Windu himself.

>[D] Write-in (have a plan).

>2/2

>>5981828
>[B] Return to the facility, you can’t let General Tann’s work in securing the Decimators amount to nothing, even if she’s seemingly willing to let that happen. You’re not sure if Shen-Jon, the Jedi General, will be able to completely wipe out what General Tann has managed to glean, but you’re not going to risk it.

>>5981828
>>[B] Return to the facility, you can’t let General Tann’s work in securing the Decimators amount to nothing, even if she’s seemingly willing to let that happen. You’re not sure if Shen-Jon, the Jedi General, will be able to completely wipe out what General Tann has managed to glean, but you’re not going to risk it.

>>5981828

>[B] Return to the facility, you can’t let General Tann’s work in securing the Decimators amount to nothing, even if she’s seemingly willing to let that happen. You’re not sure if Shen-Jon, the Jedi General, will be able to completely wipe out what General Tann has managed to glean, but you’re not going to risk it.

Nice to see you back QM!

>>5981872
>>5982063
>>5982094
Unanimous. Voting's closed.

It's good to be back.

>>5981828
+1, would be idiotic to ignore your prior comments & shatterpoint ex machina

>>5981826
Nice intro and welcome back

The staging area from which the base’s droid forces were deploying against the invading Clones is as far as you get before the telltale glint of white plastoid armor stops you in your tracks. A snap and an order get a pair of lingering Assault B1s, left behind to alert the forward troops of any intrusions on the rearline to fire their or take down any ambitious clone pilots which strayed too close to the base to fire their missile launchers into the gantry that wraps around the cavernous room.

Several Clones and a great deal of metal go flying haphazardly as the projectiles strike the section of walkway you’d seen movement on, but only seconds after the preemptive strike, a pair of troopers peak their heads over the railing and begin laying down suppressing fire with their Blastech carbines. The commotion has gotten the notice of several of the B2s left in the rear guard, which start to march forward, returning fire with their wrist-mounted blasters. One of the B2s is struck several times, though it remains standing. The Assault B1s quickly fall to the concentrated fire of the rest of the surviving Clones when they begin to fire as well.

After almost half a minute of this, the Clones cease firing before eight grenades are thrown from their positions. You chose to make your move then, as in the instant between the rocket detonations and the Clones returning fire, you were able to faintly hear the voice of the Jedi General giving his men orders, and, reaching out with the Force, you were easily able to tell that it was indeed the Jedi, as he isn’t concealing his strength in the Force. It seems, in fact, that he’s broadcasting his location. Catching the grenades isn’t a matter of effort, but a matter of finesse. Pushing them back into the Clones would doubtlessly just deflect them off the wall and cause them to fall onto the floor, giving them cover enough to leave, so you have to focus on catching each one individually. After you catch them, stretching your hands into the air and suspending the explosives several meters above the ground and well away from any of your droids, you realize that you’ve been holding your breath, and slowly exhale.

A brute force application of the Force wrenches the grenades from your grip and sends them into the roof of the loading zone, where they rip a hole through to the sunlight beyond. Rather than using that distraction to retreat back into the facility (though that wouldn’t have helped, as most of the droids’ attention is still fixated on where the squad was), the Jedi General leaps onto the floor, his green lightsaber bisecting a B2 and a wave of his hand sending a squad of B1s tumbling across the floor.

>(1/3)

File: shen-jon.png (188 KB, 427x231)

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“You aren’t Tann,” he almost sounds disappointed, his voice clear now that the sounds of your brief battle have faded, though the sounds of battle from the distance echo in from the enormous hangar doors of the staging area.

Echuu Shen-Jon, you know instinctively, is a mustachioed human male, shorter and stockier than yourself. He wears a cloak over a tight, military-style tunic and padded pants, all dull colors which contrast with the bright green light cast by his weapon. The handle is relatively short and unornamented, sharing design elements with that of his master, and he holds it in a stance you know is characteristic of Form VII.

You adopt one of Niman’s standard openings, light dancing off the hilt of your lightsaber before it snaps on. You hold your blade high, keeping your feet wide and keeping your off-hand close to your body.

“General Tann is overseeing the battle,” you inform Shen-Jon, behind him, you can see his Clones making their way to the floor.

The Jedi’s eyes narrow when he sees your weapon, briefly flicking to the insignia on your epaulets and the customized Confederate uniform you wear. “You’re not another of Dooku’s Acolytes,” he says simply, without the venom of the last Jedi General you encountered, “so why?”

He lets the question hang, it could be ‘why are you here?’, ‘why stand against me?’, ‘why stand with the Separatists?’, or a million other queries.

“I’m not, no,” despite both of your masters serving on the Council, you never met Shen-Jon, though he must be a more recent student of Windu’s than detached Depa Billaba or the slap to the face of the Order that is Rahm Kota. Perhaps he only finished his training under the famous Korunai. “I’m simply doing my duty as an officer in the Confederate Military,” despite what Tann said about him, Shen-Jon seems to be rather collected, though there is an intensity simmering beneath his calm veneer. “General Taen-Qyl Tarrag,” you know him, so he may as well know you, it’s unlikely he’ll be leaving the planet a Jedi General, if he leaves at all, given Sev’rance Tann’s presence.

>(2/3) Sorry about the low quality picture, but this guy is from a 2002 CD-Rom game and nothing else.

File: TQT saber 3 quarters.png (2.13 MB, 1920x1080)

2.13 MB PNG

“Master Echuu Shen-Jon,” he says with a nod.

Now it’s your eyes that narrow, and you address the man by his rank, “You can’t maintain your current offensive long enough for reinforcements to arrive, even from Bothawui, General Shen-Jon.” It’s true, you aren’t trying to rile him up. “Even if you manage to get to General Tann, my fleet is still in orbit, your men would never be able to leave Krant.”

“Don’t threaten me,” he says, emotion creeping its way into his voice.

“It’s a fact,” at a gesture, your droids open fire at the Clones who have finally reached the loading area’s floor, cutting several down in an instant. You didn’t order them to attack your opponent, not wanting their attacks to get in your way.

The Jedi General makes the first move, a Force-assisted leap bringing him all the way to you. You sidestep the blow, a Juyo adaptation of a Djem So opening, even heavier and more aggressive than that already deadly strike. As you step backwards, you bring your lightsaber to your chest, coiling your sword arm like a snake, and when Shen-Jon lands, you strike out, aiming to skewer him. Your opponent swiftly shifts his weight and blocks vertically, catching the tip of your lightsaber. As Shen-Jon straightens up, he slashes at your neck, though the distance means that all you have to do for the attack to go wide is lean back. Your hand slides down the hilt of your lightsaber as you slash low, leveraging both your longer weapon as well as your greater reach to drive your opponent back.

Rather than simply fall back, Shen-Jon strikes back the instant he regains his footing, batting away your lightsaber and swinging upwards, aiming for your chest. You circle around him, again aiming your blade low. He attempts to disarm you by trapping your lightsaber in a circular sweep, but you pull back as fast as you can before driving your heel into his chest. The older Jedi has the air knocked out of his lungs, and he stumbles backward. Still, even that throws him off his rhythm for barely an instant, and he aims a powerful one-handed strike at your collarbone, seemingly intent on cleaving you in two. Your left hand moves to the pommel of your lightsaber, and you flick it across Shen-Jon’s face with speed you hadn’t previously demonstrated.

That gets him to stagger, though even as he shouts and brings a hand up to his face you can see that the injury, though it will scar, is only surface level. Nonetheless, you take advantage of his lapse, and get inside of his wide open guard, leveling your lightsaber at his throat. In that moment of calm, you see that your droids have taken out the last of the Clones.

>(3/4 because I cut this up wrong)

>[A] Tell Shen-Jon to stand down, and order his troops to stand down. You can guarantee they’ll be treated well, even if the Clones may not make their way back to the Republic. You’ll even make sure he doesn’t cross paths with Sev’rance Tann while in custody.

>[B] Destroy Shen-Jon’s lightsaber and take him prisoner, even if his troops don’t stand down, having the Jedi captive will make the escape from Bothan Space a lot easier, and will help elevate your record after what happened in Anx Space.

>[C] Strike down Shen-Jon. Though you didn’t feel it while fighting him, between the feeling you got from him before you engaged him and what Sev’rance Tann has said, he’s close to the Dark Side, and a Dark Jedi trained by Mace Windu isn’t something you can let loose on the Galaxy.

>[D] Taunt Shen-Jon before disarming him. If he’s as close to falling as Sev’rance Tann seems to think he is, then his presence, while unfortunate, would be a thorn in the Republic’s side, and therefore best for the Confederacy.

>(4/4)

>>5983964
>[C] Strike down Shen-Jon. Though you didn’t feel it while fighting him, between the feeling you got from him before you engaged him and what Sev’rance Tann has said, he’s close to the Dark Side, and a Dark Jedi trained by Mace Windu isn’t something you can let loose on the Galaxy.
If we are at an advantage, I would bait him some more to confirm if he's really on the edge before striking him down. If we're not at that much of an advantage, better than safe than sorry, I think...

These are some tough choices, OP That is a good thing; choices are supposed to matter

>>5983964
>>[C] Strike down Shen-Jon. Though you didn’t feel it while fighting him, between the feeling you got from him before you engaged him and what Sev’rance Tann has said, he’s close to the Dark Side, and a Dark Jedi trained by Mace Windu isn’t something you can let loose on the Galaxy.
Why does this feel too easy? This is fishy.

>>5983964
>>[B] Destroy Shen-Jon’s lightsaber and take him prisoner, even if his troops don’t stand down, having the Jedi captive will make the escape from Bothan Space a lot easier, and will help elevate your record after what happened in Anx Space.
I want to give him to Dooku to mind fuck.

>>5984015
I don't want him to do something stupid or heroic while we have him in custody otherwise I would have voted for that one.

>>5983964
>[B] Destroy Shen-Jon’s lightsaber and take him prisoner, even if his troops don’t stand down, having the Jedi captive will make the escape from Bothan Space a lot easier, and will help elevate your record after what happened in Anx Space.

I'd call this a high reward, and we need to make up a bit for what happened in letting that last jedi and battle cruiser escape.

>>5983963
>[B] Destroy Shen-Jon’s lightsaber and take him prisoner, even if his troops don’t stand down, having the Jedi captive will make the escape from Bothan Space a lot easier, and will help elevate your record after what happened in Anx Space.

Promotion?

>>5983964
>[B] Destroy Shen-Jon’s lightsaber and take him prisoner, even if his troops don’t stand down, having the Jedi captive will make the escape from Bothan Space a lot easier, and will help elevate your record after what happened in Anx Space.

For be precise, knock him down too IMMEDIATELY AFTER DESTROYING THE LIGHTSABER. A well delivered kick in the stomach followed by a dozen or less hits with the butt of our lightsaber on his head should do, after that a medical droid can drug him and other droids can tie him up and bring him away. We don't have jedi containment measures just sitting in the corner of this base, but probably up in our Lucrehulk. This is war and he is a jedi trained by Windu, we don't take chances.
If the clones want to surrender good, if not just kill them. They aren't going to win so the more sensible ones should stop. Too bad about that confederacy space outpost and the officer there ;(

With these things out of the way we will need to grab the Obliterators, Tann and her army, and bring them to safety in our fleet. And decide what else to do in space, probably leave ? This was a smash and grab mission, Dooku wanted Tann and obliterators safe.


>>5984044
Our first mission was rough on the edges, but we did surprisingly well overall for a man put in charge of a fleet and army, for a short period of time and with no similar command experience before. And Taen ensured the Confederacy free'd a region of space from the Republic.
This time it will not happen again.

>>5983964
>[B] Destroy Shen-Jon’s lightsaber and take him prisoner, even if his troops don’t stand down, having the Jedi captive will make the escape from Bothan Space a lot easier, and will help elevate your record after what happened in Anx Space.
I feel like this is going to bite us later on, but we have to at least try.

>>5984069
Also supporting this idea on how to keep him captive and knock him out.

>>5983964
Really well written duel scene, although it definitely seems too good to be true how easy it was. Perhaps he intends to be captured....
Nonetheless,
>[E] Disarm him of his lightsaber, render him unconscious, & keep him sedated in captivity.
Rahm Kota was Mace Window's Paddlewand? I only knew of Depa Billaba & Sora Bulq, though he was more of a sparring partner/co-innovator.

>>5983964
>[C] Strike down Shen-Jon. Though you didn’t feel it while fighting him, between the feeling you got from him before you engaged him and what Sev’rance Tann has said, he’s close to the Dark Side, and a Dark Jedi trained by Mace Windu isn’t something you can let loose on the Galaxy.

Welcome back qm

>>5984151
>Rahm Kota was Mace Window's Paddlewand
I have his backstory different from his canonical one, but yes. Canonically Mace found him in his teens on his war-torn and backwards homeworld and chose to train him as a Jedi. It makes Mace unnecessarily hypocritical and contradicts both the movies and a lot of the internal turmoil he has in the rare stories where he's a POV character (several issues of Republic, briefly in Labyrinth of Evil and the ROTS novelization, and Shatterpoint most notably).

Also your vote is pretty much just B, so I'm going to count it as that.

>>5983994
>Why does this feel too easy? This is fishy.
On one hand, maybe you're right to be suspicious, on the other, it's a matter of luck and Shen-Jon's troubled mental state. Form VII should have an advantage over Form VI, but you need to be centered to properly practice Vaapad. The contrast of Taen's conduct to Tann's also threw him off.

Leaving the vote open for another 6-ish hours.

>>5984286
>but you need to be centered to properly practice Vaapad
I thought Windu and that other guy were the only two to actually know Vaapad? Or am I getting Juyo and Vaapad mixed up since they're kind of the same thing? I thought Vaapad had a huge "you're gonna dark all over the place" thing going on kek

Just read the spoiler, so I guess things aren't exactly as they may normally be. Right on.

>>5983964
>[B] Destroy Shen-Jon’s lightsaber and take him prisoner, even if his troops don’t stand down, having the Jedi captive will make the escape from Bothan Space a lot easier, and will help elevate your record after what happened in Anx Space.

We don't have any reason to just kill another jedi yet I don't think? Its been awhile sense the first thread.

>>5983964

>[B] Destroy Shen-Jon’s lightsaber and take him prisoner, even if his troops don’t stand down, having the Jedi captive will make the escape from Bothan Space a lot easier, and will help elevate your record after what happened in Anx Space.

Plus I don't know that we should relish killing individual Jedi, even if the Council are a bunch of total hosers.

>>5983972
>>5983994
>>5984192
Survey says... KILL!

>>5984015
>>5984044
>>5984061
>>5984069
>>5984117
>>5984151
>>5984385
>>5984407
Take the Jedi captive, sedated if you can manage it.

Voting is closed, the Bs have it.

>>5984289
>I thought Windu and that other guy were the only two to actually know Vaapad?
Depa also knows Vaapad and was actually better at it than Sora Bulq though she's currently on Haruun Kal getting mindblasted, but there is literally no information on Echuu Shen-Jon's fighting style, so his arc in Galactic Battlegrounds (for as little narrative that has) of slowly falling and him being trained by Mace Windu mean that it can easily be filled in that he has at least some Vaapad training.

>>5984407
>Plus I don't know that we should relish killing individual Jedi, even if the Council are a bunch of total hosers.
You're not necessarily relishing it.

>>5984407
>>5984473
>Plus I don't know that we should relish killing individual Jedi
THE FORCE WILLS IT!

Sun djem is one of the traditional marks of contact in lightsaber combat, and is most often seen in Forms I, III, and VI, and involves the destruction of an enemy’s weapon, though Soresu most often executes it on blasters. It’s a simple matter to flick out your orange blade along the length of your opponent’s arm and strike the emitter from the rest of his lightsaber, rendering the weapon useless.

It’s a common misconception that lightsabers are, themselves, resistant to their own blades, but most materials strong enough to withstand lightsaber blows would disrupt the flow of energy within the weapon.

The emitter clatters to the floor and you deliver your ultimatum.

“General Shen-Jon,” your blade is placed back at the Jedi’s neck, and he regards you with an empty stare, “I’m taking you into my custody, order your men to stand down or don’t, the Republic has already lost this battle.” You pause, centering yourself and listening for the distant sounds of battle, hearing that they’ve gotten fainter, “it may not be standard procedure, but forgive me if I order you bound and sedated, I can’t give Mace Windu’s former apprentice free rein on my flagship.”

“I understand,” he says, as you order a B1 to fetch a set of binders and another to search the infirmary for something to sedate the Jedi with. “Just promise me that you’ll— that Naat will be treated well.”

“Your padawan? Of course,” you’re reasonably confident that Tann will be forced to yield any prisoners to you, since it’s your fleet that’s evacuating her and her forces. “You understand that you won’t be seeing one another, at least until we can arrange your release.”

“As long as I can feel that she’s safe in the Force, that’s enough,” he says, resigned.

You start to nod, but something draws both your attention and Shen-Jon’s to the loading area’s hangar doors. Backlit by Krant’s distant setting sun, Sev’rance Tann stands in the cavernous opening with a restrained human girl at her side and a platoon of super battle droids at her back. The blonde teenager at her side looks slightly worse for wear, but not particularly roughed up, you suppose that, even with her accelerated training, it makes sense for General Tann to easily trounce a padawan.

“Another Padawan you couldn’t protect, Master Jedi,” the Chiss taunts, her grin visible from across the hangar. “It seems there’s nothing of yours I can’t take from you.” The sunlight glints off of her lightsaber’s emitter as she raises it, her other hand wrapped around the back of the girl’s neck.

>(1/2)

Clenching your teeth, you start moving before Shen-Jon does, but that doesn’t mean you’re fast enough to prevent his Force-enhanced leap, your lightsaber carving a gash into his upper thigh rather than running him through as he intended. The scream the Jedi unleashes in the Force throws you back several meters, nearly causing you to lose your footing, and destroys the battle droid that was rushing forward to deliver the Jedi’s cuffs to you. It even knocks down several more droids scattered around the hangar, and he reaches the object of his ire in a blur.

The lightsaber at the other Confederate general’s side flies to the Jedi General’s hand and is ignited even before the Chiss manages to activate hers. The cold blue and brilliant yellow blades collide with such force that Sev’rance is thrown into the droids behind her, her back bouncing off the chest of a stunned B2.

“Master!” The Jedi’s padawan is the first to properly react to the ferocity of his offensive, her distraction throwing him off just enough for his opponent to raise a proper defense.

Still, the feeling of the Dark Side emanating from Shen-Jon does not ebb, rather deepening as he hacks at Tann, who retreats into her droids. The feedback loop of the Dark Side feeding into Juyo, the original Form VII, is certainly impressive, though concerning. It seems as if Tann was correct about the Jedi Master’s proximity to the Dark Side, as his boiling rage far outshines her passive sadism in the Force.

>[A] Step in to help General Tann, she’s clearly outmatched and it seems like you’re done reasoning with the Jedi General. She may have caused this situation, but she’s still one of the top Separatist commanders.

>[B] Allow the fight to go on, but take charge of the padawan and order the droids to support General Tann. While she’s busy reaping what she’s sown, you’ll see to mopping up the rest of the operation and step in when you can.

>[C] Wait for Shen-Jon to strike Tann down and step in then. As far as you can tell she’s been more trouble than she’s worth, and turning a Jedi Master like this creates a dangerous x factor in the chaos that is a battlefield. The Decimators were the first priority over the General anyway.

>[D] Write-in.

>>5986717
>>[B] Allow the fight to go on, but take charge of the padawan and order the droids to support General Tann. While she’s busy reaping what she’s sown, you’ll see to mopping up the rest of the operation and step in when you can.
We did just injure his leg. She should be able to handle him. Honestly, she needs to just shut her damn mouth. She's probably going to kill him given the chance, but a padawan prisoner and a dead master is fine enough.

>>5986717
>[D] Allow the fight to go on, but take charge of the padawan. Don't order your droids to step in yet, observe the fight.
I hope Tann loses, that was done in a retarded manner.

>>5986818
Well if Tann loses here she's more than likely going to die. SJ over here is absolutely gunning to kill her at this point. Best case scenario for her losing here is losing a limb or two. Lightsaber fights are brutal.

>>5986833
True but I'm not impressed with her command skills so far, I don't really see what the hype around her is. The CIS doesn't stand to loose much if anything if she dies.

>>5986717
>>[B] Allow the fight to go on, but take charge of the padawan and order the droids to support General Tann. While she’s busy reaping what she’s sown, you’ll see to mopping up the rest of the operation and step in when you can.

>>5986818
No.
It doesn't truly matter if she can't shut up. If she is good or not, if its political, scientifical or other reasons for Tann to be valuable.
No what's matters is that we don't make another error. A dead confederate general is that, so we complete our mission fully and she gets back. Our orders are clear. She also needs to be extracted.

Realistically Shen-Jon is almost falling to the dark side, that rage is going to power him up, and he is fighting in a confederate base with our objectives to extract. You got that right ! WE CAN'T HAVE HIM GOING ON A RAMPAGE.
For these reason, these options are not exactly good, and we did just now very poorly. We had a feeling already there was some beef between Tann and Shen-Jon and ...... we talked with Shen-Jon instead of knocking his ass to sleep.

>>5986717
>Write in
Order some droids to knock down the padawan and then order other droids to restrain her (there is B2 s, B1 s and our droidekas here should be easy to do. A B2 punch in the face should be enough for put to sleep the already weak padawan), then attack Shen-Jon with everything we got. End this now and get out of here with the Obliterators, Tann and a padawan. A wall of blaster fire should put him down, or wound him enough for capture.

>>5986856
Dooku had enough faith in her to keep her around and give her pointers. If nothing else he'd appreciate us keeping his investment alive.

>>5986717
>[D] Write-in.
Take control of the Naat the padawan. Cause enough of a commotion to pause the fight for a moment (blow something up?), the loudly reiterate that Naat is under OUR care now, and will be treated well if he stops this now. We should probably also tell him to control himself.

>>5986717
>>5987032
+1
I'm half tempted to just leave Tann to die since she's being dumb.

>>5986717
>[E] Have our droids fire a massed volley of stun bolts at the Jedi, while we detain his Padawan at lightsaber-point & sedate her.

>>5986814
>>5986877
Clean up the rest of Tann's mess while she deals with the consequences of pushing a Jedi Master to the brink.

>>5986818
Secure Naat Reath while sitting back to observe the duel.

>>5986898
Secure Naat through means that are certainly over the top and crude then step into the duel.

>>5987032
>>5987187
Keep trying half-measures and talking to the guy who's clearly seeing red with rage and just pulled out a Force Scream. Surely that will work.

>>5987442
Separatist droids don't carry stun weapons. This write-in is invalid.

It's tied but I feel like more votes aren't coming in, I might just roll a d2 in an hour or so.

>>5988331
I'll switch my vote from [D] to [B] to keep things moving.

>>5986814
>>5986877
>>5988340
B wins then, voting is closed.

roger...rog...er....r....

The B2s that recovered the fastest are quick to pin Shen-Jon’s padawan’s hands behind her back, and several more accompany them and her in backing away as the Jedi Master’s duel with Sev’rance Tann destroys more of their fellows. In seconds, the frenetic dance of blue and yellow lights has dismantled most of the platoon of B2s that arrived with Tann, droid limbs and torsos clattering motionless to the floor amid the duelists’ furious blows.

Shen-Jon’s shaky Vaapad has turned into a more than able display of Juyo, the raw power of his form easily beating back his Chiss opponent, forcing her onto the backfoot. Tann is clearly a skilled technical duelist, easily on the level of many knights within the Jedi Order, and her dextrous form gives away the fact that she was taught by Count Dooku, still one of the greatest lightsaber duelists and instructors in the Galaxy. But her familiarity with Form II and preference for what must be Form IV, based on her failed attempts at seizing the momentum of the fight, are hampered by the mess of droids and droid parts surrounding her, and the masterfully followed doctrine of power her opponent bears down on her with.

Seemingly by happenstance, Tann manages to angle the tip of her blade into Shen-Jon’s fresh leg wound. She follows up by attempting to blind him or take his head off above the eyes, but he’s able to bat her saber aside and slash at her throat. Tann ducks back, aiming to gut the Jedi General while at the same time attempting to kick at the gash on his leg to force him to stumble. The fight continues in this way for several moves before you decide that it’s safe for you to contact your transports and the base’s control center.

Dishearteningly, the only response you get from the control center is a B1 that only replies after a few minutes’ delay, which tells you that the entire command and communication center of the refinery was gutted by Shen-Jon and his squad of clones. The news from the transports is better, though two of the C9979s carrying Decimators were sabotaged by the Jedi, all of the Diamond-class medium transports managed to take off before Shen-Jon was able to reach them. Getting into contact with your fleet is more difficult on account of the communications array being down, but you’re eventually able to connect. A glance at the ongoing duel tells you that you have enough time to order everything but Longest Haul about in response to the Republic fleet which is beginning to move away from Krant’s moon Aereen to array for battle in orbit of the planet. The Lucrehulk itself will finish reloading its complement of C9979s before engaging in battle, while the Diamond-class transports hang back at the rear of the fleet.

>(1/3)

“General,” one of the B2s that’s taken custody of Shen-Jon’s padawan grumbles at you in its heavily modulated, deep voice.

“Take her to one of the landing craft,” you order, making sure the Jedi General’s full attention is still on General Tann. “There are cells on Longest Haul, the crew will take charge of her.” You give the droid a once-over, while battle droids don’t have the learning matrices of protocol or astromech droids, they do have the capacity to learn and remember. “Escort the prisoner to the ship, then join the droids aboard the fleet.”

“Sir,” the B2 says with the closest thing to gratitude it can manage.

Tann throws the dismembered torso of a B2 at Shen-Jon when she’s able to put some distance between them, but the Jedi bulls through the diversion, slashing through it with a casual backhanded strike. For her part, Tann is able to follow up on the distraction better than you expected, aiming to skewer her opponent through the head. Shen-Jon smothers the Chiss’ golden blade into the floor of the hangar, then flicks his padawan’s blue lightsaber in another deft backhand strike, again aiming to take her head off. Your fellow Separatist officer angles her blade parallel to her body and uses the momentum of the Jedi’s strike to regain the distance that’s been keeping her alive. Again at a distance, Tann uses the Force to throw the severed arm of a B2 into Shen-Jon’s legs, but the Jedi easily regains his footing. Unfortunately, that momentary lapse in concentration towards his opponent means that the Jedi General is free to notice that his apprentice is gone.

“Naat!?” He shouts, confused. Tann makes her move, yet again recognizing that her only chance at victory is leveraging what few opportunities she can find. This time, her strike doesn’t even make it past her own body, as Shen-Jon wheels on her, his left hand reaching out and freezing her in place with a choked gasp. Tann’s aborted attack means that the Jedi’s one-handed slash isn’t initially fatal, though his blade bites deep into the side of her abdomen. Shen-Jon is unable to go any farther, as he’s stopped by your own lightsaber slipping between his ribs.

“You b-bastard,” the Chiss general chokes out, taking a knee and breathing heavily.

“I had a mission to see through,” you state blandly, making sure to take the padawan’s lightsaber from the Jedi Master’s slackened grip. You’re surprised, perhaps it was because General Shen-Jon fell to the Dark Side before you struck him down, but you expected to feel more out of striking down another Jedi. All you feel instead is the same relief as you felt when the rest of the obstacles on this mess of an assignment were overcome, as well as the weight of the campaign so far beginning to creep up on you. “We’ve won, all that’s left is the evacuation.”

>(2/3)

“You could have done that—” Tann winces, anger clear on her face. Her hand is hovering over her wound, as if she’s concerned about touching it. That’s understandable, it looks a lot worse now that you can see it clearly. “You could have done that after we finished the Jedi off, together.”

“He was handled,” you exhale through your nose, looking at the face-down body of the Jedi General next to you. “You chose to compromise everything by parading his Padawan in front of him, we could have interned them separately and been off-planet before their fleet arrived, then we could have used them to get out of Bothan Space. Now it’s up to me to figure out how to extract from this Force-forsaken sector without losing everything we’ve both worked so hard for.”

“I—” Tann grits her teeth, red blood standing out against the white enamel and her dark blue lips, “—can get us out, I had a plan.”

Vote for 1 A option and 1 B option:

>[A1] Whatever plan she had is woefully obsolete. She’ll be spending your journey back to Separatist space in a Bacta Tank. Order medics to assist Tann off planet before you leave, but you won’t be long.

>[A2] Fine, you’ll take her advice. But that means she’s going to be in a lot of a pain and possibly out of commission for a long time, though that’s her choice, and you’ll make sure that she’s clear in restating that.

>[A3] No. All of this was her fault. The remaining droids will be shut down and then destroyed when the Republic retakes the base. There will be no evidence if she happens to ‘expire’ before she can be extracted. Giving the Count a false account of events may prove tough, but Tann has proven herself to be more trouble than she’s worth.

>[A4] Write-in (think through it carefully if you’re going to submit one)

And:

>[B1] Leave Shen-Jon’s body for the Republic. You’re sure that they’ll see to it that he gets a Jedi funeral, without the specter of his fall hanging over the ceremony. It’s not your job to see to that anyway.

>[B2] Get your droids to set up a makeshift pyre for the Jedi. He may have been your opponent and he may have fallen in the end, but it’s what a Jedi Master deserves. Besides, he conducted himself well enough before Tann antagonized him.

>[B3] Take Shen-Jon’s body and freeze it. Someone, you’re not sure whether they’re a representative of the Count or one of the Separatist cause’s corporate backers, is interested in the bodies of Jedi. And while living Jedi are more valuable as tokens for ransom, there’s no such policy regarding their bodies.

>(3/3)

>>5994891
>[A1] Whatever plan she had is woefully obsolete. She’ll be spending your journey back to Separatist space in a Bacta Tank. Order medics to assist Tann off planet before you leave, but you won’t be long.

>[B2] Get your droids to set up a makeshift pyre for the Jedi. He may have been your opponent and he may have fallen in the end, but it’s what a Jedi Master deserves. Besides, he conducted himself well enough before Tann antagonized him.

>>5994891
>>[A1] Whatever plan she had is woefully obsolete. She’ll be spending your journey back to Separatist space in a Bacta Tank. Order medics to assist Tann off planet before you leave, but you won’t be long.
Her plan seems to revolve a lot around other people showing up and things going just right. I don't trust circumstance as much as she does. A lesson she hopefully learned when we decided not to help her like she was planning on.

>[B1] Leave Shen-Jon’s body for the Republic. You’re sure that they’ll see to it that he gets a Jedi funeral, without the specter of his fall hanging over the ceremony. It’s not your job to see to that anyway.
I'd rather not spend any more time here than necessary. Even if it is to give the guy final rites he deserves. His remains can go back to the order.

What about Naat's saber, I wonder. Should we leave it with Shen, or take it with us? If Naat goes turncoat it would be useful to have a weapon she is familiar with. On the other hand, if Dooku turns her he's gonna give her a new rock to swing. We should probably take it with us but I'm torn. If somehow Naat is freed before we make it back to safety, probably by some commando bullshit, it would be annoying for her to rearm. And now I am overthinking it kek

Happy May 4th

>>5994891
>[A2] Fine, you’ll take her advice. But that means she’s going to be in a lot of a pain and possibly out of commission for a long time, though that’s her choice, and you’ll make sure that she’s clear in restating that.

She's fucked up badly, but I'm willing to give her a chance to explain herself here. All in all, my current theory is that she's smart but that the Dark Side causes her to be way too overconfident.

>[B1] Leave Shen-Jon’s body for the Republic. You’re sure that they’ll see to it that he gets a Jedi funeral, without the specter of his fall hanging over the ceremony. It’s not your job to see to that anyway.
Really doesn't feel like its our place to do much with the body, and I'm a little suspicious of this B3 option.

>>5994933
I'm in favor of taking her saber with, could prove useful later if for no other reason than having a backup saber on hand.

>>5994891
>[A1]
>[B3]
>Take any lightsabers for yourself besides Tann's
>Ensure any Decimators that were damaged or loaded onto transports that were sabotaged are extracted
>Use footage from the base security mainframe & the droids present whether our battledroids or maintenance units to show the two Jedi as hostages, beam this footage to the Republic fleet ordering them to stand down or else the hostages will be executed

>>5994891
>>[A1] Whatever plan she had is woefully obsolete. She’ll be spending your journey back to Separatist space in a Bacta Tank. Order medics to assist Tann off planet before you leave, but you won’t be long.
>[B3] Take Shen-Jon’s body and freeze it. Someone, you’re not sure whether they’re a representative of the Count or one of the Separatist cause’s corporate backers, is interested in the bodies of Jedi. And while living Jedi are more valuable as tokens for ransom, there’s no such policy regarding their bodies.

>Take any lightsabers for yourself besides Tann's
>Ensure any Decimators that were damaged or loaded onto transports that were sabotaged are extracted
>Use footage from the base security mainframe & the droids present whether our battledroids or maintenance units to show the two Jedi as hostages, beam this footage to the Republic fleet ordering them to stand down or else the hostages will be executed

>>5994947
I was thinking about a spare saber, but I think we already have one or two. Well we have a spare crystal if nothing else. But I thought we had our former padawan's saber as well, as distasteful as it may be to wield it.

Obviously more backups is always nice but still. It feels strange and I don't know why.

>>5994891
>[A1]
>[B3]
I'm forgetting who could want the bodies of a Jedi and why, so I'm mostly voting out of curiosity.

>>5994891
>[A1]
"No, you are barely walking and while it might prove useful tactically, i have no intentions to see you explaining it while bleeding on the ground and with the Republic fleet rapidly coming towards us. Don't take it personal, we will have a long chat later on Tann."
>[B3]
>Take any lightsabers for yourself besides Tann's
>Ensure any Decimators that were damaged or loaded onto transports that were sabotaged are extracted
>Use footage from the base security mainframe & the droids present whether our battledroids or maintenance units to show the two Jedi as hostages, beam this footage to the Republic fleet ordering them to stand down or else the hostages will be executed

Oh and have some Vultures droid above us for air safety, we need to extract and it would be sweet to not be swarmed by LAATs leaving troopers left and right.

Can we send a ship for a quick looting of the Republic camp ? Getting our hands on their datapads would be nice. Tann should have break through it i think. Beyond that lets try and evac anything else we can from the separatist base, the rest we can detonate it with orbital bombardament, explosives and Force. Troops, equipment, data, etc ... i would prefer to reuse it.

>>5994957
I'm him, I'm 100% Himalayan

>>5995165
+1 to what this anon added onto my own vote/write-in

>>5995231
???

>>5995368
I think he mislinked his own vote right above yours. Or he's schizophrenic.

>>5994891
>[A1] Whatever plan she had is woefully obsolete. She’ll be spending your journey back to Separatist space in a Bacta Tank. Order medics to assist Tann off planet before you leave, but you won’t be long.
>[B2] Get your droids to set up a makeshift pyre for the Jedi. He may have been your opponent and he may have fallen in the end, but it’s what a Jedi Master deserves. Besides, he conducted himself well enough before Tann antagonized him.

>Take any lightsabers for yourself besides Tann's
>Ensure any Decimators that were damaged or loaded onto transports that were sabotaged are extracted
>Use footage from the base security mainframe & the droids present whether our battledroids or maintenance units to show the two Jedi as hostages, beam this footage to the Republic fleet ordering them to stand down or else the hostages will be executed

>>5995414
Schizo

>>5995414
LMFAO yeah, my B, I was the vote with those write-ins, linked someone supporting my write-ins by accident in order to add another anon's write-ins to my vote.

>>5994899
>>5995443
A1, B2

>>5994933
A1, B1

>>5994947
A2, B1

>>5994948
>>5994957
>>5995033
>>5995165
A1, B3. This one wins + write-ins.
Might be a bit before the update.

droidekas with ... twin linked gatlings.

>>5995958
Well roger my roger & call me a protocol droid

>>5995958
Hear me out, droidekas except they do handstands and each of their four feet is a minigun instead.

>>5995958
I'll one-up you:
>Drodekas with a battery of disrupters on one arm, a flamethrower on the other, and plays Skillrex from it's head.

>>5995963
lol

>>5996216
>>5997882
Intriguing .... the Count will be certainly pleased with these new military insights......

File: Krant system 1.png (30 KB, 2800x1900)

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Klaxons ring out as you set foot onto Longest Haul’s bridge, your prisoner, as well as your fellow Separatist general, and Shen-Jon’s corpse, were all sent to different parts of the carrier. Tann went to the expansive medbay in the core ship, Naat Reath was sent in stuncuffs to the brig at the rear of the ring, and the Jedi General’s body was placed in a pod in the carrier’s cold storage, close to the engines. The tactical readout on your console tells you that the Republic’s main task force has moved inside the orbit of Krant’s moon Aereen, and that Shen-Jon’s former flagship and its escorts have moved around the side of the planet, and are almost in firing range. The another screen, on a console manned by one of the bridge droids, displays the Munificents ahead of Longest Haul and the Republic’s Dreadnaughts trading long-range fire, though the shields and gravity well of the planet make the exchange rather futile. One of the Dreadnaughts’ shields are blinking out, courtesy of a lucky shot from a Munificent’s ion cannon.

“Open communications with the Republic flagship,” you request of the communications officer, an actual organic, a Bith.

“Sir,” the bulbous-headed alien complies with a nod, fiddling with his console before connecting with the Acclamator that’s come about the planet. “They’re requesting we contact the Acclamator at the head of the Republic’s task force.”

You nod, and the communications officer switches channels.

“This is Captain Bulus Kroscindal of the Republic Assault Ship Interceder,” the hologram of an uptight-looking military man says after the image flickers to life in front of your console.

“I assume that overall command of the Republic’s forces in-system has fallen to you, Captain Kroscindal,” you offer. The officer inclines his head, which you take as an answer in the affirmative. “I am Lieutenant General Taen-Qyl Tarrag, and I’ve ordered my ships to cease firing on yours.”

The Republic officer grunts, “I assume there are conditions behind your ceasefire.”

“Naturally,” you nod, “you will allow my fleet to leave Bothan Space, or I will be forced to execute my hostage.”

“Hostage? What hostage?” Your counterpart plays dumb.

“Jedi Commander Reath,” you inform him, “though her master did an impressive job in hindering my mission, she was the only one I was able to capture alive.”

“That confirms it then, General Shen-Jon is dead,” Kroscindal scowls, “fine. I don’t have enough firepower to bring down that Lucrehulk anyway, not if you’re that determined to escape.” He looks away, likely to one of his own bridge crew, “we may, however, be able to delay you long enough for the Bothan Civil Defense Force to arrive. I suggest, to minimize casualties to both our forces, that you relinquish Commander Reath to us, after which, you may exit Bothan Space.”

>(1/2)

>[1] Deal, you have no use for the Padawan. Your mission was to extract Tann and the Decimators, Shen-Jon’s body is more than enough of a prize, considering the mysterious benefactor requesting Jedi bodies.

>[2] Deal, but you’ll release the Padawan into Republic custody once you reach Separatist space. Kroscindal seems like a man of his word, at least as far as you can sense, but you don’t trust the Bothans to keep to his word. Or their own, for that matter.

>[3] No deal, a Jedi Padawan could be worth more than your escape from the Krant System. Keep her for insurance and for a possible advantageous prisoner or materiel exchange in the future.

>>5998678
>[3] No deal, a Jedi Padawan could be worth more than your escape from the Krant System. Keep her for insurance and for a possible advantageous prisoner or materiel exchange in the future.

>>5998678
>[3] No deal, a Jedi Padawan could be worth more than your escape from the Krant System. Keep her for insurance and for a possible advantageous prisoner or materiel exchange in the future.

>>5998679
>>[3] No deal, a Jedi Padawan could be worth more than your escape from the Krant System. Keep her for insurance and for a possible advantageous prisoner or materiel exchange in the future.
We should inform him that the Jedi council is hardly fair, and the blame falling on him for guaranteeing the death of a padawan will be certain. A prisoner can always be freed or ransomed or rescued later, a corpse cannot.

Basically just bluff the shit out of him as a former street jedi ourself we know what we're talking about and he'll get fucked up if he presses us. The best part being that we really do know.

Most of our force are transports, correct? We can definitely take the republic ships on in a fight, but we'll lose most of what we gained.

>[4] Offer a prisoner exchange; any separatists captured from the comms outpost, vac, or Tann's base in return for the Padawan.

>>5998678
>>[3] No deal, a Jedi Padawan could be worth more than your escape from the Krant System. Keep her for insurance and for a possible advantageous prisoner or materiel exchange in the future.

>>5998713
we have some other ships with us, like the two Munificents and some hardcells. Plus our Lucrehulk

>>5998713
If there's not >[no.] Write-in option, write-ins won't be accepted.

>>5998679
>>[3] No deal, a Jedi Padawan could be worth more than your escape from the Krant System. Keep her for insurance and for a possible advantageous prisoner or materiel exchange in the future.

>>5998727
Y

>>5998679
>[3] No deal, a Jedi Padawan could be worth more than your escape from the Krant System. Keep her for insurance and for a possible advantageous prisoner or materiel exchange in the future.
The more Jedi we can remove from the field, the better.

>>5998679
>>[2] Deal, but you’ll release the Padawan into Republic custody once you reach Separatist space. Kroscindal seems like a man of his word, at least as far as you can sense, but you don’t trust the Bothans to keep to his word. Or their own, for that matter.

>>5998678
We could try a jedi mental trick with Captain Kroscindal maybe. Uhm, risky he has his men on board that might notice it. If we had a bit more reputation or dread this could be different perhaps.

I don't consider his fleet a threath, even for our transports, i think we can easily blast them. But reinforcements might be the issue. Still with how the Captain agreed to not fight, Republican reinforcements beside the Bothan Space Defense Force might not be coming and he wants to avoid a costly defeat that would maybe destroy one ship and damage slightly the rest of our fleet.

We still have to pass by more than one republican system for return in friendly space, there is that to consider too.

>>5998691
>>5998705
>>5998707
>>5998724
>>5998757
>>5999111
Hold onto your chips.

>>5999114
Keep her until you can reach your own space.

Surprisingly callous and unanimous, voting is closed.

>>5999687
>Surprisingly callous and unanimous, voting is closed
Perhaps the Captain reminds Taen of the political class of the Core.... or the fight of before and the whole deal with Shen-Jon and Tann, left a sign on our boy.

I like to think its a further detachment to the Jedi Order and Republic, maybe some disgust of sort, and an increasing desire of seeing the Confederacy cause win.

>>5999687
All power to shields and drives. Just jump straight outta here. It's not like we need to beat them to actually leave.

File: Krant escape.png (665 KB, 2157x2046)

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“No,” you lean back in your seat. “Three Acclamators isn’t enough to keep a Lucrehulk pinned, and I know the Bothans won’t pursue my fleet into Republic space proper. And you still have forces left on Krant to extract,” your fingers come together in a tent, “we both know, Captain, that a Jedi Padawan is worth more than a deal for safe passage when it’s already assured.”

“General,” the Captain says with a scowl after some grumbling, “you were Jedi once. Surely you understand how well returning a Jedi prisoner immediately would reflect on you.”

“That,” your tone is flat, “is exactly why I value Commander Reath higher than you do. If you open fire after I close this channel I will be forced to retaliate, and we both know who the winner of that exchange will be.”

The hologram of the Republic officer winks out, and transmissions from Munificents and Wavecrests taking point against Republic detachments report that the enemy Acclamators and Dreadnaughts have opened fire. The Munificents concentrate their prow turbloasers and heavy ion cannons on the cruiser on the Republic’s starboard flank, quickly wearing down its shields and disabling it.

Longest Haul opens fire on the former flagship while transmitting the escape vector to the rest of the fleet.

>[A] Break through at Kothlis. It may be lightly defended, but jumping off back to Spirador instead of taking the Manda Merchant route would be both unexpected and straightforward.

>[B] Jump to Zygia, its defenses are oriented away from Bothan Space, so jumping into the system won’t be complicated. Jumping out of the system may prove more difficult, but immediately jumping to the remote world of Somov Rit will minimize losses.

>[C] Use Moonus Mandel for your escape vector. The Bothan run is risky, but as long as you avoid moving on Lannik, it should be the cleanest break.

>>[1] Jump from Moonus Mandel to the Leritor bypass, skirting the Bothan Run proper and reenter Separatist space at Bresnia. Dressel, though outside of Bothan Space, did have its defenses built up by the Republic, though they’re oriented against attacks from the Galactic east, rather than Bothan Space.

>>[2] Use Moonus Mandel as a jumping off point for Thokosia and Chroma Zed, the upper Gamor Run, nearest Hutt Space, is less defended than the worlds closer to the junctions at Gamor and Milagro, so the extraction will be less complicated, though Chroma Zed is far removed from the major Separatist worlds.

>>[3] Use Moonus Mandel as a jumping off point for Shador, where you’ll broadcast your flight plan for Emberlene. The ruling Mistryl sect of Emberlene is a militant order that is staunchly Separatist, and may send reinforcements if you’re opposed in your escape. Owing the Mistryl Shadow Guard a favor, however, is infamously risky.

>>6000621
>[A] Break through at Kothlis. It may be lightly defended, but jumping off back to Spirador instead of taking the Manda Merchant route would be both unexpected and straightforward.

>>6000621
>>[B] Jump to Zygia, its defenses are oriented away from Bothan Space, so jumping into the system won’t be complicated. Jumping out of the system may prove more difficult, but immediately jumping to the remote world of Somov Rit will minimize losses.
I don't know what any of these places are.

>>6000621
>[C] Use Moonus Mandel for your escape vector. The Bothan run is risky, but as long as you avoid moving on Lannik, it should be the cleanest break.
>>[2] Use Moonus Mandel as a jumping off point for Thokosia and Chroma Zed, the upper Gamor Run, nearest Hutt Space, is less defended than the worlds closer to the junctions at Gamor and Milagro, so the extraction will be less complicated, though Chroma Zed is far removed from the major Separatist worlds.

I don't like the idea of getting stuck in a minor pocket, especially with our valuable cargo.

>>6000621
>>[C] Use Moonus Mandel for your escape vector. The Bothan run is risky, but as long as you avoid moving on Lannik, it should be the cleanest break.
>>[3] Use Moonus Mandel as a jumping off point for Shador, where you’ll broadcast your flight plan for Emberlene. The ruling Mistryl sect of Emberlene is a militant order that is staunchly Separatist, and may send reinforcements if you’re opposed in your escape. Owing the Mistryl Shadow Guard a favor, however, is infamously risky.

File: galaxy map.png (6.28 MB, 8908x8000)

6.28 MB PNG

>>6000675
>I don't like the idea of getting stuck in a minor pocket, especially with our valuable cargo.
The Ando/Andosha Pocket isn't minor, it's a pretty solid line of Separatist fortifications that has workable connectivity with greater Separatist space thanks to Hyperspace mine warfare being way more widespread on the Separatist side than the Republic side. Here's the current Galactic situation.

>>6000621
>[A] Break through at Kothlis. It may be lightly defended, but jumping off back to Spirador instead of taking the Manda Merchant route would be both unexpected and straightforward.

>>6000772
Ah, my bad. I'll stick with C2 however. It seems prudent to get the tanks to the Separatist core for mass production, not to mention Tann and our new apprentice hostage.

>>6000621
>>[C] Use Moonus Mandel for your escape vector. The Bothan run is risky, but as long as you avoid moving on Lannik, it should be the cleanest break.
>>>[1] Jump from Moonus Mandel to the Leritor bypass, skirting the Bothan Run proper and reenter Separatist space at Bresnia. Dressel, though outside of Bothan Space, did have its defenses built up by the Republic, though they’re oriented against attacks from the Galactic east, rather than Bothan Space.
Decisions decisions

>>6000655
>>6000775
Return to Spirador, simple. Wins.

>>6000661
Take the back way out, probably the least expected.

>>6000675
Return to the core of Separatist space (not to be confused with Core Separatist space), albeit a distant corner of it.

>>6000731
Make a deal with the Shadow Guard.

>>6001077
Make it seem like your breaking for the main body of Separatist space then juke for the Ando pocket.

I meant to close this earlier, sorry. Everything got a vote so this is weirdly close.

>>6001847
true true

>>6001847
Fuck it, make a deal with the Shadowguard. I'm curious about these cats.

Longest Haul’s turbolasers drive the Acclamator rounding the planet back while your fleet’s Munificents continue to plug away at the rest of the Republic fleet. This continues long enough for the Diamond-class transports and Kolivex-class corvettes to jump out of the system along the vector to Kothlis. The Munificents and Wavecrests jump out next with your flagship coming about and jumping last, having had to dedicate a large amount of its reactors to its shields.

To your surprise, the void of the Kothlis system is illuminated by laser fire, several of the planet’s defense satellites having been moved to the edge of the system. One of your Diamond-class transports collides with one of the larger gun platforms, its relatively weak shields failing as it rams into the station as it drops out of hyperspace. The distraction isn’t enough to keep your fleet in-system, and the Diamonds are the first ships to jump back to Separatist space. Again, Longest Haul takes up the rear, and as its hyperdrives spool up to leave Bothan Space, the sensors show several large signatures arriving in-system.

-Gyndine Shipyard-
-Five Weeks After the Battle of Geonosis-

“I am pleased with your results, my young friend,” says the hologram of Count Dooku projected from the table at the center of the lounge you’ve been provided while your flagship is refitted at the Gyndine Shipyards. You deepen your bow in response. “Depa Bilaba’s Systems Army Gamma has struck Old Mankoo and Enarc, likely in retaliation for the rescue of General Tann and the Decimators.”

“Perhaps Master Bilaba is not in command,” you respond when the Count doesn’t continue, “the Council could have sent her on a mission that would leave her out of contact with her troops.”

“Indeed,” the Separatist Chief of State strokes his beard, “Bilaba’s absence is fortuitous. Remain at Gyndine, your fleet will reinforce you there. Your forces will bolster a force amassing at Nuvar to repulse the Republic’s attack on Old Mankoo, Enarc will not fall to the assault the Republic has sent against it.”

“Yes, Count,” you incline your head again, ready for the transmission to cut.

“General Tann is still recovering from her injuries,” that gets you to look up at the hologram. “She understands how precarious her current position is, but I would like to extend you an offer,” you’re sure that, even across the vastness of space and the distortion created by the hologram transmission, that the Count can see you look away from his hologram. “The general was the informal head of a group of disillusioned and former Jedi who have joined our cause, a position which she will be unable to fill for the foreseeable future and which I do not believe she is capable of acting as regardless. Taen, would you step in to fill that role?” You can almost hear amusement seeping into the Count’s voice as he asks and clarifies the question, “not permanently, of course.”

“It’s not my place,” you shake your head, unable to raise it, “not now.”

“I am not impatient, General Tarrag,” the Count’s tone hasn’t changed, which disconcerts you more than if it had, “the true leader of my Acolytes will join us soon enough.”

At that, the transmission ends quite abruptly.

>Thread end! I think next time is going to skip a few weeks and be a bit character-focused before skipping to the time of the Battle of Hypori, where the war really starts to gain momentum. I think the Clone Wars can be divided pretty handily into three or four segments, the second of which starts with Hypori, and the third of which starts with the Bulwark Fleet breaking out at Foerost. I know this was also a shorter one, but it was always meant to be, given it’s a part 2 to the real thread 2.

>>6011203
But will there be a part two to the part 2 of the thread 2?

>>6011203
Man I love how you write conversations between Dooku and our boy

>>6011203
Nice. Thank you for running Whills QM.

He'll yeah borther, thanks for running, looking forward to the next chapter. I would like to have some more flexibility as far as what we pursue, like mopping up republic clusters in-between major assignments, politicking with different seppie factions & neutral parties, & maybe some more focus on spacebattle mechanics like in Imperial Remnant Captain Qst.

>>6011222
No, just Thread 3.

>>6011352
>>6011436
Thanks and thanks for coming out.

I really like Dooku as a character and hate what Canon has done to him. I hear he's alright in Tales of the Jedi, but he also couldn't get a clean W over Yaddle in that, and they waited to use that name till after Tom Veitch died so they wouldn't have to pay him which is one of the most evil things which Disney has done with the IP so I don't want to touch it.

>>6011446
>would like to have some more flexibility as far as what we pursue, like mopping up republic clusters in-between major assignments, politicking with different seppie factions & neutral parties, & maybe some more focus on spacebattle mechanics
Noted, I'll try to have more choice in that next time, and I intend to have more politicking and Taen's past come up in the next thread. Which will be at some point in the summer.

What do you suggest for space battle mechanics? There was a lot of that in the first thread and it honestly felt like it got in the way of the story.

Actually, if there's a lot of personal/politicking stuff, that might push the second "act" of the war back. Though that is still the longest part of the war. Really what spurred me onto wanting to write that part was Sev'rance Tann surviving means that her and Taen can be Grievous' round 2 for Supreme Commander after he dumpsters Durge and Ventress on that space station. Sora Bulq was never really in contention, I think Dooku recognized that his fall completely ruined his ability to look at the bigger picture.

>>6011203
Nice, looking forward to the next thread. It seems like we’re back in the Count’s good graces, he seems to see a lot of potential in us.

>>6011522
I don't have any particular notes at the moment on the system, but if you take a gander at Imp Remnant Cap Qst I'm sure you can find some decent bits to merge into your own, I recall it being pretty solid.

I like the way you're thinking in regards to the suprema, & I agree, Dooku has far more potential as an interesting character than he ever gets shown with.

>>6011579
That quest never really grabbed me, but I think the combat from the first thread was similar and I already said I wanted to dial back on that.

>>6011522
Stars wars love space fighter fights. Uhm maybe battles POV changes in certain moments ?

>>6013403
>Stars wars love space fighter fights. Uhm maybe battles POV changes in certain moments ?
To the Vulture Droids and the Trade Federation Bombers?

>>6013516
sure or anything/anyone else really.
You have a whole galactic war to play with !

>>6013516
Is there any reason that the CIS couldn't include some more 'Biological' fighter squadrons? Having large amounts of Droids is cool, but there's no reason they couldn't be backed up by some volunteer squadrons drawn from their actual population?

>>6014010
>>6015169
No but you'd have to pick one up/hire one at some point. Maybe there will be another force composition vote in the next thread.

Either way I don't really want this to be as tactical as it has been, and will be working to change that, and POV swaps like those old Imperial Quests aren't something I have in mind. Maybe something more small scale and character focused to other OCs but that's about it.

>>6013516
I'd rather you NOT change the POV on us. It makes no sense too.