Belderone System

[Cervantes]

The Belderone system is a star system located within the Belderone sector in the Outer Rim region of the galaxy. It contained the worlds of Belderone and Kulthis. It is situated a short distance from the Perlemian trade route just outside the Cron Drift and Auril sector.

[Cervantes]

Admiral Reginald Staziack stood upon the main deck of his imperial class III Star Destroyer the "Relentless" gazing out the forward viewport at the planet of Kuthlis beyond. His fleet or what remained of it had not long emerged from hyperspace and made their gradual advance towards the isolated and lightly populated world. He held a datapad in his hand that he looked at between casual glances back at the growing planet through the viewport, going over the stastical dispay shown on the pad and mulling it over in his head. The Star Destroyers captain, Captain Morrison stood beside the admiral displaying a great deal of patience as the older officer practically ignored him after calling him to accompany him on the forward bridge. "Its not enough". The admiral suddenly said out loud after a good fifteen minutes of total silence. "Begging your pardon admiral"? The captain asked, not quite sure what he was refering to.

"Our total force, its not enough". Admiral Staziack clarified. "I was expecting more than that to follow us". The captain nodded slowly understanding what the admiral meant. "Yes sir, but if I may be frank we're lucky enough to of gotten away with what we did". The other officer replied. "Its an act of high treason and its not surprising that many captains wouldn't want to openly defy the empire, especially when their already in a significant amount of trouble". Morrison reasoned. The admiral scoffed. "The only treason here captain is the moff councils blantant refusal to take what is rightfully theirs and stand up for the empire". He snarled staring out the viewport and not looking at the man beside him as he spoke.

"The empire ruled this entire galaxy once". He continued. "Now look at us, cowering in one corner of the galaxy and playing nice with our natural enemies, it makes me sick to my soul". The captain nodded having heard this speech many times before. "What do you think Emperor Palpatine, Lord Vader or Grand Admiral Thrawn would say if they could see us now David"? He asked calling the captain by his first name. David Morrison cleared his throat before replying. "I'd imagine they'd be shocked and apalled sir". He admitted. Admiral Staziack nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes they most certainly would be". That was why he'd decided to take a stand, that was why he'd openly defied the peace treaty between the empire and the new republic, that was why he'd violated direct orders time and again and that was why he'd refused to surrender his commission in the navy and had fled imperial space with a battlegroup of his most loyal subordinates.

He handed the data pad to the captain and asked him to read the total strength of their forces out loud to him. Even though he'd already read it himself several times. The captain knowing this did so without complaint. "1 Imperial class III Star Destroyer, 2 Imperial class Star Destroyers, 1 Dreadnaught class heavy cruiser, 1 Dragon class heavy cruiser, 1 Escort Carrier, 2 Strike class medium cruisers, 2 Carrack light cruisers and 2 Lancer class frigates". He summerised. The admiral nodded sagely. "Only a fraction of the force I previously commanded". He thought out loud. "Yes sir, but if I may sir ask what do you intend to do now"? Captain Morrison asked. The admiral didn't reply for a few seconds before sighing. "I'm not sure yet captain, but i'm formulating a plan as we speak and I assure you we will be victorious". He replied.

[Cervantes]

He knew it was bound to happen eventually. He'd been pushing his luck with the Moffs and imperial high command for the past few years as he passionately promoted a campaign of aggression against the republic, causing a political stir wherever he went. Admiral Staziack sat in his command chair aboard his flag ship the Imperial class III Star Destroyer , the aptly named "Relentless". His public opposition to the peace treaty was frowned upon not only for its dangerously pro war stance but also for its total lack of subtly and dicorum. He wasn't the only one who supported the idea of galactic conquest, there were quite a few admirals and even a few moffs who would love nothing more than to relive the empires glory days of old. The difference between them and him though was that they still played by the rules and kept their opinions to themselves for the most part. Something he hadn't been able to do no matter how much he tried.

He loved the empire with every fibre of his being and wanted nothing more than to see it claiming its natural right as the ruling government for the entire galaxy. He'd just been unlucky enough to of been born in a relatively peaceful period of history. At a time where his talent for war was largely wasted, unappreciated and even deemed by some to be unnecessary. Despite being one of the new blood imperials of the past century he would of been much more at home serving under Emperor Palpatine or Grand Admiral Thrawn. That was what had gotten him into the position he was in now. He'd finally had enough of imperial bureaucracy and decided to act, alone if he had to. His fleet had without prior approval from his superiors left its base of operations and ventured into republic space launching a massive assault on the republic shipyards at Bilbringi and causing extensive damage to parts of the facility and destroying a good number of republic warships in the process.

After his forces had fallen back from republic territory to avoid being over ran by additional republic forces, following the highly successful raid the furious high command of the empire had called for his immediate relinquishment of command and put out a warrant for his arrest where in he was be court marshalled at a later date and possibly faced the death penalty for his actions. The admiral had resolved not to hang around for that to happen and had sent out a message to every ship in his fleet calling for the need for them to wage a personal war on the republic in the name of the empire, without the support or approval of the chain of command. Much of the captains in his fleet refused to directly disobey the empire and declined his call to arms, but those more loyal to the admiral answered the call and together the battlegroup had fled imperial space.

The admiral sat quiety reminising over what had lead him to be in this situation and if he could of done anything differently. But in the end he came to the conclusion that it was enivitiable and he was not to blame, despite what the moffs and anyone else might say. The hologram of the general in front of him rambled on and on and he'd lost interest some time ago. The officer could of told him everything he needed to know in five minutes, but he somehow managed to drag it out over the course of half an hour. To cut a long report short the prefabricated imperial garrisons had successfully landed on Kulthis and been set up around the old abandonded rebel base on the planet. Extensive land clearing was still underway and it would be some time before the bases defenses were up and running but over all they were making steady progress.

The bases had been deployed in a triangle formation around the old rebel base which being much smaller than the garrisons wound be used as a command center for his forces and any tree's within a 1km radius were to be cut down and turned into building matierals for a complex of timber buildings to be built just to the south of the old base. A total garrison of 10,000 Stormtroopers being deployed to the base along with 40 AT-ST's, 20 AT-AT's, 25 landspeeders, 20 combat speeders and 40 speeder bikes. In the future when he could gain possession of them the admiral would also base a number of tie fighter squadrons in the bases, which for now had empty hangers. "Have you made preparations for the landing area to be constructed general"? Admiral Staziack interupted. The general paused for a moment before he spoke. "um, we don't have the materials needed for that sir". He protested looking a bit unsure of himself. The admiral rolled his eyes in response. "Improvise general, its what i'm paying you for". He chastised him. The general saluted and began to talk once more but the admiral didn't hear him and simply cut the communications. Things on the ground were taking shape and soon he'd have a fully operational base capable of serving as a home to 12,000 soldiers.

[Cervantes]

With construction of the ground base well under way Admiral Staziack then turned his attention to the matter of providing his men with weapons, supplies, ships and a paycheck. Luckily he had allies within the empire who supported his cause and he knew he could rely on them in his time of need to rise to the occassion and supply him with whatever he needed. Before fleeing from imperial space he had made sure his men removed all manner of devices from his ships in which the empire could use to track them down. His mission was a vitally important one and he couldn't have it compromised by self righteous moffs on a power trip. His ships operating on a rarely used frequency had ensured that no one would eavesdrop in on the fleet chatter and he'd established a means of secretly communicating with his contacts within the empire so that their conversations would remain secret. With this in mind he hailed Moff Jerbrodi, a moff of a relatively unimportant imperial sector and a long time friend.

It took a few minutes for the Moff to answer but eventually he did, looking rather concerned and annoyed at the same time for being awoken at such an ungodly hour. "Admiral Staziack, what a pleasent surprise". The Moff said dryly drawing a soft smile from his friend and mentor of sorts. "Good morning Moff Jebrodi i'm sorry to wake you at such an hour but I have important business to discuss with you that cannot wait". The admiral explained. "Oh"? The moffs hologram replied raising its eyebrows in mock surprise. He ignored the moffs sarcasam and elaborated further. "You've been a loyal friend and supporter of mine for a long time and I know you feel just as strongly as I about the empires.....policies of the past few decades and i'm been somewhat of a mentor to you over the years". He began reminding the imperial governor of their relationship. Jerbrodi nodded but remained silent, knowing full well what the admiral was going to ask of him but keeping it to himself for now.

"I won't go into the details of my exodus so to speak from imperial territory because you surely know them by now". The admiral continued. "In order to continue the war effort for the glory of the empire I am in desperate need of funds to pay, feed, arm and supply my men as well as maintaining our ships and keeping them stocked with weapons and fuel". He explained. The moff nodded. "Yes maintaining a private army is an expensive exercise no doubt". He commented. "But be blunt Reginald what do you want from me precisely"? He asked. "I need you to secretly fund my operation with as much financial assistance as you can possibly provide". Reginald said. "You've skimmed money from off of your sectors tax revenue before and you can do it again, only this time for a much more important and worthy cause". Moff Jebrodi looked slighty uncomfortable at being exposed, even though he knew that the admiral had know himself for some time. He'd gone to him for advice on the matter some years ago when he had first done it.

"That money was used for the benefit of my citizens". He protested calmly. "The empire wasn't putting the tax money back where it belonged so I took the liberty to do so myself". The admiral nodded not caring in the slightest as to his motivations. "Regardless I need you to do the same thing again, only on a much more frequent basis and secretly funnel the money though the galactic bank into some private accounts". The moff sighed and shook his head in disbelief that this was being asked of him. But what could he do? He couldn't refuse the admiral, not after all the older man had done for him. For the past twenty years Admiral Staziack had been a close friend and mentor who had greatly helped his rise to the position of moff. he owed everything he had to the man, not to mention that he himself was a closet supporter of the admirals sentiments. "How much do you need me to give you each month"? He asked after a few moments of silence.

"Ten percent of the taxes your sector pays to the empire". Staziack replied flatly. The moffs eyes widened, this time in genuine surprise. "I'd never get away with embezzeling such a huge amount of money". He complained. "You did it before". The admiral pointed out. "Yes but only once, if I did it on a monthly basis it wouldn't be long before I was caught out, it was hard enough to hide the accounting the one time doing it a second and third in a row would become obvious pretty fast". Jerbrodi shot back. "I could give you five percent and hide that well enough, its still a substancial amount of credits, but much easier to hide within the accounts". He continued offering up an alternative. The moff was a master accountant and under his supervision the missing credits could be cleaverly hidden and wouldn't be obvious even on close inspection.

The admiral thought about it for a moment working the situation out in his mind. Five percent was still a decent sized amount but nowhere near enough for what he needed. Still it was enough to keep all of his men handsomely paid and well fed and looked after by taking care of medical expenses. He'd just have to call in some more favours to make up for the rest of his expendatures. "If five percent is all you can comfortably give without being exposed then I trust your judgement my friend". He said with a warm smile. The moff smiled back then his expression turned serious once more. "This had better work Reginald i'm taking an aweful risk". He commented. "Yes I know you are, but your assistance is vital to the survival of my campaign and will be remembered, trust me when this is all over you shall be greatly rewarded". Staziack assured him. The two men bid each other farewell, not keen to keep the communcations open for too long. Then the admiral sat back in his seat and lit a cigar and began smoking it slowly as he drifted off deep in thought. He had a few more close allies within the empire who would provide him with assistance, but the question was which of them could help him precure what he needed for his war.

[Cervantes]

The hologram finally came to life and the features of High Admiral Coxon appeared in front of Reginald blinking back at him passively as he took in seeing his old friend and outcast from the empire standing before him via hologram. "Well well well arn't you a sight for sore eyes, I never thought id be hearing from you again". Admiral Coxon quirped sardonicly. "Well you clearly thought wrong my old friend". Admiral Staziack replied with an amused smirk. "How are you Gerard"? He inquired making small talk. The other admirals hologram shrugged. "I'm doing well, the same as usual nothing really changes much out here". Coxon said with a cynical grin. Admiral Coxon was the commander of all the imperial forces in a large but relatively sparsely populated sector of the empire that boarded on the unknown regions and he'd been there for going on a decade now, initially restless but now resigned to living a quiet life that paid well and enabled him to enjoy the finer things in life.

"The question I should be asking is how are you admiral"? Coxon asked. "Your sudden exit from imperial space with an entire battleground of ships after your little stunt at Bilbringi has the moffs furious and calling for your blood". He reported. "You've been officially labeled a deserter and a traitor to the empire". He said with more than a little glee. Admiral Staziack scoffed. "Predictable and would be slightly amussing if it weren't for the gravity of the situation". He said unmoved by the accusations against himself. He knew that they would say this and much more, so it came as to no surprise that he was being publicly hung out to dry back at home. "Very true". Came the response. "Now i'm assuming this isn't a social call, what can I do for you"? Admiral Coxon asked knowing full well that Admiral Staziack wouldn't be contacting him to ask about his day.

The admiral stiffened in his seat. He and Coxon had been friends at the imperial acadamy decades ago when they were still in their teens and since that time they've both seen their careers take off and they rose through the ranks together as the years passed until the day they both gained their respective positions within the admiralty. It had been a glorious day for them both. But their relationship had been hurt in recent years when Gerard had been given a promotion ahead of himself and promoted to High Admiral. A rank that they both knew Staziack was the more worthy of the two but had been denied for political reasons beyond his own control. It was just another part of the reeking bureaurcracy that was choking the empire to death from the inside. "I need your help". Staziack admitted. "I can't fight this war alone without help from the inside". Gerard nodded. "No you most certainly can't".

"And although I agree with your principles Admiral Staziack I can't in good conscience openly defy the empire and run off to fight some vigilantee war". Coxon replied with a sour look. "I'm not asking you to do that". "What I need is a steady influx of weapons, ammunition, equipment and spare parts to keep my ships and my men armed and fully operational". Admiral Staziack explained. Without the supplies I need it wouldn't be possible for me to wage this war against the republic, which is why i'm asking for your assistance as a friend, supporter and debtor". He continued. "You owe a good part of your advancement through the ranks to my assistance, do not forget that". Gerard nodded slowly averting the other mans gaze. "I have not forgotten, but I can't believe you'd use this against me to gain my help". He said with a shake of his head. "Its bad form".

"Regardless of whether it is or not i'm a desperate man in dire need of weapons, supplies and equipment". "I have no choice, if I am to lauch and continue this campaign I will need the support of my friends within the empire". Reginald Staziack responded. "All i'm asking you to do is ask for more supplies than you really need in your quarterly inventory, enough to cater for the needs of a battlegroup just for now but that will grow with time". He explained. Admiral Coxon listened intently. "Ah, well I suppose I really have no choice in the matter then". "If you're calling in my debt to you then yes I will provide you with what you ask". The admiral said smiling at his old friend". At a potentially great personal risk I might add". He added. "I don't know how long I will be able to get away with this, but i'll do it for as long as I can without alerting the powers that be to our operation". Coxon finished. "Now if you don't mind Admiral I have other business to attend to...namely my wife". Admiral Staziack chuckled and the two men exchanged salutes then the holodisplay died.

[Cervantes]

Admiral Staziacks battlegroup emerged from hyperspace and rejoined the rest of his fleet in its orbit around Kulthis. The raid on Taanab couldn't of gone any better if the admiral had imagined it. His raiding ships had looted a vast quantity of valuable goods from storage rooms and warehouses including but not limited to blasters, ammunition, spare ship parts, tools, food and medical supplies, holoprojectors, sound systems, electronic gadgets, household appliances, jewelry, several speeder bikes, a landspeeder and even a large hover taxi that could sit 20 passengers. Last but not least the Nebulon-B frigate and the belongings of all its former crew. All the stuff would fetch a fine price on the black market to be traded in for building supplies so that Staziack could construct a shipyard around Kulthis to repair his ships after battles.

He needed an ally within the empire who could provide him with the necessary building materials and construction equipment to build said ships. He could finance part of the operation himself with the proceeds of this raid but it wouldn't be anywhere near enough to pay for the whole shipyard. Such things were extremely expensive and costly to maintain, but with like everything else he would find a way. Until that time however he had decided to recall the forces he had left behind within the empire that were loyal to him as a failsafe in the event that he couldn't establish connections within the empire to have his supplies shipped out to him secretly.

He knew that such a precaution was unnecessary, but he always liked to be prepared for any possible outcome. The forces consisted of the lone Imprial class III Star Destroyer the Nautilus, which had long been the second ranking ship in his fleet under the command of one Commander Titus Caesarion. Staziack decided to recall the ship because of his need for as many vessels as he could gather as quickly as possible. The Republic would surely be out hunting for him and calling for his blood now and he needed all the forces as he could possibly muster.

Commander Caesarion was a hardline imperial officer, a textbook imperials imperial who had risen through the ranks purely of his own accord, well his own accord and Admiral Staziacks influence. The officer had for whatever reason remained largely overlooked within the imperial chain of command despite his excellent command abilitys and extreme loyalty to the empire. Perhaps it was his willingness to do whatever was ordered of him by a superior that had held him back from promotions time and again. Such loyalty had been dismissed as blind obedience, although it wasn't at all true, Caesarion was a man who often over analysed his assignments and thought deeply over philosophical matters. Whatever the reason, imperial bureaucrats had overlooked a man of great command talent who had the potential to be grand admiral one day, if he so desired.

It was Admiral Staziack who had first noticed the Commanders command talent when he was the young captain of an old Victory class Star Destroyer, a command not commonly held by someone in their mid twentys. Using his connections and influence Staziack had the captain transfered over into his own fleet and given him command of an Imperial class Star Destroyer to use as a launching point for possible future promotions within Staziacks fleet if he performed as the admiral predicted he would. Caesarion worked his way up through the ranks of the admirals fleet until he found himself as Commander Caesarion in command of an entire battlegroup as one of Admiral Stazicks top officers.

The Nautilus brought with it the two Nebulon-B Frigates that had been acting as its escorts. Bringing the total strength of the admirals fleet to:

2 Imperial class III Star Destroyers
2 Imperial class I Star Destroyers
1 Dreadnaught class Heavy Cruiser
1 Dragon class Heavy Cruiser
1 Escort Carrier
2 Strike class Medium Cruisers
2 Carrack Light Cruisers
2 Nebulon-B Frigates
2 Lancer class Frigates

[Cervantes]

With the Nautilus now back with him the Admiral could finally think about splitting his forces and basing a small contigent elsewhere in the galaxy at a secondary base to launch attacks on nearby republic worlds. But until then he had a shipyard to construct with the building materials his men had successfully traded the hutts for in exchange for the Nebulon-B and the proceeds of the raid on Taanab. It had brought just enough building materials for them to construct a light shipyard which was now under construction in orbit around Kulthis. By the time the shipyard was completed supplies from within the empire would arrive to fill it with enough equipment, tools and parts to have it running at a fully functional compacity.

The admiral smiled to himself, things were beginning to take shape. The base upon the surface of Kulthis had been completed with the prefabricated base from the Nautilus being added to the compound, It now housed a garrison of fifteen thousand men. The landing area had been paved with duracreet and was boarded along its right side by several large grey motley buildings that served as storage area's and temporary hangers and an air traffic control tower. The admiral wanted to add some hangers for planetary based Tie fighter squadrons when he had the resources and fighters available to him. Sitting at his desk upon his flagship the Relentless admiral Staziack began to plan his next move against the republic.

[Cervantes]

"Its good to hear from you uncle, congratulations on your victory at Taanab". Said Staziacks nephew Moff Fiett. The admiral nodded graciously and smiled at his young nephew. "How is your mother"? He asked inquiring as to the well being of his sister. "She is well, the last I heard, worried sick and very upset with you ". The moff reported. Staziack smiled fondly as he thought of his sister, they had always been close even though he had been away from home for years at a time. "send her my regards would you". He asked. His nephew smiled back softly. "Of course admiral". "But i'm sure you didn't just contact me to catch up on family gossip". Moff Fiett added. Staziack shook his head. "I'm afraid not, no". "I have a favour to ask of you". He stated.

His nephew visably straightened. "I am at your service uncle, what do you require of me"? Fiett owed his uncle many a great favour and he knew it. The only reason he had ever made it to his position, or to any position of any significance was because of his uncle's political connections and the influence he wielded within the navy. His nephew wasn't a bad officer, he was merely adequate and an adequate officer would never make the rank of Moff on his own accord, not even close. To ensure his nephews rise to prominance Staziack had literally called in years of favours owed, a number of which he had spent a significant percentage of his career building up, and he had spent it all so that his nephew could be the governor of a sector that was of no significant importance to the empire.

"I need you to establish an underground recruiting program for me to bring soldiers, pilots, engineers and crews over to my side". Staziack explained. "Search every available avenue for recruits, inactive service men, dishonourable discharges, the prison system, everything". He insisted. "I want an underground open door recruiting policy, we will take on hand anyone able to serve regardless of their level of training". The admiral continued. "Even recruit non humans, focus on them especially, I know there's a fair few living within the empire who would love to serve but have been denied". The Moffs eyes grew wider as he listened to the words come from the admirals mouth.

"And how exactly do you expect me to do all of this"? He asked. Staziack waved him off dismissively. "Work it out, I don't care how you do it, just don't get caught blast it". The moff grumbled something unintelligable which the admiral ignored. "I hope to be aquiring some new ships in the near future and I will need crews to man them". He explained, to which the moff sighed. "Thank you for your help nephew". "Don't mention it".

[Republic Viru]

((OOC- Ok, 2 points. 1- Technically before your fleet Phoenix Imperialum arrived to Bespin you had to jump your ships to hyperspace first, here from the Belderone system.
2- Given the distance, it would have been a couple of posts before your arrival; take in consideration it is the other side of the galaxy. We can continue now, for next time ))