Commodore Rivejer Tullius
Unfortunately, before the work of reorganising the fleet had to come after political considerations. I had barely left Deven Station before the next battery of meeting requests came. The first - and most tame - was the planetary governor; one Dect Brothic. He was an inoffensive sort, especially when compared to the Pestage in orbit of his planet. An aging man with a receding widow's peak, we spoke briefly in his office.
Compared to Nereus' former office on Bakura, it was an almost humble affair - paintings and pictures spaced across the walls. His desk was largely devoid of nick-nacks, barring a gold-and-blue cube on one corner.
"I hope your trip here was not too difficult?" Brothic asked conversationally as I sat, his mild expression disarming me more than I wanted to admit. I let a breath escape my lips as I settled, leaning back into the plush chair.
"All things considered, no. We had to engage a Rebel flotilla and deal with some renegades at Corsin, then this whole affair at Vinsoth." I began, gesturing vaguely with a hand. Brothic's eyebrow quirked up, his expression shifting to one of interest. "It was in my report."
I had written it on the way from Vinsoth, expecting to turn it in to whoever was my new commanding officer. Realising that I was now the highest military authority in the Ciutric Hegemony, I instead filed it through the communications relay to Imperial Center. It was not heavily classified, Brothic would have access to it - as would the Pestage duo and other ranking officers left in the Hegemony.
"I am afraid I have not had the chance to read it. Rebels?"
"Remnants of that whole affair with Hammerstorm." I said. "Or else opportunists. They put up quite the fight, though. Likewise with Admiral Screed - or just Screed soon, I suspect he'll be stripped of his rank when news reaches the Admiralty."
Takel and Teshik had crushed the Rebel fleets at the Hosnian system and then again at Kashyyyk. However, even with this victory, privateers and fleet remnants still haunted the hyperlanes out of the Core.
Eventually, I suspected my report would get lost in the unending flood of similar reports on the way to Imperial Center. I put as many keywords into the report that I could, hoping their automated sorting system would flag it and expedite its reading. Screed had clearly been amassing some forces, even if I had bloodied his nose at Corsin. Of course, I suspected that the words 'rebel' and 'traitor' filled most reports nowadays.
"Well…" Brothic seemed off balance, clearing his throat before continuing. "I pray your time here is less chaotic."
"Based on the reports I have received from Commodore Pestage and Captain Pestage-Neron? I doubt it."
Something I said must have been humorous to Brothic, as his lips twisted up into a thin smile. He leaned forward in his seat, speaking in a lower voice.
"You have been introduced, then, to the eccentricities of the Hegemony's benefactors?" Brothic asked, as if sharing a private joke. I stared at him queerly, I had no idea what he was trying to say and for once, I made that clear.
"I don't know what you mean." I said simply, was he referring to the fact that I had met Pestage-Neron and Commodore Pestage? Was this a vague reference to the control they held over the Hegemony? Was this even a hint to the fact that they had created the many issues currently plaguing the local fleets? Perhaps a combination of them all, but my response again seemed to be misinterpreted as Brothic gave a sagely nod.
"Of course not." He said, though his smirk remained. "Better not to know. Still, I look forward to our future cooperation, Commodore. Let it be smoother than your previous issues."
"We can only hope." I agreed, rising from the chair a few short minutes after sitting down. I had a busy schedule ahead and I would rather minimise the time I spent around Governors - though typically that applied only to ones named Nereus. Brothic seemed inoffensive enough, but I had quite the fill of his sort.
"My paymaster, Captain Wilek Nereus, will remain on Ciutric IV to sort out pay and finances on my behalf. I haven't the mind for it, I'm afraid. He was a former Governor - hopefully you'll get along famously." Brothic bowed his head, but offered no response beyond that. I left the office quietly, finding my guards standing in the waiting room. Brothic's guards, a pair of well-dressed Armytroopers, seemed to be sweating profusely as they faced off against double their number in Deathtroopers. Brothic's secretary seemed to be on the edge of her seat, ready to throw herself to the ground the instant trouble started. There would be no issues and I was starting to become offended that everyone seemed to think I was trying to instigate something.
My guards fell in behind me as I departed, giving Brothic's people scarcely more than a second glance as we left the office. The Palace of Government, a large fortress in the center of the capital city of Daplona. It was from this building that the entirety of Ciutric IV's administration was handled - nice and centralised. Unfortunately, it was not where the leadership of the Hegemony was based - for sharing an office was simply too convenient for the egos that ruled the political scene of the Empire.
I was becoming embittered, I realised, but everything between Wrath Station and now had not endeared me to the masters of the Empire. I would never voice as much, naturally - these were not the halcyon days of a few months ago when the only concern was doing your job.
I took a speeder from the Palace of Government to the aptly named Daplona Estate - because it was in the city of Daplona and sat on the northern bank of the Daplona river. We had to cross the river to reach it - the local government and Hegemony government couldn't even stand to be on the same side as each other. Large drawbridges dotted the river, meant to be raised to allow the considerable riverine traffic a way through to the other size. Despite being a rapidly modernising world, Ciutric IV still had a considerable local trade economy. It almost reminded me of Naboo, in a way - the great lake that the Daplona river fed into certainly was beautiful.
Unfortunately, I was not here for sight seeing. My speeder had to take the bridge and so I had to wait for it to be lowered. My driver, a loan from the spaceport, was doing his level best not to look sideways or back. The spacious interior of the armoured speeder still felt comically small when packed with four Deathtroopers - one in the passenger seat and the other three in the back with me.
Traffic seemed to part around us as we moved toward the Estate. While I did not have a motorcade, the large dark grey speeder was unmistakably military and few civilians wanted to get in its way. That said, I suspected the laser cannon situated on top might also have something to do with it.
The Daplona Estate certainly lived up to its name, looking less like a centre of governance and more like a countryside manor house. More rugged in appearance than what I might have seen on Naboo, but it stood out in a strange fashion surrounded by city buildings. The gates were closed, a pair of well-armed and ornately armoured guards waiting for our approach. A coat of arms was emblazoned on their breasts, no doubt belonging to the Pestage Clan. I suspected that to be a reminder that, while the Hegemony was an Imperial protectorate, it was unmistakably a Pestage holding. I had my suspicions when I was deployed here, but this helped confirm it if the pair of high-ranking Pestage family members had not - I was here to be watched. Someone, perhaps the Vizier himself, was likely concerned I was something that I was not and someone had reason to let them believe that.
The driver drifted us right up to the gate, rolling down his window to speak to the guard.
"Commodore Rivejer Tullius to see the Steward." The man explained, flashing his identification. The guard did not have the dull, simple look a front gate attendant might usually carry - his expression was sharp and focused as he looked from the driver, to my guard in the front seat, to my part in the back. After a moment, he waved us through.
"The Commodore is expected." The man said and we moved through the gate. The courtyard beyond was meticulously maintained - tall hedges flanking the approach up to the manor house. A roundabout sat before it - a large fountain at its centre. It was a far cry from the organised, harsh layout of the Palace of Government. Indeed, this building was far more deserving of the title of "Palace".
Another duo of sharply dressed guards awaited us, joined this time by an older man in civilian clothing. He carried the Coat of Arms on his breast as well, in the same place as well. I stepped out from the speeder, my driver quickly informing me that he would wait here for my return.
"Commodore Tullius, we welcome you to the Daplona Estate. The Steward eagerly awaits you."
"Then I shall not keep him waiting any longer." I said, following the man up. My guards moved behind us, but beyond that we were alone. Some staff - largely maids and the sort rather than governance assistance - were in the halls, but beyond a few guards it was mostly empty.
"I would have expected more activity, given this is the heart of the Hegemony's government." I noted absently. "Especially in light of the current situation."
"Oh, no. The Hegemony is overseen from the main Pestage family property in the countryside. The Steward merely believed that it would be easier to meet you here."
"I see."
My guards were to be left in another waiting room, though the guards here seemed far less intimidated - or else were better at hiding it.
The office I entered was far more ostentatious than Brothic and more so still than Nereus. Every inch seemed to have been meticulously styled to perfection, which given that this property was supposedly not used often made it feel all the more decadent.
The Steward was a portly man, bald and lacking in facial hair. I could not get a good guess on his age, though I had to guess older than fifty from the lines crossing his face. He wore a set of garish robes, matching the aesthetic of the room around him.
"Commodore Tullius." The man said, his voice smooth as velvet. "Allow me to extend a welcome to the Ciutric Hegemony. We shall be working closely together in the coming months, I suspect."
"Steward Pestage." I greeted in turn, moving across the room to find a chair. "I only wish it was under better circumstances."
"Indeed, Keld's death and Delany's flight have not made things easy here." The man sounded genuinely bitter and I wondered briefly if there was dissent in the Pestage Clan ranks. "But we make do with what we have. Something I have come to learn you are quite familiar with, Commodore."
"You have read my report, then?" I asked, mildly surprised what I assumed to be a nepo appointee had been so proactive. The Steward bowed his head.
"And those of your previous engagements - not just the propaganda piece written by our overzealous friends in CompForce. Though they do paint you in a rather heroic light, Commodore." The Steward added with a chuckle. "It would have been the height of foolishness not to learn about the man assigned to protect our dominion."
I was thankful the newsletter had vanished as soon as it had. I had not been a big part of it, one name out of a dozen other heroes. Admiral Uther Kermen had dominated that specific issue due to his efforts in Hammerstorm, but my name was at least slightly more well-known than it had been previously. The destruction of the Intimidator had been downplayed, as while Cardon had been quite proud of that action, I suspect there would have been public outcry over it. Destroying a Super Star Destroyer? Madness!
It was an argument I had with myself a dozen times before, though it remained fresh in my mind now that Cardon was back.
"I hope the Grand Vizier painted me in a good light, then." I offered lightly, reminding him and myself that I had been assigned here by the man in question. I had never met Sate Pestage, nor had I heard anything from him since my reassignment. After Teshik folded, it seemed I had been forgotten - and I quite preferred things that way. Forgotten, ignored and hopefully calm.
"I had to procure that information myself. I learned about your assignment when Brothic did!" The man said. "Sate Pestage is not always in step with the rest of the family. Or, perhaps, the family is not always in step with itself. We are a large clan, Commodore - often one rife with internal strife."
"I am surprised you are offering that so easily. I doubt your Clan would be pleased with you painting them in such a negative light." I said, but the elder man shrugged.
"I am not telling you anything you would not learn in dealing with our orbiting members. I would rather not start this working relationship built on distrust, Commodore. That is what put us into their rather precarious situation."
"Did you not always see eye-to-eye with Keld?" I asked, hinting as to the true reason why he was dead.
"Admiral Keld died in a mugging, unfortunate but true." The Steward was critical of his family, but not so much as to speculate on the murders they might have committed.
Our conversation moved into safer territory, comparatively so. We discussed at length the political situation of the Hegemony, namely about the individual worlds within. What worlds were directly under their control, where my authority began and ended. With the present political situation, Keld had begun closing the fleet's patrols into just the Hegemony territory before his death. Seeing no reason to change that, I decided that would be my course of action. The Ciutric Hegemony would concern itself with the Ciutric Hegemony until I was told otherwise, or until I had a better understanding of the Hegemony's fleet.
"Wilek Nereus and his staff will remain here." I said as the conversation lapsed and I was getting ready to leave. "To oversee the fleet finances. I suspect he will be working with Governor Brothic to that end, though your paths may cross."
"I am certain they will. Until next we meet, Commodore."
I left the way I came - following the same attendant back to the front of the manor.
With nothing else to delay me, I made my way back to the Glorious. Its interior was already becoming familiar to me and though I would always miss the Conqueror, there was something majestic to the old slipway queen. A personality to the ship that the Conqueror - being an exact replica of every other Imperial Star Destroyer before her - lacked.
I made my way to the conference room, having sent a warning ahead of my arrival to the officers of the fleet that I would be holding a meeting. Pestage-Neron had made her way aboard her Star Destroyer - the Doubtless - in preparation to join over a holocall.
Hamne, Milgern and Nereus already awaited my arrival, Hamne seated closer to the door while Milgern claimed the seat left of the table's head. Nereus sat at the opposite end of the table, his back to the door.. I nodded my greeting to them, sharing a few words before claiming my seat. Several connections were waiting for me to accept, so I turned the holotable on and let their holograms appear. Harand took his customary place at my other side, but the remainder were scattered across the table mostly at random. Pestage-Neron was situated next to Nereus.
"I believe that is everyone." I noted and seeing no empty seats, I continued. "Forgive the shortness of the brief I forwarded to you all, if there are any questions I will answer them. I wish to start with welcoming our new, temporary, member - Captain Alana Pestage-Neron."
I gestured to the woman, whose posture seemed to straighten further as she drank in the gathered officers. As it was only squadron leaders and individuals of particular note - like Maab and Matread - the group was small.
"She is joining us from the Ciutric Hegemony's First Fleet and will be our guide during the coming tour of the protectorate. After which, she will return to the First Fleet and take over command of it. Which moves to the second point of order."
I waited until all eyes were back on me before I continued.
"The situation in the Hegemony is more grim than I was led to believe. At present, I have been named the commanding officer of the entire Ciutric Hegemony's fleet by order of seniority." There was some polite applause, mostly from the newer officers as those who had been with me the longest appeared bemused. Given that I was a Captain less than half a year ago, there was some cause for concern. I raised a hand for silence and only when it was granted did I continue. "The coming weeks will see some reorganisation. I will be keeping my flag with the Third Fleet. As it is my decision, we will be maintaining our fleet designation, command codes, et cetera - for those with a particular care for those sorts of things."
I did, though I did not voice as much. Despite my current conflicted views regarding Harrsk, I had been with Arrowhead Command for years. I had grown attached to it, even if we were no longer in the Arrowhead… or a Command.
"As for what place this fleet will play within the greater Hegemony territory, I have yet to decide. That will be a concern I will address as we tour the region. The entire fleet will join me in this, as a show of force in the current chaos. Do not be mistaken, the current situation in the Hegemony is precarious. Many officers have turned against their duty and have begun to follow only their own orders. The only people I can trust to follow my commands without coercion or force are in this room."
Also the Pestage woman was here, but I wasn't going to single her out.
"Are there any questions about our purpose here?" I turned the questions to the gathered officers. It was Pax that spoke up first.
"Will you select a new commander for Arrowhead Command?" He asked.
"No, I will be maintaining direct control of the fleet. How the other two are managed will be discussed with Captain Pestage-Neron and whoever I select to take over the Second Fleet."
Pax merely nodded and leaned back in his seat, seemingly pleased with that explanation. There was a beat before Thawne raised his voice.
"Will the current fighter deficit be addressed? I have been led to believe that the Hegemony enjoys the presence of a Sienar factory on Ciutric IV."
"That will be addressed in a moment. Are there any questions directly related to our current posting?" I ask, Thawne bowing his head in apology and sitting back again. Matread seemed more annoyed, but I suspected he was the real driver behind that question.
"Will you be selecting someone from your current staff to take command of the Second Fleet?" Millavec asked, I had forgotten he was even here. I amended my earlier mental statement, the only people in this room I did not trust were Pestage-Neron and Millavec.
"That remains to be seen." I said, earning some interest from a few of the officers. Namely Harand and Zanus, though Pax and Bannick - ostensibly the commanding officer of the Carracks - appeared to care less. "I would prefer to maintain my command staff, especially in light of the recent changes we faced. However, Captain Pestage-Neron and I will be reviewing the surviving officers of the Second to determine if there is any potential leadership among them."
Pleased, Millavec bobbed his head, falling silent.
"Anything else?" I asked. When no one moved to speak up, I glanced down at the console before me. "Very well. We shall now move into procurement. Regarding fighters, I will require all requests be forwarded to me, if you have not already done so…"
The rest of the meeting was largely about supplies and requisition. When we reached the discussion of backpay, I turned the table over to Nereus who would soon be given access to the finances of the Hegemony fleet. Most of the recently promoted officers were still being paid at the wrong scale; it was a miracle I hadn't faced a new mutiny yet. There were much more pleased faces around the table when Nereus outlined a backpay plan - depending on what the Hegemony had allotted to it.
As the meeting wound down, I called for Nereus and Calox to remain.
"Captain Nereus." I addressed the former Governor first. "You will remain on Ciutric. Forward any requests for staff or resources you may need in pursuit of this goal."
"If the Pestages prove resistant?" Nereus asked, voicing the concern that lingered at the back of my mind.
"Act as you see fit, within reason. You are the most experienced here, Captain."
I turned then to Calox, the adventurer seeming entirely bored with the proceedings. With my attention, he perked back up.
"Captain Calox-" The man puffed up and I fought back a sigh. "Captain von Calox. It seems I've hired your services for longer than expected and, though I fear I may come to regret saying this, I may no longer need you as my pathfinder. However, I have found the maps maintained by Admiral Keld and his staff to be too outdated for my tastes. I am tasking you, for the remainder of your contract, to explore every last inch of the Hegemony: you are to create as modern a map of its territory as possible."
Most of the Hegemony hadn't been remapped in decades, not even after it was reconquered at the end of the Clone Wars. I wanted to know every way in and out of this sector, to give neither Rebels nor pirates purchase. The major relays and intelligence satellites were still accessible and functioning. If ever there were a situation where we were suddenly blind in a system, then I might have cause to recall Calox.
This seemed to please Calox immensely, as his eyes lit up and lips pulled up in a rakish smile.
"Your order is my command, Commodore." He agreed immediately, clearly eager to explore the Outer Rim.
We filed out and separated, going to our different tasks. In the coming hours, I mustered my fleet and moved to the edge of the system. Once beyond the requested distance, we jumped into hyperspace - bound for Argazda.