Atrivis Sector

[GM Craig]

[OOC: It is pretty windy and snowing, so the speeder is likely a better bet.]

Trax departs, and the tech leaves the coms room as well, and Nim is left alone with Maris. The Zabrak is leading sideways against the bulkhead by the door.

There is a beep from Buzz, and his holoemitter activates. You see Meday's face hovering in the air before Buzz.

"Agent Naja."

[Nim Naja]

Nim was about to address Maris but Buzz apparently had heard and fulfilled his orders. She nearly forgot about the call.

"Change of plans, we are staying regardless of which timeline is correct. Which means I have a second shield for you we can install after the current one if you wish. We have the techs for it as well."

[GM Craig]

The face holds for a moment, then nods. "We'll adjust our plans accordingly. There's a few places that could use it, but they won't believe it coming from us. We'll keep working on our end, but you might want to see what you can do. They might take it better from an Alliance representative. Your declaration was what motivated all this, after all. We'll keep working on plans for the ground assault, and expect to see your techs soon."

[Nim Naja]

OOC: Oh, duh. If the first is out of the bay I guess the second can roll out anytime.

"Understood. I'll need some information on them so we at least know what, where, or who we're looking at approaching. At the moment I am attempting to have HC send assistance in some manner but first I need to get them more concrete data on the when and where the invasion will take place. I have intel analysts with me but if your people have anyone remotely useful in that regard I'll gladly take them."

OOC: Having seen their HQ setup, are we better served doing the research on the ship?

[GM Craig]

[OOC: Yeah, though an encrypted datalink would help coordinate.]

[Trax]

OOC: And where can we find that?

[GM Craig]

[OOC: Just need to set it up. One of the techs can do it, or Nim could use Buzz.]

[Nim Naja]

OOC: Not sure if Meday is replying. I don't have anything else for him. I forgot we don't need to wait for the first shield so if I can't change my order to roll out the second now, I'll contact that tech.

[GM Craig]

Meday says, "Sending you a data packet now. It's a sanitized intelligence report.

Your tech looks over. "Receiving a data packet, Agent."

Meday says, "That should get you enough to make a call, at least."

Data scrawls over a nearby screen. Senior members (varying numbers) of the various militias. Estimates of strength, their locations, and some comlink codes to reach them.

[Nim Naja]

"This is good, thank you. Any preferences, suggestions?"

[GM Craig]

"Honestly, we're as like to spit in each other's eye as say hello. But you can tell them, from me, we liberated a bunch of supplies from an Imperial storehouse. If they join up with you, I'll..." there is a long pause, and you hear indistinct talking in the background.

He continues, sounding reluctant. "I'll share our supplies, no strings attached. They know the stockpile I mean. It's enough to get us through a few months worth of blockade if need be. But only if they sign on with you."

He hesitates. "I'm puttin' it all on the table, Agent. We have the supplies and the means to distribute them. But only if they sign on. Carrot and stick. What you do with that is up to you."

[Nim Naja]

"I understand," she nodded with the seriousness he warranted. "Carrot and stick. Wish me luck."

When the call was cut Nim looked over the data, scanning into memory the names and numbers. She half turned to Maris.

"The smaller militias are probably more likely to accept a deal. And even more likely if bigger ones sign on. But not the other way around, unless we got a bunch of the small fish together first. Think it makes sense to start there?"

[GM Craig]

Maris sucks her teeth for a moment.  "Bang for effort, it's probably better to start big and go small. Realistically, the smaller militias are not going to help hold off the Empire much. But if you get two or three militias together, you've got the makings of a pretty solid army. With that kind of manpower, we might be able to make it too expensive for the Empire to try and take back. Take up the General on his offer of shields, and you've got a pretty good place to consolidate from."

[Nim Naja]

"True, the smaller militias alone will not help much. But they are easier targets to convince, and enough of them will help bolster what we have to offer the bigger ones alongside the cache and the shields. We know the big ones are going to be a pain in the shebs, with more dissenting voices, concessions, supply share. Less likely to want to work with the other factions, more likely to pull blasters on the others."

"Actually that might help us too. We convince enough of the less fortunate and we'll have backup in case one decides they'd sooner shoot than join. I'd rather not take plasma to the face again today."

[GM Craig]

"Kinda what I was thinking. If you put effort into the big ones, you may get smaller ones just by gravity. But getting smaller ones will not help with the big ones."

She stands up. "So, where do we start?"

The analyst pipes up. "This is good data - we don't have anything like this. But at first glance, Rhia Linki would be a good place to start. She has strong ground forces - they defeated the local garrison that was at battalion strength , supported and a company of Stormtroopers. Unlike Meday's group which was bloody urban warfare, her battle was much more of a straight-up slugfest.  She's got hardened troops, and we're going to need that if we're going to hold the planet. According to this, there was a munitions depot in her territory that they plundered, and used that to arm their militia. That gear will be handy."

Still flipping through the data, she continues. "Another option is Derrek Wen's group. According to Meday's intelligence, they were driven into a mind. There, they retrofitted excavation exoskeletons for combat, and shattered the Imperial siege. Again, those would be good assets to have."

She looks up. "I'll go through the data in a little more detail, but those sound like good places to start. I don't have contact information, and with the Imperials preparing for operations in the sector, we may want to physically relocate to establish contact."