Onslaught of the Empire

[Cale Darksun]

Danika's performance came to an end as Cinn re-announced his presence with a light applause for his slave.

"That's enough, Danika." He commanded. "It is time to proceed with the demonstration."

Drawing everyone's attention to the him, Cinn stood before the Observation Deck windows. Below them could be seen the curve of the planet while beyond the windows the barrel of some massive gun protruding from the station. A captured Republic Thranta Class ship sat in anchor clearly within the Gun Barrel's sites.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. I suppose you're all wondering why I've called you here today..."

 

[Darkened Angel]

As she heard Cinn's command, Danika ended her dancing with a graceful bow, then joined him at his side. She did her best to shake off the increasing feeling of uneasiness as the mood shifted from one of pleasure to one of malevolence. She could feel the sense of bloodlust from a number of Sith, as if they knew whatever they were about to see would be the Republic's doom.

Danika remained silent and out of Cinn's way, but was surprised at the sight of the station's gun, and did her best to not let it show when she noticed what it was pointing at.  

[Miss-Pandemica]

Finally, the young Sith thought when Lord Cinn finally gathered their attention. As she peered out the window with the rest of them and saw the gun barrel and ship within its target she felt rather underwhelmed by sight of it. Nova glanced at Ilia and wondered what her mistress thought of the weapon then looked at those around her.  

[lady_skuld]

The Tranquility continued to fly through the air with no apparent course. Kira made her way to the cockpit with her droid, meeting the client who had purchased her services. She carefully tossed the head into the captain's quarters right into a laundry pile before making the curve into the hall towards the primary cockpit.

"While I appreciate the rescue, will someone please tell me what the fark is goin-" she started to rant until she noticed what the cause was. Inside her cockpit was a trio of droids. Each armed with more than enough firepower to take Kira down. The Miralian looked to her droid compatriot with a glance. "What is the meaning of this? Isn't this what I said to have countermeasures for?"

"I'm sorry mistress, but I was a bit overwhelmed by the fact-"

"Cease dialogue with the organic," one of the droids vocalized. "We have come for the head."

Kira cocked her head as she glanced at her assailants. In the seat was a pilot droid, taking the ship to where the Uffal droids wanted them to go.

"I don't have it," Kira responded. It was true. from a certain point of view. The droids scanned the woman for fault.

"Then you'll produce it for us before the flight ends."

"Or?"

"Organic curiosity has proven fatal for other organisms of feline nature. Perhaps we should find a Cathar to tell you what happens."  

[Cale Darksun]

"Warfare is ever changing." Cinn said, pacing the Dais as he spoke. "As we speak new tactics and strategies are being introduced across the Galaxy, many of them aimed at us. If we do not adapt, if we do not cloud our foes' minds with terror, then they will eventually unite and finally put a stop to our glorious crusade. To ensure such a result does not occur, I have conducted significant research into finding the ultimate battleship weapon, a piece of hardware capable of obliterating enemy vessels and even entire planetary cities with naught but a single blast. I present to you, the Graviton Penetration Machine."

He gestured to the massive gun barrel and continued. "Using Protonically accelerated Gravitons, the GPM can effortlessly bypass even the shields of a Republic Cruiser, delivering devastating firepower directly to its target. The opportunities this weapon present are limitless. Already it can be outfitted upon a standard Harrower Class vessel, and with sufficient refining even our destroyers will be able to pack the firepower of an entire warship squadron. From extreme distance we can strike at our enemies, eviscerating their ships and leaving their worlds undefended. And of course, as an orbital bombardment system, the GPM is only matched by the heaviest of Proton Torpedoes, and is just as effective for a fraction of the cost. This miracle of military weapon development will allow us to march straight through to Coruscant within months of its introduction."

 

[Miss-Pandemica]

While Lord Cinn’s speech was impressive his words were lost on the Sith apprentice. Perhaps if she actually studied her physics she would’ve been more impressed, but the fact remained that a demonstration of its power would be better than the words that described it. Nova watched Ilia but couldn't discern what his mistress thought of this new advanced weapon.  

[Cale Darksun]

"And now," Cinn said, "comes the interesting part. No doubt you have all seen the Republic Warship anchored nearby, a prize wrenched from Republic forces. But I'll bet you won't be prepared for this. Commence the Demonstration."
Outside, the Republic Warship's shields flared to life. And then, the entire station started to vibrate as the GPM powered up. It took but a minute, and then a massive yellow energy beam lanced out from the cannon barrel and effortlessly pierced the warship's shields. And the second it touched the hull of the target, the Republic Warship exploded, snapping apart in a violent erruption that consumed the whole vessel.
"Glorious, isn't it?" Cinn asked his audience, backlit by the explosion behind him.

 

[ElladanKenet]

It appeared that Cinn had managed to scrounge together some kind of large cannon onto his station. The thing was of ridiculous size and had destroyed a fairly large republic cruiser in a single blow. While certainly powerful, Ilia was less than impressed.

For one, unless the technology could be mass produced and moved around, it was basically useless. What was he going to do, move this space station to every battle? Surely Cinn was already working on a way to make it more practical, but Ilia had other worries.

For instance, her mission to hunt down Revan.

Finishing a glass of wine, she turns to Nova. "I suppose it's impressive. Don't you agree, Nova?"  

[Miss-Pandemica]

Nova nodded. “Yes, milady, it certainly is,” Nova replied evenly. She had been watching Ilia for any change in expression when the cannon had fired but it appeared that even her mistress was not all that impressed by the performance. Nova was worried that perhaps Ilia would feel threatened by the fact that Lord Cinn now had such a weapon at his disposal but by the looks of things this did not seem to bother Ilia in the slightest.

With this demonstration over she hoped they would depart soon and leave for whatever mission Ilia had initially planned. This party was getting tiresome and Nova was growing bored of having to stand around. “What should we do now, milady?” she asked softly to Ilia.  

[ElladanKenet]

Ilia certainly had her own opinions on the device. Already, her calculating mind was determining how best such a weapon could be used... and removed. But now was not the time or place to voice such thoughts.

Idly, she looked down at her wrist to view her timepiece. "We'll stay just a bit longer, Nova. Decorum demands no less, but then we are free to leave."  

[Miss-Pandemica]

Nova bowed her head slightly in acceptance."Yes, milady." She glanced around at the other Sith Lords who seemed to be talking with each other in regards to what they had witnessed. Ilia however didnt seem keen on speaking with anyone else at the moment. Nova gave a soft sigh and straightened her shoulders and tried to look alert.

Looking over at Lord Cinn and his pet, he seemed pleased with himself. And why shouldnt he? After all the weapon was impressive and he seemed to think it would prove quite useful in their battles. But the young Sith wasnt going to judge whether such a weapon was going to turn the tide of war, because its not like she would be piloting a ship into battle anytime soon. 'I suppose learning to pilot wouldnt be such a bad skill to have at ones disposal,' she thought to herself. Perhaps after this is over she would ask her mistresses permission to learn.  

[Nelowulf]

Nelowulf

Lieutenant Warren McJump
Location: Minos Cluster - Regelia system
Personal Location: Cargo Hold of the Wesom II
Accompanying ships: None

Knight-errant Jian Yakamura
Location: Minos Cluster
Personal Location: Travnin, Minos Cluster
Accompanying People: Warren, The Gundark
Current Attire: http://jujika.deviantart.com/art/STAR-WARS-Character-Sheet-17527802 - right

The demonstration could easily be seen, even from where the cadre of pubs was standing. Outside their viewport, they heard the spiel, saw the cannon, and watched it fire. Jian felt the conviction from the spiel, and watched the evidence, his youth and exuberance giving a slight nosedive away from optimism. The only thing really keeping any perceivable change from happening was Jedi teachings and dedication to the mission. Warren, on the other hand, listened to the speech. While no major learner of electronics, something regarding the techno-garble and promises seemed... off. If the sith had managed to make such a weapon, why did it take them so long to finally produce it, or more specifically, implement it now? Why not delay the initial invasion by several months to equip and validate a secret weapon to demoralize from the start? The timing of the weapon seemed to be skewed, but even he had trouble buying that this was in some way a charade. His heart gave a slight jump as he saw the cruiser get hit, but in many ways, he was excited. Afterall, they were here, on the ship that housed a prototype weapon. The mission's objectives were no longer a single snatch and grab rescue; even if one was a failure, the schematics for this particular weapon were around and the Republic had multiple ways to achieve some modicum of success. The only trick now was how to actualize this idea.

"Jian, hand your facechanging mask to the Gundark. I'm altering the schedule for the show. Try to find out what that is, and how we can use it. If not that, find some way to be rid of it. We'll handle the woman, you handle the military objective," Warren said in hushed tones.

"But I-" Jian began pulling himself back from the Lepi.

"Don't worry kid. The Force is a powerful weapon. I'm sure you'll find some way to ruin this affront to the Jedi."

Jian gave a small facial expression, hidden by the mask, of sheer displeasure. He didn't particularly enjoy this new form of improv, but turned and headed out of the hall via the back entrance to the room, taking notes each way who may be nearby before slipping away.