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Post by Aya D'Ordinii on Jan 4, 2018 17:10:45 GMT -8
With a shrug, Aya matched the growing pot. She doubted anyone could beat the hand of 21 she still had locked in. Of course her latest credit in the pot meant that there were now 12 credits sitting on the table. Of course, they were a mix of the Nova Crystal cut Mandalorian Credits & the rather less valuable (at least this far out) Galactic Alliance credits.
Tahu watched at her held card flickered & changed to a 3 of Sabres. That brought her hand up to a total of 21. A long work history of keeping a straight face betrayed nothing as she slipped her last card into the hold field, along with a match to the raise. Now both her & Aya were waiting for the rest to either fold or lock in their cards.
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Adelle Bastiel
Member
Right or wrong? I can hardly tell. I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell.
Posts: 338
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Post by Adelle Bastiel on Jan 7, 2018 22:13:57 GMT -8
Well kriff. Adelle blinked as the hand switched up on her, changing her total to 32. This was not ideal. But it was only the second hand. There was still time for things to change. What fun would it be to fold now? She matched Non's bet even as Jade folded then stupidly took a gulp from the fizzy lightning drink. Kriff.
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Feb 25, 2018 15:19:54 GMT -8
==Rebuilding the Citadel SL== <<106 PP; G11 Sector, Lehon, Middle Beach>>
The deep well that had been carved into the rock of the motherworld had been filled in. Though not completely. It was a deep lattice of worked metals & technological instruments. a central core remained, still waiting to be filled by the traveling fortress that was the Citadel. Technically speaking, such an extravagance hole had not been required, but the Imperium did little by half measures. The grid of beams & supports would be plenty capable of holding the massive ship in place once it had docked. In fact, it was sufficient for a much, much larger craft. The reason for this being that the Imperium already had plans in motion to greatly expand both the size & power of the Citadel.
Worked into the open grid of metal was a massive network of repulsors. The Citadel was perfectly capable of landing & taking off under its own power. However, the emplaced network was there in case the citadel ever had need of a more rapid evacuation than its own power would be able to provide. In which case it would be used to launch the craft up into space.
As the work on the grid neared the surface, six additional gaps began to make themselves known. Much smaller than the central well, these were still large enough to swallow starships whole. A task they would soon find themselves completing. Waiting in orbit over the site, six Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers glided. Each was painted a blinding white, With letters of red & their own IFF codes broadcasting their chosen names. Picket Fence One, Picket Fence Two, Picket Fence Three, Picket Fence Four, Picket Fence Five & Picket Fence Six where the ships that would stand as the last defense of the Citadel. It was taken by many to indicated that despite her differences in many fields with her father, Aya had inherited his sense of humor.
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Feb 25, 2018 15:41:22 GMT -8
==Rebuilding the Citadel SL== <<106 PP; G11 Sector, Lehon, Middle Beach>>
As the final beams of the lattice where being welded into place, the sky darkened for a minute in the city of Middle Beach. A Sextet of daunting, glittering white warships drifted lazily through the sky. Carefully maneuvering themselves into position with help from the network of repulsors below, the ships set themselves above the six smaller wells. Each hovered there for a long moment, in a position that made it clear no mortal crew would ever walk their decks. Engines pointing down at the planet below, bows aimed at the clear blue sky above. They stood as six mighty white pillars, a warning & final safeguard to any that might seek out the Imperium in the heart of its power. With deceptive slowness, the six ships were lowered into the gates of the maws prepared for them. Even before they had finished their descent, the massive tiles that would be the courtyard of the Citadel were being placed.
Each plate was huge, easily a match for the largest hull plates of void trapped cargo vessels. These however, were not so bland & mass produced. A complex web of geometric symbols & shapes, each etched out by strings of mathematical formulas. Each joining seamlessly with the next in sequence. The entire courtyard was a testament to knowledge & learning, carved in metal from a thousand thousand languages & covering all fields of knowledge. Biological genecodes interlocked with transpatial harmonics & hyperspace calculation formula. Each graven symbol was also enameled in any of a million different colors, adding a third layer for the eye to find. Teasing out a grand mosaic that illustrated the history of the Mandalorian people along the southern half, & the Rakata people on the northern half. Above each of the completely submerged warships, a giant lens of transparasteel was set. Each a glittering jewel, equally threat & warning.
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Feb 25, 2018 15:54:34 GMT -8
==Rebuilding the Citadel SL== <<106 PP; G11 Sector, Lehon, Middle Beach>>
At long last the center piece of the construction had arrived. The Citadel itself. A majestic spar of silver ultrachrome armor & golden light from the multitude of hydrostatic shields. A four thousand meter long beam that was the soul & beating heart of the Imperium. The web of repulsors gently guided the massive craft into the slot that had been waiting for it.
As soon as it had settled to the ground, work began on the expansions. While the data from the Bespin system wasn't yet complete, it had plenty enough detail for the work to begin. Once it was finished, very little of the Citadel would remain in the same pattern as before. Nearly the entire ship would be disassembled, stored in the vast cavernous space below the deck & then recrafted into the image of the great flying city from the gas giant. The only difficult part would be the fact that during the entire process the entire ship & its systems would remain active in their command of the Imperium. Life & work in the Citadel would continue unabated, even in the midst of drastic renovations.
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 20, 2018 20:03:05 GMT -8
==Chain of Command== <<107 PP; G11 Sector, Lehon, Middle Beach>>
The Office of Planning had been doing exactly what its name implies. The vast majority of the planning was in relation to the hundreds of brushfires that popped up on a daily basis. Dealing with some small native group or other that decided to start throwing anything from rocks to bombs. Or trying to plot out the fallout from some local important family or other blowing a gasket at a diplomatic meeting. More than half of the plans shipped out to the front line units didn't even involve fighting. At least, not directly. The occasional light orbital strike was more common than actually sending in troops to kill people.
After that, the next biggest chunk of their resources was spend focusing on 'What If' plans in case one of the larger or more powerful groups decided to throw down with the Imperium. Plans to fight everyone from the Chiss to the Jedi, ranging from a minor raid to full on attempted genocide. Most of these plans were written up, & quietly shelved, with some tech or menial making sure they stayed more or less up to date every few month, depending on the current intelligence reports.
The final part was one of the most overlooked panel of the Office of Planning. It was, however, one of the most important & far reaching of the subpanels. While the other subpanels in the Office of Planning dealt with things either inside but apart from the Imperium or outside the Imperium completely, This last subpanel was focused solely on how best the Imperium Panels could be set up to minimize overlapping authority & panel to panel conflict.
Like all the other Office of Planning subpanels, they preferred not to give a report until they had enough information. The subpanel that was unofficially known as brushfire could (& often had) to move with minimal info & regional often never moved at all thanks to the theoretical nature of their planning. This panel had to move quickly enough to avoid major threats in internal doctrine, while still making sure to gather enough information to be sure it was the right move to make.
The change that was being passed on was a fairly large one. One that several higher ups would have to review & confirm before it was put into effect. The separation of the Sur'ar Skanah into multiple subpanels that often had to work together had caused needless friction & in some cases, outright losses. The main visible change would be changing the primary fleet element from the large & costly to produce Lucrehulks, to the more cost effective Venators. The main strategic difference however, would be the fact that the SS would now have a completely unified command chain. Ground forces would be simply another force under the strategic command of the commanding officer of the ship. In most cases, tactical control would still be handled by those with the training in ground combat. For the time being, the Special Tactics And Technology UnitS would remain as separate attachment units.
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Post by Aya D'Ordinii on Feb 24, 2019 5:35:34 GMT -8
==Bloodline SL== <<108 PP; G11 Sector, Lehon, Middle Beach>>
This event had been a long time coming, if one that had been only whispered about in many circles. An Imperial Broadcast was a fairly rare event in the day to day lives of the majority of the Citizens of the Imperium. There were the customary little displays of pomp & power one expected from a royal family. Things like yearly troop inspections that were more for showing off in a fancy parade, or tours or anniversaries for this event or that. Those happened fairly regularly & routinely. An Imperial Broadcast was a different matter. It was more or less a royal announcement important enough that the entire Imperium should be aware of it. Usually, they were fairly short notice. Maybe a few days at most. This one had been announced nearly two weeks before it was supposed to begin. It streamed out across the entire Imperium holonet, tapping into every HUD, holoprojector, & display screen in the entire Imperium.
The Imperial Throne was not commonly used. It wasn't a fancy or ornate object, just a hard block of stone that had been roughly hammered into the shape of a chair. There were not gold or jewels in it. It wasn't made of some rare stone. It wasn't even pretty or well made. It did, however, look distinctly uncomfortable to sit in. & sitting in it was Imperator Aya Dizen Or'dinii. Several steps to the left & a few behind stood the Imperator's personal knight. The holocams also periodically panned across impressive ranks of the movers & shakers of the Imperium. A studied glance would pick out the other members of the royal family in attendance, The young Zaryna by her mother, The ancient NonCom, & the mysterious Kaddak. And in front of the throne knelt three figures. All three wore ceremonial armor, clearly allowing their features to be seen.
The first was obviously Zabrak. His dark, nearly-ochre skin tone & wide spread of untrimmed horns making that unmistakable. It was hard to tell while kneeling but he gave the impression of being built like a stump. Short & stocky, but solid enough to bench press a speeder bike.
The second was a Rakata. Her scales shimmered a red nearly deep enough to be mistaken for black, if the heavy lights pouring over all three didn't show off the bloody highlights in them. Unlike the first, she was tall & willowy. Even kneeling, she towered over the other two. Though she almost looked like the slightest breeze would carry her away, despite the armor.
The last was a Selkath. Like the Rakata beside him, his scales were also nearly black, but his contained a more bluish tint. He was neither as powerfully built as the first, or as tall as the second. But he had the strong, compact lines of one that was stronger than he looked & would never stop. Ever.
The one feature all three had in perfect unison was eyes the color of molten gold. All three gazed up at the Imperator with calm, steady expressions. Without preamble, the Imperator began to speak.
-Aya Dizen Or'dinii (in Mando'a) I present my child, Aquila Dizen Or'dinii.
The Zabrak rose, bowed toward the throne & turn to face outward.
-Aya Dizen Or'dinii (in Mando'a) I present my child, Orania Dizen Or'dinii.
With that the Rakata rose to her feet, bowed to Aya & turned to face the same direction as her brother.
-Aya Dizen Or'dinii (in Mando'a) I present my child, Gaius Dizen Or'dinii.
Like his other two siblings before him, the Selkath rose to his feet before bowing & turning.
-Aya Dizen Or'dinii (in Mando'a) As of today, these three have passed the final rights & are full members of the Royal Family. The Galactic Alliance has fallen! A quarreling mass of degenerate fame chasers that sought only to further their own power at the expense of those they were sworn to protect. A dithering herd of deluded fools & thieves. Their defenses crumbled in the face of an overwhelming force. The Jedi order has been smashed. Esoteric fools meddling both with powers beyond their understanding & in any hall of power they could worm their sorcerous ways into. These acts were no font of mercy, however. No benevolent force removing the taint of corruption.
NO! It was yet another cancer. A bloody battleground of diseased ideologies. The First Order is no paragon of purity. They are a festering well of pro-human dominance. Looking down at, enslaving & murdering all those they find guilty of the sin of not being human. Even for the humans, it is flawed. An oppressive system that leaves no room for free will or contrary thoughts. Their only goal is complete domination of all humans & the eradication of all else.
The Blackguard may be our genetic cousins, but make no mistake. They meddle in powers best ignored. In lost arts best left locked away. Corrupting power that fills their veins with dark pollution until their very skin rebels against them. They are no better than the Jedi they have all but destroyed. In many ways they are worse. The jedi speak soft words & gentle nudges to worm their way into grace. The Blackguard have no such grace. They are brute beasts only fit for force & bluntness.
The Imperium grows! With every day. With every breath. With every drop of sweat & blood shed in the name of the mandokarla. We ENDURE! They can not crush us the like the jedi. We hide in no ancient halls! The stars alone form the vaults of our halls. They can not sweep us aside like the stagnate Alliance. We move with the grace of a breeze & strike with the force of a typhoon. We are Mandalorian. & we can not die.
With that the Imperator rose from her throne & raised her arm in salute. A moment later, the other four figures around the throne also saluted.
-Aya Dizen Or'dinii (in Mando'a) ALL HAIL THE IMPERIUM!
On the stage & across the Imperium the rallying cry was repeated. Despite her features showing nothing but strength & determination, Aya's thoughts had a much different tone. Without the Alliance there to take the majority of the heat, the Imperium would now be left staring down the First Order. This was not a position the Imperium was ready to take. They weren't equipped for it. Even with the surprisingly advanced Rakatan tech the Imperium had managed to reverse engineer. Even with the opening of Requiem. Even with the vast number of citizens more or less mass produced by the creche worlds. They simply didn't have enough people to face off against the First Order alone. With the fall of the Alliance & the Jedi Order with it, the Imperium was alone in a galaxy of enemies.
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Post by House of D'Ordinii on Dec 21, 2023 9:12:35 GMT -8
==No Party Like a Caucus Party== +Dikhin Thast+ <<113 PP (123 ABY); G11 Sector, Lehon, Middle Beach>>
At last. At long last. Thast was finally to the point he had been working for so long to reach. He let the warm memories wash through him as he made his way, for the first time ever, to the Senate Chambers. It had taken him nearly two years to get the required fifty thousand proxy votes to even be registered as a Representative. In other situations, that would be a paltry number, but convincing that many mandalorians that his reasoning and judgement were sound was a lot more work than most might think. After that was nearly a decade of steady work. He had carefully guarded his voter's interests in the senate, as best he could anyway. Slowly increasing his own rank by gathering more and more proxy votes, both from lone individuals and from convincing other Representatives to support him. Ten years of shifting his support from Senator to Senator as the various issues came up. Ten years of watching his voter count fluctuate up and down, all while slowly growing.
The large double doors were before him now, only one last security check point remained. He had done it at last. A tenth of a percent didn't sound like a lot, but the population of the Empire continued to grow by leaps and bounds. The vast majority of his proxies were held by multiple tiers of lesser Representatives. They had been and would continue to be the core of his staff, keeping him in touch with what his people wanted and felt. He passed through the security checkpoint with a sense of euphoria, and stood before the grand double doors. Only Senators and the Imperator herself were allowed in the room beyond. He had made it at long last.
The room beyond the great doors did not look like the Senate Chambers of other nations. There were no tiers of seating, no grand podium, no bombastic roof. Instead the room looked more like a wine cellar that had been converted into a tavern. The roof was fairly low, low enough to reach up and touch where the vaulted arches scooped down. Rows and ranks of pillars effectively divided the room into many smaller squares. Comfortable chairs, small tables, firepits, and miniature bars were scattered freely throughout the area. But the main feature were the Senators themselves. A few hundred beings circulated through the area, talking quietly with each other. Most were in armor of some sort, either traditional mandalorian plate, or lighter variants. A few, however, were in more imperial styles, either uniform or casual clothing.
It would take a bit for Thast to get his bearings. Politically, he was a Crown Loyalist, as were the vast majority of his proxy votes. That was in fact the way the system was intentionally set up. He had worked with many of these people for more than a decade, and knew most of the other members of his own political block. But the room seemed intentionally designed to prevent long sightlines, and the sheer size of the room and number of occupants meant he didn't immediately see any of his fellows. He took a minute to order a drink from one of the automated bars, in celebration more than anything, before he started wandering his way through the chamber. He would find them soon enough, for now, he was content to simply soak in his achievement.
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