Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036 
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jan 2, 2021 6:10:51 GMT -8
Galactic economics were a funny old thing; they were most certainly not a subject with which Kaine Australis was closely familiar. Fortunately for the clan of Australis and the Vegemite Enclave, the Field Marshal was in charge of logistics, not economics, and had the tools available to produce the tools required.
Such a massive construction effort as the Vegemites intended required significant capital. Instead of spending their not insubstantial pooled funds outright, the beancounters and accounting droids went to work securing financial backing from not only wealthy Core worlds willing to lend credit, but from multiple smaller Outer Rim banks. Deals were done to secure significant magnification in the credits available to the construction project, and once the loans had been extended, purchasing and the real work could begin.
Secrecy for the massive project was twofold; to conceal the ultimate source of the funding of the construction until the project's completion, and to conceal the significant military construction until final fitouts were complete. Orders were placed for the necessary resources with as many shipbuilding and industrial companies across the galaxy as possible.
Many of the hundreds of worlds in the Mandalore sector ordered materials that were later diverted to the Mandalore system. Major shipbuilding companies such as MandalMotors and other yards were contracted to build modules suitable for the major construction itself. Orders were kept to regular commercial quantities, and split up between different vendors with many different corporate identities on various Mandalorian worlds making the purchases. The intent was that at most, all anyone would be able to define, was that there was a hell of a lot of construction and building work being done in the Mandalore Sector, but no one seemed to be building anything.
The project's location, a minor MandalMotors yard in the shadow of Concordia, well hidden from aruetiise and those Mando'ade not in the know, was under the protection of Clan Australis. The yards had been temporarily staffed with security cleared personnel and a whole host of construction droids and automata in order to produce capital ships.
MandalMotors, in partnership with MandalArms, were constructing the first of the Vegemite Star Destroyers, as well as the gargantuan space palace that would be known as The Beasty.
This would be a herculean effort, more so for the fact that the project was attempting operational, if not total and complete security. But it had been ordered from the top of Vegemite leadership, and so Kaine was tasked to make it happen. Not that he did much of the actual work himself, but he was part of the process in spirit.
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jan 4, 2021 7:27:39 GMT -8
The project dubbed Project Beasty by those who worked on the herculean engineering effort, for the nickname of the colossal headquarters vessel that was the centrepiece of the project, was going along just swimmingly for openers. Orders of construction materials had come in apace, and the work had begun immediately. Two Vegemite Star Destroyers had begun to take shape, and the superstructure work had begun on the massive vessel that would become the Vegemite Enclave's home.
Though the project was slated to produce many such destroyers as the first two, these had been accelerated construction, both to finalize any lingering issues with the ambitious design, and to get the first two vessels into space trials, and allow production on the next two to continue at a more sedate pace, while more and more resources came in to continue with the overarching massive construction of the Beasty itself. Likewise, a third vessel, of a Mon Calamari design was also taking shape nearby to the two Vegemite Star Destroyers; this was the Permanently Perplexed, a more aesthetically pleasing design, from the aquatic species.
A wide network of sources for materials for the project had been cast by those assigned to the project by Kaine, and the orders had been covered sufficiently to hide their end point from surface investigations. From both the Core Worlds and the Outer Rim, goods and construction materials came into the project via cutouts all over the Mandalore Sector, routed to rendezvous points near Mandalore, and then to the hidden construction site. Secrecy would only need to be maintained until the project was completed, and so far everything had gone according to plan.
Before long, the first three capital vessels would be finished, and the Vegemite Enclave would have a fledgling navy to call its own.
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jan 8, 2021 3:54:44 GMT -8
With construction well underway, the first vessels had begun to take more solid form, no longer the skeletal frameworks they had begun their life as. The first two Vegemite Star Destroyers and their sister ship Permanently Perplexed neared completion, almost ready now for space trials, where they would leave the docks for the first time. Engines and weapons systems were being fitted out now as supplies came in to the project from manufacturers across the galaxy, or were produced on Mandalore or by MandalMotors nearby. Construction had also begun on several Warlock-class Star Cruisers nearby.
The massive vessel nicknamed the Beasty continued its construction, though such a colossal and ambitious project would take far longer than the production of, if one could call it that in comparison, a mere heavy star destroyer. Thousands of workers were assigned to the project, with literally millions of droids and automatons taking up the bulk of the manual labour of the project, allowing for expert engineers to do the important work and oversee the entire construction process.
No major delays in supply or construction had yet made themselves a difficulty, and the Vegemite Enclave's construction project continued uninterrupted, quietly, in the near orbit of the moon of Concordia.
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Mar 9, 2021 3:31:01 GMT -8
The abortive Battle of Byss had not been kind to the battleship Invincible Reason, which had taken a significant pounding on its way out of the system. Despite the protests of its Captain; the refit had been postponed by the Alor. When Konig Australis discovered what his father intended for the vessel, he relented, and the work to repair the ship and refit it for its next mission began.
For the purposes, the ship hung in orbit of Concordia while repair drones and tugs moved into position, surrounding the vessel with gantries and mobile docks to allow the works to begin in earnest. The battle damage would be repaired in time, however the outer shell of the ship was to be part of the next mission. When the work was done, the vessel would be hidden within the shell of a large but entirely false passenger liner.
Extensive works had completed the first of the Vegemite Star Destroyers as well as the Permanently Perplexed, and construction work on the Beasty continued apace. More works showed the progress made on the Warlock-class cruisers.
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Apr 28, 2021 5:08:06 GMT -8
It wasn't often Kaine got a direct comm from Yomaget. Though the man was brilliant, and outstanding in his role as MandalArms head of R&D, he avoided Kaine whenever and wherever possible. The message was terse, but the substance was of great import. Larraq had approved the joint venture. Larraq was one of the few beings Kaine admired unashamedly. His war record was superior to Kaine's; and how many could say that? And his record of producing quality Mandalorian hardware was likewise far greater and more wonderous than that of the Australis Alor's. The joint venture Kaine had proposed involved creating a line of flagships for the Mandalorian Clans.
Construction had begun long before Kaine's arrival. He came in a shuttle, his personal fighter having disappeared from the hangar in which he'd stored it. That mystery to be solved later, Kaine had prioritized the Clan's needs ahead of his own loss. He still felt the healing stab wound he'd suffered in his last campaign, despite the bacta and the medics doing their work well. He wasn't getting any younger. Shab, he wasn't dead yet. As the shuttle rounded a yard, and he got his first glimpse of the new Alor-Class Dreadnaught, Kaine felt twenty years younger and ten feet taller.
Landing was easy, and he let the shuttle down well out of the way. Yomaget was there to meet him at the foot of the boarding ramp. Bors was there too, the hulking Besalisk commando grinning from ear to ear, standing among a tight knit group of senior Clan personnel who had apparently invited themselves along on the Alor's private tour. Oh well he thought to himself, you have to share. Kaine descended the ramp and shook hands with Yomaget, nodding to the commandos.
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jul 5, 2022 3:01:22 GMT -8
 Near Mandalore, closer to the moon of Concordia than the planet itself, a Warlock-Class Destroyer came out of hyperspace. Aboard was Kaine and a large proportion of the Clan's assault and recon commandos. The ship cruised in towards the MandalMotors Yards, the secondary yards located on Mandalore's moon, which catered to more covert construction projects.
These yards stretched across the moon's surface and orbit, and the graving docks had produced the Vegemite Enclave's fleet as well as producing vessels for Clan Australis such as the Alor-Class. Under construction were ships for an order placed by Lord Nexus. The fighters and the Frigates were being produced at the main yards. The Leviathan Battleship and the Victory-II Star Destroyers were taking shape over Concordia. Out the viewports, Kaine could see the three capital ship size vessels were nearing completion, already well into the fitout stage.
There had been a rush placed on the construction, so all the yard workers were well motivated by overtime and bonus pay. Worker bees and construction drones buzzed around the three hulls like flies on a body in the desert, though these flies were constructing, not deconstructing.
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jul 13, 2022 9:14:25 GMT -8
 Aboard the Warlock-Class 'Carnifex' - Concordia Orbit
The objective was to drive the enemy from the world. Kaine planned to achieve this through the application of maximum force, utilizing speed and surprise. The operation was predicated on achieving both strategic and tactical surprise, though the latter was almost inveritably a utopian goal, the former was a necessity. This would not work if the enemy saw them coming, because even if everything went to plan, Kaines ground force was going to be excruciatingly outnumbered.
A briefing hall aboard the Carnifex was overflowing with the senior commanders of the Clan. By now they all knew something big was up, and looking around the room, given all the experience gathered in once place, it was something fairly exotic. Kaine didn't leave them hanging too long, activating a holodisplay, which resolved into a representation of the Deep Core world of Byss. "Our objective." Groans and jeers went around the room, all good natured banter. "Settle down, fuck's sake." Kaine said with a grin.
The planet's defenses were all highlighted, along with suspected patrol routes. The display moved down to display the surface. "We're deploying with the entirety of the commando corps, backed up by armored divisions and elements of the Legion." Unit designators came up over the display showing where various units would be located. "Gunships will provide top cover and fire support and we will advance on the center of government and capture it." Lists of units of ground forces flashed up alongside the holodisplay, highlighting which units would be part of the expedition.
Kaine didn't tell anyone how they would be getting in, and that fact hadn't been missed by anyone in the room. "There will be a fleet engagement, a big one, right at the front door, and we're going to slip in the back door." The holodisplay zoomed back out from the planet to show a wide view of the Byss system. "Byss has one permanent stable hyperlane." The lane was highlighted in gold. "We've identified three other potential routes which can get us close." Those routes appeared in purple. "From there, we'll make a cloaked approach at sublight, and slip through all the way to the ground." It was an ambitious plan, one where many different variables had to work out exactly right in order for it to succeed. Kaine was pleased that nobody had yelled out any obvious flaws in the plan. There was no easy way to take a world like Byss, and everyone in the room knew they would be in for the fight of their lives. Nobody bitched.
The technical aspects of the plan had all been worked out carefully. The Carnifex with her hibridium cloak was key to the stealthy approach from deep space to the planet of Byss. The Ysalamiri that the Clan had brought with them from Myrkr would provide necessary protection against instant death from Dark Side Force users. Both the hyperspace approach, and then the final long trip at sublight had been carefully plotted out, accounting for the mass of the ships and cargo. "Now, if youll look to your datapads, you'll see individual assignments. Go over everything now, and make the changes you think needed." The assembled Mandos took that for the end to Kaine's speech that it was, and the room devolved into conversation, as the Mandalorians went about carving Kaine's plan into digestible chunks, tailoring them to their units' needs. He moved among them, talking with commando captains and some of the other unit COs.
There was still a ton of work to be done before the expedition would be ready. If this did not turn out well, it would not be because of a lack of proper preparation and planning. Clan Australis was going to war. |
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Aug 9, 2022 6:20:24 GMT -8
There was still much work to be done, and Kaine didn't intend to fail in preparation for what well might be his last great battle. He'd shuttled up to orbit to meet with one of the key people in his plan, General Rhael Nebus. She commanded the Copad Legion, the Clan's elite troopers. It was from this unit in particular that Kaine found ready and capable recruits for his Commandos. She would lead five thousand of the legion to Byss, and it was Kaine's job to be ready when she arrived.
General Nebus had quarters on Mandalore's moon of Concordia, and Kaine met her there without escort, most of the commandos still downside on Manda'yaim or aboard Carnifex in orbit, getting ready. Kaine brought a bottle, though Rhael insisted they drink from her store of Hapan wine. Kaine relented, and the two of them sat opposite across the General's desk, sipping the vintage.The two officers talked for hours, comparing notes on the deployment plan, and going over contingencies. Kaine's commandos would secure a landing site, and then move to engage the enemy in skirmishes, using mobility and stealth to strike, while avoiding the enemy's main strength. Rhael would bring the numbers and the heavy vehicles, the artillery, and one of the Clan's secret weapons. The last were going to be a most unpleasant surprise for those in Byss's ruling city.
Nebus and her elite soldiers would form the backbone of the army that would take and hold Byss. Not enough to overwhelm the enemy with numbers, even reinforced, they would rely on skill and firepower to make up the disadvantage. Few if any of the army, even the commando corps, had experience fighting the Yuuzhan Vong, but there were detailed accounts available, including Kaine's own firsthand experience. Measures had been taken where possible to put that hard-won experience to strategic and tactical practicality.
There was no time or resources to modify starfighter weapons to overcome Dovin Basals, nor to research and develop specific anti-vong technologies, but there were still practical steps that could be taken. Educating the officers and troops about what they were likely to face, including examples of biotechnology they might encounter, as well as tactics that had proven successful. The use of droids to provoke and antagonize the intergalactic invaders was taken into account. Those droids involved in the mission were programmed able to speak insults and blasphemy in the Yuuzhan Vong language, loudly and often.With most of their concerns satisfied, or at the very least addressed, the two officers rose and shook hands, meeting eyes. Both of them knew what they were getting into, and both of them would be sharing the danger with their troops. Nebus remained to carry on with her preparations, while the Field Marshal returned to his commandos. Very soon, they would be shipping out, and the war, which had already turned from scouting to skirmish, would begin in earnest.
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Aug 22, 2022 3:17:03 GMT -8
Kaine stood patiently, watching and listening as Katsumi Ren spoke. He admired the confidence shown by the acolyte, knight, master, whatever she was. He also admired the badass skull mask the Ren wore. It looked pretty cool, and fairly intimidating, and a part of him wanted one. Misplaced though the Ren's confidence might seem to him, he knew the Ren couldn't know that Kaine was the least of their problems. The Old Boar was about to reply when the transmission ended and the light on his holocam went out. Well, that's one way to have the last word. Said the Alor, getting a few chuckles from the other Mando'ade in the room. He turned to face a monitor where his Twi'lek intelligence chief Cerani had been watching the exchange.Did you catch that? She said rude things about you. He said, grinning with mirth. Cerani's face wasn't smiling. I did. Go and correct her for me, won't you? She asked, sweetly, though her voice was hard as iron underneath the faux sweetness. Kaine nodded. Cerani never lost her cool, but she wasn't pleased with the disdain shown to her intelligence services.Kaine nodded. Will do. He moved out of the comm room, and headed for the exit. He was going to take the Ren's reply as an official refusal to surrender. He'd done his genuflection in the direction of decency and fairness. The enemy had chosen war, and now he was free to make war. Once he was alone, Kaine flicked on his personal comm.Yomaget. I hope you're finished with my new ships. I have a war to fight. He sent the transmission directly to MandalArms R&D. He was waiting on the release of the new War Pig gunships and the Armorer-class Assault Transports. If they weren't ready in time, he'd had a series of Acclamator assault ships and LAAT Gunships prepared for service, but he would much prefer to use custom Mandalorian craft.
Soon enough, he'd be on his way to Byss to personally discuss things with the Ren. Looking over the latest intel from the system, the enemy were preparing to recieve the Mandalorians. So much the better, he wanted a good fight for his last great battle. Admitting to himself finally that this would be the very last time came hard to Kaine. He didn't like getting old. He'd never expected to make it to twenty, let alone the next birthday approaching which was 65. He was from a past age where the galaxy was constantly at war, and he knew it.
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