Session export: [Envoy Corps] Dawn of the Aetherson

“Marick!” a boisterous voice called just before the exarch felt a large hand smack him on the back hard enough to nearly drop his data pad. “It’s been too damn long!”

Jon Silvon draped his arm across Marick’s shoulders while taking in the sights and sounds of the vessel.

“I have to admit, you’re keeping better quarters than the last time I saw you. I don’t how the kriff you talked Thran into giving you this beauty, but it’s quite the centerpiece. Though,” he said as his lips split into a smirk. “You’re going to have to race my new fleet if it’s the Unknown Regions you’re sailing towards.”

Aurelis trailed behind Jon by a few steps, rolling her eyes at the boisterous greeting, merely raising a hand in a greeting of her own,“ Marick, been a bit.” last time she’d seen the man in person he had picked up the small Envoy team from a plant dwelling planet with take out from a restaurant she practically co-owned.

“ Never took a hit on that planet, so I got lucky. Cor'neria, not so lucky, but I’ve made it back to 100%. Thank you.” she answered the first comment with sincerity.

“Oodles of Noodles is doing well, had to take a step back from balancing their books after Cor'neria, but once things settle down around Solyiat I intend to stay on Nar Shaddaa for a few days to catch up on my work there. I’m always in reach if the Envoys need me though.”

Jon seemed a bit put out at Marick’s refusal to ask about his new fleet. He looked a bit like a child who was looking forward to bragging about their new toy.

Then Aure mentioned Cor'neria and a shadow passed over his face, fast enough most wouldn’t notice it.

“Hah, it looks like things are looking up for everyone, eh?” he said, back to his previous enthusiasm. “With the Collective finally out of the way, the Unknown Regions are opening up. Things are about to get very exciting around here I bet.”

“The unknown regions you say?” Jay Pinark under his cover as the Chiss, Yuvir’al’geav joined the conversation. “When might the expeditions begin?”

<@230809550297497600>

“Soon, we hope. If this mess back in Kiast can ever be cleaned up.”

“Ah yes I have heard. Did the Vatali really attack Is Brea?” While he kept his face perfectly curious he found it almost hard to ask. He was there, he fought them. Nevertheless, he thought I must maintain his character.

Reiden walked through the corridors of the Aethersong, a pensive expression on his face. He had taken in the ship upon approach, having borrowed the escape craft from his friend’s GX1 Short Hauler. The slicer had been heading to Arx for some supplies so he tagged along and brought Captain Rhade to fly him the short trip to Arx Minor, wanting to use the craft in place of his usual ship for fear of taking up too much space in the hangar.

It was an impressive sight to behold when they arrived, and even more so once inside. The Exarch, as expected and true to his reputation, ran a tight operation. Even though the ship was new and being readied to start service, things seemed in order as far as he could tell. No doubt its crew worked hard to make it so.

“Well good luck with Jon.” Aurelis murmured in a low voice,“ I am absolutely abandoning you to him and touring the vessel.” she said with cheek and wandered off to explore.

Aurelis was walking down the hall when she got just barely close enough to overhear the receptionist, she approached the desk filled with terminals and looked at the receptionist, giving her a moment to realize she was there without rushing her.

“ Both, I’m among the Envoys but today am just visiting.” she said calmly.

“Aurelis, nice to meet you Alina.” she said with a nod,“ You seem to be quite busy here at the desk today. Catching up?”

“ You should take 5 minutes to get a drink and take a breath where its quieter. The galaxy won’t explode, the work will still be here, but 5 minutes alone to breathe? Can change how the day finishes.” she turned around, leaning her butt on the counter, and made a shooing motion,“ Go on, get some water, or tea, stretch your legs.”

“ These can wait 5 minutes. Tell Marick I kicked you out of your chair if you like.”

For those 5 minutes, Aurelis stuck to where she was leaning against her desk, giving Alina the time to calm down since she seemed close to burning out. Why wasn’t someone from administration called up to take over for the other receptionist? The mask of customer service was hard to maintain for so long while multitasking.

Diplomatic Offices

In Clem’s opinion, the offices were too clean. Not the polished brass, someone’s compensating for something kind of clean. No, it was another kind of clean. An efficient clean. Every terminal recessed into the wall, every chair had been bolted down, every corner rounded off. Envoy Corps engineers clearly had a vision of what diplomats did.

Her vision was something else. On the ground. Grimy.

Nonetheless, she commandeered a corner desk in the shared outer office. Not one of the smaller individual offices or private negotiation rooms further inside the complex. She only came to the Aethersong when strictly necessary, anyway. Clem had covered her desk with three separate briefing packets, a datapad propped up against a stack of hardcopy notes she hadn’t yet bothered to digitize, and a chipped ceramic ashtray cradling a smoldering cigarra in a way that sharply contrasted to the clean lines of the office interior.

She’d lit the cigarra twenty minutes ago, then gotten distracted cross-referencing a humanitarian shipment’s supply manifests against demographic reports of the planet she’d next be posted on. Once she realized it was still there, albeit half burnt, she held it gingerly between her fingers as she took a long drag, then exhaled a cloud of smoke tinged with notes of berry.

The walls all looked the same to Zhaolin as he followed the small placards indicating the way to the Med Bay. It was, he thought sullenly, worse than the fighting pit he’d grown up in on Rattatak. The spotless, sterile department was strange to him. So accustomed to grit and the insufferable heat of a midday sun. It was too clean, too cold.

Stopping in the middle of the Med Bay with a mulish grimace, he didn’t quite remember the blood dripping down his arm until it was a already splattering on the floor. Trying to do away with the evidence of his thoughtlessness, the toe of his boot only succeeded in smudging the red droplets.

Pretending not to see the accidental abstract art on the floor, he cleared his throat in an attempt to gain the attention of the medic. It was becoming increasingly hard to ignore the pain from the hole in his shoulder - courtesy of the juvenile acklay that had decided Zhaolin’s left shoulder would make an excellent pin cushion. The smuggler who’d been trying to pawn the thing off on him had naturally made himself scarce the second the beast had started freaking out.

Vaults and Archives

Jay in his cover as Iralg made his way to the vault section of the ship. As he entered the room the lights began to turn on revealing shelf after shelf of artifacts and paper, real paper, files. “That’s not something you see every day,” he said to himself. He went around to find Jenth and see if the envoys have any information on him.

Just as he was getting to the section a droid came up to him… <@189568236201705472>

“Yuvir’al’geav at your service,” he said with a slight bow.

Training Facilities

Within the Aethersong‘s training facilities, specifically within a spacious central room to which all other training locales were attached, Dr. Bril Teg Erinos stood before an eager crowd of civilians and Envoy Corps personnel alike. He was dressed in the tailored attire he typically wore on missions, which featured design motifs and symbols that paid homage to his Jedi and Mandalorian affiliation, but the only thing relevant for this meeting was the broach pinned to the front of his tunic. It designated him as a Golden Envoy, one of the Corps’ leading members and mission assigners.

“Thank you for coming everyone,” he said, speaking with an accented, almost lilting, baritone voice that seized the attention of everyone present. “I’m sure you’re eager to see what we have in store for you today, so I won’t waste your time with preamble. The Envoy Corps’ best and brightest have taken the simulation technology present in the Lunar Training Facility on Arx Minor and combined it with state-of-the-art droid brain technology to give all members of its personnel and allied guests access to a one of a kind training experience.

"By combining the aforementioned technology with the vast digital archives present in the Aurora Collegium of Sciences, Corps engineers have created a new system that is able to generate more powerful and more true to life simulations than ever before, with a functionally unlimited number of potential training scenarios thanks to recent advancements in computational power and its highly customizable nature.”

Bril paused for a moment to let his words resonate in the minds of the spectators, and tapped a button on his beskar vambrace’s display to activate the hidden holoprojectors arranged throughout the spacious, yet completely empty room. Countless motes of light coalesced into the fully colored, three-dimensional image of a droid’s face. It looked far more near-human in nature than most droids did.

It addressed the crowd in a smooth, if a little tinny, voice: “Hello. I am PERIL – the Personalized Environment and Real-time Interactive Lesson simulator. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“Is that some sort of prerequisite to being on the ship?” The idiots back in command told me they added me he thought, “I thought there was an open invitation to take in the sights of this marvelous ship.” Maybe that’s a bit over the top for being in a giant filing cabinet. Might need to tone the character down a little, he thought waiting for the droid’s response.

“I guess I will be going then.” He walked down and away from where anyone could see him and used his ability as a shadow to turn invisible. Well I guess I’ll find a golden envoy to portray.

Envoy Accommodations

Reiden felt no trepidation as he followed the corridor, having previously asked for direction to his destination from a crew member he passed by. Normally when he was in a new space, he was on alert, wary of anything that could happen. But being near Arx and in a ship of the Envoy Corps put all that at ease. It was a safe space. Although he knew he’d be more than able to handle himself if a situation arose, it was nice to know he didn’t have to. He stopped in front of a door and spotted a panel beside it.

Karabast, he swore to himself. He had left his Envoy brooch back on Seraph. But he knew there must be another method of verification. He placed his palm upon the panel then leaned in for the security system to scan his eye. A quiet whir was heard, followed by a chime.

“Recognized: Envoy Karr. Welcome,” a soothing voice stated as the door smoothly slid open with a soft hiss.

Inside, Reiden was greeted with a view of the room at last. There was a small desk and computer terminal on one side with a bed on the opposite wall, and various storage spaces. He stepped across the threshold and noted a door leading to a refresher as well. It would be comfortable to stay, but clearly meant for the short term. Enough to get refreshed, maybe recover, and resume duties once more.

Moving to the terminal, he verified his identity once more and saw he could access the Advanced Inquistorius Network and other Brotherhood databases and resources to which he was authorized. And, of course, the standard fare of Envoy services, many of which he noted were available here on the ship. Anything an Envoy could need in pursuit of or following completion of their duties. Again, as expected from the Exarch.

Tyris has outdone himself this time.

The tendrils of aromatic smoke curled toward recessed vents near the ceiling before it had a chance to linger properly. The whole problem with the place, illustrated perfectly, Clem thought. Still, she had the best location out of all possible workstations. She had chosen the corner desk on her first visit because it put her back to a wall and afforded her an easy view of the door. Those kinds of things mattered to her, and putting herself in such tactically advantageous positions had become second nature to her over a long career in the movement.

The outer office she sat in was a wide bullpen ringed with about a dozen identical desks, most of them occupied by Envoys, their attachés, and functionaries. Clem Fandango recognized none of them—not the Twi'lek murmuring into a commlink two desks down, not the pair of human junior clerks running manifests through a terminal on the far wall, not a one. They might as well have been holoprojections, the sound of their work hushed under the low hum of climate recyclers.

Beyond the bullpen, outside of the frosted glass doors on the other side of a bare corridor, another set of sliding frosted glass doors marked the private negotiation suites. Past those, a long viewport ran the length of the corridor toward the Envoy Guild Hall.

Clem took another drag, longer and deeper this time, before setting herself back to the task of reviewing supply manifests and demographic reports. The content of the relief shipment told one story with its tonnage figures and projected distribution routes. The census records told another, listing many more hungry mouths. That was how warlords and corrupt bureaucrats got fat and the average citizen went without. Surely someone—probably many someones—were skimming from these shipments. She’d seen the pattern play out enough times now that it barely surprised her anymore. Her next tour of duty would present her with many opportunities to use her many, varied skills.

The prospect filled her with delight.

She snubbed the cigarra out, pulled the datapad closer, and began drafting a formal request for an independent audit of the shipment. The paperwork would sit in a queue behind a dozen or more similar requests from other Envoys, but it would build the case for the many requisition requests she’d have to send planetside.

The argument had continued through 3 hyperspace jumps and the entire hour long run into Arx.

On one side, Reece was pissed about Treel luring his gunnery crew and mechanic away with offers that included; paid vacation, higher wages, and fringe benefits, all of which Reece was steadfastly opposed to from a business standpoint. Reece preferred to pay his people higher then average wages and provide the basics for everything else.

“Thats still rude bro. You didn’t even let me know before they gave me their resignations. I thought you Ugnaughts were supposed to be honourable.” Reece beep booped across the central lounge area.

In response Treel marched over and stood right infront of the droid and placed his hands on his waist.

“Do not even go there.” Colonel Treel said sternly.

“Or what, what you gonna do? You wanna throw down? Huh?” Reece postured up on his rear wheels and deployed his prod.

“I’ll shock you into next week pal. I dint need your Ugnaughts anyway, I got a new crack crew of operators.” Reece lowered himself down and tried to descalate when he notified Treels hand move to his holster.

The droid was only mildly deranged and wasn’t going to risk an actual altercation. He was a bit sour about the Ugnaughts jumping ship though.

“Oh yeah, your stanky old Ewok and that banged up pilot droid with the busted arm and dented cranium? That crew?” Treel smirked and turned away.

Right then Karracca roared from his bunk, “Shut up, both of you. Ive been listening to your bickering for 6 and a half hours. We’re about to arrive at a major shindig, and I don’t want you bumpkins embarassing me infront of my collegues and superiors.”

His bunk was in the former auxialuary storage bay that he had installed a proper wookie-sized bed in.

“We will be docking with the Aethersong in approximately 3 minutes.” Fozzy announced over the intercom.

Karracca grunted and rolled out of bed and started to get dressed.

“Who you calling bumpkin? Furbag.” Reece tootled as he rolled past the massive Wookie.

“Feeling better?” Aurelis asked as she resumed her click clacking.

Aurelis gave a quick nod, then motioned to a few people standing around. “ The rodian was here first, then the blonde, What I overheard, the man in the black duster needs directions to the quartermaster, so his will likely be the fastest. Red with his arms crossed has a complaint about his pay, I’d escalate him immediately to someone else. I was about to put him out myself with his annoying foot and sighs. Good luck,” she stepped away from the counter. Apparently having not need ANYTHING at all, and started down the corridor in her exploration.

Nynaeve storms into the medical bay, tugging furiously at her braid. “Who’s in charge around here? I’ll need an inventory list and tour of the medbay facilities, stat, if I’m to be spending any time on this ship.”

“Surely it won’t take you any time at all to patch that up. I’ll start preparing a poultice if you point me in the direction of your supplies.”

Zhaolin’s tight-lipped, obvious desire to be anywhere else relaxed just a touch the moment the interruption came. Having been granted a brief reprieve of the medic’s attention, he focused instead on staring at his own warped reflection in the droid’s chest and listened to the pair’s abrupt discussion. It was better than paying attention to the unsettling smell of bacta.

Aurelis poked her head into the medical office, taking a look around and mentally cataloguing the location for future referance.

“Just getting acquainted with the ships layout, don’t mind me.” Aurelis explained, taking a quick glance around and departing the bay unless she’s stopped for some reason.

Satisfied with his examination, Reiden logged out from the databases and the terminal. He looked at the room once more and nodded. It was functional, comfortable, but not too much so. A good balance. It would be nice to have an additional resource available when doing work in the field.

He turned and exited the room, walking through the hallways once more. He had no plans, but was merely curious to see what else the new vessel had to offer members of the Envoy Corps.

Some ways down the hall Aurelis paused and raised a hand in greeting,“ A familiar face pops out of the ductwork. I’ll admit to a bit of surprise to see you here. A long ways from that club.”

“Aurelis Phaelor,” he replied with a smile. “Always good to see someone familiar.” Her clothing was different, but the voice and hair matched what he remembered. He thought back to the party for Renatus and nodded. “I’m not usually one for big events, but when there’s a new Grand Master and the venue is so different, it felt worth checking out. This new ship is maybe more my speed, having done some work with the Corps already. It’ll be a good addition to the Flitz network.”

“It is quite something, we’ll all be travelling in style and comfort when the Envoys are needed.” Aurelis grinned, holding a hand out for a handshake.“ How are things in your’s and Brujah’s corner of the galaxy?”

He shook her hand, letting out a short laugh. “A bit of trouble with some pirates earlier but things seem fine for the moment. Although I can’t help but think it was merely the start of something. There always seems to be another conflict on the horizon lately. We just have to be ready to meet it. What about you?“

“Things swung in a wild way, I’ve taken on more responsibility than I ever expected I would. Didn’t really think management would suit me, but I’m enjoying it.” she said,“ We’ve started the process of expanding beyond Kiast, a handful of bugs are in the way. But our extermination skills are proving fruitful, one pest at a time.” she reached into the inside of her jacket plucking a small card from it and holding it out for Reiden to take,“ Need an assist with the pirates contact me, I’m pretty good at being sneaky. And a quiet alliance could be beneficial, even if your Warlord friend despises me after finding out who I work for.”

“Ah, I know that feeling well. I’ve taken roles like that a few times over the years. It’s a decent opportunity, but more often than not, I end up missing being on the ground with the others, which I feel may be more suited to my skills. I hated sending people into situations and then not being able to help them if trouble arises, even though I know they can handle it. But I’ve made enough connections on either side so that I can go where I like or call in some favors if needed.”

He took the card and looked at it before slipping it into his pocket. A smile slowly spreading. “Hey, an ally is an ally, as far as I’m concerned. Discounting a skilled person just because of their affiliation means you could miss out on someone that could prove valuable in the future. I don’t seem to have anything on me at the moment, but I can make myself available if you need help as well. Although between the Inquisitorius and Envoy Corps, there’s sure to be a way to get in touch. And there’s always Tisto and Asani. Mihoshi, too.”

“Mihoshi left, think she went to spend time with her family, kinda up and disappeared without a word to me.” Aurelis shrugged,“ Tisto I barely know, but he’s only just arrived a couple weeks ago he is a good option, you could always contact me, and I can save your comm info that way.” she smiled.

“ Could also arrange caf here, being envoys comes in handy for access to neutral grounds. I suppose Jon probably has contacts all over the place, that scoundrel can’t sit still to save his life.”

“Oh, sorry, I meant that they’d know how to get in touch with me. I worked as part of an Envoy team along with Tisto and Asani to capture a bounty a while back. Both were plenty capable in their own right. But you do make a good point,” he replied, laughing. “What do you think of the new ship so far?”

“It’s sleek, efficient, maybe a bit understaffed, but represents the Envoys well with what we do. You were headed to the medical bay to take a look? It’s back where I just came from. I’ve been on a few new ships lately. All of them are very different in functionality. What do you think of it?”

“I figured the rest of the crew was busy so they weren’t out and about, or maybe working behind the scenes. I suppose it could also be a reduced crew for the occasion as well, maybe some automation as well.” He thought for a moment, considering what he had seen so far. “It’s a good ship. It seems to have most things an Envoy or team might need. I don’t know what its specs are yet and I didn’t see much in the way of armament upon approach. They again, with the purpose of the Corps, that could be by design. If it were me, I’d maybe give it some more teeth, so to speak, but it seems like a valuable resource regardless.”

“This seems to be more a mobile HQ than anything else, I’d be more considering a maximum grade shield and a couple escort craft rather than gun batteries.”

“That’s true. I still thought maybe there’d be a little more to it though. I did see some Lambda shuttles and Lancers on the way in, so I guess those could work in a pinch if necessary. Then again, if this ship were to head to war, either something’s probably gone wrong or they’d send in others for support.”

“ If the Envoys get called directly into war, I imagine the enemy will be hurting, regardless of armaments. Simply due to the sheer number of us attached to the organization.”

He laughed, nodding in agreement. “Great point. It doesn’t seem like they’re meant for heading into such large scale battles, but they do have a good amount of extended manpower and firepower. In any case, it should be good to have a place to unwind a bit after a mission, maybe make some connections between other members.”

“ Or at least reunions of acquaintences hoping to make friends.” she grinned at him.

He smiled in return. “Yeah, exactly. The Envoy Corps is great about gathering all kinds of people with different backgrounds and skillsets together to accomplish an objective, so it’s perfect for meeting people and making friends.”

“Well in the interest of that. There’s one envoy in the medbay that I don’t know. And several I do up in the….i guess you’d call it a lounge? Including Merrick.” She offered.“ If you care to get a drink?”

“Hmm. So, your boss has acquired a shortened, fattened variant of a former assualt landing ship of the Venator lineage with 4 big hangar bays chopped into the sides? I notice the ships has had its turbolasers removed too.” Treel said as he stood on the co-pilots seat and leaned on the console and stared out at the half kilometre long ship with Blue and Gold livery.

They were currently on auto-approach to the rear bay on the port side of the ship. Each hangar was easily 6 or 7 decks tall. There was large blast doors leading to storage or repair facilities deeper within the ship visible along the back wall, and several racks and clamp systems hanging down from the ceiling of the bay they were being tractored into.

“Oh, what? Were you looking to steal their gunnery crews too?” Reece bonked sarcastically.

Karracca roared at the droid, “Don’t even.”

Several other vessels, presumably belonging to other ‘invitees’ were already scattered the bay. As Karracca glanced at the chrono on the display, he sighed.

“We’re so late, I hope they haven’t started the presentations yet.” The old wookie grumbled as he turned and headed out of the cockpit and towards the exit ramp.

“Presentations? What’s this about bud? Are we getting some medals for our distinguished conduct, or meritorious promotions?” Reece inquired shifting to a more cheerful tone as he set the ship to ‘standby’ mode and used his rocket boosters to hop out of pilots seat and followed his Co-Captain.

“Not likely.” Treel rolled his eyes at the thought before leaping down from his own perch and following the tempermental astromech.

Zhaolin’s upper lip wrinkled of its own volition. Silver-blue gaze landing on the aforementioned bacta pad he did as instructed. The wound was not fatal but it hurt like hell and was fairly deep. Gingerly applying the pad, its cooling sensation melted over inflamed flesh.

With a hiss, he glanced back to Tamsin, “A shame they don’t make these a painless application…”

He nodded, grinning. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I wouldn’t mind checking that out next, it’s as good a stop as any. And it gives me a chance to see what might be in my future after the next mission I go on.”

He blinked owlishly at her, trying to gauge her tone before his features melted into an amused mask.

“But what about your job security? If there’s not people like me getting wounded, what would you fill your hours on shift with?”

“Some of that reckless behavior is in pursuit of similarly noble goals,” Zhaolin mimicked the motion Tamsin had made, “Many of us are jumping in front of danger that others wouldn’t…though to be fair, in this case, I was simply overly curious.”

His thoughts shifted back to the creature that had assaulted him, the waxy green of its carapace-like body and exceedingly sharp claws. It was not a creature he was accustomed to seeing—especially a juvenile. During his brief and budding time with the Envoy Corps he was already experiencing so much more than he had back on Rattatak.

“What sort of illnesses do you research?”

Nynaeve, having gotten wrapped up in surveying all available medical equipment and familiarizing herself with their locations, gives a curt nod to Tamsyn on her way out.

Having dealt with the most important matters, she decides it’s time she find out where her quarters are in relation to the rest of the ship, and begins to leisurely (for Nynaeve at least) stride through the ship, learning how each section connects to the others, ensuring she notes where the nearest first aid supplies are in each quadrant, and of course, the nearest exits.

One can never be too prepared for a future emergency, as it is never a matter of “if,” only a matter of “when.”

Emergencies have been known to happen before even leaving port, so it’s always best to ensure one has the lay of the land before such trivial jobs as unpacking.

Satisfied with her prep work, she begrudgingly heads back to the quarters a droid had shown her to upon boarding earlier. She begins to pull out her many gowns and dresses styled after the various fashions of everywhere she’s traveled to –with her own tasteful modifications, of course – and looks forward to having her seamstress create more at the end of these journeys.