[P15 - Kalarba - PK] Distrust

The Provisional Council was established in the first month after the Protectorate of Kalarba was formed. Really, it had existed since the Protectorate’s inception, but the bureaucracy required to form a governing body meant the council wasn’t official until much later. Today the council was holding a quarterly meeting, and thus all members were required to attend in person. All the better for Moff Leon Erask, who had spent the better part of a week wondering if he should disband the council entirely, or simply scold them for a few hours.

Leon Erask: “We’ll start with the good news, overall recruitment is up nearly sixteen percent from last quarter. With the new policies in the works we expect it to continue to rise.”

Ace Ramsey: “The army has seen only a moderate increase, so where are all these recruits going?”

Erask: “The navy primarily, with a fair number joining the Stormtrooper Corps as well.”

Mera Cronus: “We can’t train Stormtroopers; that’s against the Concordance!”

Null: “Of course we can, the New Republic has no authority here.”

Erask: “We’re not Concordance signatories, so that’s not what’s stopping us. We lack the proper facilities for that type of advanced training, and we cannot afford the costs of a new academy.”

Ramsey: “Maybe if we weren’t spending so much on those refugees; it’s not exactly cheap to build whole towns for them.”

Cronus: “The camps are all well beyond their designed capacity, and they were only meant to have a lifespan of six months. It’s been fourteen since the first ones opened and conditions are deteriorating; they need something more permanent”

Ramsey: “Still, taxpayer money would be better spent on the security of this sector. We have no obligation to help those people.”

Erask: “They’re Imperial, that’s reason enough. Besides which, no taxes are going towards this project.” 

Null: “I’m afraid I don’t understand, where is the money coming from?”

Erask: “My personal funds, plus a handful of other donors.”

Ramsey: “Oh. Very well then.”

Erask: “Anyway General, we’ve been seeing a lot of these refugees enlist in the planetary defense forces; maybe you should be recruiting from the camps.”

Ramsey: “I’ll talk to Major Alcyon about it.”

Erask: “Now for the bad news, can anyone explain to me where our fleet has gone?”

Matthaios Otten: “Training maneuvers, sir, in deep space.”

Erask: “A convenient answer, especially given that’s what you said about the Tangrene incident, or did you all think I wasn’t aware of that little expedition.”

Cronus: “Expedition, sir?”

Erask: “Two special forces squads, five stormtrooper platoons scrubbed of Protectorate markings, three transports, and help from Dalek Krennel’s forces; ISB gave me a full report. They’re certainly missing something though, traveling across the galaxy to fight someone else’s war can’t possibly have been any of your ideas, even if Null has been advocating for this sort of thing.”

Otten: “It was Gilad Pellaeon, he asked me for a favor and offered to help plan the mission. His forces were more heavily involved than ours.”

Erask: “That only raises more questions, but we’ll move on for now. What is our fleet really doing?”

Otten: “They were on the way to Jedha to assist in eliminating the Red Moons, but I had them withdraw– it’s complicated, sir.”

Erask: “The same Red Moons that attacked our shipping?”

Null: “The very same.”

Erask: “Our convoy over Eriadu, what exactly was it carrying?”

Cronus: “Rydonium, sir– for a mining project!”

Erask: “Will the galaxy believe that? More importantly, will our people believe that? We hardly need the extra fuel, and the only other thing it’s been used for…”

Cronus: “It really is just a mining project.”

Erask: “I’m not the one who needs convincing. We can deal with–”

At that moment an intelligence officer, short of breath, ran into the room.

“Admiral, Moff! We have a problem!” he said frantically. “A fleet just arrived over Bannistar! Mostly destroyers, one cruiser.”