Moving on (Jaemus)

[Gerrard M. Vinson]

It had been several days since Gerrard had left the Apocalypse for the surface of Vortex to meet with the NR delegate. With the talks completed he was returning to the massive ship that hung motionless in the blackness of the sky.

The talks had finished with mixed results. The Conclave did not come out with control of the planet, but they had been allowed to set up a small facility on a isolated continent of the planet that could act as an embassy and someplace new recruits could come to make their enquiries about joining the Conclave.

As soon as the shuttle landed on the deck of the Apocalypse the rear ramp of the shuttle swung downward and Gerrard was met with the face of one of his subordinates. Stepping down the ramp Gerrard made his way towards the door of the hanger, and from there his personal office. He waited until the Commander had fallen into step to the left and slightly behind him before speaking.

"Any word from Admiral Taman yet?"

"No sir, however the trip is a fairly lengthy one, he would not have arrived until early today." The words the Commander spoke were the truth, but still not what Gerrard wanted to hear.

"Very well. Have the Captain set course to return to the fleet and then join me in my office."

"Aye aye sir."

The Commander broke off to the left at the next cross corridor and headed to the bridge as Gerrard continued towards his office.

The outcome of their excursion to Vortex had been unexpected. However a good leader must be able to adapt, and adapt he would.

[Gerrard M. Vinson]

The doors to his private office slid open for a second before they slid shut again. Gerrard didn't have to look up to see who it was.

"Don't you even knock anymore Clay?" Lt. Commander Clay Burke was one of Gerrards most trusted officers. Someone that would follow him without question even if he knew it would be a risk to his life.

"Not anymore Gerrard." He had also earned the right to call Gerrard by his first name when they were in private. A fact that still caused Gerrard to chuckle when he enforced the right.

"Very well. Sit down and let's get to work."

Standing up Gerrard moved around to a large display screen on the wall of his office and pressed a few buttons.

"As you know Admiral Taman should be arriving in the Boeus Sector any time now. If we use this as our primary point what strategic targets are in, say, the three surrounding sectors?"

Clay leaned back for a moment and thought. The one thing that had endeared him to Gerrard was his incredible ability to retain information once he saw it.

"Well the Closon Sector is fairly barren. Entralla is the only planet with any worth. It's a fairly large trade world for this part of space. The only real tactical target might be some of the pilots that would frequent the planet. Basically nothing."

"Okay how about the Santana Sector?"

"Mainly the same. The Velcar Free Commerce Zone is said to have access to some advanced technologies, but those are only rumors for the most part. And even if they are true, they are old, the odds are that our technology is superior in most ways. Bextar is a target for it's gas mines. The provide a large source of engine gasses." Cray answered.

"And Rifkin?"

"Ah now here is a promising sector. Criton's Point is a desolate world, however there is stories of a large storehouse of Imperial files containing a wide range of knowledge. Criton's Point is only overshadowed by Jaemus. This is probably our most promising target. It is the home to a very large shipyard facility that has been used both by Kaut and Seinar. Not only would it give us build facilities, but also access to the databanks of two of the largest builders in the Galaxy." There was a slight twinkle in Clay's eye that Gerrard noticed. He did enjoy showing off that particular talent didn't he? With a slight chuckle Gerrard reminded himself that the talent usually came in rather useful.

"Sounds like Jaemus is our best shot then. When we arrive with the rest of the fleet I'll be transferring to one of the Nova's. I want you to download schematics for the Dark Nova, Apocalypse, and Razor into a datapad and join me."

"Sir your not..." Gerrard promptly cut him off.

"I'll explain more when we are under way."

"Okay." Clay knew more then to question his superior officer. "I'll make the necessary arrangements for when we arrive."

"Good" Without another word Gerrard returned to his chair and turned to watch the stars streak by, only knowing that Clay had left by the sound of the door open and close.

[Gerrard M. Vinson]

The Apocalypse Class Star Destroyer entered area of empty space currently occupied by the bulk of the former TSE fleet. Even before it had come to a full stop a shuttle slipped from the gapping hole of one of the massive hangers of the giant ship. Slipping through space it headed for one of the distinctive shaped Dark Nova Class Monitors.

The Nova that Gerrard had selected for this mission was special in one way. It was the very first of her class built. As the shuttle came to a rest on the deck of the hanger, the Nova's engines were already firing propelling the ship away from the rest of the fleet. The ship was alone on this mission, but Gerrard did not expect the need for firepower on this mission. No ammunition of a different sort would be used this time, and it rested in the datapad securely stored in the attache case Lt. Commander Clay Burke carried as they departed the shuttle.

[Gerrard M. Vinson]

"So do you want to tell me now why you had me download those schematics?" Clay asked once the pair of officers had arrived at the Admiral's personal quarters.

"Simple Clay. We're going to start doing business with them."

"We're going to do what?"

"You heard me. Okay look at the situation, we need shipyards, we need people and droids to man the shipyards, and we need capital, right?" Gerrard paused and was rewarded with a nod from the man sitting across from him. "So how better to do that then become business partners with the biggest ship building company in the quad? We aren't going to give them full stats right off, before we arrive we'll delete parts of all the stats so that even if they try and copy them they will be incomplete and unusable. We'll use the remaining specs as a teaser, to show them what could be if they deal with us. Once they agree we will have a new and valuable source of income which we will turn around and use to buy shares of the company. In time we will control the company, and from there we will slowly make contacts and influence dealings to such a degree that we will become the leading force on the planet."

Clay couldn't help but let out a laugh. As complex as the plan sounded it was really quite simple. Instead of forcing the people to become their servants much like the Sith had done, they would work their way into positions of power and take over the planet legally.

"Brilliant Gerrard, simply brilliant."

[Gerrard M. Vinson]

It had been several hours since their last discussion. Gerrard had ordered Lt. Commander Burke to remove any information that would be deemed "Classified". The schematics for the three ship designs were complex and Gerrard figured that it would take the Commander the remainder of the trip to complete.

Leaning over Gerrard depressed a button on his desk that opened a channel to the bridge.

"Status?" He asked simply.

"All systems normal and green across the board sir. We should be arriving within 3 hours."

"Very well, alert me when we are 20 minutes out."

"Aye aye sir."

Closing the channel Gerrard decided to lay down on the couch across the room from his desk. He had three hours to burn and he would need all the energy he could get for the upcoming negotiations.

[Gerrard M. Vinson]

Beep... Beep... Beep...

The constant beeping of the internal communications panel slowly brought Gerrard out his sleep. After rubbing his eyes for a moment he finally realized what it was and walked over to the desk where he pressed the button opening the channel.

"Yes what is it?" He asked in a drowsy voice which alerted the crewman on the other end to the fact that he had woken the Admiral.

"Sorry to wake you sir, but you requested to be told when we were twenty minutes from arrival."

It took a moment for Gerrard to take in the information and process it.

"Yes, thank you. Have Commander Burke report to my office."

"Aye aye sir."

The channel closed with a semi audible click, soon followed by a booming voice over the ships public announce system.

"Commander Burke to the Admirals office. Commander Burke please report to Admiral Vinson."