Nerdmas Plots: The Corellian IRA

[Captain Untouchable]

While chatting and scheming over Christmas and New Year, one of the issues we kept hitting upon was the idea that a lot of people in the Alliance aren't going to be happy that the war is over. Corellians, Duros, Chandrilans, Ithorians and others are all still refugees, because their homeworlds are well within Imperial territory. Alderaanians who were part of the Alliance to avenge their homeworld are no doubt feeling that the Alliance has abandoned their cause. Also, the Corellian Resistance was one of the key founders of the Alliance, which is no longer interested in their cause.

We thought it might be interesting if Rebel characters who are feeling disenfranchised decided to band together as an IRA type group: still fighting the Empire with terrorist tactics even if the Alliance isn't willing to. Given that it's already a melting pot of characters and factions, the Corellian Sector seems to us like a pretty good place to do that.

There's already a half-dozen of us with characters to toss into the ring, and the more the merrier. :)

Our thinking is that we need some sort of trigger event: an act of terrorism by the Corellian Resistance big enough to make the galactic news, which can serve as a rallying cry for everyone else. Any ideas? :ohno

Galactic Empire

Corellian Sector

Moff Delgado Xaanan - Moff of the Corellian Sector
Brigadier Rinzai Terius - Commander of the Star Destroyer Avenger
Lieutenant Vessa Ixxent - Pilot / Aide to Moff Xaanan


Law & Order

Corellian Security Forces

Cassus Wain - CorSec Detective
L. Rufus Bailey - CorSec Detective

Imperial Security Bureau

Colonel Ethan Tahmores - ISB Special Investigations
Sergeant Soren Khapst - ISB Special Investigations
Agent Elizabeth Jansen - ISB Special Investigations
Greg & Abby - ISB Special Investigations (Droids)

Freelancers

Talus Longstar - Private Investigator (ex-CorSec)


Corellian Resistance

SpecForce

Colonel Samuel Magnus - Urban Combat Specialist
Shar Drakken - Urban Combat Specialist
Ariana Darin - Urban Combat Specialist
Oran Jsorra - Urban Combat Specialist (Slicer)

Intelligence/SpecOps/etc

Eluna Thals - Phoenix Cell, Alliance Intelligence
Sphyrna Mokkaran - former Alliance SpecOps
Jamo Jakatta - former Rogue Squadron
Iyar Thaleed - former Rogue Squadron


Organized Crime

Corellian Mafia

Vinthern Longstar - leader of the Uhl Turhaya syndicate

Black Sun

Garrick Kane - Manager of The Eldest Brother (Kor Vella)
Yolie Devix - Waitress at The Eldest Brother (Kor Vella); former Padawan

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm wracking my brains for a flashpoint that could start all this off.

In the meanwhile, I'd just like to say that I'm super keen to make the Corellian mafia a part of this.

I know that I'd also like to have Jamo involved with this. He definitely falls into the disenfranchised camp! (Sarah, if you're reading this, I want to drag Iyar along with him :D)

[Eluna Thals]

Count Eluna in for Phoenix Cell, hedging bets as it were.

[Sphyrna Mokarran]

Defiantly: if the Alliance will not take steps towards the liberation of our homeworlds, we must take matters into our own hands. May our actions send shockwaves across the Empire, and leave the Imperials trembling in it's wake.

[Ecidae Mandrill]

And let us hope that when our homes are liberated this time, the politicians do not decide to simply give them back. :grumble

[Captain Untouchable]

I am compiling more lists (as is my typical MO)... if your name is not at the top but you should be listed up there, please make sure you let me know. :uhoh

In terms of the spark that lights this tinderbox, would it make more sense to a) show the build-up to that event happening, or b) start with the boom, and jump straight into people flocking to Corellia?

[Dasquian Belargic]

Start with a boom :D

More names to add:

Talus Longstar, private investigator (ex-CorSec)
Vinthern Longstar, Corellian Mafia, leader of Uhl Turhaya syndicate

I'm considering the merit of putting Reinhart Thul on planet as well, since he has a background with ImpIntel (and the Tur'enne family.)

[Captain Untouchable]

I can see Reinhart being useful as an advisor/liaison type person working with the Moff to help with these terrorist shenanigans. Also, because [REDACTED], having an Inquisitor person around could potentially open doors for someone.

That said... keep him the hell away from Jacob's wife. :shakefist

[Dasquian Belargic]

Stick him up on the roster :D

[Charlotte Tur'enne]

Yes please add Iyar to the roster. Where Jamo goes, so goes pinky <3

Also... I'm thinking Cresh Company or Taskforce or whatever madness we decide to call it should be at least considered an ally of you guys. I know Charlotte wouldn't join up straight out, despite it coming out of her roots with the Rebellion. Learned the lesson the hard way to not get involved with "organized groups" and all, but I definitely know that her schemes and such would probably cross paths with the IRA quite a bit, I would think. :uhoh

Jenny - maybe Dash should be a go-between but sneakily (because like we're letting you guys know what we're doing - HA.) spy on the IRA for us to keep us informed of their plans so that we can not screw each other over or something?

But yes... good on you guys. Eff this damn treaty and all...

Just don't get in my way.

Seriously. :|

[Dasquian Belargic]

^ Blue Sauce approves.

[Ethan Tahmores]

If my cohorts are still interested, I'll be moving Ethan's ISB special investigations team to Corellia to help you catch these wrascally wrebels. :mad

[Elizabeth Jansen]

:eeeFIELDTRIP!

I'll bring the droids! They've been itching for some action lately!

[Greg & Abby]

We are not capable of itching, Miss Jansen. :|

Our chassis are made of a ceramic-metallic composite, and lack the receptors to perceive that kind of sensation.

[Jamo Jakatta]

Catch me if you can, bitches :smokin

[Xel-Naga]

I'm curious what roles Black Sun and the Corellian Mafia are playing in these schenanigans. I have this guy if more Black Sun are needed. Otherwise I have a few Rebel and Imperial types I can throw into the mix if more are needed. Not sure what kind of numbers your looking for. I also have Zereth Lancer, who joined the Rebels right before we did out time jump forward, and has an overly fond attachment to Corellia, so he would be a candidate to tag along for the resistance side.

[Garrick Kane]

As is pretty much the Black Sun on Fans <em>modus operandi</em>, Black Sun has a casino on-planet that is being used as a front for things, which Garrick Kane is the manager of and... sorta the de facto Lieutenant on Corellia for Black Sun. The casino is called <em>The Eldest Brother</em>, and it's located in <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kor_Vella" data-cke-saved-href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kor_Vella">Kor Vella</a>: a pretty touristy destination with lots of convenient through-traffic but without quite the same political importance and CorSec scrutiny as Coronet has.<br><br>One of the things we talked about on the road was setting up a smuggling run between Corellia and Cloud City, and having that be one of the ways that the Corellian Resistance gets their hands on goods. I imagine there'd be a fair bit of arms dealing and illegal acquisitions being done by Black Sun for Resistance coin. I imagine both Black Sun and the Corellian Mafia would also be trying to put pressure on political figures and such, possibly up to and including blackmail and assassinations to ensure that the right corrupt officials end up in the right places.<br><br>I imagine there'd be turf war issues with the mafia as well - our scummy offworlder sort isn't welcome, etc?

[Vansen Tyree]

Prodding this very briefly: at what point in the timeline do we want this to happen? There are two main contenders -

1) Very soon after the Treaty (ie. right now). Everyone who is going to be involved is involved in these threads and no others; and the terrorist incident is a direct reaction to the Treaty itself, rather than having simmered for a period of time. The build-up on Corellia would run in parallel with the build-up of Black Sun / Shadowstar / Imperials / etc on Cloud City.

2) After the Dan Crisis. This will allow Rogue Group pilots to participate in the Dan Crisis (once more for old time's sake); also, the corruption exposed by General Dan's actions and some of the immediate fallout (Blockade, etc) might be a bonus motivator for more people to leave the Alliance fold. We could start posting now, but we would be posting "in the future" from the perspective of the Alliance, so the Senate reacting to our shenanigans might not get written until some time down the road (to avoid timelines getting confusing).

Either works; mostly it affects the Rogues defecting, and any Senators that might want to react.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Soon after the treaty, if only because I actually love the idea of Jamo and Iyar missing that space battle and feeling hardcore feels of guilt over it.

[Jaden Luka]

Guilt? What would they feel guilty about?


...guys? :uhoh

[Captain Untouchable]

I have an idea for something pretty holy-shit dramatic as our opening gambit... but it's something that would have a relatively high death toll.

Long story short, the comics in particular have a lot of instances where a Star Destroyer / escorts / etc will do a fly-by over a city to be all impressive and intimidating to the local population. With what happened with Duro, with the "slightly independent" nature of Corellia, and with the general unrest and fidgetiness of the Empire after the Treaty; having some sort of "show of force", perhaps thinly veiled as a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade style celebration for some Corellian / Imperial holiday or what have you might be seen as a smart move.


http://joeandbrianreviewshit.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Star-Destroyer-above-Naboo.jpg

At the heart of that fly-by would be a Star Destroyer. What happens if there's an explosion, and the Star Destroyer suddenly plummets into the ground, tearing a scar through the city (Coronet?) in it's wake?

That's the sort of thing that can be over and done in a single post from the perspective of one person. But, it's an iconic visual that would have been captured from every angle on news cameras, that will be replayed over and over in every corner of the galaxy. It proves that guerilla / terrorist tactics can actually take down significant military targets (which is attractive to disenfranchised members of the Alliance), but it also extends beyond that: "fuck you, Empire" is a sentiment that extends not just to members of the Rebel Alliance, but to citizens of worlds still inside Imperial territory, and to thugs and mercenaries in the Outer Rim too. The Corellian Resistance wouldn't just be Rebellion 2.0: it's potentially far bigger than that.

It's also the worst kind of terrorism: the kind with innocent casualties. No doubt they brought the Star Destroyer down over a sparsely populated region - perhaps an industrial district known for producing stuff for the Imperials - but there will be deaths. There'll also be riots and chaos in the aftermath that claim lives; maybe on worlds other than just Corellia. When the ex-Alliance people show up, they might not agree with the tactics that the Resistance has used thus far and that gives us friction and conflict within the ranks, rather than being some benevolent and moral united front.

The repercussions for the city are extensive too: the TV show Arrow similarly devastated an area of their city, and it opened up all sorts of possibilities for gangs and political opportunism. Corporations like TaggeCo might be involved in rebuilding, which ties back into Cloud City and links those two settings together even more; there's potential for the Mafia and Black Sun to have puppet corporations exploiting the economic impact; and puppet gangs fighting for control of the devastated area which presumably is filled with awesome loot, exploitable opportunities, and minimal security. The Imperials might try and exploit the chaos to get an Imperial candidate installed as Mayor of Coronet; the Mafia, and/or the Resistance might approach someone else (Jacob Tur'enne, the DA?) to be a non-puppet competitor.

Obviously it seems like a good idea to me, because it's from inside my head (;)), but I think this will give us a lot more opportunities for more than just ex-Rebels, and I think it'd make a pretty interesting contrast to the more "civilized" crime-politics that we're setting up on Cloud City.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Sounds like an excellent catalyst to me!

[Ilias Nytrau]

First: Holy Shit.

Second: That is awesome.

Thirdly: My mind reels with the ripples from this.

Really, Jace. How does having this much awesome in you not make you explode into billions of tiny bits? I love it.

[Tony Maxwell]

TaggeCo isn't the only corporation able to benefit from this little disaster. After a star destroyer falls out of the sky and destroys half the city, and the fallout that follows, people are not going to feel safe in their own homes; what with rioters and terrorists roaming the streets. Have no fear, Maxwell Industries promises the most premier in home security droids. Do you want a droid that's gentle enough to leave the kids with but packs enough firepower to ward even the most determined home invader? Try our Defender line, or maybe the premium Guardian line. Brute force? Try the Growler. Piece of mind cannot be bought off a shelf, but optimal home security devices can be.

Maxwell Industries; protecting your future.

(suck it Tagge!)

[Ceto Rübezahl]

Mr Maxwell...

If you can manage to drag yourself away from the self publicity and adulation for a few moments, perhaps you and I could discuss some potential business opportunities becoming available in the Greater Javin. As a shrewd businessman, I'm sure you'll want to get in on the ground floor of the new Corporate Sector.

;)


Edit:

If no one has any objections to Operation Crash & Smash, I will get cracking on a post. :ohno

[Alluria Tur'enne]

Please don't crush my house. :ohno

[Delgado Xaanan]

Quick sorta consensus check before I go posting stuff - where should I do it?

With any luck this is gonna be a pretty active setting. Is there enough interest thus far for an Imperial Corellia sub-forum, or does the setting need to "earn" one first? If the latter, should we use the Imperial Core (http://theholo.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?409-Imperial-Core) forum to start with, or just post straight into the Star Wars Roleplaying forum? How should we go about making the threads easier to find within that: new post icon(s); prefixing with "Corellia:"; something else?

If (hypothetically) someone is going to have to find and move these posts at a later date, I wanna be a benevolent busybody and make it as easy for them as possible. :angel

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I would say just make a Corellia thread tag and put them in the main RP forum.

[Captain Untouchable]

Jenny - seems to be you that winds up shuffling threads to different forums. Any just-in-case things we could to to hypothetically make your life easier?

Also... just remembered we have the ability to tag threads now. This tag (http://theholo.net/forum/tags.php?tag=dark+banana) has all of the Dark Banana tabletop threads, for example. Would tagging threads as possible make writers' lives easier do you think, or is it more hassle than it's worth if we forget a tag / etc?

[Dasquian Belargic]

^ Tagging threads like this (without traditionally topic tags) is probably the easiest way to go about it, from an admin perspective.

[Delgado Xaanan]

In the immortal words of Rafiki from the Lion King: It starts. (http://theholo.net/forum/showthread.php?55336-We-All-Fall-Down) :ohno


Feel free to jump in with your reactions on Corellia and elsewhere - kind of a "where were you when you heard?" sorta deal, I guess! Get some initial reactions from people, and then we'll work out how we're gonna come together. :)

Also, if you're posting threads for this setting, remember to tag them "Corellia", and they will show up here (http://theholo.net/forum/tags.php?tag=corellia). Might be worth bookmarking that link for ease of finding stuff in future!

[Alluria Tur'enne]

Please don't crush my house. :ohno

WHAT DID I JUST SAY? :shakefist

:ohno Ruined a perfectly good cup of tea...

[Sphyrna Mokarran]

Please don't crush my house. :ohno

WHAT DID I JUST SAY? :shakefist

:ohno Ruined a perfectly good cup of tea...

Back-handedly: Perhaps your house would have been safe if you had not spent your life profiting from Imperial oppression and bigotry.


(can we get some Ithorian emotes added? ...oh wait no they don't have faces, nm)

[Eluna Thals]

So instead of settling for just the touchdown, I've opted for the extra point in assassinating Moff Colson ^_^;

[Emelie Shadowstar]

:shakefist

Really should let others know when you plan something that major...

:| Had something planned to be in the thread that now would seem out of place/mood what with an assassination attempt going on and all.


:uhoh aw well...

[Charley]

I had no idea, sorry. I can delete the post.

[Emelie Shadowstar]

Negatory... we shall figure something out!

[Eluna Thals]

I canned it. No big deal. Its contrary to the theme of the thread even if it does make tactical sense to do it. I'm sure I'll have other chances to kill Moff Colson with a terminator.

[Alexander Tur'enne]

I am all for the Moff being attacked; it's something I wanted to happen at some point anyway (I have an ace in the hole plot-wise), but I'm not convinced this is necessarily the right moment for it?

Long story short, shooting down the Star Destroyer was a big, symbolic act. They dropped a mile-long spaceship onto a section of Coronet that is full of people and infrastructure who prop up the Imperial regime. It explicitly wasn't a direct attack on the Empire itself: they ignored legit military targets in favour of attacking a distinctly civilian one. That's what makes it a terrorist act, rather than a military strike.

Sure, it makes tactical sense to attack the Moff... but at the same time, I'm hesitant in case it detracts from the symbolism. Don't want the Star Destroyer to just seem like it was a glorified "distraction".

[Dasquian Belargic]

Maybe it would be useful for people to put all their cards on the table now, if there's the potential for toes to be stepped on? Just so we know what to avoid doing.

[Charley]

One random aside that made me grin to think about:

With Jamo now on the other side of the line, it really ought to be interesting if he runs across Cirr's path >D

[Iyar Thiled]

...still fraked your mum. :smug:

[Taataani Meorrrei]

We'll soon see exactly how thrilled you are to brag about that >D :yum

[Jamo Jakatta]

As another man named Joker once said... you wanna know how I got these scars?

[Alexander Tur'enne]

Maybe it would be useful for people to put all their cards on the table now, if there's the potential for toes to be stepped on? Just so we know what to avoid doing.

It's not really a cards on the table thing? Sarah and I were planning to post Jacob and Alluria Tur'enne dying in the impact.

It's not some big dramatic fancy plan... but since the point of the open thread was for as many people as possible to post little snippets of their reactions (so, Jamo watching on TV in a bar, Charlotte and Xander hearing about it, politicians mentioning being called into an emergency Senate session, other characters reacting in other ways, etc...), having an assassination attempt in this thread (rather than a separate thread) seemed like it was hijacking the purpose a bit?

If anyone is gonna try and kill me, it's damn well going to be the sole objective of the thread. :mad

[Charlotte Tur'enne]

If anyone is gonna try and kill me, it's damn well going to be the sole objective of the thread. :mad

:colbert If anyone is going to try and kill you, it had damn well better be me.

For...reasons I can't come up with right now but probably involve you making that "no girls allowed" blanket fort in the dining room that one time.

[Alexander Tur'enne]

If anyone is gonna try and kill me, it's damn well going to be the sole objective of the thread. :mad

:colbert If anyone is going to try and kill you, it had damn well better be me.

For...reasons I can't come up with right now but probably involve you making that "no girls allowed" blanket fort in the dining room that one time.

That ONE TIME.

Dining room doesn't even exist any more, they dropped a Star Destroyer on it. :grumble

[Vince]

I still have a Corellian Security Detective who could be told to officially relinquish a case involving the CRA but is too hard boiled, loose cannon, and on-the-edge to actually do so.

[Captain Untouchable]

^ List up in the first post tweaked to reflect Cassus stuffs!

Couple of thoughts / ideas based on discussions I've had on AIM the last couple of days...


Vince asked how long the Star Destroyer would be sitting around for, if the Imperials would swoop in quickly to salvage her extremely quickly to safeguard the wreck from looters, etc. There are a lot of different options on that front, though. Some people might feel that the Empire has "caused enough damage", and that since this is Corellian soil they should be the ones cleaning up (a pretty Corellian attitude). Alternatively, the Imperials might try and drag the salvage operation out for as long as they possibly can, because a big salvage operation gives them an excuse to increase the number of Imperial officers/etc on Corellia. "Why does a salvage operation need a legion of Stormtroopers to protect it?" // "It just does." // etc?



The Corellia Resistance has a lot of followers at the moment, but not much in the way of leaders. We have Colonel Samuel Magnus, who is left over from the pre-Treaty SpecForce contingent (basically Drakken, Darin, and Jsorra's boss). We also initially talked about Phoenix Cell being sent covertly by Alliance Intelligence to "steer" the Resistance in a useful direction, though if Eluna is going to be on Corellia the day of the crash, that may have changed. Do we want/need any politically orientated / activist characters, or is this purely a militant movement? Do the Mafia or Black Sun want to have people influencing the Resistance from the inside, or will they simply poke and prod from the outside with the characters already in place?

[Charley]

Eluna doesn't have to be there day one. She can come in later on. I was just dabbling

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm going to take Reinhart and Dashiel out of the mix, here. Strike em from the list please.

[Captain Untouchable]

Eluna doesn't have to be there day one. She can come in later on. I was just dabbling

Whether she is or isn't is ...not a moot point, but there are pros to both options. I'm sure there's a word for that, but my brain doesn't want to find it today.

If Phoenix Cell has been there from the beginning, that means that Alliance Intelligence "planned" this. Stirring up a full-blown rebellion on Corellia wasn't a happy accident: it was something that happened by design. That isn't something that the Alliance Senate would have signed off on, so that suggests that there are certain someones within the Alliance government who are taking matters into their own hands and doing stuff off the books. Potentially sounds like a Salem Ave / Torrsk Oruo'rel style stunt.

If Phoenix Cell doesn't show up until after the Star Destroyer hits, that makes their presence reactionary. One could argue that Phoenix Cell isn't just there to incite rebellion: they're there to steer rebellion so that there aren't any more large acts of showy terrorism. While the Alliance can't officially go on record saying that they sent Phoenix Cell; while they have to publicly condemn the attack; reactive Phoenix Cell deployment is a little more morally okay, and might be something that was decided during a super-secret off the books meeting of the Ministers or the "War Council" or whatever... a little less cloak and dagger, a little more politics.

Either has oodles of potential, and they're both equally valid/viable from a story perspective, IMO.

[Callum Orden]

:| Add this gentlemen to the list of members of the resistance...

Under what I do not know. Local resistance? Citizen Liaison? Native angry Corellian?

I have some family to avenge...

[Kal Olorin]

Hey, I was going to mention something about the Eldest Brother having sustained some damage from earthquakes, is that kosher? I figure there would be some seismic events due to a SSD knifing into the planet even though Kor Vella isn't incredibly close to Coronet. Since Kal is big man in charge of casinos he'll be stopping by or something. Maybe. If that's ok.

(hopefully)

[Garrick Kane]

Good question! I hadn't thought about the environmental ramifications.

Just to clarify though: it was "only" an Imperial Star Destroyer rather than an SSD; only a mile long, as opposed to ten. :uhoh

I tried working out a physics answer to that question, but unfortunately no one has dropped a mile-long triangle of metal from a few hundred feet onto a populated area (as far as I'm aware), so finding a good science parallel is pretty tricky. I did however remember about this article (https://what-if.xkcd.com/57/) about dropping a mountain from various heights. The mountain in their example is considerably bigger and more dense than a Star Destroyer; but it's not beyond the realms of possibility that there might be some magnitude three-ish earthquakes as a result... enough for you to notice that it is an earthquake, but not enough to make houses fall down or anything like that.

However, looking at a map (http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110125194650/swg/images/8/8c/Corellia-lesser-POIs.jpg) of Corellia from Star Wars Galaxies, there's arguably some sort of tectonic fault line responsible for those mountains around Kor Vella; it's possible that the impact set off some bonus rumbling over there. If it did, it's likely that because Kor Vella is built on top of (http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130926035561/starwars/images/8/8d/KorVella.jpg) hills/mountains Rohan style, most of the damage would be because of avalanches / subsidence type issues: cracks in roads, bridges, and duracrete walls because of the ground underneath them shifting, as opposed to buildings actually being shaken down by the quake.

As an extra bit of trivia, a shockwave at Coronet (on the coast) would probably have translated out into the bay. It might not have travelled long enough to grow to tidal wave proportions, but Tyrena and Vrent Island probably had some high waves that'd cause a fair bit of water damage. We're not in ecological disaster territory, but it's going to have inconvenienced a whole bunch of people in other places, not just the capital itself.

So short answer... yeah, quake damage at the Eldest Brother seems plausible, I think? :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Ok! Yeah I messed up my initials I knew it was an ISD not an SSD >_< And Kor Vella isn't on the other side of the planet, but still not right next door.

I also went vague on my details in the post I made, so the damage can be more or less or none at all. :)

[Taataani Meorrrei]

I feel dumb, but Eldest Brother?

[Sasseeri Reeouurra]

It's a casino owned by Sasseeri/Black Sun.

Really, if you're going to work for us you should at least know the names of all our casinos. ;)

edit:you can name the new one! Just add it to the wiki.

[Zereth Lancer]

I did a Thread (http://swfansdev.xen.prgmr.com/forum/showthread.php?55375-A-Shadow-Falls-Over-Coronet) for the Imperials on Corellia. I figure Xaanan and others that could spark the start of the Empire side of the conflict. Investigations and whatnot. I hope I'm not stepping on any toes.