Jovan Station

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

So after gorging myself on DS9 and Babylon 5, I have been sufficiently inspired to revisit an idea I've been wanting to kick off for a while. A bit of research led me to Jovan Station (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jovan_Station), a station in the Gordian reach that I feel is perfect for this.


http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/2014-01-26_00001.jpg (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/silancy/media/2014-01-26_00001.jpg.html)

Jovan would be a joint endeavor between the Cizerack and Alliance, and would play host to trade, commerce, and ambassadorial shenanigans.

The bare-bones backstory for Jovan is that the Rebels infiltrated and eventually captured Jovan, taking it over briefly from the Imperials before abandoning the station more or less themselves. Many years later and with help from the Cizerack, they have come back to the derelict station, having a time of ousting the various squatters that took up residence in their absence. Whether the squatters were completely removed is up in the air, as it is a large station, and there would undoubtedly be cracks and nooks and crannies that were missed, but on the majority of the station, the Alliance and Cizerack have been able to work together to bring it back to full operational status, and have turned it into a sort of common and neutral ground for people to meet.

Loosely following the B5 formula, there would be five main ambassadors:

Hapans
Bothans
Mon Cal
Cizerack
Imperial

Wait what, Imperial? Oh yes, you saw that correctly. Having an Imperial ambassador would fall in line with the Alliance and Empire's treaty, and the Alliance would (cautiously, of course), allow an ambassador from the Empire to have residence aboard Jovan. This will allow for many tensions and underlying conflicts. Having the Cizerack there will already lead to interesting encounters, but Imperial involvement will really put some sparks into things.

The Jedi would also be involved, though whether it is in the form of an ambassador or possibly even councilors and/or aides, I'm open to whichever.

There will be a lot on the station, from bars and shops to restaurants and gardens. Maybe even a small in-station monestary/chapel for Calanic Monks, seeing as how close the station would be to the Cluster.

As far as command structure, we're going to naturally need a commander, first officer, security chief, doctor, etc. I'm hoping to keep planning stuffs for this at a minimum, so that we can essentially build it as we write it, and allow it to evolve on its' own. If you have any characters you want involved, or even make new characters, go ahead and post them up.

[Kale]

This sounds really cool, and some Babylon 5-style sociopolitical shenanigans could be a really neat way of exploring this cold war scenario we've got running. It would also be an opportunity for military characters of different stripes to rub shoulders (and engage in fistfights).

So, one of the first questions that occurred to me was how this is going to differ from the Senate, where most of these races are already involved in joint government. I think the difference has to be the inclusion of the Imperials. The purpose of Babylon 5 was to bring together several fractious alien governments to prevent anything as horrible and tragic as the Minbari War from happening again. Perhaps the stated purpose of this station is to bring together Imperial and Alliance powers to stave off the looming threat of a Starkiller apocalypse.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Could even have T'yeellaa be commanded (at her mother's insistence) to assume the role of administrator. She'd absolutely hate it, and that would be wonderful.

[Kes Akiena]

A Kes and T'yeellaa team-up would be beyond interesting, I must say.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

yeah I think I'd rather have Kes running the show. It would make the situation more tense, and infinitely more fun that way. Poor T'yeellaa gives up her ship, and in return she's asked to serve on some dumpy backwater station, but not only that, she's serving under a human male. Insult to injury and so forth.

[Kes Akiena]

So, one of the first questions that occurred to me was how this is going to differ from the Senate, where most of these races are already involved in joint government. I think the difference has to be the inclusion of the Imperials. The purpose of Babylon 5 was to bring together several fractious alien governments to prevent anything as horrible and tragic as the Minbari War from happening again. Perhaps the stated purpose of this station is to bring together Imperial and Alliance powers to stave off the looming threat of a Starkiller apocalypse.

I like this. It allows for a bit more leeway I think, in respect to the tensions that the treaty may/will cause, and is a fabulous stage for presenting a microcosm of the senate in a way that is faster paced and in some places more engaging, I feel.

[Captain Untouchable]

I originally had plans for Jovan Station, as part of Kelvin Stark being the Senator for that pocket of the Gordian Reach. The idea I floated past you guys was that Stark was the former Stormtrooper Legion commander for that area, and sorta rose to prominence in politics after all of the other Imperial leaders all mysteriously disappeared during a coup type situation. He was going to retain the loyalty of some of the former Imperial forces from the Gordian Reach, as part of the whole "our military is not very well integrated" idea, and Charley was pencilled in to be the commander of those forces, with Jovan as a sort of hub for that.

No one else was particularly interested at the time though, so I guess if this is a use that has more people enthused, have at it. Needs of the many and what-not. :)

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

I didn't recall Jovan station being the hub for that, but this works pretty nicely for getting Kelvin Stark at being a huge part of this story. Would you still be down for that, because I'd like to explore that complicated story.

[Captain Untouchable]

I don't know that the stuff I wanted to do necessarily fit, honestly.

I had lots of ideas (all those hand-written notes from Nerd) that I was interested in, but it relied on the premise that the Gordian Reach was some backwater that no one (the Alliance included) had any interest in. Stark was able to get away with his shenanigans because he didn't have ambassadors and such looking over his shoulder, and so he could go around wheeling and dealing and consolidating the various little worlds and little species in that area where no one else was wanting to do anything. It was kinda the Senator version of a vegetable patch: something for me to potter around and do do my health's downward spiral wouldn't adversely impact anyone. I'm not sure that Stark even works though, in an area with so much attention and political scrutiny: I don't know that he can "get away with" what I was hoping he'd be able to get away with.

If people are enthused about the idea of using Jorvan Station as Babylon 5 or Deep Space 9, I am more than happy to step out of the way. It's a much more dynamic location for things like the Novgorod, Christin's Selonian Admiral, and the whole joint operations thing. It makes much more sense to consolidate the multiracial stuff under that umbrella, so that we can get the maximum number of culture clashes going on.

I'm not trying to throw some I called dibs tantrum, so apologies if it seems that way: just sorta clearing my throat so I don't get sat on by people who didn't realise I was there, sorta thing. ^_^;

[Charley]

Well either way, the reach and the cluster are adjacent so it represents a good nexus for multiple interests to be expressed. I've liked the idea of stark since you came up with it, and would like to see him begin to play in the galactic community. His style of politics is a little more corrupt and I think there would be room for that sort of thing if you get to the point of making him a player. I already had ideas about how Taataani might react around him and such

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Sounds like a very cool idea. :) I'd like to use Bette as part of the imperial side of things if that works? If Tannis is going...

[Kale]

This is thinking outside the box a bit, and may require retooling of the concept, or at least the locale... but what if part of the station's charter stated that the Empire and Alliance were jointly responsible for its security? That would mean we would always have Imperial and Alliance ships in the sky, and we might even have Shadows and Rogues flying on the same patrols.

Of course, Tannis and Bette could be involved in a completely different capacity as well. Probably not as diplomats, but as military advisors or part of the Imp delegation's security detail?

If Imps and Rebs are cooperating for defense, though, what are they defending against? Pirates? Splinters of the Ssi'ruuk invasion force? :ohno

[Captain Untouchable]

This is thinking outside the box a bit, and may require retooling of the concept, or at least the locale... but what if part of the station's charter stated that the Empire and Alliance were jointly responsible for its security? That would mean we would always have Imperial and Alliance ships in the sky, and we might even have Shadows and Rogues flying on the same patrols.

Of course, Tannis and Bette could be involved in a completely different capacity as well. Probably not as diplomats, but as military advisors or part of the Imp delegation's security detail?

If Imps and Rebs are cooperating for defense, though, what are they defending against? Pirates? Splinters of the Ssi'ruuk invasion force? :ohno

If you wanted to do a joint defence sort of situation, it might make sense to use a venue that is in neutral space (rather than the Gordian Reach, which represents a pretty large chunk of Alliance territory).

In the Prisoners of War (http://theholo.net/forum/showthread.php?55326-Prisoners-of-War) thread (which was supposed to be the prisoner exchange of Ceto Rübezahl and Dasquian Belargic), we talked about the Ktil Armistice Station. The Ktilac Regions (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ktilac_Regions) are a tiny little sector of independent space. On our map (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd259/o6untouchable/Fans/Galaxy%20Map/Preview6_zps207dd359.jpg~original) they're ever so slightly into Imperial space, but it's a stone's throw from Hapes.

In Fans canon, the Armistice Station is the location where the Treaty was negotiated. The idea was that it was initially being used as a neutral site for prisoner exchanges, but that could eventually blossom into a transit point for trade between the Alliance and the Empire. Something that is neither Imperial nor Alliance would be a good justification for why both sides had an equal amount of forces there, which sets up your joint missions. The Ktilac Regions themselves are ruled by a confederacy of three fairly obscure races that could have a similar role to the Bajorans. Looking at where Ktil sits on the map as well, you're relatively close to Zeltros, Mandalore, Kuat, Manaan, Kashyyyk, Corellia, and all manner of important places that are politically important. It's a crossroads for the entire galaxy, not just one self-contained within the Alliance.

If the Imperials are going to be the important aspect in making things feel Babylon 5-ish like Andrew suggests, Ktil might be a better venue in terms of providing them with easy access, while at the same time being within easy striking distance for the entire Hapan Royal Navy to descend upon their heads if they try anything.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The ssi-ruuk were actually in the Gordian Reach, if memory serves.

[Kale]

I know very little about Star Wars geography, and my only net access this week is through my phone, so I'm not in the best position to research. I'm content to let people who know make those decisions. :)

Any other thoughts on joint defense and/or a neutral location like the Ktilac Regions?

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The Gordian is the locale of the Vanguards saga, aye. And while it's in Alliance territory, it's certainly not deeply so, and moving the station closer to the cluster makes it even closer to the border since Carshoulis kinda sits on a salient that points into Imperial space.

I think the gist was to have it in an area with a good amount of Cizerack influence to highlight the sometimes-contentious relationship they have with the Alliance - sort of how things with the Bajorans and the Federation often were spiky when their interests were at odds, even in the face of larger threats.

While the Ktil might be a more pure neutral choice, I don't think we necessarily have to have the tables so evenly balanced in every respect. Maybe this gives the Imperials the just rationale to not take the peace overture seriously at first, and maybe it takes some serious shows of sincerity in order to keep them at the table at all.

[Kale]

That makes sense, and certainly it'll be a lot more fun to have the Cizerack in that role than a minor EU race no one's ever heard of.

Thanks for the suggestions, Jace! I continue to be amazed at the command you have over the details of our own canon and of the EU!

[Captain Untouchable]

It's something I'd researched extensively for the stuff I had lined up, so in this instance it's only the illusion of omniscient lore knowledge. :uhoh

[Captain Untouchable]

Did anything ever come of this?

I want to start doing things with my Senator from the Gordian Reach, but I don't want to step on any toes. :)

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

We started it here (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?55617-Crossroad), and I'm just waiting for Charley to do a back and forth between Taataani and T'yeellaa atm. Then we're going to skip ahead about a week to where personnel is coming aboard.

[Captain Untouchable]

What version of things was decided on in the end?

Trying to work out if I can still do things with my Senator character, or if I need to toss them out / relocate / something. Plus... if there's any scope to get involved. It's a shame this is going on at the opposite end of the galaxy to Task Force 42... in hindsight, the two ideas probably would have nested together quite well. ^_^;

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

To my knowledge, we went with moving it a little closer to the Cluster, so that we can have Imperials, Cizerack, and Alliance folks engaging in their own little sordid deals and happenings.

I think Kale mentioned having the ssi ruuk as left over splinters that can provide some occasional clashes; kind of in the same vein as the Shadows.

[Captain Untouchable]

Taking the existing Jovan station, and moving that closer to the Cluster (like moving Deep Space Nine closer to the wormhole)? Or having an alternate made-up venue that is closer to the Cluster?

[Taataani Meorrrei]

We physically moved the station adjacent to pride space, so it's kind of the way station between the pride and the gordian reach / larger alliance

[Captain Untouchable]

Ah, okay. Is it in a specific system, or just hanging out in interstellar space?

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Regular open space I believe. Unless we want it orbiting Calan or something contentious

[Captain Untouchable]

Would it be possible to arrange some sort of prequel thread, where the Alliance tries to get my Senator to sign off on this?

The idea behind Kelvin Stark is that he was a General in the Gordian Reach who overthrew his superiors, and secured control of the Stormtrooper Legion that he'd commanded, as well as a not insignificant portion of the Sector Fleet (that's where your Lucius Vorinus guy slotted in, Charley). He was basically a warlord in the making, but threw in his lot with the Alliance. They gained the services of his ships and soldiers, he gained political status as a Senator, and everyone was supposed to be wary of him because he's a wolf among the sheep who is claiming to be vegetarian, and no one quite believes it.

Having the Jovan Station "taken" from him - from the system next door to where he's been made Senator (Torque) no less - kicks that in the balls somewhat. If he allowed this to happen, there must have been a pretty compelling reason or compensation for it; if it was against his will then that pretty drastically erodes his power base, shows that the Alliance doesn't really fear/respect him after all, and the whole character concept collapses in on itself. The Senator graciously allowing the Alliance military to make use of "his" space station is one thing; "letting" them move it several lightyears outside of his Sector, sight, and reach is something else entirely, and I don't think I can make the character work if he doesn't have a damned good reason to have gone along with it.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

That seems reasonable. I figure Taataani would have flexed influence to make this happen on many fronts

[Captain Untouchable]

On further reflection, I think I'm going to do a stealth retcon and shuffle Kelvin Stark down to the Elrood Sector: just makes more sense in the grand scheme of things. :)

I'd still like to get involved with this though... just not quite sure who as. I have a Hapan Commodore that might work: he's a male Hapan too, which could make an interesting dynamic... the Hapans showing their lack of respect for this whole joint venture thing by sending a lowly man to represent them. Wouldn't mind doing something with my Captain Sisko either... depending what side of the Dan crisis this is on, he might be in the doghouse a little, stuck doing boring patrol missions and convoy duty in a loan ship, type deal?

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I like the notion of your Sisko ending up on Jovan; perhaps he went out there with Kes, since Kes was also a player in the Dan crisis :)

[Captain Untouchable]

Possibly, though (depending if the events we planned out ages ago still apply), he was on the "I came with Dan" side of the equation. He's not evil or bloodthirsty: it just all made sense at the time, "from a certain point of view", and now he's been forced to look at it from a different point of view... things are looking a mite different. That might make the relationship with Kes a little strained. If they went out together, odds are it was more to do with Soto being relegated to taxi duty than any deliberate choice in the matter - could well be the guy ferrying Kes around and what-not?

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

ooo, I like that angle. Allows for a lot of tension and character growth!

If you're keen on it, I'm definitely up for some Soto/Kes interactions :)

[Soto Terius]

Awesome. Give me a shout if/when you want me to jump into thread stuffs. :)


Charley - are you still planning on having the Novgorod down Bothawui way, doing missions for Admiral Tyree, or are you planning to shuffle things so that she's up at this neck of the woods? If the latter, we might be able to repurpose some of my Gordian Reach ideas into Novgorod missions, maybe.

[Charley]

Haven't really nailed anything down in terms of a home port so I'm pretty cool with either option. They both make a fair amount of sense and both give good RP opportunities.

[Adonis Inirial]

Hit me up on AIM when you get the chance, and I'll run the Gordian Reach stuff by you; see if it piques your interest.


Given that Soto is likely to be a fairly transient sort of character (out on patrol, not part of the station's hierarchy, etc), I was rummaging through my other characters, and I remembered this guy. He's an Intelligence Officer, but with the Alliance Fleet instead of Alliance Intelligence: fleet movements, strategic analysis, that sort of thing. Jovan Station is a pretty strong strategic point quite close to the Imperial border, and if we're going to have Imperial officers on the station as well, it's a potential goldmine of gleaned intelligence that is perhaps too enticing to ignore entirely. I was wondering if perhaps Adonis might make an interesting character to have in the mix: sort of the resident spook who no one quite trusts or is quite sure of, who can offer "insights" on things when the situation gets a little tricky, and so forth.

[Kes Akiena]

We could definitely use some proprietors :) If anyone has a merchant type character or their own version of Wuark or Garek etc, feel free to jump into the Renovations thread :)

[Brask]

Depending upon how things go with the errand Brask is runnining he might be looking for somewhere to setup as a tailor or similar while he waits for the heat to die down. I am pretty sure no one could match Mr Garak ("You'd shoot someone in the back?" "It IS the safest way.") but Mr Brask could give it a go.

[Kes Akiena]

Sounds good to me. Looking forward to a new suit ;)

[Tiberius Anar]

Do you have an Imperial representative sorted? If you have, I'm sure Chancellor Anar will be in touch. If not, I'd be happy to contribute a civilian representative myself.

[Kes Akiena]

None as of yet. The position is certainly open if you'd like it!

[Tiberius Anar]

Well now there's a thing. Would the representative just happen to be aboard one of those ISDs currently being bombarded with soap opera nonsense?

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Reality TV nonsense, lol, though I suppose there's not that much difference, lol.

And sure! I think that can be arranged :D

[Rolth Wygraant]

(Charley here)

We can certainly have that be a part of the encounter. I was just playing Ducat to Christin's Sisko but adding another wrinkle is certainly within the canvas.

[Tiberius Anar]

Having given it some further thought, I think I'd like to introduce the rep in a separate story. Perhaps with Wygraant along for the ride.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Whatever works easiest for you :)

[Tiberius Anar]

Quick question. Were arrangements surrounding Jovan Station a specific part of the peace treaty or did the peace treaty simply set the principle of diplomatic relations being established between the two powers? I am trying to workout the context for Anar sending someone to Jovan. Developments in Rennovations might answer this in due course but it is pretty crucial tothe relevant Anar thread I want to start this week.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I don't know if such arrangements were made in the treaty (it's possible that they were buried somewhere in small print). Best I could make out was that it was moved to a place that was more favorable for the Pride, and still allowed the Pride, Empire, and Alliance to have a place to meet without too much trouble.