"VA-221, report to Lieutenant Alez at once.  VA-221, report to Lieutenant Alez at once."  Kera was surprised to hear her serial number called over the public address system, let alone directing her to the garrison commander.  Even Muray and Tollin glanced at her curiously.

     "What the heck did YOU do?" Tollin asked sarcastically, giving Muray an elbow nudge.  They both chuckled at her under their expressionless helmets.

     She didn't understand.  She hadn't so much as scuffed the floor since she reported for duty three months ago.  All their garrison did was guard the ocean-borne oil refinery and the landing pad.  She hadn't even been underwater to see any the fifteen pumps that fed into the facility.  She was almost finished with her submersible training, but no one was in a rush to give up the choice duty of underwater patrol.

     This part of Toprawa's largest ocean was mostly storms and heavy winds, but under the water it was an incandescent paradise of flora and fauna.  Or so she'd been told.

     "Go on then.  I think the two of us can keep these cargo tugs safe without you," Muray insisted.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:25, Thu 22 Dec 2016.

"I have no clue," she said, her harsh accent betraying her Mandalorian upbringing.

"Wish me luck, then," she nodded at both Muray and Tollin before she jogged to the garrison commander's office. The two were good enough guys, though Muray's tongue had gotten him in trouble every now and then. Tollin, she quickly learned, was not one to gamble against. He had the gambler's luck, something she found out when she'd lost a pile of credits while playing sabaac.

But she was very curious and quite nervous about being called to the Liutenant's office. Generally, it was never good news when a trooper was called out individually.

As soon as she made her way to the Lieutenant's office, she stood to the side and at attention. In this not-so-plum assignment, the Lieutenant didn't even have an attache to which she had to go through.

"VA-221, reporting, sir."

     Lieutenant Alez was standing on the far side of his office looking out the large window that showed the refinery's landing platform.  His hands cupped behind his back, he turned when she reported and regarded her.  She had heard he used to be an AT-AT pilot, but his officer career had been stalled due to some kind of family intervention.



     Without a word, he stepped to his desk and pressed a button, the door hissing closed behind her.

     "Helmet off, trooper," he ordered, moving in front of his desk.  "Your records show you scored very high in intelligence analysis and investigation.  Have you ever given any thought to entering the officer corps?  It would be a shame to waste such skills as a SeaTrooper."

     Clearly he knew about her training in underwater operations.

Wordlessly, Kera immediately took off her helmet and placed it under her left arm. She still stood at attention, though, as she wasn't to be at ease. It was one of the first things she learned in camp- don't be at ease unless given leave to. Some Imperial Officers and Officials liked their troopers to be at attention at all time.

Upon being asked about her career plans, Kera paused. She didn't know the Lieutenant and wasn't sure what the best answer was. The truth was that she believed, as did many of her people, that a person shouldn't be in command until after that person experienced battle as a soldier. To know the day to day realities on the ground before trying to lead from a distance.

" I hadn't thought of it much before, sir. I shall think about it from now on, sir."

Then, question answered, Kera remained at attention, silent.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:52, Fri 23 Dec 2016.

     Alez regarded her face a moment and then pursed his lips.

     "I'll get right to the point, trooper.  I am in need of an assistant for a ... Negotiation in orbit.  Your skills might prove useful, and I'm sure you'll find it more interesting than standing patrol.  Change into your dress uniform and meet me on the landing platform in an hour," he said, waving dismissively.

[Private to Kera Skirata: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pini...0826bb65019f101d.jpg
but no rank pips.]

Kera saluted once more and left to go to her assigned bunk and to change out of her armor and into her dress uniform. She didn't like the fact that she had to be with ut of her armor, though. It made her feel exposed, more vulnerable to attack.

Though, it made shooting a lot easier.  Actually, it made a lot of things easier- the armor made actual firefights more difficult in many ways.

Still, it was better than no armor at all.

After Kera changed into her dress uniform, she double ckecked to see if everything was in order. As she was probably expected to also be security, she also wore her blaster holster and blaster.

She had some time, so she skimmed the HoloNet to see if there was anything that would need "negotiations". And if they were the type of negotiations she was expected to use her blaster.

     Kera searched for any details about negotiations in orbit around Toprawa, but found nothing.  The whole Seswenna sector had all been officially annexed into the Galactic Empire after the fall of the corrupt Old Republic.  The Empire quickly tapped into Toprawa's vast oil deposits for fuel and plastic refinement.  There were no indigenous sentient, and the non-Imperial population was made up of the descendants of the original colonists.  By all respects, they had been subjugated by the Empire, and mostly provided recreation for off-duty Imperials.

     There were several orbital platforms that were used as collection and transferal points for both crude and refined oil.  The largest one, Toprawa Control, was also the headquarters for Moff Ravenscroft, who controlled the entire sector.  Reports put the Moff currently on Eriadu, the former seat of the sector governorship.

Ah. Then, perhaps bringing the blaster would not be a good idea. Kera unholstered her blaster and stored it safely and changed her belt. Moffs were not people you wanted to get on the bad side of.

With that done, she made her way to the landing platform.