Talon Karrde strode through the halls of the Imperial Fleet Command building, ignoring the stares that followed him and his motley crew. All around him, stiff-backed military men in stiff, unyielding formal military uniforms glared at the small procession. Far from having their intentions of making him feel uncomfortable, if anything the spit-polished boots began to carry even more of a swagger, and Karrde made a subtle hand motion that made his burnished velvet cape flare out dramatically behind himself.
It wasn’t, Karrde mused ruefully, just the fact that despite wearing formal attire, he looked woefully underdressed compared to the military beatniks…. . No. It was probably more the fact that many of these officers had been assigned to hunt him down during the Wars. His rueful smirk widened. Many had tried to hunt his Smuggler’s Alliance down. But all had failed.
Now the war was over, and an Imperium fully established. The centimated population of the planet Earth, renamed “Terra” in lieu of the Imperium’s intentions of post-solar colonization, had been in desperate need of cargo ships. Nearly all of the civilian liners and freighters had been destroyed in the fighting. And Karrde’s offer of going legitimate with his fleet of freighters in exchange for absolute, unconditional pardons for himself and all of his men was greeted by the populace with wild adulation. His proposal had been accepted.
Although the reactions from the men in charge ranged from ecstatic to downright fury. They didn’t appreciate having the man who had flagrantly flaunted them at every turn, and done everything short of open fire in direct violation of their laws, suddenly go from the number one most wanted human in existence to a terrestrial folk hero. No, his victory grated on them.
Karrde’s face tightened grimly. And what he was about to force through would grate on them further. It had taken five long years of subtle backchannel maneuvering, information gathering, and outright blackmail to make it to this point.
The Marine guard standing formally in front of the doors nodded gravely to him, and reached for the doors to open them slowly, stately. Karrde brushed past them and threw the doors out him, making sure that the motion would artfully cause his cape to billow dramatically. The Marines responded instantly, moving in synch, and managed to prevent the doors from banging against the interior walls.
A shame, that, Karrde thought grimly. But it couldn’t be helped.
A smuggler, a con man, and the consummate performer, Talon Karrde had worked his way up from being a homeless shipyard brat to commanding a fleet that at the end of the war rivalled that of any single Imperial Task Force itself. But what did he care about power? At the end of the day, he had been about helping his fellow man while the Imperials cared more about protecting their precious reputations against the upstart Colonials.
Idly, Karrde wondered if the muckety-mucks in the Imperial High Command knew that the core of Karrde’s Smuggler’s Alliance were Colonials. Sure, they had never fired a shot in anger against the Imperials, but they were Colonials just the same.
Karrde let a beautific smile spread across his face as he gracefully slid into the chairs obviously assigned for him and his forces in a single, smooth motion. He glanced across the faces of the High Command, and didn’t see anything he didn’t expect to see. Outrage, resentment, and several resigned faces.
If they could, they would throw him out of the chamber. But Karrde had grown to be especially well-loved after the war. He had done everything he could do to foster his reputation as a man of the people. Landing a freighter next to orphanages and unloading thirty tons of food, medical supplies, toys, and candy. Delivering food and medical supplies to parts of Earth that had been in desperate need even before the Solar Wars broke out. Even taking time out to deliver gifts of food, luxury goods, and supplies to various military vessels, outposts, and waystations.
Several of which had been strictly classified, and unknown even to the Colonials.
And then there had been providing the Emperor’s daughter a luxury cruiser with full paramilitary escort for a shopping trip halfway across Terra.
And so he sat here, before the most powerful men in the Imperium. They glared down at him, hating him from the bottom of their socks. And yet he was untouchable. He was much loved by the people, and had cultivated several high-ranking friends amongst the military establishment—friends who just so happened to be friends with highly connected members amongst the Emperor’s staff. Staff who would not look kindly upon aggressive moves against their pet military commanders.
But still, it would not do to make himself overly casual, even flippant, towards these, the highest ranked military commanders in the Imperium. Even if he probably could do so with minmal consequences. So he and his men sat straight, legs together, hands folded on their laps—the perfect image of genteel little lambs.
The Commanders blustered at him for some time. It was all well and good. “Greater Good of the Imperium!” Why, of course, sirs. I could imagine nothing else. “…. being such a smart-ass!” Why, never. I have been nothing but respectful. “……should be thrown into the sun. ” Karrde merely looked at the Admiral who had said this and gave him his best innocent smile. Karrde was rewarded with an audible snarl. “……say what you came here to say and get the frell out. ”
Karrde looked down at his hands for a moment, pretending to gather himself. Putting on a show that he anticipated a tough time passing this through. Then, with great dignity, he rose to his feet.
He made the required introductions and was overly obsequious. He dithered as the politicians in the bureaucracy expected, and waited until he saw the first Admiral begin to shift in his seat—eyes partially glazed over—before he began his true speech. Immediately, the Admiral snapped back to the present, only to face Karrde’s knowing smile. He had won yet another victory.
“…And yet, for all their firepower, hundreds of tons of minerals and technology were rendered unrecoverable. ” He could feel their hatred now, and basked in it. He knew that he would pay for this down the road, but it was worth it. To stand here in their private sanctum and dictate orders that he knew they would have to follow through on. “And yet, That is the way of war, isn’t it? To destroy the enemy utterly before they can destroy you?”
He paused dramatically, and raised a glass of water to his lips. He didn’t need the drink.
“But what if there was another way?” One of the Admirals he hadn’t blackmailed, and that didn’t necessarily hate him for who he had been, only for being an insufferable prat, stirred at this and focused on Karrde a little more strongly. “A better way. ”
For once he didn’t pause for effect. “In the Solar Wars, starships were destroyed indiscriminately. Military and civilian alike, to keep the other side at a disadvantage. ” He smiled. “This has been the way of the war for the last 500 years. But it has not always been so. ”
Karrde reached a hand behind himself, and found the tube waiting for him. Carefully, he unscrewed the top and gingerly pulled out the painting that was inside. It was wrapped in the latest in protective screens, but it would still crumble if exposed to the slightest atmosphere or even handled roughly. Several of the Admiral leaned forward despite themselves.
Carefully, with the help of his second in command, he unrolled the painting, almost 700 years old. It was a masterpiece of an engagement of two warships during the Age of Sail (not the Age of Solar Sail, of course). Smoke clouded the engagement, but humans could be seen on the masts of both ships, firing weapons at each other or engaging each other man to man with swords.
“Long ago, there were military forces specially trained to take over enemy ships. They—“
“Were pirates!” One of the Admirals shouted dismissively.
“Were privateers,” Karrde corrected him politely.
“Same thing!” The Admiral retorted, glancing to either side of himself, hoping that he could find the support to throw Karrde out. But there were too many stony faces that were resigned to put this mummery show through.
“Very closely so,” Karrde said quietly, loud enough for the recorders and the Admiral to hear him. “Except that they were authorized by a power to raid ships of the opposing fleet for a Patron. ”
“Is this what you’re offering?” The Admiral who had spoken earlier demanded. “Offering to take over ships to add to your own private fleet?”
Karrde kept a smirk from his face. The Admiral had fallen exactly where he had been expected to fall. “No, sir. I expect to turn them over to yours. ” Karrde let his face show his true intensity for the first time. “If the Privateer Project goes forward, 80% of the supplies would end up directly in the Imperium’s storehouses. ” The Admiral scoffed. “And so would the shipping. ”
The Admiral opened his mouth to object but Karrde cut him off. “Think about it. Instead of having to send Salvage ships to loot technology and minerals from the wrecks of your enemies, the ships would instead fly directly to a shipyard, where they could be disassembled and studied at your leisure. Any stocks of missiles, maintenance supplies, minerals, even civilians could be put directly to work. ”
The Admiral glared at him. “We don’t have anywhere near the technology required to put this plan of yours into action. And besides, how would you even get close enough to try?”
Karrde grinned wolfishly. “I’m glad you asked. ”
In the end, they didn’t give him everything he asked for. But then, he got exactly what he wanted.
A base on Luna to conduct research into his new technologies, a Shipyard to construct new ships according to his designs, a Ground Force Training facility, and the freedom to do as he pleased with his new resources.
Oh, and the little matter of the colony of formerly smugglers and outlaws he had founded on Luna’s dark side long before the Solar Wars officially recognized as an official Colony of the Altarian Imperium. He waited until he was safely ensconced in his new colony before he announced its official name of “Smuggler’s Moon. ”
It was everything he ever wanted.
But at the same time, he knew, it was all that they ever wanted.
He was bottled up on the moon after making grandiose promises. All of his most fervent supporters would rush to join him on Smuggler’s Moon. If he failed to come through, or he lost favor with enough of the Imperium, it would be a simple matter to wipe Karrde, his supporters, and his endeavors off the face of the moon.
But if he succeeded, he would be the hero that brought forth a new age of warfare for the Imperium.
The risks were high, but the rewards were so much higher.
And that, to Karrde, is what made it so damn fun.
Talon Karrde, is, obviously, a direct reference to the Karrde in Zahn's Thrawn novels. He will only be a part of this AAR, where I will be trying out a Privateer fleet as a portion of the Imperium fleet. I will have a more traditional laser/missile fleet, but I will also be experimenting with high-frequency microwaves and Combat Drop modules.
Basically, I intend to churn out a small Privateer fleet dedicated to preying on Civilian shipping, and possibly even nipping at the heels of smaller, isolated military forces.
My plan is basically to get a small group of fast-moving Fighters/FACs armed with High-Frequency Microwaves to knock out hostile Sensors/Fire Control, and then get other (potentially FAC-sized) ships to initiate combat drops onto the temporarily defenseless (except, of course, for ramming) ships. I am strongly considering making the Fighters/FACs based off of a Carrier escorted by PD/ASM/AS-armed escorts--all equipped with Stealth technology, allowing for sudden, unexpected strikes.
That's not to say that the Privateer fleet could function on its own. commandeered ships would need an escort back to safe space. the Privateer fleet would operate in tandem with or in support of a larger, traditional fleet designed to simply blow up any enemy ships that are there.
Of course, if successful, the Privateer fleet could potentially expand and take over more and more fleet resources. . . . .
In addition to a general start (with a few bonuses to make it easier for this complete noob), Luna will be colonized by the Smuggler's Alliance, have a Shipyard with a single, 6000 ton slipway, a single Terraforming unit, a GU training facility, and a few other things. I have not actually set the game up yet, but I will be doing that over the next few days.
As for why I'm doing this--I tend to like Privateering in other games, and would love to try this out here.
