Quoted By:
“We came here for General Tann,” you say after a short deliberation. The pilot droid at the console receiving the transmission from Aereen cuts the channel off, and one of the techs begins responding to the signal from Krant. “If the Republic wants to waste its time against a tactically insignificant target, let them, that just gives us more time to evacuate Krant.”
Deployment over Krant is rapid, even though it isn’t rushed. The Diamond-class transports already hovering around <span class="mu-i">Longest Haul</span> and C7797 cargo craft which quickly deploy from it dwarf the needle-thin Kolivex corvettes which nevertheless outgun them and serve as screens, all three classes shuffle into the atmosphere. The communications chatter quickly draws more OOM droids to serve to filter the messages to the techs.
Some of the corvettes peel out of the formation they arrived in the system to array themselves to the aft and sides of <span class="mu-i">Longest Haul</span> to serve as fighter screens. Half of the task force’s Wavecrest frigates spread into a thin line to cover the rear of the evacuation effort while the rest accompany the pair of Munificents that make up the rest of the fleet far to the sides of your Lucrehulk in anticipation of the Republic fleet’s eventual arrival.
Nearly half an hour passes before the research base contacts <span class="mu-i">Longest Haul</span> over a high-priority channel. The techs send the transmission to your console, where you hear the same human male as before, less rushed but no less nervous, “the sensitive materials will be ready in an hour, they require disassembly and careful packing, it can’t be trusted to the B1s.” That also disqualifies the B2s, meaning that it’s whatever workforce of humans, Skakoans, Givens, and whoever else has found themselves unfortunate enough to remain under Sev’rance Tann’s command at the end of her campaign. “Evacuation should be complete within four hours, well before the Republic is projected to be able to engage,” he continues.
You send the transmission back to the tech pit and cross your arms, thinking. The timetable is a lot longer than expected, and General Tann has yet to contact you herself. You almost regret not moving on the Republic fleet first, but knowing that it’s the Republic and not the BCDF conducting the operation against the listening post, and that it’s likely a Jedi General in charge give you confidence that the listening post’s personnel will be given fair conduct.
>(1/3)
