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[Fecta Trigiel]

"If I might add: It is unclear if killing the Mandalore would end their suffering, in fact, it is quite likely that if by killing the Mandalore and the mandalorians return to their chaotic past, the worlds would suffer more. More intern fighting means more money required for fighting, and more civil losses."

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava's first instinct was to continue her rebuttal to Nathan's position, that he could have spoken up months earlier about the obligation he feels toward the people suppressed by the Mandalorians. Instead, she remained silent to see what the others would come up with.

So, she listened to the argument by Trigiel, and remained silent afterwards.

[Ariana Danacia]

"Unfortunately not finishing the job we started might mean the same thing. When the Mandalore is trying hard to regain his grip on the factions he will only escalate and become more violent.

However the fighting is part of the way of life for the Mandalorians which can not be stopped. In such a intergalactic war there are only bad choices..."

[T'Sal]

((OOC: Assuming our Xrim mission is ready.))

"The senate has made the decision to get rid of this Mandalore. Fecta Trigiel, Darones Rei and I have visited the Xrim in sector [4,-6] and help them in their fight against the Mandalore. We are friendly with them. By getting rid of the current Mandalore, they might get more power and as we helped them, they will be less tempted to attack the Union. In this way we prevent a new war.

Those Force user seem to be the real problem, but they are hard to get to. So by going after the Mandolore we might be able to get more information on them."

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava looks at T'Sal with a contained expression of surprise.

"T'Sal, I think you overestimate the influence of the Xrim'Adate. They are a nomadic people that can only be in open resistance to the Mandalorian exactly because of their nomad nature. They can no more form a threat to the Union than a mosquite can form a threat to you.", Ajava replies after a moment.

Then, she looks at Nathan expectantly, hoping that he would actually explain his position on what he sees as a war.

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

Nathan was caught in the strange familiar feeling he had again. Still not having any memory that would explain the feeling. He had synchronized his memory files with his external backup prior to going to 'the knife'. Because he was preoccupied it took a while for him to respond.

"A war is a violent conflict between factions. A conflict where people fight and get killed. A war can end without being won, however when it ends someone has lost. Even if the war ends peacefully people will have died and there for someone has lost."

Looking to the other Jedi he pointed out one thing.

"You all seem to think this mission is to kill the Mandalore. While I have gathered that this mission is definitely connected to the Mandalorian war, Master Screetor has yet to reveal the actual mission." He turned to the Jedi Master at his last sentence. "Master, I ask you again. What is our mission? Why are you refusing to tell us? And why is it important what we think of this mission?"

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava listens to Nathan's idea of what a war is, and his continued line of questions to master Screetor.

She does not agree with his idea of what a war is she does not want to interrupt his line of questions to the Jedi master. She suspects that master Screetor's answers will not answer any of Nathan's questions, yet she is interested in both the answers, and Nathan's reaction to them -- he was after all rather agitated by her question, and the master is wont to answer with questions of his own.

[Jedi Master Screetor]

"We have all been aware what our mission was at the very beginning." the Jedi master spoke solemnly. "The objective is unchanged.

We are to bring about a regime change within the Mandalorians, to replace the current Mandalore, as a strong, unifying leader, with a new weak leader, who will be unable to keep the Mandalorians united, so as to create strife and infighting within their ranks.

United, the Mandalorians may once more pose a threat to the Union. Divided, they will be unable to."

He paused

"We have dealt serious blows to the force users supporting the Mandalore. We have exacerbated their problems with the Xrim, showing other factions that they too might be able to resist their Mandalorian overlords. We even replaced the leader of one of their clans with a Union operative, who will be able to guide the implosion of the Mandalorian state in a direction of our choosing."

He looked around

"We have prepared a perfect storm. It will mow down the Mandalorian threat for decades to come. It will cast their civilization back into the Times of Chaos. And it will destroying their dreams of unity.

Now all that is needed is a push to send it over the edge."

With that said, the Master once again went silent, listening to the Jedi and their moral views. Had his answer to their questions about the mission changed anything?

[Fecta Trigiel]

"If they truly want to have unity, than overthrowing the Mandalore wouldn't make a difference. If a large group of people will be torn apart when one figure falls away, then they were never a group, only a bunch of individuals.

Without a Mandalore, the worlds will be forced to find common grounds and to work together out of a mutual interest to grow, rather than being forced to follow the biggest army.

I am more concerned about what the Echani will do. When the Mandalorians fall back into chaos, the Echani basically will get a free card to roam Mandalorian space. We all know that the Echani are in conflict with the Mandalorians since basically forever."

[Shebi Ajava]

"I disagree, Trigiel."

"Looking to the history of the different worlds within the Union, we can easily find several worlds that started out much the same like the Mandalorians. Warring clans, tribes, and houses opposing each other for dominance over their domain. While these worlds now show a strong cultural identity that will survive the sudden disappearance of its leaders, they did not all start out with a single identity, nor a desire for unity."

"Mutual interest flows from mutual understanding. And mutual understanding is easier to come by during times of relative peace, even if this peace is forced by a strong leader with a large army. Where the divided Mandalorian Fleets will raid the tax worlds in the territories of other clans, it is with a strong Mandalore that the worlds under the Mandalorian Fleets will find a measure of peace. A strong Mandalore will curtail excessive raiding and ensure that tax worlds are not overtaxed to guarantee their profitability in the future.

Even from this harsh peace, a mutual understanding will grow. Eventually, a mutual interest will solidify in the minds of the Mandalorian people and the worlds they depend on."

Ajava paused for a moment.

"Throw them into chaos, and we interrupt this development. We will be the ones bringing more death and short-sighted oppression to the worlds in the Mandalorian territories."

[Ariana Danacia]

"I disagree that this Mandalore will bring progress. The Sith that support the Mandalore will continue to bring death, they already lost a lot of power during the war and they will only continue to try to get it back through violence.

In my opinion the only way to level the playing field is to take out these Sith and give the Mandalorians enough time to grow at a slow pace. "

[T'Sal]

"I agree with Ariana Danacia that it is better to remove this Mandalore as he did not reach that position by him selves. The Force-user who are behind him are his only real support and they have there own agenda. These Force-users will not think of what is best for the Mandalorians but themselves and in that way they will suffer by them."

[Shebi Ajava]

"I would like to remind you that, from the start of the war, it has not been clear who has been supporting who within the Mandalorian Fleets.

T'Sal, you jump to the conclusion that the current Mandalore did not that position by themselves. This has not been shown, and the only evidence we have uncovered indicates that the Mandalore is supported by these saber wielders. It could well be that the Mandalore approached this group for support..."

Ajava looked at Ariana and T'Sal for a moment, then at the other Jedi.

"Destroying what this Mandalore has built is not 'levelling the playing field'; it is the destruction of a cultural advancement. You both focus strongly on the force users that support the Mandalore, and in doing so you forget ignore other possibilities. The Mandalore does not necessarily have to agree with these force users on the best course of action for the Mandalorians fleets take in these uncertain times.

Is it not better to see how the situation develops and grows, maybe even gently guiding the situation where necessary, before we step in to destroy any cultural advancements that could have been taking place?"

[Mercury]

As the Jedi discussed the moral and practical impact of their mission, an officer walked in and saluted.

"The admiral will see you now." he explained, before leading the Jedi to a large room with an even larger table that looked like it had room to sit an entire regiment shoulder to shoulder. At the head of the table, the admiral was seated with a third officer next to him.

"Thank you all for coming, and for cooperating with the somewhat unusual security measures." he explained

"As you have no doubt guessed, this is the final part of our mission to impose a regime change within the Mandalorian government. This mission is classified under the State Secrets Act, in case you needed reminding."

He looked around the room a moment.

"Our mission will consist of three phases. In the first phase, we will gather information regarding the security of the Mandalore. In the second phase, we will use this information to formulate a plan. In the third phase, we will execute this plan to bring about the desired regime change."

"Gather information...?" Master Screetor wanted to object as it suddenly seemed as if things were ill thought out. Fortunately the Admiral had an answer to that.

"We already have a large amount of information available, we have spies in various places, and we have several teams on board who can be sent out. However, any mission will have certain details that need to be determined in-situ. In this case, the key piece of information we need is the Mandalore's itinerary."

((OOC: The first phase will be a forum based phase, as it will allow me more time to create content for area's which I hadn't thought of but which you want to explore and use. The second phase will consist of a chat followed by some forum discussion if required. The third phase will once again be chat based. I may throw in some surprises to boot!

You may participate in any or all of the parts, or none at all, but I very strongly recommend that you participate in the second part if you participate in the third.))

[T'Sal]

((OOC: Are you going to make new threads and do we need to apply in this thread?))

T'sal follows the officers to a large room with the Admiral and hears his briefing.

"To come back on the discussion. Miss Shebi you are right that we do not have enough information to make a well-balanced decision. There are a lot of question on the rise of this Mandalore and his decision to assault the Union.

So I would really like to investigate the Mandalore" says T'sal while turning to the Admiral.

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

Nathan followed the rest into the other room and stood at attention.

After hearing the words of the Admiral and Master Screetor he had a question. However the military protocol drilled into him didn't just permit him to start asking questions of superior officers, especially of Admirals.

"Permission to speak, sir."

Nathan knew he didn't have to act this way, but some habits were hard to break.

[Ariana Danacia]

The plan was simple. Ariana was ready for the next step. When Nathan started his soldier routine again Ariana had a hard time not to facepalm, she looked at Nathan wondering what he wanted to know. Since they were working together with soldiers this might be the first time he is supposed to act like this and won't make a fool of himself.

[Mercury]

"Speak your mind." the admiral nodded to Nathan, granting him leave to speak his mind.

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

"Who are we going to frame for assassinating the Mandalore and how? Because if the Mandalorians find out the Union was involved this plan could very well have the opposite effect."

Nathan chose not to say anything about the lack of proper planning. He had gone on missions like this with less intel before.

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava already knows the answer, there is no intention to frame anyone, yet she understands why Nathan thinks framing someone is necessary. Ajava wonders how it is all her companions lack of experience with matters of subterfuge and politics.

Fortunately, she resists the urge to reply immediately and make a fool of herself if the admiral lacks insight and a spine.

[Mercury]

"The 'fall guys' are the people we are putting in power." the admiral explained

"Naturally secrecy is of the utmost importance in this. Which is why I am counting on you not to get caught."

((OOC: The admiral is not going to explain a detailed plan to you which you can then execute. It is up to you to formulate a plan together, and to take action to acquire the information you want.

To answer T'sals earlier question, we will continue the RP here.))

[Fecta Trigiel]

Trigiel had also followed the officer to the room.

It seemed that most discussion of whether or not removing the mandalore had stopped. Although Trigiel would like to had discussed some more, he also would like to get to business: "I believe to know his itinerary, we need to know his point of departure and point of arrival. For this, it might be useful to know the reason for his travel.

What information concerning his routing plans do we already have, admiral?"

[Mercury]

"Most of the Mandalores travels are on political business. He travels between different clan fleets with some regularity, though he spends most of his time aboard his private Star Destroyer, the Rubicon. We believe a direct assault on that ship to be a suicide mission with little chance of success, however. A better approach might be to meet him on one of the Mandalorian tax-worlds, or to infiltrate one of the other clans fleets."

[Shebi Ajava]

"If the aim is to take out the Mandalore without being identified, a planet-side confrontation will have a higher probability of success."

With her experience in special ops and command, building the mission from the ground up came as a second nature to her. Ajava sits down in one of the chairs, ready to discuss the mission details and plan. While she is not yet convinced that taking out the Mandalore is the correct course of action, she knows that even unwise plans need to be well-executed.

"From a military perspective, with the Jedi present right now, infiltration of a fleet can only be done through stealth. Only knight T'Sal, master Screetor and myself could hope to pose as a disguised Mandalorian. The others simply lack the correct form to fit a Mandalorian armour without raising suspicions. The closer quarters will offer us an advantage should it come to combat situations, but extraction will be difficult once the element of surprise wears thin.

A planet-side ambush will give us a wider range of options for the exploitation of our natural, and unnatural", she added after looking at Trigiel and Nathan, " advantages. Infiltration will be easier, and the set-up is more believable if we chose a tax-world that falls within the territory of the clan we wish to put into power. While we are giving the Mandalorians the advantage of ranged weapons and possibly flight, we can counter that by carefully picking the ambush site -- an urban environment will most likely work well.

Regardless of the theatre, we would be wise to focus purely on the objective. The Mandalore will travel with protection, so we need to have a believable reason to strip them of as much protection as possible. We group up into strike teams. One team will create a distraction to draw away part of the protection detail, the other team will move on the objective using stealth and strike from the chaos. The larger the group of survivors, the stronger the finger-pointing and blame game will be."

Before continuing she looks around the room to see if someone wants to add something, or has insights or objections.

[Fecta Trigiel]

"I agree a mission on the ground has a higher probability of success. I was thinking about the space options, but although escaping forms less problems for me or Nathan, the Mandalore also has more escape options. Any plan not covering an infiltration plan escalated to an all-out war from Union infiltrating Mandalorian territory in my scenarios.

There is an alternative moment to strike, very risky though with a small window of operation: ascending and descending from the planet. When the Mandalore is landing or taking of, he is very vulnerable. He has no escapes, little means to fight back and little protection."