Terran Alliance: The Odyssey

Chapter 14- The Mission

Chapter 14- The Mission

In the meeting room in the government building in the capitol where Pellaeon had met with Ronen and Iden, the three of them have now been joined by Captain Moorhouse, General Strickland, and Colonel Shevchenko. Long ago, these six individuals had formed a kind of advisory council to discuss any matters that concerned the Hood and its crew. Pellaeon had gathered the council to discuss Ronen's conclusion after interrogating the prisoners, and what their move should be at this point. All of them know that they have a serious decision to make. One that must be made delicately and with extensive consideration.

"The officers claimed to be members of a group known as the Sith Eternal, which, from clues within their words, I believe to be some kind of cult that worships the Sith. During what was pretty much them preaching at us about the Sith coming back and ruling the galaxy, they said they were converted to Sith worship after coming to the last home of the Sith, somewhere in the Unknown Regions. To me, that sure sounds like they're talking about Exegol," Ronen says.

"I think I have to agree with you there, Colonel," General Strickland says. Others around the table nod as well.

"I also fear what they said about the Sith returning. As we all know, the Emperor and Darth Vader died at Endor. However, I do not think these officers would've just said something about the Sith returning out of nowhere. I fear that a secret Sith has been in existence all this time, or has risen in the vacuum left by the Emperor and Vader. If this is the case, they pose a significant threat, not only to us, but to the galaxy as a whole," Ronen says.

Everyone is quiet for a moment before Pellaeon speaks up. "So, gentlemen, I think with this revelation, comes the question: What do we do now with this discovery? We have been living here on New Callistan for 16 years now. Our crew have built lives here, and many have raised families. We are a part of Callistan society now. However, our original mission that brought us to the Unknown Regions is incomplete. We have never officially abandoned the mission, nor have we been ordered to abandon the mission by the Admiralty or Andromeda Fleet command. At this point, we have to decide whether or not to continue with our original mission, or remain here with our new lives," Pellaeon says.

Pellaeon is quiet for a moment, then looks at Moorhouse. "Captain, do we have the ability now to resume our original mission?" he asks.

Moorhouse knows he's referring to the wreck of the crashed Star Destroyer. "I have spoken with our engineers after they made an initial search of the wreck. A quick note regarding the ship is that we discovered it's name was the Malevolence. After a search of the wreck, we have confirmed that the Malevolence's hyperdrive is almost completely intact. Engineers have confirmed that they can deconstruct it and use it to finish repairing our own hyperdrive."

"In addition, their fuel supply is intact and hardly depleted. If we can safely harvest it, it will fully refuel our reactor and hyperdrive. It should be enough to keep the ship going for months, although they are still coming up with more specific estimates," Moorhouse adds.

"Did the ship carry maps leading back to Exegol?" Pellaeon asks.

"Yes. However, it will be difficult. It seems that the path the Malevolence took from Exegol goes through several nebulas. Given our larger size and the fact we have never taken this route, it will take some time to reach Exegol. In addition, we lost some data because of the crash, so we will have to chart some of the path the hard way," Moorhouse responds.

The council is quiet for a few moments before Pellaeon speaks again and says, "We have a decision to make. I would like to cast a vote, for what we should do as our next move. All those who wish to continue on with our original mission and leave this world behind, raise your hands."

Everyone sitting around the table is quiet for a moment before Ronen raises his hand. Then, one by one, the other four also raise their hands.

"It's unanimous, then," Pellaeon says.

Moorhouse then speaks up and says, "Admiral, we're gonna have a problem with this. Some crew who married natives are not gonna want to leave, especially those with children. In addition, in case you don't remember, about 20,000 children have been born to members of the crew since we came here. I don't think we have room aboard the ship to take everyone and their families." He pauses, then says, "I think we should leave the choice open to the crew who have families to stay here if they wish, and one day, maybe we can come back for them. In addition, we also need to guarantee that those who do wish to come and finish the mission will be allowed to bring their families. We've spent so much time here...we can't just expect people with families to leave their families behind."

"I agree with the captain," Strickland says.

Pellaeon is quiet for a moment, thinking for a moment. Then, finally, he says, "Alright. We will send out a message to the entire crew, informing them of our intention to leave and continue the mission. I want a full report from every crew member whether they intend to come with us with their families or to stay behind on New Callistan. I want a full accounting completed in 48 hours."

Pellaeon looks around the table. "Gentlemen, it's been 22 years since we had to sideline our mission in favor of just trying to survive and find a way back home. Now, we have a chance to get back to our mission, and I think we all agree that as sailors and soldiers, we don't have tolerance for unfinished missions. It's time for us to finally get back to our orders," he says. He is met with a round of nods and determined expressions, everyone more than ready to finally finish their mission to find Exegol.