Pilot's Briefing Room, Valiant

It seemed ironic that, mere weeks after he'd been assigned away from the Rogues, they'd set up shop in his old command. It was weird how instinctively his memory had snapped back into navigating the corridors of the Valiant; and amusing how completely incapable his eyes were of coping with the overwhelming whiteness of the Mon Calamari walls. Fortunately, his trusty tinted eye glasses were on hand to offer protection, as always.

You would have thought that after a few months as the training officer aboard Horizon, teaching X-Wing jocks to be A-Wing jocks, he'd have grown accustomed to the whole standing in front of a briefing room and talking thing. But as he looked around the faces of the assembled pilots - some that he recognised; some that he didn't - he couldn't help the pang of nerves. Valkyrie Squadron and Rogue Squadron had been the units where he'd gone from nugget to ace, and the pilots that flew with them were friends, and equals. On the Horizon, he'd stepped in to a position of assumed authority and respect, given his rank, role, and previous assignment. Here, he was just another alumni, home to roost.

"So." His fingers reached for the glasses, pulling them from his face and settling them on the podium. He fought the urge to wince as the bright whiteness assaulted him, and succeeded, mostly. Exposed eyes flitted from face to face, making sure he could match a name to each of them. There were a couple he couldn't readily identify, but given the lack of flight suits, he made an educated guess that they were one Mr Sanis Prent, and friends.

"The situation is very simple," he said, keeping his voice measured and even. "None of us can underestimate the importance of protecting this convoy, and we all understand how important it is to have the best pilots in the Alliance serving right here."

He was very careful to avoid mentioning either squadron by name; not just because he wanted to avoid offending the Valkyries, but also because he still had a little spark of pride in his older unit, and wasn't quite ready to admit that the Rogues were 'better' just yet. He fought back a chuckle - It'd probably depend on which squadron I was flying with at the time.

"Unfortunately, the lack of activity out there in the galaxy by the Alliance's elite won't go unnoticed for long. The last thing we want to do is arouse suspicion with Imperial Intelligence that we might have something better to do." He shrugged, ever so slightly. "If Imptel starts looking for us, then we become a giant target painted on the side of the Wheel. And the last thing we want to be doing is drawing attention to our charges."

Reaching out with a remote device, he clicked the control that would activate the holoprojector at the centre of the room. "This is Bandomeer: an Outer Rim world that sits at the convergence between the Hydian Way and the Braxant Run." The spinning orb of Bandomeer was overlayed with a wireframe, coloured indicators appearing to represent the various orbital defenses. "The surface is under complete Imperial control, with a sizeable garrison on-hand to keep the local miners in line."

"The space deployment meanwhile is geared towards turning the Bandomeer system into a safe harbour for convoys traversing the Hydian Way from the Corporate Sector to the core from raids by pirates and, well, by us." A smile quirked at the corner of Jaden's mouth. "As a result, very little effort is made towards protecting the orbital hardware around Bandomeer itself."

The holo-display zoomed in on one of the orbital stations in particular, littered with comm arrays and sensor antennae. "This relay is part of a network of orbital and planetary facilities that are coordinating Imperial operations in the region. One of those facilities, on Ruuria, was recently infiltrated by a SpecForce team; and from the information gathered there, we've determined that Bandomeer is our optimum target for disrupting Imperial operations in the area, and for drawing as much attention to us as possible."

"It may not be the most glamourous or heroic of missions, but it's going to piss off the Imps like crazy; and frankly, that's probably the next best thing." He let his earlier quirk of a smile grow into something slightly more like a wry grin, before glancing around the room at his fellow pilots. "Any questions so far?"