Obsidian Table | Trilateral Military Command Session

[Charos]

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Officials from the Coalition and the Rot Front took their seats around the table, datapads arranged neatly before them. Each display scrolled through live schematics, production milestones, and projected deployment figures tied to the project. At the center of the chamber, the holographic table activated, its emitters synchronizing with Markus’s orb in a brief cascade of light. The projection expanded, resolving into a full-scale hologram of the ship they had been shaping together. As the vessel rotated slowly, layered technical callouts flickered into place: reactor output curves, mass-to-thrust ratios, weapons hardpoint distributions, and armor density overlays. Sections of the hull pulsed in muted tones as power-routing paths, maintenance access points, and production modularity markers were highlighted in sequence. The image settled, hovering above the table, no longer an abstract concept, but a machine with defined limits, capabilities, and consequences. The room’s attention narrowed. This was no longer a discussion of theory, but of implementation.

Project Agitator

Code:

The Agitator is a cruiser born of the black market, designed not for prolonged engagements or clean logistics, but for disruption, provocation, and controlled chaos. Commonly fielded by pirate factions and unlawful groups, it excels in skirmish warfare, favoring hit-and-run attacks over decisive battles.

Its design philosophy is openly inefficient by conventional standards. Power systems are overextended, internal layouts are irregular, and redundancies are sparse. Components are chosen for availability rather than longevity, making each hull slightly different from the last. This lack of standardization is not a flaw, it is a signature. The Agitator is easy to build, difficult to track, and disposable by intent.

In combat, the Agitator strikes fast and retreats faster. It relies on sudden pressure: concentrated forward fire, short engagement windows, and aggressive maneuvering to overwhelm escorts or disrupt convoys before withdrawing beyond pursuit range. Sustained combat exposes its weaknesses, heat build-up, stressed reactors, and fragile internal systems, but that is never the goal. The Agitator is not meant to hold ground. It is meant to deny stability.

Pirate captains value the Agitator precisely because of its shortcomings. Its crude efficiency makes it ideal for unlawful operations where loss is acceptable and fear is the objective. Every appearance of an Agitator signals unrest; every withdrawal leaves questions behind.

“Gentlemen, as you are all aware, warfare across multiple fronts is inherently volatile and rarely predictable. I have convened this session to address the situation within House space specifically. We cannot afford to allow the Houses the time or stability required to fully organize their fleets, nor can we risk overextending our own forces in a contest of attrition. At present, common pirates and outlaw groups harass House territory, but they remain fragmented and routinely outgunned. The question before us is a simple one: what if they were not? What if these actors had access to something larger, something capable of applying pressure without drawing our banners into the open?I trust you have all reviewed the data circulated prior to this meeting. With that in mind, let us move beyond theory and begin the discussion.”

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