A New Hope

[King Iedolas Solidor]

This was a strange life. In the past, he went to Kashyyyk, but he never actually saw the world by anything besides the Wookies. Those furry and loud beings, with those strange ways, but now, there he was again, watching calmly through a window, standing tall and still, waiting for better or worse in this meeting that would occur. But, with no set mind in that, Iedolas kepted himself watching out of that window, not looking for his contact, but looking at the jungle.

All that green, wild, untamed life. A untouched world, that his elzeri ancestors would have died to see and feel again, when roaming through the galaxy in search of a world to settle. They didn’t had any wild forests like those in Cocoon, he thought privately to himself, they had thick woods, with big and sturdy oaks, gushy rivers and deadly wildlife, but nothing that big. “Ain’t life strange?”, he almost could smile by his own remark, for after all, he was descended of a wood people, a kind that lived and died in woods before losing their homeworld, wherever it was.

“Bring me a drink, if you be so kind.”, he murmured to his aide. And the serving droid rushed to do what was asked of him, serving in a golden goblet with his personal casket of wine. Delivering the cup in his hand with a small reverence to his royal being. Iedolas rose the goblet slowly to his lips, barely touching the wine and sipping a small amount of the red delicacy.

 

[Rozalyne Kurganova]

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't long before new powers had begun to fill the power vacuum left by Galactic Alliance in the Core. One such was the Interstellar Protectorate based near Coruscant and Alderaan, seeking some kind of alliance with the Silver Order. On paper, they checked out, a coalition of planets all about limited government and the respect for the sovereignty of its member states. In that way, the Protectorate reminded her of the Free Worlds Coalition.

An informal working visit had then been set up by Rozalyne, and now Primarch Iedolas sat in a conference room within the main temple complex, waiting.

He wasn't waiting long, Rozalyne soon strolling into the conference room, dressed in a sleek silky white business dress fitting for the humid environment of Kashyyyk. She came alone, but just outside the conference room was a small army of diplomat and aides going through their day in the office wing.

"Primarch Iedolas," she greeted with a small smile and an outstretched hand as she approached his seat at the large round table. "I'm Director Rozalyne Kurgonova. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. This Interstellar Protectorate of yours is quite fascinating."

She took an empty seat on his immediate right, then waved over a droid in the room to prepare her a cup of coffee.

"So, what exactly are you seeking from the Silver Order today?"

[member="Primarch Iedolas"]

 

[King Iedolas Solidor]

The main temple reminded him of the old jedi temple in Coruscant. But that one was much more secured, and a place that was boiling with the energy of the force, so light and pure that made his head feel a bit dizzy. And when Rozalyne entered the room, Iedolas was still standing at the window, looking to all the green in that planet. Slowly he turned as he heard her words, and made a small reverence, suited for nobles, and filled with respect for the woman.

In Kaikielius, the elzeri found it hard to accept a woman as a Baron or Lady of her own house, but, there he was, in front of probably one of the most powerful woman in all the know galaxy. As he stood back, he grabbed her hand and smiled, the smile of a calm man.

“The pleasure is all mine, madam.”, with the formalities set aside, he joined her sitting at the table, crossing his legs, and placed both hands with fingers intertwined over his lap. His pointed ears could not control themselves, swinging gently up and down as he smiled. He was anxious, he knew it. “Straight to the point, I like that, ma'am.”, Iedolas said in a calm manner, getting more serious and swiftly selecting the right words for this meeting. “As you are well aware, the Core Worlds are now without any major control over them, many have fallen to the dark side of force, others to anarchy, while some still keep order, neighbours fight for dominance. And we, Kaikielius and Alderaan, are the ones that live in this region and we know how hard life has become. Whether it be for the nobles or for the little ones. The Protectorate was born with the desire to put order where is chaos, to bring justice, stability and trade back in order in our space and neighbors. But the task is dangerous, the burden is great, alone even with our excellent military we are at a disadvantage against so many adversities. I'm sure you can understand that.” He stopped talking,after all this was a conversation, and not just another tedious monologue of some theater, he had to conquer it with his words and not make the poor woman fall asleep.

[member="Rozalyne Kurganova"]

 

[Rozalyne Kurganova]

Rozalyne locked her icy blue eyes on the man as he spoke, listening very intently to everything he had to say in his introduction. She only barely acknowledge the protocol droid as it returned to her to set a mug of milky earl gray before her, letting the tea sit idle and steam below.

When he finished speaking, she took her time replying, thinking carefully about his words and her response. Some people didn't like the way she took her time with these sorts of things, but she liked to say things right the first time.

"Yes, we understand the situation that you face in the Core, and we have already begun operations to stabilize the regions, beginning with our recent intervention at Coruscant. If the people will accept our aid, then we will do everything in our power to keep the Core out of the hands of the Sith or any other totalitarian regime. We're pleased to have local groups within the Core that feel the same way, we will make no progress without the support of the people who live and die in the Core."

Finally, she took a small pause to take a sip of her tea, creamy and sweetly tinged with just a bit of honey just how she loved it. "As it stands now, we've been offering support to Core systems on an ad hoc basis without the need for any sort of treaty or mutual defense agreement. For better or worse, we do what we think is right as a Jedi-centric organization. However, long-term, we would like a more formal relationship with Core powers so that we can pool our assets militarily and economically to better combat the Sith on a united front. How would you feel about Protectorate becoming part of our mutual defense pact, the Intergalactic Assistance Force (ISAF)?"

[member="Primarch Iedolas"]

 

[King Iedolas Solidor]

As she spoke, Iedolas heard all of it, listening quietly with his face not even blinking for a single second. His taciturn purple eyes looked at her eyes, not around them, not above them, but right in the center as he replied.

“We heard of that intervention, we were quite distressed with that. Specially since my fellow nobles have great shares in the Bank of the Core that has one of its subsidiaries in Coruscant. And i myself and my other associates from the colonies have paid a great deal of money to raly mandalorian mercenaries to fight in the defense of the planet.”, more money than he actually want it to pay. But the girl and her group demanded payment in advance for that kind of work.

"The Sith are a plague, madam. They corrupt, fester and consume everything they touch. But the worse of all are the cults that are spawned from their demented beliefs.”, he had heard rumors, of organizations and cults rising in many of the core worlds, planet once with peaceful governments, now overthrown and dragged into the dark ages. “The Protectorate does not seek any control over the Core Worlds, we merely want to help organizations more suited to a democratic rule to control that area. One that assures order and trade. We desire our ideals and politics to expand through the Colonies, to take our flag and unite the nobles of the Tapani into one banner and one law.”, governments like the Interstellar Protectorate have existed in the past, in planets like Naboo.

A planet where the democratic nobility worked for many thousands of years. “By the Sanctums authority which i was given after our inquires about the Intergalactic Assistance Force, we would more than happy to be a part of such pact. And we also can officially declare that if funding and weapons are required, then we would be more than happy to assist the Silver Jedi in the fights to come.”


[member="Rozalyne Kurganova"]

 

[Rozalyne Kurganova]

As the Primarch spoke, Rozalyne nodded along, agreeing with most of his points. The Sith were indeed, along with all the Dark Side cults popping up. They were parasites, consuming and/or twisting anything they got their grimy hands on. They needed to be stopped.

"Then I see the Protectorate has a similar mission to the Silver Order. We also have no desire for rule over the Core or any other region of the galaxy, but to help facilitate a secure place that enjoys the free flow of goods and services unfettered."

"I'm glad to hear that you're interested in joining the ISAF, we are always looking for partners. However, we have some conditions that everyone has to abide by. Every member of the ISAF is required to pay their share in funding for the ISAF, which includes overhead, personnel, procurement, training, research, etc. At a bare minimum, each member is required to pay at least two percent of their gross national product. With few exceptions, we require each member to maintain standing military or militia units capable of acting as quick reaction forces. While we prefer indigenous units to fulfill this role, but we can rotate units from out of a system as required."

Iedolas had mentioned the use of Mandalorian mercenaries, which she didn't care much for. Generally, she found Mandalorians to be brutish, unprofessional, and worst off, unloyal. There were more than a few infamous examples of Mandalorians switching sides in conflicts after receiving better offers. These days, more Mandalorians seemed to be sucking up to the Sith. They couldn't be trusted.

"If the Protectorate decides to continue to use mercenaries for its own use, then that's fine, though I would recommend that you put those funds toward the ISAF, where we can ensure you enjoy the protection of a professional army with uniform standards of operation and conduct."

[member="Primarch Iedolas"]

 

[King Iedolas Solidor]

When money was the subject of a conversation, Iedolas turned into a different kind of person. He knew pretty well that the Nine Great House of Kaikielius would complain about this, but he would remind them that the finances of the Protectorate itself had nothing to do with their personal fortunes and business, since those were not in the books, for they had nothing to do with a government that paid for itself. A few Dukes always want it to save a credit here and then, but he knew best, as he had authority for it.

“We would be more than happy to do as everyone else and pay the fee, after all, it's all for the greater good.”, and they would get ten times that amount with the trade routes open with SJO worlds, “Our army and navy is being prepared as we speak. We never had any need for one, since we were always part of the Galactic Alliance, and before that of the Old Republic and the Galactic Empire.”, he laughed for a moment, a laugh with no real sound, “We all have a dark period in our history.”

That was long ago, almost nine hundred years ago, but even so. It was history. And as the man heard about the use of mercenaries, he could not hide a polite smile towards the matter, he had hired quite a few in the past, paid from his own pocket.

“So we shall, so we shall, my dear general. And we shall keep a watchful eye for any intel worth your time. One does never pay too much for order and prosperity. As i believe, your lordship and your government would not mind if our banking institution would find a proper office to ensure trade and cash flow in your capital?”

[member="Rozalyne Kurganova"]