Junction And Yet the Sun Still Rises (Elysium Empire - Daxam IV & Silver Jedi Concord - Bimmisaari)

[Dorthea Dobson]

Dorthea noted that Senator Bail Chistor was focusing on the king and queen now, which as a whole, was a good thing for the empire. Dorthea hoped that Loreena Arenais-Valhoun would remember her diplomacy lessons. Dorthea hoped that all that time tutoring her wasn't for nothing…

Rex Valhoun made some amendments to her statement on the relevancy of the Empire's reforms and she hoped that it was a wise move on his part. Dorthea could tell that there was a good chance that Senator Chistor was concerned about the nature of the Elysium Empire's previous foreign policies. Dorthea wondered if emphasizing the reforms made by Rex would help alleviate those potential concerns. Chistor wasn't stupid after all.

But… this was Rex's empire. He was a new king and she wouldn't cut him off. And again, Chistor wasn't stupid. Many of the Elysium Empire's reforms were on public record, or they were about to be so Rex probably didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to past mistakes. Chistor would likely act on the information that the Empire made available already.

On another note, Dorthea was hoping to discuss the refugee population on Damascus Station. There were some small foreign relations matters that she wanted to address so that the people of Damascus Station could live with some peace of mind. But she elected to keep her head down for now and let the King and Queen have the spotlight until they either needed a distraction, or the Senator showed interest in her earlier prefacing statement.

She began to wonder how her droid was doing in the air ducts…

POV "Grunty", or aka ECP-44

Grunty chose to hum softly to himself as he hovered casually through the air ducts. He wasn't scared, or at least, he didn't think he was. But dark lonely places like this were often the subject of many beings' fears. Grunty, being a protocol droid, often sought to make others comfortable for ease of communication, so he hummed in the hopes that if he met an intruder, it might put them at ease so that Grunty could negotiate with them. As a protocol droid, that seemed to be the most efficient course of action.

He went up-and-down the air ducts, using his holographic projector as a makeshift flashlight, and found, essentially, nothing out of the ordinary. A shame.

It was too bad that he had failed at his task, but he considered this to be a minor failure on his part. He was a communications/protocol droid and was not made for surveillance and reconnaissance. The failure was more on his masters who had mis-tasked him inappropriately.

(Rolled a 12. Not high enough for Grunty's common sensors to pick up, but enough for Grunty to see something suspicious)

He decided to start heading back to the summit when he saw something out of the ordinary. A trail of skittering marks in the dust on the bottom of the air ducts. Grunty looked closely at the marks and immediately reverted to his protocol and translation programming. To him, the marks looked curiously like tyranandonian music script. He attempted to play the music in his vocabulator but it didn't make any sense and the script was so corrupted that it couldn't even make a proper chord. And the marks went all the way down the vent corridor and around a corner.

Grunty sent the Bimm Mercantile Guard a coded transmission burst stating that he found music notes on the floor in the air ducts and he decided to look into it.

He followed the trail around the corner, down another corridor, then around another corner and so-on. None of the music made any sense and was not at all indicative of any traditional tyranandonian music in any of his databases. Very curious, indeed.

The ersatz music notes led to an access hatch and stopped there. Grunty pushed the little access hatch open and wandered inside, looking for more of the little marks. He saw a little bug next to a computer and paid no mind to it. Bugs were common in places like this… weren't they?

Grunty continued to look for more “skittering” music notes on the floor in the dust.

C Cirrus Silver Strand Martin Dux Aculia Voland Sol'yan Thirdas Heavenshield

 

[Omar Dobson]

Objective: 4

"Good to see you too, cousin. Fancy armour on your men there. I take it plans are progressing well?"

Omar nodded as he stepped back. "That they are. And according to the new King Rex Valhoun , I'm here to convince you all to fly our banner. But you know what I'm really here for."

"That I do. Walk with me."

The two men left the others, but not before the elder gave Quinn a quick nod. Once the two were out of sight, Quinn raised his voice so all the men could hear. "Alright lads, it's time to test your metal! No guns! Just fists and blades! Let's see who's left licking their wounds, aye?!" With an almost malicious grin, Quinn and the others dropped their guns and both them and Omar's men broke out into a fight.

Thirty minutes later, Omar and the Elder exited the compound. "Our men should be ready by now. I'll send her the report in the coming days. To do so now would only raise suspicions and cause others to investigate further. With Brodan Dobson 's temper tantrum already in the spotlight, she doesn't need that."

"Agreed. I'll fill my brother in once we return to the ship." Omar was well aware of Arken Dobson wanting to be the first to know the events taking place here. He was so adament about it that he actually travelled with the Special Forces unit. To Omar it only revealed how his brother's mental state had suffered during his incarceration. And if he wasn't careful, he could end up like Brodan.

Once the two approached their respective units, what they came upon wasn't unexpected. Puddles of blood, broken bits of armour and clothing riddled the snow. A couple of men on each side lay dead, while others were being tended to. Meanwhile six stood at attention; four from Omar's unit and two from the elder's men.

Omar studied the ones left standing, Quinn being one of them. "Looks like I won my wager. You six, follow me." He replaced his helmet, gave the elder a salute before turning to head back to the ship with the six men gathering their rifles and following him single file through the snow.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

As he stated, and much unlike hm, Coren was allowing Kyra, anyone else, but most importantly, his daughter, to lead the actions on this day. The locations all seemed fine, and he was more than happy to help boost this world, bring it back to the forefront. Either would be a place to be used properly and restored.

As for the ship, well, it was a pair of Starchasers here who brought their own vessels. Not that Coren was ever not ready to fly with others. "I can always move the twin over for us when you are ready." The Jedi Master nodded to his daughter. He knew enough of what was going on, or at least how to apply the project.

What he approved of was the way Salmakk had approached her. Understanding that this isn't a tried and true science, not yet. The Scar World Initiative was doing a lot, and even what he was finding out of the Forerunner tech from one of his agents. This though, this was the brain child of Kyra, and he knew that she was going to succeed in this.

Salmakk Kyra Perl

 

[Silver Strand]

"Well, Burtch was right for the most part. As I'm sure you know, my father was a very misguided man. He had good intentions but his execution would have led this Empire to ruin. One of his many mistakes was to make enemies of nearly every superpower in the galaxy....something that I am working hard to reverse. The Empire's only true enemies are The Bryn'adul, and any Sith cults that threaten the galaxy. We have some issues with The Eternal Empire and The New Imperial Order, but nothing too serious. The reforms Ms. Dobson mentioned are irrelevant to The Concord, but if you wish to learn about them, I'm happy to discuss them...just ask. I'll let my wife take it from here"

Senator Chistor carefully considered Rex Valhoun 's words. Good intentions were important - especially to a group held together by jedi. Yet sometimes execution of those intentions was just as important as their intent, especially with billions of lives on the balance. Loreena Arenais-Valhoun started to speak, breaking the senator's thoughts just as he started to consider the New Imperial Order and the Eternal Empire.

"Mandal-Elysium Arms is rebuilding well. We have many people working on a super station that allows for the same kind of living one would find on world. Some of the most uninhabitable planets in the Galaxy are rich in resources and offer a lot of opportunities for many. There'll be an abundance of trade that can be offered between both governments."

Chistor nodded in an amicable understanding. Trade was what had largely brought him to power within the Silver Assembly, with the backing of more industrial planets behind him, his group had largely managed to maintain a cohesive policy that encouraged free trade with friendly powers, while making economic exchanges with more suspect partners more restrained - ironically enough with the very powers that the king had just mentioned, though the Eternal Empire had just normalized trade relations with the Concord mere months ago.

The senator steepled his hands together as he turned back to face the king.

"Sometimes it is difficult to know who one's friends truly are," started the man plainly, "especially when it comes to political maneuvering. The Sith cults and the Bryn'adul have no friends - they are not controversial enemies. The Eternal Empire and the New Imperial Order...have had our attentions as well, though admittedly our concern with the Eternal Empire has faded some in recent time. Though the New Imperial Order though, I think you will find that there is a growing consensus that they are a destabilizing element to the galaxy - their interference with internal Galactic Alliance affairs with Kuat, and now their growing expansion by invasion - while not a direct threat to the Elysium Empire yet, seem a portent of things to come if they continue to progress as they have so far..."

He guessed that they could read his further thoughts from there, especially if they had casually read any of the news or political commentary coming out of the Concord itself. While there were almost always diverging thoughts in a realm with free press, there was a growing concern among the Concord's citizens that the New Imperial Order was becoming overly aggressive, and they were expanding towards the Concord's borders. While they were not a war with their once-allies, tensions between the two powers were increasing.

The senator from Tirahn turned to the queen and offered a smile but genuine smile - a rariety for the man.

"Trade is something I am very much interested in discussing, though it would probably be best if we discussed and hammered out the finer details later with the other delegates while we draft the actual treaty. But let it suffice to say the Concord is interested very much in normalizing trade relations and facilitating corporate, commercial, and educational related exchanges with the Elysium Empire. Governments are all concerned with keeping their economies bright, and meeting at least the basic needs of the every day lives of our citizens. The Concord stretches from near the Core, like my own world, with heavy industrial bases which would certainly be interested in acquiring some raw materials from your worlds to produce our goods. Likewise, some of the Concord's less industrialized worlds on the edge of our borders might actually be closer to the Elysium Empire, which would mean that goods produced within your empire would be very cost competitive just based on shipping alone.

Do we have any other basic thoughts or points of discussion that we need to address before we start hammering out the fine details with the others?"

The politician briefly glanced at Dorthea Dobson and Grand Shepherd Burtch as he spoke that last sentence.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra smiled, the motion small but genuine.

"That's right. The device only pushes the air out, if left without a current to circulate the rebalanced ions, it would just create a pocket... like a bubble of repaired atmo. That would take far too long to dissipate to the rest of the world. Currents are your friend here." It wouldn't be a long trip to the chosen location but she walked them all to the cockpit regardless, growing more animated as she explained.

"An atmosphere is made up different elements. Different ratios of these elements react differently with this like the sun-- or the carbon emission from the creatures below. They manipulated this to create an atmosphere that mimicked their own-- hot and caustic, sound familiar? We can manipulate it to reflect what it was before the bryn changed it. It'll take some fiddling but we'll get there in time.

"That would be great dad. You want to stay and watch how we have this one set up?"

Coren Starchaser Salmakk

 

[Dorthea Dobson]

Dorthea was very pleased to see that Senator Chistor had received Rex Valhoun and Loreena Arenais-Valhoun 's proposals in such a positive light. As a diplomat, Dorthea figured that he could have easily made up a bunch of concerns and squeezed more out of the Elysium Empire or tested their resolve under scrutiny. It wasn't necessarily an insult, traditionally speaking, but just the nature of diplomacy. It was even considered rude in some cultures to not test your friends, enemies, or opposition in situations like this. But the way Chistor was so totally open to a deepening alliance told her that he was already on the same page as the Empire, he was just here to solidify what everyone already wanted.

Dorthea shot Rex Valhoun a smile. She knew through the grapevine that he was worried about his father's, Heath Valhoun 's old foreign relations policies and how they might've affected the outcome of this meeting. Now that they had seen how easily Chistor was taking the adjustments to their alliance, Dorthea was certain that Heath had caused absolutely no damage to their relationship with the Concord. Perhaps Heath wasn't as damaging as Rex was worried about?

****

Senator Chistor said:

Do we have any other basic thoughts or points of discussion that we need to address before we start hammering out the fine details with the others?"

The politician briefly glanced at Dorthea Dobson and Grand Shepherd Burtch as he spoke that last sentence.

****

Burtch and Dorthea looked at each other as Senator Chistor asked them his question, and Burtch gave Dorthea a short nod. Dorthea spoke next, "yes, we have one last very critical issue to hash out, and it could be said that this is one of the main reasons for strengthening our alliance today."

Dorthea pulled out her data pad, and she wished her damn droid was here to do this with his holodisplay so that she could focus more on speaking. But, of course, the security teams needed Grunty's help, and she had a backup plan in her data pad. She keyed a couple icons and a display of Damascus Station and some graphs came up. She began speaking again, "we built this station to house our refugee population and it's about ready to enter full production. The refugees come from many, many different tragic theatres in the galaxy, but one of our biggest contributors has been the ones displaced by the horrible Bryn'adul crusade. Since the war has ended, for the most part, a new dynamic has emerged as our refugees know that you'll be taking that territory back. Many of our Concord expats want to enjoy the benefits of dual citizenship in more ways than currently available. Physical movements between the Elysium Empire and the Silver Jedi Concord aren't terribly strenuous for 'dual citizens', but things like property rights, and money transfers back home are still bogged down by bureaucratic redundancies that they would like to see lifted. I have… well, an exhaustive list of proposed policy changes and suggestions and I can tell you right now that there is no way to get this perfect. But I do think we can do this in a number of different ways that can actually benefit each other's economies without posing security risks to each other.

"There are two more things that some of our Concord expats would like us to address that I must emphasize before we start hammering out the finer details of this alliance. One; a Concord Embassy on Damascus Station would be ideal for the convenience of our citizens. And two; - bear in mind, this one caught me off guard - various temples of worship of some sorts for the people to be more connected to their own religions from the Concord territory.

"The embassy is self explanatory, and there are very few unusual details regarding that, but the temple situation was interesting. Many of our Concord expats still follow their original individual faiths of origin, but they lack a direct line to the pontiffs, popes, grandmasters or whatever their individual faith recognizes as a supreme leader. It would be beneficial for them to have direct representation of their faiths brought to the station. I'm hoping that we can discuss that in detail during the deeper discussions."

Silver Strand C Cirrus

 

[Salmakk]

Salmakk nodded in understanding at Kyra Perl 's explanation as they walked towards the ship. Diffusion...working with the environment rather than against it. He blinked. That sounds like a very jedi-like thing to do...He was about to remark something of that nature out loud, but even as dense as he was to human interactions, he knew better than to interrupt a question from the daughter to Coren Starchaser .

As he waited for those two to exchange words, his mind wander off to other possible applications of diffusion. Naturally as an ocean dweller himself, his mind first went to water. Oceans and many bodies of waters had currents too. While Bimmisaari's waters weren't heavily polluted - their empire had fallen too quickly before all of the major terraforming changes could take place - the principle could likely be useful on other worlds to clean up contaminants, and maybe even some invasive species with a little work. His mind to continued to wander down that tenuous strand of thought.

 

[Silver Strand]

Senator Chistor pondered Dorthea Dobson 's questions. He hadn't heard of this station before, though given its extremely large size he felt that someone within the Silver Intelligence Network (SIN) should have informed him of it. But there has got to be hundreds if not thousands of refugee settlements out of Concord space...and not all refugees are Concord citizens. It vexed him, but he knew that SIN couldn't be everywhere at once either - there were many threats out there which took greater priority, whether it was the Brotherhood of the Maw, the New Imperial Order, or even the surviving Bryn'adul themselves. In contrast to those things, he could see why it could escape their attention...or rather, their attention to bringing it to his attention - doubtless someone in that organization knew about it, even if it was in more of the more inane cubicles somewhere on Commenor.

"Embassies are almost a necessity with international relations," started the man, "and while I cannot formally promise an embassy at the station - at least not within the treaty we are about to draft and sign - and I can almost informally guarantee that we can open an embassy there if the king and queen agree to - I have the necessary votes within the assembly, but it has to pass through some committee procedurals first...as far as our expatriates religious concerns are involved, I can forward these to a committee to discuss, but I should mention that for most Concord worlds, the state has no say with religious organizations. We can put policies in place to try and help form these connections, but we cannot dictate to our religious leaders what they can and cannot do. Still, I would imagine that few of them are interested in abandoning the devout of their flock. We shall see how they react to our overtures..."

He briefly turned his eyes to Rex Valhoun and Loreena Arenais-Valhoun , "Speaking of embassies, is there a world you would like to host an embassy of your own."

 

[Thal Mantis]

​

When his father burned Dromund Kaas, he and the other Mandalorians there decimated the world for nearly a decade. In fact- the asteroid and the burning they inflicted on the enemy forever altered the gravity, the vegetation, the fauna, and the environment of the world they sought to burn.

He had the same visage, as he sat, reaching out with the force across the landscape. A decimated world, ruined by the advance of an invasive, destroying species.

His hands folded tightly, he reached out across the world. Felt the suffering. Felt the pain. Felt it all. But he found it- in the distance. Hope. A plan, maybe. Or some kind of glimmer of good news. Thal opened his eyes.

The force's image of the planet and all it's creatures gave way to the horror before him. The last holdouts of the enemy, dug in. His lightsaber was clutched tightly, the blue blade scouring through the enemy. He felt his life go, melding into the force. He felt her here- the woman who tried to save him from himself. But as far as he knew, this was what he was destined for.

Thal Mantis was convinced he would only seek peace, but never find it. So, through his birthright's gift, he sought to bring other's peace. And that, in the moment, meant that he would need to bring the enemy to their knees. But the Bryn would never willingly surrender. So he would take their lives.

His hand instinctively reached out- and a curious thing happened. He felt the flow of the battle. The rage, the anger, the fear, the tenacity, the iron will of the enemy meeting the allied units vengeful charge. He reached out with the force- and the Bryn in front of him was felled by a crack of lightning.

Wrought from his hand. As the Allied soldiers advanced past Thal- he took a moment, glancing at his hand in disbelief.

Something was wrong- but the battle raged on. He'd examine it later. And himself, hopefully.

 

[Rex Valhoun]

Objective One
Post: 5
Tags: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun Loreena Arenais-Valhoun Grand Shepherd Burtch Grand Shepherd Burtch [IMG alt="Gir Quee"]https://www.starwarsrp.net/data/avatars/s/3/3985.jpg?1577199219[/IMG] Gir Quee [IMG alt="Martin Dux"]https://www.starwarsrp.net/data/avatars/s/27/27301.jpg?1642523166[/IMG] Martin Dux Silver Strand
Location: Asaari Hotel

Speaking of embassies, is there a world you would like to host an embassy of your own."

Like a ball game, the conversation had been passed from Rex, to Loreena, to Dorthea Dobson, and now it was again time for Rex to speak. He straightened up again as the question was asked, and then thought for a moment. With a solid answer, he replied, "We don't particularly care, however I have had a few thoughts. First, I propose Sev Tok. This is the world where The Elysium Empire helped force one of the first major defeats on The Bryn'adul. It would be symbolic, and the population is friendly toward us. Secondly I propose Mnemosyne." He looked slightly toward Loreena, "Mnemosyne has a royal family...which happens to consist of my wife and her brother Caedyn Arenais . Their planetary government is similar to our own, and I have been there before, it's a wonderful place."

One more, Rex, give them another option...​

"Finally, I propose Kashyyyk..."

Oh jeez, please tell me I pronounced that right... ​

"It's The Concord capital, and when The Bryn were getting close, The Empire took on quite a few refugees from there. Furthermore I personally love the planet and Wookie culture." He gave a friendly smile at the end, hoping he didn't sound like a complete idiot, then awaited a response from the senator.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Objective: 1

Lori raised a brow as Rex Valhoun put forth a suggestion of placing an Elysium Embassy on Mnemosyne; a world of which she ruled with her brother. She certainly wasn't asked about it, nor did she think that permission would even have to be asked for to anyone else when it was her own world. But when it came to big important matters, consultation with her was never considered.

She'd of chosen Commenor, her home world and the one that her parents Veiere and Kay had ruled for decades when they were a major power. Chasin City was still it's jewel, Lori still had homes there. Plus she knew of plenty of secret bunkers, sanctuaries and underground passages that only few others still alive knew of. It was as safe a place as any, and last that she was aware, it was a capital world.

Lori considered just keeping quiet and not letting her own opinion be heard for the sake of not showing any kind of disagreement or lack of communication with her husband, but then what good would that do? Not much different than being able to say something. The worst that could happen is that they'd all say no and shut her down. "If I may, I'd suggest Chasin City in Commenor. There's an Embassy District already where the Elysium Embassy would fit perfectly."

She glanced at her husband from the corner of her eye and then took a sip of her drink.

Silver Strand

 

[Cirrus]

Objective: I - A Meeting of Co-Belligerents (Surveillance)
Location: Loose within the Golden Strip
Tags: Aculia Voland Martin Dux Dorthea Dobson

He could feel her presence far too close for comfort. A part of him wanted to glance over his shoulder, to try and put eyes on his pursuer, but he knew such a proposition was tantamount to giving away his cover. Even if he could potentially explain away such a casual glance, he’d rather avoid the situation of having to do so entirely.

He could feel her presence skimming over his consciousness like a broom’s fibers caressing over the contours of an unevenly wrought wood floor - her powers reaching out for any bump to gain purchase upon. Whether due to blind luck, or the variables in which he increased his level of success in resisting her probing, he was able to mask his presence in the force. But that did not stop her from searching.

It seemed as though he could feel her eyes burning a hole into his skull. He dared not focus on the data being transmitted by his droid; no, for now he was focused on not bumping into whomever stood in front of him. He shifted the bag in his hand slightly as he glanced back - which was a very small mistake amongst his other close calls.

Her eyes met his, and his eyes met hers. Like a proverbial fathier in the headlights, for several pregnant seconds Cirrus’ eyes were squarely dialed into her own. ’FECK. Feck it all!’

Without skipping a beat, Cirrus broke into a full blown run - his athleticism on full display (which likely confirmed Aculia’s previous biases to be sure) as he tried to put distance between him and her, in a desperate bid to slip away once again within an exposed grating, or an open maintenance hatch... anything.

Meanwhile, the probe remained unmoving as the protocol droid hovered into the room, looking for any trace of its existence. It was to the droid’s benefit that it looked the mirror image of a fly on the wall. It had no nerves to tax, nor any reflexes to betray it. For the moment, it contented itself in being the unnoticed insect upon the computer terminal.

Spoiler: Dice Rolls

Dice Roll Pictures:

Roll #1 | Roll #2

Rolling for the following:

• 1st Roll: to once again resist Aculia’s force sense. +3 Psi Corps +3 Crowd
• 2nd Roll: to try and shake Aculia’s visual surveillance. +3 Spycraft +3 Elusive
• 3rd Roll: For the droid to remain hidden as a harmless fly. +6 Stealth Engineering

 

[Dorthea Dobson]

Dorthea listened to Senator Chistor as he pretty much agreed to everything Dorthea had suggested. She had to admit. Dealing with decent folk was much better than dealing with associates of the Dobson Family. Her previous experience rarely constituted smooth deal-making. As a member of the Dobson family, all of her dealing were usually met with "so what are you gonna do for me then?" With everyone that tried to make a deal with the Dobson Family, there was always an attempt to sneak a mile with every inch given as admitting that you wanted something was to put yourself in a position of weakness. In her dealings as a quartermaster, any time she had to make "outside the box" requisitions, she was usually met with a cliche web of lies and excuses that she had to peel away before she could expose the truth and get what she wanted. This formal deal-making with the Concord was… refreshing.

"Thank you, Senator. I look forward to ironing out the details of this soon in the next few talks over the days to come." That was all she needed to say for now.

She watched as Loreena Arenais-Valhoun and Rex Valhoun responded to Senator Chistor's next inquiry regarding the location of the Imperial Embassy and Dorthea was entertained by both of them. She barely contained her grin as Rex failed to pronounce Kashyyyk incorrectly, but otherwise, Dorthea had to admit that all three of those worlds were good options. She couldn't have picked better herself, and she glanced over at Grand Shepherd Burtch who winked back at her, showing his own approval. As a military man, no doubt he was considering the strategic significance of those locations as embassies.

Then Dorthea felt a shot of pride straighten her spine as Lori answered the question too. She noticed subtle tells in the way Lori was breathing and raising her eyebrow towards Rex that she was annoyed at how Rex had probably suggested using Mnemosyne without consulting her - by Dorthea's guess. Dorthea only knew those tells from her political tutoring sessions with Lori in the last couple years, but no one outside of that experience would've been able to tell what Lori was thinking. And to top it off, Lori had come up with a sensible counter suggestion based in logic while not showing her entire hand in the process. I can't believe how much she's learned…

Then a shot of sadness struck her gut and she realized something else; those lessons were probably no longer needed.

She turned away from the conversation for a minute to shift her mind towards something else. She grabbed an hors d'oeuvre from the snack table and took a bite while taking stock of what else she could be worrying about…

… like what in the Force was her droid doing right now…?

**********

POV: ECP-44, AKA "Grunty"

Nothing.

The computer room had absolutely no sign of the written music notes anywhere. He floated past the little bug three times, using his holoprojector as a light to visually scan the floor, walls and ceiling to pick up the trail of gibberish script. He chose to hum soothingly to himself with his vocabulator as he searched. If there was anyone nearby, humming was often a great way to preemptively set the mood for a peasant conversation in most cultures. If that didn't work, however, he would have other protocol methods of establishing positive relations. He was a good protocol droid after all.

Eventually, he decided that enough was enough and that it was time to head back to the conference. He started to float back towards the air vent when a thought occurred to him…

Not all bugs were unintelligent, he remembered. The Verpines were one such intelligent race that participated on the galactic scene often, as did Geonocians, Gand, and Colicoids. Many hundreds of other uncommon insectoid races were also documented inside his protocol programming, and he had several languages for each race in his database. Perhaps this little bug was also intelligent? It did seem to be interested in computers. Most likely, it was just trying to stay warm, but Grunty had nothing better to do anyways, so he thought he'd give it a shot.

He floated over to the unmoving insect and flickered his lighted photoreceptor a couple times to mimic blinking. Grunty knew that blinking was often a good non-verbal way to convey innocent intentions. He then stopped just beside the little bug and began speaking in Geonocian, <"Greetings! My name is ECP-44, protocol and communications, and I am here looking for an unexpected intruder. Have you seen any musicians passing through here recently?">

He then proceeded to repeat the message in a dozen other insectoid languages, a couple of which he used his holoprojector to convey physical languages such as the Killik dancing. He also threw in Basic, just in case. Hopefully one of those languages was known to the little bug…

C Cirrus | Silver Strand

 

[Silver Strand]

Senator Chistor considered Heath Valhoun and Loreena Arenais-Valhoun 's proposals. All of the options proposed had their strengths and weaknesses. It appeared that the monarchs had given some thought as to the reasons why, but there was internal Concord interests to consider in his mind as well as information that'd truly only be available to someone in the upper echoleons of the Silver's political circles, such as himself.

"It seems like you both have given some thought to your choices," started the senator, "and while I can think any of them could work, I might fill in some details that might narrow down your choices a little more. I think that the Queen's choice of Commenor is probably the most conventional and in that sense the safest - largely because Chasin City is host to the Silver Assembly itself in case you wanted to directly coordinate some governmental affairs with us. It is probably also the furthest from Elysium Empire space, which may be an issue for the refugee population that Dorthea Dobson so kindly brought up. Kashyyyk is the headquarters of the Silver Jedi Order itself with the Silver Rest, and it is also closer to Elysium Empire space. If you are looking to coordinate more with the jedi in particular, that might work well, though I suspect the native wookiees will be somewhat suspicious of any sort of empire given their past history with the Galactic Empire, but they may also be suaded by the Elysium Empire's intervention with the recent Bryn'adul conflict. Mnemosyne is not a world I am very familiar with unfortunately - it seems like you may know about it than I. It certainly seems hospitable, though I am not sure it would be a place of great connection to the rest of the Concord's federal organizations nor is it on a major hyperlane route, if I recall correctly. Sev Tok would certainly highlight the Empire's benevolence with the last war, and it is reasonably closer to Elsyium Empire space which would be good for our dual citizen refugee population. I would wager that the specific choice would probably be based on what priorities you want to pursue, at least for the main branch. I am certain that we could set up more minor branches or offices in the other locations if you so desire."

 

[Rex Valhoun]

Loreena's suggestion took him by surprise. He hadn't considered the planet she was connected to before Mnemosyne. It was a good suggestion, though it was more for her and her experience than his own.

The the senator spoke. Rex listened, taking in what the senator said. He desperately wanted to ask Loreena or Burtch for an opinion (or another opinion, in Lori's case), each choice had pros to them...but he was on the spot. He couldn't just take a lifeline, he'd look foolish. After a split second of reflection he answered, "The Empire believes Sev Tok is the best place for an embassy. However we will completely fund the construction and staff fees for a second embassy on Kashyyyk, if The Concord is willing to accept that offer. Thank you, Senator Chistor."

He took a seat, confident with his answer. He felt that saying "The Empire believes" was a nice touch, reminding the room that he is The Empire in the end. It hadn't been planned, but turned out well. The offer to completely fund the creation of a second embassy was also a good move, showing the wealth of The Empire, as well as its' commitment.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori nodded, noting that her suggestions were sound ones. It didn't come much surprise that the Senator didn't know of one of the Silver's lesser known planets of Mnemosyne, however. The little resource heavy world had enjoyed it's own peaceful existance within Silver space without getting caught up in any of it's wars. Thankfully.

But Rex Valhoun didn't seem to take notice of the value of Commenor and of being so close to the Silver's Assembly and government. There was a reason why Chasin City had an Embassy District. Lori found it incredibly odd that he didn't want Elysium to be a part of that....

She glanced over to Dorthea Dobson for any reaction as to what Rex had decided for them all. In truth Lori wanted to just step back away from the table, or walk out of the meeting entirely, for there wasn't even a compromise between his choices. She was just removed from the equation entirely as though she hadn't spoken at all. Or as if her thoughts, education and training didn't matter.

But leaving wouldn't look on both Rex nor the Elysium Empire. So she remained seated where she was, casually sipping her drink. If she was to be seen and not heard, then so be it. That was how she was going to conduct herself.

Maybe she could fund a little Embassy of her own in Chasin City in the guise of an office for her company. That could work. She'd just need to figure out which individuals that she'd place there first.

Silver Strand

 

[Aculia Voland]

Aculia’s force-tinged purple eyes flitted between her three suspects, slightly strained as she attempted to feel out her target through the Force. Nothing, still, the crowd was proving to be too difficult, at least for the moment. It was then her eyes mat of the third man, the technician, who looked stunned for a moment-but why? Was it from her appearance, or-

He started running like a little mouse being hunted by an exceptionally hungry cat.

Got you.

Aculia grinned as she took off after him, using the Force to speed her movements, moving between the crowd swiftly like a fish through water. This was truly her element, all things considered, hunting the scum of the galaxy no matter where they might hide morass of society. Although he was fast, especially for someone without the Force, that wouldn’t save him today.

As she sped through the crowd, something caught her eye. A delicious-looking, creamy birthday cake that looked just about to be served to a happy Twi’Lek couple. Perfect.

Whisking past the stunned couple, she swept up the birthday cake in both hands, and, following her prey, proceeded to throw it hard at his head. If it hit perfectly, it could cause him to stumble and end the chase right there. If it hit at all, it would leave a delicious trail of creamy frosting after him, no matter where he went. And if it didn’t hit, it wasn’t fatal to any passersby…except for perhaps their wardrobe.

After throwing the cake, she went into a dead sprint, hoping that if it hit, it would slow him down enough for her to tackle him.

C Cirrus

 

[Silver Strand]

Senator Chistor slowly nodded Rex Valhoun and Loreena Arenais-Valhoun in understanding. Their choices reflected priorities, which he in turn would later discuss with the other representatives in a more private setting. Judging by their choices, he guessed that the king preferred a more personal style of diplomacy - and that was something that was much easier to affect when one was a sovereign monarch. The Concord itself was almost always forced to the opposite side - purely institutional - simply because leaders were always changing. He himself only had a few more weeks left in his current office, but having a prior personal relationship with the Elysium Empire's king might be a useful asset to his politicking later on.

"I will make some calls when we finalize the treaty here then," said the brown-haired man, "I don't anticipate any problems in having embassy locations arranged in either location. Sev Tok should be an easy shoe in, and I have little doubt that the wookiees will understand the Elysium Empire wanting a closer tie to the Silver Jedi Order itself."

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Something the size of a small berry hit Burtch in the side of the head. The projectile plopped onto the floor and Burtch saw that it was in fact, a small yellow berry. He looked up at the direction from which it came and he saw Dorthea Dobson glaring at him, and mouthing the word "Commenor" and then she pointed at the Senator.

Burtch took a second to try and figure out what the heck Dorthea was getting at. Was Commenor a threat? Was it the obvious choice? Was the Senator secretly an agent from the Commenor insurrection or something?

Then Dorthea rolled her eyes at the confused look on Burtch's face and mouthed the word, "Lor-ee-na!"

Oh!

Burtch's memories of all the files he had read on Loreena Arenais-Valhoun surfaced to the top of Burtch's mind and he remembered some tactical information about both the woman Dorthea mentioned, and the world she came from.

Good thinking, Dorthea… Burtch thought to himself. He even understood why Dorthea told him instead of blurting it out herself.

He sidestepped over to King Rex Valhoun and cupped his hand over his ear as many of the King's advisors often do during meetings like this. Burtch then whispered, "My lord, as a tactician and a strategist, I highly recommend the world Commenor as our embassy location. We have home-front-level knowledge of the territory because of your wife, and the strategic position puts us close to the Galactic Alliance. This alone increases our sphere of political influence tremendously, as the Galactic Alliance would be just a parsec away, versus the other locations…"

Rex was new to his job as king, but Burtch knew that Rex was smart enough to know the value of expanding one's political options.

Silver Strand

 

[Rex Valhoun]

Rex leaned toward The Grand Admiral, bowing his head to listen to his words, both relieved that he was receiving some form of advice, but also nervous that it would be bad news.

"My lord, as a tactician and a strategist, I highly recommend the world Commenor as our embassy location. We have home-front-level knowledge of the territory because of your wife, and the strategic position puts us close to the Galactic Alliance. This alone increases our sphere of political influence tremendously, as the Galactic Alliance would be just a parsec away, versus the other locations…"

So it was advice. Tactical advice...something Burtch excelled at. Rex hardly took time to ponder it, instead stepping up again and calling out, "On second thought, senator, as two of my most trusted advisors..no..Friends...have recommended, we prefer that the Kashyyyk embassy is scratched, and instead we would like to chose Commenor as our primary embassy. Thank you."

It was better to make the call now, rather than wait until construction or announcements were made. Rex just hoped that the senator didn't think this was a scheme, or a show of weakness. Rex turned back to Burtch and whispered, "Thank you, Admiral." then he looked at Lori, "You too. Commenor is a good choice."