Faction Arrested Development (Alula)

[Arla Rodarch]

OOC : This thread is for New Star League Remnants members, for purposes of interacting with Alula and the New Star League, from which they have been exiled. Stories on or related to the homeworld can be explored here.

House Susni Great Hall
900 ABY, 1 day ago

'So, you want to leave, is that it?'

The formal surroundings of the great hall echoed with her brother's voice. Arla stood before him at parade rest, in full uniform. It galled her to have to bow and scrape to someone with whom she used to play as a child, purely because of his right of birth, but she did it. Hoping to herself that this was the last time she would need to do so.

Arla had been born into minor nobility on Alula, and knew that such interactions carried an unspoken thread. High diplomatic speak concealed the true meaning of the words. Even an unworthy ruler such as her brother understood this. He was two years older than her, and unlike her, he had never served in the military. He was undisciplined and lazy, and hard to love. She had made a request, and he would respond in one of three ways. Refuse, accept, or name a price.

'You wish to ... abdicate your responsibilities to the House?'

Subtle as a proton bomb, brother, she thought but didn't say. He had indeed named a price, and not an insubstantial one. In the royal world of New Star League politics, abdication was complete and total, and final. Any children she might have would likewise be permanently unnobled. Arla couldn't simply agree, it would show far too much weakness. When she replied, it was with defiance.

'But i'm not changing my name.'

The boy king who had never really grown up smiled cruelly at her. He had certainly never made any effort to love his sister, or even show her the slightest consideration. He did not know the circumstances of her birth, but he knew she was not his mother's child. That was enough for him to hate. Arla didn't hate him, but he was, as she had often thought, difficult to love. She had always suspected their parents felt likewise, but they had made efforts not to show any emotion at all.

'You may keep the name, but it will not help you in exile.'

Ardan made the slightest of nods of assent. He was a minor lord among many, but that still gave him enormous wealth and power, access to a seat on the ruling Council of Seven. A minor victory, but she had won it. He took what satisfaction he could, he was after all, getting what he wanted.

'You have one day to make your farewells. You may take with you anyone who is willing to go, but you may never again set foot here.'

Ardan spoke with the finality of a judge pronouncing a sentence of execution. Exiled, then, she saluted her Lord for the final time, crisply and smartly. She had gotten what she wanted too, though she would present an image of defeat and resignation to placate her idiot ex-brother. She was free.

She had sacrificed much of herself, all of her political capital and much of her family wealth. She had done it to the cause of being free of all of the politics and intrigue of Alula and the New Star League, forever.

Already, her mind turned to the preparations to leave. Many of her own forces were personally loyal to her, and they would join her. She'd have the makings of a battle group centered around her personal flagship, the Defender, which hung in paint on the wall of the great hall beside the siblings.

Arla spun and marched from the hall, leaving her brother on the throne. She had entered the room a princess and a fleet commander. She would leave it a free woman, still a commander, but now representing only herself. She would have to leave her home forever, but she was not afraid.

 

[Arla Rodarch]

900ABY, 1 day ago - continued

She took her first steps into exile as she walked out of the great hall of House Susni. With a boom that had all the tone of finality to it, the doors closed behind her. The guards, members of her brother's household, moved in front of the door to reinforce the fact that she would never again set foot inside the hall. Arla didn't look back, but took in the rest of the city, under the blue sky, with the wind blowing slightly, bringing the clean air of her homeworld to her lungs. She would not miss House Susni, but she would miss Alula. The bright yellow star shone down with warmth, and she appreciated the feel on her skin.

It took her half an hour to walk to the shuttle port and board a flight across the continent to the planetary spaceport. The flight itself took only a few minutes, depositing her in the maze-like confines of the port, which adjoined the planet's capital city and was overlooked by the mountainous imperial palace far above. She found her way to a warehouse owned by her personal holding corporation, and inside it, her people were waiting for her. Arla didn't make them wait.

"We can go."

There were no cheers, they were a disciplined group, all military or military trained, but there were grins and smiles and backslaps. She didn't smile, there was too much riding on this. House Susni was a minor house, but just now it held the rotating minor house seat on the Council of Seven. Concurrently, and inconveniently, it also held the rotating chair of the council, which more or less made her brother de-facto Emperor, for the next solar month. He could still stop them if he chose to, until they were off the ground.

"We've been given twenty four hours. I want us gone in twelve."

No one questioned, no one waited. They all moved off in different directions, fanning out into the starport and to their assigned vessels to prepare for the exodus. Arla had planned for this day, she'd liquidated almost all of her assets to purchase ships, supplies, and hire on the very best from across the New Star League. People she'd worked with and could trust. Many of them had served under her during the Siege of Alula, and were deeply loyal to their Commander. She would take her place in command on the bridge of the Defender, and would have several capital ships joining her fleet. She would have fighters, atmospheric craft, and transports. They would have supplies to last the entire force for a solar year. It was all she could do, and it would have to be enough. They were out of time.

After much thought and contemplation, she had come up with a suitable moniker for her flotilla; Relief Force. Arla had focused her efforts on building not just a defensive fleet, but a series of mobile hospital units, with skilled medical personnel, able to deploy to the battlefield. Her fleet ships and fighters were selected to optimize protecting such medical groups as they needed to deploy to a war zone. They would bring relief where needed, in force if necessary. Arla's personal doctrine was well known to all who'd served with her. Protect yourself and your own at all times.

Many in the New Star League disagreed with her philosophy. She liked to think that over her career she had proven them all wrong. She had proven them wrong at the Siege of Alula, and in the hearings that had come afterward, all the military tribunals, she had been exonerated and praised. Many still criticized her defensive approach, but the results had proven that her commands suffered less casualties and executed their objectives most efficiently. She did not lack for aggression, but it was controlled, tempered, and always executed as a last resort while protecting those who could not protect themselves. And now she would take that philosophy away from an uncaring home system, and to the wider galaxy. The ships were now being openly prepared for launch. If her brother, or more likely, his sycophantic advisors, wanted to do anything to stop Relief Force from setting out, they would need to act soon. She hoped to be on her way before anything untoward occured, but trust was sparse in the intrigues of the noble houses.

Her flagship Defender launched first, with several grand cruisers to follow. Arla launched to space, looking out the viewports as she left Alula for probably the very last time.

 

[Arla Rodarch]

900 ABY - Present Day -continued

They had done it. Relief Force had all successfully made orbit, and after forming up, had jumped to light speed and out of the home system, some said, forever. The Defender was at the center of the fleet, flanked by powerful Exile-class Grand Cruisers.

Because of the constant wrangling and skirmishing between the Great Houses, and the last ten years of severe limitations on their military sizes by the central council, there was a constant surplus of advanced military hardware on the Alulan markets. Because the house lords were always looking to update and modernize with the very latest, they had little wont to maintain older equipment which took up precious military allotments.

Arla had taken full advantage of this situation in outfitting her Relief Force. She'd managed to acquire and outfit a reasonably sized fleet, and a not insubstantial army to go with it. All of it was protecting a core group of the most outstanding medical personnel in the galaxy, equipped with the very best and most modern medical technology.

She sat now on the main bridge of the flagship Defender, Commander of Relief Force, writing her own script now for the very first time in her life. Free of official NSL military duties, and royal duties too. Though she would be stricken from House records, her true tie to home, her father, was gone. She had nothing to go back to. She would go forward, only forward, and bring some light to the dark places of the galaxy.

Set course for the Core. The Atrisian Commonwealth.

Defender's command bridge hummed with activity, and renewed hope among these most skilled and trusted of her people. She'd known many of them all of her life, had fought and struggled with them. This was her family now.

 

[Arla Rodarch]

900 ABY - One day after the New Star League Remnants and Relief Force leave Alula

The servants were doing their best to remain invisible in the great hall of House Susni. The lord Ardan was in a black rage, and they did not wish to draw his wrath down upon them.

He had thought to strip his sister of her wealth and send her into poverty and exile. It seemed that she had already spent that wealth, and much politcal capital too, as the list of all she had taken into exile with her had reached the Lord, and instigated his outrage.

Lord Susni was most upset to find that the Moon Guard, the hereditary elite protectors of the imperial family, had joined his sister, under the leadership of no less than the heir to House Talen and the wife of Lord Sisku. He had plans for that organization. He had plans for the wealth his sister had accumulated. He had found it all gone, liquidated to purchase military assets. She had left with a fleet of warships, all fully supplied, and a not insubstantial army too.

Most vexed, he was further frustrated that he could not go complaining to the other Lords, the lords Sisku and Talen. The reason being because it had been his eagerness to be rid of his troublesome sibling that had made him rush the process, and overlook the conditions he might have added that could have prevented this travesty. They would rightly point out that it had been his decision to exile his sister that had led to the Moon Guard's leaving the New Star League.

His decision, his fault. With the fleet already outsystem, he was powerless to bring them back. He was lord of a noble house, and he did not enjoy feeling powerless. Most galling of all was the reality of having to account for these events when next the Council met in session.

 

[Arla Rodarch]

900 ABY - One week after NSLR departure

Lord Ardan of House Susni had made up his mind what to do, or rather, had been instructed by his cabal of sycophantic advisors on what to do. Locked into a course of action he could not escape, the Lord would double down on his public position, and make the case directly to the people for his actions, justifying them and even painting them in a favourable light. After all, the people believed what they were told, even if the Lords of the other houses would know better.

The Lord's holoimage was broadcast across the three worlds of the Alula System as well as on HoloNET affiliates of NSLR Holdings's communications arm. The Lord had spent a large amount of credits to secure the broadcast's range, and he intended to make good use of it.

Citizens of the New Star League and of the Galaxy, good evening. I come to you today to announce that House Susni has taken a most drastic step in the furtherance of good governance, good morals, and goodwill among the populace. I have decreed that my sister Arla Susni will forthwith be disinherited and exiled, unnobled and attainted.

Understand that I could not take this action lightly, and only under these gravest of circumstances. I fear that insidious political influences remain a danger to all of us, and in this case that those unpatriotic, undutiful and even traitorous examples among us must be brought to account. Through her actions, my sister has betrayed the League and her duty to the people, and left me with little choice in this regard.

It must be known that she is not an individual to be trusted or befriended, nor a fit and proper person with whom to associate for citizens of good breeding and good character. No true daughter or son of Alula would have any dealings with this.... exile.

It was at this point that the angry young Lord went off-script, half coming out of his seat in rage, red faced. All to the chagrin of his advisors, well out of holocam view.

This doxy, this abominable traitor is no longer one of us. She has spat on the ideals of family, of monarchy, and responsible noble rule. Her dangerous socialist and even democratic leanings are well known to all. This harridan is no longer worthy of being called one of us. I deny her and I abjure her. May she roast in the afterlife!

At the urgent wavings of his advisors, the Lord got control of himself, and returned to his prepared script with some difficulty. With a quick wave of a datapad, a fast-thinking advisor scrolled the prompter to the very end of the speech, skipping the rest to get the Lord offscreen before he did any more damage.

May we now go forward, with pride in the purity of our Echani race, and our New Star League, with trust in the responsible rule of those most suited to administer our society. Thankyou, and good evening.

The lights on the holocamera went out, and the young lord got up immediately and stormed away, his cabal of advisors following in his wake like ducklings, muttering among themselves. Their lord had intended to blackguard his sister's name, and he had perhaps succeded. At the cost of making an ass of himself in front of the noble houses of Alula.