Exchanging Of Hands

[Edward Thane]

At the edge of the Outer Rim Coalition's space drifted a lone Iron Empire corvette. Used previously as a picket or patrol ship, it now played the role of transportation. At its helm was a blonde figure which, dressed in his finest uniform, waited patiently as he flicked across the screen of his datapad.

The offer of diplomacy had been sent to the Coalition just days before, requesting a meeting, and transmitting coordinates. Edward had arrived early, as a good gesture of formality. Despite his loyalty to the Dark Hand he still wore the iron wolf pin of the fallen Iron Empire. Hopefully those he is to meet with do not take it as an insult.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

It wasn't like Dax to go to these diplomatic meetings. In all honesty, he hated them, he never really understood politics and was content with the fact that he never would. However this one. This one seemed special. The Dark Hand, an organization the Grand Marshall sympathized with. Once upon a time he himself had been a hound on the hunt, chasing after the heels of Darkness. He still was in a way. Had the Hand appeared when he was just a lone Rogue Apprentice with no one to watch his back, he likely would've joined up with them. But now that he was Grand Marshall with responsibilities of his own? Well, no reason the Coalition couldn't lend a helping hand.

Technically, the Judges had no authority to carry out these kinds of meetings. They were ex-Jedi, Rogue Forcers and Dark Siders who had seen enough of the light to want to protect it. All warriors. All misfits with a desire to protect other misfits. Not the kind of people you'd want running politics. But seeing as the Judges were the only organization that functioned to serve the Coalition as a whole, they were also the only ones with the authority to carry out such diplomacy. Warrior-diplomats, men and women bred for war, but talked in the name of peace. That was an irony not lost on Dax.

As the Azalea, the old One Sith Razer-Class Corvette, dropped out of hyperspace Dax stood up from his relaxed position in his chair and stood before the holo-communicator. Unlike the man who would soon be on the other end of the line, Dax was in the attire typical of any Judge. A leather jacket, tan, well-worn pants, and a grey hooded shirt, all accompanied by a black belt from which hung his slugthrower on the right, and two of his many collected sabers on the left. If there ever was a more typical look for any Forcer in the Rim, this was it.

"Hailing the Dark Hand vessel now, Marshall." said Halzyn, Dax's right hand man since he'd first joined what was then the Kathol Outback. A brief nod from Dax signaled that he was all ready to go just as a brunette human woman in attire similar to Dax's strode up next to him, "I never thought I'd see you attending one of these Marshall,"

"Never thought I'd be interested in attending one of these Brill," the slightly older man responded just as the communicator flickered to like, casting a dull blue light across both their faces, "Dark Hand, this is Grand Marshall Dax Fyre of the Outer Rim Coalition. What can I do for you?"

[member="Edward Thane"]

 

[Edward Thane]

Thane had never been this far from the core in this direction, it was foreign to him, unfamiliar. All the more reason to strike up a relation with the Coalition. The possibility of connections, resources, information, and the safe passage of their ships was a must. But that is what they had to gain, what did they have to offer?

Being an inhabitant of a part of the more wild regions of space he knew little of what he hoped with be his host, Dax Fyre. The former ensign would be at a disadvantage, something he wound need to hide until he was confident. "We seek to speak, and perhaps share a glass of wine as we discuss... Relations. As well as various trade goods that your people might find of interest." Lifting a wine bottle of dubious vintage, he gave it a light shake before setting it back down.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

[member="Edward Thane"] [member="Dax Fyre"]

Stardust had come with, she felt it was appropriate for one of the heads to be at this meeting more then ever. Walking aboard the bridge she stopped staying out of sight for the moment, hands went behind her back and rested as she watched on

Hopefully this would bring together a good alliance or least friendly relations...the future was uncertain but stardust meeded yo insure a good future, one that her husband would neve rhave to take up arms again

 

[Riamah]

As the leader of the Dark Hand, it might seem odd Ra wasn't the one taking the lead in this situation. However, these people she worked with needed to grow and expand in their knowledge. So she had Edward work between these various governments and set up meetings. He was leader of her navy and as such was a source of power himself. They may not have much, but what they did, he commanded.

Her people would grow into their positions slowly and she enjoyed watching them flower. She had joined this first meeting between the Coalition and the Dark Hand and arrived with them. In time her position would become known, but for now, she would have Edward be in control.

The journey here had been uneventful and she took this as a good sign. In a rather cheerful mood, she joined Edward and Star on the bridge. Unless he requested she leave the area, this was where she would remain.

[member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] [member="Edward Thane"] [member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Peyton Steele]

With her bosses otherwise engaged, it came down to Lieutenant Steele to get some work done. She was part of the Alliance in Exile’s intelligence gathering efforts, and while she was normally deployed in the Confederacy space to keep an eye on the Alliance refugees there, she was making her check ins with the Outer Rim Coalition and the main brass. Today she was doing a shake down cruise and helping to train some future Intelligence operatives for the Alliance. That meant following along with ORC Judges to get a feel for the land.

The FarStar-class Corvette was only a few moments behind [member="Dax Fyre"] and would start broadcasting on the same wavelength as the Judge’s vessel. Looking at her team, she gave a nod and an order to follow her lead. She was going to have to do what she could to bridge the gap, especially once the message rolled through to continue on.

Boosting a private channel to Dax, the agent waited for it to pick up. And when it did, she’d alert the Judge to her being here and ready to assist, where possible.

 

[Rekha Kaarde]

Rekha had been dropped in her fighter on their approach and now she was circling back coming from the left. The ship looked alone. She throttled up then glided to her right. It looked alright...she was waiting before heading back to the ship. There was a patrol that tried to keep the lanes clear and help anyone who needed it. She was part of that group right now. Part of her doing her part when she could.

She wanted to be sure nothing funny was happening.

If the shoe was going to drop she wanted to be the one sticking her foot in it.

She kept her fingers on the controls her green eyes scanning everything before them as other ORC vessels began to appear. Seemed it was going to be quite a party.

[member="Peyton Steele"] | [member="Riamah"] | [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] | [member="Edward Thane"] | [member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

Janick decided to tag along with [member="Rekha Kaarde"], [member="Peyton Steele"] and [member="Dax Fyre"], to whom she taught some of the more exotic Force-powers on top of mental data transfer. Such as Neural Storm and Memory Walk. Plus, from what she knew of the other ORC participants, she would feel that she was there for a specific reason: commerce, both in a pecuniary and in a knowledge sense. Because all the other major areas of interfaction relationships were already covered by the others. Dressed in her black dress and bracers, she would meet [member="Riamah"] under different circumstances as was the case the first time they met each other, while being seated somewhere in the Azalea; surely Riamah would recognize her pretty readily. Now, there may be other attendees she never heard about before, such as [member="Edward Thane"]: for this reason, she had to tread lightly and not to overstep her bounds. And yet, she decides not to put on her false light-side aura, even though she knew the other ORC attendees also had some light presence... Poodoo: I can't bank on any Force-users on the other side present not to recognize me otherwise; it's best to use the false light-side aura when meeting with arm's-length parties or for undercover missions among light-sided entities, she thought, while staying close to Dax.

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax couldn't help but smile as [member="Edward Thane"] produced the bottle of wine and offered to meet him for drinks, "Now you're speaking my language," the man said just as a few more of the ORC's diplomatic party arrived from whereever they were coming from, "Although you might need some more than just a bottle of wine. I invited some friends, I ain't too good at these kinds of talks, hope you don't mind. Don't worry by the way, I'll bring the extra booze." The Rogue stepped aside to introduce the other two women on the bridge with him, "Captain, this is Sierra Brill, one of my Judges, a far better speaker than myself, and [member="Janick Beauchamp"], she and I go a ways back, and I know she has a mind for setting up deals profitable for all parties."

As Brill stepped forward to greet the man on the other end of the line, Halzyn let Dax know that [member="Peyton Steele"] and @Rekha Karde had arrived and were keeping the hyperspace lanes free of any potential aggressors, be it Sith, pirates, or anyone else with ill intent.

"Pleased to meet you Captain Thane." the Judge said with a polite bow, "I trust our talks will lead to a beneficial arrangement for everyone."

[member="Atlas Drake"] | [member="Edward Thane"] | [member="Riamah"] | @Stardust

(I think I tagged everyone 0_0)

 

[Atlas Drake]

A Star Dragon-class star destroyer tore back into realspace on the Coalition side of the border. Captain Atlas Drake of the KRV Utopia had ordered his people to drop them out of FTL several AUs away from the rendezvous coordinates provided by [member="Dax Fyre"]. Even with their shields and weapons powered down at over thirteen hundred meters in length the warship wasn't exactly a calming sight, and Atlas was supposedly here to develop relations, not annihilate any hope of future cooperation. Utopia's command deck was abuzz with activity, its crew hailing the Azalea to inform her of their arrival as they had been previously instructed.

"Status?" Captain Drake asked upon exiting his ready room. He was out of his normal field uniform and in full military dress, still fumbling with his shoulder tassels.

"Picking up ORC telesponders sir," a young ensign serving as this shift's sensor officer relayed, "At least one unidentified vessel. It looks...Iron Empire?"

"That's a new one," Atlas raised an eyebrow. He rose from the bridge's central command throne, turning away from the viewport and towards his crew to gather their attention, "Alright, listen up. We've got our first mission, this one is coming straight from Dayark. Coalition Marshals have requested a Kathol Republic representative to help arbitrate these negotiations. Since we're the only ship less than a week out, I've been volunteered."

He flashed a smile to reassure his crew that he was just as excited about this opportunity to prove themselves as they were, before continuing.

"Prep a shuttle team, minimal complement. First contact protocols are in effect. Let's go make some new friends."

[member="Peyton Steele"] | [member="Rekha Kaarde"] | [member="Edward Thane"] | [member="Riamah"] | [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"]​