Private Inspecting the Vineyard

[Alicio Organa]

REMOTE MILITARY BASE, "THE VINEYARD"
ALDERAAN
​

In his first act as King, Alicio Organa had mustered an army.

That was what they would say about him in the history books. In his relatively short time as holder of the Chalcedony Star, he'd reinstated the Alderaanian Knights, and continued his prior work reinvigorating the Alderaan Defense Force. He knew it was the right call, the galaxy had become dangerous, but he couldn't help but doubt his convictions. How would his people, the galaxy, remember him? Did he even want to be remembered?

Alicio shook his head, banishing thoughts of legacy from his mind as his shuttle touched down. The Vineyard was new, remote, free from prying eyes and far from civilian contact, should the worst happen. It's name, a grim joke by the king himself- his predecessor Faith produced grapes for wine from similar compounds, while he produced war. It was here that training the next generation of Alderaanian soldiers was underway, it was here the greatest minds of the planet dreamed up weapons, means of protection, and innovative relief strategies.

It was here Alicio was set to meet Noah, after some time. The new King had placed a lot of trust in the Mandalorian, after their initial meeting. Now, it was finally time to see if that trust had borne fruit. He sincerely hoped it had.

The people of the Alliance needed all the help they could get.

The monarch of Alderaan stepped off his shuttle, his solitary cape flapping in the breeze kicked up by the spacecraft behind him. His dress, and dark countenance, made him seem as if he were going to a funeral, rather than a military meeting.

- Noah Corek -

 

[Noah Corek]

If you wanted proper training for a proper military force then you hired a professional soldier and Alicio Organa had done just that in hiring him and the Mandalorian was going to deliver on the promise he had made to the King of Alderaan.

Alicio had provided him with a rather sizable training facility and he was using it to its full effect. He had gathered seventy-five hundred willing recruits and had begun putting them through a rigorous training regime and had hired two hundred and fifty Legionnaires from his own PMC to conduct the training, assigning thirty recruits to a pair of Legionnaires.

Noah had created the training regime, basing it off of the Legion’s own training program with edits to better suit the recruits. More time was spent on physical and mental conditioning and marksmanship since unlike the Legion most of the recruits weren’t former military or law enforcement.

The training wasn’t easy and Noah had expected a attrition rate of about twenty percent and was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be more around thirteen percent. In all there were soon to be six thousand newly minted members of the Alderaan Defense Force, ADF for short.

About five thousand would be assigned to combat units, five hundred who showed promise as trainers would be retained to train the next batch and another five hundred would be retained for a…special project that Noah was going to discuss with the king. In all Noah had delivered on his promise and stood ready to greet the king as he stepped off the shuttle.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Leaving his shuttle with small, understated steps, Alicio pulled himself from his reminiscence as he saw Noah.

He didn't smile, but the King's face lightened considerably as he saw the soldier. He approached, and extended a hand to shake. "Mr. Corek. It's been a while, hasn't it?" He offered a tiny smirk, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. It seemed heavier things were on his mind.

"How have you been? A... lot has happened, since we've last spoken." The waning of the Enclave, his appointment to King, the beginning of the Core Wars... the battlefield had shifted. "How is your family?"

- Noah Corek -

 

[Noah Corek]

Alicio Organa

As soon as he saw the King exit the shuttle Noah gave an exaggerated bow, obviously meant in jest as he had told the man when he had first agreed to be partners in this shared endeavor. He brought himself upright and gripped his hand firmly with a grin on his face due to his own theatrics.

He nodded in agreement to the King’s words about the length of time it had been since their last encounter. “Indeed it has your highness. From what I’ve heard you’ve been busy.” His grin only widened at his words to the King before gesturing to him to follow. “I assume you want to see the fruits of our labors since we last met?”

As he guided the King through the training facility he looked back to speak to the King. “Can’t complain, got two children out of the house, my company’s have been doing business across Alliance space and on a lot of independent worlds but other than that I’ve mostly been spending whatever spare time I have here. I heard some congratulations are in order…Amani had the kids, yes?”

 

[Alicio Organa]

Oh, how the King of Alderaan wanted to roll his eyes at that bow.

Instead, Alicio scoffed, a bit of his grim countenance brushed away in an instant, and he took the man's hand. "Busy is one word for it." A bit of shadow returned to his face. Stretched thin, overextended... those would be more accurate terms. "And I do."

Alicio fell easily into step beside the Mandalorian, ponderous as Noah recounted his recent endeavors. Then, he smirked. "The twins were born before we first met, Noah. But they're good, too. We used to live on Coruscant, so shifting to Alderaanian life has been... difficult for them. But they manage, far better than anyone expected them to." His hands folded thoughtfully behind his back. "How does that feel? To have children leave the nest?"

As much as perhaps both men would like to, they didn't have the time to talk family all day. But they could indulge for at least a little longer.

- Noah Corek -

 

[Noah Corek]

Alicio Organa
​

He chuckled lightly to himself as he heard the scoff from the King at his bow. Noah knew the King most likely wanted to do a little more than just scoff but assumed it was his years of formal education and training that kept him from doing something so uncouth.

Gripping his hand tightly he shook his head with yet another chuckle. “I know, I’ve been following it a little in the spare time I have and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed.” Seeing his face darken a bit Noah decided to change topics to something else. “Well then follow me and you’ll see.”

An eyebrow was raised when he mentioned the twins. “Hmmm I always thought the twins were born after you became King…also I watched that too, good job putting that imbecile in his place it was amusing to watch.” When the topic of life shifting was brought up Noah nodded. “I can relate with that, my oldest were about five when we moved from Carida to settle here. It was a difficult transition but they ended up taking it well.”

His lips settled into a small line when kids leaving was mentioned and how that felt. “It’s…a hard feeling to describe. It is bittersweet in a way. You’re sad to see them leave and you’ll miss the things you do with them or even just seeing them but at the end of the day you’re proud of them that they don’t need you anymore.” He knew that they couldn’t indulge much longer in this but it was good while it lasted.

 

[Alicio Organa]

"If you're talking about Ransik Ulgo... I still worry about that particular problem." He took a deep breath. He'd done his best to defang the warmongering Duke- he wouldn't be caught wanting by House Ulgo again- but it didn't do anything for his peace of mind.

“It’s…a hard feeling to describe. It is bittersweet in a way. You’re sad to see them leave and you’ll miss the things you do with them or even just seeing them but at the end of the day you’re proud of them that they don’t need you anymore.”

Bittersweet was the right word for it, Alicio thought. Staying a step behind and to the left of Noah, Alicio hummed thoughtfully. "I think I understand. I've never been very good at letting things go, I admit, but... I'll do my best to enjoy the time with them I have. Thank you." He was always thinking of the Future. It would take a concerted effort to focus on the now.

Speaking of which...

"To keep us from getting too lost in the weeds..." He let his eyes focus on the taller man. "Let's talk about the defense force. Have you hit any snags?"

His stare intensified.

"Are they ready?"

- Noah Corek -