Chapter 1: A Treaty on the Brink
Suggested Music: Star Wars Return of the Jedi Soundtrack - CD 1 Track 9 - Alliance Assembly
5 Elona, 25 ABY - Berchest System, Anthos Sector, Outer-Rim Territories
Aboard the Leviathan, Jedi Master Akea Oahu watched as the starlines reverted to realspace. The beautiful planet of Berchest appeared along with a sizeable New Republic fleet in orbit. Berchest was chosen as the location for the talks for various reasons. It is in close proximity to the sectors that the Imperial Remnant operates out of. There is a certain level of comfort for both the Empire and the Republic. Although the world is now a member of the New Republic, the sizable minority of the populace has a certain sympathy for the Empire as the world only recently converted its allegiance. Regardless of those points, the talks would be taking place on a starship of some kind. It would be unlikely the Empire would agree to have talks on the surface of an opposing world for security reasons. The Bastion Accords themselves, though quite a public spectacle, were signed aboard Pellaeon's flagship, the Chimaera.
Jedi Knight Allanar Onsai was flying beside the Leviathan in his StealthX fighter. Both ships were guided New Republic traffic control to land on the NRS Amity, a Nebulon-B Frigate at the center of the navy line. He guided his DeepWater-class freighter into the hangar. There was only one other transport in the hangar; the rest of the bay, which could normally accommodate up to two fighter squadrons, was empty.
As the ramp to the Leviathan was lowering and as Allanar was climbing down from the cockpit of his fighter, a group was approaching to meet them. The Jedi instantly recognized the woman at the center of the group as Minister of State Shira Tal. She was a six-foot tall Togruta dressed in elegant robes. Behind her were three younger Togrutas, a human, and a Quarren, who looked to be her assistants or associates. She had a brilliant smile on her face and was eager to meet the two Jedi.
"Welcome to the Amity," she said to the Jedi with a smile as she approached. "We are very glad representatives from the Jedi Order are able to be present at today's meeting. As you are well aware, the fragile peace between the New Republic and Imperial Remnant is collapsing quickly and this meeting is a final effort to salvage the Bastion Accords."
The group exchanged introductions and some small talk. They began to depart the hangar, and the Minister spoke as they were walking. "We have three hours before Pellaeon's delegation is scheduled to arrive. The talks will be held on this very ship, the Amity. Representatives from Talon Karrde's information-brokering organization are already here. We also have representatives from NR Intelligence. Now that you have arrived, we will discuss our strategy for the talks. Please let me or my assistants know if you need anything prior to the talks."
She continued navigating the Nebulon-B's hallways, heading towards the meeting room where they were to begin preparations.
After the introductions had been made, Akea Oahu moved quietly through the Amity's hallways alongside the Minister. He carried himself in the loose 'S' shape that most members of his species assumed when dealing with humanoid species ((OOC: See example picture on Akea's page)), propelling himself forward with muscular contractions of his lower midsection. Typically, Akea didn't bother with Jedi robes (the fit was an awkward one, anyway), though it did little to disguise his station - he was unmistakable, as elder Dur Sabon were rarely seen off their homeworld. He had brought his lightsaber along for the trip, though he'd left it aboard the Leviathan. Even if trouble broke out, Akea preferred to leave his defense in the hands of the Force, though he suspected none at this juncture. His adornments were minimal - he did wear a bracelet, upon which was inscribed Aurebesh and Sabonese transcriptions of the Jedi Code. On his other arm he wore a larger band around his wrist; this band opened to reveal both Akea's comlink and a holopad.
He had taken some time to review the agreements set forth in the Bastion Accords before boarding the Amity, and pondered them as they approaching the meeting room. He knew that it was not the place of the Jedi Order to be policymakers, and did his best to remain objective in his judgments of the agreement - they would provide input to the New Republic and Imperial officials alike, in an effort to guide both parties to a harmonious solution. At the end of the day, it wasn't their decision - open ears and minds were the best they could hope for. As their walk continued, Akea shifted a glance toward Allanar.
He was glad to see Allanar again - the two hadn't worked together since the Second Imperium Crisis, and Akea felt Allanar's unique background would allow him mediate between these parties especially well. Finally, when the blast door that stood between the group and the meeting room became visible, Akea spoke up as he looked to Shira Tal.
"We are honored to be your guests at this conference, and your hospitality is most appreciated. It is my hope that we are able to redeem the Bastion Accords to the benefit of all parties involved, although I remain wary of the threat the Imperial Remnant may pose if resolved to aggression."
The Dur Sabon vocal cavity extended throughout a significant portion of the serpentine body, producing a thick, baritone Basic, though Oahu in particular had mastered a nearly flawless Coruscanti accent. He paused after speaking and looked again to Allanar, giving the Jedi Knight (as well as the Minister) a chance to speak before they entered the meeting room.
Dan 01:37, 30 March 2009 (EDT)
Allanar hopped down out of his starfighter, nodding in welcome to his fellow Jedi who he'd not worked with since The Second Imperium, still very grateful to the elder Jedi for his recommendation. without it he might have still been a padawan. His attention returned to the issue at hand as he looked to the Minister and her entourage, exchanging introductions and polite greetings as they moved through the halls of the Amity. Allanar looked the more typical Jedi of the two, which was not surprising given the uniqueness of the Dur Sabon species, and he was dressed in the familiar brown Jedi robes that set him apart as a member of the Jedi Order. Also unlike his more experienced counterpart Allanar did not so easily separate himself from his lightsaber, which hung on his hip, hidden under the thick layers of his robes. As they came to a pause at the blast door he bowed just slightly to echo his fellow Jedi's feelings of gratitude towards the Minister before speaking.
"I too share my companion's concern about the threat of the Imperial Remnant, and if fractured it may prove to be more dangerous even than a unified body. And I hope that we can assure peace to all people of the galaxy once again."
Allanar held a unique view of the Empire and its remnants, and it was not one that was always as negative as one might expect from a Jedi of the era. He hoped that the unique position and his expereinces would provide him insight into the matter at hand, so that it might be resolved without further conflict. Without a doubt the loss on both sides would be catastrophic if conflict across the galaxy resumed. He would defer throughout the conference to the elder Akea who he respected greatly and was, without a doubt, the better negotiator of the two Jedi.
--FyreFly 21:54, 30 March 2009 (EDT)
Three gentlebeings were quietly chatting amongst themselves when the Minister and Jedi entered the room. The murmur of their collective voices faded and they stood from their chairs. The table had just enough seats left for the the Minister, her aides, and the two Jedi. Once they all filed in, the Minister politely broke the silence, "Allow me to introduce you to everyone."
The first was a male Omwati in a fine military-style suit, though it had no insignia. "This is Wilhelm Finwat, our representative from Karrde's organization." Next him was a Duro NR Naval officer. "Colonel Lethos Trendales, commanding officer of the Praesitlyn defense force and survivor of the Imperial attack." Each man nodded as Shira proceeded with the final introduction, a female Devaronian with pointed ears and black shoulder-length hair, "and Agent Demev'leinse, or Demev, from NR Intelligence."
And to the three individuals, she introduced the Jedi. They all took a seat at the table and Shira spoke first, "Let's bring everyone up to speed shall we? We all know about the incident at Praesitlyn. The Remnant has denied they are responsible for the attack. While the media is having a field day blaming the Remnant and stoking the tensions, both Karrde and NRI believe there is significant merit to the Remnant's claim."
Demev, the Devaronian, chimed in. "That's right, Minister." She tapped a few buttons on the console before her, causing the holodisplay at the center of the table to produce the schematics of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer. "We ran the schematics of this Star Destroyer through our database of all known Imperial vessels. It took some digging due to some repair work that prevented a match, but we eventually came to the conclusion that this Star Destroyer was last seen 16 years ago at the Battle of Sluis Van. It sustained a significant amount of damage around the nose of the star destroyer, as you can see in the schematic, the repairs were never fully complete."
"The star destroyer has not been seen since, and it's never been a part of the inventory that Pellaeon provided when the Bastion Accords were signed. It's possible his surprise is as genuine as ours."
The Colonel of the Praesitlyn Defense Force spoke next, "While there were a number of things out-of-the-ordinary about their attack, one thing was not - their skill. This was not a star destroyer on a skeleton crew. Every gun was blazing, every station was manned, every starfighter squadron was deployed. For being rogue, they sure looked like a well organized force. If it wasn't for the surprise attack, we could have taken it out. But it was able to disable our two largest ships before we even knew what hit us."
Minister Tal resumed, "With all these things in mind, I intend to take Pellaeon at his word that he is not directly responsible for the fiasco. But Imperial influence is dwindling across the galaxy and Pellaeon knows it. There is significant support for a declaration of war in the Senate and Pellaeon knows it. He's in a position to bargain, not to bully. If he wanted a war, he wouldn't be on his way here. Now, it is not surprising that there may be dissension in the top Imperial ranks. Pellaeon has been, shall we say, less than trustworthy over the course of his lifetime so we must proceed with caution. But our overall strategy, from the Ministry of State, is this: We reaffirm our peace treaty with the Remnant with a few more provisions to help solve this mystery and prevent future events such as this from occurring."
"We will demand the Remnant's cooperation tracking down this rogue star destroyer and any other military units gone rogue within their organization. We need more transparency into their finances, their contracts, and their operations. There's no doubt in my mind that Pellaeon or his Moffs have a good idea who was behind the events at Praesitlyn and perhaps what their motives were. We need them to divulge that information for the safety of the New Republic. If they choose to hide such information, or play dumb, it would be a curious move, in my opinion. While we're trying to prevent a war between the NR and Empire, we're also trying to prevent a war within the Empire itself. The galaxy has seen enough bloodshed over the years. I'd like to see diplomacy shine going forward."
Shira Tal, in her first meeting with Jedi, was unsure how to treat their role in the negotiations. Throughout her life the Jedi were the guardians the peace and justice, and she had no doubt the two Jedi in the room were quite capable and level-headed. Luke would not have sent Jedi who weren't superbly equipped for a diplomatic venture such as this. She had confidence in her efforts, but hoped the Jedi could help even further to convince Pellaeon and his subordinates that this was the right course of action benefiting all parties, especially with so many lives at stake.
Her pause left an opening for anyone to interject with their thoughts.
(OOC: If you have multiple questions go ahead and group them up, if not, let me know so I know to continue. Once the Q&A is over I intend to jump straight to the meeting. Also we're getting to the point where I might need some stats. XP aside, go ahead and draft some stats for your characters based on what you think they should be at. We can adjust later as we build the system, I just need an idea of the level at which your characters are at in some skills. I statted out Galnor Wynova as an example.)
Kirkland 23:16, 30 March 2009 (EDT)
Akea Oahu waited patiently for an opportunity to speak. When one was provided to him by the minister, he produced a low, guttural noise customary of his species; it was a Sabonese analogy to the humanoid 'Hmmm...'. Thereafter, he voiced his thoughts on the precedings thus far.
"As I'm sure all present parties are well aware, any organized body of people will eventually rebel against what they perceive to be oppression. Your demands for transparency will be ill-received if you voice them to the Fleet Admiral as you have here - If indeed you intend to take Pallaeon at his word, then he is not our enemy, at least not any longer, and should be treated as such. If we attempt to strong-arm the Remnant into subservience, we will gain a short term servant at the cost of a potential long term ally; eventually, they will fight back."
Akea leaned forward a bit, as though, on Dur Sabon, he might have rested his elbows on the table and folded his webbed hands. Here, however, seating made to accommodate humanoids was simply unreasonable for a creature such as himself, and as such, he stood a few feet back from the conversing parties. This suited him anyhow, reinforcing his role as an objective advisor and observer. He continued,
"In fact, the transparency you seek may not even be a reasonable request, regardless of how it is phrased. It's quite possible even Pallaeon doesn't have the answers to these questions about funding and contracts; if indeed there is dissent within the upper echelons of Imperial Command, Pallaeon might be as ignorant to their dealings as we are. That said, I agree that Pallaeon is the best possible starting point for this investigation and is best equipped to field a guess as to who might have been at the helm of that Star Destroyer. We should present ourselves as endangered allies first - offer to help Pallaeon get his forces together and cooperating. Make sure he understands that both parties will benefit from this - as you said, nobody wants a war. Only if he proves unwilling to accept should we hint at the possibility of retribution - there's no need to stoke the flames if we don't have to. If, in the course of our activities, he once again employs subversive and underhanded tactics, it is clear that he has no wish to cooperate with the New Republic, and should be dealt with as an enemy. However, if we don't give him an opportunity to turn himself around, he certainly won't rise to the occasion. Keep that in mind in your dealings."
Akea returned to his resting posture and relinquished the floor to whoever would speak next with a vestigial, gentle puff of air from his nostrils.
Dan 02:10, 10 April 2009 (EDT)