A More Perfect Union (ORC & CC)

[Atlas Drake]

The Foundation​

Sujimis Sector​

Outer Rim Territories​

​

DIPLOMATIC WING​

​

Captain Atlas Drake was tired.

Their victory at nearby Sisio had been a costly one, certainly in terms of resources as much as manpower. The Kathol fleet officer lost count of how many sleepless nights he'd spent trying to organize humanitarian relief through a system simply not designed for straightforward requests. It was times like these he could almost see the appeal of life under Imperial rule. Attempted genocide seemed worth the trade for no more pointless bureaucracies right about now.

"Yes, what is it?" he mumbled absentmindedly into his buzzing com link.

"You're going to be late for your 0900, sir."

"Speak of the devil," Atlas sighed, setting down a datapad with the latest tactical reports before slowly rising to straighten out the ruffles in his military uniform.

Corellia. Their distant Core World neighbors raced through the captain's mind on his way to the Foundation's expansive arrival bay. Most of the traffic through the Coalition's main administrative station was via starliner or commercial transport so its hangars resembled a planetary transit station more than the flight deck of a starship like his Beyond. Drake's own ancestors were Coruscanti but he could not deny feeling a certain kinship with the Confederation. Shared ideals went a long way...

"Ladies."

Atlas nodded at [member="Yula Perl"] and [member="Peyton Steele"]. He was not the only representative dispatched to greet their Coalition's guests. The Kathol Republic was influential, but no less so than the institutions his colleagues represented. Yula was not what he had expected from a Judge, and Steele was as inscrutable as her Underground...

"I don't suppose either of you have any experience with political intrigue," he raised an eyebrow good naturedly, trying to bring a little levity to their wait.

[member="Lisza Starseeker"]​

 

[Peyton Steele]

The woman was one of the longer standing Underground representatives within the government of the Coalition. Yes, she was a field agent, but she’d been working enough time behind the desk to be able to speak intelligently on a number of topics. But it was a bit of a surprise that some of the more higher ranking Underground operatives had elected to send her forward to meet with the Corellian delegation. Hells, one of the Underground brass was a Corellian. One of the tricky things was… how did one dress for this sort of thing?

She had a lot of work clothes, utilitarian was they were, but this was a meeting of… allies, right? The CC had been part of the Alliance, and the Coalition had supported the latter. This was just what they needed to help see what the Confederation needed, and how the Coalition could do. She stepped into the wing with black boots, a smart fitting dress and a nerfskin jacket over it. She was able to carry a blaster and her datapad, just in case.

Yula was here too, huh? Zeltron, Corellian, maybe a child of Starchaser, probably not. But representing Terminus. Didn’t expect her. Maybe a Judge as well? She was losing track of them. But Captain Drake she’d worked with a few times, representing the Kathol Republic, no doubt.

“Captain.” She gave a lazy salute, she was Underground, after all. And hell, her jacket only had bare bones of rank insignia, since this was a friendly meeting.

“I’ve learned a thing or two. Get sent around to pay attention, but I also know what the Underground can offer our friend. I’m able to speak on their behalf with a degree of definite tone.”

[member="Atlas Drake"]
[member="Yula Perl"]
[member="Lisza Starseeker"]

 

[Arage Bao]

ORC: [member="Atlas Drake"] | [member="Peyton Steele"] | [member="Yula Perl"]
CC: [member="Lisza Starseeker"]

Rigid, strict.... and mildly bored.

Lord Admiral Bao managed to hide the latter part through fierce neutral facial expressions. Difficult. Diplomacy had never been her forte. Even when Humbarine was independent. She delegated. Let the diplomats handle it, they knew their way around honey words and sweet intents. Then... then Arage heard where the diplomatic meeting would take place.

The Foundation.

A brilliant piece of naval technology, if she had ever heard of one. Three kilometers of reinforced metal, armed to the teeth and then some. It was exactly the thing that made her heart sing.

"Bloody brilliant." She murmured in spite of herself. Grey eyes scanning the shape of the station as their diplomatic shuttle approached. "Try and get some readings, once we are inside." That last bit even softer to her assistant. Humbarine-born, bred and Imperially educated. As was the rest of her detail. While she was officially a Fleet Admiral of the Corellian Confederacy?

She had resisted and rebuffed the attempts to integrate Corellians into her detail.

They'd have to earn that right.

"Approaching the station. Requesting docking permissions." The pilot of the Corellian shuttle relayed. Arage sighed, straightened herself out even more. As if she could break her own spine with it.

Into the thresher.

 

[Yula Perl]

The request had initially come to [member="Joza Perl"], one of the few long time Coalition members who had a shred of diplomacy and business acumen. Somehow, Yula was here in her stead. Whether her mother was privy to this or not remained to be seen, but she sure as hell didn’t tell [member="Zak Amroth"]. No way he’d let his Deputy take on this task alone. He’d have to be there to ensure proper conduct, and to let everyone know who’s the boss around these parts.

Besides, Yula wasn’t alone. She had [member="Atlas Drake"] and [member="Peyton Steele"] with her, two people she’d never met in her life. “Intrigue? Why, yes. Political? Ehhh…” Her shoulders bobbed up and down, which caused Emily to readjust her grip. The little spider droid often traveled with Yula, clinging to her back or skittering around.

Peyton offered her take, to which Yula cocked her head and eventually nodded in understanding. “I hang around Terminus these days. I think I’m a Judge? The jury’s still out on that.” She paused, eyebrows waggling at the terrible pun. “I’ve hung around the Corellians for a bit, too. They seem like a good bunch.” She’d almost managed to bag a Coronet City councilor for the night that one time.

[member="Arage Bao"]

 

[Raona Cadera]

Lord Admiral Bao, Councilor Bao, Fleet Admiral Bao. The woman whom she was headed to this meeting with was one of many titles and only one loyalty. Oh yes, she'd signed the papers and the treaties and all the things that go into joining the Coalition but it was no secret in the way she lobbied for more leniency and the way the Humbarine fleet seemed to swell overnight when she took the Fleet Admiral position. She was very obvious about where her loyalties lay.

But she could at least pretend.

Lisza pinched her closed eyes even tighter trying to focus on a calming meditation [member="Romi Jade"] had taught her as her own separate diplomatic shuttle touched down in the massive docking bays of the Foundation. If she had been just a Fleet Admiral Lisza could have easily rebuffed the Lord Admiral's requests to appoint her own detail, but being both a Councilor and a Fleet Admiral...There was only so much she could do. And so Lisza was here with her brother-in-law and her mixed detail. Of course she had the two Darksabers, they almost never left her side, but also a small squad of Shock Troopers accompanied the shuttle.

She looked up at her brother-in-law and gave him a weak smile which he returned with a much more confident one. The large Quarth clapped her on the shoulder before begining to walk down the ramp where the others were waiting deeper in the bay.

"It'll be fine Diktat Starseeker," he said in his rumbly voice, "The Stars are with us and the Coalition is more trustworthy than they look from the outside!" She sensed he said that as much for his own sake as her's. He hated smugglers and the other criminal elements so prominent in the 'Rim. She took a deep breath and walked out, flanked by the imposing Darksabers in their black armor and opaque, green tinted face plates.

[member="Yula Perl"] [member="Arage Bao"] [member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Atlas Drake"]

 

[Atlas Drake]

This wasn't the first time Atlas had worked with [member="Peyton Steele"] and knew about what to expect. She was an observer, one of many stateless operatives pledged to keep the Outer Rim independent and self determined. [member="Yula Perl"] on the other hand...from her lack of confidence he wondered for a moment if [member="Dax Fyre"] was playing some kind of joke on him. Captain Drake placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, taking comfort in the knowledge that if she was really a Judge she must have at least some promise. Not everyone was wired for this kind of work, and that was why he was here.

"Don't worry. I've got plenty of experience for the three of us," he kept his voice light and encouraging, "I'll handle the formalities. Just try to be respectful if they ask you any questions, and no matter what don't look them in the eye. Corellians see it as a challenge."

Atlas paused for ominous effect.

"I'm kidding," the captain smiled, "You'll be fine."

Of all the wretched hives the Coalition based itself out of, the Foundation was the least grimy. Still their attempts at refinement must seem at best charmingly provincial to the arriving titans of the Core. Captain Drake straightened out his dress uniform while their shuttle descended into the bay. The sight of an elite guard at both dignitaries' side surprised him, yet he supposed considering their reputation as a lawless territory he could not blame two world leaders for being cautious. Their bonds with Corellia were old but these were uncertain times.

"Diktat Starseeker. Lord Admiral Bao," he bowed to both [member="Lisza Starseeker"] and [member="Arage Bao"] in turn, "Welcome to the Foundation. Captain Atlas Drake, Kathol Navy."

Atlas gestured at each of his companions.

"This is Agent Peyton Steele, who speaks for our mutual friends," the Underground had played a key role in both uprisings Corellia had endured, "And Judge Yula Perl of Terminus, guardian of the one true Fell Star."

He delivered this last bit of information without a hint of humor. Everything Atlas knew about Yula was from her official dossier. There were a number of candidates for unreliable narrators of her past accomplishments.

 

[Peyton Steele]

The galaxy was becoming an interesting place. An interesting place indeed. She knew that the Confederation was doing the good work. The Core was always in flux, the Rim, well, it was a bit more poor, but the woman did miss the Core and the cosmopolitan aspects of it. Coruscant, Corellia, the Core had worlds that had the money. The Rim, well, there was Sullust, there was Terminus, a few worlds that were carving their own life for themselves and the Rim. She was hoping to get some trade goods when they came out here, but that was all to come after. After some discussion.

“Just hoping they’re decent enough smugglers as the other Corellians I know.” The blonde smiled as she looked between Yula and Atlas. She looked back at Yula. “So, you’ll be on the same page as them, then, right? Terminus and Corellia are all similar, yeah?” Trading worlds.

As Atlas was the real ranking officer, and probably the one with the best repertoire to handle this. After all, she was an agent, and an Underground officer. When she was introduced, the blonde smiled. “Pleasure to meet you.” She wasn’t quite sure she had met either of these two. “Welcome to the Outer Rim. Hope your transit was good.”

[member="Atlas Drake"]
[member="Yula Perl"]

[member="Lisza Starseeker"]
[member="Arage Bao"]

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula shrugged at Peyton’s connection, though not in a dismissive way. “I hope so.” The Zeltron wasn’t a native of Terminus, but she’d meshed herself into the culture there well enough. Who knew if her smuggler’s charm would help carry her through a diplomatic meeting, or if it would backfire into her face. “I’m part Corellian, you know.” Yula was too used to doing things on her own and in her own way, by her own admission. It was both fitting and something of a relief that Drake and Steele were here to spearhead this meeting.

Of the three representatives sent by the Corellains, Yula was surprised that she’d recognized one. How could you miss [member="Arage Bao"], with her shock of white hair? Though they had not been formally introduced, [member="Julius Rhein"] had disseminated some information about his superior to her. He had been quite clear on his displeasure of Humbarine joining forces with the Corellians after their defeat. Her heart jumped a little at the notion of him being here, but she hadn’t caught sight of him. If he’d been present, it would likely have been at Bao’s side.

As Captain Drake introduced the two women flanking him, Yula had to wonder where he’d gotten his information from. Her head slowly turned to face him as he spoke of the one true Fell Star, an item she certainly did not possess. What Yula had, in true underground fashion, was a replica that had been passed off as the real deal. While the Fake Star held a trace of Force imbuement, it was not nearly as powerful as the ancient artifact. Her attention turned back to their guests, a tactful smile in place. “Ol’val, chumani.” She offered by way of greeting, choosing to string together a Corellian phrase instead of Basic.

“It’s good to see you again, Admiral Bao—we didn’t meet that day, but I saw you on board the Starchild during the launch celebration for the Soaring First Fleet.”

Julius had been wasted, and Yula had been flirting with one of Corellia’s councilors. Not one to be left unintroduced, Emily shimmied up Yula’s back and popped her robotic head just above the Zeltron’s shoulders with a short series of beeps. “And this, is Emily.”

[member="Peyton Steele"] | [member="Atlas Drake"] | [member="Lisza Starseeker"]

 

[Raona Cadera]

Lisza smiled at the group before them and bowed her head as well.

“Captain Drake, good to finally meet you. I’ve seen your name come across my desk on more than one occasion. Good to put a face to the name.” In truth most of the times she’d seen the name come up were from defense intelligence briefings. While he wasn’t the highest ranking officer in the Kathol Republic he’d been instrumental in several recent battles against various threats. She had no idea why he wasn’t an Admiral yet at his age and his skill. She turned to the blonde woman who was named Peyton Steele. Less information on her than she would have liked, but she’d managed to catch the tail end of their conversation but decided to hold her tongue.

Comparing Terminus and Corellia was like comparing level 1313 to the top levels of Coruscant, and Corellia was far more than its famous smugglers and scoundrels. Just like the Galactic Alliance and the Republic before them they believed in a democratic process, safety, and the rule of law and justice. Smuggling flew in the face of all of that. But again she swallowed her Corellian Pride.
She returned the Corellian greeting to the brightly colored Zeltron. She’d seen this woman more than once on Corellia in the Corellian Council building, though she didn’t know who she was visiting. It surprised her that she knew Bao.


“Thank you all for having us. This station is a magnificent structure.”

[member="Yula Perl"] [member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Atlas Drake"] [member="Arage Bao"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Yula Perl"] [member="Peyton Steele"] [member="Atlas Drake"] [member="Lisza Starseeker"]

Amber eyes calmly studied the array of people in front of them.

Dispassionate.

If she had any initial thoughts they were well hidden.

"Thank you for the welcome and the introductions, Captain Drake." She responded moments after Starseeker. Clipped tone, imperial, any trace of the streets that might have lingered was long gone. Part of her was amused that once upon a time she was like them. If things had turned differently? Maybe she'd be alongside them. Facing the Corellian representative.

"I do not often find myself outside Humbarine space, so I welcome the spare moments that I can."

An inclination of the head towards the Agent. Then a flicker of recognition, followed by the first bout of true emotion. A smile there. Slow, bemused and pleased, all at once. "Oh, Judge Perl, you left quite an impression on my stalwart bodyguard. Had I known you would be here, I would have brought him along too."

It would have made this so much more hilarious.

Scanning the droid suddenly popping out.

"Yes, I concur with the Diktat. Truly a marvelous display of engineering. As is the little droid." The compliment given easy. Since she had given her so much delight. The torture of Julius had been included in her teasing for the next six weeks. "I believe with the introductions in order we can move to a different locale?" And there the Imperial was in full swing once more.

Blunt and to the point.

No, the Lord Admiral was not one for continued diplomacy.

 

[Atlas Drake]

"Ah yes, much of the Foundation is good old Kathol work," Atlas tried to restrain his sense of pride at the Confederation representatives' diplomatic praise and was not altogether successful, "But the design is a blend of styles. This hangar terminal for example is a Kari layout engineered for maximum efficiency, and the arches are of course Uukaablian. Uukaablis and their arches..."

He chattered on like this for several moments while personal introductions were made. It was doubtless neither [member="Lisza Starseeker"] nor [member="Arage Bao"] cared much for the particulars of provincial architectural trends of the past half century, but Captain Drake could not help but exact some boyish satisfaction in reminding them both that they were not in the Core anymore and the Territories were getting along just fine without their usual dominant role in the political landscape thank you very much.

"I believe with the introductions in order we can move to a different locale?"

Once again he noticed it, subtle but there. It was in the way they carried themselves differently and the minute glances at one another. There was disharmony here, but was it professional or merely personal?

"Of course," he gestured for them to follow.

The rest of the terminal had been cleared for their arrival and was bereft of civilian station traffic. On their way down a rustic looking gunmetal corridor Atlas waved over [member="Peyton Steele"]. Creeping over his face was the shadow of a frown.

"Agent Steele, would you mind running ahead and updating the Partisans on our guests' honor guard, so as they don't get excited and accidentally kill us all?"

So far both he and the agent had failed to make a remarkable impression. The only dignitary either visiting official seemed drawn to was [member="Yula Perl"], a curious interest from the Lord Admiral and a peculiar sense of wordless caution from Diktat Starseeker which only further hinted at seemingly cross purposes. Or were they just differently tempered? Either way, he was beginning to recognize the half-zeltron Judge's value after all.