An Empire Reborn

[grammaticus]

The Throne Room was filled to the brim with military figures, politicians, and servants carrying trays of food and drink. Groups of people mingled together, near the edges of the room and seated at several tables here and there. The sheer amount of people crammed into the Throne Room slightly worried him, but today was a special occasion. The Imperial Palace, under construction for an entire year, was finally completed. What was once a simple medical facility within a mountain had become one of the most fortified structures in the Unknown Regions. And with its completion, the true beginning of the Fel Empire had come.

Seated on the Throne, Toran watched them all silently, his eyes travelling over the faces of those who had pledged to serve the Fel Empire. Each and every one of them mattered to him. They were all important to the Empire now, and would always be. An Emperor could only do so much alone. Rising to his feet, Toran made his way down the dais to the main floor below, the two Imperial Knights permanently stationed to guard him following him without much preamble, their pure grey armor standing out among the party clothes of the guests.

Toran walked through crowds, nodding his head to the few who looked his way, as most were too busy with their own conversations. Most of the guests had already arrived, though the party had just begun. There were still a few stragglers making their way in. Hearing someone call him from across the room, Toran turned and walked through the crowd, the people parting out of his way without much fanfare.

[member="Delia Panteer"] [member="Ishmael"] [member="Jairdain"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] [member="Klesta"] [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] [member="Titan"]

 

[Klesta]

So the fame of the Jawa's ergonomic assessment business reached as far as Osseriton, where the Emperor of the [Third] Fel Empire, [member="Toran Fel"], invited him to partying in his court, alongside a slew of faces that may be unfamiliar to him, such as [member="Ishmael"], [member="Jairdain"], [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"], [member="Oscar Saint-Just"], [member="Delia Panteer"] or even @Titan. Utinni! What kind of faction would readily invite an ergonomic assessor to a state function that is not a safety or healthcare summit? Although I might want to bring in one or two Xi Charrian assessors if I actually conduct ergonomic assessment business here down the road, he thought, surprised at the invitation of the Fel Empire. Tiffany, his longtime Zeltron staffer, was also part of the game, and, for the first time, the two went to the Unknown Regions. He hoped to be able to secure a deal for ergonomic assessments either with the UTC or the Empire, but perhaps the Emperor wanted him to assume some position in which some responsibility over workplace health and safety was part of his duties. Now that he arrived to the edge of the Imperial Palace, he was greeted by stormtroopers; this time around, he could kind of tell that stormtroopers were of a rather wide variety of species, to the extent it was possible here.

"Klesta, your neighborhood ergonomic assessment specialist" he told the majordomo while refraining from screeching Utinni.

 

[Oscar Saint-Just]

The young officer entered the throne room adorned in the full naval dress uniform. Although he remained as expressionless as ever he couldn't help but feel amazed at the occurrence. It has only been about six years since he arrived in the Fel Empire and it was barely four years ago that Oscar Saint-Just was merely a newly minted ensign, astro-navigation specialist, straight out of the Naval Academy. Those past four years of serving aboard different warships, in everything from mapping expeditions into the depths of the Unknown Regions to chasing down pirates and various unknown factions on the frontier gave him no shortage of opportunities to render distinguished service. During the course of these excursions Oscar found that the military path was his calling. Thus the twenty four-year old found himself holding the rank of commander, most recently having captained a cruiser and its crew of several thousand. Certainly much more promising than anything he experienced on his homeworld back in the distant Core. As he looked around he was satisfied to see most of the attendees were significantly older than him.

As a nobleman Oscar was no stranger to such formal occasions, but back on Alsakan he had never attended such a grandiose event, much less being in the company of a monarch. He still maintained his usual calmness. As he saw what looked a group of others congregating nearby the officer approached them.

"Commander Oscar Saint-Just, Your Excellencies, of the Imperial Fleet," he introduced himself, with the formalities he had learned back in the court of Alsakan.

 

[grammaticus]

Gripping the extended arm offered to him, Toran shared a brief exchange of formalities with a Noble, one of the members of the Noblius Court, the largest political entity within the Fel Empire. They were the men and women who voted and made the day to day decisions that kept the Empire running, though their voice was not absolute. Both the Moff Council and Toran himself had the authority to veto a decision made within the Noblius Court, if they thought it was in the best interest of the Empire. It rarely happened, but when it did, it was always messy.

Detaching himself from the group, Toran made his way through the crowd, coming face to face with a young Commander of the Imperial Navy. Extending his hand, Toran let a brief smile pass across his face as he spoke with the officer.

​"Commander, a pleasure to meet you. Are you enjoying the festivities?"

[member="Oscar Saint-Just"]

 

[Titan]

Titan entered the room and immediently felt out of place, here were diplomats, statesmen, burecrats, and politicians; but he was a warrior, and what can a warrior do in a crowded pary of politicians but seek out other warriors?

About half-an-hour later Titan extracted himself from a crowd of stormtrooper officers and naval officers to continue looking for more people to talk to.

[member="Toran Fel"] [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] [member="Klesta"]

 

[Jaster Awaud]

This day was the day.

The first day in nearly 7 Years that he was finally able to get out of his armor and wonder into the real world. He had bent the knee to his savior and given a commission as an Imperial Admiral. He was now the Charge of the 3rd Imperial Armada, their last Commanding Officer being Rear Admiral Goodwin. This would be the first event where Jaster was able to walk the air and finally wear normal clean close. He however, did not wear the uniform of an Imperial Officer, but the Uniform of his New Armada. The dark reds were to represent the reborn Alor of Clan Awaud who clan colors were Red and Black. A skull of some animal he had killed a few nights before as well as the Gold trim to represent a new golden era for his life, company, and the Emperor.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M57Fi19vcSI[/video]​

He walked into the room and stood at the entrance of the throne room. Flanking him was his Vice Admiral and Compainion Droid Twoozer, a Tactical Droid that was smarter then he let on, old fashion programming only ever allowed the droid to play it straight forward compared to Jasters illogical stratagies, this was why the two were made for one another. On the other side of him and more on his arm was his assistant Angelic Gloritory, an Diathim he had rescued from slavery many years ago. It had only been a few weeks, but bending the knee to the Fel Empire was not as bad as many had though. His Commission gave him time to form enough time to still be Viceroy of the United Trade Conglomerate, and thus he was able to expand their holding even more. He was on the cusp of power, and with all that power he still bent the knee to the man who saved him from a life of pain and suffering.

He stayed on the outer rim of the Throne Room, mostly talking to Moffs and other younger officers under his command. He wanted to be personally involved with all the members of his fleet, both navy, Stormtrooper Corp, and the Army that accompanies his Armada. He had not received his mission from the Emperor, so he still needed to find a Moff to ally himself with and build a reputation to get this nation on her feet.

[member="Klesta"] [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] [member="Toran Fel"] [member="Titan"]

 

[Oscar Saint-Just]

Oscar had just briefly conversed with some other fellow officers before the Emperor arrived. A bit taken aback that His Imperial Majesty decided to grace them with his presence, the blond officer gave a slight bow to him before reciprocating and shaking His Majesty's hand. He also returned the smile in turn.

"Indeed I am, Your Majesty," the nobleman answered. "It is a celebration fitting for the occasion of the Empire's rebirth and the restoration of the Imperial Throne."

[member="Toran Fel"] [member="Titan"]

 

[Klesta]

And finally, a few people that were arriving, with [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] being the first, and [member="Titan"], followed by [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"], who was wearing something other than the suit of armor he was seen around the galaxy for years. Accompanied by a tactical droid that seemed to also serve a protocol role, but that's probably because Jaster could be in the early stages of his recovery. Before Klesta could scream Utinni, however, he had to let Tiffany close in on Jaster first, provided Tiffany doesn't attempt to flirt him. And yet, in that sea of naval officers of various ranks, and other officials of various levels, it was easy to lose track of who is who. Especially since the more ambitious of the gang were jockeying to get the support of various moffs or other high-level officials. Just that, to get Klesta to support any number of them, they had to make sure they know how important the safety and well-being of their subordinates are. Now was the time for the Jawa to approach the Mando officer and ask the questions he need answered to see to what extent he could see himself supporting him: the Moff Council knew that the crew well-being was important or else it would be difficult to recruit people into the Navy.

"Utinni; it's wonderful what medicine can do. What is your name? I am Klesta; while I'm not sure why the Emperor summoned me here, what I have to say is that it is likely to have to do with healthcare or safety. So I have a question for you: how important is your crewmembers' safety to you?"

 

[Titan]

As Titan was walking around he saw a Jawa asking what appeared to be an admiral some question about crew saftey, so he walked over and listened in on the conversation.

[member="Toran Fel"] [member="Klesta"] [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]

 

[grammaticus]

"That is exactly what I like hearing Commander. With soldiers like you by our side, we shall soon be spreading our ideals, the very nature of the Fel Empire to numerous worlds." With a final nod of his head, Toran departed from the Commander, making his way back through the crowd. The event was going well, from what he could see. Political groups were forming here and there, with people jockeying for positions of power and advancement. It disgusted Toran. The Fel Empire was to be different then the Galactic Empire, or the rest of them. Turning to the Imperial Knight beside him, he gave the force user brief instructions. Toran would allow the political games to continue for a time, but if any of them got out of hand, they were to be crushed at once. The Fel Empire would not fall to the infighting so common among the others.

Seeing Moff [member="Titan"] enter the hall, Toran made his way over to him. "Ah, Moff Titan, it is good to see you here. I half expected you not to come."

[member="Klesta"] [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] @

 

[Jaster Awaud]

Jaster was entertaining a Ensign who had brought his wife to the Party and he seemed to be the son of a Noble from a near by planet. It was not uncommon for their parent to send their children to the Military. After the Lul and Fall of the Iron Empire, military service and noble blood was in their cultural identity. It seemed this mans father was a Captain if the Iron Armada, so joining the navy was in his blood.

"Good for you son," Jaster patted the kid on the shoulder, "The Imperial Navy is lucky to have you." He looked over to his wife, "And do not worry ma'am, I make it my personal goal to get these boys home to their loved ones."

"Thank you Admiral." The women replied.

It was at this time Jaster heard "Utinni", He turned to hear the Jawa's question. The Ensign and his wife still in earshot and part of the conversation now, the Mandalorian had a decent answer for the small man, women..... Thing. "Glad to meet you Moff Klesta, the Emperor informed me of your arrival and that you were to serve as a member of the Moff Council, your extensive knowledge of Commenoran Government can allow the Warlords of the Moff Council to somewhat resemble a Governing Body," It was true, at the moment, the Moff Council was a group of Criminal, Traitors, and Idealist who had a very limited understanding of the way of Bureaucracy. In a time of peace and where the Emperor needed a level headed person to actually govern, Klesta had the know how as well as the experience to steer the younger Moffs and Nobles into a functional standing body.

He moved on to answer the second question, a little harder to explain, but he would try, "Safety is a double bladed sword, in the heat of battle, safety will sometimes get in the way of victory," He held up a finger and tilted his body in an attempt to look the Jawa in the eyes, "However, it is the primary goal of mine to make sure the mission is a success as well as get as many of the Empires resources back to the Emperor in one peace, that includes my crew and her ships as they are one and the same," He looked back at the ensign grabbing on tightly to his wives hand. Inspiring Loyalty, once of the better resources he traded in. "That does not mean I do not know when to retreat, so the short answer for you sir, would be that my crews safety is at the paramount of my ideals, even at the sacrifice of some safety protocols."

[member="Klesta"] [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] [member="Titan"] [member="Toran Fel"]

 

[Titan]

"Emporer, I didn't plan on coming originally, I had an excursion planned to elsewhere, but it fell through." Titan replies to [member="Toran Fel"], apparently House Exile wasn't that popular back on Weik so the plan for visiting the planet died for now. "Quite the varied audience here, whatever happened to the Imerial sense of human superiority?" He asks, pointing to the Jawa.

[member="Klesta"] [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]

 

[grammaticus]

Toran let out a short bark of laughter, shaking his head as he grabbed a drink from a servant passing by, sipping on it slowly. He turned to survey the room, taking in all those present at his request. Among their ranks, there was near equal representation of humans and aliens, from countless different worlds. As it was now, the Fel Empire was made up of outcasts and wanderers. In time, as they worked together, they would be forged into a united force stronger then any the galaxy had ever seen before. It would just take time.

Turning back to the Moff, Toran raised his cup up to him, taking a final drink from it before handing it off to another passing servant. Focusing back on the Moff, Toran nodded his head before speaking.

​"We are not as dedicated to the flawed ideal of human superiority as the other Empires have been. I, like those of my family before me, recognize that wasted potential no, matter what species, is a weakness the Fel Empire cannot afford. Your position is testament to that very ideal, Moff Titan."

[member="Titan"]

 

[Oscar Saint-Just]

As the Emperor departed the young commander gave another bow. He was fully aware of how generic the statement he gave to His Majesty sounded but understood from his days in the court of Alsakan that such parties were mostly full of kabuki political theater and show, a place for nobles and Moffs to show off their influence and success, while any conversations of substance were usually discussed after the party in the backrooms with smaller groups. Oscar was sure that the Emperor himself no doubt understood this as well. That is not to say of course that pomp and circumstance is not important, quite the contrary, every nation needed to have its celebrations.

He looked around at the politicians and senior officers milling about and talking in groups, making an effort to prevent the disgust from openly showing on his beautiful face. While it was definitely good to not allow a government to rely solely on the genius of one man, as such an organization is not mature, Oscar saw no need for the Empire to become bogged down in the same corruption and bureaucracy that plagues the Core Worlds. If these individuals did not prove useful or have talent, he believed, then they ought to be removed. He supposed that having been raised in the Galactic Alliance, it was hard for him to not have a bias against politicians and bureaucrats.

He caught some snippets of a conversation taking place near by, seeing an admiral speaking with what appeared to be a Jawa. Putting the question of what a Jawa, of all people, was doing in a place like this to the back of his mind, Oscar overheard what the admiral was telling him about safety of the crews and found himself in agreement. He was glad to see a senior officer that seems to understand the importance of this. The young officer slowly made his way toward admiral and the Jawa, looking around at the various other officials present at the party as he walked.

[member="Klesta"] [member="Titan"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] [member="Toran Fel"]

 

[Klesta]

"You see, most politicians I saw in my lifetime were people whose interest in the actual governance was secondary to intrigues and games of thrones. So any procurement deal, if feasible locally, should ensure that some equal-opportunity standards are respected, as well as workplace health and safety standards are respected as well - it would do no good to have EO in place if the resulting workforce can't actually perform the work safely"

He had to look up to virtually everybody in the crowd present in the Imperial palace, including [member="Toran Fel"], [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] and possibly even [member="Isabella LaFleur"]. In fact, Klesta's dealings with the Commenori government were limited to the paperwork aspect of running the ergonomic assessment business, with bureaucracy having a negative connotation for some reason, and even one Jessica Med-Beq, whom he knew only briefly, was one of those few Jedi for whom policy implications were actually important beyond public security. [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] might have instead been thinking of the brief time Klesta served as the Senator for Hosnian Prime before the [Third] Republic collapsed. I really hope that Isabella is actually one to care about governance and have a clue; it would be incoherent with a complete shuffle of the Moff Council if the new Moff Council is still led by criminals, traitors or hopeless idealists, he thought, realizing that today's Jessica has a seat in what could be the closest equivalent to a senate among the Silver Jedi precisely because she has an idea of what policy actually is about. And also that the survival of the Empire depended in part on the competence of the public service.

"The Emperor told you his administration values competence over Human superiority. The Emperor will probably allow me to bring in some Xi Charrian workplace health and safety inspectors for training the rest of the Imperial WH&S inspectorate" he answered [member="Titan"]'s question.

 

[Titan]

"True." Titan says to [member="Toran Fel"], as he listens to the Jawa, "I hope you'll excuse my question, but who are the Xi Charrian?" He asks, if this was another one of the moffs, the difference in height, from Titan's eight-feet two-inches to this Jawa three-ish feet, eould be as big as the species gap.[member="Toran Fel"] @James Saint-Just [member="Klesta"] @Jaster of Clan Awuad

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

"What a cesspit of incompetence." Isabella's stern voice made a passing comment to a fellow representative of House LaFleur before roughly grabbing a glass of whatever alcoholic beverage was being served and gulping half of it down in one go. She was parched. "Hopefully when the emperor sees the sophistication of House LaFleur, he'll be tempted to make changes to these corrupt moffs."

Nodding, her companion made note to dismiss the rather harsh and aggressive notes that Isabella frequently came off with. Of course, this was all in the private of a trusted friend or family member. Certainly, she could play the role of a friendly and welcoming Noble who was more than happy to take requests of those above her in order to curry favor, who wouldn't? But to tell the truth, she hated it all. But that was all in the back of her mind, hidden behind smiles and waves towards some acquaintances she had made after arriving here from her family's self-exile from Malachor V. For now, they found comfort in being subservient to the Moffs. But that couldn't last for long, now could it?

Her legs made long strides to the Emperor, [member="Toran Fel"] and his companion, [member="Titan"], the latter of whom she had never met. Her friend took difficulty in keeping up with her, and halfway to their destination abandoned hope of keeping up with her brisk pace and went to schmooze with other such servants. A grin widened as she approached, outstretching her hand and speaking in her boisterous and obnoxious voice.

"Quite a gathering you've put on here." she turned to the Knight afterwards, quietening down a few decibels, "I don't believe we've met? Isabella of House LaFleur."

[member="Klesta"] I [member="Oscar Saint-Just"] I [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] I [member="Titan"] I [member="Toran Fel"]​

 

[The Mirage]

Mirage was on a city world, looking for a job. His goal was always money, like every other bounty hunter and assassin. But, he was different than them. He was never usually serious about what he did, which most of them were.

His daily routine was, going around this city planet, and finding a job to do. He seemed to have been able to complete all of his jobs within one day, even though, most of them required more time than that. Was he always finding hidden short cuts? Who knows.

He always felt like who stood out amongst the crowd, even though there were even weirder specimens than him. He walked through the large crowds, listening in on conversations that sounded like a possible job, as he walked to a bar, which is where many fellows with a job that needed to be done were, at least, that’s what he had found.

 

[Titan]

"A pleasure to meet you Miss LaFleur." Titan says, "I am Titan, a humble Moff serving our Emporer here in what ways I can." He tells [member="Isabella LaFleur"] while gesturing to [member="Toran Fel"], "May I ask as to what we owe your gracious visit to?" He extended his hand for her to shake, just because he didn't like formal occassions didn't mean he couldn't have manners.

[member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] - @Kleska - @Oscar Saint-James - [member="The Mirage"]

 

[The Mirage]

“You know for once I ought to have an on going job.” He thought to himself as he walked to the door of the bar. He walked in the bar, and looked around. He listened in on conversations, but so far, none of them were job related.

[member="Titan"] [member="Klesta"] [member="Toran Fel"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]