Private Deals with the new powers

[Diarch Rellik]

Heading to Tipoca City. Diarchy approach to make a deal with the Kama Nu.​

The hangar was quiet, save for the whine of cooling turbines and the measured footsteps of two men approaching a waiting vessel. The Diarchy's war engine was at peace for now. Something he hoped this travel would help bolster.

Rellik's cloak stirred in the soft wind as he approached the shuttle. A sleek, retrofitted diplomatic craft designed more for precision than pageantry awaited them. It bore no markings beyond the Diarchy crest on its hull: restrained, elegant, fast. Appropriate for the trip ahead. Capable of quick hyperdrive jumps should they be forced to flee. Their journey would be through the Rishi Maze, one of the more complex of navigable space only connected by a small cord to the core worlds.

Which was why Merion Oreno would fly.

Rellik stopped at the foot of the ramp, studying him for a moment. The Chancellor of commerce and a mystique of sorts was one of the few higher level members of the Diarchy that Rellik had not met face to face yet. This was a great opportunity for the two to make better on their bond.

Ascending the ramp and moving through the small vassal, the Diarch took his seat in the co-pilot chair. As he heard Merion boarding behind him, he informed him exactly of their mission.

"Our contact on Kamino is Prime Cloner Kama Nu," Rellik said. "We're negotiating a force between one and five hundred thousand units. Enough to bolster our military in a way that can secure several avenues for the Diarchy. Special forces, naval officers to bolster the fleet, and leaders who we know will be loyal no matter what."

Kama Nu Merion Oreno

 

[Merion Oreno]

How the actual shavvit Merion had wound up responsible for anything or anyone other than a small survey ship — including but not limited to the personal safety of a Diarch — was incomprehensible. He had the itch he got when he was about to bite off more than he could chew, get in over his head, stare down the barrel of his hundred-thousand-and-first death, and other metaphors.

He tried not to geek out when Diarch Rellik took the copilot seat. Like most of the Diarchy's younger elite, he'd seen certain recordings. Hell, he'd been there for the big academy duel with the critter/god that had possessed Laphisto. Rellik could bring the pyrotechnics pretty well.

"Understood, sir." Merion had finished preflight and then done all the checks over again. Now he sealed up the ship and they lifted off. "We'll be skipping along fragments of the Blood Trail and then using charts from the Mercy-Quill expedition to make the last hop to Kamino. Enough of it is charted, and enough disasters have happened in the area, we should have no issue getting there on time, Unknown Regions or no Unknown Regions."

The disaster part was a reference to the Central Isopter death cult's unique abilities, and the version of instinctive astrogation that he'd derived from them.

His pilot seat was modified for comfort. He settled deeper in as they came up through the clouds and saw stars.

"Sir, do you mind if I ask - with the way the Diarchy prioritizes quality of life, what will the clones' lives look like?"

 

[Diarch Rellik]

Kamino lay far beyond them behind twisted lanes and course corrections but the Diarch was reassured by Merions knowledge of the history before them. Now in full flight the conversation opened up and Rellik replied kindly.

"They'll be citizens. From birth. When they finish their military training, they'll be free to serve longer, or walk away. They'll have names, homes, pay, and votes. Their path starts in a barracks but it doesn't have to end there. I have learned first hand the futility of attempting to keep a clone from finding their own path."

He further added. "I read the logs. Cross-dimensional displacement. Vantasanth Leviathans. Half your charts bent in on themselves. And still, you brought the fleet home with data, trade goods, and intact morale. Quite an impressive group. You have done well to recognize their works. I am glad to have you with me now Merion."

For the flight before them, the Diarch seemed rather calm. Happy with the moment to speak to his new friend.

Merion Oreno

 

[Merion Oreno]

"Thank you, sir, but I was really only peripheral to the Rishi Maze expedition. Still gives me a shiver to think of it, even though the Sundering Dawn crisis came so quickly after it and was so much worse."

The long-distance navicomputer flagged that it had finished its calculations. Merion double-checked their vector and touched the controls that sent the shuttle leaping to hyperspace. This was the first leg, and the shuttle's equipment coupled with strong recent charting work gave them good odds of landing exactly where they meant to land.

"And thank you for the explanation. I learned some time ago to always assume the Diarchy has a plan in mind. It's one of the factors that kept me here, frankly."

Rolling at +15 - Astrogation Laboratory, Astronomical Charts

 

[Merion Oreno]

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