Dear Alderaan

[Ashin Varanin]

TO: The Royal House of Alderaan, Royal Hangar Procurement
FROM: Theed Palace Space Vessel Corps of Engineers

The leadership of Theed Hangar would like to congratulate the Royal House of Alderaan on their recent successes. In commemoration of your renewed role, we would like to offer you our services at your discretion. The following options are available for your consideration:

• The Panaka-class elite starfighter, clad in Mandalorian iron. Only six squadrons were ever made; three are still available, as well as two individual vessels, one of which is the original.
• The Amidala-class diplomatic transport, a highly advanced consular ship. Only six were ever made; three are still available, including the original.
• The K-type star yacht, a corvette-scale luxury liner capable of carrying its own escort.
• A bespoke overhaul of any existing vessel.
• A completely new, custom design at any level of production.

Best regards,

Lady Ajira Cardei
Theed Hangar



[member="Alyesa Organa"]

 

[Long Gone]

To: Theed Palace Space Vessel Corps of Engineers.

From: The Royal House of Alderaan, Royal Hanger Procurement.

CC: Alderaan Royal Engineers

Lady Cardei,

It is with great honor that we accept these services and in return – as a token of our gratitude – access without hindrance to our phrik facilities on Alderaan. Her royal highness, Princess Alyesa Organa, wishes to speak with you at your earliest convenience regarding this generous offer.

With warmest regards,

Lady Wynta Glace

Aide-De-Camp, House of Organa

[member="Ajira Cardei"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

In relatively short order, a chrome K-type star yacht descended through Alderaan's multilayered defenses to a point designated by the local royalty. Aboard, Ajira ensured that her Force presence was nulled through Quey'tek meditation, a precaution she took constantly these days. At a signal from royal traffic control, the star yacht touched down on an elite landing pad. Ajira and a gleaming silver protocol droid disembarked.

As befitting Naboo nobility on a formal errand, she'd dressed to the nines, vibrant gold over soft blue. Naboo did love its finery. The design hinted at a naval officer's uniform around the chest and shoulders, and otherwise took some military design cues, but it was as over-the-top in its way as an Amidala original. Ajira Cardei, public records clearly indicated, had served as a ship captain in the Omega Defense Force, and her current position with Theed Hangar had some relevance too. The outfit's aesthetic sent a clear message: militaristic, but formal and elegant.

Droid in tow, Ajira made her way down the ramp to meet the welcoming committee. Over her very long careers, she'd never been on Alderaan, and like every planet it had a unique scent. She breathed deep and put on a smile that, for the most part, she actually meant.

Spoiler

(source)

 

[Long Gone]

It wasn’t odd to find Alyesa greeting a dignitary under these circumstances.

Of course, she was flanked by several Royal Guards and her newly appointed Lord General, Dresden Verbrennung. Her dress was rather fitting and simple, with a flowing sheer back that shimmered hues of red, green and blue in the light. She wore a unique crown that contained the Alderaanian sapphires. Her hands clasped before her and as Ajira approached with her droid, Alyesa’s guard snapped to attention and Lord Jacasta stepped forward to bow swiftly to Ajira Cardei.

“Greetings M’lady, I am Lord Jacasta Cotal, Aide-De-Camp to House Organa.” He rose up swiftly and gestured towards Dresden. “This is Lord General Dresden Verbrennung of House Antilles, commanding general of our Royal Military Forces.” He allowed a moment before turning to Alyesa. “And this is her Royal Highness, Crown Princess of Alderaan, Lady Alyesa of House Organa.” He bowed before Alyesa and gestured with his hand. “My lady, my lord – I present to you Lady Ajira Cardei.”

[member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Dresden Verbrennung"]

Spoiler

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

The chromed-up protocol droid took point. "Lady Ajira Cardei, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Cardé, Baroness of Tapanoo and Gwent, representing the Theed Palace Space Vessel Corps of Engineers."

"Thank you, T6." Ajira inclined her head and took a step forward, coming even with the droid. "Your Highness, it's my pleasure. Thank you for your welcome, and for meeting with me in person. I understand that these are difficult and demanding times. General Verbrennung, Lord Cotal, I'm most pleased to make your acquaintance as well."

The light, she noted, dappled oddly. Alderaan got its share of sun, the palace was resplendant, and the chrome yacht behind her -- a hundred fifty metres of it -- sent waving reflections all over everything. Doubtless they'd go inside soon. She wasn't too worried about the ostentatious ship's eye-watering radiance being off-putting to her audience. So far at Theed Hangar's market research indicated, any sensible blue-blood buyer looked at that and said I want that on my side, giving that impression for me.

 

[Dresden Verbrennung]

Dresden was not comfortable.

His new uniform was certainly smart, had all the accouterments one would expect for someone holding the rank of Lord General and everything. It was crisp, all clean lines and sharp creases. Not too much in the way of useless braids or giant racks of awards. The epaulets were a thing he'd just have to get used to, but the former mercenary was surprised at just how much leeway he'd been given with the overall design. This was a uniform that was as functional as it was dignified. They'd even made sure the ceremonial saber at his side was sharpened to a razor's edge, and he was allowed to use his own sidearm-after the armorer had polished out all the scratches and scuffs, completely replaced just about all the insides, and reblued the thing.

It was the situation that made him uncomfortable.

Despite his recent marriage into House Antilles, Dresden was still a soldier at heart. It wasn't all that long ago he was scraping around in the sewers of a dead world with a short company of sappers, trying to disrupt a high level meeting of some sort. His exploits had caught the eye of a young Lady, who sought to strengthen her House by offering her hand in marriage. He had met with her to be polite, but to their mutual surprise, they got along quite well. She was erudite, brash, and quite skilled in competitive marksmanship. She regularly competed against other nobles in private events around Alderaan. He was keenly intelligent, sarcastic, and in addition to being a skilled sapper, extremely handy with a long rifle himself.

Dresden had no home of his own, and no one that would care if he upped and married a noblewoman. There was only so long he could play the odds as a gun for hire, and this seemed a hell of a lot safer than getting shot at for a living. So he accepted her offer, and they had wed the month prior.

It was expected that he would take a position in the military. That was part of their arrangement. What was not expected was his appointment to Lord General. For one so young, and just recently elevated to nobility himself, it was unheard of. But the previous Lord General was set to retire, and when he sought his replacement, Dresden had caught his eye. His record demonstrated an immense aptitude for both strategy and tactics, and despite his gruff nature, people tended to follow him. The former Lord General, though too old to serve in the post any longer, also had no intention of quietly pottering around his estate either. He was to take Dresden as a protege, serving as a civilian chief of staff.

He would still be in the thick of things, guiding his replacement through the byzantine world of politics that always accompanied an established peerage and teaching him the art of running a planetary defense force, but had made it clear that he had no intention of turning Dresden into a puppet. The young soldier was far too stubborn for that to work, and besides, the man was a genuine patriot. He knew the current crop of morons that had been vying for his position had been useless fops who had never been blooded. They sought the power and prestige that came with the rank, but none of them were truly equipped to deal with the burden. The newcomer represented an infusion of life that would hopefully keep Alderaan safe for generations to come.

Dresden had been happy with the arrangement, and the last month had been productive indeed, but this meeting had pulled him squarely out of his element.

His new wife and the former Lord General, them he liked. There was even something like romance sparking up between himself and Sarissa, which shocked and delighted the both of them. But he still wasn't used to other nobles, and certainly hadn't wrapped his head around the fact that the Princess had requested his presence. They had been formally introduced, but this was the first time accompanying her as part of his duties.

It was an intensely uncomfortable experience, but one he'd just have to get used to. At least no one was shooting at him.

He inclined his head to [member="Ajira Cardei"], a gesture that Havelock had informed him was the correct form of address for one who was either equal rank or when their standing was unknown, but one wished to show respect.

"My lady," he said, a faint note of strain present in his voice.

Gods I wish someone would just start shooting. At least then I'd know what to do.

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

 

[Long Gone]

Alyesa took note of Dresden’s uncomfortable stature and let a soft chuckle escape her lips as she extended her hands to greet Ajira. “Lady Cardei, it is a pleasure to meet you. On behalf of the Alderaanian people, I welcome you to our world.” She offered her a smile before gesturing for her to follow. “Difficult times and demanding times indeed.” She turned and began to walk, the Royal Guard snapping to attention and following suit. Alyesa began to walk the length of the vessel, looking at it as she spoke. “With the corruption pouring out of the Republic and war criminals taking charge at every turn, I was left with little choice but to do what was right by my people.” She motioned to the magnificent vessel before her, stopping to clasp her hands together with a soft clap.

“Then I see products like this, made from the minds of hard working engineers and shipwrights.” Alyesa offered a genuine smile to Ajira. “I am in the market for a diplomatic vessel, and I am gracious of the offer extended to the Royal House.” She unclasped her hands and fully turned to face the woman before her, a single index finger rising. “But I was wondering if Theed Engineers were wanting to perhaps work on a joint project?”

Alyesa had been looking for a noble corporation to skyrocket Alderaan Royal Engineers off the ground with. They had minimal projects going at this point – and were looking to renew their vigor with an engine of sorts, who else better than the inventors of some of the fastest civilian vessels on the market. “We are finishing the repairs to our shipyards above, as you might have been able to see – so we’re going to be able to facilitate a wide variety of ship contracts – but we wanted to start out with components…”

[member="Dresden Verbrennung"] | [member="Ajira Cardei"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Dresden Verbrennung"] [member="Alyesa Organa"]

Ajira went along with the quiet one, the hand-talker princess, and the Royal Guard. For her part, she had only a protocol droid and a single silent aide, a shaven-headed woman with dusty purple skin; might have been Zeltron, Umbaran, even Omwati. Like Ajira, Shambleau was unarmed, mainly to set the mood.

"Theed Palace Space Vessel Corps of Engineers is always looking to source components, Your Highness. Traditionally we sourced through Nubia StarDrive, but they've folded into a larger conglomerate and we've found they have little interest in innovative component advances. We also tend toward Koensayr for the reliability factor, though they haven't haven't done anything genuinely new in years. But if you're making headway toward some real advances, we'd be more than happy to begin sourcing portions of our supply chain through you. What sorts of projects do you have in mind? What have you been building, hm?" Her head tilted, and a faint smile reached her eyes. "We'd be very interested in finding a source for high-quality life support systems and sublight engines, for example. Underutilized niches, few impressive options on the galactic market."

She wasn't much of a telepath, but skimming surface thoughts was easy enough, even with the Qey'tek shielding up.

 

[Dresden Verbrennung]

As far as Dresden was concerned, they might as well have been speaking Huttese. Only he actually understood Huttese. The newly minted nobleman had never been much of a ship person. He didn't mind flying or anything, and wasn't terribly bad in a snubfighter, but this was a whole new world that he'd never had much desire to enter.

So instead of entering the conversation and making a fool of himself, he kept his mouth shut and his eyes open. There was a trick to scanning large areas for threats; instead of trying to look at everything all at once, Dresden would allow his eyes to fix on a spot for a moment, then allow any motion to register in his peripheral version. The corners of the eyes were much better at picking up faint flashes of movement that would often betray the presence of an attacker or spy, and by definition, peripheral vision was much wider than the center of focus.

Sadly, there were no attackers in dark shadows. Though his face was carefully schooled into impassivity, Dresden was equal parts relieved and disappointed. This was nerve wracking. Unfortunately, it was part of the job.

Nut up, he thought to himself. No one's shot at you in months. You should be thrilled.

[member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Alyesa Organa"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The conscious part of situational awareness often came down to separating the wheat from the tares, and then reexamining the tares. At first civilian glance, [member="Dresden Verbrennung"] passed for your average senior officer. Lots of impenetrable Alderaanian decorations, immaculate uniform. Second glance told Shambleau that he was too young, too fit, too on edge, and too aware for her to ignore. The saber and sidearm were probably functional, and the only weapons present apart from what the Royal Guard carried. Lacking military rank, or a publicly acknowledged job that would justify carrying, Shambleau had a handmaiden's small pistol tucked inside her ornate Naboo dress, and that was about it. The gun barely counted as such. It could take the head off a B1, but so could a stiff breeze.

The Royal Guard she could take or leave. If there was a genuine threat or asset around, it was probably the Lord General. She had no reason to expect hostility, of course, but part of the job was being aware of competent people. In the meantime, she followed Lady Ajira like a good little aide, three steps behind. The position let her keep a general eye on the party as a whole, and put most of the Royal Guard in her field of view.

 

[Long Gone]

Alyesa chuckled softly.

“We have started on basic fighters, bombers and interceptors.” She looked to Ajira and then back to the impressive vessel before her. “However, I’d like to look back into the archives at the old sublight engines we once produced for the Old Republic.” She nodded softly. “You know, the ones that went on the older Victory Star Destroyers – way back when.” She shrugged lightly. “ARE is capable of producing them, with the right partners of course.” Alyesa turned and gestured towards the woman standing close to her. “We’re looking to start small, sublights for Starfighters first and then venture up to the larger capital class ships once we have enough construction slips passing through the yards.”

Alyesa brought a finger to her lip in thought, she gently tapped the soft flesh. “I’m thinking of course, speed and less fuel consumption. Lightweight material, shielded components against excessive damage.” She of course was on the ball about Starfighter sublights at the moment. One of the biggest problems that a lot of snubfighters faced was having a durable engine that was also lightweight and fast. She gestured with the single finger. “Perhaps a variant of Alusteel, the only problem to combat might be preventing the metal from becoming brittle.” She chuckled softly.

“I once had that issue when I helped the former Supreme Chancellor develop Compressium.” Ah yes, the project for the Republic that never came to be. Somewhere in the darkness of space – a three kilometer ship remained in-tact, but unfinished. She would have to go check on it one day – maybe take a Galactic Alliance representative with her…

[member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Dresden Verbrennung"]