Private Eclipse Station Conference

[Sssar Taszzn]

ECLIPSE STATION, ECLIPSE, GALACTIC ALLIANCE
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Eclipse Station, located on the surface of the barren planet Eclipse. Founded by the legendary Luke Skywalker during the war against the Vong menace as a secret location to train a new generation of Jedi, it has fallen into disrepair. No longer home to any Jedi or known Force sensitives the long forgotten maintainers. A collection of various species from all of the ancient Galactic Alliance holdings 800 or so years ago the station has a unique culture. Crime is completely unknown to them due to the relatively close confines of the station and trust between families that have been built over the centuries. Outsiders are looked upon with suspicion but not because of species but because of the possibility of destabilizing the community. In the centuries old infrastructure the inhabitants make a life for themselves as miners or traders. The newly appointed Senator Sssar Taszzn, a Fillithar, is considered an outsider though his charismatic approach to the denizens of Eclipse (through years of activist organization) have convinced them to take him on as their representative to ask for modernization from the re-established Galactic Alliance. The people of Eclipse wear emergency vacsuits just in case one of the aged structures is breached and the station is depressurized. Over the centuries the vacsuits have become more comfortable to wear and slimmer, with minimally intrusive head wear.

The new Senator has put out an invitation to those within the Galactic Alliance who could make good on his promises to the people of Eclipse as well as further the rebuilding process for the Deep Core in general. The Conference is officially known as the Eclipse Station Conference on Modernization and Planning, and held in at the administrative complex. A quaint room, 800 years old, and dimly lit with barren beige plastoid walls.

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Sssar Taszzn was a very large creature though his form was more compact as he laid atop his enormous coils. The Fillithar did not wear a vacsuit, a move to try and show his confidence in not only his judgement but also in the station. Across from the conference table sat the assembled dignitaries "Welcome, friendsss, to our home. Ssshall we start the conference?" he asked in a mild and hospitable tone "If it isss agreeable, the firssst item issss the introduction of attendeessss."

 

[Adhira Chandra]

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"Ma'am, the planetary authorities have provided all delegations with..." a Senate aide was saying before losing his nerve under Adhira's withering gaze. She was glaring at a mask-like device that she understood was a safety precaution that citizens of Eclipse Station took should their domes fail. Truth be told, Adhira's breathing problem would have been greatly aided by the device, but there was no way in hell she was going to appear weak in front of her colleagues.​

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"I'm not wearing that ridiculous karking thing," she responded dryly, pushing past the aide and ignoring his protests as she joined the rest of the Balmorran delegation in the trek to the administrative complex. The infrastructure legislation that she was bringing to Eclipse was the crown jewel of her campaign and had become one of the primary focuses of her legislative agenda since joining the Senate. Today was her opportunity to find her allies and size up any opposition to her ambitious plans.​

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"What intelligence do we have on Senator Taszzn?" The elder senator questioned the advisors walking in formation around her. Adhira was handed a datapad scrolling with facts about her new-found colleague. As she was still relatively new to the Senate she had not had the opportunity to meet all of her fellow Senators yet and the only communication she'd had with Taszzn's office had been through proxy. "Thirty feet tall? You're joking," she'd certainly met a number of tall species, but nothing quite like that, making her alarm more potent as she searched the faces of her advisors for answers.​

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"More like... thirty feet long, ma'am."​

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If anything, Adhira's unsettled expression merely deepened as she pressed the datapad back into the hands of an aide upon their arrival at the meeting room. She was considerably out of breath by this point but allowed her accompanying doctor to discreetly administer oxygen before crossing to the door of the room and entering. Her delegation made their way to other parts of the room separate from where the main group of power players would be meeting.​

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Adhira's dark brown eyes scanned the fillithar, careful not to look too surprised lest she offend their host. Thirty feet, she thought, smirking. "Senator Taszzn, an honor to finally meet you, I am Adhira Chandra, Senator of Balmorra. I was quite pleased when your office conveyed your interest in the infrastructure initiative we have been developing." The dusky senator crossed to a chair nearer to the fillithar and deftly adjusted her flowing blue robes before lowering into the seat.​

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She smiled graciously as he suggested they start and scanned the faces of the other attendees, calling to mind the information she had on them all.​

 

[Maou]

Corellian Senator - Kaito Kiyoshi - Representing: The Corellian Sector
Sssar Taszzn Adhira Chandra

Eclipse...Was no Corellia. Eclipse Station was even less glamorous than some of the Belter cities he'd visited in Socorro's Belt. But it was still part of the Galactic Alliance and he supposed they still had some say and sway. He hadn't seen the senator but his aides had compiled some information on him. He was surprised when he'd first seen the holo. A thirty-foot snake that thought and talked just like he did was unsettling to say the least. Just what else did the Galaxy have to hide behind its eternal black curtain?

With the way Eclipse Station was being barely kept together most of the residents had taken to wearing vacsuits for the arguably inevitable day that a hallway or a dome they walked through every day suddenly lost all integrity and vented them into the vacuum of Eclipse. If that was today, Kaito wasn't going to let pride get in the way of his safety. Even if he could probably survive long enough with the aid of the Force to save himself, he would greatly prefer that the secret of his affinity for the Force be known, not that anyone would be able to connect him with any one Force using individual in particular. His vacsuit was not of Eclipse make, but was expensive and stylish in its design all the same.

The door hissed open to reveal to him that members were already moving to their seats. He had just missed the pre-mingle. Fine with him, he hated that the most about this facade. He gave a curt nod to the Balmorran senator before taking his own seat. It wasn't that there was bad blood between them, but the Corellian Council had let Kaito know just how much Balmorra leaving the Corellian Confederation hurt their bottom lines and potential military output. He was then tasked to essential attempt to coax the stubborn old woman into joining them once again, but his repeated attempts to do so, especially when bringing up their security and how they had saved them from neighboring Humbarine, had driven a small but noticeable wedge into their relationship and interactions.

That aside, the appropriate parties were here. All senators who had shown interest in further developing their world, or worlds, that had been either forgotten by the ancient Terraforming projects like Eclipse, or worlds that had been ravaged by the Imperial Bloc treaty or other large galactic events, like his own Corellia which had suffered both.

 

[Sssar Taszzn]

Tags: Adhira Chandra | Maou

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The large serpent peered down at the Senator from Balmorra with what seemed to be a content expression and gave her a silent nod as she sat and the other Senator walked in. Once the pleasantries were exchanged "Excccellent." he'd hiss "Again, welcome to you both. The ssssecond item on the agenda issss our broader goalsss on Infrassstructure with emphasssisss on renovationssss and-or conssstruction projectsss concerning the Core." the sizeable head turned towards Adhira Chandra "I believe you have particularly long reaching plansss, yesss?" the large bificurated tongue fluttered out between the scaled maw of the Fillithar then receded. Sssar's attention turned to Maou "And what about yoursssself friend? I hope our sssstation home hassss not caussssed you dissstresss." he clearly was not taunting Kaito for wearing a vacsuit and genuinely sounded concerned that perhaps the silence was due to a general unease.

 

[Adhira Chandra]

When the door to the chamber hissed open, Adhira watched knowingly as Kaito. She already knew he was going to be here, of course, considering they'd had the pleasure of speaking before her delegation disembarked. It was yet another attempt to frighten her and her planet into rejoining the Corellian Confederation's cause. Adhira had quietly outlasted many of her opponents and rivals, and while everyone was looking the other way, she became one of the most powerful women in the galaxy. Fortunately for Balmorra, she didn't spook easily.​

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Her gaze stayed fixed on the Corellian Senator until he had finally taken his seat, a small smirk cutting a deep red line in her otherwise serene expression. "So glad you were able to join us, Senator Kiyoshi. I was beginning to worry something happened." Her smile was warm and the tenor of her deep breathy voice betrayed no insincerity, but her eyes were daggers.​

​

When their serpentine friend called the meeting to order, she quickly turned her attention to the matter at hand. Several of the political aides in the wings of the room suddenly came to life, preparing to take down ideas, record minutes, and document the progress of the meeting. "Ah, yes, I do Senator Taszzn, thank you," she stood as one of the Balmorrans appeared at her side with a hologram projector. She placed it on the table in from of them and activated the device which filled the space above the table with a swirling blue map of the galaxy.​

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"Since taking office, my staff has been working tirelessly on a plan to completely revitalize the planets within the Alliance. Our people, especially those in the Core, have suffered greatly with the constant rebellions, invasions, and enemy occupations they have had to endure - we have had to endure."​

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Adhira waved a hand at the glowing map and the galaxy zoomed in to highlight the Alliance territory. Suddenly several planets began to light up within the cloud and a bright red line soared through the map and disappeared deep within the borders of the Silver Jedi's territory. Another red line appeared and did the same but this time veered off toward Galantos before darting south around Confederate territory.​

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"My office has identified some of the most crucial and most promising undertakings to help us launch this project. As you can see here, we have highlighted Coruscant, Anaxes, Byss, Eclipse, Balmorra, and Corulag as planets in particular need of large infrastructural work. I will highlight some of our key recommendations.​

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On Coruscant we are obviously recommending the widespread refurbishment of the government facilities, but we also recommend work be turned toward the Jedi Templer for restoration work. On Balmorra, I have worked together with the planetary government to establish plans for the restoration of Base 11A to be utilized as a military base for the Alliance. Finally, here on Eclipse, we want to bring in some of our top minds to oversee the refurbishment of the domes and would like to add additional habitats to the planet to allow for expansion.​

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As you can see on the map, there are many other planets and projects that we have developed but I will have those forwarded to you from our office. The really important thing to highlight here is the recommendation we have made to fund a widescale project to help chart new hyperspace lanes that will allow us to circumnavigate CIS borders in order to reach the southern parts of the galaxy. One of these lanes is already underway in combination with the efforts of other factions while the second is something I am proposing separately. Both will require funds regardless."​

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The map expanded again to show the red lines curving around the CIS territory and ending near the southern reaches of their galaxy. "This is the project we believe to be most vital, given the Confederacy's embargo on outside traffic."​

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Maou l Sssar Taszzn​

 

[Maou]

The wars that had ravaged the Core Worlds over the last decade had without a doubt destroyed much of the pre and post-Gulag Plague infrastructure. Com and Hyperspace relays were still inactive, cities destroyed, and there were so many wrecked battlefields that it sometimes seemed like the only business booming in the Core Worlds was salvage and even those businesses were scattered throughout the Outer Rim and Wild Space. He had to give it to the Balmorran senator, nothing she'd said so far was false. She'd conveniently left out Corellia. Sure they'd repaired most of the world, but they still had needs.

"Hm," he grunted listening to the presentation but didn't elaborate.

Adhira Chandra Sssar Taszzn

 

[Sssar Taszzn]

Tags: Adhira Chandra | Maou

---

Pensively listened to and watched the presentation of the Senator from Balmorra. Her plan was extremely ambitious and included Eclipse. Both things he was favorable toward. The answer from the Senator from Corellia began to make Sssar believe he may not be on board with such large scale objectives. After a brief moment of silence Sssar asked "Thisss is a grand project indeed, Sssenator, and one that I would love to ssssee realized. However, I mussst asssk. How will we mobilize a workforce ssso large? Eclipssse is relatively sssmall to all other member sssyssstemsss but it would ssstill take many crewsss hundredsss of hoursss to renovate the domesss let alone expanding habitatsss." his large serpentine head nodded towards Corsucant "While I am honored that Eclipssse is already in your plansss, we can talk about that later on. It isss on the agenda." he assured "Corusssscant will be of particular concern. Out of all our sssyssstemsss it hasss the mossst infrassstructure and need for consssstant maintenance. It isss a beassst of pipesss, duracrete, and sssteel. A workforce that large would only be rivaled to the ancient Deathssstarsss or Ssstarkiller bassse itssself." Sssar gave her a moment to internalize his concerns then continued "The hyperlane project will be a great assssset. The armed forcessss would need to sssecure the route from sssabotage during the conssstruction phassse, of courssse, and keep astrobiological life from interfering."

 

[Adhira Chandra]

Adhira glanced up at Kaito when he grunted in response to her plan and furrowed her brow. Luckily her colleague from Eclipse had some more thoughtful concerns. Luckily, this was not the first meeting the Balmorran had had to defend her plan in. The Balmorran Assembly, the Chancellor's Office, and the Banking Clan had all raised similar concerns. "Thank you Senator, you raise several excellent points, but nothing we have not already accounted for," she hit a few buttons on her datapad and the hologram was replaced by an assessment of population and unemployment in the Alliance, "fortunately, the Alliance is home to trillions of people. On Coruscant alone we have more than one trillion and many of those people, particularly on the lower levels are without employment. We simply dont have the jobs available... until now. This project would ensure that not only could we employ every person within our territory, but the wide range of skillsets needed would attract people from other systems."​

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"Of course, the question then becomes how much will this all cost?" Adhira said, anticipating the next likely inquiry. The hologram changed again to reveal a number. A very big number. "Daunting I know, but... luckily I have it on good authority the Intergalactic Banking Clan may be interested in this investment. Our projected economic growth as a result of these projects will be tenfold and may even encourage other systems to rejoin the fold once they see what they stand to gain."​

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"All we need are the votes to make it happen. If I have your support, I think I can convince our colleagues in the Senate."​

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Sssar Taszzn l Maou​

 

[Maou]

Kaito's brow rose in surprise. The IGBC? Now that was a catch. He had to admit, he was impressed with Adhira's initiative, but he still wasn't convinced.

"I agree with the motivation and the goals, but I'm still worried about our prospects as far as securing the funding and thus the votes to back the project. As it stands the Galactic Alliance is dumping billions upon billions of credits into our military," he paused, "Credits mind you, that are on loan from the IGBC already. Between special military projects and the our participation in the Sith-Imperial Civil War are we even in a position to be bargaining with the IGBC responsibly for what this will cost?" This was where he was going to gamble. Ever since the Core Imperial Confederation folded and its warlords scattered across the Core Worlds, Colonies, and Inner Rim there had been left behind an untapped source of potential labor. One that, even more so than the downtrodden of places like Coruscant, was despised and hated for the terror and horror they'd invited upon the worlds that now made up the Galactic Alliance.

"What if," he said, his voice taking on a conspiratorial tone, "We utilize the imprisoned and free Clones left behind by the CIC. We pay the free clones a," he waved his hand around searching for a word that if he was being filmed couldn't be used to slander his name, "A 'fair' wage, and we simply cut the imprisoned clones' sentences." He realized how that sounded, but who cared? They were clones. Barely even sentient and nothing more than droids with flesh rather than durasteel and wire.

"Sure, in the long run we would have to deal with...free clones, but I think it could cut labor costs significantly going this way." Clones were unique. As far as he knew, the Galactic Alliance didn't have any true restrictions on clones or cloning outside of a few small clauses. At the same time, because of this they had almost as few rights as cattle and technically didn't even have to be paid, not because that in itself was a law, but because of the absence of any to begin with. He knew there was also the potential for public backlash, giving clones jobs before the 'downtrodden' like she was suggesting, but those people had laws defending them and dictating how little they could actually pay them.

Clones were just cattle.

Adhira Chandra Sssar Taszzn

 

[Adhira Chandra]

Adhira glanced at her esteemed colleague from Corellia who finally seemed to have something constructive to add to the conversation. She honestly did not care for him as a person, but where so many of their fellow Senators seemed to either be corrupt or inept (or both) at least Kaito was pragmatic. He made a salient point about the Intergalactic Banking Clan already holding considerable debt over the Alliance, but the interest rates she had secretly negotiated had been far better than the deal they got hamfisted into before. Best the others did not know that just yet.​

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Besides, the thrust of Senator Kiyoshi's suggestion, the idea to use clones, were closer to the fore of her mind. Some of the chatter and typing behind them from the Senate aides had all but fallen silent. Her fingers strummed the table in front of them for a moment before she turned and waved a hand. "Leave us," she commanded, but when some, particularly those from the Chancellor's office hesitated, she smacked her hand on the table, "OUT! Now!" Adhira waited for the last little rodian to scamper out of the conference room before she returned her gaze to Kaito.​

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"That is... certainly a bold suggestion, Kiyoshi," the room was eerily quiet without the entourage she noted, "paying free clones is one thing, but the imprisoned ones? I'm sure I don't need to remind you of the Chancellor's very strong feelings about slavery." She allowed a long pause between her words to permeate the room. It was also common knowledge that Adhira was pushing to outlaw indentured servitude as well.​

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"However..." she began carefully, "perhaps the argument could be made the moral thing to do would be to allow these clones to rehabilitate themselves through service to our republic." It was an ethically precarious argument to make for someone so firmly anti-servitude, but she wasn't leaving that conference room without firm commitments from both of them. "We will still need funding from the Banking Clan, but perhaps less and we would still be able to employ our citizens. The clones could simply be supplementary where needed. Right?"​

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Adhira looked around to Sssar for confirmation that this line of thinking was not all bad.​

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Maou l Sssar Taszzn ​

 

[Sssar Taszzn]

Tags: Adhira Chandra | Maou

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Pensively idled as the two Senators spoke about their ideas and concerns. The funds, the consequences, the tones. It was all very important especially for a project this large. When Adhira Chandra looked to him he seemed to come out of his ponderous trance like state "The... opticsss of thisss will have to be clear." he looked to Maou "It isss not ssslavery, it isss not ssservitude." the Fillithar suggested and began to elaborate as his long tongue lashed out into the air as he looked between the two "It isss a volunteer program for the clonessss to integrate with the Alliance more fully. It issss a volunteer correctionsss program that offerssss time paid insssstead of time ssserved. Should Clone labor be ussssed it will only be voluntary on the clone'sss behalf. Thissss is critical. While many do not think of clonessss as full citizensss there are large portionssss that do. We musssten caussse a ssscandal or the appearanccce of one. Clonesss that are free will be compensssated for their labor assss will all." he looked directly at Adhira "The funding from the banking clan will be needed, yesss. Ssshrewdly done though lessst we risssk inssssurmountable debt."

"We can dissscuss more indepth the messsaging later. We ssstill have itemsss on the agenda." Sssar looked down to the data pad in front of him "The next item isss the 'modernization of Eclipssse ssstation'."he looked at Maou then Adhira Chandra "Asss you have no doubt ssseen the state of the centuriesss old habitation domesss are... fragile." he hissed lowly "Eight hundred yearsss old, at leasssst, and even when new it wassss no great marvel of ssstructural integrity. Gracioussssly we have discusssed this lovely sssstation's future in the infassstructure plansss already. Though I would be remissss as the representative of the people of Eclissspe if I did not elabroate further." he lounged back on some of his coils "We are not rich, creditsss are tight. The familiesss have chosen to have an open bid for the renovationssss processss." Sssar looked to Kaito "Correlia hasss many grand sssship buildersss, yesss? Perhapsss you could persssuade interessst?" his head fluidly turned to Adhira "Asss for Balmorra, the armsss indussstry was legendary. Grand engineersss."

 

[Maou]

Not the reaction he had been hoping for, but the groundwork had been set. The next agenda though was where he could make some headway on befriend the people of Eclipse.

"You are correct Senator Taszn. Especially after the tragedy that was the Netherworld Incident, Corellia has made great strides in weather control, biodome, and colonization technologies after we were forced to live in them ourselves for some years. A bit off-topic, but I would love to give you a tour of Kolene. It is one of our most successful attempts at resettling in the ring around our planet. It has its challenges but..." He paused, offering a sad smile thinking about the state Corellia had been in for years and how far they've come since.

"With our innovations in those fields and our heart and love for industry we would be happy to help. In fact, I would be remiss to hide this any longer, but the Diktat informed me that he wished to throw a fundraising gala to aid in funding this project. I told him while I was fully on board and excited for this revitalization program, it would have been premature to throw the gala without the blessing of you two." He offered them both an inviting smile.

Sssar Taszzn Adhira Chandra

 

[Adhira Chandra]

Adhira tapped a few buttons on her datapad and the group of staff aides rejoined the Senators after they had concluded their discussions about the clones. "We apologize, but there a few classified documents the other Senators and I needed to discuss," she lied artfully as the bureaucrats found their seats again to begin recording. They all acted as if nothing strange had taken place.​

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"On the subject of Eclipse, I quite obviously agree. I think we could commission several of our top scientific minds to assist in the restoration of the domes," she cast her gaze warily at the Corellian Senator, "the bright minds on Corellia may be the best to head up this process as Kaito has so graciously offered."​

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The elder Senator knew what Corellia wanted from her, but she also hoped they understood completely that as long as she drew breath, Corellia would never get it. Still, there was hope for an understanding between their voting bloc and hers. Corellia truly was the home to many of the Alliance's brightest minds.​

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"As for Balmorra, I assure you all that my work in rebuilding my homeworld as a bastion for the Alliance has been tireless. Already we have welcomed thousands of troops and ships to our planet, ensuring we can fend off any potential attack on ours or the Alliance's dominion of the planet," she cast a warning look at Kaito, "and planetary forces have already begun to reestablish the planet as a source of production for galactic armaments."​

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"Now, I believe there was a fourth item on our agenda, Sssar? The formation of an industrial committee to introduce these strong new measures, yes?"​

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Maou l Sssar Taszzn ​

 

[Sssar Taszzn]

Tags: Adhira Chandra | Maou

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Looked between the two Senators with a grateful expression at their offers and enthusiasm "Wonderful. It isss reassssuring that both of you are more than willing to help the people of Eclipssse. Between our three ssssyssstmsss we will the be ssspear that tearsss through the net of ssstangnacccy." he looked to the datapad which hosted the agenda and nodded in agreement with Adhira "You are correct. The final agenda item isss disssscussssssion on the formation of the temporary ad-hoc crosssss-party Infrassssstructure Coalition for the purpossssessss of vote gathering for Sssssenate actionssss."

Sssar looked up then spoke with sincerity "Thisss isss more of a formality. Asss far ass I am concerned ssshould either of you need endorsssementsss for your legissslation on what we've dissscusssed here today, you will have my ssssupport. You can count on my vote for thisss campaign asss well asss othersss in the future within reassson of courssse. I believe there isss more for the two of you to dissscusss. Consssidering the tensssion between you." the lengthy tongue again tasted the air "I can tassste it, ssssee it. There ssshould be no sssuch feelingsss between alliesss. At leasst not till our work isss done."

 

[Maou]

Kaito gave a short bow to Ssar in gratitude and smiled at their host. He was right, there were many things that Corellia and Balmorra needed to talk about and talk through, but none of them would be diffused in the short time they had together here. Kaito wasn't a fan of beating around the bush when it came to issues that didn't require a lighter touch. Especially when the situation as making his life more difficult than need be.

"You are right Senator Taszn, but I don't think our issues can be solved over-night. They shouldn't come between the project," He threw a glance at the much older senator of Balmorra, "Right Senator Chandra?" He smirked from behind his helmet.

Sssar Taszzn Adhira Chandra

 

[Adhira Chandra]

Adhira graciously acknowledged the Fillithar who seemed to deduce that his other two compassions a bit of history to work out between them. She smiled as Kaito seemed to speak for her now and glad she found no reason to correct him for once. When it came to the betterment of the Alliance, even the most hostile Senators might find themselves working together. "Quite right, Senator Kiyoshi, the Alliance must always come first," she smiled, placed her hand over the orb that was projecting the infrastructure plan.​

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"The Committee for Galalatic Infrastructure. Has a nice ring to it?" She smirked as she began to gather some of the documents and datapads she had brought with her. "I assume our offices will be in touch... or was there anything else?​

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Maou Sssar Taszzn ​

 

[Sssar Taszzn]

Tags: Adhira Chandra | Maou

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Peered between the two and relented "I sssee. Ssso long asss it doesss not." he looked to Adhira Chandra "It doesss, yesss, that will fit nicely." for the first time in a good while during the conversation, Sssar, lifted himself up to a towering height. He bowed his head shortly "Thank you for your time, friendsss. You are welcome to enjoy the hossspitality of our sssstation home until you are ready to depart. My assssssissstantsss will ssssee that your needsss are seen to. It hasss been a pleassssure."

With that the conference was called to a close and those staffers that were previously disallowed from entering the chamber began to wander inside, other more senior staffers leaving and mingling with their counterparts. Information and schedules were being traded and those who were ready to leave would be escorted out by guides. Sssar turned around and went out a flush door that had been hidden in plain sight, and down the dimly lit corridor, followed by a protocol droid carrying his datapad.

End​