Funny what you stumble upon [Commonwealth/Pentastar].

[Aithne Charr]

KRN Starfall, dropping out of hyperspace into the Cadi System.​

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1450 Galactic Standard Time​

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[member="Horus"] @and others​

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Solan's focus had been moving about the unknown regions looking for a prospective place to put the base for his group. Granted their name hadn't quite been decided on yet but as far as official designations went, he was going by the Pentastar until they could become satisfied with a name that represented them. He didn't so much mind using the name, especially considering that it did fit their group but it was still the fact that he had to be careful about spreading it when he came around other civilizations.​

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Like the one sitting right in front of him, making his singular cruiser look a bit small as he blinked. Last he had known there was no power in this section of the galaxy, which made him very confused as he looked at his navigations officer. The man stared back similarly confused but getting to work on plotting a course out of here should things turn out to be a bit dangerous.​

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It was then that Solan would begin to receive a hail and his body tensed up. The last thing he needed was to start off his presence in this area of the galaxy as a man who just showed up in a warship but maybe these people wouldn't be quick to the trigger. That was assuming this was not a Sith Lord's secret hideout and solan had stumbled on it like the most unlucky lottery winner in the galaxy.​

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"Go ahead and let it through..."​

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Solan sighed out as he straightened up in the command chair and stood, making his way to the conference room where the call would be picked up. He was dressed in a dark black officers uniform with no medals and only a small blue insignia on his chest. It was the uniform of his home, Kesh which was even further from the place he had dropped out from, but it still best represented him at this moment. His hair was short and kept today, dark brown as always and the same sapphire colored eyes staring out at a set of glasses. His hands waved to an ensign in an attempt to inform the others that might be active and awake but he was sure some might have left the ship before the last jump to handle their own business.​

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It was when the screen lit up with the face of his sudden hosts that he bowed quickly and spoke.​

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"I apologize for my rapid and unwarned appearance. I had not expected a civilization in this sector of space, much less one with these capabilities. My name is Solan Charr, I am the commander of the vessel that appeared in your system."​

 

[Horus]

"Lord of Admirals," an officer from the first deck hailed, "A probe is picking up a whisper, foreign vessel near Pontiac, it's not one of ours. Scanners are detecting armaments.. hold on, curse the kings, she's armed to the teeth!" Horus turned his gaze down from the second deck, an elevated platform for commanders and tacticians, while technicians and officers were seated at two-dozen different datapads all displaying various readouts.

Port Ulladulla was primarily a inter-system spaceport that had just finished construction, they had never needed one before and the creation of a spaceport of this magnitude was new for the Commonwealth. She was hardly a quarter as armed as the warship that had just entered their airspace, and while the home fleet were scattered across the Cadi System, Horus halted any alerts.

"Hold the Home Fleet on standby. I want to hail this ship, we can't assume every visitor is an enemy of ours no more." The elderly commander rose from his seat and slowly passed down the stairs and onto the first deck. He looked over the shoulder of the officer who was scanning the ship, "Good work son," he commented. He turned on his heels and directed a communications technician, "Bring them in to port, try to establish a connection to the ship."

He ascended the steps, slowly, aged and weary, albeit he carried himself well despite his venerable age. As the screen burst to life and the image of the foreign vessels captain appeared, Horus looked every part the chief commander of a nations navy. He stood in his regal military attire, gold lashings strapped to his shoulder and three dozen medals were pinned to his chest. He exuded an air of authority, respect and a slight indication of humbleness.

"Apology accepted, Commander Charr" he answered the foreigner, "I am Horus, Lord of Admirals, and current head of the Commonwealth Security Council with the absence of its members." His gaze turned to a technician who was ordering the spaceport to be made empty for the incoming vessel, "Our spaceport is open to you, we strongly recommend you disarm your weapons and make port. You're trespassing upon Commonwealth space. We can discuss your appearance when you arrive. Horus out." The screen snapped, the connection ended.

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Horus"]

The conversation, if one could call it such, was quick and easily understandable when it came to why the man had been so quick to deal with Solan. As far as he could know, Solan was the first ship out of a fleet coming to remove their presence, especially if they understood what was going on in the galaxy these days. With the Sith finally returning to the shadows, it would make smaller warlords easier to form and as such would create a very dangerous situation for planetary governments like this planet's. Still though, why had he not known about a militarized people in this sector of the galaxy. The closest he had known about was Panatha.​

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It made him hesitate before turning and returning to his command chair, nodding to the captain in order to bring them in with shields and weapons powered down. His hand resting on his lightsaber as he stood there rather than sitting, merely watching as the planet, its ships, and specifically the starport come into view. He was impressed to be honest, a civilization capable of space travel able to remain unseen is a rather unique experience. He was so used to the outspreading of the hyperdrive and clear starmaps that planets like this that were no on the maps amazed him.​

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He wondered if maybe they were once slaves of the Rakatans like most human species were... perhaps they weren't even human like his own ancestors.​

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The curiosities made him smile but his eyes moved to the blastdoors that led to the bridge. It would be no more than five minutes before they were docked and he would need to get down to the main loading hatch, hoping that the starports they had could link up to his own ship.​

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"Captain, you have command of the bridge."​

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With that his feet carried him towards the main service hatch. It was located a level below the bridge, but also a highly guarded and secured hatch when it came to how close it was to the command center of the vessel. Even as he got closer the security officers that filled the area looked on at him and asked if he would need their help. Of course, he waved off them, knowing that this was a simple meeting between two men rather than peace talks, or declarations of war. No he had no reason to assume this culture would want war for simply appearing on the edge of their space, infact it was probably a curiosity about their visitor and if he meant them danger.​

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And him? He found them a curious collection that he could learn a bit about.​

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So he stood there at the service hatch and waited for the ship to latch on and the hatch to open. Waiting to see this commander in the flesh or at least one of his officers.​

 

[Horus]

The moment the connection ended the command deck erupted in quiet chatter. Like the insistent singing of summer cicada's. He missed the summer on Alexandria, the beaches held golden sand and an electric blue tide, the sun scorching the land but somehow its warmth was welcome. The smell of salt that the ocean breeze brought with it.

Above Alexandria it was different, there was no sun above his head, and when there was it was only through a viewport window. There was no beaches, albeit a swimming pool was on the lower decks for fitness. Nor was there sand nor grass to curl your toes in, just cold metal, even the air smelt different. He felt like he was in a hospital sometimes, everything was clean, orderly, there was a smell no one could explain, but in a moment everything could turn to chaos, and in a matter of hours everything would be orderly again.

He snapped out of his thoughts as a voice urged his attention, "Sir, are you feeling alright?" Horus turned, Fireteam Black were snapped to attention. Comprised of a navy spec ops, marine corps soldier and an intelligence field agent. They were an unlikely bunch, recently organized into a fireteam for operations outside the Commonwealth to maintain the security of their nation. They still looked like they didn't trust each other, the navy, army and intelligence rarely did.

"I'm fine, Commander," the venerable Lord of Admirals waved away the soldiers concern. "You got the report?" there came a nod, "Good. The foreign vessel is coming to rest now, we should make way to the docks to greet them. Your main concern is my protection. This is a neutral meeting. We don't know them, we're going to ask why they're here, and then we'll determine what to do from there. Understood?" They all spoke a 'Yes sir' in unison.

Horus was first onto the elevator and it only took less than half a thought before the elevator dinged and the doors opened again. Marines were on standby, more curious than wary. This was the first contact the Commonwealth had since the Gulag Plague, and before that, ten thousand years. This was a pinnacle moment for their nation and yet Horus felt like it would be trivial in days to come. The entire Commonwealth was about to be shaken to the core, he felt it in his bones.

The hatch hissed then snapped, the metal plates peeled away to reveal Solan Charr standing before him. He was expecting someone dressed a bit more regal, or was that regal by galaxy standards? He wondered. He wouldn't know, but he hoped not. He smiled at the thought, how funny he should think that at a time such as this. He kept the smile on, stepped forward, and held out his hand to Solan Charr.

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Horus"]

Solan was surprised, as the quick conversation between the two men had not revealed the second's age so well as he had thought it would. Their colors showing quite a stark difference as well, the man in front of him covered in white and gold while solan stood in a darker gray and blue. The difference made him smile as he moved forward and took the hand with a firm grip, bowing his head slightly as he shook it and waiting a moment or two before releasing and speaking first. His eyes catching what markings and medals he could while he spoke without focusing on them. There was certainly time to learn about this new culture, but for now, the person in front of him was far more important.

"Hello, I am Solan Charr, in case my side of the connection had been weak. I apologize again for the suddenness of our appearance. I suspect you would want to walk and talk with me aboard this station?"

He reiterated his name, in case his transmission had not revealed his own appearance in the same way an eye could. His hand reaching up to straighten the glasses on his face before crossing both hands back behind him. He would let the man decide where they would talk, be it a room or during a walk around the station itself. He suggested such both out of his own curiosity but also knowing that that would give the man a chance to show off his people's level of technology. It was common to show off your home to those who find themselves on your doorstep, Solan himself having done it more than a hundred times by this point.

His eyes had moved to the transfer station, looking past the man with the force rather than his eyes in order to keep the illusion of complete focus on the man. It seemed that he had taken precautions just as Solan had when it came to the safety of his people and that was something he appreciated. His hand moving to pat his side as he spoke again once the man in front of him had decided the location for their conversation.

"If you would not mind, i ask that you allow me to carry my saber. It's an ease of mind thing but i understand if you prohibit all weapons from coming onto the station."

 

[Horus]

"A pleasure to meet you," Horus announced as they shook hands. "We'll find a seat," he motioned towards a set of crates that had been in the process of being inspected and transported but had been abandoned by station staff at the request of the military. It wasn't every day you had galactic strangers knocking on your door with a warship, but they seemed well-intended from Horus' judgement.

Fireteam Black remained standing but took a few paces away as Horus sat down on a munitions crate and motioned for Solan to do the same. It was only when Solan mentioned saber that Horus looked confused and thrown off-balance. "Saber?" he asked, "You don't seem to be sporting a sword of any kind as far as I can see," he then joked, "Lest those pockets of yours are far deeper than they appear."

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Horus"]

"Well... it is quite easy to hide the thing..." He waited till Horus was a good distance from him to shift his hands and arms, letting two lightsabers fall from his sleeves and rest in his palms. They were of course deactivated and he set them down away from the older man but the small cylinders would no doubt be a curiosity for Horus, as Solan did not know about how long they had been disconnected from the galaxy. Thousands of years away from the galaxy would leave someone without even a hint of most of the tech that has appeared over their lifetimes. The terror of the deathstar, the multiple wars, masers, Yuuzhon Vong. All of it was absent from this man's people and Solan didn't even have an inkling of that being possible.

Solan's body after setting down the sabers would go to sit on the crate with a bit more relaxation appearing on his body but not to the point where he was no longer stiff-backed or attentive. Finally he explained the small devices he had sat on another crate away from him. "They are small devices that those of my blood use. Most associate them with those that use the force... err you guys probably know it as space magic, or under the title of its bearers the Jedi. I can promise you i am not them though." He paused and looked down, smoothing out any ripples in the military dress he so rarely wore before his escapades into this section of space.

"I should start with my reason for being out here i suppose. We are looking into the regions your planet resides in, checking to safeguard against warlords who have taken up local populations and twisted them under their boot. How much of the outside universe do you know?" He asked this to see how much the man knew about recent events. He suspected a very isolated nation, but the ignorance of the galaxy was not even touching his mind, assuming the man was simple separated on a minor level.

 

[Horus]

Horus watched with a degree of surprise as the hilts slipped out of Charr's sleeves. They were an oddity to him, he'd seen an image once, perhaps twice, but nothing more, let alone seen them in person. It was altogether a new experience for him. He felt a temptation to pick them up and study them, could the Commonwealth reverse engineer them for other purposes? His mind slowly began to wander off until Solan began talking again.

"I have heard of the Jedi, and I'm glad you do not associate with them," he motioned off-handedly, "Intelligence had shown me footage, the Sacking of Coruscant?" he half-asked, horribly mispronouncing the planet name. He didn't know it existed until then, ancient archives were lost to time and what had been ten thousand years ago was long forgotten to the Commonwealth. "Destruction on a mass scale," he remarked, "Such brutal slaughter," nodding solemnly, "It is why you have found us wary of those who stumble across us. We do not plan to be a second Coruscant."

"As for warlords," he stood and moved towards a large viewport that faced Alexandria, in the far distance were other inhabited planets of the Cadi System. "We eradicated them ourselves," he reflected, "They called themselves royal and noble, believed their blood was superior." He rolled up his sleeve to show a family tattoo on his wrist, worn, faded and blurred with wear and age, "I knew my blood was no different than the lower classes. We, the people, took back our freedom."

He turned to Solan, "As for everything beyond our borders," he shrugged, "We've performed scans and field agents have traveled afar. We know little, but enough. The Black Empire is a blood-thirsty empire on my border, and behind them are their allies, the expansion of the First Order is a constant security threat to my people, and the One Sith responsible for the Sacking of Coruscant. I know enough that I am neck-deep in a dangerous tide." He watched his response, studying his features. Hoping to gleam an emotional response out of the man, to determine his allegiance.


[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Horus"]

Solan saw the interest and had to admit that the appearance of items that might be foreign would be interesting enough. He even had at his disposal a means to fight without moving a muscle and yet he knew that things like that was probably not something he should bring up in front of the man who would already be on edge. The fact he had let him place the sabers down himself was enough to show some relaxation but even then it made Solan a bit surprised himself. For a group who he had never heard of about, a world he didn't know existed in the way that it does today... it was a surprise to him that they were so advanced.

And then the words shocked him visibly as interest and surprise worked its way into his features and carved their home into his face. The intelligence that this man had was impressive and one would have thought that he was at the forefront of those conflicts. It made him smile as he leaned a bit forward in interest as he studied the man anew. He was different than Solan had first believed. How deeply did they know these events, how much tech have they brought back to their world without anyone learning of its existence.

"Execution of those for being born into their lives?" He raised a brow and looked at the mark as he understood well enough. The fact of his own position had been claimed through a quick war of his own, but he had not gone so far as to destroy the power base that many on the planet had worked to create over generations. It was why he could work without worry was he had those he trusted in command of the world while he stepped away.

"I must say, and im sure you have seen that i am extremely impressed and shocked by how far your people have gotten. I do not mean this as a slight against you but merely the verbal example of my surprise that you keep making all the greater. I assume since you have this knowledge you understand the universe is shifting in a way that will make things all too interesting in the coming months. I was curious though... you know about the First Order and the Black Empire, but how will you safeguard against them?"

 

[Horus]

"No, not an execution for being born, the execution for those who thought their birth made them superior and refuted any claim that told them otherwise," Horus said sternly, as though Solan was treading on thin ice, "I offered them to bend the knee, but their ego did not allow them." An outsider had no place on commenting on the political escapades of the former Kingdom of Alexandria. The Commonwealth was better without the monarchy, and although nobility remained it was an honorary title, one that was earned rather than born into. There were few who remained that had been born into nobility, Horus was the last Lord of Alexandria, the Lord of Admirals.

"As for safeguarding against the security threats these nations pose," Horus mused and looked out the viewport once more. In the distance was the Home Fleet, scattered throughout the system, slowly drifting. "The Commonwealth is small, our resources are not stretched thin. We'll dig our trenches and hold the line against any storm that comes our way. We survived the Gulag Plague, we survived against the Kingdom, and we'll survive once more."

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Horus"]

"My apologies, I had misunderstood your phrasing. It is good to hear the choice was their own." He rested his hands in his lap, looking the man over again with an interest. This was a man who he had figured out a small bit of, realizing that the man was not like his other soldiers but still regarded himself as one. IT was something that made him more than interested in just how he had come to this place but it also brought up another point that Solan was curious about.

And that was the structure of their very society.

It was clear that military was important, the mention of how they would dig their trenches and hold their lines. He was unsure just how much these ones had learned, but the problem he feared was that all they had was second-hand knowledge. He worried that they had never faced one of that spawn the sith create, never taken part in a full engagement with others. One could study all their life, learn everything about everything. But the experience was something else and he looked on at the admiral in front of him to gauge just how much this man had. It was clear he wasn't unscarred, it was clear he had seen more than enough but still.

"I must say, you are harder to understand than most Admiral. The difference in how your people have lived, locked away from the universe shocks me in how much you have advanced and how much you knew about the history of the galaxy. It makes me curious just how far your web of intelligence goes... but I have a feeling that if you told me, you would have to keep me here for an extended vacation?"

 

[Horus]

The Lord Admiral chuckled, a rare thing of itself. It was genuine, but it was also condescending. "I don't think you understand," he said, "The hardest part isn't finding the information, it's archiving it. We're struggling to process everything." He performed a slow dutiful nod, "You're right that if I told you how far the rabbit hole goes I'd have to shove you down in and keep you buried with it."

He raised a finger out towards the viewport, not to Alexandria but beyond, to the rest of the galaxy, "Your public libraries are vast and transference of files has been easy, but there's so much, and for the more delicate information.." he paused, perhaps careful of his words, "Your wars between each other, the attempts to drag one another down has only revealed more. In vain attempts to destroy one nation over another these Republics and Empires have revealed secrets to the public to harm each other. All we have to do is process it." That wasn't the whole truth of how they came across all that which they knew, but it was certainly half of it.

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Horus"]

He listened to the man infront of him talk about how much history and knowledge needed to be collected by the commonwealth and for a few long moments it had not dawned on him quite completely. Sure he had thought about it, then he realized that there were thousands of years of history, some lost to even the greater galaxy thanks to the Gulag Plague and now the Commonwealth was trying to recover what they could themselves. Storing the events of thousands of years, scientific breakthroughs, medical breakthroughs, languages, tech, transport, star maps. Solan knew not even a fraction of the information in the galaxy, and this man's people had been behind all of it for thousands of years, unprepared to be returned to the galaxy and to relearn everything they missed.

Then he talked about the Republics and Empires, those of which in the past caused harm and damage on such significant scales both in physical damage but in their secrets as horus had put it. He thought about these facts for a few long moments again before finally speaking.

"I had not thought about any of that in truth. Even my own idea for a galaxy was so idealized i had not thought about history or the thousands of years that have passed. Your people are like a newborn in a way, but not quite. You have existed for as long and yet you must learn so much about the galaxy and finding the events of the recent years... it cast a bit of a dim light. Trust me though, not all those in the Galaxy harbor secrets that are meant to destroy one another... I must ask though. What will you do once that information is archieved and your people are free to access it. We are talking about ammount of information not only that the common man would need, but i am sure you have more sensitive information too."

He paused for a moment, choosing his words out of carefully but also reaching to fish out some wood shavings, holding them in his hand. He started to twitch one of his fingers, creating a small whirlpool out of them as a demonstration of his point.

"I assume the concepts of the Force, or Space magic is also rare considering your earlier curiosities. What do you plan to do when the information of such a thing starts to spread and if some of your people show signs? I don't mean to pry too deeply or question how you will lead your people in the future... but you are approaching a galaxy who is used to the idea of those with unnatural gifts like my own, those who are used to war and those who are used to seeing governments rise and fall... do you really want to expose your people to that?" He asked with genuine curiosity, keeping the shavings moving in his hand.