Lend-Lease

[Krasnaya Xue]

So Admiral Xue was the ambassador these days, arranging deals and solidifying alliances--or at least partnerships--with other nations around this space. It was a signal of how upstart the Rebels really were at present. But they would be ready.

Since its founding, the Rebel Alliance had been nothing but friendly towards the Galactic Republic, even though some ideals may not have entirely matched up. The Republic seemed to be in a state of retreat, and the smell of decay seemed to permeate its systems--at least, in the Red Fleet's leader's mind. The Rebellion was new blood, just like her. And they were going to be much more exacting than the Republic had been in the waning hours prior to the event. Krasnaya found their strategy a bit lacking in urgency.

Still, the Republic had at least accepted her into its territory to discuss what could only be perceived as good relations. She had apparently gotten the ear of the Supreme Commander, and if that did not signal that the Republic had recognized its Outer Rim friends, then the Bespin native did not know what did.

Shuttled down from Home One--the Alliance's oldest command ship, about to be retired to sector guard service--Krasnaya Xue was escorted to the Republic capital's military headquarters, frisked and ushered down the highly secured hallway to Admiral [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]'s office. Maybe not the warmest of welcomes, but there was nothing to truly complain about. Especially considering the circumstances of her visit.

She offered a brief salute and stood in the doorway, not imposing herself but also making it clear she was not going to be simply denied. "Admiral Tyven?"

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh rubbed her eyes as she stared with weary eyes at the datapad on her desk. More recruits had been signing up every day which was necessary to replace all that had been long since lost. Ships still needed crews, and they would not be back to 100% staff for quite some time. This was troublesome for a number of frankly obvious reasons, reasons that Kayleigh didn't have to explain to her people, but did have to explain to the Senate, who had the sole joy of relaying that information back to the citizens that they still needed more enlisted. But how much could one alliance of planets truly give before they were devoid of any and all youthful, able-bodied men and women? Hopefully just a bit more.

The list of things to do included scheduling fleet maintenance checks, reviewing data logs of patrols and incidents, and meeting with an admiral from a government not entirely unlike the Republic, and with similar enemies. The knock came shortly after she read through the entire agenda, and she promptly placed the datapad back on its face and locked the screen. Looking up she noticed that [member="Krasnaya Xue"] had already half-way entered, offering a bit of a salute. The girl leaned forward and stood from her desk chair and returned the salute, extending her arm as she returned to a relaxed position to gesture for the woman to enter.

"That is indeed me. You are..." She thought again for a moment back to the name that was displayed on her appointment list, "Admiral Xue, yes? Welcome to Onderon."

[member="Krasnaya Xue"]

 

[Krasnaya Xue]

She simply nodded in confirmation of her title and stepped twice forward. Admiral was a title she had practically been born for, and yet it was difficult to grasp the fact that she was the leader of an entire fleet of warships. And, from what Krasnaya could tell, the woman before her probably was thinking along the same lines about her own job. Although one of them had a bigger fleet. And that was why the Rebel officer was here.

Fingers interlocking behind her back, Admiral Xue allowed her eyes to take in the room for a moment, then turned her complete attention dead-ahead. "Thank you for allowing me to have your time on short notice. I know this isn't quite the most 'official' of diplomatic meetings, but we are grateful that you have accepted us--at least, to this degree." She was not entirely sure just how well the Galactic Republic approved of the Rebel Alliance, but it was not by accident that she had obtained this appointment. And she was decently sure that the Supreme Commander had an inkling of a clue about why she was here.

"How well do you trust the Rebellion? I can give you my word that we're on your side in this--but that's just my word." She paused, tongue discretely wetting her lips before she moved along to the main point of the conversation. She needed to know their exact standing with this greater power. "I am hoping there won't come any question or doubt out of this."

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Of course, though most of my meetings seem to be rather impromptu lately, so it is nothing short of unsurprising, honestly." A slight grin displayed itself across her face. There were very few meetings these days that she could hold at a Republic command outside of her ship. So this was out of the ordinary as far as location was concerned. She gestured toward one of the comfortable chairs that accommodated her office. She was never a very formal person when off the battlefield. "Please, have a seat."

Krasnaya posed a question regarding trust. And while the admiral was right that the word of one carries little weight across the galaxy, the actions of a whole shine through magnificently. "Well. I am not sure that the question of whether I personally trust you, or the Rebellion is terribly critical. I don't know personally know you, or anyone in the Rebellion, so it's not my place to pass judgement on that kind of level. But what I can say is that the actions of the alliance seem to speak for themselves, and it seems equally clear that we share the same enemies."

[member="Krasnaya Xue"]

 

[Krasnaya Xue]

Krasnaya was not used to having the luxury of a chair. Really, sometimes the Rebellion felt that broke--too broke to by some folding chairs! But they had made do, and standing was good for character; for the good of the people without imposing unnecessary taxes! That was at least one way to look on the bright side of things.

But she took the chair offered to her. "Thank you, comrade."

What the Supreme Commander spoke was truth. They had indeed been historically hostile to like enemies of the Republic, even being more proactive about assaults than the Republic had shown itself to be recently. There was merit in that, she supposed. But it might not be enough to sway the military leader sitting across from her to do what she had come to make askance of. With a lot more rigidity (Certainly no leaning back in her chair.), Krasnaya began to speak of her mission here. "My fleet--it's a good fleet, yes. But it's not quite adequate for the heavy jobs. Not yet.

"That being said, I've looked into the Republic ships at-ready. I've studied since I was much younger, and I am a bit more familiar with your ships than some of your own might be. So I'd like to seek a sort of... unity between the Alliance and the Republic. It's a big step, I know. Perhaps we're too obscure at the moment. But I'd like to request some assistance, in a form--not necessarily manpower, to be sure." Was that too straightforward? She hoped it was not too brash and presumptive, but transparent enough for Admiral Tyven to allow a little faith in the woman before her.

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh resigned to her chair after Krasnaya sat. She listened to the accent of the woman while she spoke. It was prominent, thick. The Republic admiral nodded her acknowledgement to the female as she spoke of the Rebel fleet, and their current limitations and circumstances. She was confident in her learned knowledge of Republic ships, and while she may be a textbook full of knowledge, a Republic Star Destroyer took five digit numbers to fully crew, not just one.

With her elbows resting atop the desk, hands clasped together, and her thumbs gently pressing against her chin Kayleigh thought for a few moments once Admiral Xue had voiced her somewhat blunt proposal. "I understand your position. The Rebel Alliance is currently based on Ryloth, and trapped between two very unpredictable neighboring governments. Unfortunately my hands are relatively tied with respect to what I can logistically provide to you, regardless of my desire to protect those who would see themselves as a Republic ally."

Her cheeks puffed and she sighed, thinking of how to be of help, so not to have entirely wasted the woman's time by coming here. "I don't have available resources to provide manpower, nor the ability to finance your cause, as that would be handled directly by the senate. But..." She lowered her hands so that her palm was flat against the desk, while the other rested just on top. "What we do have, are a number of Star Destroyers that we can perhaps part with, along with a number of capable teams to train the specifics of these vessels to your crew. But you would need to find the crew to support them unfortunately."

[member="Krasnaya Xue"]

 

[Krasnaya Xue]

"I would not pretend to ask for your assistance. Our problems are our problems--which we must solve." It was a sort of ideal of hers, and--in other circumstances--may have led into some extolling of the Selectivist virtues she had come to accept from the dominant political movement of the Alliance. But there was certainly no need to go into those details. Bringing out clashing politics were the best way to alienate an ally, and losing an ally was never a great idea. Besides, the Rebel Alliance was about freedom, and the Republic had chosen how they wished to be free.

"What I hope is that you can do as you have said and give us some ships, and we will exchange as best we can," she proposed, not wanting to seem like her military was a parasite to the Republic. Independence was always key, as far as one could take it. "We would be willing to give you fighters in return. And pay you in any other way, as well. I am not one who enjoys being indebted to anyone, and that often is the same with the majority of the Alliance. We will assist in any way we can afford."

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"To be fair, the Republic is looking to replace a large number of our ships by phasing out our aging technology. And though our Avenger-class ships won't be departing, others will be, and we will be tightening our financial belt. It makes little sense for us to hold onto ships that we can neither afford to repair, nor maintain active crews on. Essentially, the Rebels would be doing us a favor by claiming them, rather than face dismantling costs to repurpose."

The Admiral hadn't much thought of anything tangible to receive in exchange for the ships. It simply didn't seem feasible for a smaller entity to be expected to pay dividends on a dispatch of destroyers. It was a kind gesture, and one that she would take without much complaint, but the Rebel admiral seemed to be a bit worried about becoming indebted to the Republic on a monetary scale.

"I would have to be either out of my mind or cynical to expect a monetary trade off from a government that is vastly smaller. The fighters would most certainly be well received, though the even trade off for my end doesn't involve ship for ship trades, or monetary exchanges. Rather, one of co-operation. I would ask that in return for supplies of ships, that upon your arrival back at Ryloth, a request for open talks with the Republic Senate be made to formalize a political alliance, and that future joint endeavors be sought, whether that be military or economic."

[member="Krasnaya Xue"]

 

[Krasnaya Xue]

Phased-out ships had a dull ring to them, but beggars can't be choosers. The Rebellion was relying on whatever they could grab, and whatever the Republic wanted to send their way would be fine by them. The fact that the ships would not be mothballed or picked apart for scrap, but would be simply handed over to the upstart faction was somewhat charming and showed that the leader before Krasnaya had some faith in their group. This would be remembered.

"Forgive me if it sounds like a joke, but we've christened one of our fighter models after the Republic's Jedi Grandmaster," Admiral Xue responded after a moment in thought. What she would be offering was a pittance, but it would serve the Republic well if they used it as it was meant to be used. "It's considered outdated by centuries, as far as digital systems are concerned. It's not a fancy toy, no. But it will never fail its purpose. And I have heard that you have lost ties with Incom recently. At the very least, I would like to offer its services to the Republic in exchange. And I will ask the Alliance Benefactor to appear in the Senate, as you request."

Promises were not hers to give necessarily, but she had no doubt that two Benefactors would work just fine together. The Republic had been aligned with the Rebellion all along, whether they were aware or not.

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh nearly laughed. She'd never personally met the Grandmaster, but she heard stories, and met a couple of Jedi in passing a few times. She didn't care much one way or the other about them, they kept to themselves for the most part and did their part when called upon, but as for their Order as a whole, she didn't quite understand them. It was just a religion, or pact, or something to her.

"That's an interesting name. However as far as dated tech go, a skilled pilot can cause far more mayhem in old ships than a novice in the most powerful destroyer. Perhaps the lack of fancy will be exactly the kind of thing that is needed down the line."

The admiral rolled her eyes at the mention of Incom. "Incom. I am amazed that their CEO was not relieved of duty immediately, after not only withdrawing from their largest buyer, but also demanding the buy-back of all products from the Republic.The massive loss in revenue over this has to be bleeding the company like a sieve. It is not our concern though, and we've moved on happily without their demented exec."

Kayleigh stood up, and rounded the corner of her desk to lean against it. "I will have our available ships transmitted to you shortly. You will have it before you depart Onderon. Was there anything else?"

[member="Krasnaya Xue"]