Restoration of Glory

[Long Gone]

“Princess Organa, do you realize the magnitude of the request you are making of the High Council?” Councilman Dekan of House Frayus barked in her direction. She would sigh softly as the man to her two seats to her left continued to rant and rave about the financial situation of Alderaan. Alyesa knew all too well the situation of Alderaan and where she stood – she had given up a quarter of her shares and investment into a company into rebuilding her homeworld, because they are what took precedence over personal wealth. She couldn’t say the same about the members of House Frayus – her amber eyes would glance at the datapad before her and skim through the figures. The blatant ignoring of the raving man would seem to only drive him further into a frenzy, to such a point that Councilman Sei of House Antilles cut him off and caused her attention to shift from the datapad to Councilman Sei.

“We are still in a state where Alderaan is hurting, we still have the Vong issues to deal with – I don’t believe a Civil War between houses is something we need to deal with right now.” He glanced over to Alyesa before his bluish gaze turned to Dekan. “We lost nearly 35 percent of the population when the Vong invaded – which means the economy took that muc-“

Alyesa cleared her throat, causing Sei to fall quiet. With a heavy sigh, she set down the datapad and looked at the individual members around the circle before her. She wasn’t surprised to see that all 16 members of the ruling Houses of Alderaan managed to make it out without a scratch – but the people of Alderaan suffered the most. She had been present when they attacked, she stayed until the last possible second – those days were very real for her. She never brought them up…until now. “I sat in the Throne Room until the last possible moment before I evacuated, while the remaining Houses left well before the Invasion started.” She gestured towards the members around the circle. “I watched people die needlessly because we relied on a government who could not stem the tide of darkness from washing up on our shores.”

She slowly rose and removed herself from her seat, she’d step down from the chair and begin walking around the circular table. As she passed each member, she would pause for a moment to speak. “We lost seven hundred thirty-five million, three hundred and sixty two thousand, eight hundred and twenty nine people to be exact…” She continued to walk, standing behind Dekan for a brief moment. “That is more people than you realize.” She pressed on beyond Dekan before reaching the opposite end to which she sat, her hands would come behind her and clasp gently as she looked up at the ceiling. “We have received funds from across the Galaxy through private sources and in short, we have eight billion credits.” As she moved across the floor, the white flowing dress she wore seemed to float across the tarnished marble, the sounds of her heels clicking against the floor echoed through the hallowed and silent chamber. She ceased the theatrics and made it back to her seat, sitting down slowly before looking down at the datapad once more.

 

[Long Gone]

“That includes the five point five billion that was donated by the House of Organa, namely myself.” Her right hand rose up to touch the long, elaborate braid she wore over her right shoulder. She’d gentle trace each line of hair that was intertwined within each other as she stared down at the datapad before her before looking up, her hand falling down into her lap. It was a nervous tick she had developed sometime during her period of rehabilitation, something she had desperately tried to break but had failed. “We simply do not have the economy anymore to sustain free resources to the Republic anymore, or anyone for that matter." She shook her head. “The shipyards must be re-opened – infact, they will be reopened.”

The sounds of whispers began echoing through the Council Chambers as she continued to speak. “I have already begun directing funds and locating sources to get what is needed to get them back online and operational – the eventual goal is to have them one hundred percent to where we can produce larger vessels and bring in more economic growth to the system to make up for what was lost in populace taxes.” She continued. “And the Republic will be charged like any other company or entity would, for using our planetary resources.”

Councilman Dekan stood up abruptly, slamming his hand into the table with a thunderous clap. “THIS IS ABSURD!”

Alyesa flinched slightly, allowing her gaze to shift to the man who was apparently about to have a stroke from her declaration. She took a breath, trying to remain composed despite the outburst. “Why is it absurd to ask that we make money from the resources taken from us by a government who can’t even protect us? I don’t see any problem with this…” She gestured towards Dekan. “Please, feel free to vacate your seat, your duties and your House - and leave the system.”

“YOU DO NOT HAVE THIS AUTHORITY!” The man was literally frothing at the edges of his mouth and each time he spoke, he spat a little on the table before him. “THE QUE-“

“I do not care for what my mother may or may not say. She does not hold a seat on the Council, nor does she hold authority over our rule. She leaves it to us to make decisions based on what is best for Alderaan and this is what is best for our people. If the Queen is unfit to rule – we can replace her as well…” She let that hang in the air for a moment, the eyes of the Council looking around for a moment before turning to her.

Dekan would breath in sharply before pointing to Alyesa. “And you’d be fit to replace her!?” He fired off.

 

[Long Gone]

“Perhaps, but I never said I had any desire to replace my mother as of yet.” She slowly stood and gestured. “Let it be known, my actions are for the best of Alderaan – not for squabbling delegates or bureaucrats who worry about their own houses. If you have a problem with this, I leave the floor open to oust me from my seat as Chairwoman of the High Council.”

An eerie silence would befall the chambers and Dekan would find himself standing alone, he’d look around at each person before throwing his hands up and taking a seat himself. Alyesa allowed another moment or two to pass before she opened her hands towards those present at the table. “I now ask that if anyone has any better suggestions, you present them.” Again, eerie silence would follow her echoing voice through the chambers. The Councilmen and women would look amongst each other before Councilman Sei of House Antilles finally stood and spoke.

“House Antilles supports Chairwoman Alyesa of House Organa in this endeavor to better Alderaan – by whatever means necessary.” He bowed softly at the waist and remained standing.

A larger man struggled to rise from his chair before he bowed too at the waist and spoke, Alyesa could never remember his name. “House Baliss supports Chairwoman Alyesa of House Organa.”

Then, one by one, each member of the ruling houses would rise in turn and verbally support Alyesa in her actions until one remained seated – Dekan of House Frayus. The eyes of the Council would fall upon this single man and his redden features. Alyesa could feel the frustration emenating from his very being – the iron will of the House Frayus was well known, but it would break this day. Reluctantly, he stood and offered a slight bow before his verbal commitment to Alyesa was made. With a slight smirk upon her lips, she gave him a nod before looking to the members of the Council. “Then we have concluded our business for today – thank you for your time.”

The once silent chambers filled with the noise of whispers and soft talking as the members of the Council spoke amongst themselves. The voices appeared to be content in their decisions – only the members of House Frayus sounded flustered as they began filing out of the Council Chambers. Once it was clear of all members of the Council, the large oak doors shut behind them with a loud thud – leaving Alyesa there in silence. She stared at the doors for a moment before leaning forward and pressing the holocomm button. “Contact [member="Darell Irani"]."

 

[Hira Mitsae]

Dromund System
Aboard the Reason.
--
[member="Alyesa Organa"]

Time waited for no one. It trundled on and on, uncaring, unsympathetic for the plights of the lessers. As much as he wanted to prolong his stay on Roche Irani knew that he had other business, more pressing, elsewhere. With a corporate empire as large as his getting sentimental was out of the question - time waited for no one. And so, amidst a lull in the fight, Darell left Roche and allowed his personnel to handle it without him.

It had been the right choice. The only choice. But it still grated him to the core and it would continue to do so, until the situation had resolved itself.

"Darell." Ash had recently switched to using his first name. Only in private, but it was still a strange development. Not surprising though. Near death experiences - especially multiple ones, had a tendency to bring people closer together.

Even when one of them was a biochemical hybrid.

"Yes, Ash?" he looked up from his screen. She seemed to be in serious-mode again.

"You have a caller. A Princess Organa, of Alderaan."

"Alyesa or that other one?"

House Organa seemed fairly extensive these days. He couldn't even remember the name of the Senator that was part of the Alderaan Noble house.

"Alyesa Organa, yes. You are acquainted with her?" Darell had forgotten that Ash's creation was only recent. It felt as if she had been his personal assistant for years.

"Mhm, yes. Ironically enough, I aided her in moving Incom's operations away from the Republic back in the day."

Ash seemed to find that amusing, her mouth curled upwards, but she declined to comment on it any further.

"Ah well, patch her through. This should be interesting enough." His assistant simply nodded and then left the room.

A few moments passed and then a holographic representation of Darell Irani would appear in front of the Organa Scion.

 

[Long Gone]

The shimmering blue image of Darell Irani would come into focus – a rather immense image before her, which would only make her chuckle softly as she stared up at the hologram of him, inclining her head gentle. “Greetings Mr. Irani, it seems fate would bring us before one and another again – only this time the circumstances are far beyond what I required when I was CEO at Incom.” Which was relatively accurate. She didn’t require assistance dismantling any shipyard – instead, she required an extensive overhaul of one – atleast to get it operational. From there, she’d expand it and make it bigger, by any means necessary. She cleared her throat and gestured towards him, while manipulating the datapad before her to bring up the old schematics of the massive shipyard that orbited Alderaan’s far side.

“As you can see, it’s decommissioned and only minimal systems have been brought back online.” She stood from her seat and gestured to the various bays. “It is capable – once fully operational – of building space stations the size of the Esseles Class.” She pointed to the four larger bays before moving on to several smaller bays. “The objective is to get these bays operational, atleast a few in order to get production moving and the credits coming in.”

She wasn’t beating around any bushes – she was jumping right in with both feet.

“I won’t lie, I need whatever help I can get from you.” A blunt statement but a truthful one at that.

[member="Darell Irani"]

 

[Long Gone]

She would continue - knowing he'd want further information and should he have a question, he'd stop her.

A list of suitable locations appeared beside the schematic, making his hologram shrink. “These are ideal locations for additional production sites, however, I am rethinking putting major production lines in areas that are more vulnerable to the warpath of the One Sith or other governments.” She was referring directly to Fondor or Sluis Van. Despite their premiere element, she couldn’t risk any setbacks at the moment – she had to ensure it kept moving forward. “There is an abandoned crystal mining facility on Haroon which also had some minor ship production facilities – it is fortunately out of the way and requires minimal to get started.” She motioned to the third location on the list of potential facilities.

“Another location I am deeply interested in, as well as out of the way is Taraloon.” She paused for a moment. “There is an old pirate base there which has everything we need to build off of – maintenance bays that can accommodate mid-class vessels as well as Starfighters.” She pulled up the schematics for the base that came from the reconnaissance mission. “Fortunately, it’s in relatively good condition considering the planet has remained uncharted for several hundred years now.”

She exhaled roughly and brought up the last area, a semi-destroyed facility orbiting Nomlis III. “This facility has long since been forgotten and can be brought back online with some effort.” She gestured to the damage to the exterior. “Most of the damage appears to be superficial honestly, and it just derailed operations there.” She shrugged lightly. “The original facility produced an experimental fighter but we can make it accommodate whatever we need it to.”

With that, she’d expand her hands and bring them in swiftly – closing out the different schematics and locations. Her hands would clasp together as the holo of [member="Darell Irani"] would get large once more before her causing her to shift uncomfortably in her position. She did hate being towered over like that – it would really need to be adjusted when they were finished with their business.

“So, what do you think? Worth your time?” She gestured to the holo of [member="Darell Irani"].

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

Alyesa Organa was an amusing individual. There was this distinct tone of superiority mixed with a choice of words that bordered the archaic at times - perhaps an effort to establish her noble blood, but at the same time she also managed to drop out of that tone numerous times throughout her case. Maybe it was an act, then, and she was tired of playing it; a thin veneer breaking up the longer it was being stretched out.

There was some empathy there. The case of Alderaan and its people was a difficult one. The One Sith had done quite the number on the planet and the Republic wasn't all that helpful in trying to mend the situation. Not that this would have been an easy case for any nation, but with the war ravaging on... there wasn't really much in the way of solutions.

Not enough money to restore the world back to its previous state. Not enough will to attract investors to amend the first problem.

And a volatile political situation that revolved around sticking your head in the sand and pretending like everything is alright. No wonder Alderaan was rightly fethed.

"Lady Organa, you have my sympathies." the CEO started, after her tale had ended. "I have always been of the opinion that we should try and aid our fellow sentients." the terraform project of Dromund Kaas only underlined this. Even under control of the Primeval the Saiba Group had managed to leverage a position of power, creating a bastion of security and peace for the refugees of the war-struck worlds to be safeguarded at.

"But sadly I also have a business to run."

He couldn't just help her out without gaining something in return. It had been different when Incom was snatched away from the Republic - the obvious agenda had been to procure a notable corporation to the fold of the Techno Union, the less obvious agenda had been a weakening of the Republic.

"What can you offer in return for Saiba's aid?" she would note that Irani did not seem to think her requests were unrealistic or beyond achievable. If anything he seemed fairly confident that he would be able to help her, if it was worth his while.

 

[Long Gone]

Alyesa wasn’t one to ignore that everything came with a price – and the price for the help of Saiba Group’s assistance would be high, astronomically at that. She took a breath – and then merely shrugged. “What would be asked of myself or my people?” She gestured towards the holo. “Our resources are limited and it’s not a hidden fact I can produce results if I am given the resources.” She held up a finger briefly before turning to face the opposite direction of the holo.

Resources…

“Alderaan has several sister planets nearby, some with valuable resources on their surface – we have some facilities which we are just getting up and running.” She turned back to the holo of Darell before bringing up the world of Delaya and its facilities. Alyesa brought her hand to her chin and nodded to the planet before her.

“I can offer honorary governorship to you respectively, over the world – and allow your company to operate within the laws of Alderaan of course.” Her hand fell down from her chin and met the other before her stomach, clasping together. “You would become Governor of the planet and answer to the High Council, more specifically myself and when the time comes that I resume the role other roles – I will ensure that you do not lose your authority or jurisdiction – so long as you do not violate the sovereignty of Alderaan.”

[member="Darell Irani"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

An eyebrow rose itself in response.

"Give me a moment, please." all of a sudden the holographic imprint of Irani froze in the air. Suspended in motion the call was put on hold as Darell looked away from the screen, towards Ashley - his ever-present assistant who had been following the conversation keenly, aware that he might have questions or was in need of information.

Just like now.

"Ashley, information on Delaya, please."

He needn't have asked the question. She had already been on it, a few moments later his screen was filled with additional information about Delaya: Alderaan's sister planet. The world was significantly smaller than Alderaan itself, but other than that... it seemed that Delaya was the greater prize - at least for the corporate mindset.

Highly industrialized the world had been used as an outsource location for most of Alderaan's industry. Industrial parks, high-tech facilities, warehouses and as a consequence a lot of the traffic went through Delaya. Large population too, which was beneficial for Alderaan itself.

It would need workers and Delaya would have those in spades.

Irani, obviously, wouldn't be directly governing the world. He didn't have time for that, but his corporation had grown to such an extent that this wasn't a big hurdle - just hire experienced and trusted administrative workers, give responsibilities to those that could handle it and turn this into a corporate powerhouse close to the Core. Yes, he was starting to see the advantages of this arrangement.

A few moments later the hologram unfroze itself and Irani was once again in the call.

"I have gone over the numbers with some of my people. We will clearly need to discuss this more in detail, but at the moment I think we have an interesting opportunity here." his brow furrowed in thought. "I think it would be prudent to have a life meeting and take it from there?"

 

[Long Gone]

Alyesa waited patiently for Irani to do his research – which he was undoubtedly doing. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew how he operated, to some degree. He’d be seeing what she had to offer, for all he knew, she could be offering him a barren rock based off and she was showing him nothing but old data. Her hands would unclasp and flip through her datapad slowly, as she took a seat – the headlines were interesting.

“Titan Industries…” She whispered. “Wonder what’s going on over there.” It wasn’t that they were a bad company or had bad products but apparently something drastic was happening where prices of their stock were just thrown out there. She knew of what they were capable of, Alderaan was a prime example of what happens when their impressive line of technologies is put in the hands of the wrong people.

The holo of Irani would soon spring back to life, causing Alyesa to casually look up from her datapad and place it before her – listening intently to his words. A smile would cross her lips as she nodded. “It’s settled then, I’m sure you’ll have your assistant contact mine with details of when and where you’d like us to meet in order to make this more official?”

She gestured.

“As well as I’m sure you’re going to want to see what you’re getting as well as what you’re going to be helping rebuild?” She lowered her hand to the table before her.

[member="Darell Irani"]