The Beginning of It All

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Soft breaths saw that her chest rose and fell. Tension tightened around her heart, and concern began to show on her face. She tried not to seem to jumpy or nervous, but it was still more than easy to see that Aela was worried. Two ships of that size, and thousands more like them just a few minutes away meant that they were helpless.

The Rising Tide's primary attribute was stealth, and with half broken wings and a cracked engine core that Stealth had been whisked away by energy signatures and a trail of power that just screamed 'find us'. There was no getting out of this, they didn't have enough weapons, support, or even shields. If those ships wanted to blow them into dust, then they could do it without much effort.

Aela knew that.

Micha knew that.

There was no denying that situation. She tried to reach out with the force, tried to brush up against the minds of those people upon those ships. Her consciousness brushed against theirs, and she felt...calm. Not anger. Not Rage or hatred, calm. A small smile crept on her face.

"Acknowledged."

She practically jumped out of her chair when the voice spoke.

"We will allow you to affect rest and repairs at our starport."

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]


Relief would wash over Micah's features at that, and his body visibly would lose a bit of the tension. His white knuckled grip upon the console would relax. He caught Aela's startled expression, and it was all he could do to silently gesture for her to thank them. Granted, she was still worn weary from the meld, as was he, but they had to push past it to get their wits about them.

This was an entirely new ball game.

One neither were really ready for. While their father may now be the the Senator of Boreleias, and dealt with diplomacy in the past as a Former God, that hadn't quite been part of their formal education. Aela was the closest to have received any such thing, with her constant travels with their father and visits to the Senate. That's what happens when she has a three year lead on the rest of her siblings.

Pushing himself from the console, he'd drift towards another. Once the comm had been cut and they were secure with no other ears to listen in, he spoke. "Coordinates are coming in." he told her quietly, moving to transfer them to Felix so he could get them there as safely as possible under the circumstances.

"I'm going to try to search for any kind of information on this nebula. There has to be something." Had to be. How could a planet stay hidden so within Protectorate space for so long?

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

The ship slowly began to move, escorted by the two larger warships. Aela still felt a pounding in her heart and head, a deep throbbing panic that set her teeth on edge. She wanted to scream, she wanted to run, but she knew that wasn't really an option here.

They were going to this shipyard, they were meeting with an entirely foreign race of peoples, and they were heavily outgunned. The force told her nothing of what was coming, her senses were dulled and she felt like she was about to throw up. This was entirely unprecedented, and Aela was unsure if she liked it at all. Her lips thinned and she cast a glance towards her brother, nodding her head in confirmation of what he had said. There had to be something about this, civilizations didn't just pop up out of nowhere.

"Maybe its a colony from the old Empire." Aela said calmly, though she knew that couldn't be true.

From that way the ships appeared, their sleek body and their odd curving lines, she knew that they weren't designed by any Imperial. Those vessels weren't designed to cause fear like the old Star Destroyers. Aela bit her lip, chewing softly as they came closer and closer to the planets shipyards, more and more of the vessels being revealed as they got closer.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"We are a little bit too far out for it to be a colony from the Old Empire." Micah told Aela, and the steely expression that went washing over his normally jovial face stated just how out of sorts he felt.

Flicking his gaze over to Felix, he gave a half sigh of thanks that he didn't need to be the one docking. Then again, he'd muse as he blew his cheeks out in an exhale, this wasn't the sort of situation either he nor Aela walked into every day. They both were seasoned travelers, their parents ensuring they were exposed to cultures and planets most kids could only hear about in bedtime stories.

With it came the boon of experience dealing with new species, cultures, and adaptability. It was the lessons that Kira and Sol had given their children that would help them work through what would come after docking.

"How do you want to handle this?" Micah would ask his sister. The first few minutes of their face to face introduction would be vital.

They could not afford to make any mistakes.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

She looked to her brother. Aela still felt tired, worn, as though she had run a hundred miles and then back. Yet she knew that this would count on her.

Micah was good at many things, better than Aela in fact, but this, this was her area of expertise. Negotiations, diplomacy, this was something that she would have to handle. Her lips thinned and her eyes wandered over towards the viewport again. Slowly their ship drifted towards the shipyards, thousands of those odd vessels hovering all around them. Even if they wanted to, there was no escape now.

"We tell the truth." Aela finally said. "We tell them who we are, what we're doing here, and anything else they ask."

That would be a good start at least. "Then...then we find out who they are."

Perhaps that should have been their first priority. A mysterious alien world that no one had ever heard of with this kind of military force? That was enough to raise anyone's eyebrow. The fact that Aela and Micah had stumbled upon it meant something, or so she thought. Perhaps the force was guiding them.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

The last minutes of the dock as they were tractored in was fairly unnerving. Once the seal had been made on the airlock, Micah gave a curt nod to his sister. This was her running the show. She knew better and had more experience. The few minutes they had in between docking and the last comm had been spent trying to clean himself up. He had dry blood caked on his temple, in his hair. He also stuck to high heaven with dry sweat and musk; he had been training prior to the crash.

A quick few minutes under the sonic shower brought some measure of respectability back on the teenager. As did clothes. He couldn't very well be walking around in sweats and without a shirt - although the reaction Aela would have might be worth the amusement had it been another situation.

He settled on travelers clothing, no armor. He didn't want to send the wrong message. His hair was a shaggy mop over his head, his eyes a bright orange hue. A small bacta synthflesh patch was smoothed over his brow where he had cracked his head earlier, making him appear a bit more boyish than usual. Along with the scattered patches of scruff, he had the appearance of a boy attempting to be a man.

Blame the patchwork beard!

One day, it will be as full as their dads. Maybe.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Though many would have been surprised by it, Aela had donned a dress.

Of course, not many people knew that Aela actually rather had a rather storied history with wearing dresses. She had been opposed to them in her childhood, very much so in fact, but a meeting with her Aunt Amorella, an encounter orchestrated by her Father had seen that change. Ever since that day, Aela had actually enjoyed wearing dresses. It was something that she rarely spoke of, and something that few people knew about her, but it was an odd fact.

It was one of the larger ways that Aela bonded with her mother, and the dress that she wore now was one that Kira Talith herself had picked out. It was a simple thing really, black with orange slashes, something one might wear to a dinner party. Of course this was no dinner party, but was instead a formal diplomatic introduction.

Unfortunately for Aela the only other clothing she had was her leather armor and a few regular t-shirts and pants, not something that was at all suitable for something like this. So in the end she had decided on a dress, coupled with a belt hitched around her waist so she could still carry her lightsaber. The small hilt was hooked onto her hip, her thumb resting on it as she turned a corner and met up with Micah on the way to the ships ramp.

 

[Micah Talith]

Micah had just clipped his saber on his belt when [member="Aela Talith"] came around the corner. He rose both eyebrows at her, letting his eyes sweep over from head to toe.

"Not pulling any punches are you?" he joked; had to, it is what he did when things were tense. It was a trait he shared with his mum. One that perhaps still annoyed his sisters from time to time.

His expression would somber for a moment, and he followed up with, "You ready?" out of concern. They were in this together, but he wanted to make sure Esmae was okay. Just out beyond the airlock, a collection of bodies would start to assemble. Their 'welcoming' party he presumed.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

She nodded. "Fine."

Perhaps she wasn't, truthfully she wasn't. Aela was still tired, worn out. Their earlier exercise had taken more than a bit out of her, and although she had thought to be up to it, she realized that if things came to combat...Micah would likely have to do most of the fighting. That thought made her nervous, though she hid it behind a mask of stoicism.

"Let me do most of the talking." She said quietly, knowing that Micah would likely have thought of that himself. "We don't know who they are, why there here, or how they managed to build all this when they were isolated here."

That made her more nervous than the idea of not being able to fight. By all indication this...culture had a built a massive society while in complete isolation. That didn't just require a masterful grasp of one species, but an amazing thought in moving forward. The shipyards that they had landed in rivaled those of Kuat, owned by her Great Great Grandmother. The idea of that, the concept scared her far more than a straight up fight.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"Likely the mists... being isolated that long meant that they could expand and innovate without outside interference."

Micah could read her nervousness. It was all over her body, in her weariness, in the subtle twitches and nuances of her face, her hands. The Talith reached out for her then, taking her right hand and tugging her over to him in an embrace. She was still taller than him, which to any observer, would be rather comical, but the genuine care and affection and the desire to comfort his sister was very real.

"You'll do fine." he would reassure her. Odd, considering how tense their relationship had been in the past. But regardless of their conflicts, there was no denying that there was a deep love and bond between them.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

She held her little brother tightly, then broke the hug. She appreciated the words of encouragement, and in truth they helped. On the other side of the door she could sense the gathered people, feel them and their own eagerness. There was a slight reassurance as she stretched out with the force, feeling no malice, only weariness. Finally, Aela nodded her head and grabbed her little brothers shoulder, giving herself one last push before she practically punched the button for the ramp.

The ramp to the Rising Tide lowered almost immediately, and Aela stepped upon it as soon as it was level with her.

She descended before Micah could, moving down the steel with a soft click of her heels until she stood at its bottom. Before her was arranged a collection of humanoids, each of them were dressed in an armor that vaguely resembled armorplast, a few of them had what looked like identification badges, and the central one wore heavy robes that appeared not dissimilar to those worn by the Jedi.

Their hair was two toned, their bright and almost luminously gold, and their eyes an odd color. Aela watched them, saw one of the blink, and suddenly it dawned on her. The young womans jaw dropped, and she whispered to her brother. "They're Firrerreo."

Almost immediately, a portion of how they were here was explained to her.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Aela didn't have to explain it further.

Long ago, before the Gulag Plague had ravaged the galaxy, the Firrerreo had been a species of Humanoids from Firrerre. Resembling humans, they had highly developed canine teeth, two-toned hair, and nictating membranes that would protect their eyes. There was a reason there were so few of them still alive in the Galaxy, their home-world had been subject to the Hive Virus.

Decimating the clans, only a few Firrerreo ever managed to survive; those that had been abducted by the Empire. The few thousand remaining Firrerreos were kept in suspended animation onboard passenger freighters which rumor had it, traveled across the depths of space at sublight speeds to colonize new worlds beyond the rim of the Galaxy for Imperial purposes.

Perhaps these could very well be the descendants of those refugees?

Micah gave a short, but subtle nod, moving alongside Aela as they would start to descend the platform. He would stretch out his senses, his bright orange eyes taking as much as he could. Both of them were tired, weary from the meld, they could not afford being distracted. He would be Esmae's guard while she would act the diplomat.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

This changed things. Before she had thought she was dealing with something unknown, she had thought that this was some species she had never heard of, no one ever had. Yet to find out they were Firrerreo, a species that she had knowledge of, it helped. Years and years of reading, studying, learning had given her an understanding of many things, and the species of the galaxy was one of those things.

She was no expert of course, but she knew enough that it would help her and Micah.

Aela stepped from the ramp in almost perfect synchronous union with her brother, taking him with her as she moved to the very forefront of the group that had come to meet them. Only a few steps away, and Aela inclined the top half of her body in a short bow, though perhaps in her dress a curtsy would have been more fitting. Micah followed suite, and the Firrerreo seemed to incline their heads in greeting, as well as a gesture of respect.

"We welcome you. I am Arbiter Jirin, head of the High Council and leader of Phyrex."

Her lips thinned for only half a moment, her mind enveloping the information that she had just been told. "I thank you for your welcome and apologize for the intrusion upon your world. My name is Aela Talith, and this is my brother Micah."

She waved a hand towards Micah, a soft gesture. She used no titles, no direct standings. Technically they were both Jedi Masters, and technically they were both royalty, but she knew that wouldn't help them here.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Well this was new.

From the little bit of studies from memory, that wasn’t quite how the Firrerreo culture went. They were big about names. Something about knowing them would ensure some sort of mystical power for another individual. Perhaps in their isolation, things had changed?

Fascinating.

Micah gave an incline of his head, bowing with the utmost propriety. His posture had changed, he was a bit more regal, a bit more refined. Nothing at all like his father, but by all intents and purposes, they had been educated to be civilized if they had to.

Their great oma made sure of that.

The Taliths were royalty to that degree, a little known fact that neither of the siblings ever made public. Not only because it was a secret that wasn’t theirs to state, but because, and a least for Micah, it was a small portion of the whole. Their father certainly could be a bit more posh down to his stature, presence, and ability - and it was that exact nature that Micah was mimicking then.

His presence and charisma just rose + 20 points due to Lorrdian racial abilities.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

They seemed to look over them, inspect them down to every detail. It was an odd feeling, but Aela knew that twenty sets of eyes were watching them, each of them assessing and creating their own profile for the two siblings. Part of her found it unnerving, part of her was becoming slightly unhinged by the silence in the air, until finally the man within the middle of the crowd, Jirin, once again spoke.

"You are the first outsiders to visit out world."

For a few seconds Aela expected him to go on, to say an amount of time.

When she realized that he wasn't going to speak further a small amount of shock trailed through her.

"It wasn't on purpose." She replied almost too quickly, losing her composure for half a second. "Our ship was damaged, we got stuck within the nebulas cloud and...well, the force brought us here."

Perhaps to some that might sound silly, but to Aela and Micah it was a very strong reality. She didn't know if the Firrerreo would believe that, in fact she didn't even know if any of them would realize what the force was, though by the expression on some of the faces she at least recognized that a few of them didn't think she was a complete idiot.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Keep calm, Aela.

The mental push would be more of a sensation than any actual telepathy. A reminder. They were at the mercy of their hosts, and keeping their bearings would be in their best interest. However, he knew well that Aela was still suffering from pouring all of her energy into him.

Briefly he wondered if there was a way for him to return the favor, but upon second thought, realized that it wasn’t possible. They both needed their focus, their minds as sharp as ever. To a degree, this would be the culmination of the training their parents, aunts, uncles, oma, and great oma’s teachings would bear fruit. They had to use every bit of their training, despite the physical and mental strain of it.

The idea that it was the Will of the Force was very much ingrained upon the Talith children as it was held as truth. Kira and Sol would comment that despite the odds, the Will of the Force had seen to their joining, as had each and every one of the Talith children. Even Kaili, the only one of their children that had not been planned, was considered a happy occasion none the less.

It was all through the Will of the Force.

A few eyes would cast attention to the Rising Tide, as if to validate Aela’s claims. Inspection just by mere sight upon the damaged solar sails would validate the reason.

“Navigating through the Niflheim Mists without the proper technology is a sure death.” Jirin said, his expression unreadable. The amount of bearing he maintained was remarkable; even Micah was having trouble discerning emotional state or deriving tells from his body languae.

“How did you manage to navigate through it?”

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

She looked over to her brother for a moment.

"My brother was taught to navigate the stars via the force." They both had been taught, though she had failed. "Together, we pooled our strength and managed to discern a path through the mists."

That was the simple explanation, the reality was that it had nearly killed them both and had been more dangerous that either of them would have liked. "We simply did as instinct taught us, and carved our path to safety."

She put emphasis on the last word, though barely any, as though it were a question. A skilled negotiator would understand, while a layman would let the opportunity pass by. Aela posed Jirin the question of whether or not they were safe here, whether or not they were welcome. Of course they could already have been killed, but nothing as of yet was assured. The man seemed to inspect the siblings for another moment, his gaze shifting between the two Talith's.

Then finally he spoke.

"You are welcome on our world while our engineers effect repairs."

A small sigh of relief passed from Aela's lips.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Hers was not the only sigh of relief.

Breaking char for a moment, the corner of the Talith’s mouth would twitch in a smile. There was a subtle relaxation in his posture. Okay, one thing down, his eyes would drift to catch that of his sisters.

A dozen more to go.

Things were not completely in the clear. There was still the matter of determining just who and what happened on this planet. What was it called? How did they survive? And just what was the Will of the Force. They arrived here for a reason, and while he was no religious individual, Micah knew that there were greater plans in motion that he could not explain.

Only time would tell.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

How long would the repairs take?

That was the next question Aela wanted to ask, but not because she was eager to leave. It was the opposite in fact. This world, it was different. Jirin had already displayed just how different this world was from others. The massive shipyards, the huge fleet, the expansive array of constructs in orbit, it all seemed to huge compared to some of the other worlds in the outer rim. Not to mention the mans willingness to give them his name, it was different from what she had expected.

Very different.

"We thank you." Aela said, inclining her head again. "If you don't mind my asking."

She trailed off for a moment, looking to Micah before settling on Jirin once again. "What is the name of this world?"

Aela fished for another clue. She had no idea what this place was called, but perhaps with a name they could connect some dots. She was hoping it would sound familiar, hoping that it would scoop up some long lost memory in her mind. Perhaps a tale about a lost civilization, or a story about a planet in the mists.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

The more they carefully fished for information, the more things started to make sense. The puzzle of this world, their isolation, and the differences from the traditional Firrerreo culture became all the more clearer.

He wondered if there was any way to send out long range comm signals from this planet. He would mull over the query on just what sort of technology they would have. It was clear that they must have some sort of navigation device to be able to travel through the transitory mist, perhaps much akin to that which the Hapans did for their own navigation.

Was it like a GREE device? Where Aela immersed herself in tomes and intellectual studies, Micah was of the more practical application type. He hunted and explored for his own knowledge and growth. He wanted to be in the thick of things, discovering as much as he could from ancient civilizations as he did with the modern. Perhaps that was the wanderlust and endless amount of curiosity he got from his father. There was always an itch to explore, to be embedded among others, and to soak as much culture and experience as he could.

Right now, his bright orange eyes would drift across the assembly of Firrerreos, noting their gold skin. Did they retain the color changing abilities of their skin? They were emotionally triggered if he remembered correctly. What of the Force? Did they have a Force organization of some sort? It was all he could do to hold his tongue. This was not his task, but Aela’s.

They all had their strengths, and he would support his sister in any way he could.