The Beginning of It All

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Jirin smiled, or it looked like a smile. Perhaps he was trying to set the siblings at ease, perhaps he was trying to make them feel better about being on a foreign world with no allies or friends, it was rather difficult to tell. Yet as he took a step forward, his expression softening and his gaze folding over both Micah and Aela, he gestured to the horizon.

"This. This is Phyrex. It is our planet, and has been our home for many millenia."

He had said the name before, but it hadn't clicked that it was the name of the planet.

She frowned slightly, but only because the name meant absolutely nothing to her. It was a mystery, a blank, she could think of nothing in her past that reminded her of this world, nothing in the books, nothing in the tomes, nothing at all. "Ho-"

Aela was going to ask more questions, but Jirin cut her off.

"Please, save your questions. Let us leave the Drive Yards for now and go somewhere more comfortable."

Aela cast a glance at Micah, then simply nodded. She was still weary, if only because she had inherited some of her fathers cynicism. The idea of another culture and people being so friendly almost right off the bat gave her pause, though Jirin himself seemed friendly enough. Without further hesitation the siblings began to follow after Jirin, the crowd parting for them.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"] and Micah were shown to a small suite for their stay. At least, it was the closest he could describe it to. The walk from the docking bay and through the orbital shipyard ring was rather... overwhelming. There were a few instances where the Talith couldn't help but slow his steps, bright orange eyes staring out past the view-port towards the darkness of space and the slow moving silhouettes of the vast fleet.

How is this even possible? he'd muse to himself, only to realize that the how wasn't really important. It just was. Comfortable is as comfortable does, and the two siblings were brought to this suite to rest. Jirin had relayed to them that he would come back later, allowing the two to rest if so desired.

Yet rest wasn't really on the fore of Micah's mind.

He stood by the viewport at the far end of the suite. The distant glow of the binary suns a bright light. They were further away from the heat of the combined stars, in their own sweet spot to allow life. From where he stood, one wouldn't gather that the suns were binary. They were so closely orbiting each other one would believe them to be one large sun, but they were not.

'What do you think?' Micah would ask Aela, but not in the manner most would believe. It was said in subtle twitches and movements of Kinetic communication.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

She stood on the far side of the room, her eyes wandering over a small collection of books that had been left on a shelf there. Most of them were fiction from what she gathered. A few were historical, one in particular caught her eye. It's name was the same as that of this planet, and as she pulled it free from the shelf she could tell it was a history book, the weight of it, the scent, it simply smelled of old tales.

"I don't know." She caught his movements out of the corner of her eye.

For a moment she considered not speaking out loud, but her head shook. "I don't think they're listening to us, I doubt they'd be prepared for that."

The room had been ready, but it had the feeling of a place that someone was used to staying, not somewhere guests would be placed. It was hard to tell, but Aela had a knack for telling these sorts of things, perhaps it was the training in diplomacy she had recieved.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]


Micah half turned to face Aela, studying her as she would flip the pages of the book in her hands. Years ago, he might have taken offense at her words, at the tone. Perhaps at the way she shook her head, the mind of his youth taking it as some sort of holier-than-thou motion to show her supremacy.

He was older now, and knew better. The conversation he had with his dad back on Kashyyyk came to mind then. About how he would be able to work along with others that at the time seemed to be so radically different. The thought would quirk the right corner of his mouth. Well his dad had some years under his belt to understand the way of things.

All internal musing aside, the Talith would peer over at his elder sister. He saw past her careful pose, her seemingly serene gaze. He noticed the slight tremble in her hands. The slight darkening half circles under her eyes, the pale skin. Both of them were still worn from the meld. She shouldn't be standing.

A few steps had him beside her, as did his hand that would pluck at the book in her hand.

"Sit down will you?" he'd say, concern in his voice and in his gaze. Out beyond, the viewport would frame the vast shipyards that would orbit the planet. They were as vast as that of Kuat's, and if he could bet on it by the fleet that surrounded the fortress world, likely just as formidably defended.

One only need to look at the large defense platforms that would bring to mind a Golan III.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

She held the book tightly, but nodded.

There was something about this world that made her uneasy. The armada that hung outside their viewport was enough to take on an entire government, enough to take over several dozen worlds in this quadrant, yet instead they sat here. It was odd, unheard of even. It made her skin crawl and wonder why they hadn't made a moved yet.

Were they waiting?

Or did they not care at all?

Aela bit her lip, shaking her head as she sat down next to Micah and slowly opened the book. She could read it, the language wasn't too far off from basic, some grammar was different but Aela was able to make out most of it. "I wonder why there here."

Safety was the obvious answer, but safety from what?

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]


"Could be any number of reasons, really." he replied, musing himself as the twin suns of his weary eyes would inspect the suite they were in. Not one to take his own advice, he rose to his feet. Hands would clasp at the low of his back. As he would amble back towards the viewport, his brow would furrow.

"A rogue colony. A new settlement. Refugees of the Hive Virus." he would name a few. In the distance, the binary suns would reflect within the coroneas of Micah's eyes. Beyond that were the thick Transitory mists. His torso gave a half turn towards Aela. "Any one of those."

Granted, with a planet this large and with the size of those shipyards, odds were that this was not just a small colony. The entire world could be heavily populated. Further study would be required.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

She shook her head.

"Not what I meant." Her finger pointed out the window, towards the fleet in the distance. "That, Micah, is an Armada."

"That isn't a defense fleet, it isn't something you keep around because you want to be safe. That can take on the entire One Sith fleet and maybe come out on top. That's has enough firepower to take out half the worlds in the quadrant and still be strong enough to defend whats left." She was exaggerating a little, but not by much.

Those ships didn't look that powerful, but there was a lot of them.

She frowned slightly, her head shaking from side to side as she looked over the pages of the book. "So why stay in the rift? They clearly know how to get out."

It wasn't a matter of why they had gotten here. It was why they were still here.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]


When she put it that way, Micah's eyes went wide. She had a point. A valid point. Panning his attention towards the series of Golan III like defense platforms, the armada of capital ships, Esmae's observation gave the Talith a very chilling awareness. His lips drew thing.

"You're right. Why are they still here?" With that in mind, he immediately went to think of possible answers. The first thought was immediately of the Chiss. Could it potentially be a a self-reliant streak like those of the Ascendancy? As a people, they were intelligent as well as highly valuing their privacy. In fact it was the extreme protection of their society that allowed them to remain hidden from the rest of the galaxy for so long.

It was no different to traditional Firrerreo as well. Self sufficient and independent to a fault. But would their society be organized as clans here?

"I imagine that their self sufficiency and independent nature is part of it... but the fact that they used given names..." he trailed off. There were similarities as well as differences.

"They remind me of the Acendency."

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

She shrugged, but nodded slightly.

"There difference is, the Ascendancy expanded." That was very true. Sure they would never admit to it, but the Chiss Ascendancy was neither stagnant, nor peaceful. They conquered worlds, either through diplomacy or military force. They expanded their territory and they became larger. They never stuck to a single planet or even a single system. This was something entirely different, something unheard of. Even the Hapans went on raids, though they had nearly sixty systems to contend with.

"It doesn't make any sense." Aela said outloud. "Why have all this power and not do anything with it?"

Whether it would be for good, or evil.

Why just stay still?

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]


"Not everyone is out to control everything," Micah would tell his sister, bringing his arms up to cross them over his chest. His feet would spread about a foot apart, a slight pensive scowl settling upon his angular features. A hand rose, and he would bring it up to rub at his jaw. The bristles would prick at the flesh of his palm, but it was a contemplative tick.

"Moross to a degree..." well he was older and knew more about the situation. Had a greater understanding from conversations with his father. The why. The how. And how that had affected the thousands of worlds under their domain; their protection.

He turned to her again. Then gave a slight nod.

"Basic? Or something far more headache inducing?" he quipped, the corner of his mouth perking up in mirth. It was how he would always attempt to cut the tension. He couldn't stay serious for long. It made him uncomfortable. Jokes were the bane of many serious conversations for those who attempted them with the Talith.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

"I can't imagine our language is too complex."

The voice rang out from a doorway to the far left, the tall man, Jirin, standing there after the doors had nearly silently been opened. Aela nearly jumped to the ceiling, almost dropping the book that had been in her hand. Her eyes shot towards the man, and her hand slightly flicked to her lightsaber out of pure reaction.

Jirin only chuckled.

"Apologies. I did not mean to scare either of you, but I imagine that you might have some questions about where you are, who we are, and why we've been so keen on taking you in."

There was a kindness to his voice, one that had been absent earlier.

He was right of course, Aela wanted answers to all those questions. She stood slowly, pulling Micah up with her. She wanted to know everything, anything that Jirin would tell her. This world, it seemed to be unique, at least more so than any world she had ever traveled to. With fleeting steps she approached the man. "Why are you here? I mean, still here. You have an armada that could take on most modern sector fleets, but...from what I've seen, you have no interest in expanding."

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Micah gave a sudden turn. He hadn't heard him come in. That was rather peculiar, especially for the tracker. The furrow over his brow deepened. It was then that Aela took point, as well she rightly should. This was her specialty, and if he were to become involved, he just might screw things up.

None the less, it didn't stop the Talith from coming to stand beside his eldest sister. It was a protective gesture as much as it was a show of support.

They knew nothing of this world or their people as of yet, so hearing what the man had to say certainly would bring a measure of relief. His body language would tell Micah that he truly didn't mean any harm, so that was another relief in it of itself. He would continue to try and discern it by his body language as Aela would ask her questions.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

"Our society crashed here millenia ago."

Obvious answer, something that both Micah and Aela had already guessed when they first landed here. There wasn't really many other ways that a species like this could have landed on this planet and survived, even thrived. She frowned slightly as the man stiffened his back and continued to explain.

"We formed a different culture, a different path for out people. At the time it was a necessity. We couldn't find a way out of the mists, and we had to focus on the survival of our peoples. Eventually, we founded upon a new principle, a way for us to coexist, survive and even thrive."

She nodded slowly. "So what is this principle?"

"We believe in the greater good. The common good of people and all living things."

It seemed rather vague to her, and had one huge flaw. Aela shook her head slightly, panning her gaze towards Micah to see if he saw it too.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

That was rather vague.

Believing in the greater good could mean anything. A look into the Jedi Order and their history was evidence of that. As was the reign of the Moross Gods throughout their empire. What exactly did that mean.

Micah would reach out to his sister, a touch of the elbow. It was to encourage her to sit down. She was still weary and she could very well continue to ask questions while doing so.

So when her questioning gaze came to him, it was easy to see they were of the same mind.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

"What does that mean? The greater good?" Aela questioned almost immediately, It was vague.

"That is up to interpretation to the individual. However, as a collective whole it has always meant one thing. The preservation of our people, the innocent, and our society."

Oh.

She understood now. It likely meant that they had gone through a dark time in their past. Murder, cannibalism, perhaps worse. She could see it now, her eyes flicking back towards the history book that lay in her palms. That would hold all the stories, but she could use logic to fill in some of the blanks of what he spoke of. Likely that had taken to this vague philosophy in order to push their people into something more suitable to survival. Focusing on the good, and the bad.

"But then why the fleet?" She questioned. "The Armada?"

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Now things were getting pretty serious. However, Aela was asking the right questions. He had some of his own, but he figured that his sister would know exactly how much to push the envelop. So far, nothing seemed out of place or out of the norm from what Jirin told. That was good. There didn't seem to be any malicious intent in his body language either.

Micah would relay this quietly through the language that tied them together with their mother. If anything he picked up would claim otherwise, she would know right away. What resources did this planet have? What was the population? How did they ever manage to navigate through the Transitory mists and could they travel beyond that? Have they ever?

That wasn't even including questions about the Force. Was there a Force Organization here? What was the philosophy? So many questions and he wasn't sure if they would be able to get all the answers.

Not to mention, how long they would have here.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

"The fleet was built over the last decade."

Aela raised her eyebrows. That many ships, built that quickly, it could only mean that their shipyards worked at an incredible rate. The size of the drive yards was certainly enough for that kind of production, and it was certainly enough to support this kind of armada, but why? That was the one thing he had left out, the why of it. Her eyes narrowed, and the man looked at her as if he knew that she was expecting something still.

"It was created for the defense of our world against other entities. The Governments in our surrounding space, intruders...The One Sith."

They knew.

They knew what was going on in the rest of the galaxy. She could see it in Jirin's eyes. All of the questions that her brother wanted to ask, everything he communicated suddenly fell away. There were so many questions now, so many things that Jirin and his people had to answer for before Micah and Aela's questions would be sated. Yet one reigned supreme, one pressed at the forefront of her mind. "If you believe in the greater good..."

She turned to Micah. Did she dare ask? Did she make the point? She frowned.

"Then why aren't you helping defeat the Sith?" It was perhaps a selfish question, but it was one she needed to ask.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Now that was a wild card.

So they knew. They knew about the One Sith. They knew and had been able to travel outside the Transitory Mists. So far no long range scanners appeared to even be able to travel through the mists to even locate this system, let alone the planet and the massive defenses. That meant only those who knew how to chart through the mists - or in their case stumble into it through the Force - were able to survive it.

Fascinating.

The Omega Protectorate had extensive capabilitites of being able to scout and explore new worlds. For decades prior to any interaction with the Republic or even the Empire, it had an extensive exploratory corps that would chart these lanes, intending to reconnect lost worlds back into the fold that had gone dark since the Gulag Plague. That they had not been able to locate this world was a tremendous tell on the sort of defenses this system had. It was essentially a fortress world.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Silence was her answer.

It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it wasn't a painful one, instead, it was telling. It seemed to loom and hang in the air, pulling at her ears. She glanced over at Micah for a few seconds, ensuring that he was still with her, that he was understanding the situation. Jirin seemed hesitant, as if he knew the answer would either not be the one Aela was looking for, or one that he really wanted to give.

She frowned, and the Firrerreo looked away for a moment.

His glance was cast out the viewport, towards the Armada and the transitory mists that seemed to hang there. Briefly, he looked at Aela, then to Micah, then back out towards the ships in the distance.

An odd noise escaped from his throat, as if he was trying to snap himself back into reality.

"I believe young ones, we have much to discuss."

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Twin eyes the color of Tatooine's sun settled upon a mirror of his own. Things were about to get serious. Perhaps the question had prompted a dawning reality? Or perhaps there was more to it than just the greater good? Either way, it was certain that Aela's question had struck Jirin. That very moment would be their line of demarcation. A time before the arrival of the Talith's and after. The Will of the Force, one could say. But it was always shifting, and the true purpose left up to mere minds to try and interpret.

For now, the two Talith's would sit with Jirin, learn more about their world and the resources it had. It wasn't just one planet, but an entire system. An entire system full of life. What came after would only be known to the Force, but it was clear that whatever came next would be extraordinary. Whether it be by the documentation of a new world and her people, or the existence of an entire Firrerreo culture thought lost.

Sitting down with his sister, Micah simply went leaning forward, elbows set to rest upon his thighs. Rapt attention lined his face. Weary as both may be, neither siblings were likely to get any sleep soon.