Chairman
SUARBI SYSTEM, BEYOND THE ASTEROID FIELDS
After what had felt like an eternity, they were finally ready. Credits had been accumulated, reappropriated, sorted out, parts and raw ore stockpiled and new technology developed for the massive solar sails. As far as she knew, they were the largest ever made. And at last, the ship had been commissioned, celebrated, and stocked with art, fine foods, and wines. Its crew, trained and drilled, had marched aboard weeks ago to prepare for this trip. Now, the hospitality crew awaited in the hangar as caravans of shuttles trundled in to unloaded their passengers and then left again.
She had come aboard earlier to prepare things on her own end, establishing the temporary headquarters of the Rimward Trade League council. They were all present on the ship at the moment, in their respective consulate's offices. The ship's Admiral would be the one performing the official welcoming, as it was far too large for a captain. The man had been a Commodore in the Coalition Navy and offered his commission to the fledgling Rimward Trade League, establishing the first Rescue Service training programs and academies. And with the commissioning of this ship, the Sullustan had been offered the position of Admiral, which did not exist within any of the League organizations. But this ship? The Dream of the Rim? It deserved nothing less and could have whatever ranks it wanted.
She rolled her shoulders and strode down towards the hangars to begin meeting the people as they streamed aboard and the variety of hospitality staff and droids ushered them to their respective cabins. The winners of the Imynusoph Run would, or probably would, be here. Coren, she had met before. But she had not met the others, and couldn't guess if she would or not.
There would be tens of thousands of guests aboard the ship. Many, she suspected, would be their with their own agendas for meeting on the massive vessel- a veritable floating city with its own embassies and emblems of political neutrality. That had been partially intentional. The ship had been designed, and its nature carefully adjusted to nearly be a legal entity in its own right.
That would be plenty enough for the legal and political ramifications of their cruise. All weapons would be confiscated and stored deeply inside a heavily defended vault in the depths of the ship, guarded at all times by members of the Rimward Ranger Corps posted to the vessel. Part law enforcement, part anti-boarding defenses, part glamour. A full company, several hundred strong, barely added to the total complement aboard the vessel.
But that was a last-case scenario. The ship was fast and had strong shields, and if those failed, was still absolutely massive and had enough redundant safety measures they could sacrifice part of the ship to make an escape. She doubted it would come to that though.
In a few hours, everyone would be aboard, and the sails would be raised and the ship off on the voyage. It would be something to experience, but she had to work on this trip. The Rescue Service had already done good work in stabilizing the Outer Rim and in working with the Development Corps, the Outer Rim was every bit as stable and safe as it had been during the days of the Outer Rim Coalition. Pirates hunted down and driven away, crime syndicates broken by the Ranger Corps and ORION.
The Outer Rim was beginning to really thrive. And that was the start to something new. A new era for the Outer Rim, as the Core and Inner Rim were wracked by yet more vicious warfare. It was something that would be coming to this sector soon enough, but this time, they would be ready for it.
But for now, they needed to cruise and sell others on their vision. Because unlike many of the others who had been in positions of influence in the Outer Rim, Mya had come to recognize one fact. There was no wrangling the Outer Rim worlds into submission at the end of a turbolaser or beneath a Star Destroyer. The Galactic Empire had failed to learn that nearly a thousand years ago, and then the First Order had learned it again twenty years later, and then a dozen other wannabe emperors and warlords. One could not change gravity and one could not change the fact the Outer Rim was going nowhere unless they chose to.
But with a cruise ship, Mya hoped to force people to interact more across ideological and political boundaries. Start breaking down the barriers and grudges that pushed them to shoot first and talk later. Granted, they would need that in the coming years as the Bryn'adul pushed closer and the Brotherhood of the Maw surged in towards from the far side of the galaxy and imperialism surged across the galaxy.
The shooting was inevitable eventually, but hopefully she could convince the people of the Rim to stop shooting at each other. It was why the ship was a vessel of neutrality. And more than that, of the power and accomplishments of cooperation and compromise. Something she found sorely lacking in the galaxy these days. But it was the key to the future and if she had to use every skill, every favor, every trick in the book she learned mining and hauling tibanna through the Suarbi system to make it happen, by the Force, she would do it. And if it started with a delightful cruise, well, she would consider that an acceptable consolation.
"Welcome! Welcome!" Mya said, pushing a smile on her face as she strode into one of the main hangars where guests were offloading. This was the third class passenger compartment if she remembered correctly, the cheapest and most plentiful cabins, excepting the hostels. "I'm Mya Jesel, chair of the League Council, and I am delighted to welcome you aboard."
The long work of engineering was over. The longer, more important work was just beginning.
No pirate fleets or whatnot, thank you. Anyone is welcome to join, providing characters follow the rules of the ship. No weapons, no fighting outside of proper competition matches with dampening fields.
