The Struggle Is Eternal

[Placeholder 0133]

Not a soul on Zenith Prime knew why they had received aid from offworlders. Not a soul knew how to react save for rushed thanks and quaint offers of food and other niceties. Alexander was unsure if the planet would have held without the help of this 'ghost fleet', as the captains had started to call it. Without their assistance, the planetary defense systems might have been overwhelmed.

It was only natural he invite one of their new allies to speak man to man. He needed to gauge what purpose this fleet had for Zenith Prime. Friends often proved to be more dangerous than enemies, and the Zenithians had not fought off one possible master in trade for another. Even as that fear crept through Alexander's mind, he found himself feeling assured of the matter being otherwise.

Zenith Prime could have held on its own. Its people were warriors by nature -- the ghost fleet's arrival had only hastened the Geonosians' eviction from the homeworld.

Standing as commander of the united military forces of the world, and therefore the de facto regent-lord of the entire planet, Alex was the highest authority with which the ghost fleet's commanders could speak. He had seated himself in the late Grand Marshal's office; entirely too uncomfortable by the room and the sentimental objects of its previous master that had not yet been cleaned out.

Jackeron had insisted using the office was necessary.

Grimacing, Alex patted down the folds in his leather jacket and ran a hand through his mop of blond hair. A moment later and his was a visage of stone. The regent-lord was as much a politician as he was a soldier, and it wouldn't do for the ghost fleet emissary to see him nervous.

[member="Hixas Bane"]

 

[Uhtred Kjartan]

Aboard his ship, The Reckoning, repairs were still being performed upon the ship's outer parts, and in some of the hangars. However, she was a tough cookie, and she could go through far worse than splitting any enemy in half. With his guard force of only 50, he'd take only two of them to accompany him down to Zenith Prime, to meet those his fleet had supported in their battle against the Geonosians. He'd already have his Command Transport Shuttle prepared, which had been armed to be able to defend itself from a few starfighters. They however did indeed have a safe way down.

Landing outside of the Zenith Prime's Officers and Command HQ. The lander's door slid open, and the two guards, along with Hixas himself were walking the halls of the HQ. Upon reaching the Marshal Commander's (Might be wrong rank) office, one guard took station outside of the office, and one inside of the office, with the target they had been guarding. Hell, he didn't even need a guard, he could hold himself for a while if anything were to escalate out of hand. So, Hixas stood before the Marshal Commander of the Zenithian Imperium, looking down as he sat, very well dressed at his desk. He awaited a response.
[member="Alexander Ontonas"]

 

[Placeholder 0133]

Variants of power armor were growing rather common in Zenithian space. The war-gear of past warriors was sold and bought rather frequently on the nearby worlds, and it was not uncommon to see commoners proudly sporting pieces of what was once considered sacred armor plates as decorations in their homes.

The men who accompanied [member="Hixas Bane"] seemed to wear a variant rather similar to the experimental suits being worked upon by the Technocracy. There had been reports of the man leading the fleet cladding himself in ever-similar war-gear. Alexander came to find that such was not inaccurate.

He grinned.

"Welcome my friend," Alexander bowed his head forward, "Your forces were a deciding factor in the battle, and your warriors spilled blood alongside my own. For that, I will call you my brother. But then I have to know your name before I divulge into honorifics." A hint of good humor laced Alexander's words.

"Tell me, my friend, why did you come to our aid?"

 

[Uhtred Kjartan]

Bane had been surprised that the Marshal Commander had not been wearing a suit of Power Armor himself. He'd thought that the Marshal Commander would be in possession of the finest equipment across the galaxy. He most likely had it being polished, cleaned, upgraded, or had it in development somewhere. Hixas held his hand out for a handshake for a moment before he spoke to add a response to both the question, and the compliment. Hixas replied with :

"Why thank you, Marshal Commander, we attempt to train our troops to the best of their abilities."

He had taken the compliment to the heart, even though he said they performed well, he would train them even better to be at the same level of equality with his personal guard force. His military and Navy would be elite. He fixed himself within the chair, and found himself in a relaxed position, clasping his hands together.

"Well, our fleet came to your aide because we thought the timing was perfect. And we needed a few allies. We received a distress signal from our scouts, reporting heavy Geonosian presence. Hixas Bane, would be my name, what would yours be, brother?"