Zaelos listens to Na'Soth make his plea to the Ambassador wishing he could guage the other man's reaction to the Givin's words. After giving him time to let the words sink in, he adds softly "He speaks truly, Ambassador Calkus. While we certainly do not wish any further conflict between our forces, I would remind you the Imperials you defeated inflicted a sizable toll on your forces. There are other threats out there besides the Imperial fleet you wiped out."
The ambassador crosses his arms. "Our intelligence tells us many things. First, This Night you speak of and his fleet were the only known imperial presence in this system other than yourselves. Second, the dissidents of the planet below are primitives and mercenaries. Mercenaries won't fight to keep the planet if they lose their number one resource, which appears to be the Malaki. We bomb the Malaki out of existence and the slavers will leave. Without ships or advanced technology of their own, these Malaki pose no threat and the only "costs" will be the resources we bomb in the process, which I am told are few at the worst. Third, this planet is the most resource rich world in our entire system and it is in OUR space. We are in need of it's resources if we are to build ourselves stronger. It would allow us to build more ships faster, train more men, build a stronger infrastructure. Now that we control it's space, we can turn our attention to this Danaten Station where the rebels reside. We will destroy them with one swift stroke. Now, as a show of good faith to you for delivering us info on our enemies betrayal, we are allowing you the opportunity to peacefully leave our system. Refuse, and well, we simply open fire on you. Now, will you leave the system or shall we have war?" The ambassador doesn't seem at all convinced by your argument.
Na'soth gets Karvals attention, and pulls him aside while Zaleos holds the ambassador's attention. Speaking quietly,almost at a whisper, "We need your friends from Danaten Station, and we need them yesterday. I will try to help Zaleos hold off the trigger happy fool while you contact them from elsewhere on the ship." Moving back to deal with the ambassador, and taking on an equally imperious tone, something that comes naturally to him when he chooses to use it, "The alliance would be pleased to hear of your foolishness, air breather. As would every other faction currently in existence. You will not bomb the existence out of the Malaki, they are already in caves that your bombs can't reach, and even if you do, it'll be at the expense of the resources you say you so desperately need. And then you think that a civil war is going to make you stronger. I have seen many fools in this universe who fail to understand the math of survival in this universe, but you take the cake; you have the power to secure yourself a little corner firmly, but you insist on pissing it away the same way that the emperor did. Now I suggest that you come to your senses before we issue the order for our fleet to jump in and finish the job started by Night. We are no fools; we know the range of your scanners, and where to put our fleets for best advantage in this region."
Karval stares blankly at the Chiss Commander's words; 'So they'll be all dead... everyone. All my brothers... This is not the Mandolorean way.'
It takes him a second to realise that Na'Soth is calling him over, he nods at the instruction. Then he goes over to a separate console, his fingers moving urgently as he tries to open a secure and hidden burst transmission to Danaten Station.
Janitor stands by, moving just out of the range of vision offered by the transmission with the Chiss. Frowning, he fingers the sidearm on his hip, looking around, distracting himself by scanning the room for entry and exit points, killzones, blind spots from various angles... Not expecting a battle, just passing the time.
Karval turns to the image adding: "Why not as a show of good faith, allow us to rid you of the Malakai Savages? They are just bait for Night, would be a waste of your bombs and resources. And to successfully bomb them could damage the value of the planet." Karval adds; "It is your space, why should you share it with the aboriginals? We'll feed them and supply them as we remove them from the planet." he shrugs, the callous words burning as they come from his mouth.
"Winkling everyone of them out would be a waste of time and only create resentment & guerilla attacks."
Karval speaks boldly, but tries not to make it an order as he realises that the Chiss have been ordered around enough by others. However his words are not the weak pleading and mewling of those in a subservient position.
"Karval speaks truly, if a tad bluntly. These savages would certainly hinder your efforts to gather resources from the planet. Allow us to assist you here, and we can perhaps form a mutual beneficial relationship for future endeavors."
"Indeed, there are many potential ways we can benefit each other if we take the time to explore the possibilities. We may be imperial, but the empress is different from the other imperials in that she is capable of seeing value in cooperation rather than domination."
"Like they said, it's no issue for us," Janitor pipes up, sticking his head into view for a moment. Hope that didn't hurt us, he thinks, ducking back out.
Karval nods gratefully to Zaleos for the assistance, it seemed his words were transformed between his head and his mouth. That kind of thing happened all the time with the vagueness of emotional language. The Mandolorean could plan and order an attack with precision, but complimenting a woman and asking her out was beyond his skill.
Na'Soth and the Janitors words were appreciated too as the warrior nods, his thoughts picked up by the others. Now if only the Chiss aristocracy could agree to terms and let them have the natives. The Empress cares not about the planets resources.
Arana had be absent for some time before returning; wearing a collage of typical imperial casuals, all of a colour, if one were to look carefully. The overall impression however is one of severe beauty.
Stepping back into the bridge at the beginning of the conversation with the Chiss, Arana listens for a time before entering the field of vision of the holoemitter.
"The facts are simple you want the planet, we want the sentients. An equitable arrangement now can avoid...disagreements, in the future."
Diplomacy Aid
The ambassador paces for a moment considering your proposal. "We have burned many resources to get here and if we can save some it would be in our best interest. But we were betrayed by this promise. What makes you imperials different from the others?"
Janitor steps forward. "What makes us different? We are the real Empire, and they are not.
"The Empire is about peace and security. Its goal is order and safety for its citizens; its method is honor. There may be some war, some battles, but they are to put down danger. Everything we do, we do for the greater good. Our Mistress, Lady Mirianna, is furthering the goals of the Empire; she is attempting to forge it anew, to protect and to serve the people of the galaxy. Those others are impostors; they claim to fight in the name of the Empire, but they are power-hungry dogs. They are their own threat, and will be put down in time. We only wish to protect the interests of our people."
Karval nods, the Janitors' words being proper - dwelling upon the stability, honour and justice of the new regime. "We have no wish to dominate and put others under a yoke of tyranny. That is for Night or Taintus' forces." Knowing faux-title of Empress will only infuriate, he continues hesitantly. "Mirianna is a just ruler who only wants to ensure that we have peace and prosperity."
"Neighbouring people do not hae to kow-tow to her, like they did her Father." he adds.
Zaelos considered the ambassador's words carefully. It a a few moments before he responds. "A good question you pose. In order to answer your question would require you to meet the Empress face to face. However since that is not feasible at this time, you must judge her by the tools she elects to use in the meantime...namely us." He offers a small smile here. "I would like to think she chose her tools well. Certainly an honorable person would wish those who she uses to reflect her views. We have certainly shown our honor here, have we not?"
The ambassador allows a bemused smirk to escape him. "Interesting. It sounds as though you are looking more for an alliance as opposed to control. If that is what you desire, then we may need to have a much more detailed conversation. I need to Meet with a high ambassador than myself to secure a mutual alliance to cover our borders and focus on the impostors I imagine. You cannot, of course, have the planet or any of its resources save for the people. I shall return to you in time to set up a hyperlink with a direct ambassador from the Aristocracy. We shall return."
The image of the ambassador flickers out. You are sitting alone in the quiet holochamber. It won't be too long before you meet with an additional ambassador direct from the ruling Aristocracy itself. You have a out of game day to talk amongst yourselves. I will post his return this time tomorrow.
Ask any questions if you've forgot anything or need any information.
"So, shall we sort of plan how to evacuate the planet. And perhaps ensure we can look at the facility that Cortel was working on in Chiss space." Karval gruffly ponders, inside pleased that they have a chance of success. "See if we can gain these concessions for our efforts. Although we'll have to couch them in words to make it appear we are doing them a favour - which we are."
Janitor exhales as the hologram flickers out. "I. HATE. Diplomacy." Shaking his head, he touches his slugthrower and walks over to Arana and gives a small smile. "Well, looks like we won't be leaving the Malakai behind, after all."
A wry expression touches the corners of his mouth at the Janitor's out-burst. "Agreed, we cannot let them be extinguished."
Arana looks relieved that the Chiss ambassador agreed to let the Malakai live. Then a frown mars her smooth brow "That's all well and good, but if we don't stop Zadora's transports, more Malakai will be taken off planet."
Na'soth's body language relaxes visibly as they wait. "Finally, we are making progress. Now, before we meet with them again, any ideas on precisely how we want to handle a major evacuation of the Malakai and how to handle the sensitive issue of Danaten Station, speaking of which, will someone please get on the comm and at least inform them of the basic outline of what is going on here? We need them to be part of the solution and we can't do that if we never get around to talking to them. We need to know precisely what solutions they will accept before we can make any progress on that front.
I'm still thinking the easiest way is to somehow bring the two pieces together. The Aristocracy needs the resources here; I get that, and we need to have that piece in the final puzzle, but perhaps we can arrange something that meets all of those concerns. I don't know what plans the Aristocracy has, but my idea is fairly simple. Let the Malakai stay on the planet, move the dissidents here where they can have a better chance of co-existing with the Aristocracy, and have the planet be made into a semi-autonomous region where the Aristocracy leaves the day to day affairs to the locals in exchange for a quota, or tax, of specific goods and services while the Aristocracy retains overall control over inter-regional affairs such as dealing with the empress. It's not the ideal setup for anyone, but it gives everybody enough of something that it could work. The Aristocracy gets their goods, and retains overall authority without having the expense of removing the "problem." The Malakai get the freedom to continue to live their lives more or less as they see fit and get access to training and resources to help bring them into the space age. The unknown here is Danatan Station; I don't know precisely what their goals are, so it's hard to gauge their reaction, but this solution would give them control over something, as they would inherently need to be in charge of the operations of extracting the required resources, while giving them a certain amount of freedom and independence from the Aristocracy. We could also arrange it so that they would be free to provide resources to others such as the empress once they meet the quota to the Aristocracy, giving them incentive to focus their energy on the task of extraction rather than fighting the Aristocracy. The idea would require some tweaking, but I am sure that if we did some research, we could find some examples of similar semi-autonomous and/or corporate arrangements that we could use as a base that would more or less satisfy everyone.
I'll get started on that research with Karval's help; I would say have Arana contact Danatan Station, and Zaleos can figure out the details of the alliance between the empress and the Aristocracy, including how to get the information we need from them. Janitor can work on how to deal with the Hutt problem, covering up that loose end. Any other loose ends I'm missing or thoughts on my ideas?"
A good hour passes before a new image appears. He Moves in with a tall proud and dignified stride. He then paces back and forth and appears to be gauging you for a moment before speaking.
"Greetings Imperial Ambassadors of Empress Mirianna Palpatine. I am member of and spokesman of the Chiss Aristocracy, Sir Sallinus Braun. I am here to negotiate terms of the possible allegiance between your faction and ours. One reason we have for even giving this option the light of day is that we may be in need of help. Our enemy's, the rebels at Danaten Station have been meeting with a representative from Darth Taintus. We fear he may try and assist them. Therefore, we do have reason to look for aid. So, what terms were you looking for and no, you cannot have the planet below. It's people is another matter but not the world."
"It is an honour to meet one as Erudite and Noble as yourself." Karval tries to pull on his upbringing in an Ambassadorial household, "We have seen Taintus' troops in action they are fierce warriors, with his immense backing and resources not something you want to come up against." Karval shakes his head solemnly.
"Our Leader Mirianna wishes not to intrude upon your space. If anything an alliance could both our regimes. There appears that there could be a slight problem with the ingenuous inhabitants of the planet and their troublemaking ways. We have some capability to relocate people, without them denuding your supplies." Karval adds floridly. "For the planet could be dangerous with the wild animals as well as the natives.' He puts out the idea that the planet could be a dangerous prospect to rule, in the spirit of Na'Soth's plan.
"Maybe, in the spirit of co-operation, we could even act as mediators between yourselves and the Danaten Station to stop them communicating with the evil Taintus." he says 'That way we can slow down any attacks, clogging the future with diplomacy. Hopefully finding a peaceful solution.'
"As my esteemed bodyguard has stated, Darth Taintus is no friend of ours and I can assure you he is no friend of your people." Zaelos adds quietly. "Also, we also have a good idea of what Taintus' forces are looking for and preventing them from acquiring what they seek is one of our highest priorities."
Braun paces pondering for a moment. "Are you saying you can settle the issue regarding Danaten Station for us? I will tell you what. You go to Danaten and tell them to surrender their leaders to the Aristocracy for punishment and the rest of the Danaten rebels are free to join with us again. Then we will allow you to take the inhabitants of Malakai wherever you wish. We will even be able to spare transport ships at that point as they won't be destroyed in bloody battle against our fellows. We get our resolutions, you get yours, we have an alliance. What do you say?" He awaits your response.
"I'm sure we can act decisively with regards to Danaten; however taking and executing the ring-leaders, as you know." Karval says conceding to the superior diplomatic knowledge, "will just harbour more dissent and unrest. Far better to strand the rebels in the arse end of no-where, with a purpose and see if they can achieve an impossible objective."
"That way when they fail, it shows your obvious superiority and the correctness of your methodology." he gives a vicious smile; "At the same time, it means that they have to grovel and come to you and admit failure."
Rubbing a thumb across the handsome line of his jaw; "Persuading Danaten that they should try the impossible would be a tough task, as would finding a place where the people are inhospitable, the resources or task useful and that there are enemies that wish to attack." the Mandolorean tries to be subtle to imply the planet below them.
"My thoughts exactly, Karval. This time of universal chaos is not a time to be simply killing your enemies because if you do, more will simply rise up that are stronger than the ones you just killed. Far better to use your known, weaker enemies to shore up your own overall position. In this case, it also saves you the cost associated with starting up the major enterprise of surveying the planet and establishing the necessary mines, settlements, and processes required to successfully extract the resources you require. It need not be a long term arrangement, but it would give you time to undermine the leadership of the dissenters without weakening your position against external threats. It would also give the empress sufficient time to ensure that the Malakai could be extracted completely and entirely rather than forcing a single move that most certainly miss a fair number who refused to leave and wanted only to cause trouble. In addition, you gain the use of a significant station without firing a single shot; that is not a minor benefit, as it helps your position amongst the common soldiers of the dissent, thus strengthening your bid to undermine it's leadership.
Overall, it's not the ideal solution that would cleanly solve the problem once and for all, but with the current state of affairs, it's the cleanest you can hope to find without creating even more political and military backlash from both inside and outside of your borders, at least for now. And once things clear up on the galactic level and the threat on your borders is cleared up, you'll be able to approach your own internal concerns more effectively." As he finishes speaking, Na'soth looks to Zaleos to put the necessary spin on to make this work and pull everyone's rear away from a dangerously hot fire at least long enough to put some fire resistant padding on.
Zaelos nods in agreement with his compatriots. "As my companions have stated, we are living in dangerous times Ambassador and I would advise caution. There are other factors to take into consideration before you embark on this path against the Danaten rebels." He pauses, "Now, I am not saying we forgive or by any means let them go without punishment, but the fact they have sought council with our Empress' enemy introduces an unknown to the mix. All I advise here is patience. We must determine what the rebels are up to first before we strike against them."
"We cannot force them into the hands of Taintus by punishing them." Karval is glad of the others clever words; "Better to subvert their purpose. Thus they blame their own leadership for failure, rather than galvanising them against you."
The ambassador seems to be unsettled by what has been spoken, even offended. "You speak as though you have knowledge of every detail but you are missing the crucial facts. I am one of the Chiss leaders. Do not delude yourselves into thinking I do not consider all possible outcomes. The rebels are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Aristocracy lives, hundreds of them non combatant. Their crimes entail slavery, extortion, blackmail, bribing, murder, treachery, piracy, torture, kidnapping, burglary,national theft, terrorism, the list goes on. Tens of thousands of Aristocracy families are mourning lost loved ones whom have never even held a gun. All the rebels should be branded criminals and executed, every last one of them. But no, a compromised was reached to satisfy and angry public. The leaders of the rebellion must be executed. Their fore makes up a faction of our own. Should we attack, success is inevitable, but the cost of such is unacceptable. We need to be ready for Taintus and we need to act before he allies with Danaten or all will be lost. Our intelligence shows that Taintus has the largest amount of manpower than any other power in the galaxy. We need all our strength intact and the added strength of the rebels. But the people of the Aristocracy demand justice, so to satisfy them and stave off further rebellion, the rebel leaders MUST be publicly executed. In the face of three way civil war, there is no alternative. Go to Danaten station and deliver our ultimatum and either force their surrender or aid us in their complete destruction. Then we can have a mutual alliance. Those are my terms." He stands straight and stern.
"That's terrible. Attacking your own people." Karval states solemnly trying to think of an acceptable solution and carve through the propaganda. "Now they are talking to Taintus. Unacceptable." he adds.
The Mandolorean warrior turns to the others trying to thing of an answer, that will allow them to help the Malakai, the people of Danaten, whilst maintaining a tentative alliance with the Aristocracy. 'I doubt the rebels would join the Aristocracies strength, especially with their leaders executed. Although they could add their strength by protecting and mining this planet, thus we only have the horrific problem of public executions....' he ponders.
"We would be willing to discuss this with the leaders and the people of Danaten station. Make them see reason." Karval pauses; "Would it be best to move the station here? That way you could have them overseeing the operation whilst still securing this flank of your territory."
"And I even suppose it could be a punishment, having to deal with the Malakai, also horrorific creatures and any that wish to take them?" Karval awaits a response. "But if not I think it'll be best for us to move the natives away."
"I must agree with my esteemed bodyguard. I certainly have mo issues presenting your demands to the Danaten Chiss. I hope they are as amenable as you have proven to be." Zaelos pauses, waiting for someone else to add a response before he closes the channel.
On the sidelines, Arana nervously watches the three negotiators, wishing she could help in some way; all of this politicking was way beyond anything she had experience with.
Na'soth is quiet as he waits for the channel to be closed. It is quite clear that dealing with the Aristocracy is out of the question, and it would be necessary to work around them rather than with them. He just hopes that the Malakai and the Danatan station rebels would prove be cooperative in that effort.
Before you sign off with Braun he says. "Remember, the only choice Danaten has is to surrender their leaders or face war. There is no other alternative." The image cuts out as the channel is closed.
You return to the bridge and set a course for Danaten station.
Your two destroyers jump to Danaten station where you see the fleet still floating around. You are permitted to board via shuttle to speak with Danaten's leaders.
Once on the station you encounter a new fellow standing to the entrance of your port.
Karval nods to the vanished Diplomat. He turns to the others with a sigh; "This will be tricky, but if we are to bring the galaxy under Empress Mirianna's rule then we need to get used to tricky situations."
The stoic Mandolorean ponders the situation, turns to Arana with a shift of his shoulders seeing that she is as out of her depth as he.
~~~~ Later~~~~
Getting out of the shuttle, his long vibro-rapier by his side bouncing off the snug dark trouser. The scarlet voluminous shirt glistens and shimmers in the harsh stations lights.
His head swivels so fast that his braid, tightly bound, whips out. "Nichos dealt with the Danaten station before..." his voice deep and mournful; "This will be even trickier."
Then it causes him to remember the new-comer; "Na'Soth, this is the magnificent Danaten station. Have you been here before?"
As the group exits their ship in the hanger, a clean shaven male human in his early twenties, with neatly groomed dark hair approaches the group.
In an almost militaristic fashion, the man begins to speak. "Lady and Gentlemen, I am Darius Lucien, Soldier to the Empire, and loyalist to the Empire's true leader, Empress Mirianna Palpatine."
In a less formal fashion, he says, "I am re-enlisting to join the Empress' forces. I heard that by assisting you, I can best serve the Empress."
Zaelos turns his head to face the newcomer and he can see the scarf tied around where his eye sockets should be. Extending his hand in greeting, responds softly "A pleasure to meet you Darius. We need all the dedicated and loyal soldiers during these troubled times."
The Mandolorean cocks an eyebrow, moving to Zaleos shoulder to ensure he can protect the noble. Noting the stance and demeanour of Darius, it's obvious the man is a warrior of stature. "You sent by Tavoes? Or just a military volunteer?" he asks slightly probing.
Na'soth lets the others deal with the new soldier as he responds to Karval, "It's a space station. I've been here before briefly on numerous occasions, but at it's heart it's not particularly more magnificent than any other station. It still comes down to being run by grease, sweat, and the occasional drop of blood."
Responding to Zaleos, Darius smiles, "The pleasure is mine."
Turning to Karval and wondering who is Tavoes, "I was not sent by Tavoes. I am a military volunteer."
Karval nods at Na'Soth reply, having been brought up on a Hutt run world he knows that behind the scenery it requires an enormous amount of hard work to maintain a visage of competence.
"Interesting. he breathes almost to himself. "Well, we can always use a skilful ally in these tough times. You worked for the Emperor?" he addresses the newcomer.
'Could he be a spy? An infiltrator, or just an earnest and valuable warrior? We do need more allies.' the Mandolorean wonders suspiciously.
Following the others down the gangplank, carrying an exhausted coolant filter, Arana pauses when she sees Darius. Looking at him over the edge of the filter, all Darius can see are her eyes, appraising him frankly as he answers the other's queries.
"I believe Janitor here used to work for the Emperor too..." he looks to the veteran warrior, waiting to see if like all old soldiers want to start a tale.
The trooper exits the shuttle in his armor, having spent the trip trying to get it back into presentable shape after his trip in the jungles of the Malakai. It still looks rougher than when he first joined the group, but the gleam has returned to the plastoid surface. He carries his helmet in the crook of one elbow, with his hair now a bit longer than it had been, though he is still clean-shaven with only a shadow of facial hair along his jawline. His carbine is strapped tightly to his back, though he wears the slugthrower pistol openly on his hip--within easy reach of his free hand.
Eying the new recruit with one cocked brow, Janitor tries to hide a sardonic grin at his talk of being a "Soldier to the Empire" and a "loyalist." There were plenty said that that didn't follow through on their word--including my own brothers. And you're no clone. What makes you think you're different than any of them, boy? Still, the soldier can't help but appreciate the eagerness of the young man.
The trooper nods at Karval's comment. "Trooper Alpha-Three-Three-Seven here, but you can call me Janitor." He salutes the young man smartly. "And as Karval says, I worked for the Emperor--been working for the Empire since before you were born, I reckon. Was an Advanced Recon Commando back in the Republic days, trained by our base himself, served in lots of ops. Later on I was inducted as a Dark Trooper, one of the few living ones. Now I'm a true specialist with this group." He frowns, a slightly suspicious element coming into his countenance. "What branch were you?"
Seeing the Dark Trooper, Darius crisply return's Janitor's salute.
Returning to his more formal tone, "I served the Emperor and the Empire, in the Stormtrooper Corps. I started my enlistment in the corps as an infantryman, which led me to spend much of my time on the front lines."
The old man looks pretty good for his age.
After the greetings are complete and a slight pause, "Who do I need to see about the formalities of re-enlisting?