Ask At Home Among the Stars

Crix Aran

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Crix breathed a small sigh of relief as the ship landed in the hanger of one of the larger Ossein ships as directed. He wasn't flying the ship himself, of course, but his pilot droid had done a decent enough job that no one questioned it. Dressed in some of his Jedi robes, Crix checked he had his essentials on him; lightsaber, stun baton and a series of mini-tools hidden away on his person alongside his datapad. Stepping away from the cockpit and into the passenger area, he called out for the Jedi who had come along with him.

"Hey Rupert!"
he called out as he left instructions for his two droids to keep the ship locked up and to do the routine work on the sensors that was required periodically, "We've landed already old man - time to see if we can't get ourselves some friends."

Making friends was supposed to be easy but Crix doubted that any of this was going to be easy. They'd called ahead and told the Ossein Fleets that they had potential business and they'd been told which ship to land on but that was about it. There hadn't been much chatter so it would be up to him and the old man to try and make friends well enough that the fleets actually felt like assisting them.

The ramp to his ship opened up and Crix stepped outside into the hanger proper, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of a ship at work. Despite not being the newest ship by any means, it was a hub of activity as people went too and fro to carry out tasks. Some of them sang songs as they worked and some of them chatted to people around them.

All of them were busy and all of them seemed happy, as though this was what they did each and every day. There was something about working to keep a ship going that appealed to the engineering student in Crix. He kept an eye open for anyone who was coming to meet them or if they were going to need to try and find their way themselves.


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Rupert

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Rupert had been hard at work meditating. Well, not so much meditating as it was a gentleman's nap. When the young Crix signed up for going to the fleets, Rupert had noticed none of the other Jedi seemed too thrilled to tag along, and so for the first time in quite awhile, the old Morellian Jedi would take on a mission. Usually clad in his hand stitched 'Pajama Bandit' robes, a gift from Maiko, he opted for his more.. traditional Jedi robes. He had with him his cane, which doubled as a saber, his commlink, and of course his orthopedic WOOKS slippers. 100% humanely harvested Wookie fur slippers that actually supported their homeworld.

He was somewhere in his twelfth dream about organizing the library with Helen when he was stirred back to the land of the living by his young companion. There was some minor startling as he struggled to wake before he found himself leaning heavily on his cane to rise from his seat.

Exiting the small bay he had inhabited, the old timer would shuffle.. slowly.. out using his cane. "Ahh, Young Master Crix, you're looking quite spry today. Today is.. Indeed, a good day to make some friends." He would shuffle down the ramp after the zabrak, pausing as he reached the bottom. It hadn't been since the days of the Purge he had been on vessels so massive. And he would lean on the cane, as some flashes of the past entered his mind.

Expelling them with a shake of his head, he would shufle on after the Padawan. "Tell me, Master Crix, what kind of ship are we on and how many can it hold?" he'd ask. He noticed the boy was in some kind of dream land as the kid was a tinkerer. It was always good to challenge the mind.

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"About a thousand," a voice was heard to answer the old Jedi's question and soon the two Jedi diplomats would see a rather young boy stand in front of them, smiling. He was the welcoming committee. "Give or take, can never be too sure."

He greeted Crix with the smile of a peer, radiating that he belonged to the rare kind of people in the galaxy to be happy with his lot. Rupert, ofcourse, received a more respectful greeting in the way of a short bow. Because, why not? "I'm to escort you to Saal," the teenager said as he beckoned for the two jedi to follow him as he turned around and started walking through the hangar.

It would not surprise them if they were familiar with the Ossein culture, but the 'Kowakian Devil', the Colony Ship they had landed in, was somewhat crowded by little merchant stalls and all kinds of social gatherings. Although nomads and not living on the planets that the Jedi might see as peaceful and 'full of the Force', on this spaceship people seemed content, to say the least. More than once the pair of Jedi could hear laughter and not once was there a fight as they walked through the rather spacious common areas of the colony ship.

Perhaps, if they had time to be alert to such things, they could notice some stern faces on the few Ossein to visible carry arms. Large groups were bound to have different point of views among them, but nothing suggested anything of serious internal strife over the Jedi's presence. A good sign, perhaps, or maybe the opposing group was skilled at hiding their opinion and intent.

"Saul has been our Noyon for some time now," the kid said finally when they reached an elevator and he turned around to face the tow jedi. "I don't know if-" he looked at Crix for help and then at Rupert as if he considered whether the old jedi was the Noyon of the Jedi, but then seemingly dismissed it. "-anyway, he speaks for the fleet. He-" the kid paused for a moment as the elevator doors opened and he beckoned from the two Jedi to get inside. "-He'll meet you on the top deck."

___

Saul Noyon had just read some disturbing reports about the further increase of restricted space by the Republic, the FWA, the ISC, Hutt Space and Sith Space. There wasn't much room left of independent fleets like theirs without moving into the ever-dangerous Unknown Regions and that scared him. He had people to care for, to protect, he couldn't just force them to join him into the unknown. He waited for the Jedi at the elevators, but barely managed to pocket his datapad and repress his emotions -as he heard the Jedi could sense them- when the elevator arrived on his level.

A warm smile welcomed the visitors and the visual similarities between the teenager and the Noyon were remarkable. Family, perhaps? "Welcome on the Kowakian Devil," he smiled a familiar smile, "I am Saal. Noyon of the Kowakian Devil Fleet."


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Crix Aran

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Looking back at Rupert made Crix feel old just looking at the other Jedi. Seriously, the dude was older than his grandfather would have been and that was just older than anyone Crix had ever actually interacted with. He knew it was somewhat of an anomoly of him to have only really interacted with people his own age and his mom's age but still. It probably meant he wasn't anywhere near as respectful of his elders as he should be by default but still.

He really hoped that Rupert proved him wrong but he had his suspicions that he was going to end up having to do most of the heavy lifting on the mission. And if the mission called for actual heavy lifting? Rupert would probably stand to one side with his slippers on and try and tell him how he should lift it from what he remembered of lifting from half a century ago.

Crix sighed a little bit and went to answer the question when someone did that for him. He grinned a little bit at the young boy who had decided to come and welcome them.

"It looks like keeping it fit to hold that many takes a lot of work but many hands make it light, right?"
he replied with an easy grin, "Gotta say I'm looking forward to this whole thing. This is the first time I'm meeting some Ossein on the fleet - I've only ever met one person who was from here before and she was planet-side."

Ossein and the Fleet were different from what he could tell - the Fleet was far more impressive than he would have initially thought as well. He nodded to their guide as he stepped into the elevator.

"See you around after yeah?"


The elevator ride wasn't short but it wasn't as long as he heard some could be on ships like Star Destroyers or stations like the Death Star. Stepping out of the elevator, Crix held the door open with his hand to allow for Rupert to exit the elevator without feeling rushed. Once they were both out, Crix grinned wide at the Noyon, Saal, they were there to meet with.

"Thanks for having us."
he declared brightly, "My name is Crix Aran and this is Rupert. Gotta say? This is a beaut of a ship - how old is she?"

Was it diplomatic to immediately go into talking about ships? Probably not but it was what Crix knew so he was leaning on it a little bit.


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Saul laughed and extended his right hand to touch the nearby wall, "The Devil appreciates the compliment, kid-" his hand lingers on the wall as his eyes shift from his guests to their surroundings, "-but she is reaching her limit, truth be told." Passenger capacity of the nearly ancient ship was coming closer with every stray they picked up and the calls from the other captains to stop taking them in grew louder each day. Ah, Saul sighed as his hand dropped back to his side and his eyes returned to Crix before settling for a short moment on Rupert. "Let's take a seat in the conference room," he gestured for them to follow and lead them through the first door on their left, where a large oval table stood in the middle of a room with a large window of its entire length. Traditionally this was something of a long room, a place where the navigators and other seasoned bridge crew came to rest between shifts. For the Kowakian Devil it was used to meet with guests and hold council with the Noy of the fleet.

A carafe with water stood in the middle of the table between some empty glasses and in there was even a small caf maker in the corner. Saul walked straight to the latter, "Caf?" he asked, picking up a cup and placing it in the designated spot. "It's not good," he grinned at Crix, with whom he seemed to have a better connection, "but it's the best in fleet."

Whether or not he had to make some caf for his guests, Saul would eventually take a seat with his back towards the window and leaned backwards, comfortable, but not too much in case it might insult the venerated guests. "Heard you guys had a job offer?"



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Crix Aran

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When even the Captain of the ship admitted that it was reaching its limits? That was when you knew that it really was closer than anyone thought to those limits. In Crix’s experience, ship Captains knew their vessels better than their designers. Hells, the only people who might have a claim to know them any better were the engineers who were physically in the bowels of the ship, right there on hand whenever any issues cropped up from having it reach capacity.

Still, Crix managed a small smile and nodded.

“Lead on, Captain.”


The conference room was like every other conference room Crix had ever seen before but the offer of coffee was appreciated. Joking about its quality was even more so – it was the kind of thing he’d heard whenever he’d waited for his mom in one of the Ranger HQ offices.

“Can’t be any worse than the caf the Rangers used to drink when my mom used to take me in during the school breaks.”
He shot back with a grin, “No sugar please, just black.”

Crix settled into one of the seats opposite Saul and he had to fight back the sudden sense that this? All of it? Was beyond him. This was the kind of conversation that should be led by a Master or a Council member or something but he had been selected for the mission alongside the old man. The Jedi Order trusted him to see about getting this done.

It was equal parts exciting and terrifying.

“Got an offer, aye. You know much about the Adegan system?”
he asked, not taking for granted that Saul would know much but also aware that he was a life-long captain and had likely a passing familiarity with a lot of different systems, “The Jedi Order is in the process of getting friendly relations with the locals so we can re-establish the old Temple on Ossus.”

That was all backstory though, the offer was to come.

“We have a need for secure trade lanes and skilled crew willing to fight off pirates in the area.”
He admitted with a smile, “In exchange we can make sure we pay tariffs directly to you guys for keeping the trade routes open and you’ll have full access to Ossus and its immediate surroundings to use as you see fit. Drydocks? Sure. Planet-based homes as and when you need them? Of course. We’re open to discussing what it is you would like out of the arrangement.”

That… that sounded Jedi-like, right? That sounded like the reasonable, level-headed, kind of thing he had heard some of the Masters speaking like. Diplomacy was something he wasn’t quite up on but he wanted it to work so he was trying. Scooter had been quizzing him on the culture before they arrived and even the little deranged astromech had said he’d sounded “okay”.

Then again Scooter’s logic processors had been fried since their last attempt to push the droid’s power supply to work more efficiently… kark, he might not have any idea what he was doing at all.


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For a moment after Crix spoke, Saul just stared into his cup and then looked at Rupert, but he knew better than to expect him to actually say something. The kid seemed in charge and sure, he'd seen younger captains. He had also see this kid, before, so when he finally put the cup back on the table he sat up straight to make sure the Jedi knew how serious he'd become. "Thing is," he started in an apologetic tone, "I'm not just the captain of this ship. The people in the fleet trust me to protect them and act with their best interests at heart."

He produced a small remote and suddenly a holo appeared in the middle of the oval table, showing Crix himself speaking about the events on Sullust. Pieces of the recording had been picked carefully to emphasize the bombing of the boy's home and the invasion of the Jedi homeworld. Once done with the shortened holo-address, it seemlessly switched over to another where a statement was made on Jedi aggression and their rumored word-twisting. It didn't paint a pretty picture so far, but Saul wasn't done. He had to manually switch it off to start a new broadcast he didn't have the time to edit yet, showing the Sith once again making the Jedi out to be the aggressors.

"Your proposed deal is exactly in line with what our fleet does. We protect tradelanes, transport goods and fight or scare off pirates." the warmth and apologetic tones in his voice had made place for an accusatory one. "But your situation isn't that. You're in a war and you're losing, which explains why they send a kid and an old man as diplomats," because there wasn't anyone else left.

Saul felt guilty for his approach. The fleet could really use the drydocks and accommodations planetside while they reconfigure its passenger-capacity, but there was no way they could fight off a Sith strikeforce. One of their destroyers could wipe out the entire fleet before lunch and... well, Saul wasn't Daruun. He just didn't want to risk it.

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Crix Aran

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Of course, Saul was a voice for many more people than just those who resided within his own ship. They were here, specifically speaking to him, because it was known that Saul's voice was key to the fleet as a whole. Was he a dictator? Gods no but the man was listened to and, perhaps more importantly, he was respected by the fleet and the people as a whole.

It was part of the reason why Crix didn't so much as flinch when the holos started.

The other half was that it was not unexpected that the situations presented by them were being brought up. In fact, he had been expecting this very outcome, which was probably the only reason his hearts didn't hammer out of his chest at the first two holovids. Himself and... well, the rest of it. Crix allowed himself a moment to collect himself regardless, taking a sip of the coffee.

Saul had been right; it was pretty bad actually but Crix had definitely had worse.

"Mmm, indeed our situation is different to that."
he agreed without hesitation, "But it is just that; our situation. It's not your situation or the FWA's or the New Republic's or the rest of the Galaxy's at all... right?"

He tilted his head to the side slightly.

"You might believe that my initial wording was an attempt to disguise the situation my Order finds itself in but it's not. It's to highlight the extent as to what we would like to come to expect from you."
he admitted with a small shrug, "I'm not going to sit here and ask you to become embroiled in a war, Saul, I'm asking for the same thing you've always done. And when, not if let's be honest, the war decides to follow us home again?"

Crix smiled a little bit, a soft and understanding thing which showcased the real reason why the Jedi had sent him; he had not an ounce of fecking guile in him when it came to stuff like this. He was a likable enough guy (if he did say so himself) but that was it really. So it was without deception that he answer his own question, just a simple but brutal truth that they both knew that the Captain needed to hear.

How he'd react was another matter entirely.

"We expect you to run."
he said quietly, "When war comes for the Jedi's home once again, you take your people and you run. You cut ties with us loudly, publicly, and you get your people as far away as you can. If we're the target, you separate yourself from us and you'll be free from the danger; might be a shorter term investment than either of us would prefer but you would still have gotten something out of it before a hammer comes down and you're back to where you are now, no worse for wear."

Unless, of course, the blatantly expansionist Sith actually were a threat to people like the Ossein. If they were as reasonable as the man named Stolas claimed they were then the fleet would have nothing to fear if they renounced the Jedi at the first sign of a Sith attack.


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Slowly a grimace started to show on Saul's face and then he smiled into his cup at the absurdity of it all. A child really just told an entire fleet to run at the first sight of a Sith, assuming, probably correctly, that they would let him face down the big bad evil on his own. How far from common decency had the galaxy fallen? Saul would rather give the Jedi a place in his fleet than turn his back on people in need and yet... kriff, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Running," he repeated the word, slowly, pensively and paused to put his cup back on the table again. "With our ships in drydock? While our kids are playing on solid ground, breathing fresh air for the first time in their lives?" the thought seemed to anger him. For a second he had allowed himself to enjoy the peace. Ossein fleets weren't allowed into most drydocks, their children never free enough on a 'civilized world' to play without having to watch their backs. Tython could change all of that, at least, before they exchanged this sector for the next. But then.. the Sith didn't just target temples, they sucked the life from planets, occupied worlds and shot down everyone they didn't like. The Republic and Free Worlds Alliance stood by while their rangers get massacred, proving that the Sith's range is infinite and there's no one that can stop them. Saul couldn't trust Darth Stolas not to destroy the Kowakian Devil Fleet on sight, for as far as Saul knew, Darth Stolas didn't speak for of any of the other Sith Warlords. Only the Eternal did that and he made his intentions clear.

No, the best thing for the fleet might be to not get involved at all. Long-term, that is, for most ships did need time in a drydock. Funds were running too low to get it done in one of those syndicate-controlled 'neutral ports' and last he checked free space was becoming more rare by the minute. "Does anyone know of you efforts on Ossus?" he asked, insecurely. If everyone in the FWA, or the Republic for that matter, knew of the Jedi Order's plan for Ossus than Saul would wager the Sith would be aware as well. If the Jedi did this on their own, well.. the old Ossein could be convinced, still.


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Crix Aran

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No one ever liked to think that running was their first choice but sometimes it was. Other times, far more often in Crix's experience, it was the decision people came to after giving themselves a chance to think things through. To really examine the situation they had found themselves in and go from there; to realize that to run away was to live and move on. Death or injury were often inevitable but there was no reason to court either beyond reason.

And Crix didn't want to sit here in the conference room with a Captain charged with looking out for his people and ask him to fight and die for the Jedi. The thing was, the Jedi shouldn't want anyone to fight and die alongside them and he, himself, certainly didn't. He took another drink of the coffee.

"We can take measures to ensure that the drydocks are far from the Temple itself."
he offered, pulling out a datapad and bringing up a display of the whole system Ossus was in, "If needs be, outposts and collectors can be placed around Colsassa to gather useful gases and Missarassa for a source of water. With the drydocks on another land mass away from the Temple, you should be decentralized enough to make it hard to target you, especially when their focus would be on the Temple."

And the Jedi would surely be drawing attention to themselves if the Sith attacked.

Did anyone else know?

Crix smiled a little bit and shook his head.

"This effort has been done entirely by the Order alone."
he assured the Captain before raising a finger, "As far as I know, this has not changed and will not change. However, you and I both know that this might change. These are chaotic times..."

He... he wanted the Ossein fleet to help them, truly he did, but Crix couldn't find it in himself to lie. Even a lie of omission or just over-confidence to sit there and say that no one else would know they existed there on Ossus. Sooner or later it would come out and he wanted them to know that.

"If that changes? You'll know as soon as we do."
he assured the Captain, "And you can make the decision then as to how you want to proceed - this agreement we want to strike won't be like some rigid contract so you could change your mind at any point."


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While Saul listened he seemed to calm down more and more, taking a sip of coffee and looking mostly at Crix. The old man, Rupert, had to be one terrific warrior if the kid here was the diplomat. Kriff, there wasn't much to say. "If the Ossus government allows the things you've just outlined," he smiled slight, seemingly forgotten about his flare of anger from just a moment ago as he leaned forward to a point where his lower ribs touched the table. "Our own spot, away from civilization and the actual Jedi Temple, payment in tariffs and infrastructure." he placed the cup back on the table and instead of pulling his hand back pushed himself up to a standing position. "Then the Kowakian Devil Fleet, pending a decision of the Noy council-" over whom he still held enough sway to make them agree with his assessment of the situation, in fact, this would be such a good deal even that kriffer Daruun would agree.

He now started walking around the table towards the teenage Jedi, "-would gladly work for the Jedi Order." Saul extended his hand towards the young Jedi so they could both shake on it, hoping that the young man's word or the old Jedi's silence was enough for the Jedi Order to uphold the deal and any promises that were just made.


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Crix Aran

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Well the locals of Ossus was a bit of a strange one actually considering how they had changed so much. After the ancient Jedi had left, the people of Ossus had taken their culture as their own and it had made the Jedi integration with them a little bit smoother than some people would have otherwise expected.

Crix was some people - he'd honestly expected the whole thing to go incredibly poorly.

"The people of Ossus live in tribes and there is no truly unified government as of yet."
he informed Saul with a nod, "They have carefully maintained technology and infrastructure left behind by ancient Jedi and guardsman - they see it as a duty they have to uphold to see them maintained. You'll find that there are many small towns that were once thriving communities millennia ago are actually rather well looked after, even if the locals themselves don't dwell within them."

It was like they had remembered that they were supposed to be caretakers, collectively, even when they didn't actually know why they were taking care of it. They had neither the technology or the enthusiasm to actually try it themselves, though he was sure that might change when the young started to get more involved with both the Jedi and the Ossein fleet members.

He could see that the talks were wrapping up and they were heading in the right way if he did say so himself. Smiling right back to Saul, Crix stood up to meet the Captain halfway. Symbolism was basically a requirement in the Jedi, to the point where he moved to meet the Captain halfway by design before he even realized it consciously. He shook the Captain's hand with a brighter smile than any he'd had since arriving on the ship.

"I hope that the relationship gives growth and prosperity to both our peoples. I'll make sure to have their written up, signed by the Council and couriered back to you for you all to review and sign if you agree within the week."
he promised the Captain, "Even if it is only to be seen by us, the Order would like to have it firmly set out so our assurances can never be forgotten."


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