Open Sandy Discussions

[Alexander Xerxes]

Open to FWA Opposition

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The burning sands of Jakku, to be honest, should be worth nothing. The planet was far from the rest of the Inner Rim, isolated, alone and with little to nothing to its name. But over the last few centuries it had become a pivotal planet within the Galaxy. First the Battle of Jakku, the real end to the Galactic Civil War, then the rise of Rey Skywalker. Much had happened on this little ball of sand, strange how so much likes to consolidate on sandy planets.

Not only did Jakku hold considerable historical significance it was also one of the last backdoors into the New Republic. So its tactical significance had grown ever since Alexander Xerxes had risen to the Seat of the Supreme Chancellor. The Hynestian wanted a strong and stable Republic and to do that its borders needed to be secure, both from known and unknown threats. Some would say it was an underhanded tactic of Alexander looking to pry away planets from the Free World Alliance especially as they were repeatedly attacked by the Sith from all angles. But he was not sending ships or soldiers to colour these planets in blue, nor was he even sending a Senator in his place, no he was attending himself.

This was a diplomatic mission, to discuss with the representatives of Jakku on if they wished to stay with Alliance or join the Republic. The diplomatic overtures required to arrange the meeting were not too difficult, the fact someone of this importance coming to the planet was almost enough to summon the leading members of the planet without him stating the reasoning for his visit.

But they all knew, two Nebulon-D Frigates hung in high orbit above the planet as the Supreme Chancellors Nauur-Class Yacht the ‘Democracy’. Slowly glided through the atmosphere towards the main settlement on Jakku.

A short time later, after refreshments and pleasantries had been given and received by all, Alexander was ushered into perhaps the most fancy room on the entire planet to officially meet with the representatives of the planet. “Greetings.”

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Bonadan had been a disaster. The soft launch of Lady Adava a total nightmare. Worst, Cairo was missing. Charlotte had promised the Empress her plans would make sense. Control of the Consortium would reap benefits and her double persona would pay off. So far, that had been an abject failure. Charlotte had spent the last few months scrambling to replace Cairo. Now she found herself in a unique position. The Free Worlds were more discordant than ever. The Republic salivating to gobble them up. Well, two could play that game. The Consortium hung incredibly close to Republic Space. If she was to succeed in her goals, she needed to increase her influence. Keep Jakku under thumb sure seemed like a viable avenue. Two Nova-class Battlecruiser flanked the Battle Dragon, Regency, as it burst from hyperspace. Charlotte smiled at the dusty desert planet. She’d never met a Chancellor before.

In short order, her shuttle was cascading down towards the planet’s surface. She wore smart clothing for the occasion. The shuttle touched down and she poured herself onto the surface. Twin bodyguards stepped in behind her. She left them at the door to the government building. The Supreme Chancellor’s appearance had caused quite a stir. Representatives from Jakku giving the Free Worlds an equal opportunity. She just happened to be that opportunist.

Charlotte was ushered into the same well appointment room as the Chancellor. A beaming smile split her face. “Chancellor, what a pleasant surprise.” She bowed slightly. “I was hoping we would meet soon. Although you are a bit far from home.” Charlotte’s smile was perfectly polite. Her tone impeccably balanced. “Shall we get started?” Her mind was locked tight. Her Force signature gone. Right now, she was only the Queen Mother.

@Braden

 

[The Storyteller]

Despite its significance throughout the course of Galactic history, diplomatic summits were exceedingly rare occurrences on Jakku. While nominally a member of the Free Worlds Alliance, its isolated position within the Western Reaches and lack of strategic importance had kept the planet far removed from Galactic politics, and thus the conflict that had consumed much of it. It was a refuge of normalcy in an increasingly unpredictable war, and for a great many of Jakku’s inhabitants, it was one of the few appeals of living in an otherwise desolate and harsh environment.

Within minutes of both the Chancellor and Queen Mother arriving on the planet, they would both be ushered into the main audience chamber of Niima Outpost. It was here that the three representatives from across Jakku had already arrived.

As soon as they walked through the doors, the pair would be greeted by a rather refreshing gust of cool air against their faces. The audience was square shaped and completely enclosed - ventilation systems pumping chilled air into the space, while a variety of potted plants decorated the edge of the room. On a planet known for its scarce water supply and unrelenting heat, it was as close to luxury as there was on Jakku.

There was a trio of sentients seated behind a long table at the end of the room - their eyes already fixed onto the pair. At the center of the group was a human female in light armor and with a blaster rifle propped against her seat, accompanying helmet casually placed onto the table in front of her. To her left sat Dybrinthe male - the characteristic bodysuit and breathing apparatus setting him apart instantly. Last amongst the representatives was humanoid figure in flowing, dark robes - their identity concealed by the hood and veil they wore over their face.

“Chancellor Xerxes,” The human female rose up from her seat a bit, “Queen Mother. Welcome to Jakku. I am Constable Lyra Tryst, and I am here to represent the people of Niima Outpost in these discussions. We are joined by Acabther,” She gestured to the Dybrinthe, “Representative of the Mining and Scraping guild,” She then gestured to her right and towards the shrouded humanoid. “And Sister Corthea, representative of the Anchorite’s and Tuanul Village.”

“Please,” The Constable pointed them towards two empty chairs. “Sit. And we can discuss what has brought you both all the way to Jakku.”

@Braden @Valen Pelora

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

It took little time from the Hapes fleet exiting Hyperspace for Alexander to be made aware of their arrival. “The Queen-Mother, an interesting play by the Alliance.” Alexander responded to the aide which brought him the news. The fact they had sent a prominent player within Alliance Space meant that they were desperate to keep Jakku under the green banner of the Alliance. Looking over towards the doors as the Queen-Mother entered he smiled, Charlotte Le’Anna, was truly a beautiful woman. “Queen-Mother, It is a pleasure to meet you. It seems the stories of your beauty are underplayed.” He said with a corresponding bow. “Politics makes travellers of us all.”

Before they could talk further the representatives of Niima Outpost greeted them both, introducing the rest of the council that day. Alexander greeted all three before taking the seat set aside for him. “Thank you Constable Tryst, Acabther, Sister Corthea for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with us today. I have come to Jakku today to discuss the possibility of Jakku becoming the newest member of the New Republic.

@Valen Pelora @Altaris

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Charlotte smiled disarmingly at Alexander. Of course, she was beautiful, it remained her greatest weapon. She nodded politely to each of the three representatives of Jakku. Thanking them in turn for allowing her to come. The Chancellor rapidly made his point. He was here to pry more worlds from the Alliance…although why remained a fun mystery. Power certainly seemed the primary motivate. Not that different from her own.

She smiled and shrugged. “My purpose is much the same but perhaps with a key difference.” Charlotte looked at them each in turn. “Jakku has long survived alone. I know you all pride yourself on fierce independence. You don’t need handouts.” She looked sideways at the Chancellor. “I’m not here to try and convince you to shun the Supreme Chancellor but rather I come with a different proposal.” She folded her hands together. “The Consortium is growing but we have been too sheltered…too soft. I wish to change that and in return ease some of your burdens.” Jakku was poor and Charlotte was rich…really rich. The Chancellor could not wield the entire liquidity of the Republic. For they remained a democracy. Charlotte was Queen Mother with all the power to spend. A foothold on Jakku with her already close position to the core would give her wonderful leverage.

@Altaris @Braden

 

[The Storyteller]

There was a prolonged silence from each of the representatives as the Chancellor and Queen-Mother both made their intentions known. Investments from a wealthy world - nay, a multitude of worlds - on one hand, and membership within the more centralized and wealthy Republic. Both promised new opportunities to Jakku in spite of its long history of independence and lack of Galactic significance. Either one of them, on their own, would’ve been tempting offers.

After a long moment, the Constable leaned forward - knitting her hands together as she placed them on the table in front of her. “I must say.. I am surprised - and delighted - by your mutual interest in Jakku. You offer much to people that have been largely forgotten by the rest of the Galaxy.” It was no lie. Once under the Republic, and now under the Free Worlds Alliance, Jakku had largely been ignored and neglected - left to its own devices.

“I would start with you, Chancellor,” The Constable leaned back, eyes fixing onto the newly-elected leader of the Republic. “You offer Jakku membership within your Republic. Wh–” Before the woman could finish her sentence, the sound of screams could be heard from outside the meeting chamber and from civilians could be heard. There was an immediate look of concern from all three representatives, and the Constable herself immediately rose up from her seat - brows furrow.

It didn’t take long for one of Niima Outpost’s guardsmen to rush into the room - not bothering to salute as he skidded to a halt - clearly out of breath. “Ma’am, we’re under attack! Multiple capital ships have begun bombardment!” The Constable immediately narrowed her eyes, fists clenching. “Under attack? By whom? The Empire?”

“We don’t know, ma’am.”

There was a single tick of silence before the Constable turned towards one of the additional members of security. “We have no hope of fighting back. We must begin evacuating civilians out of the Outpost and into the buttes.” A single nod, and both men departed from the room to begin the evacuation process.

The Constable quickly turned her attention to Charlotte and Alexander. “Neither of you will be able to leave the system with those ships in orbit. There is a secure bunker just outside the Outpost - both of you need too–” An explosion rang out before Lyra could finish - Turbolaser fire colliding with the very foundations of the building.

Within a split second, the duracrete floor of the audience chamber collapsed inward - kicking up a thick cloud of particles and dust as everyone inside was dropped several feet below the ground. Alexander and Charlotte - and whoever they had traveled with - wouldn’t be spared, sudden;y finding themself thrown amongst the debris.

As the dust settled, it would slowly but surely become clear where they were - having fallen into a hollow cavern just beneath where the audience chamber had once been. Dark, wide tunnels stretched further down the cavern - likely networking all throughout Niima Outpost. Unfortunately for both of them, attempting to climb out via the hole they had just fallen through wasn’t possible.

“Is everyone alright?” The voice of the Anchorite Sister quietly rang out through the tunnel, and the shrouded visage of the woman slowly emerged from where she’d fallen through the rubble. She was followed by Acabther shortly thereafter.

And it wouldn’t take any of them long to locate the Constable - only a few moments of searching, they would quickly come across the body of the woman. The majority of her body was pinned beneath thousands of pounds of duracrete and metal debris, but it didn’t take more than a passing glance to confirm that she had been killed beneath it all.

@Braden @Valen Pelora

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

It seemed as if this was going to be another debate, which was better, The New Republic or the Free World Alliance. Centralization versus Autonomy. But before Alexander could utter a single word in defence of his request everything broke down. Screams turned every head in the room, the few security guards that Alexander had with him quickly rushed to surround the Supreme Chancellor in case of an attack.

Explosions could be heard outside as The Constable began to rally those within the room. Alexander could tell that this wasn’t just a drill or protestors making a demonstration against either The Republic or Alliance this was something serious. With that in mind, Alexander let down some of his internal walls. The bottled up connection to The Force allowed to slowly make its appearance to the Hynestian. Not at his full potential but the hideaway Sith could at least defend himself if he had to. The opening of the connection allowed him to feel the pain and destruction of the population as turbolaser fire rained down on people then quickly turned on them.

The explosion as the super heated plasma hit the side of the building almost burst his ear drums as the floor gave way beneath them all. The closest guard dived on top of Alexander as they fell down into the darkness. As they hit the floor Alexander could feel stones smash into the ground around him; one felt like it hit him in the stomach, but the pain was small.

As the dust cleared Alexander tried to push himself up, the security guard on top of him was heavy and didn’t respond to the Chancellor calling his name or prodding him. Rolling the man off his body, Alexander found he was covered in the guards blood, the blow he felt was a stone crashing into the back of the man’s skull. Killing him instantly and possibly saving Alexander’s life.

He heard the Sister call out. Coughing to get a little of the dust from his throat Alexander responded. Pulling himself to his feet he seemed to be the only survivor from the New Republic. His suit was torn and covered in a combination of dust and blood, far from the polished look of a politician. At that moment he looked like a war victim. “Queen-Mother?” He called out, not knowing at that moment if her surviving or dying was the better result.

@Valen Pelora @Altaris

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Charlotte’s eyes tipped towards the ceiling. Her face scrunched. The Force pulled at her senses. Oh fuck. The thought barely had time to cross her mind. The world exploded around the Queen Mother. She lost sense of self as durasteel, sand, and stone, warped into twisted shapes. Instinct pressed passed better judgment. She wrapped the Force around herself. The Darkness briefly hammering in her ears. She felt her guards dying…knowing she would never find them among the rubble. Slowly, the world began to dim. The ringing in her ears slowing. Charlotte shoved the Darkside down, hoping no one had felt her momentary lapse. Dust floated before her eyes as she tried to adjust to the darkness. In the distance she could hear the chugging of turbolaser. She pulled her commlink from her belt to call the ships. She frowned. Predictable. It was crushed.

Her pants were ripped, and her shirt was tatters, blood spilling from a variety of burning cuts but she was alive. Her head snapped up at the sound of Alexander’s voice. “Chancellor…” She coughed. “This would have been much easier if it was your doing.” Charlotte brushed some of the debris from her arms. “Now I have no idea who to blame.” She itched for her lightsaber but that was tucked away in her chambers. Safe from discovery. How annoying. “Sister…Acabther…where are we exactly?” One simple truth pounded in her mind.

They needed to move as quickly as possible. “The Chancellor and I can help, but not stuck down here.” She needed to get a signal to the fleet. A way out of this damn hole, a working commlink, and whatever plague Jakku would be burned from the sky. She would certainly see to that. Charlotte fought to keep her emotions in check. She had a part to play.

@Altaris @Braden