A Momentous Occasion [FT; Closed; Attn Auman]

[Thrashia]

Planet Vascilia, Ambrosia System, Aumanii Co-Prosperity Sphere


It was a historical moment, an unprecedented event for both the Aumanii and the Thrashians. Relations between the two powers had been low-key for the past several years with little to no diplomatic exchange except when either nation thought to send an invitation. Times change however and nations change with them, or fall into the dust. And with that change was an unexpected but welcome private message from the Aumanii that arrived at Grand Admiral Thrawn's desk, asking for a private conference between the Chiss Grand Admiral and the Aumanii Overlord. An invitation which the Empire had eagerly accepted.


In orbit over Vascilia, surrounded by an escort of Aumanii ships, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Black Aegis sat like a comfortable, gray cat in repose. It was a special Star Destroyer, for it had the flag of the Empire of Thrashia emblazoned along its hull in gold and red paint, obviously for diplomatic purposes. Crew members that had had to put the paint onto it before the Black Aegis left port in New Bastion had cursed their captain roundly whilst trying to complete it before the ship was due to leave.


A Nune-class shuttle launched from the under hangar of the Black Aegis and started along a designated pathway. Two TIE Interceptors launched along with it as an escort, but withdrew back to the Black Aegis after reaching ten kilometers. The Grand Admiral had made it clear that, as much as Captain Trafalgar had wanted to send a full squadron along, they would not do so and insult their gracious hosts.

"Aumanii orbital traffic control, this is shuttle Kisander launching from the Black Aegis with Grand Admiral Thrawn on board as passenger and his private guards. Requesting landing coordinates and path designation please," the pilot transmitted over a broad-band spectrum.

[Auman]

The Nune was picked up loud and clear by traffic control and was directed towards the Vascilia City international airport, where it landed without incident. Thrawn and his delegation were met by a pair of black limousines that drove them toward the Overlord's residence, an old red brick townhouse in the old quarter. A black cast-iron gate parted and the Overlord's personal body guard ushered a throng of anxious reporters toward the side walk so that Thrawn's motorcade could pass.

When the vehicles came to a halt, Navarrone stepped out of the front door of his home and met Admiral Thrawn with a hand shake. A blitz of flashing lights met that moment, documenting a gesture of respect to a man who many considered one of the greatest mass murderers in history. The Overlord was not concerned with that, not now anyway.

'I'm glad you could make the trip, Admiral. I have a feeling you know what I've asked you here to discuss?' Navarrone said to Thrawn while giving the thumbs up to the mob of cameramen.

[Thrashia]

Thrawn accepted Navarrone's handshake without a moment's hesitation and made a proper, austere pose for the cameramen who appeared to save the moment for posterity. He nodded at the Aumanii's words. The future was...troubling.

"Indeed, I do Overlord Navarrone. It is a pressing issue which was unexpected. I berated my Intelligence groups for failing to have picked up any of the warning signs that should have proceeded such an event. But now that is has happened...steps must be taken," said Thrawn. The two red-armored Imperial Knights that had accompanied the Grand Admiral were dismissed to relax outside the meeting hall that Navarrone led Thrawn to. Inside a table and chairs had been prepared. A personal aide remained at Thrawn's side, a data pad at hand with information and a stylus for taking down any important information that Navarrone might impart.

"I am actually surprised, though," said Thrawn, after sitting down first as the guest. "When I first heard the news that IRON was to be resurrected, I considered contacting you or your allies to have a frank discussion. It is pleasing to know that the Aumanii were the first to take the step of inviting me here. I know that it must be a hard pill to swallow...but these are not times for dallying about. So what are the ideas or proposals that the Overlord would like to speak on, concerning this dire situation?"

[Auman]

'Well, Admiral... The times being what they are, I felt that it would be a prudent move on my part to speak with you. I wish to seek a galactic consensus, to understand more of the workings of the universe than just what takes place in my own corner of the Milky Way. While I don't worry about a new IRON, I worry about the implications of this declaration. What it says to me is that the old order is gone and that the Hermes alliance and I need to change the way we think. The galaxy is splitting at the seems, there are individuals that hold far too much power without the training or ability to manage it properly. They are the ones that are ruining everything that my alliance has worked for... The unification of peoples through trade and culture. Our view of the Galactic Empire hasn't changed in ages, I was wary of you and your administration, but I can see that there is a measure of change that has taken place since the old, bad days of your Empire. With that said, Admiral...'

Navarrone stood up and paced towards the liquor cabinet, pouring a glass of bourbon for the Admiral and himself before returning to his seat.

'I make a proposal. We work together, in friendship, to safe guard our way of life.' Navarrone handed Thrawn his glass of bourbon and raised his own.

'What anyone really wants in life is a good job, the means to raise their families and the freedom to live their lives as they see fit. What I want, is to end the possibility of conflict between our two alliances. To make this a successful venture, I propose we achieve this by doing three things. First off, a non-aggression pact between our states, secondly an embassy exchange... And the third point on my list of proposals may be more difficult for you to swallow, but I believe it to be the best option of all.' Navarrone looked Thrawn in the eye, without malice or desperation.

'If you would allow the Hermes alliance to install just one gate in any system of your choosing. If we begin trading, to open that steady line of communication between our two states and actually begin to cooperate with one another in a healthy way... Well, that would truly be momentous.'

[Thrashia]

Thrawn considered the arrangement that Navarrone was proposing. It was partly an agreement that he had been looking to make for the better part of a year, since it was becoming more and more clear that the Galactic Empire Alliance would be within passing distances of Hermes Alliance territory. Though it was just between the Aumanii and the Thrashians, it was a step in the right direction. Thrawn turned his glowing green eyes up from the glass he held in his hands and nodded at Navarrone.

"I, on behalf of the Empire of Thrashia, will accept that. A non-aggression pact between our two nations, an embassy exchange, and a single gate to be placed in a system of my choosing. Understand however that this agreement would be just between our two nations. I cannot speak for the entire Galactic Empire Alliance, though I am sure that many of my fellow Lords would agree to such an arrangement. In the mean time, we will simply be satisfied with this.

"The non-aggression pact will come into effect immediately, yes? I will see to it that an embassy is sent here within the next thirty days to set up a formal consulate. When my consul arrives he will give you coordinates and details on the system that you can build one of your gates. Naturally, it will require an extensive security system in place to be handled by my people within the system. Other than what engineers and crew it needs for keeping it running, I will not allow any Aumanii military personnel to be there unless they are part of the embassy guard.

"Most likely, I will invite your own ambassador to take up residence and set up his offices in the same system where the gate resides. Is this agreeable, Overlord?"

[Auman]

'Very agreeable, Admiral.' Navarrone raised his glass and nodded to Thrawn before downing his drink in a single gulp. 'As for the specifics of the events of the galaxy at large, Admiral... I'd very much like to hear your take, even your concerns about anything. Let's try to find some common ground.' Sheikh got up and grabbed the bottle of bourbon from the liquor cabinet and returned to his seat. With a mostly full bottle, maybe the men could get to know one another, in the proper Vascilian way.

[Thrashia]

Thrawn smiled and accepted another cup. "I cannot terry for long here, as I have many matters which demand my attention, but I believe we can finish a few glasses before continuing onto either of our busy schedules."

"The current business that bothers me are reports I've been given as to the recent Byzantine Alliance, and one of their main leaders, a people that go by the name of "Romans" even though I do not believe that they originate from the Human homeworld. It is very troubling that they use such antagonistic language to address what should be considered much more delicate issues. As the Galactic Empire expands its influence in the Beta Quadrant, I foresee possible conflict with these Romans.

"I am also concerned with reports that I have garnered through my Telrosian and Colonial allies. A new race of Coredians, either exiles of the old or simply a new nation bearing their name, has stepped onto the galactic stage. Most troubling. You may not be aware of this fact, Overlord, but our former Emperor, Treize Kushrenada, was assassinated by Coredian rebels. Though we drove them from our neighboring galaxy, it would seem that some of them fled here. Vengeance will be in the minds of many Thrashians once I make this news public; though I hardly wish to begin a campaign against them any time soon."

Thrawn sipped on the alcohol and his facial features showed that he appreciated it.

"What of yourself Overlord? Is the Hermes Alliance still recovering and repopulating the worlds of lost Jannath?"

[Auman]

'Naturally the loss of one of our allies is of great concern to us. Our markets have been... Affected, but they are resilient and based upon sound principles. There are no efforts taking place to repopulate the Jannarii worlds at this time. We must mourn. With a phenomena like the one experienced there, it is also best to err on the side of caution. We don't want it to happen again... And what troubles me the most about it, is that after doing research on the Jannarii incident, we have found that this isn't the first time something like this has happened. We've recently discovered that the nation of Razon has also disappeared without a trace, though with the developments at the Galactic Assembly we are believing that it was due to more conventional means.' Navarrone eyed his glass in contemplation.

'About this "Human homeworld" you're talking about... You have human beings in your own galaxy, don't you? Where did they come from? Vascilians, Jannarii, New Havenics and even the Bavinese are human, but none of us recognize Earth as the origin of our peoples. We never gave it much thought here, we've been busy with practical concerns here on Vascilia, defeating IRON being one of them. The Byzantines claim to be of Roman stock, but we have no clue what a Roman even is. The Greeks claim to be descended from the ancient cultures of Earth, but again... Our own experience with that world, our deployments to Derscon being nearly continuous for over a hundred and fifty years, they allowed us to learn a bit about that world. Vascilia has been populated by technological society longer than they've been using stone implements. I'm rambling, but I hope you get my point.'

The Overlord downed the glass of liquor.

'Getting back on point, I don't feel that the Byzantines are a real threat. The Romans are a mouth piece for no one but themselves. The Greeks, their time is taken up by other things. The Aumanii Fleet has been up their ass for years now... And until they get those Romans under control, and guarantee the obedience of Macedonika, that won't change at all. The Byzantines don't have the ability to project power in a meaningful way, not at this time anyway. And if things change, I hope we'll keep each other updated.'

[Thrashia]

"Indeed. If these self-proclaimed Romans make any major moves within the galaxy that the Galactic Empire Alliance or its associate allies can detect, I will be sure to pass on that information," replied Thrawn. "In regards to your question on Humanity, it is the belief of our nation that the human population, which is in the majority, came from Ancient Earth. There are actual documented and preserved evidence from that time period, even the primitive engine that was used to move one of the original colony ships. These humans then arrived within my home galaxy and mixed with the human population there that was said to be descendant from the planet Coruscant, which is in the galactic center of my home galaxy and was formerly the location of the Galactic Empire capitol before it fell to a galaxy-wide plague.

"The old Empire was very male chauvinistic and human-supremacist in its ideology. However the Thrashian Empire began changing these paradigms through a series of reforms that were started two hundred years ago by Emperor Shadaum IV. Now we have women serving in our Imperial Armed Forces, though not in the Clone Army, and alien species such as myself are prevalent throughout. As the saying goes: things always change with time. And I am glad to say, for the better."