From the Wilds They Comeith

[Lash]

the main hall of the Termagant had been retrofitted into a ballroom-sized dining area. Foldable walls had been installed covering the ship's dark walls replacing them with light-toned almost white walls stretching to the ceiling. The ceiling had been covered with rich burgundy and dark grey almost black linen. Golden embroidery-stitched along the edges made the transition between the two shades pop out as the golden fabric shimmered in the light. the colors represented the Stela house Lash had been born to. The walls too had draping linen sashes along its extended outer walls. Every viewport had been covered, every hatch and access panel now hidden behind the burgundy-grey walls.

A single long table sat in the center of the room with a drape of linen matching the wall coverings. The golden embroidery stitched into patterns that perfectly fit the shape of the table. Grey plates sat at each location along the table. silverware and goblets flanked each plate all colored with the Stela house colors. At each corner of the room Chiss servers stood waiting for the guests to fill into the room and take their places at the table. Additional Chiss servers stood at the entrance to the room treating the guests as they entered.

The faint sound of music filled the room. the sound was just audible over the chatter of the guests as they covered with one another in preparation to be seated. Lash stood at the head of the table silently watching each of the guests and the new rivals as they entered. Among them were high-ranking officers from the Chiss group as well as other human officers who had joined their crusade at one point or another. Several business concerns had been invited from around the corporate sector. Lash had gotten word to many of the smaller corporations in the sector that if they wished not to be a target they should send representation to the dinner. There were even a few members of a predominate pirate organization in the area which Lash had been dealing with for some time. The time for war had not passed but the time for diplomacy was soon approaching and Lash wanted to reach out to any whom may be disillusioned with the current regime.

Around him, conversations carried on the air from all directions. The groups attending seemed to stay together scoffing about who had been invited and speaking of old rivalries and business their organizations may have with one another. Lash was recording the entire dinner and would later have his analysts pull apart the conversations for any intel they could achieve from them. Lash had strictly made it known no guests would be allowed to harm another. The Termagant was neutral ground for now. The guests limited to the hanger and the dining hall. Any aggression towards Chiss, Salem, or any other guest would be dealt with very rigidly. Lash hoped the entirety of the dinner would go peacefully and He would get a better idea of the smaller players in the area. The big ones he knew, their schedules, their power, what they were eating for lunch tomorrow. He had all the intel he needed on the controlling members of the CSA. He needed to know if any of the lesser factions in the area were useful and willing to co-operate.

LAsh nodded to guests as they entered and as they walked by. Few approached him to talk but when they did Lash treated them and briefly spoke with them. He knew once Salem arrived the guest may well quiet as many were far more aware of who he was and what he was capable of. The Chiss were a mystery to the CSA members and as such curiosity as much as anything brought them out.

"Sir, Mister Normongechi's shuttle is arriving." said an aid who had walked up to Lash. Lash looked over at the man and spoke. "It is Noroncachi Lieutenant, let's try to get his name right while he is within reach of us." corrected Lash as he took in the information and began to consider what was to happen next. Lash had not directly informed Norongachi of his plan to bring in these lesser players in the sector. Like the others, he had sent out an invitation to dinner and left much of the details out of the transmission. likewise, he had not hidden it, if Salem had been curious about the gathering he could have requested more information and found out the details. Lash did not push, in a way he wanted Salem to be as much in the dark about it as the others. If the man would have known he may not have attended. and this was as much an attempt to bring Salem to the table as the others. At some point, they would have to stop killing and start talking. Now was as good a time as any.

[Salem Norongachi]

It didn't take a genius to spot the ruse. The ships docking with the Termagant were not military or Chiss in design, if anything they looked far *too* inconspicuous, their passengers screaming at anyone who might be watching that there wasn't, in fact, anything untoward going on within. They were just casual traders making their way in a harsh galaxy and their cargo was entirely above board and frankly the whole thing wasn't even worth a second thought to any curious onlooker, except they were docking with a battleship at a military staging point amidst a sizable fleet of combat vessels.

Who they were or where they had come from would be a best guess scenario and he had no intention of asking the Hand of Fates A.I to scour each individual ships recognition codes and back-trace their owners and points of origin. If Lash had a surprise in store then so be it, Norongachi thought as he keyed in docking protocol for the Commanders flagship and brought the Helix class Interceptor Wave Dancer into the bay after confirmation had been given.

As the ship pulled through the hangar shields Salem muttered, "He didn't even assign me another hangar..." as he viewed the rows of freighters before settling his ship among them. Lash had no intention of completely blindsiding him with whatever scheme he had cooked up, just enough to make him curious when he was past the point of no return.

His boots thudded on the deck and the ramp was barely an inch retracted when a young ensign approached, flustered. "Uhh? Mr Nolo..Norom...Noroge-"

"Sal will do." he cut in with a quirk of a dark eyebrow. "So where's the party?"

"This way sir, the other guests have already arrived."

"Great." Salem responded and began counting steps and memorizing the route, because you just never knew when you might need to get the frak out of dodge under heavy maser fire.

[Lash]

"Gentlemen, I assure you that we are more than capable of protecting your interest. What you have seen on your way in is but one task force among many that myself and Mister Norongachi have at our disposal. Even now a larger group than this awaits my order to strike another world. We Have burnt a trail through wild space that the CIS and the Empire can not deny. Here we sit on the Edge of CIS space without fear of reprisal. Here we sit openly and without so much as a cold shoulder from your overlords. We have lost ships in the fight yes. We have lost men and women in our crusade across this region. We pay this price willfully and will so again. We are here to bring freedom to the sector. Give the lesser more. We believe the commercial power in this sector should be evenly distributed. Please do not misunderstand we are not recommending any social-economic redistributing of power or productivity. We simply want every company to be allowed to freely do business without restriction or penalty from the government. Yes of course you will pay taxes but there will be no additional tariff fees or government-implemented penalties on commerce. We want every one of you, to be free to conduct business how you want where you want and when you want." ash said to the assembled members of the meeting. The consensus of the group had so far been more concerned with corporate retaliation from the current ruling faction than they were about any freedom or advantage they would get with Norongachis regime.

"You say this but how do we know any of this is true," said one of the attendees. Lash paused for a moment as he noticed Salem entering the room. He eyed the man then answered the question.

"Sir, I will not tell you there is not a chance this will fail. I will not lie to you and these people and say we can not lose. Truth is we could be overrun by the combined forces of the CSA and Empire at any time. As of yet, they have done nothing to slow us. They ignore what is happening here. Three worlds have been taken and other than defensive forces already at the worlds they have sent no force to meet us. They seem content to let you and your people suffer. After all your organizations are not large enough for them to even notice. companies disappear, worlds are cut off, trade routes blocked, and income is stopped yet they seem to have noticed none of it. WE have called you here to begin communications. We have shown our intent and have gotten no answer from the ruling faction. We do not want to cripple your economy any further. We have done what was needed to prove our resolve. Now we want to bring everyone to the table and find a way forward without more violence." Lash said nodding to Salem as he walked into the room.

"Mister Norongachi and I are not pirates, we are not warmongers. We had to give the sector a show of power or none of you would have come here today. We had hoped the larger corporations and ruling organizations would have shown. They were invited as you were, yet they did not want to talk. They did not reply to our comunicat's, nor seemed to care enough to even come to see what we were doing. My picket forces are spread out over twenty light yer=ars and other than local traffic and each of your ships, not a ship is out of place. They do not care or are not inconvenienced enough by us to even send a scout to investigate," Lash said looking at each of the members of the group sternly. From one to the next he looked into their eyes making sure his words were heard and understood.

"No one here is obligated to our cause. You are all free to go anytime you wish. I understand you are all committed to your brand. Your corporations are your life. That life is being strangled away by the CSA. Their regulation fees and tariffs chock your commerce lines. Their taxes and port fees keep your product from moving freely. Their negligent operations in the sector keep your fleets in fear of pirate attack. You can see this in the bottom line as you like to say. Your accounts reflect the treatment you endure under the current CSA leadership. It is, in the end about the money is it not." Lash said leaning back in his chair. He was done with his part of this masquerade. It was time for the ringmaster to step to the stage. He motioned his hand to Salem and Spoke.

"Mister Norongachi, What is say you? Lash asked showing no emotion. He honestly had no idea where this would go and what would come of the next few moments. He honestly was fascinated by the possibilities. He was ready for anything at this point and would dine on whatever was to come like a bloated hutt.

[Salem Norongachi]

Same old rhetoric, Sal thought from his position against a wall suitably shielded from the gathered crowd of suits and disgruntled businessmen, chop and change a few words here and there and it was pretty much your standard rallying cry for the little guy to rise up. They wouldn't of course. The scale of hardship between the sentients in this room and, for instance, a starving ore miner on Bonadan was so astronomically far apart that it was laughable. These people would lose money, a few zeros from the quarterly report, and then curse and scream at a VP or an intern before retiring to their private island or personal space station. People like that wouldn't pick up the banner of resistance and charge the enemy, but they'd fund it if you made them think the winds of change would blow favorably.

A cigarra appeared between his lips as he moved around the crowd and took a long thoughtful drag as he scanned the faces, his cybernetic eye streaming the feed back to the Hand of Fate and Emah for analysis. It never hurt to know who you were in bed with, he thought issuing a plume of a greyish-blue smoke while Lash spoke.

"Couple of flunkies from the bigger corporations, Tanbo Mining LLC was created less than a week ago. Shows no profits, no expenses but has a HQ on Kail. The man representing them is on retainer from Cybot Galactica." her voice spoke in his ear, he could almost imagine the sheer volume of information she was sorting through as she spoke.

"Not unexpected, they want to see what the fuss is about without making any traceable declaration." he spoke quietly, barely moving his lips and slipped a hand into his trouser pocket.

"Of the thirty representatives twenty-three appear to represent genuine parties affected by the hostilities."

He didn't have time to respond, Lash had finished and although Norongachi hadn't listened intently, he had caught the jist so when the Chiss orator addressed him directly -to the turn of a few surprised heads- he was ready and sauntered forward to bring himself into view and side by side with Lash.

"The entire sector was annexed by the Empire. On their watch. I don't know if you fully understand what that can and will mean. Imagine an embattled Imperium. Besieged by the Galactic Alliance on all sides, core worlds falling by the wayside to the cause of democracy and freedom. Where do you think the credits come from to keep ships and soldiers in their fight? The Sector is a huge source of capital and more importantly, raw resources and labour. There could come a time, in the not very distant future, where the Empire might not have access to Kuat. When you all might find your construction bays building star destroyers on credit, using resources you mined, shipped and refined, with a promise of the bill paid in full when those pesky rebels have been put in their place." he inhaled a mouthful of spoke and waved the cigarra around in the air lazily before exhaling and continuing. "At that point its very hard to say no, given the warships orbiting your factories, the storm troopers in your smelteries and industrial complexes. You can't negotiate with a Nashtah when your head is in its mouth, ladies and gentlemen."

"The Commander is right, we might not win. If the Empire comes in here with all its might, I'll be atomized just like the rest of the men and ships under our command." it was said with a matter of fact tone and a shrug but then the his gaze hardened and a spark of something danced behind the green irises. "Which is the point. When I left Etti IV, it had a substantial fleet. It had legions of soldiers. I fought the Empire to a stand still, I made them respect our territory. Where are those ships now? Patrolling an Imperial trade lane? Defending against a potential incursion through your space by the Alliance on their way to the Imperial border? What I want is to grasp the tools of our freedom from the cowards and the short sighted. Those at the top of the Imperial bureaucracy aren't stupid, the potential of fighting a war on two fronts is not a prospect they'd relish."

"Why in the hells would the Prex or ExO let you anywhere near the military? What would they have to gain from that?"

"It isn't what they'd gain, its what they'd lose." a pause, just enough for dramatics not enough to seem like he was making up a lie on the spot. "I fought and bled on the front lines with the captains, admirals and generals still serving in the fleet and army. None of them are happy about being an Imperial lapdog. They remember all too well how many souls perished to stamp our independence into the Galaxy. Its a simple decision to make, a fire sale after the fact or a conversation now." he turned to Lash. "Anything to add Commander?"

[Lash]

Lash looked around the room at the quiet faces. He watched their attention shift from Salem to himself at Salem's question to him. He contemplated what he would say next. Thought about what he knew was to come. The plans He and Salem had. The plans he had for after. The Chiss was there for more than what the CSA would offer, so much more. For now, he reeled in his mind and settled on what was before him. This room, these people, this plan. He Noded once then spoke. "I believe nothing I could add would be of any importance. You have but go back to your board rooms and private offices and look at what is happening to your money. Look at where the money is going. at how it has changed since the Imperial occupation." Lash stood from his seat and nodded to the group, then to Salem.

"I will politely excuse myself and see to the next phase of our plan. I thank you all for coming and listening to our words. What you do from here is your decision. We are going to take the fight too the Empire and the corrupt and poisoned CSA. We will fight to free the CSA from the Imperial grasp which chokes it." Lash began to turn then paused.

"I promise you," he paused and continued with a scowl. "I will burn my way to the edge of the Corporate sector. I will scorch, raze, and void anyone who resists me. I will set the sector aflame and cleanse the sector of the Imperial Taint which infects it." Lash looked down at the desk before him and paused. He needed the group to fear him more now than when they arrived. He needed them to know his resolve, his intentions. He wanted everyone in the room to cower as they left the termigant and go out into the sector knowing he was there. waiting in the deep dark, looking at each and every world they called home. He raised his head then spoke before turning to walk out of the room.

"See that you and your organization are prepared, one way or the other. For I am coming, and blue fire follows me." lash said them left the room. As he walked through the corridors back to the command center he forgot about Salem for a moment. Forgot the man was in the room he had just left. He considered how the man took his parting statements for a moment then shrugged. It mattered little what the man thought. He too would set fire to the sector to have it as his own. Lash knew this. For now he would carry on with the plan. Once he had met with Salem alone they would finalize the next phase and the Empire would know their true resolve and would not be able to ignore them.

[Ranah Jansen]

The CEO of Lucient Mining, could not have chosen a worst time to make the Corporation’s presence known in the Corporate Sector, parts of it were in upheaval protesting the Imperial contagion that had governed this section of space for far too long. For the past few weeks Kahn Baanku had tried to meet with Imperial Officials in hopes of securing a place in the Corporate Sector thus establishing a presence. Nobody would meet with Lucient’s representatives. His benefactor the one who owned it all would not accept this. Lucient Mining was owned by Sangrosan Holdings, and its CEO was one of three heads of Sangrosan Holdings, the Chairman of the Board had gone missing and so its leadership fell to the three. With the turmoil he could help make the Imperials pay for their lack of vision and as such he had sent out information gathering agents trying to get an idea on what was going on in this section of space and how he could help make it harder on the Imperials.

Kahn had seen much in the galaxy in his six centuries of life. He was an Adult by Anzati standards. During this time he had seen wars, the fall and rise of the religious orders and the Republic itself. Kahn as he was known now was not involved in such things. In his younger days he had been a trained Assassin that the Anzati were known for, while his skills had not diminished over the last century he had not taken a job. Now a days he was a man of business and dressed the part. His brown hair neatly combed back. His grey skin often set him apart, much like Chiss were with their blue skintone. His suit was always crease and wrinkle free with a pair of highly trained Assassins in his entourage who acted as his personal bodyguard.

He had learned about the gathering from his information agents, This Kahn thought was a good opportunity to strike back at the Imperials. He had to get in a meeting with the heads of this insurgency, they would make valuable allies and through no small miracle Kahn had been able to get on board the predator class battle cruiser The Termagant. At first gaze upon it, Kahn could not help but be impressed, the ship appeared to be formidable and based on what he had heard had been instrumental in the havoc that this ship wracked on the Imperials.

It was not long before Kahn and his entourage had been escorted to the main hall where the gathering was being held. Kahn sat in the main hall with the other corporate heads. While some argued over seating, nobody tried to take or move Kahn's seat. By his estimation this hall looked more like a ballroom. He had made note of the burgundy gray walls. The gray was a notch or two darker than Kahn’s own skin tone. He sat in silence and listened. He listened to the man speaking, then a second man who had joined the first. He appeared to been smoking a cigarra or some variant of one. He made a mental note on that as He listened to the mixture of cheers and jeers from the other corporate heads.

“How pitiful” he thought to himself as the rich big wigs who opposed what these two men brought to the table.They like the Imperials lacked vision and failed to see the bigger picture.

Where some of them were opposed Kahn was intrigued. He could feel the resolve in their words and body language. In his six centuries of life he had seen such men before their lives were not a static bubble of existence like most of these idiots gathered here. But the idiots in the room would still serve a purpose for Kahn. They were maybe one or two able bodies livestock among them. He turned his thoughts from the craving that threatened to creep into his mind. The need for “Soup”. He brought his attention back to these beings of purpose. Beings he needed to acquaint himself with.

He observed them , in that short period of time, he had made his mind up, he would make sure that these men, these patriots of the Corporate Sector would have at least one ally here. The gathering appeared to be over. He needed an "in" to approach and make his intentions known.

The trick was how

[Salem Norongachi]

"Blue fire follows.." it could have been taken as further dramatic posturing, Salem thought as he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at the back of the retreating Chiss, but he didn't think so. There was always a price to pay, he knew, and sooner rather than later it would come due.

"I'm going to have to kill that man one of these days." he sighed aloud without thinking and noticed the Anzati business man paying him more attention than any of the others, who were deep in heated discussion about their own course of action in the coming revolution. He took a puff of his cigarra and cast a look over the man, then gave him a nod of acknowledgement. If he'd heard that slip, then he was ahead of the game already.

[Ranah Jansen]

Kahn folded his hands, and nodded to Sal in return. He had been listening to the talk of revolution and purging the Imperial Contagion he definitely found a cause he could get behind. He unfolded his hands, and rose from his seat. His bodyguards followed, as Kahn made his way in Sal’s direction.


"I'm going to have to kill that man one of these days."

He had heard him say, as he got closer. He had no doubt that he would carry that out. He straightened his tunic before speaking.

“I have to say” he began “I like what you guys are doing” He then added before he could say anything “Kahn Baanku, CEO of Lucient Mining He extended a hand in his greeting

[Salem Norongachi]

The first thing Sal noticed when the Anzati stood was the security detail. Not uncommon among the rich but, he gave the room a quick once over, no one else had the cash to burn or the paranoid inclination to bring any of their own. There were attendants, personal assistants and the usual bag carriers that the wealthy liked to have at hand to remind them just how much better they had it than the common man, but not a hired gun in sight.

It begged the question; Was he rich or did he come with a laundry list of enemies?

"Standing in a room full of people that can't see beyond their quarterly earning report?" Norongachi replied with a smile and shook the mans hand. "Salem Norongachi, former Prex of the CSA. I'd list my business interests but I honestly couldn't mention half of them off the top of my head. I have a very good investment team." he threw in another smile here and thought of Emah, diligent and savy A.I, that dedicated a fraction of her mental capacity to diversifying his portfolio whenever the opportunity arose. He would probably be dead in a gutter somewhere missing a shoe if it weren't for her curating his bank accounts.

[Ranah Jansen]

Listening to him mention about the many business interests he had was like him trying to recall every assassination he had ever carried out. He did have a few centuries worth of victims, alot of blood had been on his own hands. He definitely was not like the others in this room.

“Most of these people in here” he began “Lack vision, and as you say they cannot see past their quarterlies” He said smiling as he briefly glanced around the room before looking at Sal as he introduced himself.

“Salem It is an honor” He released his hand

“To be honest I am new to my position as my company is relatively new”

The bodyguards stood back a step form Kahn. He had them with him as his former position had earned him protection for life. It wasn’t to flaunt his muscle.

Some of the wealthiest beings were in this room, money had never driven him, which made for a good businessman, some who were driven by money would make choices fueled by their greed which would land them in the gutter. Kahn was not like that. He had folded his hands behind his back and took another glance before coming to the heart of the matter.

“I’m new here, my company is still growing, I’ve been trying to establish a presence here but the Dirty Imperials lack vision” he paused as he considered his next words “I guess I chose a unique time to come to the Corporate Sector, Truth is, I’d like to help you with this revolution”

He figured the whole purpose of this gathering was to find backers and allies. If backing them earned him a place in the Corporate Sector to establish a presence then it would be mutually beneficial and who knows a long lasting partnership could be born from it.