Chandrila

[Beck Pilon]

The Curich-class shuttle known as Heaven's Taint made its entry into the main port of Hanna City. Beck Pilon sat in the main hold of the ship along with a junior officer, one of Alliance background and six of his commandos he had trained. The junior officer sat with eyes closed, almost hiding the panic within his face. Beck sat with his black naval uniform and white cloak, a very typical attire for him when he was being presented before others. He always felt like the darkness of the uniform reminded people of the Empire's might, yet the white helped others to see the adoption of the new era under Empress Raven. The officer, Juhn Chilcaot with his shaggy brown hair and the grey/bluish uniform sat fidgeting with his fingers as the ship slowly began it's landing procedure. 

 

"Why are you nervous?" "I'm not nervous-" the younger man spat out rather quickly. "I'm worried and feel stressed over the political atmosphere here..." Beck closed his eyes in slight annoyance. While it was true that Chandrila was becoming a pivotal point and a focus for everything right now, it was not their purpose in coming. Looking over a datapad for a moment, he calmly address the concerns. "The political atmosphere is of no concern to us during this trip. Our job is secure a hub for smaller ships and offer up an exchange of resources that Tor Blatheuld think we may need to offer up her planet. The politics are reserved for someone else. We have not been asked to step in outside of that yet."

 

He cared little for the tensions that arose from such political questions when he entered into situations like these. He always preferred to have someone point a blaster at him versus battling him with words. Granted, they were invited to attend the Gala being hosted in two days time, but his orders left it open for him to make the decision on his own. And if things were as tense as expected, he felt like it would be the last place he would want to be. Many recently have expressed their own discomfort in the fact that the Alliance and Imperials have come together and that the imperialist designs took over the majority of the public image. The general fear was that it would bring forth a new regime of the old Empire. His own eyes moved up to look at lieutenant Chilcaot after he finished the thought of the tension to see him being very expressive with his eyes. 

 

"You have an opinion on that?" The words struck the boy as he looked up and saw the Admiral staring at him. He took a second to gather his composure before responding. "I just feel like it's a mistake to let it rest if we're in a position to help change that course." He let out a heavy sigh and stood up as the ship began to power down. His standing brought forth the commandos to attention to stand up with him. "We haven't been given that position." He took a second to lock eyes with the young lieutenant before turning to walk down the ramp. Too many of the Alliance officer thought that way. That they were to do far more than what they were assigned to do. While he did appreciate the eagerness to make a mark, it was overshadowed by ego or morality, both of which served no purpose in any of the branches he served under. 

 

The two walked down the ramp to be greet with three Chandrilans, two males, one in military uniform and the other in more formal garments. In the center stood Tor Blatheuld, the female public governor of Hanna City. She had six of her own armed guards with her and greeted Beck and his team with a very slight bow. "Welcome to Chandrila Admiral Pilon. We have been looking forward to getting to met with you and discuss the best avenues forward for our two parties." Beck returned the bow with a head nod. "Thank you for taking us in. I have brought with me Lieutenant Commander Juhn Chilcaot of the Alliance Naval branch. We are both very excited to see the city and to see what help we are able to provide to you as well."

[Beck Pilon]

Beck kept his hands clasped behind his back as he walked through the city with Tor Blatheuld and her crew as they showed off the city. Much of the grand design was almost fully rebuilt since the Mandalorians of Crusaders had almost burnt it to the ground on their own personal rampage of the galaxy. While short lived, the damage caused by them was strong enough to still feel the impacts. Part of the Admiral felt like during the height of his commando career under Emperor Denton, he would have torn the city further down than the what the Crusaders did. Tor was elaborating on the rework of the art district area for the smaller crew of Imperium Alliance as they toured the city. 

 

"As you can see, it has already generated some interest with the locals, but we'd love to attract more off planet artists to come a contribute. But majority feel as if the city is still unsafe from the last invasion." Beck narrowed his eyes as he looked over two local shops that held artwork of their own on the outside that was almost as outlandish as what could be found inside. "Weren't the Jedi and others just here a few months back? Or was that only a basic cleanup?" Tor turned and offered up a smile that suggested she didn't really want to respond to the question directly. "There are some who would rather have a different display of strength of cleanup. Local cleanup is important, far more so than any outsider involvement. Revenue is the main draw of outsiders and Jedi tend not to bring such tag with them." Beck raised both eyebrows in acknowledgement of the statement. He found it to be very true. Juhn Chilcaot however did not fully agree, and spoke up. "Their presence alone helps bring forth a sense of peace sometimes. Revenue is for the greedy alone." Beck turned and stopped the small tour, letting Tor know where Beck stood on things. 

 

"Jedi are not political. Their involvement in anything is strictly peacekeeping. Their time of warriors has come to an end. They have not been relevant to the whole galaxy in almost seven years. They're dying off. What Chandrila needs is supplies and resources that help attract others." Beck turned around and gave a small bow to Tor. "I also heard that there is a Gala coming up. Would it help or hinder the overall situation for the Imperium Alliance to show up?" He paused and waited upon Tor's response. He knew that the  younger officer would be excited for the chance to stir up the political scene on the planet, and he himself would absolutely hate it. But the very fact that the young boy might learn what is truly driving the galaxy by them going would be a benefit to him. Plus, he didn't truly want to return to the incompetent crew at the War College. 

 

Tor gave a smile. "Why yes we are. It's a Gala for everyone about to invest heavily the project areas to really build Hanna City back up into a talking point around the galaxy. Since you will be providing us with a hub for trading and receiving goods from the core worlds again, you are apart of the bill that is coming to the senate floor soon!" Beck gave another bow as he offered her a smile. "We look forward to being there." Tor gave a smile of her own in return and continued the tour. As she turned away, Beck's face dropped the smile and revealed an annoyed face. He hated what he was about to do, but knew it was needed. Hopefully everything would work out and he could return to something he was more comfortable doing soon. 

[Beck Pilon]

Admiral Beck Pilon walked into the main hall of the Brionelle Memorial Military Academy with eyes darting from left to right at every person within the room. Security was tight, but somehow the very fact that the room was crowded made him feel less secured. He turned to acknowledge the younger man, Juhn Chilcaot who wore a very formal looking grey and blue uniform, absent of any sign of rank to the Gala. His face was eager and ready to mingle around, to the point of almost looking at the Admiral was puppy eyes. He took his eyes off him for a moment and observed the crowd again. "You may mingle-" He turned back towards the young man faster than he had ever moved before and held up a finger towards Juhn as he moved to lean in towards him. "-No political discussions. You may hear and be around it, but zero input." He slowly withdrew from the boy and let his words sink in as the younger officer slowly nodded his head and then began to move away from him. 

 

As Beck was left alone, the moment of getting to breath in without having to either babysit or play a role was quickly dispersed by Tor Blatheuld moving rather quickly towards him. The brunette woman, wearing a gold dress with white and beige colors as accents closed the gap. By the time she stood right before him left the Admiral with only three point four seconds of alone time. He smiled at her, but even as he did, it felt more forced than what he normally does. This atmosphere really isn't my liking. "Admiral Pilon, I'm so glad that you came tonight. Having a military leader present to help back the Business Stimulus Act will really help lock things in for the senate proceedings." He did his best to remove the forced look upon his face as he offered her up a small head nod. Whether or not she took notice of his forced smile was not yet evident, as she jumped from one thing to another. "I'm also so glad you choose to wear the gold and white colors of Chandrila!" Beck looked at his shoulders. He wore his preferred black uniform, but adorned the gold patches normally worn by Grand Admirals. They were used to help hold his white cap on, to which he only now realized they did indeed match the colors of the night. 

 

"Happy accident, I assure you. These Gala's are not my strong suite, nor is dressing to impress." She let out a small giggle like laugh at his response as she touched his arm in a very over the top playful way. "Oh Beck Pilon, I think you may fit in all too well with the company here then you realize." Great. "The place seems busy." She grabbed his arm and began to pull him more inwards and towards the more crowded locations. "Oh yes, many different reps from all sorts of business, all of which are here to see how the rebuilding has taken place and to see some of the more visible leaders behind the bill we are hoping to push." She picked up two glasses of some kind of champagne off a tray from a waiter walking by. "From Sienar, Karrel and Blethern Gas have all come in massive support." She offered up one glass to the Admiral. "But many want to see the major ground worker behind the scenes who has really helped get Chandrila on its feet, Czerka head-" As the two came to a larger crowd, Beck knew the name before Tor said it. He knew the woman from looking at her back. The red hair, the white dress. 

 

"Zalis Krales..." The woman turned around and gave a smile to the man. "Admiral Pilon. I've heard rumors you'd be here. I've been dying to meet you. Heard of many tales about you." He did his best to not let his boiling blood over take him and allow for the anger to seep through his words. The woman before him was responsible for many atrocities that his Empress Raven went through. She stood with a smile that was designed to make people like her. It made him more upset that she used it on him. She was beyond lucky that he wasn't armed for this event, otherwise he would have already pulled his blaster and shot her. "The tales I've heard of you make you more war criminal than anything." Tor quickly jumped in between the two. "That's enough of that you two. We're not here to bring up past stuff, only to build towards the future." Beck clenched his fist even tighter for a moment as Zalis continued to smile at him. His eyes never left Zalis as responded directly towards Tor.

 

"Not sure many who back the Empire would support this bill if she's involved." Tor felt flustered, even from where he stood without looking at her. She uttered a few syllables attempting to find some footing to speak when Zalis cut in. "No need to worry Tor. Perhaps maybe the Admiral and I could take a small stroll to discuss the differences he may have with me?" Tor turned to protest but the redhead quickly touched the others arm and calmed her down. "Relax Tor, there are no weapons allowed in the Gala, and I feel maybe the man might just not like crowds." His own eyes flickered at the sense that she picked up on something about him so quickly. He didn't know her game or angle yet, but he was bound and determined to figure it out. She moved the same way Tor did earlier when she took him by the arm, and Beck pulled his arm out of the way. The move however backfired on him, as her own movement ended up going for a drink next to him instead, which made him look beyond paranoid with her. 

 

He quickly looked around to observe the room, as he was now aware of the amount of eyes being drawn towards him. I need to be careful, otherwise I could damage the public view of this new Imperium Alliance. Zalis walked past him with her drink in her hand now and gave a slight nod for him to follow her. With eyes still on him, he decided to follow. There wouldn't be much gained if he refused, and everyone else in the room seemed to like her. He was the odd man out. Letting out a heavy sigh, he followed her, matching her steps and he began to become aware that she had already worked the room before he got in and was playing a game against him. If he wanted to take her, he'd have to play it his way, not hers. 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Beck Pilon

[Beck Pilon]

Annoyed and feeling beyond flustered, Beck made his way out of the Brionelle Memorial Military Academy Grand Hall, Juhn Chilcaot joined him quickly on the walk out. Only once the younger officer felt certain that they were out of range from the listening ears of Zalis did he speak up. “Is it wise to not take her in? I mean, the conseque-” A finger was lifted to silence the younger lad. 

 

“Not here. Not yet.” It was all Beck would utter still, as he just didn’t trust the ears still within listening range. The two of them walked rather briskly and quietly back to his shuttle that was awaiting them at the port. It was a very long walk and the silence was making Juhn anxious. But he didn’t want to speak about the situation until he knew no such ears that could influence Zalis were present. And with the way she handled herself at the Gala suggested that she was far more connected then he realized. Maybe even more so than what others realized as well. 

 

Upon entering the ship, Beck quickly closed the ramp and gave the order. “Get us to Empress Teta now.” The flight officer looked at him for a second, but started to move without letting the Admiral get to a point of shouting. Juhn was the one who began to question things. “Not back to Anaxes?” Beck took a look at the young man as he walked towards his seat in the main hold. Only upon sitting did he reply, but kept his voice on the lower side. It was shaking with both fear and anger. 

 

“Zalis has moved herself into a position of power, she made that clear. She played a game with me and already had it stacked against me. Somehow, even without knowing I’d actually be there, she knew to have those cards ready. She knew the PR position we'd be in. She also knew the financial and the ground we’d need to cover for going after her this late in the game.” Both of his hands slowly moved to rest upon his thighs, which were heavily moving from the steady tapping he was doing with both of his feet. “And I’m pretty sure she did so through our own relaxed state we’ve taken due to the war.” He looked up again at Juhn. 

 

“Moff Longfang, current head of our Alliance needs to know. We need to act quickly to not let her gain any more advantage.” The words were strong, and carried with them the sense of the conversation was over. Admiral Pilon would hear nothing more except for the Alliance making strong actions against the Black Sun and all of its secretive avenues of poisoning the galaxy. Whatever Zalis had intended from her game with him, the one she maybe didn't know was this; she made it personal for Beck Pilon to see her end. So now, Beck just needed to get the head of the Galactic Alliance to fully support the move to tighten the grip, and the only way such a thing would happen successfully would be through legislation. The one style of war Beck never bothered to learn. But he trusted those in place to make such movements where he could not.