"Captain Tezrin reports that Stalker has restored her shields and has full engine power. Bombard is standing by at reserve power but has sufficient energy for full combat shielding-Captain Turla will recover from his injuries, but Tezrin remains in command of the squadron for now. Shall he bring the squadron into planetary orbit, Captain?"
"Yes, affirm that Captain Tezrin should bring the ships into orbit. We will form a defensive formation here in orbit. Forward me the list of killed and wounded on Stalker and Bombard as soon as is practical."
Tanda stepped over to Commander Rhae. "Commander, go ahead and have us stand down to Condition Two. I want you to establish a bridge rotation without me for the next several days."
"Captain?" Two sets of blue eyes from profoundly different worlds-Rhae was one of Tarkin's old men who should have been a Captain years ago, just like Tanda thought she should have been made an Admiral—met in an uncomfortable moment. They had, before, trusted each other. Now, however, her XO was prospectively questioning her authority and wisdom in a completely unanticipated situation. And she needed that to end.
"Commander. I have to establish control over the entire squadron. For the moment, I might as well be the flag officer—until we receive further assignment, of course. And I am growing concerned that will not occur for a while. Come with me." She gestured and headed to a briefing room behind the bridge, one of the orderlies presenting steaming hot kaff which she picked up in a navy mug and held while standing. The holoprojector was activated.
"The Unknown Regions?" Rhae stiffened, imagining the countless permutations of trapped they might be.
"If only it were so," she gestured with the mug, "then Companion Besh should be visible to astrogation from an angle-here. It isn't. So, we're doing more scanning, but, we may be in one of the Companions."
"This is too large of a starscape for one of the Companions, Captain." He tensed imperceptibly, though Tanda felt it. "This is another galaxy."
"I'm glad you had the courage to say that before I had to," Tanda remarked diffidently. "Since normally that's considered a sign of madness."
"As the Captain says, but however improbable, when all other possibilities are removed..."
"Quite. And we were playing around with Gree toys at that base. Summon Director Asil for me, please, and perhaps we'll have some answers." She moved to sit. "And don't worry, Commander. I'm going to make you Captain of Stalker." She smiled.
Estwiler Rhae grinned back. "Thank you, Captain Pryl. I'll get Director Asil up here immediately. If they sent us here..."
"They should be able to send us back, given time, yes. While you're at it, contact the planet and instruct them to send the Planetary Governor, provisional or otherwise, to meet with me."
"I'll have the directive issued. Captain!" He saluted, turned on heel, and strode out of the briefing room.
Tanda guzzled her kaff shamelessly and looked at the galaxy in front of her. But the aliens on the surface act like there are already humans here...
Then the door hissed open. "Captain Pryl."
"Commandant Kessingon." She looked squarely at the ISB man. "You have some concerns?"
"I cannot access headquarters over the Holonet, Captain Pryl. I am alone, and the ranking ISB officer of the fleet."
Captain Pryl looked levelly back. Her hand shifted to her thigh. The hold-out blaster. There. "Commandant Kessingon, we believe it is because we are in another galaxy, thanks to the use of the Gree equipment that was under testing. Director Asil will be up shortly."
Kessingon moved to sit, and Tanda relaxed a bit. "Very well, Captain. I, indeed, have come to a similar conclusion, and I wish to share with you details of a project which may explain why the aliens on the surface know of humans. It's called Outbound Flight, and if there is any connection, we must be extremely wary."
"Why would an explanation for a mystery give us more concerns?"
"Outbound Flight had a large contingent of Jedi onboard, Captain. The first and principle enemy of the New Order."
Tanda rocked forward. "I...That would be very bad indeed, you're quite right." She reached the carafe to pour herself another cup of kaff. "I've sent for the Planetary Governor to obtain more information, which should resolve this for us."
The door trilled, and a droid reported, "Director Asil for the Captain."
"Send him in." Tanda decided that with no immediate threat from her security services, she'd involve them as closely as possible. She didn't need, nor want, dissension and disagreement and needed every talent she had, even the ISB.
The bedraggled looking Togruta research scientist presented himself with a bow and a flourish. "Captain, Commandant. May I sit?"
"Please do, Doctor-Director," Tanda answered formally. "I sent the full scandoc from astrogation for your personnel to review..."
"And review it we have. We're in another galaxy, it's so. It's well within the capability of the Gree technology that we were studying."
"Excellent news," Thunderflare's Captain met the bedraggled eyes of the predator across from her and added an inflection of sarcasm. "That said, for all my frustration with the failure to meet the objective of a smooth translation to the coordinates of the Empress Teta system, I will give you everything need to get us back."
"What we need are a vast trained workforce of millions of highly skilled engineers and technicians. We will need extensive factories and fabricators. We will need to begin from first principles."
Captain and ISB-man alike sagged in their chairs. "Where in the fifty hells am I to find that, Director?"
"That's for you, Captain. But if you can give it to me, I can get us home, absolutely."
Kessingon and Tanda exchanged a look like they rather wished to eliminate the Togruta, but he was just too useful. They could go from having a long shot at returning home to none at all... That was blatantly obvious. She sighed. "Very well. We will try to find it. Is there any other alternative?"
He leaned forward, clasped his hands together. "Ah, so you ask, Captain. Maybe. Gree-they like fixed installations. Our technology was copied from an ancient fixed installation the Imperial contingent supervising the Gree gained access to. If the Gree have been here before... It may be a simple repair of an existing gate."
"Any idea where that would be?"
"No, Captain. Just speculation that it even exists at all."
"Well, thank you for it. It gives us two avenues to pursue. If I could find any evidence of where a Gree gate might be, we could employ our probots to localize it. Otherwise... Perhaps these other humans will be of assistance. Perhaps even these aliens."
Director Asil was silent as the two humans exchanged a sharp glance at each other. Then, with Pryl's nod, he beat his retreat.
Tanda started quietly reviewing the casualty reports. One ISD-II, Stalker, her bridge tower half-wrecked. Thunderflare, an ISD-I, only eighty casualties aboard. One VSD-II, Bombard, and one Bayonet-class Light Cruiser, Rintonne's Flame. Overloaded with starfighters evacuated from the platform and the pickets. Thousands of slain in battle. But they had enough spare parts to make the repairs this time. Deploying this force in battle she could level entire sectors' worth of aging hulks with mass drivers like the ones they had just fought.
And then, we will run out of spare parts. They will launch guerrilla raids like the Rebels. Our casualties will not be replaced. Their casualties will. They will build new starfighters in remote systems, they will attack us with old freighters. We will destroy them again and again, we will vaporise their cities and slash their improvised fleets to cinders. They will keep coming back. They will bomb our stormtroopers on the surface from civilian vehicles. When we stop to inspect ships, they will explode with anti-matter. We will have no reserves, no reinforcements to concentrate against them. The harder you try to clench sand into your fist, the faster it slips away.
She looked up, bleary-eyed, at the wall. How did the Emperor last so long, then? Heresy, but the Emperor was dead. The Emperor was dead and she might not even ever receive a command bearing the sigils of the Azure Hammer again, of Central Command, let alone of Sate Pestage. She was alone, and she was in command.
Her eyes widened. He had Lord Vader. The Force. You know what you have to do. It was almost like someone else was speaking to her. But it strengthened her resolve.
An alarm interrupted her grim reverie. A minor one. She reached over and activated the comm channel. "Go ahead, Commander."
"Captain Pryl... The colony doesn't have a Planetary Governor."
Tanda grimaced. "Was the planetary governor killed by the pirate raid? No standard procedure for replacing him?"
"No, Sir. They... say that they don't have a government. Or any politicians. They... use 'net chat rooms to debate and vote on everything. The closest thing we've found is that... each farming village elects a head of the militia... but each village has its' own militia." It sounded like Rhae was having profound trouble even grasping the concept, himself.
"This is ridiculous. Is there a System Governor?"
"... No, and in fact, Captain, the fifth planet isn't even under the same regime as the inner planets. There appears to be no organised government at all. They debate in their 'net rooms... And then agree to obey the decision."
"And I thought my father's stories of the Republic before His Majesty's elevation as Chancellor were terrifying. I see. Well, then. Tell them I want them to elect someone to come aboard the Thunderflare to represent their people. It is against the dignity of an officer of the Empire to discuss affairs of state in a Holonet Chat Room!"
"Yes, Captain. I will make it clear that this is..."
"Not a request."
"Not a request. I would save such a threat for if they refuse, Captain. They are fractious, and may refuse simply because such a statement is made."
"Thank you for the advice, proceed as you see fit, then."
"Thank you, Captain. Commander Rhae, out."
Tanda rubbed her face, and pushed herself to her feet. The kaff was wearing off. Sleep. She went to her sea cabin and fell in all-standing.
And in a few hours, she was slapping Tygellian rosewater across her face to wake up, uniform hanging open as she reached for another jacket that wasn't rumpled. They had apparently spent all of those hours in debate, based on the report, but they had elected someone. Her servitor droid was waiting with the kaff, and she drank it as she crossed the bridge floor to a snapping of salutes. It was a deceptively normal day on the Thunderflare.
It was one of the blue alien women in armour, if something that seemed to define shape quite so much could be called armour. She had presented herself at the cantonments of the Legionary landing forces on the ground, hopping out of a hovercar. There was a Lambda-class shuttle waiting, with a small guard of stormtroopers who sat in silence for the ride up.
Their guest was quiet, perfectly silent, while in turn the Stormtroopers looked facelessly back. Observing, too. The Stormtroopers followed her straight up to the meeting room near the bridge via turbolift as Tanda finished freshening herself up and Commandant Kessingon arrived and settled in along with a bevy of other officers from her command staff. The perspective to a foreigner would be incredible: The Aurebesh writing everywhere, scurrying 'droids underfoot and alongside, right up to the gleaming golden one that waited inside the briefing room with a pseudohumanoid form. The sheer mass of the enormous size of the crew, continuously busy everywhere with their assigned duties.
And the Imperial officers, fixating one and all upon the sort of holo-gauntlet she was tapping at as she entered. Not hiding anything... just allowing herself to be led into the room. They were an odd race: The woman was dark skinned, nearly purple, with patterns on her face, some of which looked a lot like eyebrows. Then they were face to face. The Asari could see, at one end of the table, a woman. Her chair and decor had the same crisp minimalism as the rest of the ship; her features were possessed of pleasant blonde hair, blue-gray eyes. Fit, though with a somewhat roundish peasant face. Sharply braided hair. Gray uniform as the rest with just the single board of coloured squares and some metal cylinders, unpretentious, functionalist by the standards of human military uniforms.
Tanda smiled. "I am Captain Tanda Pryl, Elrood Sector Force commanding. You are?"
"Matriarch Jalessa V'Lasi." She crossed her arms under her breasts and looked... somewhat impressed, really, if their facial expressions were at all similar. And they certainly seemed so, as pretty as they were. "I've seen humans, but nothing like what you got. How many secret groups running around outside government control with their own fleets of ships does the Alliance have, Captain?" By this point, the translation from the protocol droid was seamless.
"We're not members of the Rebel Alliance and if those are the only humans you know of then you're in for quite the surprise!" Tanda nearly got out of her seat as her eyes flared in shock and anger, and Commandant Kessingon paled. The protocol droid reflexively cowered.
"Don't hurt me, I'm just the messenger! She said the Alliance!"
Tanda sank back down into her chair. "This region of space was uncharted to us recently, Matriarch V'Lasi, but if there are rebel terrorists here that explains a great deal, particularly the prevalence of piracy." You don't need to know just what I know about where we are.
"Whoawhoawhoa, Rebel Alliance? No, I meant the Systems Alliance... you know, the government all of you humans are supposed to belong to? Not that that matters out here in the Terminus Systems... isn't any law or central governments out here. I thought that's why you were here. You some sort of break-away and splinter group? We'll pay you as best we can for your help, and not tell the Council about you if that's what you want, fair is fair..."
Tanda's eyes glinted. "I am a commander of a sector fleet of the Galactic Empire. I do not need to be paid to establish Order in a system."
A blink. The Asari Matriarch didn't audibly respond to that.
Tanda took the opportunity to smile neatly. "Now look, we did arrive here using an experimental derivative of old hypergate technology. I expect that we're in the Unknown Regions and overshot our primary destination-But it will only take us a few months for our scouts to reestablish contact with Imperial Centre."
"There was clearly ancient contact between our peoples or we would not have your languages in our protocol databases. In the meanwhile I will need to requisition supplies for the fleet forces, but we have no need for money."
The woman started, and her eyes widened as she had encountered something new, something genuinely new, something that was the first genuinely new thing in a very long time. She spent a while looking around the room, shaking her head, and then began to speak. "... Oh you poor dear, you are lost, like in a bad holovid, aren't you... you're not a mad cultist, I met one of those before, and he ranted way more... really, this is way too..." She glanced at the droid that was translating for her, and it quizzically looked back. "This is way too convincing to be anything else."
She tapped her... hologauntlet, to bring up a map of the galaxy. "You're in Mil, in the Sigurd's Cradle cluster-human homeworld is over past the Attican traverse-Sol, I think they call it...? ...Dearie, you are lost or insane, and five hundred years means I think you're lost."
Tanda had almost been on the verge of exploding at being ... matronized so much by the Matron. Then her last two sentences brought a chill across the room. A very particular kind of chill. "There is no human homeworld, Matriarch, it's lost in the mists of time," Tanda stared at her... And knew she was telling the truth, abruptly, inside. About everything.
She stiffened, then made herself relax for the benefit of her officers. "A lot of people think it is Imperial Centre, formerly called Coruscant, but it isn't. I'm an educated, cosmopolitan woman, I know that much. Nobody knows the original homeworld of humanity. Just that humanity originally started spreading through our, our," a wave around her, "home galaxy from its origination as the Thirteen Battalions of Zhell on Coruscant. Which at the time was called Notron, I might add."
"That isn't our galaxy..." Lieutenant Scolus, who hadn't already been briefed, was trembling, realising for the first time what Tanda and Commander Rhae had already figured out.
Tanda settled back in her chair, calming herself and steepling her gloved hands. "Yes it is," she answered Lieutenant Scolus. "Oh yes, this is our galaxy. This is our Galaxy." She looked levelly at the Asari. "You're not stupid. Does that world 'Sol' have a full genetic ecosystem related to humans?"
"... I've been around a few times. Yes, we can feed you. Asari and humans can eat the same food-my niece even paired with one, they've got a wonderful daughter, but-if you want to stay here for a while, Captain, you can. You showed off those Blood Pack vultures well enough, and fair's fair."
"No, sorry. I meant Sol. Matriarch, is it—fossil record, genome, related species?" Tanda's eyes were gleaming, and her command staff was starting to follow her line of thinking, shifting and glancing at each other.
"... Sol? Fossil record and everything, yeah, I remember when we contacted them. It's definitely the human homeworld..."
Tanda leapt to her feet. "That's the homeworld of humanity! Here! We've found it! We arrived in the Prime Galaxy through a Gree hypergate at least, and probably a lot more than thirty-five thousand years ago then—that settles it! Gentlemen, we have just become the first humans to rediscover our homeworld since the founding of the Republic."
She sank down into her chair to the looks of shocked and stunned disbelief and excitement from her officers, and capped it off. "And I only have astrophysicists along for the ride!" Tanda laughed. "Where are all those bloody useless archaeologists and historians when you need them?" It broke the tension; the other men laughed and roared.
The Matriarch settled down, watching. And, quietly, using her Omnitool to record it all.
"Shouldn't we be contacting this Systems Alliance, then?" One of the officers spoke. "It's the native government of humanity in this galaxy, of our ur-World. For as long as we're stuck here, we should be working to assist them and to introduce the tenets of the New Order."
"No-We take the Matriarch's offer," Tanda answered after a moment. She had her good reasons, and they passed between her and Commandant Kessingon in a single glance. Outbound Flight. "We will want to conduct a full reconnaissance to determine the wisdom of contacting their government. For the moment, we are however the emissaries of the New Order here, and we must conduct ourselves accordingly and not be-hasty-with our... Family reunion."
"Please, Matriarch, we will cooperate with you and your people fully. We will need space to install our prefabricated garrison base on the planet, but other than that we will tread lightly, and assist you in your defensive needs." She settled her hands onto the table. "Ultimately, we may go on our way to this Systems Alliance, but we should like to-learn a great deal about where we find ourselves, first."
"In the meantime, piracy, smuggling, terrorism, and internecine raids in this region of space will come to an end."
V'Lasi took a breath as she finished listening to the translation. "Space is something we have... just, well, be careful. Terpso, the last planet is... sort of a neutral ground, so everyone from the Terminus comes to meet there. Criminals, warlords, Terminus governments... they mostly just mine Helium-3 out of the gas giant, even so. We've got uranium telepresence mining on Lisir, the second planet, and terraforming going on in Mylasi and Selvos. It'll take a few centuries, but, it's a good investment in the future... if you're plotting... okay, look, the Citadel doesn't bring order to the Terminus because every species in it would unite and make it an utter mess. You want to carve out an isle of stability, fine, but you're getting in a lot of trouble if you do."
She grumbled. "Just the sort of thing to make far too many wild-eyed maidens think to join you in it, too."
Tanda bit at her lip... Then smiled a bit. "I am not a fool, Matriarch. We will be conducting reconnaissance, as I said. The more information you share, the bigger. But I don't intend to permit this sort of-ridiculous scum-from further causing trouble. If your 'Maidens' want to join us, I can use the recruits."
Kessingon's eyes widened in shock.
Tanda pointed her index finger at the protocol droid and made a chopping motion across her neck, and then looked levelly at the ISB man. "We will co-opt and rule, exactly as humanity does at home. Clear?"
"Very well, Captain."
Tanda turned back to the Matriarch, and smiled brightly, waving with her other arm to the still-cowering droid. Translation resumed. "Shall we get down to the details, then...?"
