OOC: The following occurred several months ago.

IC: He stepped onto the deck of the space station, the ease of movement in artificial gravity was evident by the way he walked, the duffle bag slung over his shoulder, the case behind held in his free hand. He looked around easily, his simple blue eyes observing everything around him, the eyes themselves conveying a world of information to him, the quality of the air, the exact number of bolts in the ventilation tubing that ran overhead. He walked quietly down the hallway.... Easily shouldering his burdens, walking with a very light, almost undetectable limp.

His hair was graying, a full brown beard covering his face, but even that was turning gray. He was a little over six feet tall, his body muscular, lean from the long years on campaigns. He smiled to himself, remembering the last time he had been aboard a space station, smirking as he walked down the hall.

He looked around, trying to figure out if this was a chance at a new start...if maybe he had found home for the first time in a very long time.

The Kaalif was aboard the station to check on a series of new modifications as well as check the progress of the yards under construction. He had always found it odd how different the space stations were from Gand proper. Down on the planet there was rarely non-Gand, here it was quite possible they outnumbered the Gand, though that was an image he encouraged. People visiting and wishing to do business here were more comfortable in something more akin to their normal environment rather than a Gand heavy environment.

He was halfway through his checkup when he passed through the hangers and saw the human step off his ship. The man was just a little shorter than the Gand, and as far as he could tell from a preliminary glance, fairly non-descript. Something about him caught Jendar's eye though, and he put away his datapad and approached.

Holding out his three-fingered hand, he spoke, "Greetings, my name is Jendar Nosfu Sonstaa, I'm the Kaalif of Gand. You would be?"

"I am Sheridan. I am a deep Space pilot, just made my way back to civilized space. I was on an extended mission in the unknown territories, and I have come back to find that my government does not exist anymore. I am simply seeking a place to start up again, to rebuild." he took the offered hand, shaking it firmly, no sign of distrust or any other possible difficulties with the aliens. "I simply seek a place to start again. He set the case down next to him, letting it sit easily, resting against his leg. His blue eyes studied the gand, not remembering the Gand, but not letting it show in his eyes. "Are you able to assist me in this?"

The handshake between a human and a gand was slightly odd because of their different hand shapes and the gand's exoskeleton. There wasn't anything odd between the two individuals though. They were at ease with each other, and odd thing between people who had just met. But there was wisdom in both their eyes; from the lengthy lives they had both lived. Sonstaa listened to Sheridan's words, nodding almost imperceptibly as he spoke. "Yes, I'm sure the galaxy has changed much since you left it. It's changing more each day, seemingly faster and faster."

With these words, a nostalgic look could almost be seen in his features as his mind wandered slightly to the old days. "Your more than welcome here, I'm sure someone of your capabilities will be vastly useful. I'd like to speak in more detail if you’re willing. Would you like to do that now or would you prefer to be taken to a cabin you can use?"

"I am more than willing to spread my wisdom, if you would like to sit and talk that would be fine. The Galaxy seems to be in a constant state of flux, maybe I can help someone bring order to the chaos."

John smiled once, "If you want to talk, we can do that right now."

The Gand smiled as well. "Well then, lets do that. Follow me please." He spun on his heels and moved through the station. Before too long they arrived at their destination, one of the several food/entertainment establishments that served the inhabitants of various races. Sonstaa continued through the public area to a private room in the back. "I thought this might be a better place to sit and talk. A bit more accommodating than the hanger. Go ahead and order whatever you like, and we'll get to business as soon as it gets here."

Before he could continue a Twi'lek waitress came to take their orders. When she asked Jendar what he'd like to drink he simply raised his hand as if motioning with it and said, "Drinks? I'll just have a cold..." The words hadn't even passed through his mandibles as a "Chuff" sound was heard followed by a can of some sort landed squarely in his palm. The Gand blinked and turned his head to where it had come from. An R2 unit trundled up to the group, a slight tendril of smoke dissipating from a port in its dome.

"Tripwire, what are you doing here," Jendar asked. The droid had been following him again. Tripwire didn't like it when he got busy with some things, he was never around then, and he could be like a nagging wife. Looking back to the Twi'lek, Sonstaa finished his sentence. "Well, it doesn't look like I'll be needing a drink. How about you John, something to eat or drink?"

"No, I am fine for now, but the offer is most kind. This is what I do. I am a Starship engineer and weapons designer. I have spent the last 60 years in the unknown territories, wandering around on exploration missions. I have several designs that I acquired out there, but I need a proving ground in which to test my designs. I would be more than happy to give you several production runs of my ships, and supervise most of the day to day operations of my labs."

Jendar took a few moments to think about what the man had said. His instincts told him to go with it, to bring John into the Gand operation. Something else told him the guy would be a handful, but probably worth it. With a slight shake of the head Sonstaa let those thoughts go and replied, “Sounds good John. Tell you what, if you’ll follow me, I’d like to take you on a tour of our facilities so you can get a better grasp on things, as well as begin planning for what you’ll need for your operations.”

The two left the restaurant and headed for the hangers. Only a few spots down from the ship John had arrived in sat an old YT-1300, the “Tatyana”, and the Gand’s personal ship. Since he’d acquired the ship no one else had flown it. As they approached Jendar triggered the landing ramp using controls strapped to his wrist. Moments later both men were settling into the cockpit, and the engines warmed and fired smoothly for launch.

“As you may or may not have notice on your arrival,” Jendar said as they began moving away from the station, “we’re at a bit higher state of activity than normal. That’s the result of our current plan to fully colonize the rest of the planets in the system. Until now we’d been content to merely set up defensive emplacements, such as fighter bases and the like. However with the current state of galactic conflict, we’re not finding it necessary to take full advantage of our system, it’s material, and such.”

While the freighter left Gand orbit Jendar took the time to point out the different levels of security, as well as the purpose of each of the five main stations in orbit. A few moments later they approached the next planetary orbit in system. “Alright then, as you can see, the pair of planets here are rather unique, as they orbit our sun at extremely close distance to one another. They’re just far enough away from each other not to have significant gravitational effects on one another. The one on our left is Morharauniac, to our right is Valalaphor. We have fighter bases and other small facilities on both. More extensive complexes are currently under construction beneath the surface.”

The “Tatyana” flew between the two non-atmospheric worlds, outbound to the last two planets in the system. “The gas giant we’re coming up on now is Targee. Both it and Corvanuir are pretty standard gas giants, though their atmosphere is on average calmer than most. We just began placing settlements on Targee last week, the first is scheduled for Corvanuir in two weeks time. For your purposes I would figure either planet would be ideal. That choice is yours. Targee is of course, closer to Gand thus slightly easier to defend, but she will be provided with her own defenses of course.”

Jendar spun the ship back around, not being able to resist a slow corkscrew. He didn‘t get to fly near as often as he‘d like. He continued as they returned to the station, “Likewise, your more than welcome to a facility on either of the other planets for any other work you may need done. Simply send me a request for what you need and we’ll get it to you as soon as possible. Are we in agreement?”

That meeting had occured a week before, and John was busy. Targee was a planet of great signifigance to the Gand, The gas giant being referred to as The Eye of Ara on more than one occasion. The planet itself shimmered, the blue gasses that composed it covering every hue of the blue light imaginable, ranging from Darkest midnight to almost a translucent white. It was called the Eye of Ara because in Targee's atmoshpere, there existed a massive wind current that swept the gasses constantly, hurricane force winds moving the gasses quickly enough to make them shimmer, the eye of the storm itself black and thick with thunderheads. Due to the rotation of Targee and Gand, the storm always faced Gand, and through the mists it looked like a great eye, watching down on the surface of the planet.

He was impressed with the number of Findsmen that volunteered to help set the facility up, wanting to be closer to the Great Eye. It was believable, he remembered how much his people enjoyed being close to their Homeworld and the Fortress Monasteries that their founders had built and lived in. Currently six companies of his Forge Command were hard at work, finishing the construction of the lab. It would hold the living quartersr and work space taht he would need for this operation, and maintain comfortable amounts of space for visiting legions as well as any religious pilgrims who came to study the Eye without the visual effect of the mists clouding the Eye.

He had seen to the wiring and power systems himself, feeling the hum of the great furnaces come alive, pumping power through the system, the heart of a great creature beating strong and evenly, ready to face the world. The life support system had been finished yesterday, the components towed in from the far country. A quarter of a million creatures could survive on this station for three years on the on hand supplies. He was hoping it would never come to that.

He had heard that some of his forge teams were playing in the upper atmosphere of Targee, using converted jump systems that were supposed to be in use by combat adepts He was going to have to have a chit chat with their section commander. They were guests for now, and it wasn't wise to upset their hosts by having jet pack races through one of their holiest sites.

At least in public. John had every intention of leaving the great eye alone, which was he had set up shop on the opposite face, hidden in the dark side of the Gas Giant. Inspection teams had all ready been down once and found an excellent place to set up their refuges, and their atmospheric testing center. What good was a ship if it couldn't chase something into an atmosphere?

Using parts from the factory complex inside the lab, they had been busy, building a miniature laboratory, one hat would test performance in both a high gravity and dense atmospheric setting. His own people had expressed interest in setting up a facility to run combat drills in those environments here, and someone had sent the blue prints up to him, and he had reluctantly agreed. He was worried about setting up the planetary defense grid, but that would come in its own time, all he needed to do was wait and then the construction yard would come on line and this planet would become defended quite efficiently, not that it should worry about invasion, it wasn't near anything important and almost no one knew where Gand was anyway...

That had been forgotten in the long years of chaos and destruction that was the Rise of the Empire. The galaxy had changed, and that, one supposes is the way of things, nothing ever staying constant, nothing ever truly fixed. All that was would change, or would be destroyed, giving rise to a new way of things, a new order of being. As much as things had changed, John was still working quietly, his eye slowly scanning the structural readout of the laboratory, seeing that everything existed in balance, and then he went back to work, hands working quickly uploading his datalibrary into the new lab, things would start being created again, that was a certainty.

Jaegar Sonstaa, oldest son of the Kaalif, had been one of the many volunteers to assist Sheridans teams in setting up thier facilities and others to formally settle Targee. The planned number of inhabitants was going to increase by more than a thousand percent over the small fighter and sensor stations currently in orbit. Those facilities themselves would have to be advanced themselves, to serve as an arrival point for supplies for the cities currently being built, as well as thier other defensive duties. That was one of several tasks currently assigned to the younger Sonstaa.

He was a hard worker, and a perfectionist like his father. Thanks to his efforts and leadership, the upgrading efforts were almost a week ahead of schedule. The station he was currently aboard had nearly doubled in size, weapons, and cargo/fighter capacity. The redone sensors now reached the far edges of the system, and would warn of any attack well in advance.

Jaegar glanced out a viewport down onto the Eye. For thousands of years the eye had been holy, and now the Gand was closer to it than ever before. With that thought, Sonstaa smiled, thinking of the workers who had been rumored to race through the atmosphere on jetpacks. That was fine with Jaegar, let them have thier fun, as long as they avoided the Eye itself. In fact, in true form, the Gand quickly found himself yearning to do just that.

Making a snap decision, Jaegar signaled to his second in command that he would be gone for an hour or two, and made way to the hanger bay. There he boarded his ship, a YT-2400 named the "Strahd", which had been a gift from his father. Immediately recieving launch clearance, the freighter took off, swiftly angling down for the planet. It's sensors quickly picked up a handful of life signatures hurtling through the blue gases beneath him, and the Gand swooped down in thier direction.

Setting the ship to hover until he returned, he shrugged off his black cloak and pulled on a jetpack of his own. Less than a minute later, Jaegar dropped out of the airlock and fired his jets as he fell. Always a daredevil, Jaegar was the only one of his father's children who had chosen to serve with the Phantoms, the beloved group of mercenaries and smuggler's that Jander had helped found. That daredevil aspect of his personality showed here too, as the Gand raced through the blueish clouds, trying to catch up to the others. He had no fear, not of losing control or his jetpack malfunctioning. He could always find a way out of whatever problem arose. Thus, after only a few minutes, Jaegar swooped down on the others, throwing them a salute as he shot by.

The Gand grinned to himself. His responsibilities were important, but this was really the life. It was just like Jander had always said. You just have to get away sometimes, and find freedom. Here Jaegar was free. Stress melted away and he was sure he'd work much better when he returned.

Shooting back into the sky, Sonstaa punched a button on his wrist before killing the jetpack engines and freefalling, gaining speed until he reached maximum velocity, the air buffeting his lose clothes and rushing past what passed for Gand ears. Now this was a thrill.

Gravity slowly increased as his body got closer and closer to the planets core, pressing on the Gand's exoskeleton. As it finally became truly uncomfortable, the "Strahd" swooped in, and with a careful burst, Jaegar was back inside. The ship had homed in on his signature just as he had hoped, and it began to rise as he stowed the jetpack and returned to the cockpit. His experience had been fun, but now it was time to return to work. With a respectful waggle of wings to his fellow jetpackers, the YT-2400 returned to the station above.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Much time had passed, and much progress made. Where only a single small outpost had once stood, now nearly two dozen floating cities floated in the gas giant's atmosphere. There were not civilian cities, like Cloud City had been on Bespin, but military emplacements, manned by soldiers and others needed to run the facilities. They had been allowed to bring along their families however, and some areas teemed with the civilian variety of life, including several gardens with plants imported from all over the galaxy. Each city was a marvel in it’s own right, having been adapted by the tribes of Gand that populated, beautifying each in their own right.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Pilgrims from nearby Gand came on regularly scheduled shuttles from their homeworld. They came to visit the "Eye of Ara", the massive blue storm that always faced Gand. It was a religious site, for thousands of years the Gand had seen that eye, visible from any of the five space stations over their world, as proof that the god of the Mists was watching over them. Viewing it's swirling blue gases from those stations had comforted many a religiously troubled Gand in years past. Now there was almost always a ship enroute between the holy city of Aram’aat on the ground, and the cities now on Targee.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Now not only could the followers of Ara be closer to this holy site, but thanks to the experimentation of Sheridan's personnel, small transports routinely took groups of diehard followers of Ara into the swirling storms, to be closer to their god, and find peace. The modifications necessary to make that possible were only one of the first new discoveries to come from the elderly human's expansive laboratory facilities on the far side of the planet. However most of the others were classified, military tech, though a few other bits and pieces were improving Gands lives already.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp These improvements were just what Jander and Jaeger saw as they finished with the most recent series of check-ups and stepped out of the command center making their way towards the public walkways. The father and son were nearly bowled over by a group of young Gands tearing past on one of the latest rages amongst the youth these days, a small board fitted with repulsorlifts and decorated to the riders personality. Six such young Gands flashed past the two Sonstaa, laughing as they went. The two looked at each other, smiled, and shook their heads. Such was youth. Both of them had memories of the crazy things they did as children, and neither was going to stop a few kids from having fun.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp They did however, have business to attend to. Every few years the Kaliif’s family held a reunion, and everyone would gather quietly in whatever location throughout the galaxy was the most convenient. This year, in honor of Jander’s one-hundredth birthday, it was being held in the palace. Thus the Kaalif and his eldest son now needed to make the trip from the gas giant home to the Gand capital, Sons’taa.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp So the two did just that, working their way through the streets towards the hanger bays. It took them perhaps fifteen minutes, but they finally arrived in a heavily secured bay, though there was no real danger for either of them there in the home system. The bay held each of their ships, both ships older than Jaeger but kept in incredible shape. The first was Jander’s, a YT-1300 named after the Kaalif’s wife, Tatyana. The second was Jaeger’s ship, a YT-2400, the “Strahd.” As if they could read each other’s thoughts, both Gand sprinted to their ships as soon as they were through the door, lowering the boarding ramps using controls on their forearms. It was a race for home.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Jander and the “Tatyana” were the first to rocket away, the older Gand’s ship having long ago molded as a counterpart to his astromech unit, Tripwire, and now after so many years, was nearly 75% faster than a standard YT-1300. However Jaeger had made some modifications of his own to the ship his father had given him, and was not far behind as he too shot out of the hanger and skyward. In mere moments both ships were away from the floating city and was out of Targee’s swirling blue atmosphere.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp It was a grand race, neither man knew who would win, and both were in superb form this day. As they flew they threw good-natured jabs back and forth over the comlink, insulting each other’s ships, skill, and anything else. They even made derogatory comments about each other’s style of dress, which ironically was nearly identical. Simply put, they’d try anything they could to slow the other even a millisecond, in order to win, all in good fun of course.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Now the father and son approached one of the two Rendili Space Defense Stations that had just been completed earlier in the month. At four and a quarter kilometers, they were an imposing site capable of adding several levels of difficulty to any attempted takeover. The two freighters skimmed the surface, frustrating the stations commanders who quietly showed their displeasure by ordering non-hostile targeting practice on them as they continued on towards Gand. Inside his cockpit Jander smiled as warning lights indicated he was being targeted. As if they were one mind, Jander and his son barrel-rolled and dove to throw off the locks. They dove down to a small concentration of the Golan Point Defense Stations that had been the concentration since the Rendili stations were completed.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Just under a hundred meters, the Point Defense Stations could be built in large numbers, making up for their size and smaller armament with group tactics. The YT’s ducked and dodged between them as they continued on towards the planet; thoroughly enjoying the practice they were giving the defense forces. Finally they approached the atmosphere. The Kaalif gave clearance codes as they closed with the shields, and all three layers dropped one at a time as they passed through, raising as they cleared them.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Unfortunately the rotation of the planet had left them on the far side of the capital, their intended landing site. Now as they dropped into the swirling mists the two were left instrument piloting, not even their keen, multi-faceted eyes could navigate through the mists at this speed. Such travel was extremely dangerous, as the mists also affected sensors to some degree, you never could tell if they would warn you in time to avoid an object.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Neither Gand worried however, each had been traveling through these mists their entire lives, and both were Findsman trained. They swiftly made their way around the planet, passing here and there through open areas between the mists, and finally into a massive clearing, home of Sons’taa, capital of Gand. Jander and Jaeger were home. Finally slowing down they skimmed over the city towards the Kaalif’s palace. At their command one of the landing bays high on the palaces towering structure opened up to admit them, and moments later they entered and sat their craft down on the deck. They powered down the speedy freighters, and exited, Tripwire making his way down the ramp behind Jander. Father and son greeted each other with smiles, congratulating each other on their piloting. When finished Jander turned to leave, and was immediately enveloped in a pair of arms, almost catching him off guard.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The arms in question belong to Tatyana, his wife. Unfortunately they hadn’t seen each other in several months, and they were obviously very happy to see one another. They embraced, and together the three Sunstars brushed off various officials in order to make their way to the living quarters nearby. Once inside the doors closed and locked, keeping those non-immediate family members outside as Tripwire taunted them in his normal fashion. Inside however, there were nearly two dozen Gands. It was a family gathering, all of Jander and Tatyana’s children, and in a few cases, grand children. They had come together for Jander’s birthday, his one-hundredth, officially a few months before, but the celebration had been delayed due to scheduling.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The greetings alone took nearly thirty minutes, it would have taken longer had most of the others not already done so. Once that was finished the entire group moved on into the expansive banquet area, where each served themselves with a variety of Gand foods, then taking a seat at the long table.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Once everyone was seated Jander took his place at the head of the table, and gathered everyone’s attention. He led everyone in a short prayer to Ara, then sat down to begin eating. While they ate each member of the family took turns trading stories of what had happened in their lives with one another, often interrupted by a question or a good-natured crack at one another. Some of the stories were pretty non-descript, a fair number of those present simply worked in the less prestigious areas of the Gand government. Others though worked in the military, and they had better stories of combat with pirates and other minor threats to the Gand people. Everyone listened intently however when first Jaeger, then Jander shared their stories. As the only family members to also have joined the Phantoms, the mercenary unit that Jander had helped start during the galactic civil war, they had unique stories to tell. Some of those stories they shared, and took turns telling their perspective on a battle, like the Phantom’s fight a few months back against the Mon Calamari. They also each had their own stories to tell, from times when they’re duties separated them.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The elder Sunstar sat there thinking as the others spoke. The years had been good to Jander, and he was pleased with the progress his people were making. After twenty-five millennia of holding to a stagnant society, they were finally taking their first major steps into the galaxy at large. The first order of business of course was to settle the rest of their home system, and set up a proper defensive network. If nothing else Jander was patient and cautious, almost to the point of paranoia. He wasn’t making any hostile maneuvers until he was absolutely sure the Gand people would be safe, particularly with the current hostile period the galaxy was going through.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Of course, as an extra step of precaution the Kaalif didn’t plan on making any hostile maneuvers for some time. He had plans for expansion, that was for sure, but far above any other held worlds was the old Gand colony worlds, first populated with Gand during the early years of his reign. Those systems would come under his full control before any other moves were made. Their worth would strengthen the Dominion exponentially, and just perhaps make Gand a real force in the crazy power struggle galaxy-wide, though the natural preference to stay uninvolved was still highly prevalent throughout their society.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The celebration continued, and much fun was had by all. It was a rare event when the royal family got together, and they were sure to make the most of it. The party continued late into the night, uninterrupted except for cleared servants bringing more food and drink from time to time. Slowly by ones and twos, everyone retired, leaving the Kaalif’s rooms for their own. Finally Jander and Tatyana were the last there. Now not only were they seeing each other for the first time in months, but they had the joy of some time alone. As the two Gands who ruled their world as king and queen moved into their bedroom, Jander smiled sadly. As wonderful as this time had been, and would continue to be, he had to leave in the morning, for other business. The couple closed the door, to spend a single night together.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Jander awoke in the morning refreshed and revitalized; yet the sadness had not entirely gone away. It seemed an injustice that he must be away for such long periods from the female he loved. As he sat on the edge of the bed the Gand blinked his compound eyes, and made a decision. They could handle whatever business was needed together, traveling as needed. Gand could be left to it’s own devices. After all, it was his children that would handle everyday matters in their absence. He informed his bride, and within the hour they were space-bound to his command ship, the “Hand of Marius”, which hung in orbit. At the time they didn’t know how long they would be gone, but they knew they would be together, and with that knowledge they were confident.