Rise of the Amun Sovereignty, A unification attempt of wartorn Anhur

Continued from Taking What Is Theirs
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MORNING AFTER THE WEDDING…

Old Na’hesit Palace
New Thebes, Anhur

For decades, there had existed an uneasy understanding that the batarians and humans would remain “independent” of one another regarding the affairs of Anhur. The wake of a past war still lingered not only in the minds of both batarians and humans, but also the landscape where wrecked buildings and slagged jungles were consistent reminders of the racial war endured by both people years before. The Anhuran government had been slowly picking up the pieces since then.

In the last few years, coinciding with the establishment of the Confederation, the people of Anhur found more common ground, especially economically. If there was one thing that could unite a divided people more readily than any other thing, it was the almighty credit. The establishment of the Shenzu Commerce Center was the first step in unifying a divided planet, at least economically. For two years, batarians and humans have managed to take strides in cooperating economically to fill their pockets. No one ever thought that such cooperation could ever go any further…until a most unexpected union by way of marriage…

Princess Kahfell Lis’garr and Colonel Jian-min Ming were betrothed yesterday, witnessed by over 10,000 spectators. Some came to celebrate the union, a few came to jeer it and most simply came to watch it in order to truly believe it. As both were prominent leaders in their respective camps, it was a blow to any effort to divide Anhur by race.

Almost as surprising as the wedding itself, was the call to the recognized leaders of Anhur to attend a meeting at the request of the Batarian military leader known as General Iotrin and the de-facto human leader known as Mr. Garrett Briggs. The two had always been traditional enemies, constantly trying to undermine the other’s authority, but to have the pair call a join meeting was…shocking, to say the least.

Getting inside the Old Na’hesit Palace was an undertaking only to be attempted by those with a death wish. It seemed like every human militiaman and every batarian soldier were present every dozen feet or so. Although human units controlled some sections and batarians controlled others right next to them, they said nothing to one another. Those admitted to the mysterious meeting were sent invitations. Many rumored that it would be an attempt to start another war, blowing up both human and batarian representatives, then blame the other. But such rumors did not deter the invitees. At last count, none had declined the invitation…

Within the huge rounded chamber of the assembly hall, nearly a thousand of batarians, humans and the occasional other race were represented, waiting to see what was to be said by General Iotrin and Mr. Garrett Briggs. Low murmurs and whispers were circulating all across the massive gathering hall, with a distinct separation of batarians on the left side and mostly humans on the right. All the speaking ceased as General Iotrin and Mr. Garrett Briggs walked from behind the stage to the front of the assembly--together. The hall grew deathly silent…

Dressed in a dark navy business suit, with dark red piping along its sleeves, tall upright collar and front, Aeria Atios, until very recently the Regional Commander of the Eclipse forces in the Anhur System, strode confidently along the heavily guarded corridors of the Old Na’hesit Palace toward the Assembly Hall. There General Iotrin and Mr. Garrett Briggs were to shortly make a joint address to the gathered business, political, and military leaders of Anhur.

She received a few surprised looks from the guards in the hallway as there were not many asari expected, but none of them stopped her. They were here to make sure nothing happened to disrupt the meeting, not check to see if those headed toward the hall were cleared to be here. That had happened at the doors to the Palace itself, where every invitee had to pass though a few security checks before being allowed to enter.

Aeria paused for a moment as she entered the Assembly Hall, taking in the crowd already gatherered for a moment before heading toward a smaller gathering of higher ranking governmental workers with whom she was already familiar as she had met with them quite often over the course of her years in charge of the Eclipse’s Stronghold in New Thebes.

“Good evening,” she greeted them politely as she came up to the small gathering.

“Major Atios,” one of the gentlemen, Raul Madaza, turned and addressed her with a slightly surprised look, “I hadn’t expected to see you here this evening.”

Aeria nodded with a polite smile, “Major no longer, Mr. Madaza as I left Eclipse employ as of last week. My former Executive Officer, Captain Nadar, has taken temporary command of the Stronghold until Eclipse Headquarters decides who is to take over as Regional Commander.”

“So I had heard,” he confirmed eyeing her speculatively. Most of those in attendance doubtless had a fair idea of what exactly was to be announced this evening. Her very presence here tonight indicated that she had enough power and influence to be invited, the question in his mind was how given that she was no longer the Eclipse Regional Commander. She wasn’t about to volunteer the information as she herself had no idea when her position within the newly forming government was to be announced.

Movement drew her attention to the main stage as General Iotrin and Mr. Garrett Briggs walked out from behind the stage to stand side by side in front of those assembled. The asari matron, along with everyone else fell silent, their full attention upon the human and batarian.

Fai tsung walked through the corridors of the palace with all of his weapons left at his private quarters"well this will be very interesting, the batarians and humans been apart for a very long time and now they are being brought closer together" Fai walks up to the security checkpoint in his normal looking disguise and he passed the checkpoint and got in.

He took his seat next to an asari who had just sat down and he got himself comftable in his seat "i cant wait to hear their speech" Fai went silent when the two walked up onto the stage.

Having arrived several minutes earlier then pretty much all people at this assembly, Colonel Jian couldn't help but feel a little strange today. He was married... While not a crazy bachelor who sought every piece of ass he ever could or did stupid things, he had always liked his independence. Now he was bonded to somebody, and ironically, someone he didn't know all too well. But that would change in time... Probably this was the best course of action, what with the circumstances and how he was with women.

Suddenly looking about from his position near the main door into the huge room, Jian looked about for his wife, wondering when she would arrive from her estate or if she had already. Another funny situation was Jian now had to 'move out'... Always having lived in his 'home' in the militia HQ, he now would be moving into whatever home he and his wife would now occupy... And from what he had heard and guessed, it probably would be the palace. Strange thought, but pleasant.

Thinking back on the wedding, Jian remembered how he had been a little nervous but retained his poise the whole time. But upon seeing his bride-to-be coming down the aisle per human custom, Jian remembered his heart had stopped for a split second in surprise at the subtle emotions that came up from how beautiful Kahfell had been and knowing he was minutes away from being married to her. He was still unsure whether they had been good or bad emotions... But if he was a decent interpreter of his own emotions, he guessed more on the good side.

Halting his thought processes, Jian just concluded the long thinking in a simple phrase. Life was interesting now. Now where is she... And suddenly he caught sight of her, quickly walking over to where he had just spotted her just as the two leaders, Mr. Garrett Briggs and General Iotrin, walked onto the stage together.

QUEUE MUSIC

Captain Allurn “Margrave” Kir’sinreh stood among the bulk of the batarians within the Old Na’hesit Palace. With his arms folded behind his back, he stood rigid, but calm like a massive boulder in the middle of crashing rapids. His dark eyes surveyed the gathered with a seemingly detached disinterest, but it was far from the truth. This day was to bring sweeping change over Anhur and the entire Amun System. If what Colonel Ming inferred was even partially true, it would be an all-encompassing change of epic proportions. He was comforted by the fact that the Anhur Planetary Defense fleet was poised in orbit around Anhur, just in case something unforeseen happened, but he did not expect such things. After his “deal” with the human Colonel, the batarians in charge of defense on Anhur were loyal to him and thus there would be no problems from the batarians. However, if the humans did something stupid…it would be ugly.

He listened without commenting for the many minutes that they sat in wait. Batarians in leadership positions around him frequently came up to him with concern, inquiring, “What is this about, Margrave? Does it have something to do with that repulsive union between Princess Lis’garr and that human militia leader?”

Allurn always allowed himself a knowing smile and answered, “We can live in poverty, debt and wallow in our past for the rest of our years…or…we can accept that we must change to prosper and adapt in order to succeed”.

Inevitably, the batarians stood there baffled at the answer, as if never considering it in that light before. Nonetheless, comments of that sort were necessary to set the stage for what was to come…

Suddenly, General Iotrin (batarian) and Mr. Garrett Briggs (human) walked out on stage…together. Silence blanketed the assembly hall, an instantaneous hush that brought an eerie stillness to the entire gathering. Humans and batarians alike waited with bated breath. General Iotrin looked over and nodded to Garrett Briggs as if ready for him to begin. Mr. Garrett Briggs took a firm step forward and looked out over the sea of mostly batarians and humans gathered. His handsome facade brought a thin smile to his aged face. His right hand slipped thru his silvery hair as he began…

“Please, have a seat...”

As one, the assembled representatives sat down in their seats.

“Batarians and Human leaders of Anhur, welcome to this palace and thank you for coming. For so many years, we have bore the brunt of hate between batarians and humans. While the Batarian Hegemony and Systems Alliance have managed to continue ‘business as usual’ without pause, we are left a shattered planet, still recovering from decades of war. What have we been given to help ease our suffering and rebuild our precious planet? Nothing. We, Anhurans, have worked together to rebuild our planet and attempt a semblance of normalcy among a war torn home…”

A smattering of claps and yells of agreement came from the crowd.

Pausing, he looked out over the gathered who still sat in silence. He pointed to the representatives gathered and said, “But it was all of you that have propelled us out of our 'wallowing' the last couple of years. Springboarding off of the aid the Confederation of the Terminus granted to us, we have made huge strides in our reconstruction effort. Not the aid from foreign governments, but businesses, centered right here in the Amun System. You see, we are poised for greatness. Not mediocrity, but TRUE GREATNESS!”

Fully half of the audience clapped at this point.

As it died down, he looked over at General Iotrin and continued, “Many of you saw me speaking to General Iotrin yesterday at the wedding reception of Princess Lis’garr and Colonel Jian-min Ming. We discussed our mutual belief that batarians and humans could make a true home for themselves here on Anhur with the progress we were making. We discussed that history was made yesterday by such a union between batarian and human...and we believed that it could be just the start of something special. But we also realized that such dreams could never become a reality without strong leadership…and we both agreed that it would have to be leadership that knew how to lead, commanded respect and represented our precious planet of Anhur…and that is when both General Iotrin and I peered over at the newly wed bride and groom.”

Claps came from the audience and sweeping murmurs followed as well. As Garrett Briggs continued speaking, they silenced once more, “As such, General Iotrin and I move to establish a new government, represented equally by both humans, batarians and other races who lead by example here on Anhur. This Amun Sovereignty should be ruled as a sweeping empire, ruled by an Emperor and an Empress. If they will accept it, we offer the leadership of this powerful sovereignty to the most qualified leaders and representatives of our people…”

The murmurs were a combination of gasps of surprise, shocked expressions, clapping and nodding in agreement.

With a loud voice, he put an exclamation point on his proposal, “If you wish to join General Iotrin and I in supporting Emperor Jian-min Ming and Empress Kahfell Lis’garr as becoming our sworn sovereign leaders, STAND WITH ME!”

Fully half of the assembly hall came to their feet, including the Margrave who began clapping heartily. Many quickly followed coming to their feet among claps and yells of excitement…

“Many of you saw me speaking to General Iotrin yesterday at the wedding reception of Princess Lis’garr and Colonel Jian-min Ming. We discussed our mutual belief that batarians and humans could make a true home for themselves here on Anhur with the progress we were making. We discussed that history was made yesterday by such a union between batarian and human...and we believed that it could be just the start of something special. But we also realized that such dreams could never become a reality without strong leadership…and we both agreed that it would have to be leadership that knew how to lead, commanded respect and represented our precious planet of Anhur…and that is when both General Iotrin and I peered over at the newlywed bride and groom.”

Aeria clapped in the human manner of approval along with a several others as the human paused in his speech for a moment. Garrett Briggs was a very good speaker, but then Aeria had known that fact already. It wasn’t just his oratory that was holding everyone’s attention however; it was also the sight of both him and General Iotrin standing side by side on the stage. Something many in this Assembly Hall would have probably thought impossible before today, it was also the reason why she had agreed that this new government Jian-min Ming had spoken to her about had a chance of succeeding.

“As such, General Iotrin and I move to establish a new government, represented equally by both humans, batarians and other races who lead by example here on Anhur. This Amun Sovereignty should be ruled as a sweeping empire, ruled by an Emperor and an Empress. If they will accept it, we offer the leadership of this powerful sovereignty to the most qualified leaders and representatives of our people…”

The asari could hear the mingled sounds of surprise and see the shocked expressions of a few of the human’s around her. She was one of those clapping instead of looking surprised and she noticed out of the corner of her eye Raul Madaza taking note of that fact as he belatedly joined her; his expression making it clear that while he apparently hadn’t known exactly what was to happen, he was enough of a government bureaucrat to scent the winds of change and adroitly shift toward them.

“If you wish to join General Iotrin and I in supporting Emperor Jian-min Ming and Empress Kahfell Lis’garr as becoming our sworn sovereign leaders, STAND WITH ME!”

Aeria, somewhat expecting this, but not with quite so much of a flair, was nevertheless one of the first to rise from her seat and begin clapping. Her blue eyes went past the two males standing on the stage toward the curtains behind them for a second before she realized the two were looking up the main walkway of the Hall toward the main doors. The asari turned her head for a moment, grateful that she had a taken her seat right upon the isle and looked back toward the main doors. There stood the two individuals in question, the new Emperor and Empress of Anhur.

Fai tsung had listened to all the talking that had been going on and watched them talk and when they finished talking Fai said to himself "look's like Ezramons plan is taking shape after all" Fai listened to what other people were saying about what was going on and watched what was happening on stage.

Listening to how the speech was going, Jian couldn't help but be impressed by the level of commitment the two leaders had put into this idea he and Kahfell, along with Ezramon, had put into their heads and the many others. Seeing that it might actually work in person from others, Jian let a smile come onto his face in a small sign of self-satisfaction. And he also was impressed with how well the two spoke. Jian had never been a good public speaker...

And suddenly, the whole crowd was looking upon him and Kahfell, clapping, cheering and appraising their new Emperor and Empress... Huh, I'm a emperor now. ...A most strange thought. I'm the first Ming in hundreds of years to be a emperor once again. Narrowing his eyes for a split second, Jian felt a almost-animal feeling within himself roar in joy. His people's glory had not ended yet, and would never end with his new power regained. And with Kahfell at his side, they both would attain glorious things...

Glancing sideways at his newly-wed wife and now his Empress, Jian wondered what was going through that sharp mind of her's. Probably similar thoughts and thinking of what was now possible. So much was now possible, allowing them to finally take action with much support to expand Anhur's influence and glory to unprecedented heights ever thought possible. Raising his hand and waving serenely, Jian let a obvious smile appear on his lips in a public sign of his appreciation and mood.

((Sorry for the delay))

Princess Kahfell Lis'garr looked down at her new wedding ring. It wasn't overblown, nor cheap-looking. It didn't have something like a huge diamond on it, but it looked kingly. She thought about how this little trinket would adorn her hand, probably for the rest of her life.

Being a female of noble house, Kahfell wasn't exactly a stranger to the concept of rings, but this was the first one that held a deep meaning to it, something that marked her as the wife, as the second half to a couple committed to one another for life. She wasn't seated with her new husband, but she wasn't far from him either. Fell however considered the idea of walking down the seats to join him to be much more symbolic than standing up at the same time. Maybe for human terms, it would have been more natural for Fell to be next to him, but she wasn't a human.

Her four eyes continued to regard the trinket, only interrupting twice to join the claps that appeared when the two leaders weren't talking on stage. Her eyes were listening, however, eagerly picking out the mood that came apparent whenever they stopped to speak, and encourage the crowd.

Hopefully there wouldn't be anyone in the crowd that had smuggled in a gun, or they could turn this evening into a very nasty one just because of their narrow-minded ideas of a divided Anhur.

As the speech began to center on herself and Colonel Ming however, Kahfell slowly looked up, adding a regular blink to her eyes to make sure that she didn't look as confident about the revelation as she felt on the inside. But, even Kahfell begun to feel nervous on the inside when more and more eyes came looking her way, and eventually it was revealed that she, and her husband, were declared Empress and Emperor. Dark lips parted, and Kahfell looked around briefly, staring into cheering faces, before she stood, a smile appearing on her face as she stole herself out of the seat and slowly made her way over to Jian Ming. She didn't bother to look at him just yet; the people wanted to see their faces, not them whispering to one another.
She touched his arm with her free hand that wasn't raised, signalling to him that she was with him, before hooking in and subtly directing him to make their way towards the stage, next to General Iotrin and Briggs, holding her head high and her back curved to show off her youth and beauty, yet not too much to look like a 'pretty princess' without experience of life.

"I didn't expect this," she admitted softly under her breath, unsure whether her husband would pick that one up.

The standing ovation did not abate as the newlyweds made their way up to the stage and to the podium beside General Iotrin and Garrett Briggs. Both of them simply moved over to the side, allowing them free reign at the center. Attentively, they both stood and watched with a mixture of pride and excitement. Even those within the crowd who seemed determined to not be a part of what was occurring had now arisen and were also clapping. For those batarians and humans that were wholly against this very idea, they soon realized that they would have to adapt and change to be a part of what was occurring—or be left behind. To be lost in the masses was a much worse fate than to hold on to their bigotry.

As Princess Lis’garr and Colonel Ming came to the center podium, a sudden hush swept through the assembly hall. It seemed many were unsure what would come out of their mouths. For many batarians gathered, it was the first time laying eyes on Colonel Ming. For many humans, the same was true with Princess Lis’garr, but for now they listened in silence. A pin could have been head dropping at this point. Everyone waited to hear what their potential Empress and Emperor would say to such a “sudden” proposal…

Kahfell still had to get over the fact that seemingly everyone was cheering, despite the unorthodox union she and her new husband had undertaken. Sure, there were many frowns here and there, but they'd be dealt with in time. As the pair made their way to the stage, Fell's first instinct was to stand back and let the current, or former, leaders say something else, but both moved to the side. Apparently they would want a speech.

Kahfell didn't really know what to say; sure she could take a thing or two from her father's crowning, but he had taken the crown of one society; not a divided one. Half of the stuff would probably be offensive to these humans. Then again, back then the batarians had been divided, and fighting for the throne. And still, they were eager to follow Emperor Rega'mah Lis’garr. So why wouldn't they follow Empress Lis'garr as well?

Almost expecting that her husband would talk first, she was disappointed to sense that that wouldn't be the case, so she stepped up to the podium where Garrett had previously stood. She was the focus of hundreds of eyes, and with her having stepped forth to speak first, she chose to make the most of it. Despite her growing nervousity, she rejoiced in the attention she was given.
"Anhur," she began, her voice quickly growing firm and controlled, "I remember very well the day when I first saw it. Its beauty was beyond words, and its slumbering power seemingly vibrating beneath my feet. But we all know that times haven't been the best. We were often disappointed by outsiders, and often regretted ever letting them into our system. But no more, I say!
This system, this planet, this people deserves more than being pushed aside to watch the rest of the galaxy ruin themselves from the sidelines. No, we will no longer tolerate this! We have understood our differences, and have begun to heal old wounds. This planet is our home now, and it always will be. No intergalactic business will be able to feed its decadent belly further with our virtues and successes.

We are the Amun Sovereignty, and we deserve more! And if you will have my husband Jian-min Ming and myself, Kahfell Lis'garr, deeply honoured by this request, then we will lead you to a bright future without the stains of outsiders! They will envy us, the people of Anhur, as we ascend above them, and everyone else!"

LEVEL 21 – Ezramon’s Operations Center
Shenzu Commerce Center
New Thebes, Anhur

“Anhur, I remember very well the day when I first saw it. Its beauty was beyond words, and its slumbering power seemingly vibrating beneath my feet. But we all know that times haven't been the best. We were often disappointed by outsiders, and often regretted ever letting them into our system. But no more, I say!”

“This system, this planet, this people deserves more than being pushed aside to watch the rest of the galaxy ruin themselves from the sidelines. No, we will no longer tolerate this! We have understood our differences, and have begun to heal old wounds. This planet is our home now, and it always will be. No intergalactic business will be able to feed its decadent belly further with our virtues and successes.”

“We are the Amun Sovereignty, and we deserve more! And if you will have my husband Jian-min Ming and myself, Kahfell Lis'garr, deeply honoured by this request, then we will lead you to a bright future without the stains of outsiders! They will envy us, the people of Anhur, as we ascend above them, and everyone else!"

Erupting into a thunderous ovation, the thousands of Anhuran representatives came to their feet in support of the sweeping change occurring before their very eyes. What they did not realize was that most every piece of the Amun Sovereignty was already in place…

The entire affair was broadcast live across the Terminus and beyond. It was an exclamation mark to all the efforts made over the last few years to begin the new government and it began officially with that speech.

Ezramon nodded in satisfaction as Princess Kahfell Lis’garr ascended to Empress Lis’garr within mere minutes. It was now up to her and Colonel Jian-min Ming. Sweeping his fingers across his omni-tool, he turned the volume down slightly as he continued to follow the developments on the extranet. With a few more taps across his omni-tool, the tremendous cogs of bureaucracy began to situate themselves across Anhur, in support of the new Emperor and Empress' new Amun Sovereignty...

And so it begins—the rest of my years…lived here.

((OOC: Exit Ezramon, stage right))

Keeping his composure cool and calm throughout the whole event, Jian opted on remaining quiet and letting his Empress speak to the people. He prided himself on being a excellent military leader and very good at all things related to that, he never had prided himself in public speaking. Probably would say something a little too blunt or too little and fail to stir up the people in a positive way. And from the way the batarian princess-turned-empress just spoke, she definitely knew public speaking.

Letting a cold, flat look appear in his eyes as he eyed the backside of his Empress, Jian knew there would be many battles to come, both from being a leader of a whole system... and from this individual he was now intertwined with for the rest of his life. And he would need to assert himself as a strong, unforgiving and ruthless individual, like he had in any military operation he had ever participated in.

As the look disappeared from that split second, Jian watched as the crowds stood and began cheering even louder then before, applauding in a thunderous storm of approval. Eyebrow raised as ever, the human nodded in approval. The stepping stones were laid, now they could truly begin.

ASV Levitas
Bridge
3 Days Following the signing of the “Amun Sovereignty Imperial Declaration”
Overall, his role had changed little. Fleet Admiral Allurn Kir’sinreh was still in command of all the naval assets under the “umbrella” of the Amun Sovereignty. One noticeable difference was the enlargement of his fleet by almost half: the human side of the navy. For years, it has existed as a “naval militia” of sorts, but now batarian and human vessels were serving in the same battlegroups, reporting to the most capable commanders, regardless of their race.

“The Margrave” had encountered a modicum of resistance and pushback from the human naval militia commanders, but once they met him, they soon realized that this was no ordinary batarian—Allurn was a warrior, through and through. While arrogant and domineering, Fleet Commander Kir’sinreh made no illusion as to where his subordinates stood with him. If they were not performing to his standards, they knew about it…immediately.

Looking out of the viewport, he focused his eyes on the night lights of New Thebes from orbit. Anhur was a blanket of blackness, aside from the clusters of lights huddled together to penetrate the darkness. How long had the people of Anhur been waiting for something like this? It was something as simple as hope. How long had they been waiting for someone to raise them from the dregs of despair? The racial war of the Anhur Rebellions had laid claim to the resources, assets and hearts of Anhur, but no longer. Progress had been steamrolling ahead for the past two years, now culminating into the coronation of the Emperor and Empress. The last few days had naturally brought about those opposing the idea of the Amun Sovereignty, but in the end, no one could argue with the need for an official unification. Need outweighed prejudice…

The Captain of the Levitas looked at the Fleet Admiral expectantly. With a nod, he confirmed, “Take us to the orbit of Sobek. I wish to check on our latest addition to the shipyard…”

Complying with his own nod, he relayed the order to the Jiken Battle Group to turn their formation about and proceed to FTL…