driftfleet | (no subject)

[His blood pressure seemed to be returning to normal at last and he finished with the coffee, fully turning to face Winter.]

It's always been a favorite of mine as well.

Is there a wide range of music on Coruscant?

[ He feels like he's heard of someone talking about Coruscant before, though can't recall who. ]

I imagine so but I'm not familiar with most of it as I've never been there- I've just seen holos and what's in the Imperial records.

The entire planet is one entire city built up in layers, it's densely populated with species from all across the galaxy. [A moment of of swiping his fingers across the surface of the datapad and a holo image of the planet appeared just above the screen.]

[ That's..really cool. He's never seen anything like it, and the entire planet is like that? ]

There's nothing like this where I'm from. It looks like an amazing place to visit. Are there many planets that are the same?

[ Talk space with me, Hux. ]

Really? Not in your galaxy or local system?

[He loves talking space, you have no idea.]

Not many. Some are more heavily populated than others- the Core planets especially so. Some planets are devoted to one purpose such as mining, ship construction, or other industrial needs especially in the Outer Rim.

Mustafar, for example, is all but inhospitable to all but the local population but is used to mine valuable minerals from the lava flows.

Not that we're aware of. We only just landed on our own moon about forty-five years ago. There hasn't been a manned mission to the closest planet, yet. Just drones.

[ Earth is really lame, Hux. And super behind on space travel. ]

And traveling to these planets is easier than this? [ He gestures to their own slow-moving ships and the weeks it takes to reach another planet. ]

So you haven't even been other planets in your star system?

[Wow, that's super lame.]

Yes, much easier. It depends on the ship and route you take but if you know where you're going it's not very difficult. There are routes to make galactic travel easier such as the pipelines and trade routes between the regions as well.

Afraid not. Maybe in the next decade. There's a telescope that takes pictures of other galaxies and constellations, but nothing quite like traveling.

[ So lame, honestly. Why couldn't have HYDRA been working on space travel instead of science experiments of mass destruction? ]

I know there are quite a few people in the fleet who can travel space like that. Must be fascinating, being able to visit other planets so easily.

If your planet has the ability of space travel, limited as it is, why not devote your resources to that? Does the government wish to stay isolated?

[Your planet needs to get it together, Winter. Here, he'll even give you a treat and the image of Coruscant changes to a mini map of the galaxy after he taps some buttons on the datapad]

It is, there are many different systems and planets in the galaxy, each one is unique. I've only been to a tiny faction of the known galaxy in my life, I don't believe anyone has been able to visit every system yet.

The governments have other priorities. Whether it's their science, their military, or something else. More concerned with having what other countries have, not planets in our system.

[ Which is annoying, but you know. Governments are stupid. He looks over the changed hologram. ]

Anything memorable you've visited?

When you're limited to one planet, that's understandable.

[It just seemed so limited but there have been battles over planets and their resources before.]

I can't forget Kamino where I learned you can become completely drenched in less than 30 seconds. It's a planet entirely covered in water and the storms there are continuous. I made the mistake of not running fast enough to the door.

Or Ilum which was frigid but the Crystal Caves is like nothing you can find anywhere else in the galaxy.

Those both sound amazing in their own right.

We went to an ice-covered planet a few months ago, but there wasn't anything like caves of crystal. There were temples made of ice and stone, and hunting higher up the mountains.

Sounds bleak. I've never liked ice planets. [He made the holo of the galaxy disappear, the screen of the datapad going dark.]

What of your planet then? If you haven't accomplished space travel, what advancements have you made?

[Sorry, Winter, he imagines your planet is populated by Ewoks or something.]

My planet? Most advancements are technological or scientific. Weapons have made great leaps, aircrafts are more advanced. Not fit for space travel, but in our own atmosphere, sure.

I was out of commission for a large chunk of the advancement. [ Which is putting it lightly, but he's not going to discuss that with Hux. ]

It's always interesting to come across an isolated planet or system such as yours. What type of weapons has your planet managed to develop?

[He's not going to ask Winter for those details.] And there is no need to be concerned, I don't have the resources for another superweapon here. My interest is purely academic in this case.

Nothing that has the capacity to destroy an entire planet, but they are weapons of mass destruction. Bombs, guns. Aircrafts. Soldiers..

It depends upon the country and their focus of advancement. [ Bucky raises an eyebrow at him. ] For your sake, it had better stay as an academic interest.

[ More of a promise than a threat, but said casually. He could be joking, buuuuuut. Probably not. You did destroy an entire planet without batting an eye. ]

Countries? You have more than one dominant fraction on the planet?

[Hux raised his eyebrows, not looking the least bit concerned. He was sure it was a threat but he doubted Winter was going to attack him right this moment.]

I have no reason to destroy these planets and moons after all.

There are almost two hundred countries. Some are more developed than others. The more economically and technologically advanced countries are world leaders and have sway. It's..convoluted.

[ Hux isn't a threat at the moment, so right now it's fine. But just so he knows in the future. ]

Right, there's no benefit in it for you.

And there is no global government to keep them in line? How does your planet function?

[Winter, your planet is weird.]

Nor is there really any benefit for the First Order to simply destroy random planets or star systems. I didn't chose the Hosnian System at random.

Each country has their own government and leaders. There's an organization with members from other countries. The intention is to make sure wars don't get started.

[ And then there are groups like HYDRA who make super soldiers in secret to take out people who stand in the way of things. ]

And how well does that work for your planet?

[He's always curious about more primitive planets though he usually didn't have time to learn much about them before they were brought under First Order rule with all that entailed.]

It has its ups and downs. Not everyone is going to agree.

[ There's so much more to it, but now isn't the time for an economics lesson. ]

There might be a book in the library on the Iskaulit about it.

That's true, not even the Empire was without conflicts among the systems.

What is the name of your planet and star system?

The Solar System. It's in the Milky Way Galaxy. The planet is Earth. I'm not sure how much they'll even have, but they seem to have books from different places everyone comes from.

Interesting, I'll have to look for it then when I'm next there.

Is the library composed of materials brought by those here in the fleet?