Somewhere in the deep forests of Meris V, Meris System, Year 11 Day 217, late evening ...

The 217-th Day of year 11 was a day the local residents of Meris V would remember for a long time. The ceremony that was held in a forest clearing on the surface of the planet produced one of the most interesting pieces of news in the recent years.

For the past few days, the security in the system had been tightened gradually and a few hours before the ceremony was about to start many ships, most of them unescorted, had arrived in the system and headed for Meris V.The hosts from Rogue Squadron had done a good job decorating the humble clearing. A rather large campfire was set in the middle, lampions were placed along the edges of the forest and a surprising, rather exquisite dinner was set for the guests.

When the ceremony was about to begin, the High command of the Rogue Squadron including Xavze Zavan, Hexx Harpy, Lud Star, Kurami Jankov and Mandor von Uberwald arrived at the clearing, followed shortly by the High command of the Pentastar Alignment including Daneel Olivaw, Alex McMount, Alan Steel and Memnoch. As the leaders approached the campfire and took their places around it, the other guests stopped talking and dead silence fell over the clearing.

Xavze Zavan, the current leader of the Rogue Squadron, stood up and started talking.

"Good evening my brothers and sisters, my allies,..." then he turned and stared straight at the TV camera that was broadcasting the event "...good evening my foes and enemies. We welcome you to Meris V. We’re glad you’re here to witness and celebrate a new era for all of us. I'm happy to announce that The Pentastar Alignment will, as of today, merge as “Blackheart Division” into the Rogue Squadron..."

As the audience applauded, the camera turned around to show faces truly delighted by the news delivered by one of their own. It was very clear, that the foes their leader spoke about were not on the scene, but far away watching the news.

"...it is not a secret, that many of us were once part of the Galactic Empire and supported the tyranny of the Emperor. It is not a secret, that we all now oppose the tyranny of the Empire. It is not a secret, that as of today, we are jointly fighting the Empire, for united we stand! We welcome our brothers and sisters from the Pentastar Alignment into our ranks and we're really proud that now we can show the Galaxy a bigger and better Rogue Squadron."

The crowd exploded with applause when Xavze sat down. Most of the guests knew that the Rogue Squadron and the Pentastar Alignment had been allies for years and had worked closely together. But the fact that there could be such high level of trust between the leaders of two independent governments came as a surprise to many of them.

Soon the feast began, the fireworks were lit, food and drinks were brought to the tables and the guests decided to think later about the impact this merger would have on the Galaxy.