Alliance Dominion of Naboo

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Graxin Rade"] [member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

Jacen gave Graxin a grave nod as way of apology for making a joke about his position. Perhaps he really shouldn't come to one of these events again. So far he'd mostly put his relatively cheap boot in his own mouth several times over.

"That's an interesting question. I suppose we're more interested in Naboo's intention for the Alliance," he replied. "All we are really is a collection of separate worlds banding together what we can to keep the region safe," Jacen said earnestly. He paused to take a sip of his drink, eyes scanning across the crowd. So many ridiculous headdresses.

"With the Republic crumbling we're stretched pretty badly. Lots of relief work with the Silvers around the worlds cut off from the Republic forces. Lots of evacuations. Naboo could join the Alliance if she wanted. We're looking to this whole region now. The corruption of the Union ran pretty deep, fortunately they collapsed under their own weight before we had to try and put military pressure on them."

 

[Aithne Charr]

OBJECTIVE: The Ball
LOCATION: Theed Royal Palace, Grand Ball Room
ALLIES: Queen of Naboo, Noble Families of Naboo
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Cecily Demici"] [member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Lilin Imperieuse"] [member="Graxin Rade"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]
4/10


Solan smiled to the woman he knew far better than the other few around him at the moment. Granted that made him feel a bit better as it felt a small bit less like a hornets nest, and now just tone filled with really angry bees. Same amount of pain, but less of a chance of him dying. Either way tat smile was followed by words for his old friend. "Taeli, i must say that you look as... radiant as ever." He chose the word for a specific reason, one that he was sure Taeli would understand but in the slight case that it did not he would leave it to stay as a his normal bout of flattery with no reason behind it.

In the conversation Voidstalker soon drew his attention, mentioning how they were now looking towards the whole region with the loss of the Union's control on the region. It made him smile and also a bit curious into how they viewed the other regions around them.

 

[Marcus Itera]

Objective: 3 - Neutralize the Droid Control Ship
Location: Aboard the Carbon Dusk, trailing Rogue Squadron.
Allies: [member="Kalyn Tal'verda"], House Rade, The Galactic Alliance ([member="Kurayami Bloodborn"], [member="Alkor Centaris"], [member="Asmus Janes"], [member="Miles Varden"], [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Ria Misrani"])
Foes: Renegade droids
Post: [03/20]

Off they went, into that pitch black yonder.

Upon command, Marcus threw himself out of the airlock of the Carbon Dusk. There was no sound in space yet he could hear the pounding of warm blood in his ears, his adrenaline-induced panting, and even the sound of that little voice in his head screaming and berating him for literally leaping out of a perfectly good starship. Hopefully the thing had an autopilot, but right now it felt as if he were on autopilot as well. His body acted without his mind's permission; muscles acted in tandem without achieving consensus with the most important part of him.

In situations like these, this was a gut-brain scenario. You listened to your gut and just acted. There was no time to think and play out all of the possible outcomes in your head, there was no time whatsoever. It was just you, your training, and your comrades beside you that all mattered in the end.

"Trace my trajectory," Marcus rasped, snapping back into reality.

"You're arcing downwards. Boost for two more meters and you'll land right in the opening." Miranda responded instantly. "Thirty more minutes of oxygen. Let's make this quick or hope that there are still life support systems active."

The Dreadguard kicked his jumppack into action, leveling out for just a second before angling downwards to make it straight into the hole. He landed with a thud as his magno-boots locked against the durasteel bulkhead. No tactical spotlights came on - he had eyes for this job. Artificial eyes that bore a striking resemblance to normal ones; a cost of a lifetime spent warring.

"Sensor pings now. We'll move fast, I want to avoid as many droids as I can."

Miranda nodded and began active scanning. "I'll link the sensor map into Kalyn's HUD too."

 

[Ria Misrani]

Objective: 3 / Salvage Lucrehulk
Location: Aboard the Shining Star, trailing Carbon Dusk
Allies: The Galactic Alliance, Kathol Outback ( [member="Marcus Itera"], [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Kalyn Tal'verda"], [member="Asmus Janes"], [member="Miles Varden"], [member="Alkor Centaris"], [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]).
Enemies: Anything shooting me.

Bryce didn't have to tell her twice, she pushed off and followed him down into the damaged airlock. Keeping a hand on her hat as she landed just behind him. Everything was quite, the dust from the landing skewed her perception so she reached out for Bryce's shoulder. Squeezing it lightly so that he would know she was still there. Adjusting her blast vest she kept her head low, they didn't have near the gear that these commandos had or even their allies.

To be honest, Ria hated being down there all she could think of was Nar Shaddaa. Kark, she patted Bryce again. "Do we have a layout of the ship?" She asks him, this ship reminded her of Nar Shaddaa's tiny alleyways and infinite amount of shortcuts. "Give me the key locations that we need to get through."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Ria re-imagined herself back on the Smuggler's Moon. Opening them back up, her eyes readjusted accounting for the dim if not terrible lighting of the Lucrehulk. Red, dark - dark red, "you can take the girl off Nar Shaddaa but you can't take Nar Shaddaa outta the girl."

 

[Bryce Bantam]

OBJECTIVE: Lucrehulk, Salvage or destroy "neutralize the threat"
LOCATION: Aboard the [SIZE=9.9px]The Shining Starr[/SIZE] in route to Lucrehulk
ALLIES: The Galactic Alliance, [member="Asmus Janes"] [member="kurvayami bloodborn"] [member="Alkor Centaris"] [member="Raachwaroo"] [member="Ria Misrani"] [member="Marcus Itera"] [member="Kalyn Tal'verda"] )
ENEMIES: Enemies of the Galactic Alliance and Naboo

Party

Spoiler

(1) squadron

Spoiler

Incom E-25
(3) Boarding craft filled with TKO Commandos
(1) Incom RebelX piloted by [member="Raachwaroo"]
(1) The Shining Starr piloted by me

BB, Rai and the team proceeded into the dark flickering halls of the Lucrehulk. Sparks flew from broken conduits as they hurried by, BB had a map of the basic layout of the ship but the subtle differences in the Techno Union design were proving to be a obstetrical and keeping them from linking up with the mandos. As they continued farther in the lighting became stronger and the artificial gravity as well. BB spotted a terminal and pointed it out to Ria. He wanted to use voice communication as little as possible and hoped Rai understood what he was asking for.

BB knew they were two far away from the central computer to slice in here, but he hoped she might get a better map to work from and some intel on that lied ahead. This OP was far from over and no matter how much BB didn't want to believe it, he felt something was very wrong.

 

[Ria Misrani]

Objective: 3 / Salvage Lucrehulk
Location: Aboard the Shining Star, trailing Carbon Dusk
Allies: The Galactic Alliance, Kathol Outback ( [member="Marcus Itera"], [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Kalyn Tal'verda"], [member="Asmus Janes"], [member="Miles Varden"], [member="Alkor Centaris"], [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]).
Enemies: Anything shooting me.

The gravity and lighting increased as they continued on their journey. The Lucrehulk just reminded her of all those days she spent dwelling on her past. Of being an insignificant little runt on the Vertical City. She nodded to Bryce as be pointed out the terminal, the young slicer was about to touch it - when sparks flew. Waving off smoke she sighed with relief, she looked around the terminal and noted a spot for a datacard. Taking one out of her bandoleer she slapped it in, downloading schematics was easy. Getting to them - that was another thing, it took her longer than she'd like and by longer it took her two very, very long minutes to do this. It wasn't the encryption so much as the insane amount of of bloat in the code that she had to swim through.

Once the schematics were up she downloaded them to the card, taking another minute she moved the schematics to where the terminal location was. She motioned for Bryce to join her at the terminal to show him the location of the Mandos, versus where they were. They could take the long way, or they could go up and over through the Lucrehulk's many, many systems of shafts of all makes and sizes.

 

[Bryce Bantam]

OBJECTIVE: Lucrehulk, Salvage or destroy "neutralize the threat"
LOCATION: Aboard the The Shining Starr in route to Lucrehulk
ALLIES: The Galactic Alliance, [member="Asmus Janes"] [member="kurvayami bloodborn"] [member="Alkor Centaris"] [member="Raachwaroo"] [member="Ria Misrani"] [member="Marcus Itera"] [member="Kalyn Tal'verda"] )
ENEMIES: Enemies of the Galactic Alliance and Naboo

Party

Spoiler

(1) squadron

Spoiler

Incom E-25

Spoiler

(3) Boarding craft filled with TKO Commandos
(1) Incom RebelX piloted by [member="Raachwaroo"]
(1) The Shining Starr piloted by me

BB observed Ria's finding, they were exactly what they needed and she had wasted little time retrieving the data. As he scanned it over he could help be see the new data that was coming onto the screen. The engine room was sending out an alert notice and when BB brought it up his feelings of foreboding became all to real. He double checked the readings two more times before looking over at Ria with a look of concern. Deciding he had not choice but to break radio silence he open a short range comm channel to Kalyn...

"Carbon Dusk, we have a new issue. Reactor core two is going critical. My team is diverting to handle the situation before it explodes. We will not be able to assist you in the control bridge till this is addressed. Good hunting..." BB radioed

Looking over at Ria he pointed to the quickest route to the engine room before taking old of her shoulder... "Time to earn our pay..." BB said before he turned an lead the team to service shafts hoping they had time to save not only the ship but their own lives.

 

[Audren Sykes]

OBJECTIVE: Other
LOCATION: Theed, well away from the palace
POST: 3

As it turned out, there were a number of suitable properties along the stretch the sales droid took him to. As this was Naboo and much followed with their sensibilities, only a couple of the locations bore the industrial look on the outside. Internally, more showed what they were truly built for, but even that was tempered. Not that the workforce would be noticing any of these things, but anyone who was given a tour, any customers who wanted to see the processes would appreciate it. The presentation rooms would be touched up of course, to make them more to the liking of visitors.

While he examined each of the locations, he was mentally listing what would need to be changed. A wall knocked down here or rebuilt there. A desk could be positioned in that place, or he could make a full-on office, or maybe even both. Decorative facings and how they could fit into place. In short, what would make the places look or work better. The problem with that was that he knew absolutely nothing about construction. He couldn't tell cost, the amount of time would be necessary, anything of the sort. He walked a dangerous line between what could be, what was, and how much money he had available.

 

[Kalyn Tal'verda]

Objective: Get to the computer
Location: On the floor in a doorway.
Allies:Kathol Outback([member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Ria Misrani"], [member="Raachwaroo"] ), [member="Marcus Itera"], GADF([member="Asmus Janes"], [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"], [member="Alkor Centaris"], [member="Miles Varden"])

Kalyn got up off of the ground and started walking down the hallway towards the central control computer. The lights were dim and flickering, but the closer she got to the center, the more power there seemed to be.

Kalyn got about half way to the core within 5 minutes, the ship was not as big as it seemed. There was little resistance so far, the wookies diversion seemed to have worked perfectly, however, something happened that made Kalyn's spine shiver.

"Carbon Dusk, we have a new issue. Reactor core two is going critical. My team is diverting to handle the situation before it explodes. We will not be able to assist you in the control bridge till this is addressed. Good hunting..."

"Feth" She muttered to herself.

"We need to hury up Marcus, things just got alot more urgent." She shouted back to Marcus.

Kalyn switched on her comms.

"This is Carbon Dusk, well keep moving towards the computer to see if we can do anything from there. Eta - Roughly 5 minutes." She said over her comms

Quickly switching them off she started increasing her pace, hopefully she would be able to get there faster than she would have otherwise.

 

[Republic Engineering]

Objective: One - Diplomatic Relations
Personal Objective: Survive
Location: Theed, The Royal Palace
Allies: The Galactic Alliance
Nearby Person(s) of Interest: [member="Andromeda Versai"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Cecily Demici"] | [member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Lilin Imperieuse"] | [member="Graxin Rade"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Claire Organa"] | [member="Elaine Thul"] | Others Unseen.

After her unsung deeds at Bpfassh, Captain Saren had been reprimanded by Alliance High Command for killing what they believed to be a high-ranking Vanguard Officer - one that would've helped them end the ceaseless proxy war. What went unspoken, was how she acted in defense of the Bpfasshi people. In the act of killing one man, she had saved countless thousands from the Vanguard's insidious plot. However, to counter-balance such assumed heroics, in sacrificing those faceless lives she could've helped end a conflict that's claimed millions of souls. While she did understand what such an act would've meant for the bigger picture, it would've gone against her orders. Disobeying her directives was tantamount to treason in her eyes. Therefore, while Astarii had, by her own hand, besmirched the almost flawless record attached to her dossier, the Hapan had chosen to wear this badge of shame with honour.

Sometimes Eagles were forced to circle the Eyrie so that others may fly higher.

Nevertheless, as her theatre of operations had changed from Bpfassh to Naboo, the Captain of the Eidolon had found herself tasked with the most peculiar of assignments. She wasn't to join with the Escort Cruisers and the newly re-founded Rogue Squadron. Rather, much like she had done just last week, Astarii was tasked with heading planetside to mingle with the Nobles. Something about her spire-born birth and punishment for the misconduct on that arid world. The woman was morose as soon as the dispatch had been transferred. While others of her kind would relish the chance to clad themselves in finery and dance the night away, the Captain had little stomach for it. She loathed the mere thought of adorning herself in the shroud of her youth, dancing with those that had yet to earn their lot in life, and finally enhancing diplomatic relations with their new friends. She was the Captain of a Warship! She was meant to be out there amongst the stars, turning the enemies of the Alliance into molten slag as they brought more and more systems into the fold. Yet, here she was.

With in-depth and personal knowledge of how Nobility would act around a horribly wounded officer, Astarii had seen to spending much of her recently earned commission on temporary skin grafts to mask the disfiguring scars across her body. While the option was there so see them permanently become a part of her, the offer was graciously declined. They reminded her of the past and gave her purpose when all hope seemed lost. This masquerade was a one-off. Not because she sought to leave a lasting impression on those gathered below, but more so, that she wouldn't inadvertently perturb the flow of conversation. Thus, with her body restored and the flesh-craft seamless, the Hapan saw fit to bedeck herself in a chartreuse gown that billowed out from the solitary shoulder strap. Lashing a belt of ultramarine fabric about her waist, and ensuring that a tight fitting body glove (bereft of arm and leg coverings) was worn underneath the ensemble, Astarii had finally made herself ready for the diplomatic gala.

Ascending the marbled escalier, the woman knew that she was late to the festivities. While such an occurrence would've been an utterly foreign concept to Astarii, this time, she had made the exception. Though, she smiled at the thought of finally being able to use the excuse of being fashionably late.

 

[Bryce Bantam]

OBJECTIVE: Lucrehulk, Salvage or destroy "neutralize the threat"
LOCATION: Aboard the The Shining Starr in route to Lucrehulk
ALLIES: The Galactic Alliance, [member="Asmus Janes"] [member="kurvayami bloodborn"] [member="Alkor Centaris"] [member="Raachwaroo"] [member="Ria Misrani"] [member="Marcus Itera"] [member="Kalyn Tal'verda"] )
ENEMIES: Enemies of the Galactic Alliance and Naboo

Party

Spoiler

(1) squadron

Spoiler

Incom E-25

Spoiler

(3) Boarding craft filled with TKO Commandos
(1) Incom RebelX piloted by [member="Raachwaroo"]
(1) The Shining Starr piloted by me

"This is Carbon Dusk, well keep moving towards the computer to see if we can do anything from there. Eta - Roughly 5 minutes." She said over her comms

It was good to here the Dusk was making progress because there's had come to a complete stop. From the radio transmissions the droids still in their area of the ship had converged on them from every side. The commando units were holding their own but it was taking time to clear them, time they didn't have.

"Ria can you get us an alternate route, this way is not working..." BB said hoping Rai had a solution.

 

[Ria Misrani]

Objective: 3 / Salvage Lucrehulk
Location: Aboard the Shining Star, trailing Carbon Dusk
Allies: The Galactic Alliance, Kathol Outback ( [member="Marcus Itera"], [member="Bryce Bantam"], [member="Kalyn Tal'verda"], [member="Asmus Janes"], [member="Miles Varden"], [member="Alkor Centaris"], [member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]).
Enemies: Anything shooting me.

Ria nodded as she grabbed at her liquid dispenser cable and handed one end to Bryce. She took one last look at the schematics as she then shut the terminal and plugged her data card into her holorecorder. When it displayed the image of where they were she gestured to where they were and motioned to the shafts that they would need to take. From there she let her fingers move to motion, follow me. She hooked the other end of the cable to her bandoleer, it only had fifteen meters worth of cable but it should be enough to keep Bryce with her.

The young slicer began a careful climb up along pipes and pillars, doing what she could to avoid detection. Life on Nar Shaddaa had taught her well. She motions to the shaft entrance, asking for assistance to break it open. From there she leads the way, popping her holo recorder just to make sure she's reading the schematics and matching it up to the proper coordinates. Putting the holo back into her belt, she crawls on all fours leading the way through a very harsh environment - but one free of droids, turrets and hopefully, any other surprises.

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Ajira Cardei"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Cecily Demici"] | [member="Jamie Pyne"] | [member="Andromeda Versai"] |

Objective: Royal Ball
Location: Theed Airspace

4/20

Under the protective guise of it's cloak, and it's power output, gravitational shift and communications shielded by the dampening field surrounding the Initium, Darth Ayra bypassed the Naboo and their ability to monitor their space with relative ease. The Dark Lord of the Sith could determine this via the instruments on board her transport, because if she had been detected, then there would be half a dozen starfighters, deployed by the Naboo Starfighter Corps, heading towards her immediate position, so as to intercept her. Alas, Ayra did not register any ships were currently on an intercept course, and so under the assumption that her deception had worked, the Dark Lord moved herself into position above Theed.

In the distance, the Royal Palace- where the Royal Ball was currently taking place- loomed before the Dark Lord and she found it wanting. Darth Ayra was meticulous in her preparations, aware that at any moment, opportunities such as the one at present, could arise and subsequently be taken with both hands, metaphorically speaking. When she had left Chandrila, en route to Naboo, she was perfectly aware of the individuals that she was meeting with. Ajira Cardei, an infamous noblewoman and head of the Naboo Starfighter corps and Camellia Swift, owner of Rendili Stardrive, were important people to their respective worlds. If either were to die, it would have caused a significant incident to occur, causing the type of strife that the Dark Lord could use to her advantage.

Alas, the opportunity to kill either Cardei or Swift had never arisen during her week stay in Naboo, and so the possibility of manipulating their would-be deaths never came. But something larger, and much better, had come in their place. With the Galactic Alliance present on Naboo, and the various important bureaucrats, politicians and nobles that had gathered for the Royal Ball, presented a chance to frame a government that had recently rose to power near the Bespin system.

The First Order was set to be the faction that the Dark Lord of the Sith would frame for the attack that she could orchestrate on the Royal Palace. If successfully executed, the Galactic Alliance would be deceived into thinking that the First Order had utilized the Royal Ball as an opportunity to execute their most important figures; the bureaucrats, politicians and nobles of Naboo; and spoil the occasion, making the Naboo think otherwise of being pulled into a faction that was obviously at war with someone, consequentially stopping an important world from becoming a member of the Galactic Alliance.

Rising up from her pilot seat, the Dark Lord of the Sith left the Initium five kilometers away from the Royal Palace, on a vector that held the ship ten or so miles up from the planet surface and the city that loomed below it. Cloaked and under the machinations of it's dampening field, provided by it's PDF generator, Darth Ayra stood in a ship that was yet to be detected, and more importantly, wasn't being looked for. Neither the Naboo or the Galactic Alliance was expecting what was to come next...

 

[Placeholder 04]

Graxin's lips parted to speak as he heard a quiet buzzing in his ear. The message was short, but the meaning had all too much weight. He had to keep himself from scowling as Jacen apologized for the joke.

"Naboo as been strewn about from one galactic power to the next. Better we ask what the alliance can offer Naboo than the other way around. Your war with the Sith is admirable, but I'm not too keen on turning us from neutrality." The words were pointed but not at all hostile, "The Dark Lord is dead, and with his death a number of splinter groups are claiming power. If we ally with you, we become their enemy. If we stand for ourselves, we're obligated to no one."

There was the buzzing again.

"Unfortunately, there's something I need to attend to. Master Voidstalker, Lady Cardei," he bowed ever so slightly as he turned and went as fast as he could without running toward the doors.

[member="Ajira Cardei"], [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

LOCATION: Ball
OBJECTIVE: Ball
Nearby: [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Lilin Imperieuse"] [member="Cecily Demici"] [member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Solan Charr"]

Lord Rade's unexpected departure unsettled Ajira for two reasons. For one, he'd made intimations of using force to keep the Alliance out. A quiet word in the ear of a royal security starfighter commander -- from one denizen of Theed Hangar to another -- had produced a casual overflight, enough to verify that, yes. Graxin Rade had an army. Not a massive one, but large enough for a place like Naboo.

For another thing, he'd just left her holding the bag. If there was anyone to speak for Naboo's independence, or otherwise play Sith's advocate, it might well be her. And though she'd given Rade her personal support in private, the fact remained that his methods were too radical for her taste, and his cause too black-and-white. Depending on circumstances, inclusion in the Alliance might well be good for Naboo. Potentially. Despite standing at Rade's erstwhile side, she remained unconvinced.

That uncertainty extended to the rest of Theed Hangar's administrators. The Theed Palace Space Vessel Corps of Engineers comprised facilities on Naboo and all of its moons. Eight klicks' worth of capital ship and starfighter patrolled those facilities' airspace, and they were on alert.

"There are also differing norms to consider, Master Voidstalker. Variant standards of justice." A faint smile failed to reach her eyes. "Is your government still in the habit of imprisoning its ideological opponents within active volcanoes? Heat therapy, I think it's called? Such a pungent euphemism."

 

[Soleil Ishtar]

OBJECTIVE: Royal Ball
LOCATION: Theed Royal Palace, Her Majesty's Quarters
Post 3

---

[member="Cecily Demici"] - I'll just tag those who directly interact with me. Just to clean up the tags.

(ELEANORA) The Princess of Deeja Peak.

"Your Majesty," she said just before rising, "it warms my old heart to see you again, my dear. I trust you are doing well?"

The Queen gave a courtesy incline of her head in greeting, a small cordial smile gracing her thin lips as she cast her attention to the Princess of Deeja Peak.

“I am ever at the ready to serve Naboo, Princess Elenora.” it was a polite answer, to show that yes, she was doing well, all the more better with the seeming current circumstances, “To be able to see the people of Naboo celebrate without reserve brings me joy.”

“How do you fare?” the young teenager would ask the Princess. Her movements were shallow, deliberate. Seated upon an over viewing perch, the young woman would be able to scan the sea of faces. She would have to speak soon, and in that, she felt a slight trepidation.

 

[Cecily Demici]

OBJECTIVE: The Ball
ALLIES: Queen of Naboo, Nobility of Naboo, Solan Charrhttp://starwarsrp.net/user/2307-solan-charr/http://starwarsrp.net/user/2307-solan-charr/
IMMEDIATE: Jacen Voidstalkerhttp://starwarsrp.net/user/7221-jacen-voidstalker/http://starwarsrp.net/user/7221-jacen-voidstalker/ Graxin Rade Ajira Cardei Lilin Imperieuse
Post 5

(Eleanora)
"Good, good," the elderly Princess answered, nodding, "with the Union departing our world, the people have much to be thankful for, that much is certain. You included my dear."

Eleanora had never disguised her contempt for the Techno Union, even during their occupation of Naboo. The only thing that protected the old crone from their wrath were the near ten thousand troops that owed their allegiance to Deeja Peak and House Valeria. She'd shut the gates of Deeja Peak when the Techno Union arrived and opened them again only when she was certain they had departed. She had even brought a regiment of her guard to Theed with her.

"Yet, even in this time of great celebration, it is our duty to look toward the future of Naboo," Eleanora did not waste time shifting the subject, "word has reached my ear that several emissaries of the Galactic Alliance are here to share in our good fortune. I wonder, would it not be wise to treat with them? Naboo is vulnerable now, we must be prepared."

(Cecily)
Cecily glanced at [member="Solan Charr"] briefly as he offered a compliment to Taeli, looking a little puzzled, but her attention quickly turned back to [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]. For Cecily, and certainly for all of House Valeria, the question of whether or not to join the Galactic Alliance was quite simple. Naboo had no choice, but to ally itself with the greatest power in the region, otherwise they would face greater threats from a reemergence of the Union or even from approaching Sith interests. However, they would need to convince the other members of the nobility of the same.

All of these thoughts, and more, were put on hold as [member="Graxin Rade"] slipped away. His sudden and unexpected departure raised her curiosity and she noticed almost immediately that she wasn't the only one suspicious. She glanced around the the Ball Room at the balconies. House Valeria had brought along a small regiment of their personal guard to assist with palace security and she felt comforted seeing the emerald green uniforms mixed in with the Theed Royal Guard.

"I speak for the Princess of Deeja Peak and the entirety of House Valeria when I say that I feel Naboo has been too isolationist for too long," she said, hesitantly, unable to completely turn her attention back to the conversation at hand, "yet, we too share, Lady [member="Ajira Cardei"] 's concerns. We are a democratic people and we believe that the free exchange of ideas is of the utmost importance. Her Highness would be much dismayed to hear about political prisoners."

The Republic certainly had practiced similar methods, to be certain, though Cecily had never had intimate knowledge of these things. That sort of thing fell to the Ministry of Intelligence. Still, she couldn't seem too openly supportive of joining the Alliance, else she lose her credibility in the matter.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Graxin Rade"] [member="Cecily Demici"]

"Ah, always a controversial subject," Jacen replied. "If Lord Rade believe every world would be better independent, he should perhaps ask the Amar or Togorians how independence worked out for them. If he can find any of them still alive of course." He took another sip of the juice. Jacen decided a beer would be a welcome addition to the evening.

"Someone kills someone because they have a drug habit. Would you suggest imprisonment or rehabilitation? I wouldn't use the term 'political prisoner' to describe anyone who's been in those cells."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
Post#7

"False dichotomy," said Ajira without missing a beat. "Any competently designed prison system works toward rehabilitation whenever possible. And humane treatment is inextricable from competence. That's true regardless of the case study you pick."

Rather to her surprise, she found she had strong feelings on the subject. Oh, in her Sith Empire days she'd imprisoned oodles of people, directly or indirectly, but her position with the Fringe had carried the title of Arbiter. She'd spent years drilling the rule of law into the Darksiders of the Unknown Regions. And since then, her wife had been tortured while in custody.

"Master Voidstalker, I don't mean to be combative, but can you honestly tell us that the rule of law means the same thing in Galactic Alliance territory as it does on Naboo? Do you honestly believe our norms of justice and due process are compatible? I believe your government put one of its own leaders on public trial for treason rather recently, didn't they -- and then dropped the charges overnight? Tell me, at what point did your government fail to respect the rule of law -- when the trial was instituted, when it was dropped, or both?"

 

[Seydon of Arda]

Location: Artfully Opulent Palace Ball
Objective: Make A Living
Immediate Vicinity: Monied, Cultured People

#1

Hosting diplomatic conversations amidst a veneer of easy gaiety needed a strict appearance. The continuity of the event came down to the palace staff being able to trick the guests into believing the ball was a mixture of protocol dances, spiked juice bowls, imported serving meats, and sets of exotic entertainment. There were no drinks above a point nought seven percent solution. The music was equally tepid in its rehearsed jauntiness, long serving tables of honey-rose teak wood piled with genetically farmed animal and fruit products that were bred to produce dishes tasting either like chicken or strawberries. Elder blue bloods looked down over pale noses and slender necks, eyes watery and bright from hushed inbreeding, at the younger clique squads of whom they referred to as 'the Carte Blanche' crowd. Young adults hailing from well regarded families, but born too far along the inheritance line to be granted any station beyond that of 'Professional Socialites'.

Seydon took up a seat in a corner of the hall. He hadn't an entrance pass, nor any issued Naboo visas, but the quality of his black tunic and suit looked appropriately expensive and he dulled the fell colour in his eyes with a pair of crystal spectacles. The Dunaan only looked out of place because he wasn't practised in hiding his boredom. A heavy duffel bag rested on the marble tiling by his feet, a thong of nylon rigging looped around his right hand. It's lining was a combination of sensor cloth and entangled baffling webbing, enough to thwart the passive hall sensor fields regularly sniffing over the chatting crowds for any traces of tibanna-gas magazines, slug-powder residue, or baridium grease. The Carte Blanches were allowed the small fighting razors hidden up their sleeves. None of them were going to exit for the gardens to have any impromptu brawls but the tantalizing security of having sharp steel just in reach was security enough for the lot.

He paused in his chair, 'cleaned up' with brief thought and muscle exercises, clenching the flesh and ligaments cording his limbs and torso trunk. It took the cramp out of waiting and refreshed his wits. Seydon looked over the bobbing, multicoloured heads, checked against the chrono-piece on his left wrist. Two hours late and going on two and a half. Possibly, he miscalculated. The presence he expected to be showing at the gala may have caught on to his blood-hounding and taken flight for the swamplands. If so, he was almost welcoming the chance to ditch the smoothly hewn finery of the bland arcade facades and filtering window screens. A waiter approached offering a selection of watercress salads and hotroot shrimp soups. Gently, Seydon declined and looked again at the single, monolith door hinged open at the fore of the hall.

...And then it arrived with show. It was wearing the skin of a young woman named Dea-Jayne Aridala-Poule, third-in-line heiress to the A.P. majority share fortune owned by her family, dressed in an evening gown slit up one side to her hip and molded out of a piece of liquid emerald, fitted with diamond lozenges accentuating a taut belly and small, hard breasts. A dozen youngsters followed and fawned at her platinum heels. It was studied in couture; body language like silk in motion, dismissive, expectantly arrogant, the mannerisms of a praying mantis adjusting its wants from 'feed' to 'accommodate'. Seydon watched one young cocky example of manhood stroll up and barrage her with a witty flow of taxing compliments. It made Dea-Jayne Aridala-Poule's face smile before leaning in to his ear and whispering an eviscerating repartee. Nearby women blushed and hooted and clapped. It made its body bow cordially, looking up to find the dark man in the far corner with crystal glasses staring.

Seydon of Arda didn't smile, or nod, or bow or rise. Just unzipped the duffel sack open, slid his hand over Winterfang's cold grip. And waited.