Another Place and Time

[Kuxtal]

Kuxtal thought on this for a moment. How indeed?
He reached out with his mind.
"How does a Titan do naught but destroy... How does a ruler hold power without corruption... How does a beast ignore its instincts..."

Slowly, one screw at a time, one wire, one metal plate, the com-terminal on the wall slowly disassymbled, each part floating in the air.
The same happened to the food despenser, each individual part undoing itself to float gently in the air. Unmoving.

"They overcome nature..."

The parts from the two different machines floated toward eachother, swirling and combining into a confused orbit in the room.

"They overcome nurture..."

The parts floated back to stand immobile before where the machines originally mounted.

"They overcome flawed design..."

The parts began putting themselves back together, not a single piece mixed or switched as they returned to working order in their original spots with the circuitry of the walls.
He looked at Kay Arenais. His face showed neither arrogance nor humility, but a sad realization of truth was etched into his expression.
"Chaos is born of Nature... Nurture... And flawed design... How can a beast escape its instincts? By overcoming Nature. How can a ruler escape corruption? By overcoming Nurture. How can a Titan prevent destruction? By overcoming flawed design."

In his mind he was all three of these... And he would overcome them all... He HAS overcome them all...

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay watched silently as [member="Kuxtal"] displayed some of his talents while he explained his points. She found herself agreeing with some of it. But not all.

And that part was on Nurture.

She shifted her weight a little, as she spoke up. "Corruption and Nurture aren't the same thing. Nurturing is caring for others beside yourself, looking after their needs to live and be loved. I believe that you could be confusing Nurture with Greed." There was plenty of corruption when it came to greed.

Kuxtal was a powerful one. And so far he was on her side. A part of her wondered if he always will be; or if like wuth her husband; they would follow different paths and disagree on nearly everything.

 

[Kuxtal]

He turned back to Kay Arenais and waved his hand dismissively.
"It's mere philosophy. I don't speak of nurturing that would come from a good mother, but the nurture of a galaxy, a society, events of ones life that would shape a boy into a man, a girl into a woman. For each creature is an inborn understanding of right and wrong deeply planted in its heart. But over the course of life and the nurture one receives and the decisions we make, the heart can become calloused and hard, the conscience seared so that right and wrong is no longer so clear brought on by experiences and the nurture of an already corrupted and seared galaxy. The heart of Sheev Palpatine was scorched to ash."

He walked back to the couch and sat down again, "Would that the nurturing of a mother... Caring and giving to others and sacrificing of yourself for the good of others... The galaxy would be a much softer, more peaceful place... If that's really all it took."

He leaned back in contemplation for another moment, "There are a precious few who would be helped or persuaded by such nurturing... This is a galaxy of violent Chaos in need of firm order. This galaxy is a child, and the only individuals who can reach high enough to be its parent have proven to be poor judges... Or evil beyond comprehension. This is because anyone who would be a "Good parent" are far too humble or apathetic to take on the responsibility."

"The Jedi of the Old Republic for one. They had allied themselves with the republic and could have influenced it greatly in the right direction. But they couldn't imagine taking the reigns of a whole government like the sith had done, not even to do what was right, and in doing so became blind and apathetic to the evils in their midst because they had hardened their hearts to taking action against their allies when they did wrong."

By now he felt like his was babbling, or simply ranting. Perhaps an effect of his solitude. His strength was returning but he was still exhausted. He shook his head sadly to himself. Then he gave a kindly smile and looked up at Kay.
"But enough nonsense from me. I was wondering if you could help me to understand the intricacies of your government and empire here."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded a little as she listened to [member="Kuxtal"] as he explained his thoughts. Now she had a better understanding of what he had meant. Sure the Galaxy may be better off if a peaceful one was in power, but as he said, even the peaceful ones weren't without corruption of their own in some form. She went through that herself when she refused to aid her allies in their fights against Darkness, all in an effort to protect her people. In the end it had failed. Out here on Zakuul, she was alone. So they had to look after themselves.

Then the change of topic came. "Well, it is only just beginning. Zakuul has recently gained it's independence from Imperial rule. I plan on building the economy, as well as our military and fleets. I won't just sit idly by while our few allies are slaughtered. But that is only if they allow us to interfere. And those that strike at us will be hit back and hard so that they'll rethink their efforts. I won't allow myself to be backed into a corner again."

 

[Kuxtal]

Kuxtal nodded. So she was taking action to protect her people. Zakuul was large for a planet and very self sustaining. But Kuxtal wondered if the resources of a single planet were enough to come together and build up an armada to rival the resources of enemies collected from many worlds.
As some who knew of the old histories as he did before his exile, he had heard of what was known as the eternal empire, that commanded an armada of millions of automated battleships controlled by the eternal throne.

The Eternal Empire of Zakuul was a military superpower in its day. Kuxtal wondered if it were possible for it be so again...
"So you are not certain of the strength of Zakuul? When last I learned about Zakuul it still had much of its surface, its swamps and its seas unexplored and still rich in resources. Is this no longer the case? Also I sense a balance of the force here, and many of the inhabitance of this world have very strong connections to it. But still I don't sense your confidence."