Location: Hex L-49
Objective: Things Fall Apart
Allies: Galactic Alliance
Enemies: First Order
Proximity: [member="Natasi Fortan"] | [member="Samka Derith"]
Observation Lounge
"You are far too kind," Jaius chuckled at Natasi's hedging remarks, a faint shimmer in his obsidian orbs marked the equivalent of a Sullustan's twinkling eye. At his age, for Mother Sovv to be among the living with be a feat indeed, "She is long passed, the memory now a distant enough one to not invoke quite so much pain anymore."
The diminutive alien leaned back in his comfortable, ornately furnished chair, continuing to nurse at his cocktail as he examined the game board between them. Several rounds had now passed in their mental bout, the chaos of its first strokes now solidifying into a more coherent duel of wills. President Sovv was making a respectable showing, but the Grand Moff had not been exaggerating when she had warned him of her experienced prowess.
And yet, it was not altogether unsatisfying anyway. Chess would always be dominated by those minds who yearned for victory, and yet there was something to be said about playing a beautiful game. Win or lose, come what may. In the meantime, there was enjoyable company, stimulating conversation, and expensive drink. There was hardly more one could ask for in an evening, it would be almost picturesque...if it were not for the viewport in the room.
"Mother Sovv was...well she was warm and caring, like all Sullustan mothers I suppose," trying not to think about what was going on outside the confines of the
Concordia, Jaius struggled to stay in the moment as he grasped for a satisfactory answer, "Fiercely protective of her brood and concerned for our future. My family has a proud military tradition, I am something of a...notable exception. So I suppose in that way she had more to worry about than most."
The telltale hues of stray turbolaser fire was visible now, as although President Sovv didn't know it the Reusrgent had moved up to the front lines of the Imperial formation. Every so often, out of the corner of his eye, he could catch a glimpse of a passing starfighter in the distance. They were not always TIEs. He was on the verge of breaking their cardinal rule, but if he didn't know Natasi better he would think tonight's...'entertainment' was some new form of cruel and unusual punishment.
He wanted to ask her what was going on, what they were doing here. Where they were. Who they were shooting at. But what answer could she provide? To divulge enough that his curiosity would be sated, she would have to risk her position, and Jaius was in no mood for deft political evasions. In either case, it would sour the present mood between them irreversibly, and all for what would amount to very little practical gain. In the end, even if President Sovv had unrestricted access to Imperial tactical briefings, he would not be able to
do anything about it.
He was still, after all, their prisoner. Trapped in the Grand Moff's gilded cage.
"I lost two sons in the last One Sith war," he said instead after a short while, his voice quiet, "The first on Lujo, and then my eldest during the liberation of Coruscant. They died gallantly in service to the Light. I miss them both terribly."
The old statesman raised his glass in salute and downed it in one gulp. The confession had surprised even him, for a part of his conscience could not help but feel that to volunteer such personal information to someone who was essentially his captor was a violation of their memory in some way. But Natasi had confided in him about her brother and cousin, had shared such painful memories with her enemy. Who would he be in the eyes of his sons if he didn't treat his enemies with the same respect they showed him?
Outside the observation lounge there was the staccato patter of boots on deck plating as ship personnel hurried along the corridor from one station to another. The rhythm of their footfalls matched the pounding in the Sullustan's chest. Another intermittent reminder that the two of them were suspended in a bubble, a bulwark against reality that their privileged statuses afforded them. Outside these walls, men were dying. Sons and daughters of Dosuun and Sullust both.
Jaius looked at the board, and this time instead of pieces he saw their faces. He looked at the pile of white pawns discarded from the board and tossed to the side, and he saw his little boys.
"Your move," he said, trying not to let this world shattering pain show in his age worn features. Two men in uniforms pulling up in a landspeeder the day after the battle at Lujo. Coruscant was now free, but he would never see his firstborn again until he too was one with the Force.
How high a cost, how fleeting blood paid for peace.
