Private Depths of Friendship

[Annasari]

Location: Ketaris
Tags: Enlil

Following the guard, Annasari surveyed the area, eyes flickering around the long corridor. Everything seemed elegant, fitting of a king, from the silk drapes to the various vases that stood upon their marble pillars. It wasn't surprising, given who she was visiting. She hadn't seen the young ruler since the mess that was Olanet- though to be fair, she hadn't been around much herself. Her failures had sent her spiraling, made worse by the riots that ensued aboard the Scintilla. Anna had slunk back to hiding in bars and spice dens, falling down the hole once again, unable to handle the pressure.

No more would she hide from her mistakes.

She had pulled herself out of it, cold turkey. Days were spent locked away in her quarters, nausea and pain almost palpable in the air. She had emerged a new woman, determined to follow her heart once more. Enlil had been one of the first she looked up, and the news of him joining the Imperials was unsurprising in the least. He had made his views on law and order quite clear in their past meetings, and an authoritarian government didn't lack in either. As news of the Alliance joining the war against the Sith reached her office, it gave her hope once more. The Agents may have taken a backseat in the galaxy for now, but she wasn't done toppling empires yet. The woman had left immediately after, Ketaris her first destination.

"Wait here."

The guard's baritone voice rang out, interrupting her thoughts. He had gestured to a group of small chairs, outside a wooden set of doors. Annasari settled into the seat, the plush cushion beneath her sparing her boney frame.

 

[Enlil]

He glanced up when the doors swung open. "My lord, you have a guest."

The King took most by appointment, but on his least busy days, there were times when others came to visit or entreat with him. There had been several citizen concerns in the past few days. Naturally, he expected this situation to be one such. "Another concern about the new tax code?" he asked wearily. "I've explained that an informative pamphlet will be distributed in the coming weeks-"

"An off offworlder, my lord," he cut in. "Someone who said she knows you. Something about Siskeen?"

Enlil frowned. That was something he had not expected to hear; and the situation was one he explicitly told Alwine he did not approve of. Any of those people knew better than to approach him with further talk of Chaos. His condemnation of the Confederacy, open and vocal, would drive them away from seven parsecs of Ketaris. Who could it be?

"So be it. Send them in."

He stood up, still wrapped in bandages and with bacta patches littered across his torso. The King cleared a seat and the table for the Newcomer. The guard stepped out and spoke.

"You may enter."

Annasari

 

[Annasari]

Tags: Enlil

Anna rose and made her way through the doors, taking in the sight of him. It had only been a little over a year, yet it seemed a lifetime. The young man she had met in Dibb's office had morphed into a pillar of power, his very presence demanding respect. The dressings that covered his stomach were not lost on her, and as she glanced at them the woman arched an eyebrow. Eventually, her gaze returned to his face, and she gave a brief bow, hoping to honor his title. As she stood straight once again, a warm smile slowly crept across her face.

"Enlil. It's nice to see you again. I apologize, I would have sent word first, but I fear the Agents would not have been understanding had they knew my purpose."

She strolled casually across the distance between them, footsteps echoing.

"I never got to thank you for saving me from the Confederacy's grasp- so, thank you. If there is ever a way I can repay the debt, do not hesitate to let me know."

Her hand waved to the chair across from his, inquiring.

"May I?"

 

[Enlil]

When he saw her, he slowly remembered her face. One of the Agents of Chaos and possibly the most actually interested in peace, it had been her words that swayed him to take part in the operation at all. She promised that their intent was genuine. It was Scherezade deWinter and Alwine Daye who confirmed that there was more to the madness than they previously went on. The King had not asked further questions of any of their members. He counted his loss and took his leave with no condemnation. As one complicit with their actions, he had no moral standing to cast judgment, nor did he wish to grind his name further into dust for association.

Instead, he moved forward. He fought the Sith and joined with the New Empire, and Enlil became King of Ketaris. With these actions, he began to mend the wound to his reputation that the Agents of Chaos had torn open. Now, Annasari said that the Agents would never have approved her coming to him if they knew her reasons?

"Please," he gestured to the seat she requested. "Wine?" he asked.

He poured himself a glass as he waited for her response. "I did what had to be done to serve Justice," he said. "Regardless of the authenticity of the Agents' desire for peace, the actions of the Confederacy were reprehensible. The people of Siskeen suffered for the egregious and poisonous actions of their leader. Innocent people."

He matched her gaze expectantly. "There was no justice anywhere in that place. I was not about to abide them slandering its name with their delusions about what is right. And so, I am glad to see you alive and well, and know that you owe me nothing.

What brings you to Ketaris?"

Annasari

 

[Annasari]

Tags: Enlil

As the wine was poured, she eyed in longingly, biting her lip. The crimson droplets sang their eerie siren's call, a promise to take off the edge. She had been stressed, she rationalized, and surely one drink wouldn't hurt things...

Her mouth stretched into a grimace as she fought the temptation. She couldn't- her newfound clarity would not be so easily given up. Shaking her head, she finally responded.

"No, thank you."

A small sigh escaped her at his next question. She had considered the why the entirety of the long journey from the unknown regions, but words failed her. The secrecy of her fellows, their handling of their own civilians, the drive she felt to still make a difference, no matter how big or small. Her eyes floated the vaulted ceiling as she thought for a moment, choosing what to give.

"The agents avoided backing major galactic governments when they could... Though they would have loved to see some of the tyrannous monsters torn down as others warred against them, the nature of their organization would have put them in the line of fire as soon as the battle was won. They held no morals, but one: chaos. Though I thought for a long time that was the only way, I see there are now other avenues to help those living under oppression."

Her gaze finally returned to his, electric blue meeting ruby red.

"I think our interests may once again align. I desire the decline of The Sith Empire- as do your Imperials, as does the Alliance, and as do you, if my information is correct. However, I had no real substance to offer, outside of a pretty face, a golden tongue, and a pure heart. Though, I would argue that that trifecta can be a powerful combination, in the right scenarios."

She shifted in her chair, leaning forward slightly.

"So I suppose I'm brought here to offer myself up to aid, in whatever way is needed. I understand if you can't take my words in good faith due to the actions of others- but all I want is to end the vile nations who wrong their people."

 

[Enlil]

"Those who want to see justice are often the ones who have been most deprived of it."

Enlil rose from his seat seat turned toward one of the windows that overlooked the capital city. He walked closer and stopped just short of his nose pressing against it. He took a sip of his wine and his eyes narrowed.

"I fine no fault with your reasoning, and I can understand wanting to do the right thing," he spoke mildly as he watched the demolition of the old Senate building, a relic of the old and wasteful ways of Ketaris' past. The plans new buildings were strewn on parts of the table in front of Annasari, if she happened to look toward them. A new face for the University, and a new building for the Xenoarchaeology department.

"The question I want to ask doesn't concern your adequacy for the part, but more apt, your reasons." He glanced toward her sidelong. "What drives you, personally? You say that you want to see an end to the corruption. For what reason? What drives you? Is this a chaotic vendetta toward all things authoritative? Will you turn your sights on the New Empire when all other enemies are out of sight? Or is your enemy the evils that plague this Galaxy? Speak honestly."

Annasari

 

[Annasari]

Tags: Enlil

She shook her head once more, though much slower than before. The world around her felt disconnected as a million memories resurfaced. The dingy warehouses, the crowded streets. A place called home that was never really home. The mask on her face, the lights of the clubs, probing hands streaking her pale flesh with invisible dirt, never able to be scrubbed away. Her eyes shut tightly. Anna attempted to push the thoughts back into the depths of her mind, where they couldn't hurt her.

Her lids fluttered open once more, her gaze finding the ruler again. She extended her left arm, her right hand pulling away the sleeve of her top to reveal a brand on her wrist. Even after all these years, it still looked as angry as she felt.

"I've learned first hand how evil can stain a planet, hurt its people. I also know that evil thrives under Sith."

Her voice was full of grief- but for what? Even she herself couldn't place quite it. Lost years, a forlorn love, stolen autonomy? No matter how much time passed, the loss of all that was taken from her still weighed heavy.

"I'm from Nar Shadda..." She began, arm falling to her lap once more. "Many competed for the notorious moon, seeing it's organizations as a positive. Black Sun reigned the longest. I'll spare my entire life's story, but I found myself indebted to one of the cartels. They were backed by the sun, protected by them, so there wasn't any help even if our authorities had been worth a chit. Slavery was illegal, but forcing someone to work off their dues under threat of death wasn't."

Her words were laced with venom, a quiet rage seeping the area around her. Fingers stroked her scar, the only proof the horrors she had experienced were real.

"It was brothels at first, while I was young enough to make them a pretty penny. Then deliveries. Eventually, I met one of the higher-ups. He took a liking to me, became obsessed. Used his power to pull me off the dangerous streets, set me to packing instead. Said I owed him for that... We ended up together. I ended up getting on the boss's good side, started pulling strings behind the scenes. I thought that was good- meant maybe when that day came I could get out, I'd have an advantage."

A shiver rolled down her spine, the complacency haunting her.

"Finally, it did come. The Hutt that led that Black Sun fell, and for days the moon fell into chaos. I was set to catch a ride the next week. But another rose before that could happen- a twi'lek. Before we knew it, the One Sith had a presence on the ground, a new partnership founded between the two. Things only got worse from there."

A moment of silence fell as the room around them faded. Her screams echoed off the metal walls, her face contorting as the poker touched her back. Jak'obi and Warrick stood in front of her, a smirk on one face, the other stoic. It had only been a moment, but it seemed forever before the office appeared around her once more. Anna cleared her throat, attempting to move away from the past.

"As I said, I have seen it all first hand. The Imperials will never hear so much as a protest from me- they may rule with an iron fist, but it's a just one. The Sith Empire is not the One Sith, but they have done far worse. I was voiceless for a long time- but no more. If others will not speak on behalf of those who cannot, nothing changes. I do my best to do so, though I am only a person, and have my own faults."

 

[Enlil]

The King sat himself down on the window sil as he listened intently. When he'd first met the woman, he never expected that she would seek him out after the Agents of Chaos made use of him and promptly discarded him. That she chose of her own volition to end up on his doorstep bespoke a fearlessness that she must have fought within herself to find.

His gaze moved now to the stars in the sky, the endless sea of night that once haunted his dreams for countless millennia. As a boy, he wanted to see them closely and learn their secrets. Time had given him his desires, yet robbed him of the magic that once enchanted them. Such was life that even the most beautiful of things inevitably dulled.

Annasari proved that behind the brightness that she gave off, a murder truth lay in hiding. Enlil could only respect her further for unearthing it before a man she barely knew. The King lifted his drink once more, this time for far longer. He emptied it in silence.

It was no small thing that the woman declined a drink. Perhaps alcohol was the sole thing that kept her from loneliness with such cruel memories. Aslu knew, Enlil could empathize with that.

"Every story starts and ends with a reason," he offered. "Your desires are born of tragedy: one that shaped you and molded your beliefs. I can be assured of your tenacity."

His eyes shifted to her at last, and he placed the goblet down next to him gently. "Such raw emotion can be made to serve the very enemy you seek to oppose. If I am to accept you, it must be with measures of caution." He snapped his fingers. An aide entered the room..

"The necessary papers will be drawn up. In the meantime, you will be my guest here on Ketaris with all the protections afforded to someone of my own station. That all aside, you must vow to me that you will subdue any and all emotion and act only out of reason when in the line of duty. This is the code to which I adhere strictly, and one I will demand of those in my direct counsel."

The aide rushed forward and laid several papers out on the table in front of Anna, detailing the contract Enlil had drawn up for his staff and that all of his advisors had signed. "This particular document has an exit clause that will allow it to be voided after the Sith have been removed from power. If it such a time you deign to leave, you will be free to go. Are these terms amicable to you?"

Enlil had watched with his own eyes as an evil beyond words consumed his world. He was powerless to stop them from devouring the life force of his people and the very planet. He knew all too well the rage and sorrow that drove a person disenfranchised by circumstance.

He was content to give the woman what she desperately sought- a chance to fight for Justice and Order.

Annasari

 

[Annasari]

His first words had a calming effect, the rush of pain soothed just a bit. There were no remarks or gestures that could ever undo the damage, yet one thing was sure: in a way, she was stronger for the suffering she had endured. Just as a sheet of steel took the heftiest strikes to be shaped into a honed blade, so too did her mind.

Her hands brushed across the documents presented, the rough texture helping ground her. Annasari made note of his words. She had allowed herself to be twisted and manipulated many a time, but her past would not cast a shadow on the sun that had risen once again. Everything had a chance to be different this time. She leaned in, following the lines upon lines of small print until she had finished the pages. Finally, she looked up to him, breaking the quiet.

"I promise you my emotions will not interfere. While I have been one to think with my heart and not my head, we see what that has done. Siskeen hurt, but it gave me clarity. I put blind trust she had given Dibb all because he claimed to desire freedom. The look on the faces of those who had lost relatives in the bombings still haunts me. While Scherezade had arranged the meeting, I held the fuel the ignited the fire, giving my seal of approval on the papers. The burden of the refugees lost that day and the part I played will forever be my anchor. I won't allow myself to be played a fool by the want to help others again. You have my word all I do while I am here will be through logic, not impulse."

She picked up a stray pen, scrawling her signature on the dotted line, before rising and extending a hand.

"Everything seems adequate. Thank you, Enlil."

Enlil