Festival of the Lotus | Open To All

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

A dark, brow lofted. Arm looped casually around Mal's. Booted-feet padded softly along the floor as her long strides easily kept pace with her fellow sith. Dark-eyes flitted around. There were all sorts of people here. Clearly not just sith. And no one had started a fight?

Maybe?

She was used to exploring and plundering sith runes or causing people to go insane with horrible nightmares. This was something new.

"What exactly do we DO here?"

The Omwati-hybrid leaned slightly into her date.

 

[WolfMortum]

Veiere walked with a calm pace beside [member="Lady Kay"], his fingers laced in her own as his gaze took to the festivities around them. Kay commented quietly on the change to what was meant to be the natural flow of energies around them; what was in most other cases a strong presence of life in the galaxy now seemed detached and transparent. "Unusual..." He whispered more so to himself, a slight frown crossing him as his focus turned to those who shared in the exploits of this light hearted venture; "I'm not sure they how achieved it, but it does lessen the risks for both of us..." he replied to her with a little more strength to his voice, offering her a brief smile as he turned back in on themselves.

Both of them were in positions of political power now, Kay Larr of Commenor and now he himself as King Regent over Ession until [member="Cedric Grayson"] had come of age and completed his training under Veiere's guidance. Both of them had a certain level of risk to consider when being in such a public light and yet so to did the both of them need this. Veiere had worked hard to sway Kay's trust in him back from the grasp of Prazutis' influence and onslaught of her innocence. The people of her world didn't understand nor even acknowledge the changes anymore, they'd grown to trust Kay before and continued to do so long afterwards yet those few who had been close to her had seen the darkness. Here on this world however, neither it nor the light could be distinguished from one another, the veil of the force hanging over them felt so much weaker that Veiere could scarcely focus on the connection they both shared.

"So then...-Which wanna-be suitor invited you to this little party..." He spoke up once more, though this time with a clear show of skepticism in his voice. Not so much for their environment but more the fact that Kay seemed to have a knack for attracting male attention, no matter how unwanting it was. "It would be very Non-Jedi of me to bloody the nose of our host...-I'd best be sure to know which man he is among this crowd, wouldn't I" He smirked a little. Masking his more envious of memorys for humor in the presence, both trying to inspire a laugh out of her whilst probing for sign of his next would-be challenger. He had been away for a couple of months since finding Cyril's holocron and Kay's company was something that he'd sorely missed.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay had worn her contacts, as was her new custom when being in close proximity with strangers. She wanted the yellow speckles of corruption hidden from view. So few knew of her Force sensitivity, and some of her alliances hung in the balance should the truth come out.

[member="Veiere Arenais"] ' comment on would-be suitors did generate a laugh from her as he had hoped. Although she lacked the memories that he had of being her escort to other worlds while she was invited to parties and fundraisers, she still found his comment to be funny and endearing. Ever the protector and loyal to a fault. Her own devotion grew for him with each moment that they spent together. Those moments were not as often as she'd like. But she deemed to make the best of them when she was blessed with his company.

"No one in particular invited me. I saw a broadcast about it and entered myself and [member="Darlyn Excron"] to one of the events. A few others have joined our team as well. As for this evening, the only wanna-be suitor is you, should you have a desire for such a thing." Kay gave his hand a gentle squeeze. If Veiere was unnerved by the oddness of this place, then she would worry less too. With the excited energy all around them, it was going to be easy to get lost in it all.

 

[WolfMortum]

"Hah!" He laughed, a notable emphasis in her small victory and play on his words, "I have had a desire for such things since before you could remember..." his smile turned into a confident smirk though the retort was borderline dangerous of darkening the subject between them; she of whom couldn't remember such things due to the defilement of another. Still, he held his gaze to hers and ever so determined to keep the subject light and carefree, he shifted the focus to that of [member="Darlyn Excron"], "So you haven't killed him yet then...-'My Queen" he spoke her title teasingly, suggesting she might be provoked into some sort of royal dilemma over the remark; "You really do trust me, after all, hm?".

He had kept no secrets with [member="Lady Kay"] surrounding the recent company he had shared with Darlyn. In fact he had straight up informed her that Darlyn was going to be looking out for her where he could not. Specifically within the royal palace on Commenor where Veiere's presence these days was considered a great risk to security, thanks to the infiltration of the Sith Lord, Prazutis. The former jedi, however was not without his influences and having lived on Commenor for the year since Kay had started her presidency, he had earned a great deal of loyalty from the staff as well as knowledge surrounding Chasin City that he most often abused to remain neutral and out of the sights of those that might seek to eliminate his presence from Kay's life.

"Pray tell, what we were to do should the public eye see us together like this..." He leaned in to speak closer to her, his mood was well above lesser times and smiling as he spoke, he treated the moment like it was some laughable conspiracy; "Queen of Commenor with the trecherous new Lord of Ession...-Whatever would the Holonet have to say about that. Comment on our attire...-Make fun of your hair..." His sarcasm died briefly as he raised a hand to brush through her hair, sweeping it beyond her shoulder, "Which is looking lovely by the way" he added quickly to save himself from falling into a hole he himself had dug.

"Honestly though..." He turned back to focus on the path they walked, still holding her hand and showing no desire to distance themselves; simply speaking openly as they always had together; "What do you think the people would make of all this...-Us here, among so many others when we've tried to keep things under the radar for so long. Has something changed that I do not know about?".

 

[Darth Osano]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Oh, look. She was on his arm.

And they said good things never happened to bad people.

"Observe," Maleagant replied. He eyed one of the golems as they strolled idly by, sizing it up like a jewel thief would a diamond necklace. "Indulge, if you can."

Among the more recognizable faces Maleagant could identify in the crowd were Commenor's monarch and the acting proprietor of Darkwater Security. It had apparently been no exaggeration when Maleagant had heard the invitations went out to everyone, everywhere. But as far as government figures and corporate moguls went, they were rather minor. The festival must not have been high brow enough for the rest of the galaxy's uppermost echelons. How very sad.

"Don't tell me you've never been to a festival."

Although, to be fair, it had been some time since Maleagant had attended one himself. If he recalled correctly, the vast majority of his family had still been alive and blissfully un-murdered at the time. Truly, it must have been a long time ago indeed..

 

[Kendall Ginn]

As Kendall fell off to the edge of the crowds as they continued to disperse, he say a few more interesting faces popping out of the woodwork. Some fun faces appear from Commenor. Not enough to pull action from Kendall, but it's good to notice, since Kendall attempts to keep tabs on Commenor's happenings. It was too close to his zone of interest for him to assume it wont pose issues, though there is of course no reason to assume that is the case either. He saw a newscast attempting to make reason of an absurd situation. His most interesting observation was a woman pulling out a bottle, filling it with nothing and putting it away. At least, that's what it looked like. Ready to chalk it up to some strange mannerism, the woman set off quietly behind her companion. They went with purpose, so it's safe to think their interest isn't solely in the festivities. Then again, was that the case for anyone here? Oh well, it was something to do, Kendall began to trail them, moving with the crowd, but keeping them in eyesight.

Unknown to Kendall the two he began following were [member="Lynn Nantaris"] and [member="Valiens Nantaris"] .

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow, an amused look on her face as [member="Veiere Arenais"] laughed. Whether he was commenting on their age difference or to her lost memories that she was still working on to recover, she didn't know. But he certainly wouldn't be taking a stab at her to make her feel bad. Veiere's recovery with joking about Darlyn and her trust in them both did pull him out of the ditch a bit. "No, he's not dead yet. Darlyn has learned to make a great cup of tea. That's one reason to keep him around...My Lord." If he wanted to play with titles, than so shall she.

She was captivated while Veiere showed his playful side. Normally the two were so reserved, so careful of others seeing them together, but at this moment it was completely different. Sure there were a lot of people around, but to Kay, Luminoss was empty, save for the two of them. Her eyes closed briefly while he brushed his hand through her hair, her eyes opening once again as he commented on it. He was looking for answers or perhaps an affirmation of what he felt. What they both felt.

Kay moved even closer to him while they walked, if that was even possible. She brought her finger up to her lips and then whispered, "Shhh....The holonet doesn't know that we're here. With everyone about, we won't be spotted." What had changed? It was hard for her to put a finger on it. She just felt different. Maybe that comes with acceptance, and of knowing that she wasn't alone in her struggles. It lifts a certain burden off one's shoulders. "What has changed is your style of clothing tonight. And I must say that I approve. Perhaps I should be on the lookout for would-be suitors wanting to vy for your hand. Would it be so embarrassing and unQueenly of me to punch my competition in the nose?"

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

For a few seconds, Kaile's expression froze. A Lorrdian was so easy to read if one knew exactly what to look for. What subtle nuances that would dance and form over a brow, in the twitch of a mouth, the pulse of a nerve.

For Kaile, it was a medley of surprise, shock, dawning awareness, a brief flutter of amazement, followed by the widening realization of just what this meant. In between were shades of joy at seeing Jay Four, having already mentally prepared herself for what typical protocol would entail. Wiping Jay Four was an unfortunate necessity and not something that the agent had any clout to halt.

So seeing Jay Four took Kaile aback. It was the weak, guilt-laden half smile and the wiggle of Asmus' hands that made everything snap into place. Oh no...

Kaile's mouth fell, only to close back up.

"Jay Four, I... wait what?" more confusion went scattering over her expression, turning from the droid back to Asmus again. Was he being serious?

"Fifteen ways to kill a man?" lips pursed and then she gave a slight deadpan stare to Asmus - even if it was so terribly hard to maintain it. He had the exact expression of a little boy caught with his hands in the cookie jar and sheepishly trying to not avoid Kaile's probing gaze.

The agent gave a brief wag of her brows almost as if to say, 'Asmus!'

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

“That bit wasn't me!” He sighed and rolled his eyes. Meeting her expression he rattled off what had happened. “Vo thought it might be good for us to have some backup protection so he wanted him flashed with tactical subroutines. But that's after I hightailed it down droid maintenance and made a deal. I owe a couple of favours but they just erased a few sensitive details like the identity of the man we extracted but left everything else and his personality matrix in tact.”

He took a breath in and offered another little shrug.

[Well I can see you both have things to discuss but we have clear operational parameters. I am going to head out and start to look around.]

Asmus turned to Jay and raised an eyebrow. “Well, looks like those subroutines have kicked in nicely. But hang on, who is in charge here?”

Jay wasted no time in raising one arm and pointing square at Kaile’s face.

“Right and who is in charge between you and me?” Asmus asked. With his right hand he pointed from the droid to himself and back again.

Jay gave a noncommittal shrug and turned to face Kaile, waiting for permission to go outside.

“I can see you trying not to laugh!” Asmus accused Kaile, trying not to do so himself.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

"So certain?" the Lorrdian agent shot back in a challenging quip. Although, the bulk of her positioning in the matter falling to the wayside by the fact that she had, indeed, ended up fighting the twitch at the corners of her lips.

A roll of her eyes, and she simply shook her head. "Come on, we might as well get on with it before he ends up using those fifteen different ways to kill a man." Kaile had no shame in emphasizing that bit. Asmus couldn't have done this himself. He had to have had help.

As the trio made their way out, Kaile murmured low,"Alright... spill." that is, explain it all. With as much as he'd been rocking on his heels and shifting his weight, Kaile could very well read that he felt he had to explain himself.

In the meantime, Kaile did her best to try and hide her joy at the knowledge that Jay Four hadn't been wiped. She failed.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus slipped the fingers of his left hand into her right. Perhaps he felt that being anchored to her would lessen any beration he was due.

"So Ro'vena, the woman in charge of Ghosts, she hasn't had her BB unit personality flushed since she joined. Has an arrangement with the woman down in droid maintenance that she just wipes the sensitive things. Generally she isolates the hyperspace calculations and location parameters and wipes them. Easier for her that BB unit is the sweetest thing in the world."

[And I'm not? ] Jay chimed in incredulously.

"But I owe a few favours now and we'll be missing the holoprojector again for a bit, but she obliged and Jay's still here."

[Thank you.]

He paused and looked around them. On the ground the place was even more bizarre than it had seemed from space. In a galaxy teeming with different species and cultures this place had managed to feel alien to him.

"Vo went rifling through my old files. Naval intelligence analyst came up second recommendation in my assessments. After navigational officer. Starfighter pilot was down in third place. But... He thinks I'm a little impulsive. Yeah, how would he get that idea?" He laughed seeing her expression. "So now Jay is here to keep an eye on us and deal with any trouble. Got a few upgrades too."

He fell silent as [member="Mobius"] walked straight from the crowd towards them. Recognised already. That was potentially problematic.

"Actually I'm retired now. I work with Incom as a test pilot. We have a team in the pod race, you're going to watch?"

 

[WolfMortum]

Veiere scoffed in disagreement, [member="Lady Kay"] seemed rather pleased with his new attire, the dress robes of the society of Ession felt much to fancy for his tastes. "I was rather attached to my Jedi attire..." He responded pessimistically, "These robes would not do me any good if something ill fated were to meet us tonight..." he rolled his eyes at his own expense, forcing a slim smile to Kay to reassure her that the humor in the remark hadn't gone over his head. "You may be used to dressing up for other people but I certainly am not...Never before have such things been so much of an importance in my life, save for impressing you perhaps" he offered an awkward smile, glancing sideways to her. "But these days I find myself being chased down by servants of the royal family of Ession, they're worse than what I'd imagine parents are like. Telling me how to dress, how I should look more appropriate when dealing with the public eye. You'd think they looked at me like some sort of child...-You won't believe it but one of them tried to shave me. I damn near sent the poor fool through the window..." He shook his head slowly, the prospect of being clean shaving might have appealed to him in his youth when he had the council to look up to but these days he was very much his own man and the beard had grown on him...-Literally.

"Thankfully it won't be like this forever...-They've named me King Regent, that will only last until the boy is ready to stand on his own feet. Perhaps by then you will have finished your term and we can look to live a far less exciting life..." He mused though it had escaped him in the moment that Kay had been torn of those memories. Turning to look back to her once more out of concern for how she might take the remark, he reminded her gently, "We did always talk about what might happen when you were to step away from all the politics...-Finally get out of the spotlight and make something of our days together...-Then you'd be the one telling me how to dress, I suppose...".

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay did her very best not to laugh at [member="Veiere Arenais"] while he complained about his clothes. He did look great in them, but in a way he was right. Not to mention that the Force was surpressed here. That could change how he would defend them as well. But as he continued on about the servants chasing him down and telling him how to act and look, she did laugh. "Oh you have it easy, Veiere, believe me. And shaving you? I don't think that I'd recognize you if they did. I like your beard. It gives you a certain...quality."

Her gaze went from him to the path ahead of them as Veiere mentioned her term. She was Queen, not a President anymore. It wasn't something that she could so easily walk away from. Commenor needed someone to look after it's interests, instead of their own. Kay was doing both, but still, what others didn't know won't hurt them.

Veiere recovered the uncomfortableness of that moment, however. "I'm not going to think that far ahead just yet. It isn't as though things have happened the way that we wanted them too. Who would have thought that you would be pushed into politics so deeply?" It was her turn to be theatrical now. She waved her hand in a flourish as she spoke,"Lord Veiere Arenais, the reluctant King Regent and politician." Perhaps the Force brought her to him so that he could learn from her, have someone to turn to that was experienced in that field. But Veiere had great instincts. He would do well without her. Though she couldn't say the same for herself. He kept her grounded.

 

[Klesta]

"Let's say that I don't expect the First Order to achieve much at these games" a passerby commented right in front of the camera.

"I can't blame either one of the First Order or the Galactic Alliance not putting their best feet on the door here. Just what expectations do you have of the First Order beyond podracing, or even huttball?"

"I'm surprised the First Order even have a repulsor skating team. Let's not forget that, unlike other factions for whom athletes were puppets, at least the First Order did not engage in systematic doping. I used to sit on the Council of 22 and, after the Council of 22 was disbanded, the sport went downhill in First Order space. Back in my day as a figure skater, there were no repulsor skates"

"What do you mean, the First Order uses athletes as puppets?"

"The First Order had a system of sports schools, and its pyramidal nature is known to anyone familiar with the basis of the system. Each victory was treated as a propaganda victory, scaled according to the prestige of the competition, and we were feeling exploited. Usually when athletes are given more say in how their sport was run, it was the beginning of the end for that sport. In figure skating's case only the elite of the elite had any significant say: the Council of 22 actually covered all the topmost athletes"

"Doping? Is doping an issue in figure skating?"

"The One Sith and the Primeval were factions known to indulge in systematic doping back then, but even when I was clean, my dancing pair could somehow have a fighting chance: agility sports tend to lend themselves more poorly to chemical doping than strength or endurance sports"

Yula didn't realize that she was interviewing one of the last athletes from the era where the First Order had actual figure skating talent. And not of the repulsor variety, mind you. But she would have an impression that it's because she practiced the sport at a high level that the interviewee was such a diehard fan of the First Order as it pertains to figure skating: she appeared to support the First Order repulsor figure skating team for better or for worse. For sure, it can lead to lingering doubts in her mind but she was in no position to actually try to sow more at this point: it would be a breach of journalistic ethics.

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

Smoke drifted from the pipe. Mobius inhaled, then blew out a ring into the air high above their heads. Smacking his lips, he clamped back down on the pipe stem.

"Nothing like the old fashioned tabac, hauum."

Lips that spanned the width of his massive face curled upward. "Watch? Yes, yes of course, dear lad. We will be watching you with great interest."

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Maleagant"]

Free hand swiped a glass of bubbly from a passing tray. Rim was brought up to her pink lips as she took a tentative sip. "And what if I haven't?" Dark-eyes settled on Mal with a flash of something threatening echoing within those orbs.

"Most of my time is spent fighting sith," she eyed him with a smirk on her face. Just that bozo crab-man and almost Mal. Almost. "And you know the rest. Finding artifacts and studying. Occasionally torture." Blue-shoulders shrugged, her smirk growing before falling away.

"I take it you're used to these...things?"

 

[Red Cloud]

Red Cloud had been in Luminoss for a couple of hours now. He came to deliver a fresh shipment of Sarlacc meat. But ended up getting swept up into this whole “Galactic Games” nonsense. Red Cloud had never heard of such things, but found that it mirrored similar festivals in his own culture. More specifically, the combat games. Red Cloud was never one to be able to turn down a challenge. He put his name out there as a free agent and within minutes he was swooped up by Lady Kay and her team. The large alien was sitting by himself, alone at a table for now. Just sitting back and relaxing, sipping on some drink he couldn’t pronounce the name of. He wasn’t even sure if there was any monetary rewards for these games, but he had made enough credits off of the Sarlacc meat to have a little fun.

 

[WolfMortum]

"Unless the Dominion pushes me out, my term as regent will be quite long..." He nodded, speaking in agreement to the fact that things had certainly changed for them both, Veiere not having asked to have been thrown into this position but rather the weight of Cyril's legacy being thrust upon him with the discovery of his former brothers holocron. "Their Lord was someone I knew like a brother, he perished on Atrisia the same day you were taken from us all...-I had hoped that all of this grief was behind me. I found a holocron amongst his belongings that sent me down this path and I owe him that much to at least try to help his people...-The Chimaera as well as the 501st Legion were formerly his, he was the one that gave me the strength to save so many from the mines on Commenor..." he was talking about the former staff and ministers, soon to be slaves had Veiere not met with Kay first in her first day back, pleading with her to hand them over to him. He didn't quite know what she thought of the decision so long ago but Veiere stood by his actions, they'd deserved no hardship. Between the two of them, their situation was ever so complicated. A lover of the past set on the opposite side by the interferrance of the Sith. Nothing had come easy and yet they had made it this far...

"Cedric Grayson, his son is now under my charge. He's to become my Apprentice and I'm to raise him to become a true leader, humble and just...-When he's ready however, I will step down and he can assume his fathers place as rightful King...-And I can go back to interferring in your day to day once again" he smiled cheekily, he did find it hard to be away from Commenor. Not only was Kay there but so too the residence that he had grown so fond of, as well as the quiet that accompanied it. Honestly, for an Exile, the life he was leading nowadays was a far cry from what made him most comfortable.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Benedict Rotadaria]

[member="Vitha Sat-thuron"]

"What's his deal?" Said Benedict as he brushed himself off. He had spotted martini bar for the athletes and thought I'd be a good idea to drink a little. After all, who cared? This is the Galactic Games! Benedict turned to his Avogwi date. "Say Vitha my darling, care for a drink?" Though she probably didn't like him, Benedict was feeling happy to be at her side. But of course this was odd. A bird and a lizard? That was truly preposterous. He lead her to the counter and spoke to a Bith bartender. "Two please."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay's pace slowed, her playfulness gone as [member="Veiere Arenais"] spoke of his new position being one that will be held for quite some time. She knew that. Was she happy about it? That didn't matter. Her history was repeating itself in some ways and she was doing her best to not have it end as badly as the last time.

His reminder of what happened on the day of her return wasn't something that she needed to be reminded of right now either. If it was up to Prazutis, they'd have all been publicly executed. But she chose making them work in the mines was a better alternative. Until Veiere took them, anyways.

So Veiere was to be a father figure to the boy. He'll do well. She knew that. But when the time came for him to step down, Kay had a feeling that Cedric wouldn't let him go so easily. If at all. And that worried her.

Fate was cruel. It sent so many obstacles in their path. A life together in eachother's company seemed nearly impossible. But was it ever possible to begin with? Kay's brows furrowed as she focused on that, trying in vain to fill in some of her memory gaps. But it was no use.

A passerby bumping into her as he brushed past brought her out of her thoughts. She gave Veiere's hand a squeeze. Wallowing in self pity wasn't going to help matters. No. She had to do better than that. Kay looked up to Veiere, moving his arm so that it could wrap around her while she draped hers across his waist. "Then as we're going to be kept apart for long lengths of time, we should make the best out of the moments that we do have together. Wouldn't you agree?"