Goods to collect

[Aedan Miles]

Aedan Miles sat in a war room in the castle on Eclipstica looking down on a holoboard that showed the position of all of his raiding grounds he stopped as he heard a man enter waving his hand to shut down the table. "Sire we have received word that a ship baring CIS tags has recently left hyperspace and is requesting permission to land." Aedan let an eyebrow rise for a moment before nodding his head and gesturing to the man before him. "Give them priority clearance and indicate for them to land in the primary landing bay of the castle. Then escort the passengers to the courtyard I am going to go check on my not so small friend." The man nodded and bowed before turning away to follow out the King of Eclipstica's orders chuckling Aedan walked out to the courtyard calmly taking note of the local time on his datapad he knew that a large portion of his Clan's Children would be gathering there soon to play with what used to serve as Aedan's Battle mount a Greater Krayt Dragon. Unsurprisingly to the leader and king of the planet upon seeing the children the gentle giant had merely laid down so that the children could climb on it occasionally taking them all for a careful ride on its rather large back. True to his prediction the almost 90 meter long beast had just lain down and the children were laughing and yelling as they greeted what they considered their friend and protector. Smiling Aedan merely moved to sit in the shadows leaning back against the wall as he watched his silver eyes gleaming softly as he watched.

[member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Srina Talon]

Srina walked down the smooth ramp of the Ferocity with a small garrison of BX Battledroids flanking her on both sides. Rather than take the nearly defenseless Viceroy Class Star Yacht that her Master had initially bequeathed to her she’d stolen away on his treasured assault frigate. It was her favorite ship, despite others she had seen, and others that Darth Metus had at his disposal, because of the memories it held. Not to mention, it really was lovely.

“You may stay with the ship.”, the slender apprentice ordered the droids coolly, all the while, taking a look around. She had never been to Eclipstica nor had she ever visited anything that resembled a castle. She’d seen the palace of the Queen of Eshan from a distance. She supposed that the home Darth Metus had built on Ryloth was arguably grand…But it was more of a fortress than anything else.

She heard mechanical feet following her as she headed toward a man that was rushing in her direction. Slowly, she turned, and sighed, knowing that they were only operating on orders from her Master. “There is no danger for me here. Stay with the ship. That’s an order.”

“Yes, ma’am, but—“

“No excuses. Stay with the ship.”

The battledroids seemed a little put out that they wouldn’t have anything to cut down to size while they were visiting this distant world. Srina shook her head, white-gold hair falling over her shoulders in moonlit waterfalls, before greeting the man that the Admiral had apparently sent to guide her. The slender Echani was expecting more of a social visit and therefore left her armor behind. For this, she wore a silken powder blue traveling dress, which was made modest, beneath a long white cloak.

She was a little curious to meet the Confederate pirate that kept sending units of Cragmoloids to aid and her. The hurried man led her through winding halls and eventually they found themselves in a courtyard full of children. Silver eyes widened. This was not what she had expected from Aedan Miles. The dragon, certainly, but the children? Not so much. Srina wandered away from her escort and made her way toward the large winged beast that let small grubby fingers yank and pull at every piece of it.

Somehow, the majestic beast didn’t seem to mind. Srina wasn’t sure how to act around small humanoids and stepped daintily around them, her otherworldly appearance causing them to stare, and whisper. The mark of the Jart on her left shoulder began to burn as she reached for the dragon, letting it catch her scent, before actually touching it. The Jart told it that she was a friend, safe, and someone that could be trusted. “Mae govannen, mellon.” [Hello, my friend.]

Softly, she pet the scales near its snout, without fear of it being devoured, before giving it space when it seemed ready to take the teacup people for a ride. She did not have the same bond with it that she had with her Etrigan, but she could at least say, that they understood each other.

[member="Aedan Miles"]

 

[Aedan Miles]

Aedan smiled softly as he saw Srina approach the dragon not knowing about her completely he simply watched before standing as one of his oldest friends slowly stood his clan children screaming in joy as the beast took off calling farewell's in Mando'a as they flew off. Walking forward calmly his foot steps even as he moved to stand beside her watching the Kryat Dragon fly off to the children's private playground on the property. His long dark crimson cloak almost brushed against the ground as his more formal attire rested in stark contrast to the usual uniform he wore. Turning he offered Srina a polite bow his long midnight black hair catching the sun to shine almost dark blue for a moment before the circlet of silver also caught the sun. "Welcome to Eclipstica Miss Talon it is a pleasure to finally meet the apprentice of Metus that I have been sending assistance to lately as it would seem." He grinned and gestured for her to walk with him as he turned back towards the castle moving forward with a deadly grace one would have expect from an Echani not from a Correllian. His violet eyes gleamed with mirth as he walked calmly into the castle leading his guest to a conference room where they could speak about the goods she was here to collect after all it wasn't as if you could get Alchemy supplies from anywhere most of them had to be smuggled away from certain planets.

As he walked he started to share with her a bit about the planet and its people the occasionally cragmoloid passing them in the halls clearly off duty from the lack of armor. "So tell me Miss Talon what do you think of my home? Its not often one comes to a planet like this as I am sure you can feel this planet is deeply infested with the Dark Side. That is my primary reason for calling it home it helps that the last Shadow King before he disappeared was my blood brother Romeo Sin. He had no children and as his only living relative of a sort I inherited the Shadow Empire and everything within it. Hidden nearby are various military bases on the planet and off in the distance of space his a top secret military station and ship yard that only the Shadow King and his family are made aware of. On top of that this planet has a 28 standard hour long day but sadly only 9 of those hours include actual sunlight." He trails off as they finally arrive at their destination and reach down to open the door for her gesturing her into the conference room as he follows her in. He even goes as far as to pull her chair out for her before moving to take his own seat a datapad on the table in front of her chair already online and to a list of items that they had wished for him to gather.

[member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Srina Talon]

Srina could feel eyes on her person, other than that of the teacup humanoids, and remained still while watching the mighty dragon disappear through the sky. There was power behind the gaze, and she turned in time to see a very formal man bow before her, clad in finery, complete with a circlet. The unblemished alabaster of her face remained emotionless as she responded in kind. Every movement she made was deliberate, laden with intent, and without the slightest bit of wasted energy. “Thank you for your protection Admiral—“

The young woman paused, taking in her surroundings, and the castle she’d arrived in. “—Or should I say Majesty? I have heard many titles associated with you. I do not know what would be considered appropriate.”

He was an Admiral in the Confederacy, a Pirate [ex-pirate?] in the vastness of space, and apparently a King on Eclipstica. How many, many hats he wore. Srina could barely keep up with being her Master’s apprentice let alone a Dark Acolyte. How the violet-eyed Correllian managed she would never know.

Her footsteps were light, barely a whisper in the breeze, as she walked beside her host. He regaled her with information about the planet, about how it had come to be, and about the Empire he had inherited. Primrose lips pressed into a thin line while she absorbed it all, silver eyes flickering over those they passed in the halls, both curious, and a little wary. It had been explained to her that the loyalties of Aedan Miles could be bought. Despite his assistance, on more than one occasion, she had to wonder where she actually stood. He didn’t know her. He had no reason to care whether she lived or breathed save for her connection to Darth Metus. “So…Does that make you the Shadow King?”

That was perhaps the most terrifying title of all.

Many Cragmoloids passed by, and though they appeared similar, she knew that none of them were ‘her’ Cragmoloids. She liked the set that she frequently worked with. Quick, efficient, a little over-protective, but overall good men. Good soldiers. The King-Admiral-Pirate led her into a conference room and saw her settled before he began to peruse a data-pad. “Please. You may call me Srina. It seems a little silly to retain such formality when your men have been injured or worse in my place."

"Though...I’m afraid that aside from your dragon and the landing bay…I’ve not seen very much of your home. I can feel the dark, as you mentioned, but that does not give much room for like and dislike.”

Srina rest her hands in her lap, spine straight as a pin, with one ankle tucked neatly behind the other. Everything about her seemed delicate and proper. The ethereal air about her did not give credence to the rumors of a silvery hell-beast from the battle on Dagobah. Rumors, in some cases, such as the notion of the leader of the Alliance standing atop his ship, arms crossed, smirking, while it crashed into a Super Star Destroyer, only had small grains of truth. The stories that had filtered through the ranks of her person were mostly fact. She’d left Dagobah covered in blood, very little of it her own, and the scent of singed flesh.

“The tiny humans…The children. They seem happy. Are they of your blood?”, she questioned, entirely unashamed, at wondering if Aedan Miles had somehow fathered a few dozen children. She’d heard and seen much stranger things.

[member="Aedan Miles"]

 

[Aedan Miles]

Aedan chuckled as he looked towards her pulling his own data pad out he opened it looking through a list of items he had yet to receive from various crews. Nodding his head he turns his head to look at her and smiled softly. "In a way yes they are my Children but then again they are not. Those children you saw are the children of members of my Mandalorian Clan Clan Akaata. This is the safest place for them thus they are here where they are protected. Werda the dragon you saw is their eternal protector it would seem not letting anyone of questionable motives near them at any time. If you would like to look around I can show you around the capital city while we await for the rest of the items requested by Metus. There are quite a few that were harder to acquire I had to send out larger teams to arrange for their retrieval. As to what you may call me yes my titles are many but I prefer to go by my most known one Pirate King Miles. To answer your question yes I am the current Shadow King and my Empire if you will spans far across the galaxy hidden within the shadows." He stands and walks over grinning lightly as he holds his arm out to her politely his violet eyes almost observing her purely to see what she would do at such an offer.

[member="Srina Talon"]

 

[Srina Talon]

Srina’s expression would reflect a slight amount of confusion when the Pirate King tried to explain the children that were running around his courtyard. In her eyes, they were his blood, or they were not. It seemed that they were the progeny of his Mandalorian Clan that he felt responsible for. “Why are they not safe?”, she questioned after a long moment, filing away the name of his dragon for later, if needed. And here she’d thought that the Catra’diamtr were impressive. Still, not quite the same, she would not trade her Etrigan for anything.

Since the dragon had let her pass easily, through the throng of teacup humanoids, it must have felt her safe enough. Perhaps some sort of force sensitivity lent it empathic attributes. Srina had no idea how to deal with children, not what to say, or how to react to them. She didn’t really know anything about them except that they seemed exceedingly fragile.

The silver-eyed woman remained seated for a moment when the dark-haired man offered her his arm for a tour. She’d only just taken a seat in the conference room…But if the materials were going to take time to acquire she didn’t see any harm in a little exploration. “Well then…my dear Pirate King…”, she rose from the chair with all the grace of a little queen, before resting her hand on his arm, accepting the offer. “Lead the way.”

One day, Srina would get used to meeting royalty, supreme commanders, marshals, and diplomats of all kinds on a regular basis. She remained tactful and elegant, but, it still threw her for a loop that Aedan Miles was both an Admiral for the Confederacy and a King. It seemed like too much of a burden to bear. How he managed, was entirely beyond her.

[member="Aedan Miles"]