Pacifism and Politics (CSA - Dominion of the Deneba Hex)

[Darlyn Excron]

Post: I dunno, five? Six? Something like that.

Darlyn hated Jedi. Well correction, he hated how they acted, against what they pretended to be. They claimed to be open minded and kind, and [member="Veiere Arenais"] was proof they tried to be so at least. Yet the judgement he felt was growing more pronounced as they stood there, with the King discussing Jedi matters with [member="Solidor Slane"].

At least Master Slane's slight against him resided in the realm of ignoring him. That at least had some courtesy to it compared to those giving him long stares as they pass nearby.

Hypocrites. If he wasn't here on official business they'd get just what was com-

He lifted a metal covered hand to his head, for a moment his thoughts glazing over before returning. He had moved instinctively closer to [member="Lady Kay"], which made whatever disrupted his normal thought dissipate. "Nostalgia already for the good old days? Must be starting to hit your twilight years old man. Soon you'll be going completely grey!"

 

[Arahael]

Location: Deneba, Jedi Temple

Cato was here as a Jedi, but he was also here in his duty as Deputy Minister of Defence. Deneba was familiar to him, especially the Jedi Temple itself, so he didn't expect it to be difficult to assess the defences of the planet. It was somewhat sombre, however, given the move from a place that had become so familiar.

Sitting in his quarters, he was browsing the information he could gain on the planet from a terminal. He felt a task such as this may as well be redundant, given the good work the monarchs had done to maintain relations with others. But the task was to be done, and he would do it as well as he would any other time.

After being assured by what he had read, Cato transferred the information to his datapad.

"I could do with a walk" he thought to himself. Sitting in a chair all day wasn't for him, especially when he felt he could be making a difference elsewhere. There were only so many Jedi, and issues wouldn't stop piling up.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay glanced over to [member="Darlyn Excron"] as he brought his hand to his head, the movement of which had caught her eye. He was having another moment, more than likely brought on by that lightsaber of his. Darlyn had told her about it, shown her the relic of Exar Kun. It linked him even further to the Darkside. She hoped that she'd never have to touch it, not wanting to invite that small part of her life back.

Yet as always she had a calming effect on him. More than likely that was brought on by the fact that they often shared tea together. Perhaps Kay drank so much of it that she started to even smell like it. That wouldn't be too far fetched of an idea, the smell of tea coming out of her pores. Kind of gross, but not that far-fetched.

Kay smirked as Darlyn poked fun at [member="Veiere Arenais"] . Yes, her husband was getting older, yet so was she. And when the twins were born, who knows what effect the lack of sleep will have on them. "He'll still look handsome, regardless, Darlyn" Oh yes, she still held a big attraction for him. Marriage didn't change that at all. It only enhanced it.

[member="Solidor Slane"]

 

[Klesta]

Objective: Perform ergonomic assessments
Location: Chokan

"No, noisy spacecraft are the only area of concern when it comes to noise"

"It would appear soundproofing is just fine as is"

Klesta did what he could to write the report from the rooms on which he performed those ergonomic assessments; meanwhile, Tiffany was already finished with her section of the office. It was obvious to the head of the spaceport authority that Tiffany had more experience performing ergonomic assessments than Klesta did, but that Klesta otherwise knew what he was doing when it came to those. Hopefully this will placate those people on Ziost; the Sith Empire may very well turn a blind eye to ergonomic assessments and it's the reason why the news arm is still in operation, he thought, while realizing that the Sith Empire did absolutely nothing regarding the Sith Inquisitor, and the only possible reason was that the Sith Inquisitor's ergonomic assessment business overshadowed its media business. But it was still the leader in the Caldera media market. Just that the bill will come due to the ~150 ergonomic assessments they were asked to do. The assessments came to a cost of about 25,000 credits, all told, not a trivial sum but better than the prices of other firms offering those services.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Olivia had just made her rounds, checking in with security, ensuring that the staff's schedules were going well and that food orders had been made. She was the Head of the House. While the King and Queen were gone, she ran everything. A task that she was born for.

Her ring of keys jingled while she walked enroute to her office. It had been a little while since she had heard from [member="Myles Davorak"] or his crew. Was something wrong with their mission? Or were they deep into the middle of something? Perhaps they were tailing some information throughout Galactic Alliance space? Regardless, the old woman found herself to be getting...slightly worried.

Just slightly. Olivia felt herself to be far too old to feel anything else. She had to be sure to have the respect of all the staff at the Royal Palace and that included being aloof. The Queen might be able to get away with kind words and smiles, but with staff, that would only produce laziness. Nothing would ever get done. Or nothing would ever get finished. Like the Captain of a ship, she holds herself responsible for everyone working and living in the Palace. Their mistakes were her own.

And now she had to go to Beris. It wasn't far from Deneba, where both Kay and [member="Veiere Arenais"] were with [member="Darlyn Excron"] . The envoy that had been sent there were having a bit of difficulties with the local government, more so in that they had accidently insulted the Governor. So it was up to Olivia to try to salvage the situation.

After stepping inside her office, she closed the door so that she could have some much needed privacy. Then Olivia pulled out her commlink, connected to Myles' private channel and sent forth a message. ~Mr. Davorak, this is Olivia Herra, the Lady Kay's secretary. Are you by chance near Commenor?~

 

[Virak Ip]

Post Count: 1
Location: Deneba


Dressed in his standard uniform of breatplate and tattered, red cloak, the lone Zabrak slowly approached the cave before him, scenery that essentially amounted to wastelands stretching out around him in all surroundings, no sound other than the crunch of dirt beneath his boots, the wind rushing around him - catching and pulling his long hair - and the steady thump of his hearts reaching his ears. In his left hand he grasped a leather sheathe, stained a deep brown from dyes, measuring 4 feet long from which a black leather wrapped hilt, guard and pommel measuring just over a foot and a half extended forwards to measure a total of 5 feet, 8 and a half inches. Despite the greatsword at his side, though, the large Zabrak did not seem to be encumbered in any fashion, moving with a sense of grace not expected of one of his size.

Cracking his neck as he came to a stop, Virak slowly began to unravel the bindings that shackled his Presence within the Force, Darkness seeping from him in tiny strands and delving deeper into the cave, spreading a cold fear down the spines of the gathered group he could sense within the depths of the cave. Of course, he made no action to completely reveal his strength within the Force - he was, in his own words, a Warchief, someone suited for a combat as opposed to his Shadow of a 'Brother', but, even so, he knew the rewards that could be reaped from obscuring his Dark Presence on a world under the guardianship of the Jedi. Even if he was a member of the Commenor Systems Alliance, he was sure that his presence would not be welcomed.

As the fear began to slowly crawl through the veins of his prey, Virak began to slowly draw the greatsword at his side, exposing a good two feet of the blade - the metal beginning to obtain a feint sheen as he directed the Force through it. Holding that position, strengthening the amount of power curling through the sword, he sighed softly before bolstering his voice through the Force and bellowing into the darkness before him, already dreading the upcoming soreness of his throat from such an action.

"Your plans to sow discord and chaos upon the worlds of Denba and those of the surrounding Systems in the wake of the exodus of the Jedi Order have been found and discovered. Your guilt has been assured, but your punishment has not. Come before me, lay down your arms and mercy shall be delivered upon you. Choose instead to strike at me, and I shall't not hesitate to strike back, withholding all mercy for you have been warned. Your blood need not be spilt on this day, conflict need not be bred on this day. Choose peace and, under the oath of the CSA and Commenori Royalty, you shall be bestowed mercy."

Silence was all that greeted the Zabrak and, for a time, he dared to hope that his words had reached those he had been sent to quell, the cell upon Deneba that had sought to claim the worlds the Jedi Order were leaving behind for themselves. However, that brief flicker of hope soon died as a rain of blaster bolts tore through the air from within the cave, dispersing harmlessly against the breastplate he wore or begin caught and negated against the exposed length of the blade.

"So be it. Let the Gods bear witness to your choice and may Nath be gentle in delivering you to your final rest." As he had spoke, Virak had fully drawn the greatsword, resting it against his shoulder as he called the Force forth to settle upon his body like a cloak and wrap around his mind, serving as an extra sense. "May He grant the mercy that I shall't not." With a roar, Virak's entire visage changed. No longer was he the Representative of Sev Tok carrying all the politness the title decree, now, he was a Zabrak, one raised on a diet of fighting and one who had surrendered to their feral nature as he charged forth into the den of his foes.

 

[WolfMortum]

Location: The Jedi Enclave of Deneba.
Company: [member="Lady Kay"], [member="Darlyn Excron"], [member="Solidor Slane"].
Post: Seven.

The Jedi Enclave of Deneba had never been as hidden and secretive as Veiere had liked, the knowledge and experience of the past battles waged against the Galactic Republic still often reminded him that both Sith and Mandalorian Raiders had visited down upon this world death and destruction. Since then, the Enclave had been rein-visioned in the hope that was The Jedi Order's renewed virtue, their quest to atone for the past fallacies that was their peers and be the representation of tradition and integrity within the Force.

It had been his vision once, before the reality of his life had overtaken his dedication to serve as a Jedi. Not just his life but the way that the Galaxy had turned over upon itself, the following that had once been theirs in great number had been encouraged to forget what had made them and their past such a beacon of inspiration and example of the light.

Standing, Veiere didn't really speak any further to the others. His wife, the [member="Lady Kay"] whom remained behind him in the presence of [member="Darlyn Excron"] and [member="Solidor Slane"]; for the time being Veiere found himself being led by his memories and perhaps that old calling to the Force that had once dominated his life, his faith that within it's will all things had been preordained and absolute. Wandering these halls again, he could remember a time where his mind was lost in the teachings of the Jedi, before he had been consumed by the politics surrounding his Order and those many others for which had been his mistake to involve. His belief that they could be united under a past no longer shared in practice, had ultimately led to his decline in faith.

Today, he was a Father and a Remnant King of the Commenor Systems Alliance.

Once upon a time, he had been a Master of the Jedi Order. No more.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Post: 10

It seemed as though many were taking this time to reflect. Kay did so as well while she watched the silent form of [member="Veiere Arenais"] . She could tell that he was going through various memories of the past and present, possibly contemplating the future.

Her eyes then moved around to look at the Enclave. The history to the building and the connection that it had to the Jedi had made it prone to spiteful attacks by the Sith and others. Such actions made her feel sad. It was why the CSA chose to look after Deneba when the Jedi Order decided to move. With the Galactic Empire's borders being so near, Kay knew that it would be better in CSA's hands.

Kay placed her hand on her tummy as she felt the twins move inside, the movements causing her muscles to stretch as they pushed against her. It was an odd feeling to not be in control of what went on in her own body. It made her feel a little less connected to it, as though she was just a consciousness that went along for a ride with the twins. They would soon be her top priority, followed by Veiere and then the CSA.

Her husband had posed the question of whether or not she'd be able to let go of politics and focus on herself. In theory she knew that she could. But in practice, that would be a whole other story.

[member="Darlyn Excron"] [member="Solidor Slane"]

 

[Klesta]

Objective: Perform ergonomic assessments
Location: Chokan

"Thank you for coming today, we were overdue in getting ergonomic assessments done"

"Utinni! The bill is due in 60 standard days"

The letter of transmittal of the resulting report also had the bill for those ergonomic assessments attached after it, but before the report proper. The rest of the assessment teams, made up of mostly Xi Charrians, were prompt in getting the findings in Basic back to the Jawa, even though he knew he didn't understand Xi Charrian without a protocol droid. He had to grant the expediency of the insectoid ergonomic assessors in getting the assessments done as wel as in getting their fragments of reports done. With the rest of the team having handed in their reports to the facility manager, Klesta and Tiffany left the spaceport behind and returned back to their ship, along with their copy of the ergonomic assessment reports, as well as the bill forit, as is standard procedure when performing ergonomic assessments. He realized that the Xi Charrians had the 10% rule down cold, whereby the executive summary length, as measured in standard pages, has to be at most 10% of the body length, rounded up, and that the Xi Charrians wrote a better ergonomic assessment report than he did at this point.

 

[Virak Ip]

Post Count: 2
Location: Deneba
Objection: Passify Terrorist Cell

"For those of you who's souls are not that of blackest pitch, may Nath present upon you the mercy of a good after-death, for from you you will fine none."

The roared words echoed harshly against the carved stoned walls within the cave, reverberating through the bodies of those that heard them, the Force itself tied into every word, creating an aura of death and fear that consumed their wills and tore at the minds. Accompanying the roared words was a spray of crimson that fell with a wet sound against the dust covered fall, the wet and heavy thud of a crumpling body joining the spray of blood seconds later. Standing hunched over, the greatsword in his hands being raised to rest against his shoulder after having been removed from the unlucky corpse that lay at his feet, Virak made a fierce sight: drenched in blood that was not his own, breatsplate covered in it, with a feral smirk pulling at his lips and twisting his scarred visage into a mockery of sanity.

"Your freedom was surrendered by the actions you took, your lives forfeited to pay for your crimes. May the Good Lady Amina grant upon you better souls, better minds and better wisdoms when you are next made by the caring hands of Mother Ath."

Fear creating a caricature of their faces, one half the of the remaining terrorist cell turned and ran deeper into the cave, their shouts creating a cacophony of noise as the second half began to unload their blasters towards the form of Virak. Snarling, he turned to hold one hand out, a ripple of the Force gathering their to catch the oncoming streams of plasma, at the same time he dropped the greatsword from his shoulders so that it protected his legs from any low aimed stray bolts that made it past the shield; leaving any others to be caught by the Imbued breastplate.

As the storm of plasma came to an end, Virak raised his head to stare at the gathered group with glowing amber eyes. "And so, Darkness shall strike at the terror of this World, charged with the prevention of Monsters. As Monsters I charge you all, for the strife and pain you would lay upon innocents. Monsters you are so charge and from this charge, a foe you will find within the Darkness. As Lord Vysh so commanded, so I shall follow." Roaring once more, he charged into the fray again, blade grasped in both hands as he brought it around to once more shed blood and tear through what rudimentary armour the terrorists had adorned themselves in.

 

[Arahael]

Location: Deneba, Jedi Temple

After filling a bottle in the kitchen, Cato downed the cold water ravenously. The cooling had begun to make him feel a bit too cool, so he walked towards the training area to observe the sparring that was going on there. The clashing of weapons could be heard before he reached the entrance, and as Cato rounded the corner into a training room an intense spar was underway.

Cato recognised the two fighting, friends who had a bit of a rivalry going on. Of course none here were expected to envy the chance to go into battle, however their duty to protect the light meant that even the most pacifist members of the Jedi Order needed to know how to defend themselves.

A feint attack by one of the fighters led to an over-extension by the other, leaving an open target. By the time they realised their mistake, their opponent had dealt a blow to their side, besting them.

"I don't believe it! You cheated!" the defeated fighter shouted.

"Did not!" replied the winner.

Cato stepped forward "You lost by a simple deception. If you begin to think any fight is fair, then you will be sorely disappointed often."

 

[Myles Davorak]

Myles and his crew just got done running communications interference and doing "recon" around Galactic Alliance space when he got the transmission from good ol' Olivia Herra.

With the signal fading in and out Hawkins boosted the ships receiving frequency and patched the transmission through to the bridge, where Myles sat planning their next operation involving Lady Herra's requests.

~Mr. Davorak, this is Olivia Herra, the Lady Kay's secretary. Are you by chance near Commenor?~

Smiling and nodding to himself he rose his voice to Hawkins "Open a secure comm channel Hawkins, seems like Miss Herra has another request for us" he chuckled. He didn't mean that in a demeaning tone but this client was bringing work to him so he wouldn't complain one bit.

When the secure comm channel was open, Myles kept the message short and sweet so the message would get back to her quicker. "I can be if needed Miss Herra, with that said, I was able to retrieve some information for you and would be glad to swap details. Should we plot a course for Commenor?"

The transmission was soon sent and Myles leaned back in his chair while his behemoth of a ship roared through space.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Olivia raised a brow as she stared at her desk briefly. [member="Myles Davorak"] had some information already, did he? That man sure worked quickly. Of course she knew little about his crew or his connections, which was probably a good thing. But whatever information that he had, it could be useful for them.

~If it's not too far out of your way, Mr. Davorak. Please do~

She got up from her desk and straightened out her dress, the ring of keys jingling with her movements. It was time to pack a little travel bag. Olivia wasn't very fond of travelling. The visiting delegation to Beris would hear about that soon enough.

And they won't like it.

 

[Myles Davorak]

Myles and his team had already started charting a course back to Commenor when he got the reply. Seems that he was needed for something else, whatever it was he wouldn't probe too much but work was work.

As his team initiated proper flight plans, Myles tightened his combat gloves around his wrist with a simple tug. Drawing his blaster pistol out, he racked the slide back to ensure that it was ready to go in case they ran into trouble along the way. The rack on Myles' pistol slammed forward, signaling that it was ready to rock 'n' roll.

Securing himself to his chair with a safety restraint he sent a reply back to Miss Herra "Already on it Miss Herra, need a pickup? ETA is around 30 minutes"

The Tempest roared loudly as it went through hyperspace, although she wasn't a fast vessel she could book it when need be during hyperspeed. Raven Squad was autonomously tending to the ship's controls and devices as if they were an assembly line of droids.

Pulling out his datapad he inspected his earnings and was plotting on his next big project he would dive in once he was done with all pending contracts. All the appropriate time tables were set up and everything was planned weeks ahead of schedule. This brought a smile to the aged veteran as he sat up straight in his chair while the ship was still roaring through some plane of space.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Olivia went back to her desk as she overheard [member="Myles Davorak"] on her comms. She was just in the middle of packing her bag, yet his question caused her to put that on hold for it required an immediate answer. ~Yes, Mr. Davorak, if you wouldn't mind. I'll be waiting at the Palace's landing pad.~ The Free Lady was otherwise busy. More than likely Myles' ship was more intimidating.

With that done, Olivia went back to packing her bag. Like Kay, her office was also connected to her bedchambers, so that made it all the easier. When that was finished, she used one of the secret passages in the Palace, as opposed to the hallways. It wasn't as though she was sneaking, but moreso that she was trying to make sure that others weren't making use of the passages and tunnels in ways that they shouldn't. Some of the younger staff had been caught by security being very inappropriate in the dark passageways. Olivia had every means to put a stop to it.

At almost a half hour on the dot, she stood there waiting, bag in hand, for Myles' ship to land.

Oh how she hated to travel. At least the company would make it a tad enjoyable.

 

[Myles Davorak]

As his instructions to land at the Palace were received, Myles made proper preparations to make sure that Miss Herra would have a hospitable stay aboard his flying fortress. "Copy that Miss Herra, approaching Commenor now"

Even though The Tempest was made for combat missions and prolonged shelter, she had her charm as an infantry fighting vessel. the AIAT/i approached the planet of Commenor. Raven Squad was maintaining course to the Palace while Myles headed down to the Cargo Deck to greet his client. The Cargo Deck was where the MedBay, Mess Hall and Bunks were located along with the obvious Cargo Bay that had several crates of rations and gear.

"Come on boys we are late.....did you know that it is rude to keep a Lady waiting?" he humored as he looked at his watch. Davorak thought that his words had magic because as soon as he said that, the ship was engaging landing gear and the sublight engines were gearing down.

Opening the bay door of his ship, the door revealed a familiar looking Olivia Herra as well as the familiar skyline of Commenor itself.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Miss Herra, I hope I wasn't too long. Please please, would you like help with your belongings?" Even though Myles was a Soldier for Hire, he had manners and giving quality service was something he prided himself on. That and his mother instilled polite qualities in him, especially when it came to females.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Olivia didn't need to step back as the ship landed on the designated landing pad. The pilot seemed to be an exoert, or at least paid well enough attention to their surroundings. The skirts of her dress whipped about with the wind caused by the ships exhaust, but she ignored them. One hand did move to her key ring however, securing the precious items on her person until the wind had died down.

The bay door opened and the familiar form of [member="Myles Davorak"] appeared, giving off his smile and pleasant politeness. Good company indeed, she thought. "Quite alright. Your tardiness was minimal." At first she had wanted to deny his request to help her with her bag, but given that there was nothing valuable within it, she held out the old carpet bag as she approached. "That would be lovely, thank you. I'm sorry to have had to pull you away, but this trip shouldn't take long. Please instruct your pilot to make a course for Beris. And you said that you had some information for me?"

 

[Myles Davorak]

Lady Herra's promptness made him smile briefly as he rushed down the bay doors to greet her. She graciously gave him her baggage, to which he properly located aboard his ship. Not sure as to what kind of job his new acquaintance had in mind he replied back to her request "Already on it.....ISAAC! Plot course to Beris" he piped.

As the ship started to retract the bay doors, Myles escorted his client up the ramp and into the cargo bay where she was greeted by heavy duty crates and cargo in the area. Over the PA system, Olivia could hear the man known as Isaac broadcasting throughout the vessel "Plotting crouse to Beris. Hold on tight people"

Myles turned around and smiled to Olivia "I do have some information, if you want; we can have a seat while the others are taking us to Beris if you would like?"

Olivia would feel at home as Myles offered her various drinks and snacks aboard his flying fortress.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Olivia was glad for the speed at which [member="Myles Davorak"] operated his ship. The crew were quick to follow his orders and get things underway without hesitation or questions.

She followed Myles to the sitting area, taking a sweet beverage and light snack when offered. It was almost as though she were on a commercial flight. In some ways she was, given that they were paying their salary. Olivia sat herself down. "We certainly have the time, Mr. Davorak. So please, let me know what you've discovered thus far." She'll decide if it was relevant or not to bother the Queen with. The Force knows that woman has enough to deal with already.