The Bad Penny

[Connor Harrison]

Connor’s face stayed neutral during her speech, and only when she finished did her choose to blink.

”The difference is, the resource I seek is formed from mutual favour. I help you, you help me, that sort of non-binding accord. What the Sith, Jedi, whoever will seek as resource is far more of a threat to you. Your land. Your weapons. Your political power. Your planet. I have no interest in that."

He dismissed her notion with a wave of his hand and looked to the ground as if he didn’t care less. Because he didn’t.

”You sound more blind than I imagined, talking like this. The Jedi aren’t a threat to you are they not. Ok well, we shall see won’t when your neutrality runs dry and they come to take what they want and you’ll be left to decide."

He pursed his lips and looked to the window beside him.

”Your time is running out, Kay. The sooner you see that, the sooner you will actually take steps to prevent it happening than sitting sipping tea and playing with your wedding ring."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay ran a thumb along the rim of her cup while [member="Connor Harrison"] spoke. Others may come to try to invade. It was just a matter of when. She had heard of Malachor being under seige and started wondering what she would do, how she'd prevail if that happened here. But more than likely she'd be killed, imprisioned or chased out if that were to happen.

Her eyes drifted up to his and she spoke quietly, in case others could hear. It had surprised her how one foreign government knew so much about her already. They had to have spies or surveillance of some kind. "It's not the Jedi or even possibly the Sith that pose a threat. I'm more worried about the other government powers out there, the ones that detest Force users. Those more Imperial in nature have military forces that dwarf our own. I have seen them. There are rumours of some wanting to rid the Galaxy of Force Users. I can't let them do that here..."

She sighed a little. "Alright. I'll agree to us helping eachother, but I want to have a say as to what that help would be. There could be some aspects of your plans that I don't like and vice versa. Agreed?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Finally, the man allowed a small smile.

The first piece was in.

He lowered his head.

”Of course. Name your terms and state your wishes." He made sure she was looking at him. ”You're doing the right thing for your people, Kay. And yourself."

Another small smile.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

As always, Kay wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. That would be determined later. Right now she was trying to determine just what was behind [member="Connor Harrison"] 's smile. It didn't exactly put her at ease. But that could just as easily be her imagination working overtime.

"Well it's obvious that you have some plan in mind. I just want to be able to refuse where I feel it's necessary. Then I'll be the judge of whether or not I'm doing the right thing..." Kay didn't want to be some puppet. Nor did she want to be taken advantage of. She hoped to stay above that.

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a small hum of thought, Connor tapped his fingers on the table.

"Well, not quite Kay. You don’t get to decide what suits and what doesn’t as it suits you. If you try to shop me to the Jedi or betray me to your royal household, then I promise you….I promise you…. I will take away all you love."

He leaned forward.

"Remember that when you sleep at night. Next to your husband. You have nothing to fear from me if I can share your knowledge of the Jedi and Sith movements. Involve in what you know of systems making moves to or from Commenor. Give me information. That’s all I want. And your alliance. If I needed a force to fight with, yours would be at my disposal."

He reached for the tea, noting it was cold, and pushed it to the side with a little grimmace.

"Care for another tea?"

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay clenched her jaw as [member="Connor Harrison"] threatened her. He wouldn't be the first, nor would he be the last. But still, restricting her in such a way to not allow her to properly choose, it always sparked defiance in her.

Veiere was stronger than she was, and she was quite glad that he spent most of his time away at the Temples. The two didn't see much of eachother since he turned his focus onto teaching the Force and re-establishing the Order. Often they would have days without seeing eachother. But that's what their rings were for. To keep them connected. She would know if he was attacked again.

Connor brought up the use of her forces. It was then that she spoke up. "Do you mean my military assets and personnel? The Commenori stay home. It's how we've survived. I will not allow you to use them to start a war that we have no business in. They defend us."

Kay nodded a little at the offer for more tea. She could hardly refuse the comfort it brung. "Yes please..." She slid her cup over to him which still had a bit of tea, but could use some topping up.

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a small nod, Connor reached and took the cup in his hand, and looked at her. As he did, he turned the cup upside down, the remaining tea falling out.

He then slammed the cup straight down into the table and it smashed outwards. Splinters of the cup spitting up and spinning across the table. Two pieces pierced through his hand with blood red tips.

Connor just looked at her and spoke in a calm voice.

"Drinking tea when things get tough is not what makes a worthy leader. Action does. Decision making does."

He held his hand on the shattered cup still, feeling nothing.

"I do not WANT your army for myself. I want the use of your ships and soldiers if the Jedi attack. I want to command a unit of the Commenori fleet. That's it."

Now he removed his hand, bloodied shards dropping to the table.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

The second that [member="Connor Harrison"] poured her tea on the table, she knew that something bad was going to happen. Yet still she jumped as he slammed it onto the table, breaking her cup to pieces.

She looked away from his boring gaze as he insinuated that all that she did was drink tea. His time with Imperials was surely showing some of the influence that it had on him.

Kay crossed her arms across her chest. It wasn't until Connor stated that he just wanted a portion of her fleet that she allowed herself to look at him again. "I will choose whether or not the Jedi are attacking. They have a right and reason to be here, just like anyone else. So far they are following our laws. I don't expect that to change." She certainly wasn't as paranoid as he was.

 

[Connor Harrison]

The shards in his cybernetic hand fell out as he moved from the shattered cup.

"Of course you don’t expect it to change. Ever the optimist, but remember I don’t just mean Jedi. The Sith too will want this planet for themselves, or the other countless enemies waiting to strike."

He flicked some of the broken crockery pieces away from the chair he used and sat back down.

"I just want a place to call a neutral base of operations for now. I don’t you’re your war, nor do I intend to start one. You have my back, I have yours. I’m one of the few people you can actually afford to trust who isn’t working for a higher power, your Highness. The day you remember that of your so-called allies here, then the stronger you will be as a leader. If you act."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow as she discovered that his hand was no longer flesh. What had happened during his time with the First Order and his capture, she didn't know. But this was new. And with his nearly emotionless state, it made her wonder what else about [member="Connor Harrison"] wasn't real.

He was wanting her trust and she was denying him at every turn. But after hus attacks on her the last time that they were together, could he blame her? Still it wasn't fair of her.

She dropped her arms from her chest as her defiance slipped away somewhat, speaking quietly. "Okay. Just try to steer clear from Veiere. He wants revenge for what Connor did." Kay hoped that they wouldn't see eachother at all. The Darkness and anger that surrounded Veiere when she told him what happened, when he saw the security feed, she didn't want to see that in him again.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor gave a nod.

"Of course."

Which, by large, meant this Veiere would be a keen person for Connor to "meet" by chance. But there was more coming out.

"Please. I reside in the body of a man with a past. Tell me. What happened. What was he like. What did he...do."

He knew full well what had happened, at least parts of it, but wanted to hear and see the Queen divulge.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay chewed her cheek a little. She wanted tea, but [member="Connor Harrison"] broke her cup. What had happened made her feel uncomfortable and at fault, even though Veiere told her that it wasn't. Still, she knew that he thought that she didn't do enough to protect herself.

"Connor always got into my personal space, ever since he came across me rescuing slaves from a camp in Sriluur. " She just stared at nothing in particular while she spoke, her eyes a little distant while she was in thought. "We didn't see much of eachother, not until I got back from my abduction anyways. It sort of...drew him to me, though perhaps it was moreso the position that I had here. While at my Embassy in First Order space, he pushed himself onto me, kissed me, yet when I refused him, it only made it worse. As he once told me, he always wanted what he couldn't have. He tried to convince me that my marriage was out of convenience and nothing else, and then tried to blackmail me into sleeping with him, all for helping to try to locate my adopted daughter. He stole a chip with what little information that I had by attacking me and choking me. Upon hearing this, the First Order were not happy with the assault by one of their own, but Connor was already taken prisoner during a battle."

Kay looked up at him then. "What happened? Who caught him?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

The account by Kay was similar to the one he had read. Except the flirtatious advances of the Queen when it suited were neglected from her account – unless he was lying. Who knew. Who cared?

Connor stood, and picked up another cup from the tray and the pot of tea, one in each hand and walked around the table.

"A shame. An attempt at a man with little to grasp to try and maintain a grip on something…anything…whatever the cost. I know he would not have hurt you. He was not a sound man."

Placing the cup down, he poured some tea. She probably expected some of the hot tea to be poured on her hand in some vicious attack. The tea plopped gently into the cup, and he set the pot down, and walked the rest of the way around back to his chair opposite.

"The invasion of Skor II was costly. Connor called in an air-strike to soften the ground troops and buy him time to escape. For once, I think he had the right idea when backed against a wall. But, the Order saw it differently, and before they could slap his wrists he was taken into custody of the Galactic Alliance." He sighed. "Didn’t take long to escape. To flee. To run. To land on Maena. To die."

His amber eyes looked at her.

"His soul is at peace now. Believe that. The Jedi is dead."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Would not have hurt her? If [member="Connor Harrison"] didn't want to hurt her, then he wouldn't of attack her, wouldn't of fought her. Yet he did.

Kay watched as he grabbed another cup and poured her some tea. She was careful, reaching for it slowly and cradling her fingers around the cup before she drew it towards herself.

She didn't drink it yet though. Instead Kay listened to the account of what happened in battle. The war over Skor II was not one that she knew the cause. Was it just a battle over territory? Or was there more to it?

As the semblence of a man told her of Connor being dead, she gave the smallest of nods. He was right. She could feel it. She recognized the lack of emotion, the shell that sat across from her. She had been there before. It was a part of her that would always be there once awoken. It will never disappear.

"What do I call you? Connor isn't your name anymore."

 

[Connor Harrison]

The man sighed.

"I do not know. Connor is the face and body, that I know. I understand and accept and I know the past that goes with it, but for his…legacy, and mine, it is something the name can no longer be."

He sat forward.

"The Sorceress took his arm, and left me with this," he turned his black artificial arm over, "and with that his soul and his hope. It would not be right for me to use the name associated with so much else in the drive to be something new."

Soon, he would need to identify himself. To give himself a new calling. But what? The legacy of Connor Harrison was too great to throw away so soon.

"I will find an identity, soon. Connor will do for now."

His fingers drummed on the table.

"Do you feel comfortable in my prescence more than you did in his?"

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

His legacy? She wasn't sure of what that was. For the short times that they were ever in eachother's company, [member="Connor Harrison"] was still a mystery to her. She half wondered that maybe if he had stayed as her advisor and Minister instead of running off to the First Order, if things would've been different. But it was no use in thinking too much on that now.

Kay picked up her tea and had a sip as he touched on the subject of his artificial arm. "The Sorceress? Who's that?"

As for whether or not she was more comfortable around him, she had to think about that. And she did so out loud. "I don't know...I suppose that in some ways I do, but...I don't know yet." They were both unpredictable. And they both wanted power. It was just a matter of how he plans to achieve it.

 

[Connor Harrison]

If there was a name to have as one on his side, it was this.

"Sith Sorceress Matsu Xiangu of Maena. She helped rid the weakness from the body and let the manifestation grow. Re-built the body you see now, and let the soul inside it flourish. She stands with me in pursuit of greatness. Maybe one day you would be gracious enough to welcome her here. See what true leaders do."

He leant on the table and folded his arms, head cocked slightly looking at her.

"If you go back on your word, I will have the planet destroyed from the inside out. It will take time, but it will be done. The good thing with me is you know your place. I will not lie or make empty threats. If you stand with me and help me, I will do the same and there is no ulterior motive or gain to be made. If you do not want that, then tell me, and I shall leave, and be it on your head what happens next."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay had never heard the name before. That much was evident on her face. Would she want to meet this woman that helped to creat this new [member="Connor Harrison"] ? Maybe not. She had a feeling that her sovereignty here wouldn't be respected.That instead of just him telling her how she's a bad leader, she'd have two of them doing so.

She sipped her tea as he leaned forward, herself leaning back on her chair to give her a bit more space between them.

Know her place? He would destroy her planet? It would be on her head if she refused him? She couldn't let that happen. Kay narrowed her eyes slightly. "This is my home. I rule here and not you. If I disagree with what you are doing, then you will stop. I know what's good for Commenor while you are here as a guest. Remember that..."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor gave a gracious nod of the head.

"Of course. I am not threatening you, just telling you what would happen if you tried anything. I am sure you understand, I can't afford to be labelled as something I'm not. If I need to take action, then I will."

Things were getting...heated. He clapped his hand and stood.

"Show me the planet. Show me what the Commenor people are all about. I would be grateful to see for myself."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Connor Harrison"] wasn't threatening her? She wasn't so sure. It was a veiled threat. Kay was well aware of that. But at least he didn't argue with what she had said.

He stood up then, requesting a tour of sorts. Her eyes studied him for a moment before she too got to her feet. "I'm sure that we're not much different than anyone else. We are peaceful, creative, great architects. But I will show you....Follow me."

She turned away from the table and headed out of the meeting room, tea in hand. Kay sipped it as she walked the halls, ever mindful of some staff members that recognized him.

Connor was led out of the Palace to the landing pad where the Free Lady was docked. The crew on hand were quick to get into gear. "Prepare her for take off. We're going on a little tour."

"Yes, my Lady. She'll be ready in five minutes."

Kay nodded and the crew member hurried off to work. She led Connor up the ramp and headed over to the cockpit. It was the only spot in the ship that had windowscreens, yet there was seating for four. Two guards followed them both inside. "I'm not quite sure of what you're expecting. Our population isn't very big."

After bucking herself in and with the ramp raised, the Free Lady took off, flying a thousand feet above the scenery below, mostly clinging to the valleys and lakes that were dotted with small cities, towns and warehouse districts. The most sensitive areas were avoided. "A lot of the excitement here is in the air with all of the trade traffic coming through. We intersect three hyperlane trade routes. More will be added in time."