The Rule of Law

[Kay-Larr]

General Omar Santiago waited patiently. Despite his shortness with words and temper, he never lacked patience. Leading the military forces of Commenor as he did, patience and adaptability were necessary. Rules, laws, both were needed to keep the planet from falling to chaos and anarchy. But the previous administration that ruled Commenor did not abide by the rules, nor the laws. In fact they had skirted them and created changes to pre-existing laws in order to legalize their actions. Such things bothered General Santiago enough so that he set a plan in motion to have a new administration put in place. One that he could mould and control without having to resort to a military coup. A new President was found.

Already things were working to his favour. Their funding had increased, shipyards were going to be built again, and new defences were being brought in. General Santiago couldn't of planned it better himself.

The newly elected President, Lady Kay, was sent for, to be brought in to his office for a discussion on the future. She had his support as soon as she gave her word that she would not interfere in his operations. Now General Santiago was making sure that she held onto that promise. He knew through a couple of sources that she had lied to gain her position in the Senate. She broke Republic law willingly and selfishly. He was not about to let that happen here.

Once Kay had arrived and was escorted to his office, General Santiago greeted her with that signature cold stare of his. She just bowed her head to him. "Greetings, General. I take it that you have some news for me?"

"Yes, Madam President. It seems that we are making progress. The Criminal Underground is learning who really rules these streets. And we are gaining valuable intel by a very talented individual. His methods are a bit extreme, but these are extreme times." Just last week Warehouse District Twelve became a small battleground. Though he had expected it, General Santiago wasn't about to let further events grow to a larger scale.

He let that sink in for a moment before continuing, stepping close towards her and increasing the intensity of his stare. "Do you recall when you gave me your word that you would not interfere with my operations?"

Kay nodded. She wasn't quite sure where this was going. But knew that she would soon find out. "Yes. I said that I would give my suggestions, but that it was up to you on whether or not you follow them."

"Well it seems that our newly acquired asset will not only get me the information that I need whenever, however and from whomever that I need it. But he will also ensure that you will keep your word. Call it an insurance policy."

He took a step back to his desk and picked up his commlink, signalling the soldier outside of his door. "You can send him in now." General Santiago pocketed his commlink. The one to be let in was [member="Thraxis"] . He knew of the history between him and Kay. That's what made this plan all the better. Sometimes fear was the best motivator. As the door opened, he quipped with a slight hint of glee, "I think that you two know eachother..."

 

[Thraxis]

As the doors open that unmistakable mask walked in, painted on his face a large laughing face masking looking as if it was drawn by some four year old, though the imagery was undeniable. It was his way of letting Kay know, he was laughing at her, while still letting him speak. Behind him stood several Gammoreans, there body towering over him as they started to make noise behind him, making his entrance that much more atmospheric, "Dun dun.... Dun dun dun dun duuun dun." this noise continued before his arm snapped up, his finger wrapping into a fist as silence fell upon them, their bodies stiffening up as they breathed a sigh of relief when he lowered his hand, slowly falling to his side as he began to approach the two, a walk of calmness engulfing itself around him as that face paint continued to laugh.

As he came to a stop he looked between the both of them, his lips coiling into a smile behind his mask as he relished being so close. This was far funner then chasing her, there was always that sense of unease wrapping itself around her whenever he was there. He never got that before, back when he was free to do as he pleased she was always headstrong and stalwart, unwilling to give an inch. But now that peace had been settled between them, it was like watching the One Sith and Galactic Republic making peace. That ever foreboding sense of unease that was never going to be lifted until war broke out.

"Madam Kay." he said with a nod, his entire posture changed, if he wanted this job he had to look like a military man for Omar, or else get suspended indefinitely. "General Omar Santiago has informed me you have a problem and has hired me to... resolve the issue in anyway I feel fit." he said his head dropping to one side as he stared at Kay, his eyes always looking down on her, even if there wasn't that much of a difference between the two of them.
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay looked over her shoulder as the door opened. Upon seeing that mask, a chill went down her spine. She swallowed and clenched her hands into fists as her body stiffened. How did he know? And why? Of course she knew the answers already. General Santiago already told her. [member="Thraxis"] was an insurance policy. And now she knew just what methods he was using to gather intel. No doubt he had already guessed that she would have disagreed one hundred percent. "Yes, Thraxis....Though I would hope that any harsh measures would be a last resort."

General Santiago could feel the tension in the room and it was the exact kind of reaction that he knew would happen. "If you will excuse me, Madam President, but I have some things that need taken care of. I'll leave you two to get reacquainted." He didn't wait for a reply, he just exited his office. Any Gammorean that got in his way would be stared down until he had clear passage.

He was ruthless. General Santiago's reputation was well earned. And now she knew that in those silent, calculating moments, he was working on ways to get what he wanted out of everyone, including herself.

But why Thraxis? No matter how hard she tried to get away from him, he would pop back into her life. Was she supposed to kill him? No, she couldn't do that. Forgive and forget? Hardly. He was not her friend.

"I should be heading back to the Palace soon. I have plenty of work to do of my own."

 

[Thraxis]

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Kay, you should know me by now. Drastic action is my last resort." he paused for a second, he wanted her to feel the air, know the tension that he cared so little for, "But then again. Drastic action is my only resort." He said as his monotone voice expressed the slightest trace of joy.

Thraxis took to the Generals seat, his fingers wrapping between each other as his head nodded back off sitting comfortably on its side, his nodding towards the Gammoreans so they would move from the Generals way, otherwise they would have just stared the general down until one of them keeled over from exhaustion. "Yes, you may leave Kay. Though it is against your best of interests." he said, his hand lowering closer to the table as his pinkies started to tap along the desk his head slowly rocking back and fourth. "You see Kay, the General never really got into much detail about what he wanted me to do." he said with a sigh, he wanted to get out of the seat and pace back and fourth, but it was too soon. He needed to wait for the climactic reasoning of no reason.

"He did insist that you tell it too me personally." he said as his fingers split apart, moving towards his mask as he slowly took it off, his hair tinted the slightest of crimson as it was all stuck together by some previous endeavor, "But... if you do insist on not telling me....: he paused for a second, a smile rushing across his face as his eyes widened with joy, not looking towards her, at the table, his fingers re locking between each other and starting their dance along the table. "I will have to assume the whole planet is a criminal. And orbital bombardment will then become quite... necessary." he ended before slowly looking towards Kay, a jubilant look had almost infested his face as he tried to remain civil.
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay watched [member="Thraxis"] closely. That mask would have been funny, were it not for who wore it. Drastic actions was what he was all about.

She wasn't sure which was better; being alone with Thraxis and his Gammoreans, or have General Santiago with them. Kay had no idea that he would go to these lengths. Her word should have been enough. It made her wonder just what the man was hiding.

And now Thraxis was acting as though he was in control of her, as if she was asking for permission to leave when she was only making a statement. It wasn't as though the doors were locked. But she did have the Gammoreans in the way.

And there it was. He wanted to know what his job was? Kay had a feeling that he already knew, and that he just wanted to hear it from her. Her eyes widened a little as he threatened the planet. But surely General Santiago would stop him from that. Wouldn't he?

Kay cleared her throat a little before she spoke. "I would imagine that you were brought here to gather intel on the Crime Lords and gangs in our cities. Illegal and black market goods are being funnelled through our ports and we need to put an end to that. You have a certain....talent at getting what you want from others. I can imagine that that is why General Santiago chose you." Or at least that was one of them. The very idea of Thraxis in uniform or at worse, being on her security detail was not too far fetched of ideas now. To prevent that she was sure that she would have to stay on the General's good side. "Not all involved with the Crime Lords are bad people. Some were probably blackmailed or threatened into doing it. So please don't hurt those people. It wouldn't look good for this government." It wouldn't look good for her either.

 

[Thraxis]

His fingers broke the hold tapping on his jaw as he slowly pulled himself back, lounging himself in the Generals seat, "I see... well it looks like there is a dilemma here." he said with a smile running from ear to ear, his fingers falling back and locking into place. "It seems you and the general have stark differences in how this should play out." he said, in truth all he was doing was fanning the flames, making animosity spread between Kay and the General. These two intrigued him , it was like watching worlds collide. He was a harsh battle hardened man, while she was a kind-hearted women of almost royal renown.

"You see, he said that they should die before they give up, and with that said he did say no person is to be left alive. You know, loose ends and all that." he continued his head falling back as his legs crossed themselves beneath the table, "Yet here you stand telling me to show mercy? Well... now who am I to follow Kay? The path of peace, or the path of war." his brow raised as he stared her down, "Because I think we both know which path is the one that will garner better results." he said with a calm, almost warm smile that was only overshadowed by simply who he was.
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay furrowed her brows. General Santiago wanted everyone dead? That wasn't right. Why would he choose to be so cruel? That wasn't the Commenori way at all. That wasn't the kind of legacy that she wanted to leave behind following her term in office.

She did not meet his gaze as he asked her which path to choose. Instead she focused on his smile. His calm tone made it all the worse. Of course [member="Thraxis"] already knew the answer that she would give. This was all just some twisted game to him, and one that he was getting paid for. The fact that he was enjoying it made it even worse.

"I would prefer it if you chose the path of peace and non violence. Sometimes the best way to gain intelligence is through kindness. Torturing them to near death would only have them spouting anything in order to make it stop, including things that weren't true." She met his gaze then, as much as she didn't want to. "As President, my wishes override General Santiago's. So it would be better for you to listen to me."

 

[Thraxis]

It was as he predicted. Peace was her choice, the choice he had already figured out how he would meet it. This planet would be met with Peace for sure. The only question was how was he going to get there. "I see. If peace is what you want... then I will baptize your enemies in blood and pain. Each corpse a monument to their mistakes and in the end. Peace will be gained the easiest way. Fear." he said as his eyes grew bright and joyful, yet a sinister atmosphere started coil around his body, every part of his body engulfed with delight as the Gammoreans started to snicker, trying to hold back their tears of joy.

After a few seconds of engorged joy he stopped, returning back to his innate self as he looked to her, "Now, if only you picked war. Then all I would have done was get the crime lords to get at each others neck, make them too focused on each other to see the grander picture." his head fell to the side, that smile blanketing his face as he whispered the next words, "But Kay's wish is my command." he wondered if she would remember those words, and one day try and use it against him. That was what he was hedging his bets on.
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay's mouth dropped. Peace through blood, pain and fear? That wasn't what she said. She looked over her shoulder to the Gammoreans, and then to [member="Thraxis"] as she took a step towards the desk. "I said peace and non-violence. Torturing them to death is the opposite of that! And you know it!"

But was his second idea any better? With the way that he twisted her words, there was no doubt that she wouldn't want that one either. Kay clenched her jaw as it seemed as though he was set to blame her for whatever would happen, and let it be known that she commanded it. But that wasn't the truth.

Kay furrowed her brows in thought. "I'm already working on improving the lives of those that would fall under the Crime Lords' manipulations by making more jobs available for better pay. Most people fall into crime because they require credits and fast. But if they aren't desperate, then they wouldn't need to resort to crime. Understand?"

 

[Thraxis]

"Kay, I suppose you have never heard the old saying the ends justify the means?" he retorted raising a brow over Kay towards the Gammoreans, quickly they settled down, it was quite unprofessional, even if he also indulged himself. "You see Kay, you want Peace. And through death and fear you shall have peace. For as long as the shadow of Thraxis will loom, people will do everything in their power not to cross me." he said, his licking his lips, the idea of the carnage that would ensue was simply breath-taking. Riots and war would engulf the land. He would cause the uproar, then allow the General to sweep in, and deal with the problem.

"Now, I haven't told this to the general. But lets say I go with my method. I will cause Riots all across the street, make the crime syndicate go to each others throat. Now, while this is going on I will make it be known that I caused this." he paused, he was quite engaged with the idea. A way that everyone wins. A way most of all. That if he plays his cards right. Will give him blackmail over Kay. "Then you and the general come in, deal with the riots, the Crime bosses make themselves known and you get to be known as the person who finally beat her age old rival." he said as his criss cross fingers cracked against each other, the only downside was that the public believes Kay bested Thraxis. "On top of that. This will quell the population making all those jobs you want to give that much easier and lowering the chances of more criminal activity." he finally stopped, it was a wordy plan to say the least, on top of that it would seem to take a while. But if he was right. Kay wouldn't want the deal. Then he can tell the General his plan and say Kay was opposed to it, and hopefully cause some bad dealings between the two.
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay shook her head. "No. War on the streets is not the way to go. Innocents could get hurt or die. Property would get destroyed and it would halt the businesses and trade that keep our economy from crashing. You could just interrogate the suspects instead. You can still invoke fear without resorting these kinds of tactics."

[member="Thraxis"] should know this. At times she was afraid of him and he had hardly been the one to beat her. Instead he used other methods of torture on her. Something that James wasn't quite aware of, due to the kind of torture that he had put James through.

"We can pit the Crime Lords against eachother, but not by riots. There has to be other ways of getting that done." She had her finger on it, but couldn't quite have the thoughts come to full fruition.

 

[Thraxis]

"Fine. Just so you know, my results were going to be long term effects. But if you want immediate results then that is a different matter." he scowled, his eyes focused onto her, if she was to be a president she should have been looking to the future and not the present. "Though don't expect this too prevent future crime lords from propping themselves on a golden pedestal." he continued before slowly mellowing out. His body almost oozing back into the seat as the cogs began to tick and tock in his mind, trying to figure out another approach. He wanted a spectacle.

"Well... if you want the Crime Lords to go to war. Then you need something that will tip the tides into one sides favor. And unfortunately for you. This will become a war. And innocents will die. That is but its nature. Something I thought you would know all too well." his fingers started to tap along the table, looking to the Gammoreans for any ideas though they came with little results.

"Okay, how about this. All we need is to spread the word that you are getting a delivery of highly powerful weapon armaments. Make it sound like the equipment is enough to fund a small war. Then what we do, is we build a small base somewhere, guarded by droids. Then, spread word between the warring factions that there is a day when most of the droids deactivate for a memory wipe. That should entice them into a full scale assault and battle in the building." he fell back, a small smile streaking across his face, a proud idea to have, it should be able to convince her well enough. If not then it would seem crime would have to just keep building up until it takes over.
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

As far as she could tell, [member="Thraxis"] ' long term effects were a long time war, and she didn't want that for Commenor. There was enough war in the Galaxy caused by trivial things, sometimes even just by words.

Kay stared down at the desk, folding her arms across her chest now as he continued to chastise her. It was beginning to sound like the same old arguments that she would have with others about her missions to free slaves. They said that she was foolish and naive. But the same couldn't be said by the people that she had saved.

As he gave his idea however, Kay nodded in approval. "It's a good start. We'll have to use a variety of methods, otherwise they'll wizen up and figure it out." This was the weirdest thing ever. She was teaming up with Thraxis, brainstorming ideas with him. It was bizarre. She wondered if he felt the same way.

 

[Thraxis]

He paused for a second, the fact she had agreed with him on any subject matter came a s a complete shock, coming with it a look of shocked bewilderment gripping his face for a few seconds before he shook himself back into reality. His fingers gripped his temple as he started to think how to get this plan rolling, "Okay, firstly, we will need a base of operations. That is where it will be staged. I recommend tight spaces and small corridors, little cover as well. That way it will be a proper bloodbath, they will have to fight over their comrades corpses to get where they need to get too." he said, that should make them become demoralized as well as cut their numbers down drastically.

"Next is what we will use to lure them in. Weapons, Armour or Drugs. Its up to you what one you want to use, though I would recommend the one that you have an ample supply of." he continued, whatever she choose, it would help him gauge how armed her base of operations are. Information is the key to any war. And anyone he knows personally, he wants to have every drop of it so he can't be taken by surprise.
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

So [member="Thraxis"] was just as shocked as she was. She could see it written on his face before he changed his expression. Such an honest reaction was something that she hadn't seen before.

She listened to him further as he fleshed out his idea some more. Parts of it was easy to do, while the other required more thinking. "They can use one of the warehouses. We can set it up to be stacked high with crates and almost make a maze for them to get to the goods in the centre. As for what those goods will be? We can use weapons and just have them inoperable. All that they need is the visual of them. We can say that they are an experimental weapon that'll soon flood the market as long as they get shipped out to a certain factory to have a new type of powercell installed."

But that was more General Santiago's department. He preferred to handle military operations on his own. But this was a fake military operation, so maybe she'll get to handle this one herself.

 

[Thraxis]

"No. A warehouse simply will not do." he snapped, it was too easy to simply push crates over and using a warehouse to hold experimental weapons was too obvious a trap. "You will need to build a small narrow base. That will make the weapons seem far more valuable. If they are tossed into some warehouse it is more likely the Crime Lords will take this far less seriously." he continued, if this didn't work it would just mean he would have to deal with whatever crime lords would remain.

"As for the weapons, that should work well enough. Though if you truly want to grip their attention a demonstration would be in order. Show them some weapons powerful capabilities, something that should grip their attention and make them realize how much these weapons could destroy them." he continued, while them being inoperable was a good idea, they should still make a show of power. This all was to lead to one thing. Drawing them out and leaving them vulnerable.
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay huffed a bit as he snapped at her. Maybe he was right, but only partly. It was hard for her to say as she hadn't been one of the 'bad guys' before. Her efforts at trying to defeat [member="Thraxis"] by not so nice means had always failed. She gathered that it was the Force's way of telling her that she was choosing the wrong path.

"Alright fine, we'll get a little base built. But you'll have to consult General Santiago on that. He'll know of how it should look far better than I. It's not as though I've been to a lot of them. And as for your demonstration? I don't want anyone hurt. Maybe it could just be done on droids or something. We can't bungle things up or they'll think that we are incompetent."

And by that she meant the other good citizens of Commenor. She didn't need a black mark on her Presidency. She didn't want the blame for innocent lives being lost. It was Kay's hope that her Presidency would be a good one.

 

[Thraxis]

"Fine, if you want you can bring the General in. It phases me not as to who hears the plan." he responded quickly, "But just so you know, the more ears that hear of the plan the more likely word will spread of it and the less the Criminal Lords will take the bait." he continued, looking over to the Gammoreans before snapping back into focus.

"As for who you want to be the test subject, that is up to you. But if you could catch a criminal for demonstration, things would go far smoother."he continued as the points of the plan started to hammer out, though as he continued to hammer it out he had to make sure nothing could compromise it, otherwise him having to deal with it would just waste more time then would be necessary.
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

"But [member="Thraxis"] , don't you think that General Santiago would want to be made aware, especially as we are wanting to construct a fake base? People would need to be told, because I don't know about you, but I for sure am not one that knows how to construct a building, let alone one like you describe. And the two of us couldn't build it on our own in any quick fashion. It would take years." She hardly doubted that the General would be the person to blab off to the Crime Lords. It was against his best interest, wasn't it?

The idea of catching a criminal to be used as a test subject was....just not right. Even if the criminal was a murderer or something, she just couldn't bring herself about to killing that person. She didn't even want to kill Thraxis, no matter how much torture he had inflicted on her. "I don't want to be a part of killing anyone. It's not something that I'm comfortable with, and you know it."

 

[Thraxis]

"Like I said Kay, you can invite him if your truly wish. But in this galaxy. You can't trust anyone." he said before pausing, a slick glimmer of sadism hinting in his eyes, "Not even your bodyguards." he said before focusing back to the matter at hand. "But I would recommend, that you get only people you trust to work on the construction. Because a good crime lord has informants hidden in every nook and cranny." that was, at least if they were half-decent crime bosses. If they hadn't gotten informants yet, it would either mean they were bad at what they were doing, or they were really bad at what they were doing.

"Kay. How do you think we are going to achieve our goal? We are going to kill them in swaths. We ain't knocking them out and playing play dates with them. We are sending them to their death. So you can't know say, I don't want to kill anyone." he snapped, the fact she would even say that with the plan they were about to embark on was a travesty. it was as if she had yet to realize what they were about to do.
[member="Lady Kay"]