Dominion When the Cherries Blossom | EE Dominion of Lanteeb

[Karisa]

Objective: Festivals - Noble Ball
Location: Governor's Estate, Lanteeb
Attire: Dress, Shawl, Jewelry​

The Emperor nodded to the Chiss woman. "Thank you, Baroness. On behalf of the nation, I bid you welcome to the Eternal Empire. <May your path of service to the nation be long and filled with accomplishments,>" he said, the latter a former Kalidani greeting spoken in the harsh, precise-sounding High Nelvaanian language.

"<Your blessing upon me is most humbly accepted.>" Karisa offered back in the native tongue Kainan Wolfe had spoken in, then she continued on in Galactic Basic. "It will be my honor and privilege to serve you and the Nation from this day forward," Karisa replied, then she bowed her dark head deeply once again in a show of respect. "Your Imperial Majesty."

The Sith Lord's eyes then turned to the Lethan Twi'lek with keen intensity.

When he began to conduct his business with Sanguine Nocturnal , the Chiss took that as her dismissal and backed away from the Emperor gracefully, then turned to rejoin the other patrons in the festivities. Another glass of champaign was quietly acquired from a passing waiter, then the newly titled Baroness of Verkuyl strolled outside into the courtyard to get some fresh air and to enjoy the cherry blossoms that so reminded her of Sposia.



@Any, if such would care to converse.

 

[Malicar]

The instant he first uttered the woman’s first name, he knew he had made a mistake. Malicar did indeed know who Vidalu Na’an was and what she was capable of. Some time ago, when Malicar was running Black Sun, he sent a team of enforcers to Dantooine. They took on the guise of bandits, but in truth they were there to capture Vidalu Na’an. The woman was rumored to possess “super soldier” technology that Malicar wanted for Black Sun. It was a time when the shipping mogul was heavy into this sort of research. He watched via holocam as she tore through his enforcers, like a farmer reaping wheat. There were two things that Malicar learned that day: first, the super soldier technology was quite effective. Secondly, he learned that the cost to obtain it from Ms. Na’an would demand a heavy price that he was not willing to pay. As such, he stopped all research on that avenue of technology. He never forgot her face from both her dossier that he acquired and from the hidden holocams his enforcers were wearing. But seeing her, in the flesh, on Lanteeb, was absolutely fascinating. He was not sure at first it was her, but once he sat down, it dawned on him that it was.

Instant demeanor change for her…in your haste, you used her first name, which you should not have known. Bravo, Malicar...you idiot.

While mentally chastising himself for his verbal mistake, he did not miss a beat. With a subtle flick of his switch, he created an invisible field around him and those within out to 2 meters. The field would protect the pair from electronic surveillance based on sound. It was common for the Chiss to utilize such technology when conducting business in a public setting. The Chiss rolled with the change in atmosphere of their conversation and leaned forward to keep his voice a bit lower., “Forgive me, Vidalu…I was not sure at first, but now I am quite sure I do know you, indirectly from a different time. It was during a time when I was involved with the criminal organization known as Black Sun…in truth, when I was leading Black Sun at that time. My organization was involved in many fields of research. This research discovered you…”

He gave her a moment to digest the revelation and continued, “But such days are long past. I no longer walk that path. For what it is worth, you do have my apologies for my men taking it upon themselves to attempt to retrieve you on that farm. It was poetic justice that you killed them before I could do so for attempting such an operation without my permission. You saved me the trouble...”

The lies interwoven within the truth slipped off his tongue with no hesitation or fear. He leaned back slightly and took a sip of his wine, while his other hand rested quite closely to his concealed MAP-30 under the table.

He knew what Vidalu was capable of and if she decided to attack him in this market, survival would be quite a challenge…

Vidalu Na'an

 

[AMCO]

Objective 1A: Mingle with the aristocracy.
Location: Governor's Estate, Lanteeb
Equipment: Gildenweave Suit, Shadow Mask
Writing With: Ingrid L'lerim
Post Number XI
---

What he had expected from the evening? Not a bad question, for expectations betrayed motivations and motivations future actions. "Oh, the usual - prod at the sensibilities of a few characters of interest while my people try to get their hands on some mining rights."

Flashing the redhead a dazzling smile briefly visible through the shadows, he continued. "Of course, I hardly expected to find someone like you."

Like most of what he said, it was the truth, albeit the carefully phrased truth - he truly hadn't expected to find anyone as interesting as her, but what he left unsaid was that that was partially due to the reputation of the Eternal Empire; a bunch of joyless zealots, or so he had heard.

Shadows shifting ever so subtly in surprise, he chuckled warmly, shaking his head.

"Merely returning from the dead, then? Certainly an interesting way of looking at it..." Tone turning mischievous, he neatly continued onto the other part of her comment even as he continued to consider the implications of her claim. "... and I'd love to see your impressive qualities."

 

[Vidalu Na'an]

​

Na'an sat back, mirroring the Chiss's movements with her own even as her eye never left face. "You're telling me the bandit problem Dantooine had a few years ago was you? That they weren't there for the crops, they were there for me?"

Strangely enough, having some measure of the truth seemed to calm her a little. Having a Chiss nobleman approach her for no clear reason was the sort of scenario that contained any number of worst-case possibilities, Leigh's exposure as the Voice at the top of the list. If what Malicar was insinuating was true, she would still need to tread carefully, but the mixture of wariness and naked hunger in his expression told her that he was unlikely to do anything that would get her killed. Not before he got what he wanted.

Empire connections or no, a criminal's greed was always something that could be used against them. As long as you had something they wanted, even a Padawan could do that much.

"Honestly, flattery isn't your strong suit, Malicar, is it?" she continued, still keeping her voice light as ever. She even allowed herself a little laugh at his expense. "Playing the 'beautiful lady' angle should have been a dead giveaway that it wasn't me you were actually interested in." She cocked her head to one side and brushed her hair behind her eyepatch; despite the aimiable look, her good eye boring into his was sharp as silver. "So, what exactly is it you think I have that's worth the trouble of retrieving?"

Malicar | Will Westender​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Ingrid L’lerim
The Red Witch; Emperor's right hand; Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard​

Objective: Festivals: Noble Ball
Location: Governor’s estate, Lanteeb
Equipment: Dress/outfit | Mask
Tag: AMCO | Open

She knew exactly that her question could tell a lot about a person, so she asked. Adrian's answer just like his answers before amused her. Ingrid was really sorry he had to leave soon. She laughed softly when the man mentioned the mining rights. She smiled more broadly at the next answer, it was an almost naughty smile.

”I actually doubt, I’m much more special than you might think.” she purred. ”Anyway it was a bold venture my Lord. Luckily we met here and not at work.” she replied playfully.

Was true, the man could have seen a completely different face at work, which was perhaps not nearly as attractive. Although if you looked at who likes what type of women, maybe even there the hard-handed, partly control-obsessed woman could be found by many. She just smiles at the next answer and the music stops for a while. They also started firing the first fireworks out there, that was the alarm to her. Reluctantly, but she stepped back from Adrian.

”Well, no matter how much I want to, I can't expropriate you for the whole evening and night. I know for sure the Emperor and others want to talk with you too. Have a nice evening, and I hope we will meet again soon, handsome!” she smiled and winked at Adrian.

Of course she knew what Adrian looked like under the mask. Even politely, as the end of the dance fits the woman bowed to the man. After that, with a smile, she turned and headed out to watch the fireworks. However, before he even stepped outside, she stopped at the door.

”Just wait your time and you will see my impressive qualities” she looked back at Adrian from the edge of the ball room and she sent this message telepathically.

//Finished.//

​

 

[Malicar]

Their conversation could have gone a very different direction. But it didn’t go the worst possible direction. Fortunately, both of them approached it like “old” times. His hand eased off the proximity of his sidearm, but it still remained a healthy distance. He eyed her as she spoke playfully, but he was certainly paying attention to any change in inflection, facial expression, or any nonverbal communication that would hint to a change in demeanor. Fortunately, she was no “professional sabacc player”, but Malicar was not perfect—he had certainly misread people before…and often it nearly killed him.

With a smile, he clarified, “Yes, Malicar is what I go by. On the contrary, it is you I am interested in. I could care less about the technology. For clarification, flattery has its place among pompous nobles and self-absorbed bureaucracy, agreed there, but that is not the ‘angle’ I took with you. Instead, I felt the need to speak with candor and truth. Flattery can be seen as something that is not genuine or sincere. My thoughts on your attractiveness were both genuine and sincere, so I do not see it as flattery. Alas, if you still believe I am insincere about that, hopefully in time you will see that those were not false words.”

Taking another sip of his wine, he noticed the demeanor of the streets taking on a more “party-based” atmosphere. The spirits (and spice, which Malicar noticed) had been flowing since the early afternoon, so now that it was getting late in the evening with the fireworks just ahead, it was even more relaxed and festive.

He turned his attention back to Vidalu and answered casually, “The technology? If I recall correctly, it was an combat implant of some sort. A point of clarification—I am not seeking such technology these days. Such aspirations were in the distant past.”

While it was the truth about his not seeking that technology, he knew exactly what that inhibitor implant was all about. But he had no interest in obtaining it any longer, she did not need to know how much he knew about it.

Vidalu Na'an

 

[Vidalu Na'an]

​

"To be honest, I don't care about your aspirations."
The sharpness in Na'an's eye was no longer being countered with a smile. She leaned on her elbows, making another careless gesture in the air with one hand. "I think I'd be fully within my rights to be mad at you," she said, "considering that you had your men burning down farms to find me. What I'm concerned about right now, though, is what you plan to do with me now that you've found me."

This nobleman, this smuggler, thought what he was after was a combat implant. A highly valuable one, to be sure, judging by the hungry set of his jaw, but combat implants were a dime a dozen in this galaxy. The details of the Libeta system, and thus Leigh, was likely still safe. But if Malicar managed to guess how Babylon worked--if he sold that knowledge to the Empire--if this gorram Chiss put the Babylon protocol in the hands of a man who was already merrily burning planets--
"Am I going to wake up one morning to discover that the Emperor's decided I'm more useful being vivisected than serving as one of his lover's pets? Or has meeting me helped it sink in that you have no idea what you're dealing with?"

She leaned further into the table, cradling her head with both hands, watching the muscles of his face twitch under the smooth blue skin. If he had footage from Dantooine and saw how she'd dispatched his men, he knew she had some training as a Jedi. It wouldn't be much of a leap for him to remember that Jedi were very, very good at knowing when they were being lied to.

Malicar | Will Westender​

 

[Malicar]

Malicar watched the creature in front of him, studying her as her demeanor shifted. He knew she was a force sensitive from the dossier. Perhaps, she even had some sort of force training, based on the footage of her in combat from long ago. But Malicar had dealt with force users all his life—even Eriate, his younger sister was a rare Chiss force sensitive. He knew from his dealings from her that Eriate had a hard time reading him—she found out quickly that he was not among the weak-minded…

As Vidalu postured, Malicar nodded in understanding as she asked her questions about his intentions and her fate. With a lackadaisical response, he shared, “My dear Vidalu, I feel at this juncture I should once again clarify my stance with the Empire—I do business with them. That is where my connection to them ends. What is in your head is your business at this point—our connection together is not the concern of the Eternal Empire. While you have told me that you don’t care for my ‘aspirations’, you, in the same breath, ask my intentions with the knowledge I possess concerning you. To make it clear, in the event it was not lucid previously, I was intrigued by seeing you again after all this time. I am sure you may be interested to know that I have no ‘aspirations’ with what I know about you, other than speaking with you.”

Pause. He watched the woman in front of him with his glowing red eyes accompanied by a devilish smirk.

Malicar added, “If I were interested in more than what I have shared, then I may be concerned with what ‘I am dealing with’, alas, I am quite content continuing this conversation or walking away. You see, what I fear more than threats, danger, or death is being an imposition or an annoyance to someone I am having a conversation with. That would be…'uncivilized' of me to remain if that were the case. If it is your desire, I can be on my way.”

Vidalu Na'an

 

[Vidalu Na'an]

​

Na'an remained unmoved. "So you're the kind of man who does stupid, pointless, dangerous things, for stupid, pointless reasons, because he thinks he's immune to the risk."

Red eyes met silver-grey. The silence between them only lasted for a short while--ten seconds, fifteen maybe--but seemed to stretch out much longer. Then Na'an broke the silence with a snort, and without removing her face from her hands flipped up her eyepatch with one thumb. The white light of her implant blinked at the Chiss from inside its nest of scars before she let the patch slip over it again.
"I can understand that," she finally said. "Truthfully, if you weren't so convinced you were clever, I might actually decide I like you."

Malicar | Will Westender​

 

[Malicar]

Malicar smiled. He didn’t have the “fly off the handle” attitude for being insulted as many may have thought was typical for a former crime boss. Such a calm temperament served him well as the Underlord Eshro of Black Sun and situations like this were no different. Besides, he truly was intrigued by the woman in front of him…and she wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Well, we can’t have you deciding that I might be tolerable—fortunately for me, I think myself clever. Oh, and for the record, I do not think I am the kind of man who does stupid, pointless, dangerous things, for stupid, pointless reasons, because I think I am immune to the risk—I just believe I am highly resilient to them...”

With a grin and a wink, he stood and slid a holodisk across the table to Vidalu. With a slight bow, he concluded, “Come see me on Annaj, if you so desire. You can see for yourself that I have moved on from the pursuits we discussed a moment ago. Truly, it was good to see you again, Vidalu Na’an. Enjoy the fireworks…”

Another respectful bow to the woman and Malicar Raith turned, blending into the throngs of people celebrating Lanteeb’s “liberation”.

/EXIT THREAD​

Vidalu Na'an