|
|
Post by tress on Jul 1, 2011 15:56:50 GMT -5
He was almost smirking when he heard her first comment and was even about to say something when he got a look at Tress. "You do me a misjudgment, I wouldn't even think such about you, Khari." but it was quickly said and the rest of the time he sat in silence looking at both of them and turning to see where they were going.
"Me, too." he tells her quietly, wondering what he was seeing between the two others walking closer.
They all got out and stood by the speeder waiting for the other two to arrive and Tress raised an brow in silent question to what was really going on.
"I don't know what you are talking about, I'm sure his presence will be answered momentarily." He tells Anara.
It was a jumble with all of them wanting to talk at once, demanding answers and seeking to threaten before they were drowned out.
"Everyone just stop, ok?" Tress tells everyone. "We are here to do what we told you we were going to be doing, Anara. This is no game or trick, I love your daughter and will do this with or without your permission." He tells the older Vestra.
"Rhy, go inside and do something useful please. I need to talk to everyone else and explain the plan as it were...." he smiled which was fake but it was to make him leave. As he waited he looked at Anara and Khari, then to the other man standing so close to Anara.
When Rhy left after several muttered curses, Tress spoke to Khari face to face. "Khari, I would like you to meet someone that is....well, this is my grandfather, THE Zann. Granddad, this is Khari..."
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Jul 1, 2011 17:50:20 GMT -5
Anara watched Rhy walk off begrudgingly, and contemplated following him, were it not for the nagging concern that she should remain exactly where she was. Tress wasn't going to let her get a second alone with her daughter, so they might as well get everything out in the open here and now. Whatever happened, she wasn't going to like what he had to say, that much had always been certain.
"I never suggested it was either, in fact this man right here suggested that it was something else entirely. Well thought out I have to say..."
She had motioned towards the man beside her then. Keen to continue astounding them both, she added, "...As you have so rightly pointed out, she doesn't need my permission to do this. Just as I do not need hers to out the pair of you ahead of time, should you not see me well out of this." The thin, humourless smile she afforded her daughter then, sent a ripple of anger through Khari's mind and soul. The cantankerous old bitch struck again. But it was no matter, the younger Vestra had expected this.
"Oh don't you worry, Mother dearest. I will continue to make you look good. But while we are on the subject of outing people for their past crimes...so to speak, perhaps we should discuss the small matter of a one, Adal Kholis?" Khari wasn't sure why, but that seemed to pique the interest of more than just her mother, adding a little intrigue as to what had been going on here ahead of their arrival. The person to look completely seething in all of this was Anara herself, however. Evidently she hadn't told the man beside her any of this.
As the silence wore on, Khari exhaled calmly, arching one slender, questioning brow at Anara, her gaze having never left the older woman. "No?....Then I think you'll find we have everything in order, don't we?"
"Perfectly."
Pleased with the response, she didn't give further mind to the disgruntled woman's whims. This would happen, just as Tress had said, with her approval or not.
Thankfully for all, Tress had seen fit to introduce her to the other member of this party, the one all curiosity seemed to have been foist upon, especially in her case, since arrival. And what he had to tell would leave Khari astounded.
When she had first heard those words, she had wanted to ask him to repeat them, for fear of having heard wrong. He'd mentioned so many times that THE Zann was dead, had been for some time now. Was he serious?
"How is this possible, the reports...you said he was??" She was shaking her head in astonishment, should she be honoured or angered, what he'd done had seen Kuat and indeed it's shipyards humiliated and in bad stead with the empire for that gaping big hole in their security systems. She hadn't even been alive then, and this person was of great importance to Tress. Some things she had to set aside for the sake of what would essentially become her family too.
"You'll have to forgive my incredulity, this is news to me!" She managed a slight chuckle, and still reached to shake his hand regardless, then remembering how the pair, he and Anara, had approached them. "You two know eachother?"
They were almost at the door to the place now, standing outside of the entrance.
"Old acquaintances, believe me, I was just as surprised as you were, I had no idea about any of this." Anara furnished a little more meek than she had originally been in manner. That was progress.
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Jul 10, 2011 16:51:24 GMT -5
Meeting Place of the Ten - 1 standard day later...
Voices and the bustle of hundreds filled the ostere hall’s vaulted spaces. Wide set with sweeping architecture and ornate supportive struts, the room was topped and dominated by the overlooking luminous dome that crowned it’s roof, on to which were set images in multifaceted transparisteel, depicting the terraforming and founding of the world upon which they now stood. Pictures of an exciting time in the lives of their ancestors, tales of which everyone standing here, young or old, could have recounted in acute detail. Not because they were present, for that was more than several lifetimes ago, but because it was ingrained in them at an early age. Know where you came from, learn from the mistakes of your predecessors, and in theory, go forth and surpass them.
Khari Vestra wasn’t certain she would surpass any of her so called ancestors today, but what she would do would hopefully set off a chain of events that would see everyone present in good stead.
With a curious eye she swept her gaze across the hall, skimming hundreds of faces she recognized, many of them she did not - mostly those who were too young to have attended last time a meeting of the Ten had ever been called. Junior members of the families, were always the easiest to spot, all wide eyes and disorientation, they often looked as though they were lost. The thought caused her to chuckle inwardly, knowing first hand how that felt. She had only barely been Seventeen when she had attended one of these gatherings for the first time, the second had been during the vong war - neither had been a pleasant experience, but the first she had merely been an observer. Not now, not ever again, she hoped. While members of the ruling households were permitted to bring an outsider, usually their telbun or aide, it was a rare occurrance that one would ever be given the chance to speak. Today, however, she had requested that Colonel Klask speak in testament to the damage and security issues they had suffered as a direct effect of Corey Dooku’s attack on the orbital array. As promised, Khari would keep her end of the bargain should Klask do likewise - he was a no nonsense man who clearly wished for a quiet, but active, retirement from the Imperial ranks, she did not suppose he would have tried to cross her on this. After all, as per their last meeting, he had been in agreement with her anti-jedi stance on things.
As luck would have it, the holonet had been reporting on a similar issue at Corellia’s centerpoint station. Though reporters had been unable to get close enough to discover what the issue was, exactly, several ships had shown up in system, those bearing many of the identifying transponder codes pertaining to the ones that had attacked in the Kuat system proper. If Dooku had gone off the mag lev again, then this could potentially sway the argument completely in their favour. Never in her life had Khari hoped for such destruction to be a certainty, it was both dismaying and sobering.
The gentle touch of a hand upon her arm drew her attention to the heavily robed figure at her side, pulling her from her reverie, her curiosity turned to warmth when she saw him there. Swathed in red and purple as heavily as he was, and wearing the more oppresive veil that left only his grey hued eyes on display, Tress looked like any other telbun here today. Sufficed to say he wasn’t one of them, a fact he had informed her of several times along the way here, sounding almost worried he’d gotten himself into something he couldn’t get out of towards the end there. Khari smiled reassuringly, he wouldn’t be bothered like that, but he would get a unique vantage point on listening in to the proceedings.
“Just a few more to arrive, then we can begin. Have you seen your uhh contact this morning? Did he say if my mother was with him?” Khari asked in muted tones, it wouldn’t rule out the possibility of things being overheard but she couldn’t take too many chances.
But like many uncanny things, Anara often appeared when you spoke of her, almost as if she was attuned to the sound of her own name - which makes a change from the sound of her own voice, Khari thought with wry amusement.
And speaking of wry....where was Rhy Knylenn? Sleeping it off, she hoped.
“There you are, I have been looking all over for you my dear. I thought the plan was to meet back at the estate to discuss this agenda of yours a little further?” Anara’s familiarly dulcet tones rang cringeworthy true in Khari’s ears, and she pivoted on one foot to see the source, walking towards her at a brisk pace, a flurry of pale silks and grace, though when she got closer it wasn’t hard to tell she hadn’t exactly had a good nights sleep.
Khari did not want to know.
“Plans changed. I never returned there last night, I had go to my own residence to collect a few things for today.” Khari stated plainly with a dismissive shake of her head, and watched with an inner tenseness as Anara glanced at the man at her side, then smiled thinly.
“I didn’t know you had taken another telbun, does this mean you have finally given that half-witted dug’s dinner of a man the boot for good? I’m so pleased.” This time, the older kuati slid that razor sharp smile to the man swathed in purple and red, watching particularly smugly as her daughter subtly squeezed his arm as if to hold him back.
“Well as you remind me daily, I’m not getting any younger, so why waste time?”
“Quite.”
“And I just know how much you are looking forward to being a grandmother.” That would get under her skin more than the first comment, Khari could have said much more, but there was no sense in poking the muumu too many times in one day. Just looking at her spoke volumes.
“To business then. No more news coming out of Corellia, even our allies in the senate are woefully quiet, things are quite tenuous between them and the empire. I was unable to ascertain as to whom, exactly, sanctioned the release of Kage Dooku, or why, which suggests to me they are hiding it for the obvious reasons, or it was a decision made so far up the chain, no one dare quote them on it.” Anara explained a little vexed, the GA had gradually been losing it’s grip on countless words under the heavy sway of the Imperial ‘war machine’ as it were. The ultimatum they were being presented with was a varied one...Kuat’s links to the empire recently made GA loyal worlds cagey when discussing matters with any one of it’s representatives. The information flow was painfully slow a process.
“Not as favourable as I had hoped, but that information will be speculated on regardless, I think many will draw the same conclusions.” Khari replied with a judicious nod, the empire was not their main concern as of yet, but it was certainly up there. Especially now she, herself, had links to them, it didn’t matter how you looked at that, it looked bad on her. General adversaries, enemies within the ten and upstarts would pounce on that as if it were invaluable. Which reminded her.
“Where is Rhy? I hope you stashed him in a good place because I do not need another one of his impromptu outbursts in a bid to clear his family name.”
The Kuati Senator blinked, a little astonished, confusion painting her fine features and she idly reached up to tuck and errant hair back into her headwrap. “Rhy Knylenn? How should I know?”
Khari actually scoffed alloud at that, “Oh please, lie to your peers but you cannot lie to me.”
Sighing, the other woman rolled her eyes theatrically, “I have not seen him since you did. Maybe he over did it and fell into a ditch, I cannot be certain because I was not with him. What that boy does with his free time is not my concern, this gathering, however, is. So...shall we?”
“Go on ahead of me, both of you, I need to find Colonel Klask and then I will be along.” Khari gestured for them both to head towards the main atrium, she would stay behind until everyone had taken up their place, and then make good the beginning. However, as Anara was turning to leave, her daughter managed to catch her for a pause just briefly enough to add, “And please don’t harm a hair on this telbun’s head...I’m feeling sentimental already.”
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Jul 11, 2011 3:56:35 GMT -5
He was late and he knew it, rushing forward with his entourage behind him was nothing knew. Looking ragged and tired from the night before was another thing.
"Rhy Knylenn and the Knylenn family" someone called out from the doorway. Damn, formalities last thing he wanted was to draw attention to himself when he wasn't exactly looking his best.
He waved the lesser members of his household to move ahead to be seated. While he made his way to where the Vestra's were standing talking.
Catching the last end of that he raised his brow at Khari, but said nothing of it. To Anara he gave her nothing still seething at the previous nights happenings. "Khari, a word if you please." he asked and looked around smiling politely at some of the members of the other households. When she granted him a small measure of her time, he whispered privately and low enough that only she would have heard. "I am sure you have been appraised of the situation? I never had the opportunity to ask if you would do this for me?" he asked knowing she would either tell him no or accept his proposal.
From there he could move on, finally seeking to do what he had been trying to do all these years. Though it required making a huge sacrifice in order to accomplish it for his family.
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Jul 11, 2011 11:50:47 GMT -5
Never ones to miss the pomp and splendor - thought Khari as the announcement rang true through the entrance hall area, though even she was surprised to see that Rhy had made it on time. Whatever had happened hours ago couldn't have taken too much of a toll on him. Though when Khari caught sight of the man even she broke that rigid vaneer of superior emotionless expression and raised both brows. He really did not look like his usually spotless flamboyantly-attired self today.
And he was making a line through the crowd towards them. Khari would have groaned but for the throngs of people around her, most of them the Knylenn's themselves, all making their way into the central hall while she stood behind.
Anara, at least, had the sense to keep whatever argument was between Rhy and herself to herself, and not cause a scene out here. She departed without word, leaving Khari a little confused, but nonetheless disinterested in what was going on there. She didn't have time for playground politics.
Nodding once at Rhy, she walked off to one side, beckonning him to follow, just so they were somewhat out of the stream of people heading into the main hall, and all their prying ears. He had her full attention now, and she stood there to listen to what he had to say, hands clasped at the small of her back, gaze expectant.
"Of course. I will admit I was a little hesitant initially, your family has quite the coloured past, however, so too, do many. And I saw no reason why the rest of you should suffer for the elder's disgressions. Many of those who now hold power were not born when Khoss attempted that coup, and now that the inherritance exemption has been abolished, as such, there is no better time." Khari informed him, the rest she hid within the ambiguity of her words, she could have been talking about anything really, even just a social chat, though he wasn't exactly the sort of person she would usually socialize with.
"I will do this. See it as an alliance if you will, all the usual rules apply. Well...most of them. But you'll get the idea." Looking him up and down again, she just couldn't get that perculiar feeling out of her head - the nagging voice that kept asking what was wrong with this picture, aside from the obvious. About this time she became aware of the fact she was staring, almost as instantly as the thought came to her. Ah...that was it.
"Misplaced your hat?" She asked, sounding vaguely amused. It was more surprise than anything.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heg'zi A Klask on Jul 11, 2011 12:30:46 GMT -5
Klask had arrived a few minutes earlier, and now found himself standing along a wall out of everyone's way. People of this type did not really see uniforms, he was practically invisible as the Telbuns were... well until they were required of something.
He had considered wearing his formal dress uniform, but it was highly ornate and mostly impractical. It made him look like the head sommelier at a fancy restaurant. Though in retrospect, that would likely have attracted more attention.
He turned and looked over the room again trying to determine if Lady Vestra had arrived, as well as keeping a general eye on the Khulvult's he finally sees her distantly in the room, walking away from Anara and a Telbun. He Takes a step to proceed towards her when he sees her approaching Rhy, and promptly pauses until she concludes dealing with the little mench.
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Jul 11, 2011 16:54:58 GMT -5
"Good then that's settled then. I shall announce it today and leave by tonight. " He was tired from the night before, things he didn't want to take time and remember. He was still in the clothes from the day before, good thing he hadn't seen anyone so they wouldn't know, but he knew it. He who prided himself in how he looked and dressed. Somewhere along the way he even lost his hat, the thing he was most known for.
Bags under his eyes, clothes half wrinkled as if he tried to fix them in a hurry to get here and then she relieved some of his worries. Though that last jab at him had him glaring. "Ask you mother." was all he said about his hat.
"If you will excuse me, then." he walked away and made his way to where his family was.
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Jul 11, 2011 19:32:00 GMT -5
A small, judicious nod of acknowledgement and that sorted that one. More or less, while Rhy might have thought he knew everything about the deal he had just made, Khari knew another version of events. Rhy was the lesser of two evils, and necessary for the time being to circumvent any unforseen problems that she might have installing another person into his place as acting director for one in the long line of subsidaries she intended to be adding to the KDY family. He was managable if just for the fact she had more dirt on him than he could possibly imagine - and he would know it, too, if he ever stepped out of line.
"That sounds most agreeable." She said and smiled as genuinely as it came.
Looking past Rhy, she had noticed the Colonel approaching, but hang back while she finished up here. Affording him a brief tilt of the head in unofficial greeting while the other man finished with something that left Khari pondering much. Aside from how tired and haggered he looked, she hadn't mentioned that with purpose, no sense in ruffling his feathers more than was necessary. He did seem oddly subdued though.
Blinking at the abruptness with which he spoke, she let him pass without further question. What was all that about, then? Perhaps Anara had been required to tell him a few home truthes. It wouldn't have been the first time she'd dropped someone for the next best thing that came along. Brushing that off, she took a few steps forward and greeted Klask a tad more formally.
"Good to see you, I trust the journey was a smooth one, adjusting to having your feet on solid, living ground can take some time in it's self without the hassle of a bothersome journey." Khari said, sparing little more than a glance at the retreating Rhy, now heading into the main hall with the rest of his entourage. "You're in good time, I think everyone is here for the most part. We should probably head in ourselves, "
|
|
|
|
Post by Heg'zi A Klask on Jul 12, 2011 15:24:22 GMT -5
He bows his normal little bow as she approaches and welcomes him.
"Good day to you Lady Vestra.
Yes, my trip down was quite normal and relaxing, I hope yours was as well."
He didn't think she was here to discuss the journey or carry on extended small-talk, though it could always be hard to tell with her; at times her considerations were quite genuine, or seemed as such; at other times it was, at least to him the normal Kuati way of manipulation.
That for the most part answered the question. If she was nervous or excited about this gathering, her bearing was not showing it; it was the little nuances like that that had convinced him she was the person for her job above the others. He nods a brief bow to her.
"Whenever you are ready, I am unsure of the protocols here, so will follow your lead."
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Jul 13, 2011 5:45:51 GMT -5
"Vaguely, considering. I had a lot to organize." She admitted tiredly. The woman had done a lot to disguise the signs of fatigue that morning. Her eyelids felt heavy, even now. Thankfully, though, the nerves had seen to it that she was nicely sobered and just the right ammount of apprehension would ensure she had her witts about her.
"I allocated you seating with my family, at the front and closest to the speaker's circle. I will prompt you when you are required to recount things." She said, already gesticulating for them to head in that direction, any stragglers would have to find their way in quietly. They had waited long enough. A frown creased her brow then, and she paused to look at the Colonel again, expression suddenly sympathetic, "I apologize in advance for anything they might say to you."
That over and done with, she picked up the pace to a brisk walk, and breezed into the main hall. The place was packed, not that speaking to large numbers of her peers bothered her much at all, she had been used to crowds from an early age if just due to her mother's career. Time to get things started then...she thought to herself.
*****
Belaying the nervousness that coiled like a serpent in her gut, Khari took the floor, stepping out from the masses, her own family, at her back and stepping up to the central podeum. In theory, she was here among equals, so those present were not only allowed the dalliance of voicing their own opinions as she was about it, but they definitely would be doing so. She had long since prepared herself for the scathing scrutiny of others, it was just part and parcel of the life she had been born into. There were few friends in business and fewer when those businesses originated on Kuat. For all the world’s beauty and splendor, the people who’s ancestors had forged it were hardly that on the inside. Some might have said herself included.
The chattering crowd quietened down to a few mutterings and whispered words, while Khari waited for the room to become settled enough that she could speak without needing to repeat herself.
“Friends and associates alike, I hope you will forgive me for calling this meeting at such short notice, but as you will soon be aware, I did so as a matter of utmost importance.” Khari began, gaze skimming the crowd, she saw many familiar faces, not least of all, many of the Kuhlvult family, they would have a particular axe to grind where this was concerned, she just prayed to the powers that were, that they didn’t point out that her own aide had been involved in the fracar in such a way it would do her plan ill.
“As you are, by now, aware, mere days ago our entire system was placed in a state of complete lockdown. This, due to the events unfolding aboard the largest spaceport on the KDY orbital array. I have done my best to circulate the full reports as to the extent of the damage caused by a one Kage Corey Dooku of the supposedly disbanded Grey Jedi Knights, but for those of you still unaware of the basic facts and their elaborations, I would like to enlighten you.”
Looking directly to her left, she nodded once, simply, to an aide that had gone completely unnoticed until now, Khari couldn’t remember his name nor did it matter, who brought out before them all, a large holoprojector, the kind usually utilized for displaying large tactical sprawls of a battle field, and then placed it, centrally, on the hall floor. From her stand, Khari appraised the action and waited for the aide to have walked out of range before activating it via remote at the podeum. A perfect recreation of the KDY spaceport sprung to life in luminous blues, in which were depicted ships arriving and departing - most of them KDY shuttles themselves - and people, work crews and customers alike, just going about their daily business.
“Almost all of you will recognize this place, be familiar with it in this capacity...this is, after all, the KDY main spaceport several hours prior to the attack in which I, myself, a visiting dignitary and countless employees were witness to. And this...” Khari paused, thumbing the touchpad for the holoprojector to switch images to the scenes of devastation she had been subjected to moments after Corey’s arrest and detention. “...is the same spaceport after the unprovoked attack.”
As gasps and mumbled words of outrage filled the room, she took a small moment to look over the image herself, it still made a seething anger boil inside her mind, that this had been allowed to happen at all, that somehow these beings thought that they could wield such powers and not have to face up to the consequences. That they would get away with it! And Dooku had...the Imperials had let him go.
“I’m sure you will agree that the damage, while extensive, could have been a lot worse. Were it not for the timely response of our security personnel, we may have been without a main spaceport at the array for some time. Highly counter productive, but every effort is being undertaken to repair the damage sustained. I suspect we will have a fully functional spaceport in another month or so. This does not, however, mean that I or indeed any of you, should feel that this is acceptable.”
“Why?” Someone shouted from the crowd of onlookers, a rather staunch looking male of years far beyond Khari’s, “What was the motivation for this attack?”
Smiling thinly, Khari spread her palms wide, “That is a very good question. The Kage’s motives were rather difficult to understand, he was seen not to be in the right state of mind, an affliction he suggested was somehow linked to his connection with the force. We attained full holorecordings of the interviews as they were carried out, they make for interesting viewing.” She explained, earning herself a few scoff’s of indifference and disbelief both, the latter she shared whole heatedly. The only interesting thing about it was that Corey would solidify other being’s belief that the Jedi religion was mostly hokey, an excuse to go around the galaxy wielding swords and claiming they knew better than everyone else how this galaxy should be governed. Protectors of the peace? They started or perpetuated wars more than most. Usually it had to do with their slightly less forgiving counterparts, the Sith. Yet more fuel to throw on the fire, she just had to let it all unfold.
“Interestingly enough, he was not as alone as we thought when he arrived. But to better understand the events as they unfolded, it would be prefferrable to hear them from the one who oversaw the countermeasures and eventual arrests. Colonel Klask, please recount for those present, the events as they transpired up until the moment that your officers were able to regain control.”
Gesturing for Klask to come forth, she took a step to the side, then glanced back to where Tress had seated himself, out of the way with the others who were dressed exactly the same as him, but with a clear view of what would play out over the fully recreated scene in front of them, nothing about the images had been altered, even the reports of imperial interference, that she already had supplied a cover story for. It also lent them a favour or two when it came to the whole point of this little ‘jaunt’ as it were.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heg'zi A Klask on Jul 14, 2011 1:55:00 GMT -5
Klask steps forward and looks breifly at his datapad before beginning.
"At 14:23 hours, prior to the start of my assigned shift I received a priority message that a situation had broken out in the primary spaceport terminal..."
And so begins a dry and factual detail of the actions of the perpatrators and the KSF response.
The report concentrates on the manuevering of troops and back up suport and disaster response teams, it does give a detailed account of his commands and directives issued to the response teams, all of which were within the protocols long laid out. Other than the direct orders given by him in response to the reports of the ongoing space battle outside the array, no other details of the space portion of the battle is given. He leaves that to the Zone Security space-jockeys to explain. He begins to wrap up with the tally of the dead, injured, and the inital ineffectiveness of the methods at their disposal to stop such an attack. The portion where the well trained security team opened fire un-explainably and the details of them gunning each other down is in particular detail. This is followed by the final orders and actions when he gave the order to deploy weapons more suited to a battlefield than something like the Array. As he concludes, he pauses and sighs.
"This esteemed body now has the information to judge for itself, but I feel obligated to share the dilemma that I was faced with throughout the crisis. The assets that we had to deploy to force them to surrender, would likely compromised the Array in its weakened state. That is a very disturbing matter to consider."
He picks up his datapad, and returns it to his pocket, bows to them and takes a short step back from the podium, leaving room for Khari to step in if she decides to, but still there in case the assemblage wishes to launch into questions and accusations upon him. He knew there were some here out for her blood, and even though she was who and what she was, he had been honest in his promise to her, and keep as much of it from falling on her as possible. And if it got too ugly, unlike the situation with the Jedi, he had a whole range of options open.
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Jul 14, 2011 13:14:19 GMT -5
Rhy sitting at his allocated spot listens to the briefing and reviews the reports of the incident. There was no rhyme or reason and seemed like an unprovoked attack against them directly.
"So let me get this right? This Grey Jedi...Kage, was it? So he comes here with the pretense of repairing his fleet, then openly attacks us? On what grounds? Did we charge him to much....?" he might be missing something, but things didn't add up.
"This has all the signs of an aggressive attack direct on our executive branch on the Array. Possibly to disrupt our day to day business. Do we have to prepare for other attacks? Are we safe?" he looked around the room and more importantly at the table where the rest of the ruling members sat. "I don't know about the rest of you, but i am thankful he was apprehended with the help of the RGE...."
***
The telbun, sitting quietly there but not there as their lot seemed to do, listened to all the proceedings with interest. Most he knew already, he was never far from the truth as close to Khari as he was. It was all going as planned, first tiny steps....This is where the truth came out, where the TEN question old friends and their role in the galaxy. All due to Rhy and his timely questions and comments to play at the heart of every ones fears.
Underneath his costly and burdensome robes he played with a ring on his finger smiling.
***
"...it will give us time to rebuild and prepare with him locked away if nothing else." Rhy continued.
"Can we sue for damages owed? Will there be a trial where we can put forth our claims....." he stops seeing Khari shaking her head.
"Is there something wrong?"
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Jul 14, 2011 14:39:00 GMT -5
Khari stood silent, hands clasped in front of her while the Colonel went through the events as they had occurred with all the clinical precision of a military man. This being half the reason she had chosen him to recount things in their entirety, there would be little question as to the truth of these events if he was recounting them this way as a partial eye witness. Simple, to the point and as plain as it came. Her wandering gaze first fell on the Kuhlvults, or more accurately, their now acting head of household, elevated in the wake of Kaur's death. He would have the first axe to grind, she knew, what with being Kaur's only existing sibling and all, it really was a personal matter. She didn't know if she would be able to aleviate his concerns, but she was going to put a spin on this that took the majority of the blame and placed it on the shoulders of that mysterious suspected force user.
Next to them sat the Knylenn's, a particularly vocal bunch in recent years, she expected the questions to fly from their corner and wasn't to be disappointed either.
Glancing at Klask for a second, she soon stepped forth to answer Rhy, a small shrug being what she offered him along with a genuine look of confusion. That aspect still wasn't clear, not for the military or herself, Corey's actions had never once been given any motive or rhyme.
"Correct, we were never able to ascertain exactly why he commenced the attack in the way he did, or even what insighted him to do so. From what the psychologists, who analysed the initial interviews could tell, he was exhibiting a number of disturbing behavioral patterns. But we didn't need an expert to tell us that." This drew out a small chuckle from the back of the hall, someone was feeling sharp this morning.
"He arrived stating he wished for us to make some modifications to a number of ships in his fleet. He was then informed that a representitive would be sent to negotiate exactly what those modifications would be, the cost and so forth." She paused, schooling her features into a masque of mock uncertainty, though at the time this event she was recounting had happened, she had been utterly uncertain about the Kage's motives. "He declined, stating that he wished to speak with me personally. Naturally, I was hesitant, but indulged his askence cautiously. Everything seemed pleasant on the outset, I certainly saw no reason why he needed to speak with me in particular, so I assigned him one of my assistants to go through the arrangements with him."
"And you noticed nothing to suggest he was not in his right mind?" Someone called out from the Kuhlvult's side of the room. Khari cringed inwardly, the knot in the pit of her stomach tightening a little - And so it began.
"Not a thing. In fact, he was most amiable, even offered me a tour around the living ship he utilized as a personal transport. I declined, I was currently in negotiations with an RGE emmisary, and I did not wish to delay those any." She responded honestly enough, the fact Tress had been present and mentioned there, would be a fact that proved useful in light of how the RGE had become involved.
Right on cue, thought Khari with little more than an outward nod as acknowledgement. The Imperial involvement was going to put the noses of many out of joint if just for the sake of history. It mattered little as far as the older members of the ruling households were concerned. Most of them were imperials at heart and only suffered the rules and regulations placed upon them by the GA because it was 'good for business'. What would prove tricky would be swaying them to believe that the empire really was not the best choice here. And that was putting it lightly. On this one, she would defer to Klask, though, she had asked that security measures be tightened to the extreme for the duration of the ongoing weeks, they couldn't afford to take chances, especially since Corey had been released.
"Indeed, and the Colonel was not lying when he stated that extreme measures needed to be undertaken in order to stop the attack from becoming much worse than it actually was. I was, regretfully, forced to implement the failsafe override codes on all of the Kage's fleet after they refused to stand down and surrender to both our own defense fleet and that of the visiting RGE regent, no less. This not only means that the current codes that have been in place for generations are compremised, but that Dooku clearly had no intention of standing down until he had wrought as much damage and taken as many lives as possible, his own crews included. These are not the actions of someone acting in self defence, but the actions of a mad man ill bent on destruction."
The full truth would come out sooner or later, and Rhy was playing this well. She hated to admit it, but he did have a good head on his shoulders when he wasn't shouting the odds at her staff or demanding things from his own associates. Perhaps whatever had transpired between him and her mother had done him the world of good?
She had been shaking her head with purpose, what better timing than this? Standing side by side with Klask, she took the lead once more and spared the Colonel the awkwardness of adding in a few measured white lies for the mix.
"Indeed there is." Khari sighed, appearing exasperated by the unspoken. "Entrusting the RGE with the containment of the Kage and his apprentice was a grave mistake. While these actions were taken under the grounds that our facilities simply are not equipped to deal with force users of this calibre, we placed good faith in the RGE, as a good will gesture before reaching an agreement with them on hybrid ship contracts, in their ability to detain the Kage until such a time came that it would be safe to send this to trial."
Another sigh left her, and she almost looked as if she was about to hang her head. This one was partially on her shoulders, but she knew where the anger was about to be directed.
"They failed to do so. In fact, I have heard several reports from our representitives on Corellia, that not only has the Kage been released, he has gone on a rampage aboard Centerpoint station." And with that, the room fell into complete silence, the calm before the storm, she knew. Just as quickly as things had died down, up from the ashes rose the uproar, a tumult of outraged voices, each one sounding off their own concern.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heg'zi A Klask on Jul 18, 2011 12:05:30 GMT -5
Klask stood nearby, in case Khari called upon him to field a question or provide specific details if she indicated she wished him to elaborate.
As he was waiting he felt his datapad pulse, and he looked down and opened the message. It was from one of his people he had sent to Corellia to investigate matters, and this one was well worth it. A short segment of security footage of Kage Corey Dooku using his impressive force talents to send a mass of twisted metal he ripped free towards a team of pursuing CorSec guards. It was mere hours old and apparently though verbal headlines had come forward, this was some of the first hard footage out. Ten minutes from now it would likely be plastered all over GNN.
As she pauses and the silence descends, he lightly touches her arm and offers the datapad to her, letting her decide if to share it with them now or not.
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Jul 24, 2011 2:34:05 GMT -5
Rhy nodded liking the way this was all going. "So they claim to help us, but instead let the very person who did such intense damage to our Array free to do it again? This time in Corellia of all places?" He looked around again to see how the others were taking this. "How do we know it wasn't them that sent him here in the first place? What if they sent him to Corellia to destabilize their government or facilities just to rush in and offer their services?"
It didn't have to be true, it just had to grow into something they all dreaded. Let it grow and wonder where it willed, in the end things would seem like the RGE was conspiring against them and quite possibly every ship building planet.
"Or look at it another way..." he tells everyone. "What if this is something more sinister? Like say a galaxy wide epidemic of Force users trying to take over?"
"This Kage seems to be the spearhead it seems....Grey Jedi acting alone?" he acted like he was thinking, the raised a finger. "No, there was that companion of his...a force using droid. What if there is more out there and this is just the beginning?"
"Do we fault the RGE or do we prepare to deal with this Force user?"
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Jul 24, 2011 11:15:16 GMT -5
Khari inclined her head affirmatively, "That's exactly how it appears. And honestly? There is no evidence to support of contradict your theory aside from that which I have presented to you all now." She said to Rhy, trying to at least make it appear as if she didn't wish to believe the worst, it might well sway the nay sayers.
"There is every chance they have an innocent explaination to all this, but I find it unlikely that a force as advanced as the RGE could possibly make a mistake of this-" It was at this time her attention was drawn to the Colonel, who was engrossed for a moment, analytically, in the events he was now reading about on his datapad. A few seconds more and he'd called up a recording...
"Apologies, one moment."
What she saw there was unbelievably damning. It was almost more than she could do to contain her own excitement over the sheer luck the unwitting Kage had just foist their way. He was there, now, wreaking havoc and destruction on centerpoint station, as rumoured, in much the same way he and his apprentice had here in their system, aboard the array. And for what? She wondered, perhaps there really was some truth in Rhy Knylenn's theory? Or was she simply being paranoid, far to entangled in this web of deceit as she now was.
Either way, the Ten needed to see this to believe it.
"It seems we have just recieved news from intelligence, I will leave you all to decide what to make of it, but I am sure you will share much the same view with me, when I say that this is possibly all the proof we need to take this further, to send this home to those who think they can get away with such acts of terrorism." Khari enthused dramatically, then gestured briefly for the colonel to hand over the datapad, before connecting it - herself - to the holoprojector that had been sitting in the center of the hall, static image of the damage to the KDY spaceport still flickering there in mid air.
All she did then was stand back while the images and report played through, dutifully taking in the looks and whispers of those around her, many of which had sat impassive until now. She couldn't have engineered this if she'd tried her hardest, the news was current, up to the minute accurate and would they be likely to tune into the holonet later, they'd see it all again for good measure.
"In all my years I have not seen such acts of mindless destruction since the war with the vong." One woman called out, she from the Kuhlvult side of the room, they had a definite axe to grind, Kaur's corpse had hardly cooled since this meeting had been called, the cause of death was still being determined. But Khari knew they would have their suspicions.
"Are you suggesting that there may be more of those...monstrocities?" The woman now directed this question at Rhy, rather than the center of the room, and Khari was all too content to let her do so. The least she said there, the better. "That the RGE is manufacturing them, potentially with the consent of the Grey Jedi? What are we, or Corellia for that matter, some form of field test?! No...this runs deeper than that, you can bet your last credit on it." The waver in her tones was unmistakable, the Kuhlvults would be out for blood, and for once it might not be Khari's own.
Breaking her own rules, Khari dared speak up. "What happened here was no coincidence, it has all the hallmarks of being planned - it coincided perfectly with the RGE's visit here, though remains somewhat inocuous if simply because the empire and the Grey Jedi have never seen eye to eye. Their diminishment of late would imply, to me at least, that either their forces are spread too thinly, and they required an alliance as some form of security to ensure their survival as an order, or someone has been purposefully wiping them out, and therefore the latter applies again." A long shot as presumptions went, but the Kuhlvult was already on the offensive,
"I suppose it sadden's you, does it, Khari, that one of the few profane tragedies in all of this happened to be our head of household? At the hands of one who's presumed accomplice was your own aide?" She asked pointedly, forcing Khari into responding.
"And also your head of household's telbun. If my memory serves me correct."
The Kuhlvult stiffened noticably, the look she shot the other woman was a cold and hard one, someone had struck a nerve. "That is just so."
Khari nodded astutely, "So it would be logical to think, then, that this conspiracy ran deeper than any of us could have contradicted. Whatever disagreements I may have had with Kaur, I would not be so foolish as to utilize the RGE and it's myriad resources to kill a rival. That crime comes with a detrimentally final punishment, I therefore suggest that you are correct, this does run deeper. But not in the direction you are searching." Yes, she thought, and that family had been searching. How long had Kaur been dredging up everything from her past that he could lay his grubby little hands on? And how far had she set back the plans of the Kuhlvult clan in appropriating it? If this woman wanted to point the finger, she need only point out that she knew what they had been up to, but this wasn't about personal rivalries between families.
"I am sure Adal Kholis would disagree with that statement, were he here to hear it." Kuhlvult returned icily. That singular mention of the former CEO's name should have struck fear into Khari's heart, but she had long since learned to steel herself against it. There was no way they could trace that back to her. These people had nothing but accusations, theories they could not prove.
"The issue here, is as Rhy pointed out: Do we act against the RGE in any form, or is this souley a matter we should take to the senate and petition for better regulation and action to be taken against these force users?"
A murmur flew through the hall, most of it incomprehensible save for a few words here and there, there would be those who would object to it, of course, but surely they would realize the importance of what she was trying to say here, trying to do, and act upon it? There mere fact she was bringing this to them, in stead of simply acting in their best interests - as she was well within her rights to do - should have given them confidence.
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Jul 27, 2011 16:46:51 GMT -5
Rhy and the rest of the room waited as she looked over to the KSF Colonel and looked over the datapad's contents. Whatever she read must have been something of import or otherwise she wouldn't have stopped the meeting in progress. Rhy took the time to look around the room, eyes falling on Anara first. His thoughts turned to the night before and as he caught her eye he smirked, before turning to view the rest in the room.
An elderly woman named Sarasi, who ruled the Kadnessi family finally spoke up. "Proof to what exactly?" She had lesser family members serving in the RGE, she herself had strong connections there. Though, this was even to much for her to take in.
Truning she listened to what Rhy Knylenn said, sad to see what that family had been reduced to, but he made a point that she was forced to think about. Apartenly others had the same idea she did.
"Are you saying that the RGE is responsible for all this?" This could be potentially damning to her family with their close connection to the RGE. She had to avert this conversation or lose some of her power. About to speak up she was interrupted by Khari.
The conversation with the Khari and the Kuhlvults was going strong, but she spoke to those that were closest to her. "Then it is in our best interests to deal with this threat of the force users, first, is it not?" that would give her some time to recall family members and secure them positions within the KDF. Most would bulk about bring recalled back to Kuat and some would flat out refuse, but those that stayed serving the RGE would be cut off. "I suggested we look more into this Kage and gain more information before decide..."
"All your trying to do is buy enough time to warn your family members that are serving the RGE, Sarasi !" he slammed his fist on the table gaining the attention of everyone there. "We have to act now, this attack was an act of terrorism. Do we want to appear weak?"
"We have to go after the Force users before they assemble more power. That the RGE captured and let the Grey Jedi leader run free to do it again speaks ill of their incompetence We have to sever all ties to them and strike....."
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Jul 27, 2011 17:59:23 GMT -5
And just as the Kuhlvults had added the pressure, here opened the flood gates. It had only been a matter of time really, Khari was surprised it had taken them this long to speak up. As circumspect as she was able to appear, she raised her gaze to the next portion of the hall, looking upon a woman who seemed as old as some of the architecture in this very room, clearly of twilight years, her counterance was still perfect for someone who might have otherwise been ostricized for their age long ago, were it not for her position as head of the Kadnessi household.
With her views and personal assets tied up in the RGE, Khari had expected this to be a major sticking point, and it felt strange, even now, to be at odds with someone who so many looked up to. Such was life here, though. Now was not the time to become easily intimidated.
"I would think that perfectly obvious, would you not?" She said, tilting her head slightly, adopting a curious posture but leaving it ambiguous enough to avoid the lable of it being a mockery. "There is far too little left to chance from the evidence collected, for it to be coincidence. The Kage was set free, without consultation, without so much as a word to our government or security forces, by the very people entrusted to keep him from harming us further."
Khari's gaze grew colder as the sounds of support at her back, her own family, grew louder in agreement. "Are you suggesting he mind tricked his way out of capture? That he somehow miraculously managed to comandeer an entire star destroyer full of trained personnel and leave the imperial fleet undetected? Preposterous."
"A full investigation should be conducted into what occurred after the Kage was taken aboard the Atrocity!" The Kuhlvult representative spoke out, earning her both the support and ire of a very diverse set of relatives.
Lowering her gaze Khari shook her head slowly, pouring disbelief into her demeanour, this woman would seek to push for more time, this could set her plans back months, possibly years. That wasn't going to happen, not on her watch.
"And risk a repeat of what occurred in the spaceport module? The truth of the matter is that at present we lack the facilities for holding such...beings. The RGE would have known this well in advance, how many years have the empires needs been met by the company that keeps your coffers full? By us or one of KDY's subsidaries, they know our technology and our capabilities almost as well as any of our technicians or engineers. And by on large, their representitives have travelled here to broker deals, spend time here for myriad reasons. Do you think they would not have gathered intelligence as to what kinds of threats we were ill equipped for?"
"If we address one issue, then we must address the other. The two are connected, set up or no."
Be it the dramatical slam of the fist against the table, or the way he'd serruptitiously slid her a curious smirk earlier, Anara Vestra had been watching this side of the argument with great interest. Always one to survey the lay of the proverbial land before stepping in, she had waited until this opportune moment to add her thoughts. They might even surprise Rhy, personal disagreements could not come into play here,
"He's right, we do appear weak." She intoned with emphasis on the one aspect of Rhy's statement she had changed, "And the longer we sit here allowing the RGE to get away with this, the more we implicate ourselves..." With painstaking accuracy, she swung a glance towards Sarasi Kadnessi, "...each and every one of us."
Things were coming to a head, and at the moment it appeared there were more in favour of acting than against, but there were yet people still to pass judgement, or at least voice it. These people kept their silence for their own benefit, Khari knew this, just as she would have done if her family members were in such awkward places. She, herself, had offered personal funding to this failed living ship project, which she had yet to hear about from the Imperial Regent. Word had it that the Yuuzhan Vong had gone woefully silent on the subject too. She should have listened to her better sense.
"Then we take this to the Senate, suspend all ties with the RGE for the time being and demand that they are investigated, they must be held accountable for this."
|
|
|
|
Post by tress on Jul 28, 2011 4:13:10 GMT -5
'This hadn't gone as well as she hoped.' Sarasi Kadnessi thought to herself, her family was depended on business with the RGE. This would set them back financially and possibly cripple them.
She looked at the younger Vestra's way and sighed while her eyes stayed on hers. This one was like her mother, strong and unbending, though would seek to help keep KDY strong she respected that. Young blood was needed every now and then.
That was not to say, she hadn't once in a while tried to gain the upper hand in the kuati power struggle, but she wasn't the oldest member of the council for no reason. She was smart and chose her battles well. She had even managed to avert disaster from her dealings in the fiasco the Knylenn's had made for themselves.
"And risk a repeat of what occurred in the spaceport module? The truth of the matter is that at present we lack the facilities for holding such...beings. The RGE would have known this well in advance, how many years have the empires needs been met by the company that keeps your coffers full? By us or one of KDY's subsidiaries, they know our technology and our capabilities almost as well as any of our technicians or engineers. And by on large, their representatives have traveled here to broker deals, spend time here for myriad reasons. Do you think they would not have gathered intelligence as to what kinds of threats we were ill equipped for?"
"If we address one issue, then we must address the other. The two are connected, set up or no."
"Everyone knows part of my families financial income is from the RGE or Imperial interests. All I ask is for a few days to discreetly cut our losses before everything is made public." she was speaking to Khari the most, she wouldn't go against the wishes of the council. Her family always having been loyal Kuati way and the chosen Director of KDY.
"I don't see a problem with that." Vyri Darsk, another noble representative spoke up.
Rhy would have fought harder to give the Kadnessi family a worst time than they were already having, but he saved it for another time. Their time would come soon enough, but his thinking was interrupted by Anara Vestra speaking.
Sarasi looked right back at her old nemesis, "Are you insinuating something....?" she asked standing at the accusation squaring off against Anara. "I asked for time to allow me the time to do what is needed, possibly give you all another chance to rethink what this would mean for all of us. We all will take a huge loss if the RGE cuts their military contracts. Not just my family."
"Sarasi is right right, what do we seek to gain by alienating one of our strongest purchasers? We will all suffer in the long run, what is it you plan for the meantime?" Vyri Darsk asked calmly from where she sat. "Don't get me wrong i agree we should look into if all this is true or not, I would vote in favor if we had more conclusive answers."
|
|
|
|
Post by kharivestra on Jul 28, 2011 14:36:56 GMT -5
As more of the opposition began to present it's self, Khari resisted the urge to glance in either the direction of her own family, or Rhy's. There was no point in giving more credence to the theory many might be concocting, that they had forged some sort of alliance prior to this meeting, that they had an agenda all of their own. That would be most displeasing on a number of points. Not least of all among them, an investigation into just that very conspiracy. No hold ups, that was the plan, she intended to stick to it.
"No one was suggesting that we sever all ties with them without due notice. The suspension will take some days to implement, is that not time enough?" She would meet them halfway on this one, if it meant they garnered a tad more support from the elder. She had her own family's interests at heart and Khari could understand that. A little too well, perhaps.
"We have yet to petition the imperial senate to agree to such an investigation, since such a thing would be an Imperial matter, the Emperor himself will wish to hear of this. That will take time, this is by no means a rash nor rushed suggestion on my part." The question was, would the imperials simply wish to stall for time, allow more worlds to fall under their sway and then come for them when the time was right? All that and more remained to be seen, but they had been prudent in their work so far. Time was against them though.
Old rivalries were never far from the fore, though, as was perfectly displayed by her own mother and Sarasi Kadnessi. The former meeting the latter's frosty glare with one of her own, yet somehow they did it all with an air of dignity that many of the younger members of the council lacked. A pity all the effort was being poured into something such as petty rivalry. Did they not all work towards the same greater good? Khari tried her best not to scoff inwardly at that, and failed miserably.
"That, is your opinion." Anara countered coldly, "This is mine. I understand full well how we will fare out of such an action. But what would they have us do? Roll over and accept our misfortune as if it never happened at all? Something must be done, or we leave ourselves open for another attack and need I remind you how others have exploited our weaknesses in the past?" At that she scoffed, not only at the irony, because the exploitation she spoke of was that leveled at the door of the Zann consortium, but because it actually made sense. "Where do we draw the line? What use are their credits if they are being spent on constant and business damaging repairs? We have other large scale contracts all across this galaxy, with the exceptions of three key areas, we still hold that top position with or without Imperial...entanglements. "
"Then we honour existing contracts with them, whilst suspending the commission of any further work in their quarter. But until we have the answers to our questions, are you prepared to arm the very people who seek to potentially subjugate us?" Anara's hand made a fist, which she shook with all the tension that had built up inside her. These people were stubborn to the extreme, they didn't see the bigger picture - and perhaps that was wise. Still, it proved problematic.
"Look to the holonet or any intelligence report, you will find that the RGE has been systematically visiting worlds to rally support to them, forcing their governments to fall under the banner of the Empire, but for what cause? Ask yourself that much and then look at those worlds who would resist them, Corellia for instance...our own homeworld."
Khari was all too happy to let Anara lead there, as acting senator for Kuat she was most current on such matters. Khari had been privy to the reports, had seen the news on the net often and knew about the situations. It had just been a matter of time before the RGE had paid them a visit. Surprised only when it had taken them so long to do so.
|
|
