Private Altiria Motives

[Arken Dobson]

Arken bowed his head in appreciation for the tea that was offered, but was quick to brush the question that was asked off and distract with another topic that he had been keen on since hearing about her little tea shop in the first place, “let me handle the stability of the empire. That being said, I need a way to keep the heir to the throne safe while they are alone together…” he trailed off as if in thought. He actually did have to carefully consider his approach to this. He needed something else from her, given this shop’s reputation. This would make for an excellent segway… he considered his next words very carefully, “I worry that Loreena will lose control of herself while isolated with Rex Valhoun alhoun . He needs a way to defend himself that will prevent a scandal if he feels he is in danger from her. I also suspect that you may have a coma inducing product that can incapacitate enemies in a non-lethal way and cannot be traced.” He straightened his coat as if to punctuate his words, but smoothly activated an audio recorder on one of his datapads in doing so, “do you have anything I can give Rex that he can use in a crisis? The empire cannot afford any such catastrophes involving the royal family, and a controlled way to harmlessly incapacitate her would be fitting I think. I know it’s a lot to ask of a parent, but the alternative is conventional self defence, which is much more dangerous for both of them I fear.”

Little would she know that he had no intention of giving Rex anything.

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

Once again Kay furrowed her brows. She could hardly see her daughter so dangerous of an individual as Arken Dobson was trying to portray. Stubborn, yes. But dangerous? That didn't quite seem fitting of the goofball daughter that she raised and loved.

She sat up straight in her chair and gestrured towards her shelves of teas. "I suppose the Jeru tea probably could induce a coma if it was concentrated enough. As I said, it promotes calm and can make someone drowsy. So in theory, that could work. But honestly I wouldn't reccommend it as it's never been tested in such a way..." Kay sighed a little. "I have teas that remove the Force temporarily, or give people special abilities for a short while. I have some that cure illnesses and waterborn diseases and some that cause them. There's even a truth serum, which quite a few politicians have bought, mind you. My clientel are...well let's say that they have very colourful backgrounds, like yourself." And quite a lot of her teas and ingredients were illegal in many jurisdictions. However on Altiria they were seemingly allowed.

She glanced over to Mayhem, whom simply still sat there on the floor watching the whole ordeal as though it was a riveting holo-drama.

Kay cleared her throat as she got to her feet. "Rex should be able to handle her on his own. As a Mandalorian and an Arenais she is honourbound to fulfill her duties that befit her rank and station. Have him remind her of that. He outranks her in this marriage and within the Empire. Only on Mnemosyne and within MandalArms facilities does she outrank him. Remind her of her honour. That should help."

 

[Arken Dobson]

Arken was pleased to see that NPC Treasury was not debating the validity of his claims that Loreena may be losing her sanity. The way she furrowed her brow suggested she had her doubts, but in Arken’s mind, it was even better that she had doubts rather than certainty. It kept her from having definitive solutions to her daughter’s problems and more open to Arken’s suggestions. He also realized that he had hit the jackpot for new unusual weapons within this company, “I think that having time to be reminded of her Mandalorian honor will help her center herself once more. If not, I’m sure I can ask for your help once more. You seem like a parent that truly cares for her children, even if you do not want them to know you are alive.”

He gave the products on her shelves an appraisal and appreciated just how benign her shop looked. He looked back to her and asked, “I am concerned about the traceability of this knockout tea and how effective it might be. Again, I must stress that a scandal is simply something we cannot allow if Rex has to defend himself without violence. Some kind of guarantee would be nice on your part.

“On another note, do you have an assembled kit, perhaps that contains each of your more surreptitious products? It would seem that my visit today is turning up another valuable asset that you can offer me. A substantial sampling kit with extra doses of each product might be a handy tool in an emergency. I’ll pay whatever you want, money is no issue. Even if all I get is a few party tricks out of it to impress my colleagues, I consider that quite appealing.”

Truthfully, he wasn’t much of an entertainer.

 

[NPC Treasury]

"I do care...." However her reasons for keeping hidden were known only to her. She didn't think that Caedyn Arenais would approve, just like WolfMortum probably wouldn't. It was entirely unnatural that she was brought back from the dead, yet it wasn't her choice to make. And she wasn't quite ready to see those that she knew, or to see how much they didn't approve, or knowing that they would have forgotten her entirely. And as for Lori? Arken Dobson was letting her know about how much of her mental state was unstable. How would she even handle knowing that her mother was alive?

As for the teas and traceabilities, Kay piped up; "Anyone can find the herbs and brew their own teas. And I'm certain that I'm not the only one that sells them. Plus if the two are away on a retreat, then there'd be very little watching them." So the notion of a scandal should be minimalized.

And now it was noted that Arken wanted a sampler kit. "I can put something together for you, sure. Even some of our baked goods." Kay walked over behind the counter and dug out a box. She plopped it on top of the counter and started to fill it with a variety of teas and goodies. Yet something told her to leave out the Tea if Destiny. Her hand hovered over it's box for a moment or two before she skipped it. "The Darkside cookies are quite popular. As is the Lightside fudge." She closed the box and tied it up with some pre-cut thread before carrying the package over to Dobson. "If you've got some credits on you, 100 will be fine."

 

[Arken Dobson]

Arken was pleased to hear that the ingredients could not be traced back to him. When she mentioned the sweets he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn’t indulge much in sweet food now that he was in his seventies and had to watch his health closely. But he wouldn’t turn them down out of fear of insulting NPC Treasury Arenais. He’d throw the sweets out the airlock when he got to orbit where his Val-Khaar corvette escort waited.

He was a little surprised at the low price of the kit she was assembling. Even if the materials were common, the knowledge and nature of the products in question were quite valuable to the right people. For Kay to be selling at such a low price made Arken wonder if there was more to this business than met the eye even now. Perhaps it was a money laundering front? Deceptions within deceptions were often a great way to hide deeper secrets. He felt as though maybe he should come back and learn more on a later date. But for now, he figured he should not taint his current goals with arbitrary curiosities. If he needed more ammo on Loreena Arenais-Valhoun , he knew how to get back here. He felt there might be a better weapon here if he needed one later. Try this plan first.

“Thank you so much, Mrs Arenais. You have been most helpful. Please tell me what I can do to properly repay you for this. Your knowledge has been far more valuable than these measly credits” he said as he placed a 500 credit chit on the table. It was clear that he wouldn’t accept change.

 

[NPC Treasury]

She eyed the credit chit for a brief moment, taking in the amount that far exceeded what she had asked for. Yet there was no attempt to give Arken Dobson any change. She knew his type, and knew that such an attemlt would be futile and perhaps a bit insulting too.

Kay's eyes then returned to Arken's. "Please just let me know how it goes with the retreat. If she doesn't get better than I may have to intervene in another way. Lori is a good person. She means well. She has never been malicious. I hope that she will get better soon and show you that." Not only show Arken, but Kay hoped that Lori would be able to show all of the Elysium Empire of what an extraordinary person that she was.

 

[Arken Dobson]

Arken collected his purchase under his arm and said, “I will most certainly inform you of Loreena’s progress, Lady Arenais. I too hope that once this is over, her potential could be fully realized.”

He bowed his head, turned, and left the store.

He summoned a taxi. He waited for it in silence. The taxi came. He got in. He quietly instructed the driver to take him to the spaceport. He waited in silence while staring at his comm-link. The taxi eventually stopped at the loading zone. Arken just sat there for a minute, staring at his comm-link. The taxi driver grew impatient. Arken eventually got out and paid the driver extra, without saying a word, and went towards the entrance. He stood just outside the entryway in silence. His face was set in deep thought. He had missed something…

It hit him. She hadn’t really given him anything that he couldn’t have figured out on his own. Toxins weren’t hard to find. The strategy she suggested wasn’t even based on any new information! All he had done was confirm that the mother was alive…

Although there was the weird occurrence with how NPC Treasury had reacted to the news of her daughter’s “madness”. Something had happened there. Something Arken couldn’t explain. Something… cold, for lack of a better adjective. He would need to investigate that woman’s past a little more thoroughly. See if anything came up…

He was still fuming about how much time he had wasted when he felt a strange chill in the air that seemed to bring him back to that strange moment once again. Nervously he looked around, craning his head back and forth. He even looked over his shoulder, but there was nothing there. He turned back to the front, trying to brush off the feeling…

And suddenly he found himself standing face-to-face with a black-clad man in white face paint!

 

[NPC Treasury]

Kay watched Arken Dobson leave the shoppe and then went back to her work. Of course she couldn't take her mind off of her daughter.

Meanwhile at the spaceport, Mayhem watched the old man with glee. His white eyes glinted with excitement, while he held in his laughter. Instead the energy of it permeated through the air on currents of the Force. He knew that Arken felt it. The way that he paused and started turning his head in an attempt to find the source revealed as much.

Quietly his form appeared in front of the man, almost as though it rematerialized directly in front of him. "Is Kay-Kay bothering you? Her daughter perhaps? Why not we take out two birds with one stone, hmm?" He grinned with madness as he rocked back and forth on his heels, before slinging an arm around Arken's shoulders. "Let us go and have a little chat, shall we?" And with that he took the elder Arken to his ship 'The Madness' as a special guest....