Private Cards over Politics

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Star Destroyer Intervention
orbit of Peace
​

There was a meeting of the Board of Directors on Corellia in the coming days.

And pressing business with smoothing out the banking regulations and requisite regulatory filings to continue expanding Corel Financial into the Corporate Sector adjacent to Silver Jedi Concord space. While Sor-Jan might have left his seat at the Jedi Council for a place in the financial sector, it certainly didn't mean that the former Levantine and Silver Jedi Master was any less busy than when he'd been running missions for Thurion Heavenshield amid the Jedi-Mandalorian War, the Primeval Conflict, or any number of lesser emergencies along the Mara-Perlemian Trade Corridor of the era.

The Omega War being one such highlight.

Still, while business might be pressing, too rare had the opportunity become for the Corellian Jedi to break bread with his fellow Jedi. That Coren Starchaser had gathered them at the aptly-named Peace station was a good opportunity to put the market reports down and re-connect with what was really important.

Family.

...even if there were several faces around the table that he didn't recognize.

They were Jedi. They might disagree, but they were still Jedi and needed to respect one another as Jedi. So, Sor-Jan had invited those from the meeting and elsewhere to come and dine aboard the Intervention.

The relic of the Clone Wars wasn't exactly in fighting form. Today, its AT-AT bays had been converted into a casino and holo-arcade. The starboard bridge tower was filled with corporate offices, board rooms, and crowned with Corellia Digital's Galactic Operations Center. In many respects, the ship was the company. A multi-planetary corporation couldn't sit idly on any one planet. The Intervention was a headquarters for the company over whatever planet or object it might be near at the time.

Fine tablecloths adorned the tables within the opulent interior. Polished brass. Gleaming durachrome. Wood appointed accents. It wasn't a Jedi Temple, but then it wasn't trying to be. Sor-Jan more ordinarily entertained investors and shareholders, people with money in excess which he needed to impress.

A droid was playing a piano to provide a soft quality of music, around which the group was gathered at a table with cards divided among them. The young Anzat was seated next to Tiland, with a pot of tea on a cart between the pair. An Atrisian white tea. Another of Matsu Ike 's many recommendations that were sourced from her homeworld.

There was Diet Fizzyglug on tap for Jerek. And a full bar for whatever the others may have wished to consume.

Setting the cards in the middle of the table, the gangly adolescent Anzat looked around and offered, "I'm Corellian by birth so I assume you are all smarter than to have me deal the cards."

Caltin Vanagor | Tiland Kortun | Jerek Zenduu | Takui ​

 

[Tiland Kortun]

Tiland was not sure how convinced he was in the ending of the meeting of Jedi, but it had at least brought many of the various orders together. That was a start at least, although it didn't seem that there was anything properly achieved except recommitting to the idea of an endless crusade against the Sith. That he was less convinced about, to be sure. Things did not go well for Jedi when they found themselves pulled into an endless war. It ground them down, hardened them, radicalized them, one could even say. He had witnessed that in the conversation.

But for now, he could spare some time for a card game with Sor-Jan. Jedi were family, but Sor-Jan was something closer than that. Not spiritual family. Genetic, species-based family. It helped that he also knew what it was like to a genetic code with the Dark Side practically encoded into the chemical make-up.

He chuckled at the words though and took up the cards, shuffling them carefully, with intention and purpose. "Corellian rules, I see?"

 

[Takui]

Unlike most of the senior Jedi, Taku was disinterested in the politics surrounding... everything. He didn't have the perspective on a Galactic scale to truly appreciate the minutia surrounding every decision, or the nuances that plagued the Order day to day. Instead, he went only with what he understood. Right or wrong, he had committed.

This wasn't the time for a lengthy conversation, instead it was a time for camaraderie and meeting people he did not know. If they were going to be learning, working, and inevitably fighting alongside each other, they should be friends- or something to that effect.

There had been a friendly invitation to play cards from one of the Jedi who spoke during the meeting of minds, and he was always glad to play a hand or two of Sabacc. Games of chance were a weapon of the civilized businessman. When bargains failed you, swindling someone out of their money was a failsafe technique for bridging the gap of negotiations.

Needless to say, he had become an expert at reading people at the table. A good Poker face wasn't enough- you had to know the cards, read the room, feel everyone out...

When Sor-Jan mentioned his Corellian heritage, it hinted at a set of rules known as the "Corellian ruleset"- aptly called Jailhouse Sabacc in some of the grungier areas of the Galaxy- the youth smiled wryly. "Watch his sleeves, Master," he warned Tiland in jest.

Sor-Jan Xantha | Tiland Kortun​

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

The Anzat accepted the cards as they dealt, leaving the hand face down for the time being.

This early in the game, it mattered little what cards were there anyway.

"We invented the game," the boy noted, picking up his tea cup and lightly sipping on the porcelain. Setting it back down, the tow-headed Anzat looked between Tiland Kortun and Takui as he added, "Corellian rules are just how the game was meant to be played."

Still without glancing at the cards that were face down in front of him, the boy absently picked up a pair of betting chips and flipped them into the central pot.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

It was a familiar sight to him, the interior of the Intervention. A place he had visited on and off over the years, usually under the tutelage of Master Xantha. It once felt big and expansive to him, but now the corridors were familiar and the ship seemed much smaller than it once had. It was a simple matter for Jerek to find the right bay, the right table, the right faces ringed around it as if they were waiting for him.

The boy approached the table. Hardly a boy anymore, the erstwhile padawan sat surrounded by figures from his youth. Here and there was a new face, but Sor-Jan and Tiland sat sturdy as anchors to his sense of the familiar. The Jedi youth paused to pass them a grin, his face lighting up even more than seemed possible when he spied the label on the tap at the end of the bar.

"SJ, you remembered!" Jerek cried, scampering quickly over to pick up a glass and fill it with the dark liquid that formed his favorite drink. He enjoyed the amused grin by himself, even if it tickled no one else at the card game. The boy knew this particular reputation preceded him in certain circles, much like the tea so carefully laid out to sate Master Kortun's peculiar tastes. He carried the glass of Diet Fizzyglug back to the table gingerly, setting it down with care as if it were the most important thing in the galaxy.

And it was truly possible for the beverage to be only one or two rungs away from that coveted status, indeed!

Taking a seat at the table, Jerek took a sip from his glass before looking up again at the faces surrounding it. Other Jedi, known and unknown to him, all connected to one another through more than just the Force. There was a bond that transcended their mere abilities, their skills, their creed. They were Jedi, a fact that no one could take away from them. Struggles and triumphs alike, that was one thing that remained true and constant.

"I know the Corellians just expect others to cheat as a rule, SJ," Jerek remarked coyly as a hand of cards were dealt in front of him. He took a peek at them, and set them back face-down without pausing yet to consider his plays. "But the rest of the galaxy does have this little thing called honor. Maybe you've come across it in some of your business dealings?"

The youth took another sip of his fizzyglug, trying to suppress the chuckle that was threatening the edge of his lips.

Sor-Jan Xantha Tiland Kortun Takui​

 

[Tiland Kortun]

Takui Jerek Zenduu Sor-Jan Xantha
==============

Tiland finished dealing the cards and slid his own to the edge of the table, laying the draw pile in a crisp stack along the middle of the table. He chuckled softly at Sor-Jan's words and shook his head.

"It's more than his sleeves that I'll be watching," Tiland said lightly, with a whimsical frown. His own sleeves, however, were quite voluminous, all things considered. Not that he had hidden cards in there. Or did he? He would let them wrestle with that question and wonder. The corners of his mouth twitched at the thought and he let that show.

"Ahh, Jerek," Tiland said, smiling broadly. "How are your meditative practices coming?"

The others had not yet looked at their card and he made no move to look at his. But instead, he studied the others and their attitudes.

 

[Takui]

The best way to run a screen scam in cards was to play your part well. Taku was the learner here, the least trained out of the bunch and by far the least out of touch with the Jedi around the table. He knew what to look for physically, but these opponents were spiritualistic, even masters of the mind in some cases. He had to be cautious about whether or not they could reach into his mind or see through his eyes. If those things were even possible. Were they?

He exhaled softly without picking up the cards, a smile on his face. "Master... Kortun? Did I get that right?" he asked respectfully. "I hope you'll go easy on me. I haven't got a lot of experience in this Jedi thing, or off of my homeworld for that matter..."

He knew better than to appeal to a Corellian for that kind of mercy, though. Instead, he turned to the other two. Placing both hands on the table, one on top of the other, he closed his eyes. "What're we starting at, gentlemen?"

Sor-Jan Xantha | Tiland Kortun | Jerek Zenduu​