Common Lectures of A Political Nature

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Anweald Bermann"]


The meeting held between Kay and the Mandalorians turned out to be quite different than she had expected. There were much more people that had showed up for it than what she had planned for. And everyone had strong opinions about the Sith Blockade that currently plagued certain routes going into CSA space. Everyone had their own ideas about what to do about it.

All of that was fine. However the conduct taken wasn't always the correct one. Tempers were raised, insults and veiled threats were given. She was used to that happening at meetings elsewhere, but never in her home. And she had hoped that it would never happen again.

After everyone was gone, Kay took some time to settle herself. She stood quietly at one of her office windows, watching the sun go down behind the trees, sipping on her ever present cup of tea.

It wasn't until she was sure that she was calm and centered that she called the Admiral into her office. He needed to be dealt with for his outbursts and insults to her guests.

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Lady Kay"]

A little boy being called into the principles office. No. Lady Kay had always known of Bermanns behavior. He was a brash man, he was harsh, it seemed like the only one he didn't speak openly about was her, Queen Kay. Still, while 'trouble' wasn't really the proper word, Bermann was receiving a reprimand. Although, Lady Kay had surprised him before. Bermann may have destroyed his shot at working for a higher position into the Commenor Systems Alliance, he may have destroyed his dream career entirely.

When he was requested or ordered to come speak to Lady Kay, he did not hesitate. He did not try to run, he did not prepare a speech to make her agree with him. He would wear this reprimand with pride. If she would shame him, it would be proper, and he would wear it all the same, like any soldier that messes up in the line of duty.

He entered the room, similar to the way he did before. Quiet, respectful, and well-mannerly. He closed the door and turned around, standing to attention, looking at the wall on the other side of the room, acting like a soldier falling in line. "You requested for me, Queen Kay?" was all he asked.

 

[Kay-Larr]

As soon as she heard the door open, Kay turned from the window and stepped over to stand in front of her desk. She set her tea down and then folded her arms across her chest as she looked upon [member="Anweald Bermann"] . Her own features were stern, yet she kept her voice calm as she spoke. "I know that you had meant well, but you spoke way, way out of line. I cannot have you insulting my guests, especially the Mandalorians. Their leader [member="Yasha Mantis"] is my niece. She is my family. Insulting them is insulting me."

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"It took a while,
But I got my niece to continue to help. I didn't request for her help, but given her ties between both governments, it made perfect sense. Your area of expertise is war strategy, while mine is on the political front. I'll not draw us into a war without first exhausting all other avenues. Are we clear?"

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Lady Kay"]


Bermann took an appropriate position, standing in front of Lady Kay at a respectable distance, away from just the door. "Queen Kay, my apologies, my intentions were not to damage relations between the Mandalorian Empire and the Commenor Systems Alliance. I will not stand here and imply I know the Mandorlians, or the Sith Empire. Except, you and I both know not only what the Sith Empire is capable of, but what they have blatantly done with their reign in the galaxy. You know I only wish to serve you, and protect your kingdom, at any costs."

He paused, gulping, feeling a little bad now, thinking about the possible results that his infraction could have caused. "If you would allow me to speak freely, my Queen," he said in a hushed tone. He was still at attention, as if he was a soldier of her army, still feeling honored to be in her presence. "I apologize, to you, Queen Arenais," he continued, if she allowed him. "I was wrong, to assert my voice to the Mand'alor. My intentions were to gain her attention and hopefully open her eyes to the truth that we all knew; what the Emperor was doing. However, I will not apologize for telling the truth. No matter how much it harms me to upset you, my instincts tell me she is intimidated by him. For whatever reason, if it may be the Emperor had gotten close to her in the past, or she fears his threats as if they what govern the laws of the galaxy, I believe she was intimidated by the Emperor. I can not apologize for what I believe was the truth, nor should I expect forgiveness for my actions. I have upset you."

His arms rested to his sides, no longer clasped together behind his back, "my every intention of taking this position, wearing this uniform, and fighting to live when all of my hope was lost, was to make you a proud Queen. However, I have failed you, not only as your Admiral, with the trust you have given me, but I have betrayed you as a friend. I am no longer on Galderra, this is not my command, and I do not expect for you to bequeath to me any kind of command, after such an incident. I could have caused the entire alliance to fall, no, I could have ended an entire family bond. There is nothing I can do for you or say to request your forgiveness. There is not enough of our language that I can use to convey my sorrow for the pain and distrust I have caused you. And due to my spectacle in the room, I realized I had not told you about my abilities. During our time apart, I went to see some great masters after discovering something about my past... about Galderra's past. The Force is within me, and by that I mean the Light and the Dark, but I hold them to a different standard than what you understand. There is no good, there is no evil. I use my powers only for the benefit and protection of others." Bermann then, quickly, took a knee in front of the Queen, "I kneel to you because I choose to. Neither my intentions nor my actions will ever go against your decisions or choices. Like I said, this is no longer Galderra, this is your Kingdom. I only wish to serve you, Lady Kay. I hope you still believe me. Your trust is all that I have left to my name which is gone."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded her head as [member="Anweald Bermann"] requested to speak freely. She kept her arms folded across her chest while she listened to him explain himself. "Everyone is intimidated by power. It's only natural. But did you ever consider that maybe it's all a strategy of hers to be able to have some control over the Sith Emperor and his actions? If the Sith ever struck out at us fully, my niece and her people would be the first to come to our aid and that is not what the Sith want.
That gives us an advantage. Taking that advantage away isn't a good idea."

But at least she was able to salvage it. Kay didn't have the trust or support of all of them, but she didn't need to. What she had was enough to give her people a fighting chance against a powerful enemy.

Her brows furrowed as Bermann continued, conveying his apologies for his words. It was all too much. He didn't need to go that far. She slowly shook her head as he knelt before her. Rarely did anyone ever bend the knee to her, for she had never required it. Yet here he was, doing so for the second time today. Kay understood why he did it, but it wasn't necessary.

"Eddak...please stand up." Yes, she spoke his real name, if oy to draw his attention. Kay lowered her arms to her sides as she now sat on the edge of her desk. "You didn't nearly ruin a family bond. If such a thing were so easily broken, then it wasn't that strong of a bond to begin with.
Your apology is accepted. However...as part of your punishment, you will no longer be admitted to meetings of such sensitive political nature until such a time that I can trust that you'll not repeat your mistake. Understood?" The latter half of his punishment was still being decided upon. It could be as easy as community service. Or it could be much worse. She'd need more time to think on that one.

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Lady Kay"]

Bermann looked at Lady Kay and stared at her as he thought for a moment, saying his name perked him up a little. He almost started to detest his old name due to the memories of a life he could no longer live, but Lady Kay held his name. She held a power over him no other could. He stood, only because she didn't want him to kneel. "Lady Kay..." he grunted, whispering as he looked down, clenching his fists, "the Sith Empire has reigned too long, and they have caused too much damage. This galaxy has been bleeding for life times that we can't even imagine, and we just sit here, on Commenor." She could see his jaw clenched as he hated himself for saying such things. "I don't... no, no I don't believe Commenor has any obligation to the galaxy nor do I think they should fight some epic battle of the era. I'm just.... I'm tired of everyone thinking Commenor can't fight, that it doesn't have the experience, that it can't do anything without its allies. Even the.... damned Mandalorians think they are our only hope to survival and they have been patching whatever territory they have together because of all this mess. But we aren't weak," he looked up at her with pain in his eyes. "We have people from all over the galaxy. Commenor as an entity, no, it doesn't have any experience except what is in the past. But look at me, look at your government, were they all Commenor-born? I just.... I just think the Sith Empire needs to be shown it isn't allowed to tear this galaxy apart anymore. The things Galderra went through with the Galactic Empire.... could never compare. But that's just it. The Galactic Empire did some... questionable things, things I hate. But the Sith Empire.... they are worse. Much worse. I can't stand by as someone ravages everything. Those planets may not be my home but dammit.... those people matter. They didn't ask to be slaves, or menial workers, or grunts, or whatever else. Them and their damn propaganda. I'm sorry Lady Kay.... after all the hell I went through for your husband, the crap with the pigs on Galderra and the Galactic Empire.... I'm tired. I'm tired of getting my spit kicked in. I don't want to see everything you've worked for get burned down like Coruscant. But I am not trustworthy, you've shown that. I can't be your torch in the darkness I wanted to be. I understand."

Bermann slowly grabbed the sword that was on his waist, it was the sword he had taken from Lady Kays office... his sword. He unbuckled the belt that held it and its sheathe, and handed it all to her. "I am nothing but your sword. You are the one who may draw me.... or sheathe me. Until you need me, I am but a simple Commenori, commanding a ship for his Queen."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay slowly shook her head as she listened to [member="Anweald Bermann"] speak of Commenor being inexperienced and unable to defend itself, and nearly chastizing her for not joining in the Galaxy's conflicts.

"Let them think that we can't fight, Eddak! Let them think that we are weak and defenceless.
Commenor survives. It always has. When the One Sith were breathing down our necks, and the Mandalorian Crusades were terrorizing our sector, did anyone come to help us?? No! We had to look after ourselves. And I don't know about you, but I'm quite proud of the Commenori for following protocol and saving so many lives. I can't count that anyone, allied or not would be able help us in times of need. So we have built up our forces, we run through drills and hope that it'll be enough to get most of our people to safety. Let them think that we are weak and unworthy of their time. It keeps us safe."

She let out a sigh as he claimed to be untrustworthy and nothing but her weapon to use, like the sword he was holding out to her. "We do our part.
We give humanitarian aid and take in refugees. This place is a sanctuary. It's the only stable sector in all the Galaxy and everyone knows that. If they wanted it destroyed, then they would have tried already. But why do so? It would disrupt their flow of goods and credits. You may think that this is all some cowardly way to reside, but trust me when I say that it isn't. Look at how much we have grown! As war wages in other sectors, we bring in more planets to our fold and put more people under protection. With the fall of the Galactic Alliance, we can spread our influence closer to the Core and secure it. I'm not in this game for quick results. I'm in this for the long haul. And despite what you and others may think, we are winning."

Kay pushed the sword back to him. "You are more than just some weapon to be used. And don't beat yourself up about this. I don't expect everyone to share my point of view or opinions. That's what makes this all work. The Sith will fall.
And then the good will fall. And the Sith again and so on. It's a neverending cycle. But we will survive. We always do."

 

[Eddak Manod]

[member="Lady Kay"]


Bermann raised an eyebrow at what Lady Kay said. He understood and grasped most of it, but some it seemed the Queen had gotten the wrong impression of what he was talking about. "There is nothing cowardly in helping others who can not help themselves," he had waited until she was finished, "my Queen. While you don't send guards to protect them, you offer them a safe haven. I admire that, I admire your neutrality to allow them to enter our space and as I stand on any bridge of any ship, I follow that law and I offer protection to what I can, when I can. I never said, from my own mouth, that Commenor was weak. I said it pisses me off to hear it from others. Because one or two factions fall, everyone thinks all hope is lost, or that they are the only power left in the galaxy. You want to know why these factions died, Lady Kay? Because they were too stubborn, they wanted independence and sole rule. If, for once, the galaxy can put its differences aside, the bad can be taken down. The good continue to fall because not only do we let our guard down, but we think we've become so strong, that we become blinded and weak. I don't mean to imply you and I, Lady Kay, I mean the people of the galaxy. Every era we have a chance to keep the evil down. If they want to have their little orders, let them, but don't let them take the galaxy. Don't let them poison the galaxy and enslave the population. An oasis in the desert, we are, yes. But the galaxy will still be a desert, my Queen. I wholeheartedly understand your reasoning for neutrality, and I admire it and respect it. But I hope you understand what I mean, as well. It's not right to let the ocean around us become tainted and kill off the others of the galaxy or corrupt them. It's not right that we can sit in our homes, safe from the clouds of evil, watching out the window as the neighboring system is decimated and people are put into chains. I wouldn't stand here and besmirch CSA, but you have to understand, this is why I became the King of my Kingdom, it's why I wanted to pull my people off the frontlines, it's why I worked hard to help protect your people. And don't think I'm all about war, Lady Kay. The Gamorrean Wars lasted for a hundred generations on Galderra, before I went to them and told them we need to live in peace. It took the slaughtering of both of our peoples, but we reached an agreement."

"I am still your weapon. I will never betray you, like Arenais did. I will never betray your teachings, your good will," he put his hands on the sword, on top of Kay's hands, gently pushing it back to her, "I will never betray your people. But there will come a day you will call on me, when you call on Eddak. Whatever it is, I will come, I will be there, for my Queen. Because I care about you."