Private Corporate Diplomacy

[Darth Caedes]

C O R P O R A T E
D I P L O M A C Y​

Outer Rim Territories
Planet: Mirial
Safe Zone Aurek
Shrewd as always, Caedes thought of the logic Taeli Raaf employed; and endlessly subtle. As she spoke aloud, so too did the Force gather 'round her in a silent way. By means of sorcery, it formed articulate bundles of sensations and words.

'Maybe we can rip out the eye,' she sent, mind to mind.​

Amusement flooded back through those channels; a kind of insidious and anticipatory, creeping thrill—wholly at odds with the King's outwardly stoic composure.

'It has... crossed my mind,' he confirmed.​

'If there is any value to this chattering puppet... it will surely be found therein...'​

Tertius C. Nargath Srina Talon
Gerwald Lechner Quinn Varanin Lirka Ka

 

[Tertius C. Nargath]

"To be blinded by the flaws in a system by naught but the belief in said system is truly not what the powerful should do," Tertius' words reverberated as he calmly opposed Lirka Ka 's words. The pragmatist within him felt great disdain for the very notion that there was anything ever to be considered perfection. Every single thing in existence, no matter how powerful, no matter how beautiful or intricate, all of those things were flawed, not by intention or by design persay, but because there simply existed no such thing as perfection. he had aimed to create the perfect structure for his company, but figured out how it was an impossible task with how unstable the galaxy was, how unpredictable the whims and wishes of the people living within it were. "Do not look down upon those who do not posses the might you seem to practically worship. For it is those who stand below, who are the truly creative ones, whose inventiveness and dedication bring forth the very machines and technology you all end up relying on."

It was a risk the Marquis was taking, but from the way this councilmember spoke, from the way her words weren't minced it was clear she was a warrior, a fighter, a wholly different concept and person than Tertius himself. Still, to make people like that understand and respect his position, he too had to respect them by not mincing his own words, by being ruthless and brutal in opposition to their own words in order for them to understand him.

"I admit to have bypassed the Blackwall indeed...but I have not by any means utilized this to the advantage of the N&Z, but for personal reasons... if this had not been the case you would have absolutely noticed the roaring of the furnaces on Seswenna, the whirring of the machines and the hum of the reactors on Eriadu," Tertius looked directly at Taeli Raaf , hearing her words and understanding her position, but he got tired of explaining himself, not because he did not expect himself to be forced to do so, but because every answer to any question asked, seemed to fall on deaf ears. What was the point of explaining oneself or answering questions being posed, when they did not need any answers to begin with. "I admit that from the outside, one could claim the N&Z to have had any political power within both the Diarchy and the Imperial Confederation...but I remind you, that the granting of planetary control over the industrial sites of our choosing was a settlement between myself and the two aforementioned governments. While both were still fledgling nations, fractured and fragmented as they are now, I had simply stepped in with a price: The N&Z's products and technology in exchange for a planetary system to be converted into an industrial center for the N&Z's own benefit. While you may expect this to have granted us any political power or clout... the result was less impactful than you might realize. We have advocated AGAINST the second invasion attempt, as we did not have any say into the first. We had argued for a peaceful resolution, a diplomatic approach which could get rid of the pointless animosity... we also maintained such a similar position with the Mandalorian Empire... but were denied any means to actually facilitate such resolutions, as with the internal manipulation at the hands of rogue elements and the impulsivity of Marlon Sularen ... we were unable to turn the political tide that swept over both the Diarchy and the Imperial Confederation.

Letting out a sigh, the Marquis lowered his hands, gritting his teeth as he could feel the pain behind his eye intensifying to an almost unbearable degree. "May I remind you that the Trade federation actively pursued to bar the N&Z from any potential deals within the Empire, that several of you were either much inclined to do so or even did so without considering the implications. Add to that the fact as you so openly admitted, that you have shares in the Trade Federation and are thus just as much responsible for pushing the N&Z into the enemy's hands as I have been with my desire to maintain a status of neutrality."

"Before I have an answer for you, in either direction, I require more information. You offer oversight, but I would like to know the current board membership. You offer technology, but I would like to see a catalogue of capabilities and more than just guarantees that such would only appear in Sith hands. If I recall, the same was once said for the Dictator-IIIs, but one was at the head of a fleet formation at Florrum recently."

Perhaps it was exhaustion of trying to maintain his composure, perhaps it was stress or just plain anger, but Tertius was getting paler, an almost sickly color as he continued to push on. "You were given the option to get the Dictator III models, which as explained would be wholly individual, each built to the taste of the client and thus capable of being built locally if enough local technology and resources were used. This offer was made to the Sith Order as a means to convince you to allow us to conduct business within the Empire...however, you have not placed any order and as such, to recoup the costs of the research and engineering, other governments did place orders for these vessels and we did not decline these orders. As for the ship which bears the identification and production number D3002-A, it has been commissioned by one of the divisions within the Imperial Confederation indeed. I will not deny that... but such are the results and consequences of war, products produced and manufactured by our military divisions will inevitably end up being used. "

Almost mirroring the council member, the Marquis himself paused briefly as well, yet in his case it was mainly to regain his bearings, by suppressing the pain which was nearly overwhelming him. He could feel his eye throb, his migraine worsening and worst yet, he hadn't thought about bringing any painkillers with him.

"Oversight means a seat at the board, a direct influence within the company...which if you were to accept the offer to convert the assets within the N&Z which are already located within the Sith Order's territory as solely useable for the benefit of the Sith Order itself, would mean not just a voice or representation, but direct oversight and control over N&Z operations within the empire's borders. As for the catalogue... a successor to the Dictator III is in the making and has already passed the design stage of the standard issue parts... perhaps it would be time to take us on our offer and request one to be made at your behest, with all the materials and technology of your choosing... as for the guarantess to have technology exclusively in Sith hands, by having a representative within the board of directors, the Sith Order benefits from direct requests and exclusive changes to standard issue products to benefit your government exclusively."

TAG: Lirka Ka | Gerwald Lechner | Quinn Varanin | Darth Caedes | Taeli Raaf | Srina Talon

 

[Srina Talon]

TAG: Tertius C. Nargath | Lirka Ka | Gerwald Lechner | Quinn Varanin | Darth Caedes | Taeli Raaf
LOCATION: Safe Zone Aurek

____________________________________________________

She was quite concerned with her tea, though, not so much the biscuits.

If the pale woman oversteeped the leaves, it would become bitter and just about as unbearable as the continuous noise that was repeatedly filling this chamber. The ivory-haired Echani moved freely from within a cage of silks and armor, carefully, pouring a cup when it was ready with all the grace of a ceremonial artisan. It gave her the space to listen to the conversations taking place so that she might make a fully formed opinion, regardless of how it felt like sandpaper was being rubbed directly against her brain.

Srina Talon was not Taeli Raaf and did not retain the business acumen of her husband. She was familiar with proceedings as much as she needed to be when governing, but that was the beginning and the end of it. While the Lady of Secrets had the luxury of giving the descendant of the Lord of Hunger the benefit of the doubt based on a corporate standing, Srina, had no such compunction. He was moving freely through their space already, taking what he wanted, using what he pleased, but had merely come to them seeking a larger piece of the pie? Recognition? Not to be shot on sight?

Delicate hands handed a teacup first to Darth Caedes because he was nearest. He would find it spiced or sweetened exactly the way he preferred, though she did pause when his mind seemed to both expand and sing at the same time. The wintry creature maintained a mental pathway with the King of Korriban that often left her with some measure of insight. It was not an intrusion of his mental faculties, but a shaking of hands, a knock on a metaphysical door that he willingly opened…Letting her in.

She waited patiently for the vision to move through him before letting the hot beverage settle in his hands. Something warm, real, with several tactile surfaces and sensations to ground one back in the moment. Gold-hewn orbs slid from the Dark Councilor and back toward Tertius C. Nargath as he began to make his assessments. Regardless of delivery…It must have been understood by the quaking human that the assembled Sith had been more than reasonable thus far. Not everyone was treated to such pleasantries, especially not when her first thought was to wipe out the whole family line and spare themselves the trouble.

One by one, she visited the Dark Councilors in silence…Leaving a cup of tea for each to take or leave. One of them was spiked with something a little extra....But it was a courtesy. Not a threat. Was it customary for an Empress to serve? No, but she couldn't care less. Who was going to tell her what to do? She saved their guest for last before she returned to her starting point and settled just slightly behind Caedes once more. Her daughter, her wolf, her warrior, her scientist, and her sepulchral were all acting accordingly. It may have seemed like an interrogation…

…Because it was.

When Nargath began to respond to the inquiries from Lady Raaf, even while seemingly in pain…Srina did not interrupt. She let him speak. Let him have every justification and deflection required while he attempted to redistribute blame across the galaxy that had not asked him to stand in the middle of its wars. Metallic eyes settled on him, only him, without any sense of hostility or anger. Which…Might have been worse.

"I can see why you have been relatively successful in your trade. Never have I seen such an undiluted ability to divide responsibility and disavow until the issue has been all but buried beneath corporate jargon. You were denied influence. You were ignored—You were pushed into the hands of our enemies."

She paused, thoughtfully, taking a sip of her tea while it was still scalding hot. Most would have waited until it cooled, but this was how she preferred it. "My heart breaks for you."

The words were soft, almost gentle, but there was nothing soft or gentle about her. She was not Empress of the Order because she was adept at pouring tea, but because she had a knack for felling even the mightiest of beings. Of outlasting all—Even when a nation crumbled. Her expression cooled by degrees as she set her saucer on the table, the teacup directly in the center. The handle was turned just slightly counterclockwise.

"Now…I don't believe we have been clear enough on our position. You are either guest or intruder—You cannot be both. Do not presume to lecture my Council, especially when you failed to grasp what was imparted. No one implied that the Order is without fault, nor were people of industry put down. This nation was built on the back of a man who was once a slave…Do you mean to imply that we do not know value? That we cannot see beyond the randomness of birth?"

A soft and rather incredulous shake of her head followed, though she still wasn't sure how this merchant thought his desperate dialogue was appropriate. Srina had been born a soldier, while many others, including Caedes, had the same starting point as Empyrean. They hadn't always been gifted in the Force and had often relied on the same talents every other member of the verse used to get by. It was ludicrous to insinuate otherwise. "I do not utilize your trinkets nor do I hold favor for the Trade Federation…But that hardly matters. I believe you when you claim that you argued against invasion. I believe that you were overruled by governments you could not control…"

"...But I also believe you built and sold weapons that they used because you knew the war was coming. One must know of something to argue against it...But you did not stop. You did not withdraw. You did not refuse, or recall…But perhaps…On the blood of my people—Adjusted the price to fill your pockets?"

She gave a soft shrug. Most would assume…There was nothing wrong with that. Some would say "it was only business," but every Sith in the room had been on Brosi while their world was literally carpet bombed, and worse, with N & Z technology. "If you have not had the opportunity to stand in the wake of one of your…commodities…while it burned flesh from bone—It is understandable that you would think it nothing more than a transaction."

Radiation poisoning was something she never hoped to experience again.

"I was not so lucky as to avoid the weapons you proliferate. Your relation to the Imperial Confederation and the Diarchy can be reasoned if I were in a giving mood, but the relation to Credius Nargath is the exact opposite. Either you are aware and lying to us, or unaware, which would make you incredibly ignorant and a poor choice for business ventures. No matter what you propose…I would require something far more ironclad than "oversight" to move forward."

There was no amount of "custom ships" this man could promise that would make her take her gaze away from his one, strange eye, nor would it erase her suspicion. She glanced toward Taeli Raaf for a moment before picking up her teacup again. Another sip, seemingly, in thought once more. "It would behoove you to know who we are, Tertuis Nargath."

"We are not Jedi…We are not the Republic…You stand before one who would sooner kill you than share the same air…With your only defense relying on the fact that you didn't personally pull the trigger…?"

The question was…Soft, distant. How could she possibly advocate for a vendor that was privately and publicly responsible for feeding Faithless war efforts on Brosi? It didn't matter what view he held about his actions. All that mattered was how the Sith Order saw it—Whether he was guilty of aiding, killing their kind, or was he simply selling old toasters to homeless old men in back alleys. Was he a business marvel worth working with, or was he just an innocent bystander peddling wares?

Even he, it seemed, could not decide.

"…Would you trust you, appearing now, in this moment?"

A lot was riding on his response...Because Srina did not have the same questions, exactly. No. It wasn't whether or not to agree to his requests, but whether or not to rip his head off. He ought to be glad, she decided to make tea.

It was calming.

 

[Tertius C. Nargath]

It was one thing to have to answer to the Dark Council, but it was an entirely different matter when it was the Sith Empress herself who began to speak up. After she had been rather distractingly bussy with making tea, choosing the appropriate biscuits and handing everyone their tea..strangely also including the Marquis himself, who had shown to be somewhat flabbergasted by this gesture.

"I can see why you have been relatively successful in your trade. Never have I seen such an undiluted ability to divide responsibility and disavow until the issue has been all but buried beneath corporate jargon. You were denied influence. You were ignored—You were pushed into the hands of our enemies."

The marquis winced, not in pain this time, but in the realization that the Empress wasn't entirely incorrect, sarcasm and all. However, she was entirely wrong on one part: Tertius had never called for ownership or power over Eriadu, simply the allowance to be allowed to utilize the assets located within the Sith Territory to their fullest ability. While he understood that the difference between seizing power and being allowed to utilize the innate power one already possessed seemed to be one and the same thing in their eyes, it was not the same.

"My apologies, your highness," The man's hands trembled slightly, yet he did his utter best to mask this momentary sign of nervousness, knowing fully well that now the Empress had taken time to begin her own line of questioning, this would essentially be the moment in which not just Tertius' fate, but that of perhaps all of his blood still living within the Sith Territory would be decided. "Nor I, nor the N&Z makes any claims on any territory within the governance of the Sith Order, we are perfectly aware that such a claim or even request is beyond our current standing and image within the territory over which you so graceously rule. We are also not a demanding party in terms of influence of any kind, merely an asking party in regards to the approval and permittance to operate within Sith Territory under agreed upon terms, conditions and guarantees."

"Now…I don't believe we have been clear enough on our position. You are either guest or intruder—You cannot be both. Do not presume to lecture my Council, especially when you failed to grasp what was imparted. No one implied that the Order is without fault, nor were people of industry put down. This nation was built on the back of a man who was once a slave…Do you mean to imply that we do not know value? That we cannot see beyond the randomness of birth?"

This was the blowback he expected, his honesty had been thrown right back into his face...on one hand it was to be expected from a nation which thrived moreso on backstabbing and intrigue, on utter dominance and deviousness. His honesty had come over as an insult, potential advise was seen as lecturing, deflection of insinuations had been twisted into boasting. The more the empress spoke, the smaller the Marquis felt himself become, his nervousness slowly becoming replaced by a sort of understanding that one could only get when they realized their hand was played out and fate had given them the worst hand in sabbac from the get go. Perhaps it would have been smarter to simply write up Eriadu as a loss, the assets weren't exactly THAT important anymore, but his home, his family was still important to him.

"...But I also believe you built and sold weapons that they used because you knew the war was coming. One must know of something to argue against it...But you did not stop. You did not withdraw. You did not refuse, or recall…But perhaps…On the blood of my people—Adjusted the price to fill your pockets?"

"I was aware of the second invasion attempt... it was the one in which our production lines did run non-stop at the behest of our clients," There was no point avoiding this, at the very least Tertius didn't deny having supplied their enemies with the material and means to wage war. It was a moot point trying to defend something which had clearly and openly been recorded within the company's logs. "And as I stated, we were aware of the invasion, but also strongly advocated against it. However, it behooves me to admit that when the refusal for diplomatic approaches was given, we did not push further... this did come at the cost of many lives on both sides, a burden I will have to carry for the rest of my remaining moments. "

"I was not so lucky as to avoid the weapons you proliferate. Your relation to the Imperial Confederation and the Diarchy can be reasoned if I were in a giving mood, but the relation to Credius Nargath is the exact opposite. Either you are aware and lying to us, or unaware, which would make you incredibly ignorant and a poor choice for business ventures. No matter what you propose…I would require something far more ironclad than "oversight" to move forward."

There it was again, the almost laughable sword of damocles hanging over the Marquis' neck, the name of the brilliant, yet unmistakenbly equally unhinged forebearer whose actions have cost the company and the Nargath family a lot of issues for generations already, like a curse it hung over them, and to make matters worse, it seemed the man who had been thought to have simply died, whose gravesite by all meassures had been known to have been some self-idolating monument in the fringes of the galaxy, was apparently still alive. It was feasible though, that if this man was still alive, they'd still have some sort of way, some means to exert some control over everything Tertius had built or rebuilt, the only problem was that the Marquis had no clue where to begin... how was he supposed to root out a ghost, how was he supposed to figure out the traces when even now, the company was still dependant on a lot of the designs and systems built by Credius Nargath?

"There's two options in that case...if you want complete control, so be it...but in that case, I will no longer push for any charter or request for operations within sith territory, for complete control will NOT be granted over the N&Z," This was not a request, not even a compromise. If the sith wanted anything more than the oversight he had proposed, it would only be within their own territory and he would not have any part of it. They could have the shipyards, he had bigger ones, they could have the research labs, he had bigger ones, but they would not have the N&Z as a whole, that was HIS and he would be damned to let anyone, not the Sith, not the supposedly still alive forebearer of his or anyone else grant themselves even the slightest idea that they could take control over the N&Z. "If Credius is still alive, his presence is just as much a danger to my own existence as well as that of my family. I do not mind hearing proposals from your side in regards to dealing with this...issue."

"We are not Jedi…We are not the Republic…You stand before one who would sooner kill you than share the same air…With your only defense relying on the fact that you didn't personally pull the trigger…?"

The sheer hypocrisy was staggering, but tertius couldn't give any answer nor retort, for in this case she was quite rightly so not wrong, his only defense WAS that he had not been the one pulling the trigger, it wasn't the N&Z utilizing the weapons, it was the Imperial Confederation...still it did sting quite hard to realize that nothing he said was taken as a proper excuse. Still, their claim to sooner kill him than share the same air sounded more like a relief than a threat, maybe she realized it by now as well, but by revealing that Credius might still be alive, she had effectively taken away any means of intimidation the council had, or even she had. The hatred and fear the Nargath family held the deepest and felt the deepest, was directed towards the prodigy who had nearly plunged the house into oblivion, but whose intelligence and resourcefulness was known most thoroughly by the very family which had once been lifted from obscurity by the man's actions.

"…Would you trust you, appearing now, in this moment?"

At the moment this question was asked, tertius dropped to his knee, looking down at the ground. This was a question which was impossible to take lightly, a question in which the answer's effectiveness depended wholly on the mood and the mind of the one posing it. Given the situation, the Marquis was quite aware that it had become pointless... he would most likely die either while or after he had answered... they would make the foolish move of trying to act like it was justified, probably take control of the N&Z assets and hope to find something within the dormant factories and laboratories...but he had already moved the mainframe, he had already foreseen the potential loss of the assets and the potential for the Sith to decide to sabotage the N&Z out of spite. No, his greatest regret would probably be, that most likely the Sith would also displace the Nargaths from their home, would probably destroy thousands of generations' worth of knowledge, customs and culture just to satiate their own grudges.

Still, a question was asked and an answer was expected, nay...demanded of him.

"No," The Marquis' voice was strong, confident and resigned. he had come to understand that given the situation, he could not lie, nor attempt to act differently. He had to see the question through the empress' eyes and he knew this was the only answer they'd even remotely accept as being truthful. "I do not trust myself. I do not trust myself to fall for threats, I do not trust myself to continue in a pointless debate, a mockery of diplomacy. I do not trust myself to bow to pressure so readily applied. I do not trust myself to give up, even now. Just as you do not trust me, just as I know by all these insults and threats...that you all, are also not worthy of trust. Because trust is built on understanding, on dialogue... two things we've been sorely lacking. You have your answer, I have resigned myself to come what may... let your will be done, your Highness...I shall not resist, for resistance is futile."

TAG: Lirka Ka | Gerwald Lechner | Quinn Varanin | Darth Caedes | Taeli Raaf | Srina Talon

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

WEARING: This
WEAPONS: Ferrum Solus | Blodmåne | Strømafbryder
SHIP: Vigfjall
TAG: Srina Talon | Darth Caedes | Taeli Raaf | Quinn Varanin | Lirka Ka | Tertius C. Nargath

Gerwald did not answer right away, and his attention did not leave Tertius when the last of his words settled into the chamber. There was nothing in what had been said that required unraveling or reconsideration. The explanation had already done that work on its own. Each attempt to shape it had only made it clearer, not more complicated, and what remained was simple enough to stand without assistance.

The fear that had followed him into the room had not disappeared, but it had changed in a way that was easy to recognize. It had drawn inward and steadied. It no longer searched for a way through the moment or reached for something that might shift it in his favor. That change showed in the way he held himself and in the steadiness of his voice. The hesitation that had marked his arrival was gone. What stood there now was someone who had accepted where he stood and chose to remain there.

That did not change anything.

Gerwald’s awareness moved through the chamber without breaking from him. The accusation from Lirka Ka still held exactly where it had been placed. Darth Caedes had already stripped away any illusion that this required careful handling. Taeli Raaf had offered nothing to counter it. Srina Talon had already crossed the room and already spoken. The act of pouring tea had not softened anything that followed it. Her observations that came with it had settled without hesitation and without room for misunderstanding.

Nothing in Tertius’ explanation had shifted any of that. If anything, it had narrowed the space further by confirming what had already been understood.

Gerwald let that stand without interruption. There was nothing in it that required him to interfere. The moment had already taken its shape.

“No one pushed you into anything. You knew what was coming, and you made your decision anyway. You kept your lines running, you supplied our enemies, and you stayed there when it mattered. That isn’t something you explain your way out of.”

His gaze did not leave Tertius as he spoke, and there was no strain or emphasis in his voice.

“And now you stand here and tell us you wouldn’t trust yourself. You tell us you won’t bend. You tell us you don’t trust us.”

The words followed the same line that had already been laid out.

“So I’m trying to understand why you’re here at all. You came here knowing what this was. You knew who you would be standing in front of. You knew what you had done. You still chose to walk into this room and say all of that out loud. And you still expect this to go somewhere.”

Gerwald remained where he stood, steady and unmoving. There was nothing in front of him that required anything more than what had already been said.

The answer had already been given. It was in the admission that he would not trust himself. It was in the refusal to bend. It was in the certainty that had replaced whatever hesitation he had carried into the room. Everything that followed from that was already decided.

“Why should I let you keep breathing after that?”

He did not move when the words left him. He did not look to anyone else for agreement. He did not add anything further. There was nothing left in the moment that required it.

 

[Lirka Ka]

TAGS: Srina Talon Tertius C. Nargath Quinn Varanin Taeli Raaf Gerwald Lechner Darth Caedes

Lirka Ka was an unpredictable and at times flippant creature. Grossly hypocritical and utterly self-centered - it's why she made for such a good politician. Sometimes at least. The razor's edge of impending violence hung in the room, a lesser soul might've been suffocated by the thing. To some childish extent, this was more entertainment for the Once-Sephi than anything else. A chance to show her mettle to her fellows, and a chance to leer down upon an outsider from the comfortable seat she sat.

With the stirring of Srina Talon a certain eagerness entered her black hearts, excitement at seeing what the Empire's newest ruler would do to this upstart and that paranoid twinge of cowardly fear that ebbed within the back of her mind when in the presence of one of the few entities within the Empire that sat above her position. Lirka allowed her normally rude tendencies to subside for a time as the cup was placed before her - not willing to openly decline. Yet the ascetism of her own esoteric faith not allowing indulgence in such...peaceful pleasure. Instead, she was allowed to listen - she did not bark back at Tertius C. Nargath yet, the others deserved their turn first.

Taeli Raaf was ever the reasonable one of the gaggle compared to Lirka's own savage tendencies not incomparable to the icy chill of the Empress herself. The idea of greater corporate investment into their Empire was a bothersome prospect to Lirka...she had grown rather fond of the wonton misery that all but entirely centralized production of the Order had allowed to fester within its borders. An upturn for the plebeians did stand rather opposed to that little quirk her faith adored. In her grand calculus the ebb and flow of selfish reasoning to perpetuate a Dark Faith that few understood, this was little more than a blip.

Yet...opportunity did so often present itself in these moments of great negativity.

With the murderous intent of Gerwald Lechner now hanging in the air after the chairman continued to dig his pit deeper and deeper with each word for this less-than-friendly assembly. Lirka broke this suffocating silence with a laugh, rancorous, obnoxious, and utterly humorless. How could she not in a moment like this?

Instead of letting the boy speak again, she answered Councilor Lechner herself.

"There's always another weasel ready to climb and replace this sort. Keep the boy alive - the Galaxy could use another prattling minstrel."

The others had raised their point, but Tertius had addressed her directly enough to warrant response. She was a warrior indeed. Blood and sinew, but she was more than a mere warrior: she was the veneration of sadism, a chaos bringer who had devoted herself to the perpetuation of misery in this Galaxy to bring the worthy to the same cruel enlightenment she had reached upon Rhand.

"Do not think to speak to Lirka Ka of vision, for I have reached sight that which your diseased opulence could not fathom. And this sight has given the privilege to look down upon unworthy things, rats, weasels, things that scuttle for pointless nothingness. You have not the barest notion of true power, child. But perhaps, in the kindness of this Council, I shall show it to you."

Under most pretense. Lirka did as she pleased: for she was a rat that scuttled with purpose, hiding her dark dealings where appropriate. But with the Empress present...it didn't hurt to ask for permission. Glowing slit lenses now turned to Srina Talon - a helm of metallic emotionlessness, yet emanating cruelty all the same.

"Well, he has spoken clearly enough. He has resigned himself to consequence and the indomitable will of the Empress. But say the word, and allow me to liberate the Nagarths of their woes upon Eriadu so that this turmoil shall trouble the great N&Z Corporation no more."

Could it end any other way?

​

​

 

[Tertius C. Nargath]

While he remained in the kneeling position, Tertius could hear Gerwald Lechner 's tirade, the words of one who knew nothing about business, nothing about the dangers the tightrope travels one had to undertake to maintain their semblance of neutrality despite the fact that all the evidence would've shown otherwise. If the Sith had truly cared about the N&Z's corporate support of the Imperial Confederation, they would've been quite clear much sooner, but they didn't...

In retrospect, Tertius could've simply continued ignoring it all, continuing to expand outside of the Sith Empire, continuing to bring in the profits, but the soft spot he had for his homeworld, his people had brought him to the Dark Council, it was this weakness in the form of nostalgia and heritage which had brought him to the point where he hoped to no longer be ignored, to be given the opportunity to grant the Sith Empire the same access, if not greater access to the means the N&Z had provided to many others.

Still... the fact that so far the members of the Dark Council either did not understand his position, his words and the meaning behind them, or simply refused to do so... made any negotiation somewhat fruitless and pointless from the get go. Their grudges, pathetic and petty were seemingly all they held on to. Their hatred for one man overshadowing all the Marquis of Valkan could offer them, their delusional stance on business blinding them from the financial and military gain they'd have when allowing the N&Z to just do what it did best within their territory: develop, engineer and research new technology and to have this new technology available to them without any roundabout means of commerce.

"Allow me to explain myself," The marquis sighed, as if he expected at least someone to know why he had responded as such to the Empress' question. "I show honesty by revealing that I do not trust myself. I know that despite my pragmatic nature, I am but a mortal man, driven by emotion and desire. Therefor I know that as an emotional being I am never to be fully trusted. I know about the philosophy which drives the Sith, the tennets you follow...which makes you all, exactly like myself emotional beings, no matter your mortal or immortal nature, you are thus, just like myself not to be trusted. However, what I do trust and what I do not doubt you yourself would not fail to put your trust in; is the system, the framework that could be set up between and around us."

Standing up again, the Marquis bowed towards the Empress Srina Talon and turned towards the Dark Councilmembers again. "I've given you offers, I have given you an opening for negotiations...I truly do believe that we can find a cooperative agreement between the N&Z, myself and the Sith Empire. I am willing to give you a degree of oversight many a company would call a damnable offense to commercial freedom, I am willing to give you nigh absolute control over what can be produced within the confines of the Sith Empire and through factional oversight you may even monopolize any technology researched and developed within the confines of your territory. We are willing to pay the tarrifs you put upon us...and I do not wish nor need any political power in return, because that is not what I want nor what I need. So I'll be quite clear right here, right now... either do your worst or do your best, but stop wasting all of our time with petty, pedantic bluster and pointless drivel."

TAG: Lirka Ka | Gerwald Lechner | Quinn Varanin | Darth Caedes | Taeli Raaf | Srina Talon