Hell in a hand basket

[Deneve Verd]

It isn't often that Deneve would reach out and arrange meetings. It was even rarer when she extended an invitation to her family. To those that knew Deneve, they knew that she wasn't like the rest of the people she surrounded herself with. Her opinions on a person was not judged by the actions of their past. No it was judged on the actions of the future.


With the recent turn of events, the young woman found herself searching out her grand-father by marriage much to the displeasure of her step-mother. She knew a person that had the head on straight when she witnessed one. This particular person had his head on straight.


She had sent word ahead requesting an audience with her extended kin within the Crusader space, she would need to be close to the capital with the way things were going. Leaving strict instructions to the care of Ava, the woman would board a transport and make her way to the estate she knew belonged to the man she had come to know was now her extended kin through marriage. She came with the little to know weapons, she saw no point in doing so. If he wanted to harm her a weapon wouldn't stop him in the first place.



It wasn't long before her transport landed at the estate of her new grandfather. Taking a deep breath, the young woman would disembark from the ship and make her way towards the area she knew would be the best place to receive her. Her footsteps were slow yet sure. She knew of the reputation of the man she was going to meet yet that didn't phase her in the least bit. If anything she was slightly intrigued, curious to see how exactly he acted when not glazing planets and killing off dozens of people. Perhaps he was the type to take everything into account and then voice a plausible suggestion. She was hoping that he would accept the offer she came baring.

"Greetings grandfather.." A simple telepathic message was sent through the force, her hands coming to rest upon her arms as she would lean against a nearby wall and wait for him to make an appearance.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

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Kaine Zambrano's Imperial Estate
Bastion

Since the dissolution of the Mandalorian Empire following [member="Isley Verd"]'s submission to [member="Ra Vizsla"]'s claim to the title of Mand'alor the Sith Lord known by many as either Darth Carnifex or Darth Vornskr, or more personally as Kaine Zambrano, only ventured into Crusader territory with the utmost discretion and secrecy, forgoing the arrogant pomp and ceremony that he had before when he met with his son-in-law for fear of being persecuted by the new Mand'alor. Luckily for him he had been prudent enough to keep the location of his Bastion estate secret from everyone except those he considered part of his family, the documents of ownership forged under a fabricated alias and maintained through many proxy financial accounts, and several defensive measures put in place should someone just so happen upon the mountainous fortress shrouded in dense fog.

It was fortunate enough for [member="Deneve Verd"]'s envoy that she hadn't been blown right out of the sky, with Kaine himself giving her clearance to land upon mention that his granddaughter personally sent her with a message for his eyes only. Naturally she had been searched thoroughly after disembarking her ship, and was placed in a holding cell while Kaine mused over whether or not to actually meet with the granddaughter he hardly knew or had wanted to know prior to now.

Recent events within the Crusaders urged him to hear her out at least.

He'd keep the envoy as leverage just in case, and had a message sent to Deneve informing her that he had accepted an audience with her and to meet him at his estate. Soon enough a lone shuttle was detected on the estate's long-range scanner system, and after a quick verification was directed to land within the estate grounds. Again, a contingent of guards met her as she disembarked and searched her, taking anything that was unnecessary for the encroaching meeting and then directing her to an antechamber adjacent to the main foyer.

Kaine would arrive a few minutes later, but even before he opened the door to the chamber he would be greeted by his granddaughter's words slithering through his mind, bringing a smile to his lips at the moment he finally beheld her. He himself wore relatively simple, yet still noble, garments of linen personally tailored to fit snugly around his imposing frame. A circlet of black steel and blood rubies was perched atop his brow, and his inky black hair was bound back into a tail that trailed down the middle of his back and adorned with leather bands encrusted with jewels.

"Moae bossra koqur aeui, koybudil ah pi' ram*. It is pleasant to finally meet you at last, face-to-face."

*"Let battle favor you, daughter of my son." (Moae bossra koqur aeui is a common greeting on Panatha, a world where battle and strength dominate society and culture.)

 

[Deneve Verd]

She really didn't care about pleasantries. She was here on business. She had an offer she thought he might be interested in. First of course, she would poise him a simple question. One that would decide how she would move forward with the reason she was here.

"Like wise grandfather. Though, we are both busy. Let's not waste time exchanging pleasantries. I've come with an offer for you. One that should you find acceptable will be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. But first, how do you feel about the recent developments in the Mandalorian side of things?" Would she out right ask him how he felt about her father bending a knee to Ra?No. She had no reason to, they both knew the current events of the Galaxy.


Drifting into a polite silence, the young woman would wait, her arms moving to cross over her chest whilst Hazel hues would study the man before her in a curious sweep. She had heard stories of how formidable he was yet here he was before her. She knew he could kill her with the barest effort yet, she honestly didn't care. He was her kin by marriage and that meant he would be given the same respect as those sharing her blood. If anything she was loyal to those that she deemed worthy of being loyal.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Straight to the point, are we?" he chuckled dryly, his hands clasping behind his back as he regarded [member="Deneve Verd"] in a more authoritative light, his glare becoming hard as his entire posture shifted. He had always possessed a domineering presence around others, his height and enhanced physique made him larger and more powerful than other men and women his age, and whether it was battle or diplomacy he would always steer the tide in his favor. She inquired his personal feelings on the recent shift in power within Mandalorian society, and he was more than willing to divulge his opinions on the matter with a curl of the lip and a throaty snarl heralding his words: "Isley was a fool to bend the knee so eagerly to this... Ra. Given the opportunity and my guidance the Mandalorian Empire could've outlasted Vizsla and his cronies indefinitely, but now this little kingdom he carved out for himself is nothing more than an extension of the government situated on Mandalore. He may be Warmaster now, but he'll always be subservient."

Kaine didn't have a very high appreciation for honor in whatever flavor it was presented to him, he firmly believed that because of his superiority over the lesser droogs of the galaxy that he was bound to achieve his goals through whatever means necessary and at whatever cost was necessary. No loss of life was too great, not destruction too ruinous, and he would fight tooth and nail to claim what he believed was his by the manifest destiny of the Dark Side of the Force. If that meant fighting dirty, or completely disregarding morals and ethics than it was a small price to pay, if one could considering the forsaking of such archaic concepts worthy enough to mean anything to anyone.

Generally people tended to value some sort of personal code of honor, even some of the scummiest criminals in the galaxy had a line they didn't cross. Kaine had no such qualms, he had no such barriers restricting him from doing whatever needed to be done. But his train of thought was going places unsuitable for the conversation at hand, and he refocused his attention back on his granddaughter by marriage. She resembled her father way too much in his opinion, not a single drop of Zambrano blood flowed through the veins beneath her creamy mocha skin, and her eyes were a pleasant hazel rather than that imperious emerald so common among his brood.

"Isley Verd may be my son by law, and he may be a competent practitioner of dark magic, but he is a fool if he believes he can reach his full potential under the yoke of another Mand'alor."