Private High Society

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Not a clue. Amusing since my family has either lived by the beach or lake since I've come into their fold."

Shoulders shrugged as she cut a piece of ravioli in half, revealing rich cheese filling. Swimming was not something that seemed appealing. Ruined hair. Dangerous sea creatures. Hazardous tides that could easily change.

Dipping her toes in was more than enough.

"I'm sure they are beautiful resorts but you would have to ask my father. Anything beyond a first date requires their approval and since technically this could be considered a date..."

Thankfully this would get Tavian Djo off her tail. Only once had someone asked her parents to date her. Beyond that others had quickly scattered. Given the Pal'da seemed the non committal type, she knew there would be no effort.

 

[Tavian Djo]

"Technically I believe it could. Your father? Yes..."

She was adopted, or so she claimed. Tavian pushed around his food for a second, not looking up as he pondered briefly.

"Yes, of course. I will message him. I suppose there will need to be some interaction between our family heads. My mother may reach out," he grimaced, though behind it he couldn't help but feel a touch smug as he called Persephone's bluff.

Trying to use these formalities as a shield to ward off a Hapan? They practically lived and breathed formalities and courtship and... Hmm. Political assassinations.

He did not want to put her in danger. As far removed as he was from the throne, he supposed she would not be seen as a threat. For now. Eventually he would have to tell her, assuming she did not know already.

"Unless you have some strident opposition to a second date? I did want to ask you earlier, but I thought it imprudent when the main course had not even come out. And... I had yet to learn your favorite color, after all," he smiled gently teasing.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"That's fine, I would be happy to speak with her. I'm sure my parents would as well."

Persephone had never had the parents of another reach out. She had met parents before - often mothers at social events trying to set up their son. Those were often the worse. She felt if the son couldn't ask on her on his own he wasn't worth the trouble. It was less sheltering and ensuring an appropriate match. Similar goals and values, as her adoptive mother would say. Also explained her friend group.

Finishing her first ravioli, she pondered the idea of a second date. After he got over his emotional outburst he seemed more normal. Steady. Right now she could chalk it up to nerves and awkwardness. She wasn't exactly a social butterfly herself and they had both traded a few barbs.

"If my parents approve...sure. I have no reason to say no. You could say I might look forward to it."

 

[Tavian Djo]

Tavian never suspected he would get this far. He expected that Persephone would write him off on this second meeting as a freakish stalker, although he'd had no idea she would be working at the gallery much less on the planet. Now that she actually said she was looking forward to it... well... Tavian could not help the grin that split his face, his teeth too white and too perfect.

"I'm glad."

The Hapan boy spent the next few moments cleaning half the gamebird risotto from his plate, then spearing one of the roast vegetables. That too was exquisite. He wondered if anything could possibly ruin his mood at the moment. Maybe if she made another comment about not wanting love. Yes, that would probably do it.

A message buzzed his datapad. Tavian looked at it.

"Ah. Darien is tearing up the local club with the rest. I suppose you know all the best nightclubs and casinos in town? Or do you despise gambling..." Tavian tried to picture her at the craps tables, or pulling the lever on a slot machine.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"No, that's not my style."

Persephone had visions of ordering a goldfruit shortcake and lingering over caf. Seemed if fate had other plans but she was going to order the shortcake to go and make caf back at Mauve's. Wrist turned to look at her intellichorno to check the time. Purpy had been in a bit of a mood and Persephone suspected she was broken hearted. Could have eaten pints of ice cream and badmouthed whatever pond scum broke her heart, but there was an illusion of a stiff upper lip.

"I've got clients to meet in the morning anyhow."

Appointments made by the elderly patrons who had walked through.

"If all goes well...and you get permission, I suppose we will be seeing each other soon. If not, best of luck in naval intelligence. I'm sure you will do just fine once you're deployed and in the thick of it."

 

[Tavian Djo]

"Well, thank you very much for dinner, Mlle. Dashiell," Tavian stood as they'd both finished and she'd already announced she would be paying.

"I should probably turn in for the evening before my friends show up and try to drag me off to a concert or the like."

Reaching for her hand, he took it gently in his and held it up to his lips. The urge to linger at the touch of softness and warmth was strong, but not overpowering. Tavian let go.

"Until next time, Persephone."

***

A few days later...

"Good morning, Mssr. Dashiell. You do not know me, but I have become acquainted with your daughter, Persephone. She made it abundantly clear that before we ventured on a second date I need to seek your permission. I am not certain how you do things outside of the Hapes Cluster, but I am happy to send you my resume or lineage certificate. I intended to invite her to one of the resorts on Hapes, or if that seems too informal to you then we had discussed an archaeological dig site tour of a former Gree colony."

That seemed a bit too far to Tavian, but it is what would be expected of any Hapan noble. So best to be on the safe side. Although he did wonder if the galaxy felt the same way about their obsessiveness over bloodlines. Likely not.

"I am available if you wish to discuss further via holomail, transmission, or in person. Sincerely, Tavian Djo."

This all felt rather like he was seeking to purchase an expensive speeder rather than go on date with a beautiful and intelligent young woman, but then he expected this was exactly how his mother discussed things with the other Duchas.

So be it.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Wearing | Gear : X | X | X | X | X | L3-37 | Interacting With : Tavian Djo
​

"Lineage certificate? Our loth-cats don't even have that."

Makai read the message again. Persephone had mentioned a potential contact but he expected nothing of it. Yet it was one of the oddest he had yet. There was a suggestion of having a visit to a resort within Hapes and he raised an eyebrow. Last he heard there was some tension off that way.

"Isn't there a war brewing in the Hapan Cluster?"

Next time him wife replied with a soft snore. Right. Growing kid number two tended to take a lot out of a person. Looked like he was navigating this one on his own.

KNOLSTEE COUNTY CLUB, KNOLSTEE SYSTEM, CORPORATE SECTOR

​

Out on the eighth hole, Makai squatted down to look at the angle he needed to fight out of the rough from. Brows furrowed as Thirty-Seven stood nearby to hand clubs over as needed or to give advice. A small hmph as he realized there was going to have to be an effort to chip the ball over a creeping bush.

Reaching for his pitching wedge, iced azure eyes landed on the other man with him. For the most part Makai had been quiet beyond exchanged greetings and small talk. Feeling one another out. He could feel the shock when the Pal'da shook his hand, Persephone was their adopted daughter with about a ten year age gap between them.

Made for some amusing conversations.

"Why a resort in the Hapes Cluster? Is there not tension in the region regarding the Mandalorians? For a second encounter...it seems forward."

 

[Tavian Djo]

“We’ve heard rumors, but the Mandalorians have yet to try anything.”

Tavian stood a few feet away wearing slacks and an athletic top with a collar. He had a hand in a pocket and watched Mr. Dashiell try to calculate a proper exit from the rough.

“She… She said she liked the beach. And I wanted to show her Hapes.”

The fact that Makai Dashiell hardly looked older than Tavian was a bit of a shock. He’d expected an older couple frankly, but this made a sort of sense as well. What age was she when she was adopted? He wondered. And why.

There were many questions he had about her past but he did not want to frighten her by asking too soon.

Neither did he want to ask her adoptive father and circumvent her.

“If you think it’s too much, then there’s the Gree colony dig site.”

Makai Dashiell

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Wearing | Gear : X | X | X | X | X | L3-37 | Interacting With : Tavian Djo

Successfully chipping himself out of the rough, the half-Galan mulled over the words uttered by the Pal'da. Nothing was necessarily wrong beyond resort for a second date. So far Djo was the best one Persephone had shown interest in and as she got older, Makai found himself transition from father-figure to older brother. Guiding rails were there in a much different manner.

"Persephone's ideal time at the beach is to sit and read. I don't feel comfortable with the both of you out on a second date out in the Hapan cluster." Makai paused, mulling over his words as he worked back to the green. "Besides, if things go south there's more to do at the Gree ruins."

Gaze flicked back to the other as he grabbed a putter.

"Royalty. Interested in Persephone. I, uh...I am surprised. You're not looking at sowing any royal oats before settling down are you? Our family wouldn't be exactly the type I expect would be welcomed into the fold of such a family. Not to say your intentions are negative. Just relying on past experiences."

 

[Tavian Djo]

"Royalty may be a stretch, sir," Tavian smiled weakly, "Same family but several cousins removed. And I am not so sure about your family not being accepted."

The Hapan boy frowned.

"From everything Persephone has told me I suspect my mother would either be livid, or strategically interested in the prospect of a connection to the Arceneau Trading Company."

Tugging at his hover bag full of clubs, he pulled it with him, following Makai out of the rough. "I respect your family's prosperity, but I can assure you I had no idea when I met Persephone of her status."

This was all so formal for what should have been romance. It made his neck itch under the collar. He hated it, just as much as he hated the idea of being arranged to some Ducha's daughter.

"And I don't know what all this talk is about oats. If my family knew, they-" he stopped himself.

Probably not best to tell the adoptive father that his family would consider arranging the quiet assassination, or otherwise elimination of any such child in order to keep the lineage untainted.

"Would be very disappointed. That's not my intention here."

Makai Dashiell

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Wearing | Gear : X | X | X | X | X | L3-37 | Interacting With : Tavian Djo

"Your mother would be vastly disappointed. Arceneau Trade Company is a family-run organization that in no way Persephone would be able to claim any sort of power to. Wealth would come from my company. I suspect she has no interest beyond possibly having a subsidiary to contain her art gallery when its time."

Makai wanted to set that straight first and foremost as he lined up his putt. People saw the Arceneau Trade Company and assumed he had sway due to being married to the heiress. Often the same line of thought fell to Persephone. Surprisingly he would have suspected more would knock on his door to get to Persephone at this point. Get in the door of a family run company, marry and have a child or two in order to cement generational wealth.

"Don't play stupid, we both know what I mean." Putt hit, landing in the cup with the short tap. "Given you're the best one who has approached me so far, I'll make this meeting mercifully short for both of us. If things go well we can meet in the coming months. I'm trusting you to do the right thing until then."

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

GREE

Tavian Djo
​

Wearing a breath mask due to the atmosphere, Persephone squinted as she looked up. The structure was massive, more than she expected. A river rushed below as she stood on one of the fallen pillars. Gree itself was a near-wasteland but somehow this was preserved. Mostly. Beyond working, it was an ancient piece of Gree technology. It had been studied for eons and still a mystery.

Slowly she trolled down the one pillar that had fallen and that they were standing upon.

"Superweapon?"

 

[Tavian Djo]

The right thing.

What did the right thing look like?

"Yes," Tavian replied, distracted by the thoughts of tee time, present company, and overwhelming awe of the superstructure, "It must be."

He thought a bit more, applying critical thinking to the context of this particular ruin. "Although..."

Gree technology was highly sought after, extremely rare, and not at all understood to any degree of scientific certitude. Just theories. Tavian adjusted the fit of his mask, berating himself for suggesting the one activity where he would not actually get to see Persephone's face.

"Don't you think that it would have been plucked dry over the centuries if that was the case? A Gree superweapon sounds like a device that any civilization would be itching to acquire."

Cold sweat broke out on his back as he thought about what his mother and the other duchas might do to acquire schematics of a Gree weapon.

"Unless this discovery really is the first in ten thousand years..."

That seemed to beggar belief.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Yes, but fairly useless if you can't figure out how to use it. Much like some of the Rakata technology. It's there, knowledge of its use was either destroyed or lost to time."

As for this being the first discovery in ten thousand years, she highly doubted it. Wasn't going to burst Tavian Djo 's bubble though. Let him think what he wanted. The Pal'da seemed to be the Gree expert between the two of them. To be honest she knew nothing beyond being an advanced, ancient civilization with mysterious technology.

Then there was being at a loss for words. She was dressed in a very practical outfit for exploration, much like she wore when she was out in the field for her university program. Feeling awkward, hands went into her pockets as they strolled. Sounds of their rebreather masks echoed between them, along with Zee's servos as he followed behind.

 

[Tavian Djo]

“That makes sense,” he nodded absently, neck tilted back to gaze up at the structure before his attention came down to her again. A sidelong glance as they walked together showed him her hands diving into pockets. Tavian lifted an elbow toward her and raised an eyebrow.

Holding hands might seem too childish to her, but looping her arm through his as they walked? It was a bit chilly in here after all, even with the suits on.

“What would you do if you had the plans to such a super weapon?”

Assuming she had the funds to build it. And she very well might. One day.

“Sell it? Build it? Destroy it?”

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Oh that's easy. Keep it for myself. Slowly work on reverse engineering the technology into smaller pieces that could be sold. Profit indefinitely from those smaller, proprietary pieces of technology."

Persephone hoped Tavian Djo wasn't looking for an altruistic answer. She did come from a business family after all.

"What about you?"

 

[Tavian Djo]

Arm in arm, their foosteps thumped along the fallen pillar. Tavian eyed the rushing river below. Pulling the strings to get the both of them here had ended up not being all that difficult. Tavian supposed that when he really applied himself to trying to manipulate the levers of power it was not all that difficult. It just made him feel vaguely nauseous afterward, as though his status and station were something to be ashamed of. But why? He was the heir of his family's line. He had been trained since birth for continuing their legacy. Why should he feel disgusted by wielding that power and influence?

He pursed his lips, the thoughts feeding into Persephone turning his question back on him.

What would he do with a weapon like this...

"I don't know if you heard. About Hapes. I suppose a lot can change in a few weeks."

His teeth grit together and his eyes stung beneath the mask.

"The Mandalorians they ah," his throat constricted and he swallowed around it, "They took it from us. Claimed to put up a true Queen. Your father was right not to let us go there," he let out a sharp laugh of disbelief that any of this was happening.

"So if you asked me right now what I would do with such a weapon... I would be sorely tempted to turn it on Mandalore. Until they gave us back our nebula. Does that make me a monster, Persie?"

It was the first time he had called her that. Persie. But it felt right. And besides, he couldn't say he was thinking rationally at the moment. So much had occurred.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"No, it makes perfect sense you would want to use the weapon after your cluster has been invaded. I wanted to go to the University of Agamar for their top-notch xeno archaeology program but the Mandolarians ruined that by torturing citizens of the Diarchy government. My parents were afraid to let me go after that."

Now she attended university far from home. Agamar would have been a much wiser and appropriate choice. Perhaps by the time she wanted to work on her doctorate the government would have collapsed. One could only hope.

Oceanic gaze turned to Tavian Djo once more. It sounded as if the Mandolarians were changing everything and at a quick pace.

"Is your family okay? Do you need to stay at one of our properties? There are a few to fall back to if you so desire. Or even one of the space stations, but that is beneath many..."

 

[Tavian Djo]

"No. They are still in the cluster but loyalists are being hunted down. They're... they're calling us rebels. For what? Wanting to govern ourselves? It's absurd. I am sorry about the university. I do not understand the Mandalorians. Brutes in beskar, no understanding or regard for art or culture."

He swallowed around the tightness in his throat. Her ocean eyes regarding him held a note of kindness in them that he suspected was not often there. Much like the ocean, she could come across more of a force of nature indifferent to others than the girl he knew lay behind those eyes.

"I think we will be ok for now, but... I'm not sure I should go home. On the one hand I want to be with them, but on the other even entering the nebula right now is a whole ordeal. It's as if the whole galaxy's gone mad. I'm waiting to hear what they want me to do. But I would not have missed this."

Pausing a moment, Tavian collected himself, his arm looping through hers instead reached around her waist. He held her closer to him as they stood there, her warmth comforting. An anchor in the midst of a storm.

"Right now, spending time with you is the one thing I look forward to. I'm sorry if that's too much. It's how I feel."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"After they crucified Diarchy citizens....I am unsure if it is safe for you to go back. The only positive I can see is it will be difficult for them to transit through the mists if the locals fall back. I'm sorry they are rounding up loyalists. Sounds as if a puppet government is already being installed."

Persephone didn't dare ask what the Mandos were doing with the loyalists. At best rounding them up into prison camps. At worst mass graves and lineages wiped out. Perhaps Tavian Djo 's parents would keep him away from the mists. While he wasn't the only Djo, he was the only child for his parents. If they were concerned about entire branches being wiped out, theirs could be done so easily.

Pressed against his side, she shook her head in disagreement.

"A nice sentiment but I'm torn. On one hand it is great you're away from the Hapan cluster. At the same time, if you would have told me sooner we wouldn't have met at this Gree site. If you still wanted to meet could have been somewhere we could at least breathe the air."