Kings and Pawns

[Cameron Centurion]

Office of Natasi Fortan
Capitol Complex
Avalonia, Dosuun

The lightly polished brown dress shoes adorning Cameron's feet clicked lightly against the marble tile as he walked casually through the corridors of the sprawling edifice that served as the primary government nexus for the First Order. The halls weren't terribly crowded, and Cameron noted that everyone moved with a distinct purpose and sense of decorum. It was a refreshing feeling, really, indicative of the First Order's Imperialistic roots. If the Sith Lord closed his eyes, he could almost see faces and locations long since lost to the sands of time. A memory of a life so tragically different than the one he currently lived. Though - he could admit to himself that over five hundred years was quite a bit of time to...mature, grow.

Still much to learn.

Arriving outside the entrance to the Grand Moff's outer office area, Cameron briefly adjusted his navy blue suit before knocking lightly on the door. Stepping inside, he was greeted with what seemed to be an economically yet comfortably appointed office. Seated behind a large desk near another set of doors was a handsomely dressed woman with skin as dark as his own. His surprise upon realizing the assistant occupying the office was not Sioux Chambers almost made it to his face However, Cameron was able to maintain his usual expressionless mask as he approached the woman and spoke in a deep, even voice. "Good Afternoon. I am Lord Centurion, and I have an appointment with Grand Moff Fortan."

[member="Natasi Fortan"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

It was quiet time in Natasi Fortan's office.

That's what the staff called it. It was an hour, twice a week, where the Grand Moff took no business meetings. No cabinet calls. No presentations. No drop-ins.

The staff used it to catch up on paperwork, run errands, and generally catch their collective breaths. The Grand Moff used the hour to decompress, take social calls, or rest her eyes. The war was taking its toll on the First Order, and Natasi was no exception; she prized these moments -- needed them really -- when she was able to put aside the casualty figures and funding concerns and just exist. The day that [member="Cameron Centurion"] came to call, Natasi was on the balcony of her office at the Imperial Palace, a pair of pink polka-dot gardening gloves and a matching latex apron looking entirely out of place with the militaristic black uniform she wore. She was about to repot one of her prized orchids whose root structure was beginning to outgrow its current pot when her assistant was greeting Centurion.

"Of course, my lord," said the assistant. "The Grand Moff is expecting you. You can go right in," she said, gesturing towards the door.

Natasi looked up when the door opened and she raised a hand, beckoning him through the glass doors onto the balcony. "Lord Centurion -- come in. Help yourself to a drink on your way out if you like."

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron nodded his thanks to the assistant before entering through the indicated doors. His silver-green eyes rather immediately focused on the presence of Natasi, but the sight was certainly not what he had expected. It was true that he had known Natasi for some time, but he'd never really gotten the opportunity to know her beyond a strictly professional level. He supposed this reality existed for many, keeping their professional and personal worlds separate as much as possible.

"I'm fine, thank you, Your Excellency." Casually, the Sith Lord stepped forward through the glass doors and onto the balcony. Allowing his gaze to briefly sweep the horizon, the dark-skinned Corstris native idly commented, "I feel as though I'm seeing behind the curtain of a play." Shifting his gaze to Natasi, Cameron shifted to more official conversation. "So. Imahalyan. Stardust is officially engaged to the Director of the Dominion's Security Bureau. It took all of...maybe an hour for that union to be determined. Either way, I politely reinforced the terms of the deal existing between herself and the First Order. I'm certain she understands no part of that deal extends to her supposed new consort, nor does he inherit any privilege within the First Order as a result. My primary concern there being him spreading any number of his dominion lackeys across First Order space for his so-called security."

[member="Natasi Fortan"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"Ah -- yes," Natasi said, her eyebrows furrowing, her face like stormclouds all of a sudden. "Imahalyan. Perhaps not one of my more brilliant choices for self-government, but... I had faith in her." She sighed and looked down at her orchid, its brilliant crimson petals delicately dangling from the stems. The Grand Moff bit her bottom lip and looked back up at [member="Cameron Centurion"]. "I had hope. By the Balance, I live on it." She shifted a little, taking the orchid and putting it in a slightly larger pot.

"Thank you for taking the initiative where the Queen of Imhalyan is concerned. I'm enormously concerned about her judgment," she confessed, her dark eyes narrowing a little as she dug her hand into the flowerpot and began loosening the root. "I will dispatch a senior member of the Foreign Office or two to discuss the terms of her arrangement with the First Order. Perhaps [member="Valessia Brentioch"] -- part of her punishment," she muttered to herself. She straightened and crossed to the opposite side of the balcony patio to pick up some specialized potting soil.

"You're welcome to join the mission. I'm sure you'd love nothing more than a repeat visit, hm?" She looked up at Centurion.

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron nodded his head slightly to [member="Natasi Fortan"]'s statements about the political decision regarding Imahalyan. However, the gesture what not so much in agreement of Natasi's words as it simply was an acknowledgment of her statement. In the end of the day, Cameron judged that a perfect political arrangement was rather an oxymoron. There would forever be compromises and adjustments to attain larger objectives.

When Natasi went on to suggest his return to the planet, it was all he could do not to laugh. Instead, a roguish smile spread across his lips. "If I visit Imahalyan again, it will be as a precursor to a Bloodletting that will saturate the annals of First Order history." Shrugging his shoulders, the Sith Lord continued casually, "If it matters, I think your decisions regarding Imahalyan have been fine. The Queen's lack of political savvy is rivaled only by her malleability, and it was my pleasure to be of assistance."

Stepping towards the railing, Cameron eventually turned to return his gaze to Natasi. "How are you Natasi?" The shift to the informal came without a request and, probably more importantly, approval. "I mean personally as your professional success..." Cameron raised his hands to indicate the grandiose nature of Avalonia around them. "...is readily apparent."

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi allowed herself a smile as she bowed her head over the bag of soil. She read the front, then crouched and tucked it back into the cabinet before selecting another. "I'm not sure I'd agree with your assessment," Natasi said softly as she let her gaze follow [member="Cameron Centurion"]'s out over the city. Avalonia was hers more than it was anyone else's; Natasi Fortan's toil and sweat had gone into the city, her vision had been brought to life in its avenues and parks, her blood ran in its fountains. And yet, she longed for more -- professionally as well as personally. "We are at war," she said quietly. "I consider that a total professional failure. But -- "

Her voice dropped off abruptly and she went back to her orchid. She set the bag down on the table next to the flower pot and opened it, reaching in with her gloved hands to take a handful of soil out. She carefully arranged it around the roots and continued to pack it lightly in, the amiable silence broken only by the subtle tones of a wind-chime stirred by the early spring breeze. "As far as personally -- well," she gave a short, snorting laugh of derision. "Luckily for me, being Grand Moff and Mother of the Nation doesn't leave me with a lot of time to dwell on things."

She went to pick up a watering can, then sighed and set it down again, pausing to strip off her gloves and apron. She laid them over the back of a chair and joined Cameron at the railing. "And you? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you get married?"

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron permitted himself a subtle snort. "The natural state of the galaxy is war, but you know that." The dark-skinned Corstris native stopped short of turning into a cliche reciting codes of old. Still...peace really was a lie. Perhaps more accurately it was an ideal state of being. If nothing else, the Sith Lord had learned that most perceived ideals were an illusion. A mirage crafted by the ever-hopeful parts of the brain.

[member="Natasi Fortan"]'s explanation for her time was one he'd heard and certainly used in his own past. Still, Cameron did not bother to comment. There was no arguing that the woman spent an aggressive amount of time in her professional commitments. Her drive was certainly an attractive quality...as was the grace with which she wielded her considerable power and influence. Then...the conversation turned to him and his marriage to Esmae.

For several moments, Cameron was silent as he gazed at the horizon. He drifted briefly into a state of nostalgia, thinking of better times past. Times with the Crusade. Times on the beaches or in the forests of Borleias. It seemed as if his past was worlds away now. The smile that had slipped across his facial features gradually dissipated. "I did." Turning his head to regard Natasi, Cameron shrugged slightly. "She is...was an amazing woman. However, I've been toxic to any real relationships since my youth. The typical problem being my endless inability to be sufficiently impressed by a partner."

Cameron forced a hesitant smile. "I was created to be a weapon long ago. The things I've done, seen. It takes a toll, and I'm not making these comments from a standpoint of shame or regret. I've loved every part of my life." From crushing the bones of children to seducing nearly every attractive female he ever interacted with. It had been a good life. If he had any regrets, it was the potential to leave this galaxy with no real legacy, no mark to justify it all.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi nodded vaguely, her dark eyes scanning the city as it reached out to the horizon. She could barely make out the shapes of the transports landing in the fields south of the city, and while the shapes of the stormtroopers and pilots being marched aboard were too small to see from here, she knew they were there. "Peace is a lie," Natasi recited. "There is only passion." She leaned over the railing, placing her forearms on the cool metal railing. "I've done my research," she explained, a note of wry in her voice. As a member of the Balance, an Equilibriate, Natasi was on principle distrustful of force users. But her friendship with [member="Carach"] and others blessed with the gift of the Force had served to shake some of that dogma. "I suppose I was beginning to believe my own press. If I'm so brilliant -- so dedicated, so hardworking -- why shouldn't I bend the galaxy to my will? Why shouldn't I create new order where peace is the default?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Stupid, she chastised herself. "But this is the reality," she said, spreading her hands to encompass the city and the activities beyond.

"We have more in common than I thought," Natasi said in response to his commentary about being toxic to relationships. "Perhaps for opposite reasons," she conceded quietly before straightening. "From your interactions with the Queen of Imhalyan, you might be just the type of weapon I need. Blunt -- not too blunt. Sharp -- not too sharp. And there was very little blood involved." She smirked over at [member="Cameron Centurion"]. "How much do I owe you for that, by the way?"

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron turned a curious, bright gaze to [member="Natasi Fortan"] as she recited parts of the Sith Code. There was no element of surprise on her face as she had, obviously, been an associate of countless Sith in the small part of her past that he knew. Still there was the typical, reserved understanding that often passed through the minds of the many that tasted the bitter nectar of sprawling galactic influence.

Shifting his gaze back to gaze out upon the city of Avalonia, Cameron listened to Natasi's comments, allowing a deep, soft laugh to rumble between barely parted lips. "Owe me." Turning away from the skyline, Cameron placed his hands on the railing to either side of his body. "You owe me nothing, Natasi. I have more accumulated wealth from over the decades than I even really know what to do with. I live off of personal thrills. Goals and aspirations...those have all faded for me now. So I guess..." Cameron slowly turned to regard Natasi with a thin smile. "...just don't get boring."

It wasn't meant as a threat.

It did, however, have purpose.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"I only wish I could," Natasi said with a sigh. It was true; as a child her dearest ambition had been to marry well and secure her family's fortunes on Galidraan. She had been thrust into the game of galactic power before she knew what was happening; true, she had believed in the Supreme Leader's agenda, his vision of order and security, justice and peace, and an end to the inefficient squabbling of Senates and the greedy, destructive power struggles of the Sith. The First Order was to be a third way. Order, enforced, for the greater good. People wouldn't miss their right to vote when they were being provided a stable, steady environment in which to thrive in their chosen careers and lives.

So, her fantasies of family dinners and quiet evenings in the drawing room at Herevan Hold had been tucked away, quite in the back of her mind. These days, she dreamed of a peaceful Empire, of the Alliance scum beaten into silence so that her people could flourish once again. She smiled faintly at the thought before turning her gaze once more to [member="Cameron Centurion"]. "Still," she persisted. "You've done a service for me and for the Supreme Leader. If there is anything I can do for you, now or in the future, please don't hesitate."

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron allowed his head to dip in an understanding nod. He knew well enough to understand that [member="Natasi Fortan"] would never forget anything that any had done directly for her. It was undoubtedly part of what made her such a successful leader. Outside of that, he knew she was also too stubborn to let any action or deed escape her notice or memory. "In a life of death, success, betrayal, and failure, I take stock of the constants. You have always been one, Natasi, and you've more than earned my respect."

Pausing for a moment, Cameron leaned in closer. "Be careful with Sieger, Natasi. While you work diligently for a cause he started, recognize the First Order that exists before us is no real doing of Sieger, and I'm sure he can see that as plainly as myself. His loyalty is to himself...such is the true purpose behind his Knights of Ren."

Silver-green eyes returned to the horizon. "Fanatical followers of a man that created their Order because he failed to be accepted by another." This was not an isolated incident. In fact, the overwhelming majority of government leaders in the galaxy did precisely the same thing.

And they were all equally worthless in the end, basking in the glory of those they lorded over. A state which inevitably heralded their failure.