Private Modal Soul

[Lucien Dooku]

New Carannia | Nirauan
Hand of Thrawn | His former office
Zara Hadid
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MODAL SOUL

He'd done good on Nirauan.

Atleast the thought in itself was enough to satisfy him throughout the day. Whether it was a random thought whilst outside in the galaxy elsewhere, or in times like these when he was able to visit New Carannia in person, he'd quietly reassured himself that he'd done the best he could. Even as the Empire fumbled itself through a time of strife and imbalance, the planet itself remained mostly the same as it was. Yet over the course of the great wars of the galaxy, his people grew use to the wars brought upon their soil, and the hardships that followed as the pieces were put back into place. The citizens of Nirauan had underwent this process several times already, but for the most part, the Empire had managed to prevent anymore incursions onto the world itself.

Several peaceful months followed the failed Chiss attempt to seize the world from the Empire. With most of the cities predominantly untouched by the war, it was business as usual once the death tolls were counted. Lucien was unable to assist with what little reconstruction was needed, as their were several other fronts which needed the Knights, and the Knights needed him in this strife-ridden time. No longer was this the Empire of Rurik Fel , where the pieces on the board fell in line towards the singular goal put forth by the Iron Emperor himself. The system of the Triumvirate was holding for the time, but there would come a point in the future where the unanswered questions of the past would need to be addressed.

There was a throne sitting vacant, and a loyal Regent backed by Triumvirs who Lucien did not trust.

"Decisions, decisions.."

Lucien sighed out, amber orbs still in tune with the glistening lights of the dimming New Carannia. His visit was impromptu at best, with little warning given to the staff who were a bit shocked to see the former Warlord stroll into the waiting room. He was plainclothes for the most part; a rugged spacer jacket, a tough set of pants and some boots that had seen better days. It was far from the regal sight of the infamous King of Serenno, but it allowed him to blend in for the most part.

Lucien settled into the office, much like he'd done in the past, with the caveat of the present being it was no longer just his office anymore. The former Warlord had never truly ceded control of Nirauan after the Warlord's dissolution, and up until recently he'd only paid lip service to the Triumvirs' call to see the world returned officially back into the fold. A compromise was reached in the form of a Moff being allowed to govern the world in his charge-- an Administrator, officially, and someone Lucien could keep close to his side poltiically-- especially if his enemies attempted to infiltrate the planet from within the government itself.

A magnetic hiss drew his attention away from the skyline and out of his thoughts.

He was sitting on the edge of the desk, his arms lazily tucked over his chest, yet his eyes swiveled to meet the newcomer with an accompanying smile.

"Color me shocked that the planet hasn't fallen to the hardliners yet." His lips furled even further into a smirk, following her as she entered. "It's good to see things are holdin' up around here. And as you can see-- i'm still alive." He rolled his shoulders into a shrug.

"Well-- so far atleast."

​

 

[Zara Hadid]

Lucien Dooku ​

Nirauan had finally found its slither of peace amidst the madness of change. It had been battered and bruised by it for many years now. Picked up by various hands and moulded and shaped till it fit their ideals only to be abandoned by them not long after. In many ways, Nirauan was like a scorned lover, left at the alter far too many times for it to trust anyone anymore. It was surprising that the Empire had managed to get such a sturdy foothold in the time that it had, but they did, and it was finally time for Nirauan to settle down.

Several months had gone by now since Zara had stepped into the role of Moff. Despite it differs greatly from the standard definition, the easy alliance formed between Lucien and herself had been beneficial beyond words for Nirauan. She had far less on her plate than most Moffs did, with a lot of the major decisions and decrees coming from other mouths. In a way, she was simply the face of Nirauan, but that suited her just fine. Now that the planet was thriving, there was more time to focus on wellbeing and public relations, which is where Zara truly shined.

Tucked away in her private rooms, heavily invested in her caff and some complexly detailed celebration plans, the day had been completely ordinary so far. Meetings, calls, papers, visits. It all ticked by as it had done for a while now. So, when the scuffling and sharp whispers began behind her door, Zara paid no attention. It wasn't until a hollow knock echoed through her rooms that her concentration broke. She hardly had time to permit the knocker entry before they were bursting through the doors.

"The King!" Her red-faced advisor stood in the doorway, panting so hard that it was difficult to make out his words.

"Calm yourself for force's sake, Otto." Zara stood from her chair and stretched the ache from her muscles lazily. The panic on his face should have set off a flurry of thoughts. The king what? Was he dead? Getting married? Having a child? Dethroned? Arrested? Yet, her face and tone remained entirely placid as she spoke again. "What about the King?"

It wasn't long before the situation was fully explained. An impromptu visit was certainly a reason for such discourse amongst the staff, but Zara was pleasantly surprised. He very rarely visited without a huge fanfare in his wake, as most monarchs had. Though she could not count that same surprise toward the fact that he had managed to travel without it. After calming what portion of the staff stood outside her doors, Zara made her way to the office. It was only a short trip from her private rooms to there, and soon she entered to the pitched hiss of the door sliding open.

Zara cocked a slender, carefully pruned brow. On any other face, it could have been easily misconstrued as rude or offensive, but she somehow melted it perfectly with wry amusement. This expression only widened when she caught the beginnings of a smirk playing at the corners of Lucien's lips. "Colour me equally shocked…" Her sharp heels clicked methodically on the floor as she closed the distance between the door and the desk. "The entire planet was practically falling apart at the seams even before you got your grubby hands on it. A true marvel that I managed to do anything at all with it." She replicated his smirk easily, matching it perfectly to the jest in her tone, which was followed by light laughter that filled the cold office walls with warmth.

There was no hesitation in her eagerness to quip back. It was easy to forget that he was a King, or anyone important at all for that matter. He didn't dress like one, and in the privacy of their own company, he didn't behave like one either. Despite his standing, it was like being with an old friend. He was a charming man, with exhilarating banter and an easy personality that seemed to relax everyone in the room. Perhaps that, amongst other things, was why he was so admired by many.

Including Zara.

As the sound of her laughter faded, Zara slipped herself onto the edge of the desk in front of him. Pale blue eyes drank his appearance in slowly, from the bottom of his well-worn boots to the crinkled shirt sitting comfortably on his chest. "Hmm…" It was the only thing she offered him before she flicked her intense stare back up to his face. "So," Zara spoke as she crossed one leg over the other, the other foot dangled idly just short of reaching the floor. It was then that she presented him with a true smile. It was friendly and warm, as warm as her laughter had been in the disused office. It was familiar and kind, and it lit up her entire face. "Apart from giving the staff a heart attack and upending my peaceful day, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

 

[Lucien Dooku]

New Carannia | Nirauan
Hand of Thrawn | His former office
Zara Hadid
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MODAL SOUL

A genuine smile curled onto his lips, and a sense of relaxation filled the air around his presence as Zara came equipped to the meeting with a much appreciated arsenal of wit and humor. His arms fit snug across each other as he leaned a bit closer from where he sat, peering across the crowded desk with happy, yet weary eyes. As much as his supporters would've loved to assert the state of Nirauan upon its beloved liege's plate of achievements, there was little they could do to refute the brilliant work that Zara put into his craft in his absence. It was she who took the reigns of reconstruction upon herself, Lucien having been driven off his beloved planet and into the arena of politics once more with the death of his brother Rurik.

It was Zara, not him who shouldered the burden of the Dominion's unending influx of immigration, which had only briefly been brought to a pause after the Maw's devastation of the planet, and once more during the Chiss seditionists failed bid to secure the planet for themselves. He knew firsthand the unimaginable stress and bureaucracy that came with the problems of governance, but especially for a world as unique as Nirauan was within the sphere of the greater Empire itself.

For all of the external attempts to leave the planet scarred and permanently hurt, Nirauan still remained the bastion that it had always been. It was a beacon that stood in dichotomy to the unyielding Rule of Order that flowed from the capitol of the Empire; Nirauan had always been a second Bastion of sorts, or atleast he framed it that way under Valerian's guidance. And for those reasons among others, the planet prospered and grew, and suffered losses unimaginable to its residents, and yet still it would grow.

Within the meticulous care of one Moff Zara Hadid, Nirauan stood as strong as ever, his own eyes could verify that information for himself. From the ivory tower within one of the spires of the Hand of Thrawn itself, Lucien could gaze upon the full scope of the city's radiance, and for a short spell he did remain enamored in the sight of it all.

Yet his eyes could not fix glued upon the horizon when it was he who was the uninvited guest within the room.

Luc shrugged his shoulders, that carefree smile thrown in her direction preceding an equal amount of nonchalance in the form of his reply. "I was planning on making up an excuse actually; Coming up with some paperwork for you to look over, Interfering with some of your tasks for tommorow, you know-- that sort of thing." He contained the urge to break the poker face she was being given, though he did fidget a bit upon the desk, sliding into a more comfortable position with the unintended side-effect of inching a bit closer to her.

"But I figured you'd see through that, eventually atleast." The smile softened, the dark circles beneath his eyes seemingly drawing the energy from his core with every second passing.. "I just needed a break, Zara. Bastion is...it's a rancor's den." He pondered for a moment on the right way to frame what he wanted to say without anger and profanity stripping away the ambience. "...and a reminder of why I was glad I didn't need to be there, y'know. When Tavlar was alive, and Rurik."

The life seemed to have been drawn from his shoulders as well, a slump in his posture appearing alongside a loud exhale in the form of a sigh. "But they're gone now. I.. I don't ever think about it, but everyone's gone, the ones who held the burden of the Empire on their shoulders. Rurik left the Empire to me, and then he died too. But the Empire is shit. I don't want it-- it's why I turned down the throne. Unofficially, atleast. I haven't decided if i'll make it official yet. That's a hard decision to make; a hard legacy to let go. I don't know if that's the right move, either, and if i'm just being selfish."

A second sigh triggered the end of his rant. His eyes traced across the skyline once more before he leveled his gaze at the woman sitting next to him.

"I guess I came here to complain, and to see how you're doing while i'm at it."

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