[member="Valiens Nantaris"],
(3/20)
Pod racing track,
And so Siobhan and her posse, along with the Zygerrians who were so kind to show her the way, approached the racing track. There was a massive sea of people - racers, guests, fangirls of the aforementioned racers, mechanics, speculators, guards and so on and so forth, but they knew when to part. And, of course, there were slaves. Many of the honoured guests had received gifts from the Zygerrian leaders, which tended to come in form of slave girls.
They were all greeted by a massive golden statue of Queen Miraj Scintel, which towered over them. Wreaths had been laid in front of the statue, as if it were some sort of idol. Upon the pedestal words had been written in an elaborate script: 'WE SHALL PROTECT OUR INALIENABLE RIGHTS'. It did not take a genius to figure out which right it was referring to!
"Have you had any difficulty with slave unrest lately? Just out of curiosity. I know how much certain foreign powers love to meddle," Siobhan asked casually once they passed the statue. Of course, she had one of her minions lay down a wreath.
The Zygerrian official waved these questions aside as if they were buzzing insects. Of course, she was canny enough to keep her tone respectful. Who knew, otherwise the Butcher of Roche might have crushed her heart purely because she could. "Minor issues, Lady. Of course, there are always slaves who get uppity and forget their place. Mostly when they're stirred up by outsiders. Naive idealists, Jedi," she all but spat the word. "As if the slaves would be better off destitute and without a strong, but loving hand to show them the way. They have no skills other than to serve."
Dramatic irony here! Siobhan chuckled slightly. "So true. One of my slaves on Tygara, a gift from the Shahbânu, was terrified of the idea of being free. It was calmning for her when I have her gainful employment in my personal household. She has everything she needs, doesn't have to worry about anything and she has the honour of servicing me," she leaned over to one of the slaves she had acquired, a beautiful but frightened looking purple Twi'lek and affectionately petted her lekku as if she were a favourite pet. "You will please me, won't you, girl?"
The girl, used to being beaten if she did not appear as obedient as possible, nodded immediately. She was sweating and tried to control the tremble she was feeling. "Yes, Mistress. My only purpose is to...serve your whims," she said as eagerly as she could.
"Good girl. Do that well and you'll find I'm a kind Mistress," Siobhan purred, petting the girl some more before releasing her hold on her. They reached the big arena and were led inside, eventually arriving in a very luxurious booth. The High Queen herself was there to greet them, seated upon a gilded throne and wearing a beautiful gown. Needless to say slaves, equipped with leashes and collars, were fawning over her and naturally there were guards in form of battle droids.
The Zygerrian lackey bowed before the Queen. "Your Majesty, I present to you Lady Kerrigan, the Butcher of Roche," she declared grandly. Well, Siobhan always liked it when people dramatically announced her. Or made her the centre of attention in general. Needless to say Siobhan did not bow, merely lowered her head very, very slightly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Majesty. I have heard much about you. I do hope this day can forge a friendship between Eldorai and Zygerria. It is heartening to visit a world that respects the old ways, untainted by so-called democracy and Jedi zealotry," Siobhan said in her sweetest tone. After all, she had to keep up the act and stuff. As they approached, the Queen herself got up, planting a kis on each of Siobhan's cheeks, which naturally the Countess reciprocated.
"Sweet flattery from someone as infamous as you. Jedi infidels think they can meddle, as they have done with my ancestors, but we shall not let them compromise our way of life. Come join me. We shall watch the race together. There are so many stories I have heard about you. You must tell me all about your fight on Wayland. Slave, get us some drinks!" she commanded imperiously, clapping her hands. As was commanded, immediately a slave girl appeared on the scene, carrying a two goblets and a bottle of expensive champagne.
However, as Siobhan sat down upon a slightly smaller throne and the girl bent down to pour some wine for the Queen, she slipped and the glass fell out of her hand, with wine dripping everywhere. Being quick of mind, Siobhan used her powers to keep the goblet from falling onto the Queen, who was incandescent with rage. "You stupid foolish, useless girl!" she shrieked. "Are you good for nothing? I should have you wihipped till you're bloody." A telekinetic sphere kept any wine from splashing onto her dress, conjured up by Siobhan.
"I'm so sorry, Mistress. Please..." She suddenly began spasming when an invisible force applied pressure to her lungs. By no means enough to collapse them, but quite painful. "P-please." Finally Siobhan released her and she dropped down to her knee. The Queen gave her a good, hard slap across the face and then a guard kicked her.
"It's so difficult to get good slaves these days," Siobhan said sympathetically. "But I have a thing about disciplining them. Let me have her for the night. She'll be as good as new by tomorrow," she said, looking leecherously at the slave girl, who was on her knees and nursing a bruise.
"If you want to have her you can. Thank you for keeping my dress from getting ruined. It is priceless," the apparently quite pompous Queen declared.
Actually it's kind of last year, Siobhan thought to herself. A fashionista like her always kept up with the latest trends. "Nothing to thank for, my dear. Now where were we...ah, yes, old battles," she purred, taking a sip from her goblet. She had to admit that the wine was exquisite. At least the natives had good taste there.
"Indeed, the race will begin soon and we will have plenty of time to...discuss. By the way, who is this delightful creature over there? The one looking so grim and dark," the Queen spoke, indicating [member="Emma Prinn"], who was totally the best 'Dark Mechanic'. Well, she was certainly the cutest!
"One of my valued minions...and sometimes more than that," Siobhan winked at her. "I like to reward by best and load them with honours...as long as they live up to my demands. If they disappoint me, well, no one under my heel wants to ever experience that," she joked. This one has the impression that Siobhan was enjoying the chance to be as corny as possible. From the balcony they would have a very good view of the race, which ought to start soon. She had received Tempest's transmission and sent a quick telepathic message in response. At the box with Queenie. Think Coci wanted to race.
The Slave Markets
The heat could obviously not bother her. Nor the fact that she was extremely exposed since her scanty attire did very little to obscure her body, though she had to admit this would become a tad annoying once she broke 'free' and murdered her captors since lack of armour would mean more damage sustained. Of course, she could always just murder a guard and steal what passed for armour here. So while putting up a show of being a frightened, cowed slave, Caerys had in fact been busy scanning the area.
Taking note of all the guards, their weapons, calculated whom to strike first. Likewise which slaves were the most likely to muster the pluck to join in an uprising and actually be useful in combat. The laser turrets would be a problem, but explosives could take care of that. Likewise many of the guards were more equipped for riot suppression than actual combat, which would put them at a significant disadvantage. Moreover, they were still blind to her true nature.
The guard gave Chesna and Caerys leecherous looks, clearly waiting for some 'action'. How puerile. The again, he was an organic. "Had some difficulty breaking that knife-ear in, but I gave her my personal attention. She's so eager now," he declared, looking terribly smug.
When Chesna made a show of feeling her up, Caerys made a show of leaning into her touches and sighing slightly, though otherwise she stood straight, like an obedient slave should. "No. Archangel is an insane cult run by irrational machines tainted by organic thoughts. I am not interested in processing these creatures. If you wish to terminate the local regime, I shall aid." Why? Because she felt like doing so. Not for any moral reasons because she was indifferent to the plight of the slaves. She calculated that in all likelihood post-liberation they would at best end up working for minimum wages, with conditions only slightly better than before. Zygerria was poorly developed industrially and she doubted the so-called Coalition would actually pursue long-term investment. Assuming it did not fall to Primeval and slavery was reintroduced.