Tale of a Prince

[Faith Organa]

Atrisia was under the control of the First Order.

No one as far as she knew had contact with [member="Shoma Ike"] the Crown Prince of Atrisia. She also had not heard from her father, [member="Garith Darkhold"] , sister Arabella or her husband [member="Muad Dib"] .

When word came that Shoma was free to travel she immediately set up a meeting on Alderaan for the ICO and anyone interested in knowing what was happening on Atrisia to come and speak.

She however fretted over her friend Shoma and her family. She knew too well the things that could happen. She was still in mourning over her brother lost during the battle of Coruscant fighting at the Embassy. She...hadn't let anyone know that yet either. She couldn't or was having a hard time handling her grief.

Instead she threw herself into other things like this meeting.

She stood silently waiting for anyone to arrive.

What to do? The next step, the next....she would focus on the steps.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmE9f-TEutc​

Any other time, he would have looked forward at the opportunity to visit Alderaan.

This wasn't any other time. And Shoma found a pit in his stomach for the fact that the meeting ahead of him was not one he imagined he wanted to have. Except, these were his allies. No doubt, they had questions.

He might not have answers for them, but they deserved the opportunity to voice their concerns to him directly.

He arrived at the scheduled time. He had a small gift of some Atrisian white tea wrapped inside of an intricate origami wrapper. He looked the same, except he was visibly drained. Dark circles under his eyes and a slightly gaunt appearance that suggested he'd lost some weight.

It had been a lot of long nights getting the situation on Kilea even remotely under control after the First Order assault.

"Gomen nasai," the youth intoned, giving a slight bow as he came through the door. A sheepish grin didn't quite match his usual disposition. He was tired. The weight of his responsibilities and choices rested heavily upon him, and it showed in his eyes.

"I apologize if I kept you waiting."

[member="Faith Organa"]​

 

[Muad Dib]

Days earlier ... ​

He stood in the ruins of the city. Desolation. Silence. Empty. Devoid of life. Jar Kai had once teemed with activity, the hub of the planet as it's capital. But now it was forsaken and forbidden. Darkness lay like a death shroud over the land and skeletal structures. A shadow permeated the land that sought to infect those who would be brave, or foolish, enough to haphazard a trip to the Nexus.

The man knelt in the sands that time had washed over the broken duracrete. His beskar'gam cloaked him like a second skin. The force imbued blade forged in the temple on Tython tested naked upon armored thighs. The sun beat down upon the bare crown of his head, rivlets of sweat running through brown hair to drip upon his upturned face.

This was a place of danger and corruption, a place of ghosts and visions, a place of darkness. Yet the man was neither afraid nor awed by the power inherent in the city.

Opening his eyes, the blue glow contrasted with the veil that seemed to dim the sunlight that fell upon the city. Muad rose slowly, beskad in hand to sheath once more. He had come to this place of darkness and death to seek answers. To boost his own affinity to the darkness that resided within. Yet the answer he received was not one anticipated. Surely not.

Turning from his the city with revelation in tow he made his way back to the White Castle, the Togashi Ancestral home.

Now ... ​

The lambda shuttle eased through the Alderaan atmosphere heading for the palace. The codes supplied by his riduur, [member="Arabella Darkhold"] , granted them clearance. Glancing at the woman sitting next to him a grin crossed his face. Yeah, things were dire and in question, life was constantly in flux, even what was to be their homeworld was in a new state of unrest. But as long as he had his Bella, then everything could go to osik but Muad would survive.

Reaching across he gave her hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance, his eyes burning with his love that resounded across the force connection. He had changed over time, and in no small part because of this woman as well as her father. He was a better man because of it.

Feeling the shuttle set down he rose and pulled on the ragged brown leather jacket over his tan tunic. Dark trousers and boots completed his ensemble. On his right hip rode his Kal, his left his revolver. Across his back he slung the force imbued beskad. Holding out his left hand, the blue sith runes etched thereon, he smirked at his riduur.

"Shall we?"

The ramp of the shuttle lowered revealing the waiting room royal guards.

[member="Shoma Ike"] I [member="Faith Organa"]

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Shoma Ike"] | [member="Muad Dib"]

"Tea. Prince Shoma you have nothing to say sorry for" He had done nothing what would he be sorry for unless he meant for her brother. "If you speak about my brother, I thank you for you." She remembered his face again that clean cut farmboy looking face. He was too perfect and kind. She should have known. Faith returned the bow to Shoma, "I love tea, shall we make some?"

It was then another ship was seen coming in for a landing, she didn't recognize it right off. "Shoma was anyone else from Atrisia coming today?" She saw the ramp go down the guards were already moving in. She arched a brow..."I believe that is Muad." For a moment her heart stopped, did he bring Bella.

She looked at Shoma, "I was hoping my father traveled with you..." She turned to watch again, would he be with Muad?

It was hard right now to know where to focus. She reached over to Shoma her hand lightly on his arm, "I hate war." She wouldn't cry today..she would try not to.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C2z4GqqS5E​

The teen gave a bow toward Faith.

"Junko may be joining us," the youth noted, as he rose from out of the bow. No, he wasn't certain. The last several days had been a jumble of communications. "There's still... efforts underway on Kilea," the boy remarked, pausing a moment as he selected his words with care.

No doubt Faith would understanding the meaning behind them. The First Order had not brokered peace through diplomacy alone. They had launched an assault on Kilea, and closed in on Frisal. When [member="Natasi Fortain"]'s star destroyer had approached Atrisia, it was clear that a direct confrontation with the First Order would lead the Atrisian people down a path that would only lead to extinction.

The present arrangement avoided a government in exile, leaving their culture in place.

It was the best and the worst of both worlds.

"She stayed behind to look after affairs there," the teen noted, touching back on the reason why [member="Junko Ike"] was not traveling with him.

When Faith mentioned war, the boy could only incline his head with respect to her sentiment. "War is sometimes a choice not given us," the youth noted, with a somber countenance that ran contrary to his usual jovial demeanor.

"The decision becomes what is in the best interest of the people."

[member="Faith Organa"] | [member="Muad Dib"]​

 

[Mythos]

Meanwhile in the Widowing Field south sector ruins.

Last time Beskar was in his city it was burned to a crisp, Mythos' eyes were everywhere in the wound in the force that Jar'Kai had become. It was ironic to see TIE fighters over Atrisia one more time yet, still, Jar'Kai remained untouched. He expected to see it destroyed, battered down to death along with every else in the widowing field as they called it, yet here it stood, a husk of a monster like the bones of the Mythosaur left to house whatever slayed it. Mythos was on top of a rock swinging one of his legs back and forth rapidly like a small child amused at what he saw over the river. Truly he did not have to hide his force sensitivity from detection, what could possibly be detected here where the dark side miasma was so powerful it was literally visible like a heavy fog? He had a fruit in one hand, very few fruits grew here in the widowing field yet like his Dark Bota, nature that grew in a dark nexus was more delicious and tasty than those that did not... for a Sith Lord.

He bit down upon it savoring the death and rotting corruption that was not physical in nature yet real in every other sense of the word. Even IFF tags to enter First Order worlds were not too much of an issue, after all, they were allies against the light, He was able to come here and enjoy the sights and death to his hearts content as long as the First Order knew he was coming for sight seeing and allowed them to have constant orbital surveillance over him. He looked up at the sky knowing that satellites were having a bead on him and smiled, waving hello with one hand to the sky.

He was just sight seeing...

And what a sight he saw... on top of the massive broken pillar of a tower once used to house a food silo close to the imperial palace he looked down to the sands and river to see what to his eyes looked exactly like a classical Mandalorian. He raised his eyebrow considering the man then traced him as he left with renewed vigor and strength asking himself questions as to the visit of this lone Mando'ade.

"Most Interesting, The Mando'ade want something from these worlds?" He said, to himself and to the long range transceiver only linked up to [member="Mara Rockwell"] and her command center yet no doubt the First Order had also tapped into it. "They want something from my garden." He said, a scowl coming to his face as he tossed the half bitten fruit into some tight bushes down from where he was, quite a long drop. He was not happy that the First Order allowed other beings inside His garden, without offering him so much as proper tribute or prayer. Then again perhaps the Mandalorian was here to give his prayers onto Mythos in silence? Many did so in the wars against the republic. The thought removed the scowl from his expression replacing it with a pensive look and tilt of his head. Perhaps he was here to pay his respects to all those Mandalorians who died here?

He narrowed his eyes, a faint yellow light shining in them. As his eyes shined the bushes that the fruit landed in screamed in insect-like fury as the bushes shook. Several small critters evolved from the dark nexus crawled out, fangs, pincers and stingers where paws and legs used to be.

Mythos looked down on the bushes seeing the several insects come out with the fruit in toe and he observed their evolutive change, noticing the need for becoming predators or defending against the same. "It's being a home to all sorts of misfits these days" He said with a chuckle, emphasized by the rumble of a giant ant walking under him, migrated from their island here to the city drawn to the nexus like moths to light. It was the first of many new species coming here to make their home as the ecological makeup of Jar'Kai slowly began to change for the darker.

[member="Faith Organa"] [member="Shoma Ike"] [member="Muad Dib"]
​

 

[Junko Ike]

[member="Faith Organa"] [member="Shoma Ike"]

Junko was running late but she moved, standing in a silver kimono as she walked. Pale complexion with make up on her face. The Keisei had shown her a few things. THey wouldn't teach her their skills and even glancing a look at one of their books wasn't easy. She hadn't been able to see anything. There was a look though when she stopped and looked at Shoma bowing her head. She clasped her hands in front of herself and shook out her hair a little seeing the other woman. "Sorry I am late." She said it but stood there looking more around. Pressing concerns and well she had issued what she could. The people would be safe and prosper.

 

[Muad Dib]

Location: Alderaan

As the guards paused before them, the glances of their eyes upon his weapons made Muad sigh. He knew what was coming next. Before the commanding request for disarming came he unbuckled the gunbelt and unslung his sword to hold them out before him. Slowly one of the guards took possession of them, pausing as his eyes fell upon the Sith runes. As the palace guard looked up Muad winked and offered a smirk.

The guard lead the way to where the Queen of Alderaan was meeting the Prince of Atrisia and another woman. Holding his riduur's hand Muad walked calmly forward, joining the conversation at the rear end of it. Offering a slight incline of his head to the royalty gathered he turned his glowing, blue eyes upon the prince.

"And sometimes war is inevitable. Life is a cycle, peace and war, life and death. Sometimes all we can do is go along for the ride. Of course other times war can be diverted with enough planning and work, like a river. Wisdom is knowing the difference. Course, that's above the pay grade of a man like me."

His smirk raised from his face as he turned his attention to the Queen, his grip tightening ever so slightly upon Bella's hand in his own.

"Queen Organa, you look well considering the circumstances. Seems we only meet in turbulent times. Last time ole Draco stood between us. I'm not quite the same man I once was. Perhaps next meeting will be over more pleasant conditions. Your sister is safe, your father ... Is as elusive as ever. One thing I have learned of Master @Darkhold is that he can take care of himself as well as those he cares for. I think that runs in the family, the tenacity and the heart."

Looking to [member="Junko Ike"] he merely have her a wink of acknowledgement. She was an unknown to him. Turning his attention back to the royalty before him he rolled his shoulders slightly, missing the weight of his imbued beskad across his back.

"I'm not royalty. But I am tied to both of your houses and planets. Alderaan and Atrisia is home to my riduur, her but, and their aliit. So I am at your service, me and all that I own. In stead of your father, Queen Organa, and in stead of your vassal, Togashi, Prince [member="Shoma Ike"] . Excuse me, where are my manners? The name is Muad Dib."

He gave a flowery bow of Adumari origins. This was Alderaan, not Adumar, yet Muad wasn't completely without decorum, though his smirk adorned his face once more.

[member="Mythos"] I [member="Faith Organa"]

 

[Faith Organa]

Location: Alderaan
Interacting with: [member="Muad Dib"] | [member="Junko Ike"] | [member="Shoma Ike"]
Acting on Atrisia: [member="Mythos"]

"You are right war sometimes comes no matter what actions we take. How well we both know this. Is there anything we can do Shoma to help?" Faith looked over as Muad and Arabella were walking towards them. She heard Shoma speak of Kilea she frowned, "I want to do something...anything. I can approach the First Order and make plea to come and help. With" she groaned, "their permission."

"Shoma do you know my" it was hard to imagine at times but it was true, "brother in law Muad Dib and my sister Arabella?" She had lost a brother to gain a brother in law. Was that the way the fate worked lose one to gain another? How she would have liked to have both?

"Muad let us not stand on formalities here I am merely Faith. But Prince Shoma will have to give his permission for what formalities he would prefer" She could see the sadness in Arabella her twin Garith was gone. Twins often felt the loss of the other deeply. There would be some time later to talk about what they would do. How..to proceed.

Faith looked to Junko, "You are welcome here thank you for coming"

She looked at the tea again she thought of her father [member="Garith Darkhold"], "My father does tend to survive I think we could all use his strength right now, his experience." She shook her head, "Come let's go make some tea..I love the white tea of Atrisia." She took a few steps her knees were weak but she knew she had to be strong. Taking a deep breath she took a few more steps, "my father hates tea."

She laughed.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKbWGhV0QbE​

The teen looked up as Junko entered the room.

He was still visibly wearied, but relieved, by the sight of his cousin. If she was here, then that meant that the situation on Kilea had improved. Or, at the very least, stabilized.

The teen started to address Faith again, when he paused to see another join them. Bowing toward the gentleman, the youth returned his attention to the Alderaan Queen. She had, no doubt, heard the rumors of the attack and wanted to take action. But how much did she know of the resolution? "The First Order has agreed to a treaty that leaves the Atrisian Commonwealth as the governing body of Atrisia, Kilea, and Frisal," the boy reported succinctly. "So, as strange as it may be, in some respects nothing has changed... except that we need no longer fear the First Order attacking."

When or if Atrisia reconsidered its passivity with regard to the First Order would be a time and a place of Atrisia's choosing.

As Maud was introduced, the teen gave another bow. "Hajimemashte," the youth intoned, shifting momentarily into his Xiaolang dialect. "Please, my name is Shoma. Dozo yoroshiku ne," the young prince remarked, completing the customary introductory phrase in Atrisian. Taking a moment to indicate the Atrisian woman, the youth added, "My cousin, Junko of Shri-Tal."

With that, the youth returned to Faith's earlier statement. "By all means, come. Visit Atrisia," the boy remarked. In truth, if she took him up on that, then that would go a long way with appeasing some of the civil unrest that lingered from the uncertainty surrounding the present relationship with the First Order. "There is a lot of fear now. A state visit from outside the First Order would help to communicate to the people that life goes on."

"My father hates tea."

That statement brought a wan smile to the youth's face. "Your father drank tea with the Grand Moff of the First Order," the teen noted wryly.

[member="Faith Organa"] | [member="Muad Dib"] | [member="Junko Ike"] | [member="Mythos"]​

 

[Mara Rockwell]

@Mythos @Shoma Ike [member="Faith Organa"] [member="Muad Dib"] [member="Junko Ike"]

These Atrisians sure knew how to make some fine shimmersilk. Everything Mara was wearing was made of the fabric. The way it rubbed against her blue skin made the Aruzan feel sexy; well, sexier than she normally felt. So, she felt incredibly sexy at the moment. Her crop top was locally made and extravagant on the thread count, as was her matching, high waisted silk skirt. Over her blue eyes the super extra girlfriend wore a pair of mirror shades that may or may not have been made from chromium and might have been phrik plated. Why? The same reason for the huge diamond engagement ring that was on her blue finger. Because she could.

The Blue hacker lay back on a voluptuously stuffed series of pillows, all also silken. Beside her were a pair of computers with massive streams of data flowing in front of her. She was minding the charts, but there was nothing saying she had to do that without looking totally fab. The data was wildly varied. Some were market trends spanning across the galaxy, bank accounts rising and falling through major holders, the stock prices of high end and low end businesses dipping, and the social media followings of her favorite celebs. The horrors of Commenor were now a distant memory, fading away in her rear view mirror.

"I mean, I guess so," she said back to her boyfriend from her seat of opulence. She pulled a golden chalice of some of the finest local wine to her lips, "Damn this stuff is good, they might be after that. But really, when do the Mandos not want something from a planet? Really, that is what the do, right? Or am I thinking of the Maramu?"

Mara extended her glass, admiring the way the sun glinted off its shimmering, gorgeous exterior. It was flawless, just like the perfection of this experience. The woman let out a soft sigh, catching her own reflection in the metal, "I look so gocci right now, I am not gonna lie. I think I have to break up with you and marry myself."

 

[Mythos]

[member="Faith Organa"] [member="Muad Dib"] [member="Junko Ike"]

The First Order could track Mythos, he had no issues with it either, they would find tracking his fiancee Mara a lot more difficult. Mythos had no idea how she was able to construct a perfectly functional command center that could literally hack into the imperial palace, banks, off system accounts and orbital satellites with ease with the few things they could smuggle and the junk left over from the force storm. He turned to face her as she looked somewhat what he imagines one of those very expensive and rare fresco paintings look like, he took his time to admire her. He was never much of a family man, he was a failure of a family man, but the kind of husband that would fit Mara was somewhat something a Sith could do.

"If you drank something other than booze you might like the tea" He said placidly, jumping down from the nearly three story tall ledge into the back of a giant ant. This was a beast he used back in the One Sith days to teach young acolytes how to properly use bestial control, an ability natural to all sith. The beast followed his will, straight to the path close to the small hideout Mara had for them.

Mythos was here also to do a small service to the First Order, simple yet it could prove very useful in the future. The Nexus of power here and the ground was perfect for planting a crop of Dark Bota yet they had to be protected and watched over by specialists. Mythos wanted permission from the First Order to use this Nexus to grow his crop but before he could he wanted to bring a batch of his crop as proof that it was not a waste of time, that and take a biological journal of the wildlife of the area. He picked up his holotransmitter and sent his message to Atrisian high command, The First order command and the old Atrisian agronomy college he built.

"Eight O' Five, species mutation seems accelerated at a twenty nine percent since previous study" He said, the prince himself [member="Shoma Ike"] being privy to this information and to this entire journal. "The Species from Island I-8 has somehow migrated to the affected areas, it is now one of the dominant predatory species in the fields, i believe their queen is underground." He said, taking a knee and taking a pinch of dirt into his hands and observing it carefully, he picked up the transmitter for one final command. "Bring the Irrigation teams down here, we got a possible drought on sector nine. Nothing serious but i wish to handle it before it spreads to sector six and the Akir fruits."

He stood and turned to look over his shoulder to the sector in question, the fruits in them not for the consumption of organics anymore because of the corruption of the nexus, but for Mythos they were just fine."They have the brains of Marmu sometimes." He said with a chuckle while he send the transmission of his journal as well as the data he imputed of the recent observations. "But the golden armor that saved me from a rocket strike was made and forged by a Mandalorian, they have their uses"

He walked over to [member="Mara Rockwell"] from behind the glass where she saw her beautiful reflection, his own reflection clear alongside hers as he kissed her and smiled. Truly she looked like perfection to his eyes, her nature only accentuating the passion Mythos had for her, unattainable and impossible to understand, she made him fight for her affection every single day. It was impossible to take her for granted because he always felt like even when he kissed her and held her in his hands she could vanish. Every second he could spend with her he treasured and if she wanted twenty more Mynocks then he would probably go get them.

"I would't blame you. I'd marry you too"
​