The Road to Shawken (completed)

[Faith Organa]

Be a craftsman in speech that thou mayest be strong, for the strength of one is the tongue, and speech is mightier than all fighting - Ptahhotep​

Faith was on her second stop for the tour, and she was not sure ever how one would go. The traveling even in comfort was long hours and sleepless nights. She often communicated with Draco about where she was and how things were going.

He was helping his clan with challenges, and something called an Omega, she had not thought to ask further as her own agenda kept her on the move. She wasn't going to tell him don't go, he would hate it. He had made it clear before marriage that he was going to maintain his freedom, even though he still had an assistant who let him know of upcoming duties.

The second stop was to a planet called Shawken which was very close to Corsucant which was her next stop so this worked out very well for her schedule. She was waiting on Claire to let her know about Bespin. Faith was curious about the Shawkenese and would the ruler of Shawken give them rights to travel on the Shawken Spur. She hoped.

Ana came in to see Faith watching the twins sleep. "Cute"

Faith smiled, "Theo frowns in his sleep like his father, but she sleeps like an angel. Be sure to send Draco pictures he's not happy about this trip but it's time we made sure Alderaan is visible and makes friends. The Republic is gone, the Galactic Alliance is out there, and sooner or later there will be another face that wishes to take over Alderaan and take on our protectors."

The Alderaanian party was given direction on where to land. The Nanny would stay on board with two guards, Blu and the children for safe keeping. They tended to be a distraction in meetings.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

Sweat dripped from his brow as the lightsaber hummed in his hand. Four Royal guards circled around him, each holding their own sabers in hand. He had been at this for hours, pushing himself, testing the limits of his body. Already two sets of royal guards had to switch out due to exhaustion and the others were now taking bets on how long their king would last. It had been two weeks now since his return and after his reformations and removal of some of the more prominent sith elements that had grown in popularity with the one sith's rule of the planet, something that had allowed him the throne of the world in the first place, he had found more of the peoples acceptance than when he was so openly sith.

Swinging his saber behind his back he blocked a strike aimed at his back while moving to the side to avoid another coming in from the front, seeing the two guards clash against one another made him smirk a little. They were all using training sabers as he wanted to avoid injury both to himself and his royal guards. His train of thought was interrupted when his assistant, a tall proud sephi woman with long grey hair but looked like she was just crawling into her thirties and next to her the fussy attendant that always saw something wrong in how he dressed or wore his long white hair, a Zeltron in her mid twenties. "Your highness, a [member="Faith Organa"] is schedule to arrive in a three hours I suggest you stop your training and prepare." She said in her business as usual tone that T'zanith had never seen waver since he got there.

With a nod he turned his saber off and threw it to the closest guard. "I think you are right. Prepare my study for her visit and get a pot of sapir tea ready please." He said as his attendant came to him with a towel which he accepted and began to make his way to his chambers to get more presentable to the lady of Alderaan.

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Darth Erebos"]​

​

The many dresses that she had in her closet were designed for formal dinner, formal meetings, casual dining, and then her time off while traveling from one place to another. So she was looking at the closet staring at it as if she had nothing to wear, she touched upon one it was elegant light it reminded her of home the way it flowed and felt.

Ana stood nearby, "you are meeting with the King of Shawken Faith."

"A King, very well it is good to know. Do we know anything about him?"

Ana hesitated, "not that I am aware of there are no notes from any of the family stating that they met with the King previously."

So that meant Faith was the first to meet him, she had to make a good impression and she must be on her best behavior. "Ok" Faith dressed into the gown she had chosen. She was right it was beautiful and she felt beautiful in it.

"Is Captain Lindsey ready Ana?"

"Yes Mam" Mam when was the last time Ana had called her Mam. She couldn't help but laugh a bit, "Don't be nervous Ana this should be fun"

What could she tell him of Alderaan, what did he know of Alderaan? Was he curious, would he like to know about the Museum, the Mountain Palace, or did he already know ? She was a touch nervous she often was at the beginning. She closed her eyes and gathered her calm about her. She smiled, "I'm ready"

The ship made for the platform, landing area they were directed towards. Her ship a gift from Draco kept her safe and comfortable protected their family and carried her from one place to the next. She wondered about Shawken and its history, and its King.

"We are on approach" came the words from the pilot and soon the atmosphere of Shawken enveloped the ship as they descended towards their destination.

 

[Shaddi]

The control tower gave [member="Faith Organa"]'s ship a set of coordinates that directed her to the private hangar within the Imperial Palace of Shawken, an old palace with history but it was also clear as clouds didn't obscure it from sight that major renovations were being made, renovations that were clearly removing or changing statues of great sith of the past. Put up when the One sith held Shawken in it's sway almost five years ago, it was slow work removing their touch when most of the budget when into the peoples well being, with several new schools and hospitals being built and the general quality of their lives.

Darth Erebos, no longer went by that name and he had gotten used to being called his highness or T'zanith by those more closer to him. Some even used the formal title of King Zebron though that was the one title he was the most unused to. He had finished his shower and now sat in the study he had designated to himself, it was much more like a small courtyard garden with only one forth of it holding bookshelf's and a desk along with a very well made, carved wooden conference table that would be able to hold six people with two on either side of each length and one on each end, in the middle was a very well integrated holo-projector that seemed like it simply belonged to the table.

T'zanith sat in the middle of the serene garden portion of his study as he got dressed in pure white clothing with a black crosh-hide leather top and boots all closed with golden clasps. His clothing was made of shimmersilk so as to bring out the whiteness of the fabric while his outer hooded coat had golden edges. The whole en-sample gave of quiet the air of authority, royalty and a personal sense of power, like one would expect from a jedi master or even a sith lord. T'zanith was meditating while counting through the hopes and plans for the future of his people, his intent to bring them peace and prosperity as he felt they deserved for the years if not decades of senseless war at the hands of the sith. Even though he was sith in origin and certainly in force power, his views on the force itself had begun to vastly differ and some jedi might even say that he had found his redemption through this train of thought he now had.

 

[Faith Organa]

Ana stood behind Faith with the traditional welcome basket of Alderaan, Emerald wine from the Vinerium, Cheeses from several farms, breads from the artisan bakers, the miniature print of the Killik Twilight and other items. It was representative of Alderaan and the things they had been able to offer since the rebuilding began.

Ana whispered before they left, his highness King T'zanith of Shawken. Faith nodded she got it she smiled and moved down the ramp looking about briefly it was an old home, oh this she loved. It had a history for certain, much like the Mountain Palace it too had history would the King share it with her she loved learning about such places. She smiled warmly she suddenly felt very comfortable coming here. As if knowing that someone who sought to preserve their history was already someone she could turn to as a friend.

An escort showed them the way through the corridors to his chamber, his study. Faith turned and took the basket from Ana. "Wait out here if I need something I will call" she looked at Captain Lindsey who always got that nervous look on his face, "it's fine. I don't think there's a threat here, I need to do this alone"

She turned to face the door and once the escort secured permission for them to enter, the door slid open and Faith walked in, "Your majesty" She did a small curtsy, he was a king and higher in rank than she. She would recognize his rank as fitting between nobility.

She stayed down but for a few moments and rose up, "I am Princess Faith of House Organa, and I bid you greetings from my mother, Queen Arianna. Please accept this basket as a tiny show of our gratitude of your meeting with me." She turned to give it to the escort who did not have permission to leave yet.

Faith smiled, his clothes gleamed under the light and the room itself seemed to breath life of its own. How very fascinating it was.

 

[Shaddi]

T'zanith gave a smile as [member="Faith Organa"] walked in, his eyes covered by the same fabric as his clothing was made of marking him as physically blind. "Please you can call me T'zanith or mr. Zebron if you so wish." He said in an almost silvery voice belonging to someone barely pushing out of his teens, he even looked like he had just turned twenty. With a slight gesture to the escort the basket was left on the carved conference table and with a soft respectful bow the escort left. "I must admit that hearing Alderaan wanted to start negotiations with a world held by the sith for so long did come as a surprise to me." He said as he stood up slowly and deliberately before taking only a moment to listen to the air around him and then turned towards Faith with an extended hand and a kind smile, a gesture of good will from his part.

"I hope the restorations to Alderaan have come along well. I had heard there had been some changes and the wars might have touched your world, I do hope it's rumored beauty is still preserved." He said with slight worry in his tone, though he knew his question showed how out of touch with the galaxy he had become but it was something he wondered as he liked places with such rich history, one of the reasons he had been drawn to shawken in the first place.

 

[Faith Organa]

"I will call you T'zanith if you will call me Faith." She extended her hand and took his gently into her own, her curled her fingers around his squeezed gently and then released him. She looked up her brown eyes set upon the cloth covering his eyes.

He was blind, or at least did not see in the same manner that she did.

"Every thing that I have seen here on Shawken tells me that you enjoy preserving history. That you understand how beautiful something ancient can be. Alderaan is being restored to it's singular beauty. We were able to replant much of the indigenous plants, and animals as we worked with consortiums, think tanks, and the science community to ensure we did not bring harm to Alderaan."

She smiled out of pride for her home and the work completed there, "As beautiful as Alderaan is, it needs to have presence in the Galaxy and Embassy are ways to do so. I'm not entirely comfortable with a Sith world for many reasons." The ruin of her home being at the very top of the list, "Alderaan needs friends, needs to have places where our citizens throughout the galaxy are able to find refuge."

Yes she knew what she wanted to say, "Perhaps some fled here and are just waiting for the opportunity to test new waters and see if they can go home, if they want"

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

He smiled as he listened to [member="Faith Organa"] speak. "Well those that can't learn from the mistakes and triumphs of the ancient past, will never be able to preserve it. After all Shawken holds one of the most ancient civilizations the galaxy has active right now." He said and then offered her a seat with a gesture towards the carved conference table. "Well then Faith, I must ask what have you heard of Shawken?" He said as he walked with her and lazily gestured with his hand which made two glasses rise up along with a very elaborate glass vessel which was filled with a clear liquid. "Might I interest you in Shawkenesse mountain spring water?" He then asked as he lowered the hand that he had used to gesture onto the table at which time the glasses and vessel gently settled on the table.

He then let out a slight chuckle. "If your wondering about the blind fold it's something I inherited from my father, he was a Miralukan you see and I inherited his sight as well as force sensitivity." He then said as he gestured into his blindfold.

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Darth Erebos"]

"I agree" yes they had to learn from history she agreed with this most fervently it was why she had been working so hard to restore the places that had once adorned the surface of Alderaan. The places that one looked to and thought, yes that is Alderaan you can tell by the curve of the spires, the taste of the cheese, the deep green of the wine, and was once home to a General, and a Princess.

Faith smiled, "I know very little except what I could read as we traveled. I had hoped you would share with me it's history and that which makes you so proud of your world." She nodded, caught again.

"Yes I had wondered but did not wish to be impolite, Miralukan how very interesting. Force Sensitive too, it does seem to run in families." She felt that question now sitting on her tongue he was force sensitive but where did his allegiance run...Jedi, Sith, something else... She could handle almost anything but now how to ask without damaging a budding friendship.

She smiled, and now it nagged at her to ask.

"Do you enjoy wine, House Organa has an emerald wine that is included in the basket. I hope you find it enjoyable."

 

[Shaddi]

He sat down opposite her and smiled slightly. "I've been acquiring the taste for whine since my return but I'll be sure to tell you how I find it." He said as he took the glass of water on his end and took a sip, it was ice cold and refreshing. Placing the glass down with a gentle thud on the table he seemed to look towards [member="Faith Organa"] and smiled. "The reason I love Shawken is not only due to it's ancient history but also it's resilience. In the old hyperspace war they weathered the assault as well as what the wars of the old republic and the galactic empire of old. They always managed to weather the storms brought upon them and they always seemed to emerge all the stronger for it, both as a community and as a people."
He then said with something of a tone of pride in his people but then his expression turned to curiosity. "Faith, there is a question you want to ask me, I don't have to be a force user to see it."

 

[Faith Organa]

Faith nodded, "As you know Alderaan has suffered at the hands of the Sith, and you mentioned being force sensitive. I am curious where you align yourself....I could not in good conscience put our citizens in harms way again. I am wondering if you are a Sith or a Jedi." She was a bit embarrassed to have asked the question.

Surely he understood that if she put an embassy on a world full of Sith that at home the citizens would see it as her...making friends with Sith. There were many would could not, or would not allow such a thing. The last thing either world needed was upset and cause for unrest.

"Alderaan has recovered in so many ways, but some wounds run deep and that will take longer." Faith knew that feeling and while she was most forgiving of many things, the pain associated with the destruction of her home she had not quite forgiven.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

"Before I answer I need to know that what I'm about to say will not leave this room." He said as his expression turned from the curiosity it had displayed into one of no emotions what so ever as he waited for her to reply to his request. He knew that what he had just said would bubble up her suspicion about him but this was something he had to make sure of, after all who he used to be being revealed might make some enemies he didn't know of crawl out of the woodwork and that in turn could harm his people. However he had confidence that [member="Faith Organa"] would understand his reasons once he'd explain them.

 

[Faith Organa]

A confidence, he asked her for one now. She barely knew him or his character but there was a way, "I will as long as it does not put Alderaan in danger." She couldn't keep quiet about something that would threaten her home that would be asking a lot of her in this capacity. As the Minister of Intelligence she had kept a few secrets ones that had meant no harm to no one but the one who had asked for the secret to be kept.

She felt he would understand her single request for would he not feel the same if the roles were reversed.

She had grown use to reading a person's face, or where their gaze settled however with T'zanith it was difficult she had only his body language to rely upon and the expression of face and neither right now told her anything.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

With a nod he indicated that he understood what [member="Faith Organa"] meant but then with a slight movement towards what looked to be an unassuming flower pot he made an old grossguarded lightsaber hilt into his hand while an old helmet, cracked and dented was placed down on the table next to him. Seemingly he looked it over and then made it slide along the table to Faith. "I assure you I mean no harm to you or Alderaan in the slightest. However I am a former member of the one sith... the dark council to be exact." He then said as he pointed towards the hilt and leaned into his seat. "If you believe me to be a threat I will allow you to strike me down now, but my alignment as of now is neither light side or dark side. My new philosophy has moved... passed that. I believe that the force is a singular force not restricted to sides of light or dark and much like the galaxy we live in several shades of colors that all make a grand whole."

He spoke with conviction but his body language and expression didn't give anything away, having been so used to wearing a mask which was now nestled in front of him on the table. His sith identity, his old self, his new self now sitting opposite Faith, a king and defender of his people.

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Darth Erebos"]

He was a former member of the very Order that had taken her home and turned it into something vile and in her eyes evil. She stared at that which she assumed were the things that associated him with being a Sith with signs of office, and position. She had to pause she had to think.

She knew that change was possible, she was after all married to Draco who had been also of the one sith. Could she afford to be so forgiving to one without showing the same forgiveness to someone else.

The decision twisted inside her as she weighed each of the thoughts, and tried to look ahead to what the consequences could be. He offered to let her kill him, she thought about it for a moment. No, she couldn't do that. Just as she could not deny him the chance to show her that he was not of the Sith any longer.

"That won't be necessary, I take your word as your bond. Let us..continue our discussions" she smiled softly the question asked and answered, time to move on.

 

[Shaddi]

With a small bow he raised his hand and brought his old lightsaber into his hand which he placed the hilt down next to the helmet and sat down. "Yes by all means. You are thinking of having a embassy here on shawken correct? I will be more than happy to welcome an embassy and I shall even provide your embassy with readily available forces if such a need arises. In return for being granted an Embassy as a form of communication between our governments and a safe haven for our citizens I will also provide Alderaan with a small fleet of freighters filled with worker droids to aid in the reconstruction process." He said as he gestured towards [member="Faith Organa"] with a friendly gesture before both were clasps against his lap.

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Darth Erebos"]

She nodded, "I accept the help you are most generous, what can Alderaan provide to Shawken to show how grateful we are for their generosity?" She had this sense about him that he perhaps was not like the others. She remembered her own brother Theo he walked neither in the light or the dark but practiced another way, Theo practiced the ways of the Kashi.

She also just noticed she had stopped referring to herself and referred to her entire world. Perhaps this was a step into a larger understanding she did not know, "Geothermal technology, use of our Royal Builders for a project...or phrik for a project." She smiled there were things her world could offer, she just had to be able to word it correctly.

 

[Shaddi]

He thought about it for a few moments as he heard her offer. "Wile most would most likely jump at the chance for phrik, however I think the Geothermal technology would benefit my people quite more than a measly few crates of Phrik might." He said with a lightly jesting tone towards [member="Faith Organa"] as he stood and walked towards the book case overlooking the desk in the same room. Coming to the bookcase he took a book out and flipped through it to a specific opening.

"Shawken has of yet tapped into it's geothermal reservoirs and given that it's clean and sustainable energy, I believe it would be quite good for the people of Shawken to get such a clean and relatively cheep energy source." He said as he flipped through one or two more pages in the book and then placed it down on the table. The title of the book was simply "The current state of Shawken, the compendium."

 

[Faith Organa]

[member="Darth Erebos"]

"This technology is currently used in New Crevasse City the Royal Engineers when the City was rebuilt also brought back the geothermal power plants. I would like to arrange a tour for you to see this technology in action and how hit benefits the City, and the planet. And then we can arrange the necessary meetings to discuss placement"

Faith could not help but look down at the book it drew her eye just from motion, "A compendium of the current state of Shawken. Is it like a morning briefing on the state of affairs?" Faith's current advisor met with her each morning to update her on incidents, accidents, tourists and things her mother needed her to do each day.

The life of ruling a planet perhaps there were other things they could do as well, "Perhaps we can exchange other ideas as wells, things that would help the people of Alderaan and Shawken."

 

[Shaddi]

"A cultural exchange sounds like quite the proposition." He said with a smile before pointing towards the book. "Something like that, it's more like what has happened here on shawken for the past 5 years while I was away." He said as his forefinger tapped it a little. "Due to my sight in the force it's easier to read books rather than datapads." He then explained to [member="Faith Organa"].