The Sins of the Father

[Darlyn Excron]

Days on Commenor tended to be dull for law enforcement, even in Chasin City. Few organized criminal syndicates took root, as the Minister of Juatice was ruthless in breaking such organizations up, and though oft lenient with punishments he held no remorse for those who took up arms against the law. To him, such an act was a contract of accepting what may come.

So it was little surprise most crimes were petty, or non violent. Why risk the deadly end of a lightsaber against a fine? Yet even so, once in a while a crime would stand out. Gun runners, smugglers, the rare pirate, something to entertain him and give meaning to his life and job. Today would be no different..

At least, save the twist. As Darlyn sat in his office, his black robes loose about him as he tended to his beloved DL-18 blaster pistol, with unique engraving upon the hilt, no less than twelve uniformed officers made their way in, weapons leveled at his head.

"Curious twist of fate. Tell me, is this a coup? I can't imagine another reason you would come in unannounced." He stood up and crossed his arms, holstering the pistol at his leg. No less than a fraction of a second later the officers moved to cuff Darlyn. The darksider could be easily fought back, but instead allowed himself to be cuffed.

As he was lead off, no doubt to the holding cells,
A confused staff member of the palace hurried along to [member="Lady Kay"]'s office, while those on palace grounds could easily spot the strange sight. "Your Majesty, forgive my intrusion, but Minister Excron is being taken by the police without an explanation. Are you aware of what's happening?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was doing what she normally did. She was drinking her tea while going over some paperwork. There was lots more now and she wondered if she should hire more assistants. However once Senators were chosen for the worlds under Commenor's care, the paperwork should lessen. Ideally, anyways.

The staffer interrupted her and what he had said gave her pause. "I'm sorry...What?" Kay put down her tea and got up from her desk, stepping quickly to her door. Sure enough, a bunch of officers were leading [member="Darlyn Excron"] down the hall and around the corner. She recognized his robes anywhere. "Hey!!" Kay broke into a run towards them, her gown billowing behind her. "Wait! Why are you taking him?! I command you to stop!!"

And stop they did. However only one of them turned around to look at her...

 

[Darlyn Excron]

And there was [member="Lady Kay"] right on time. Darlyn shook his head lightly, speaking up loudly before the officer who turned could speak. "Ah Kay, excellent. Perhaps you could tell my officers to uncuff me? They appear to believe I broke the law, though I can't say why. They were rather hasty to take me off. Can't blame them, I don't make an effort to hide what I can do. All the same, before I get angry perhaps you could assist?"

The officer that had turned gave a salute to the Queen, before standing at attention. "Your highness! I'm sorry, but Minister Excron has been issued a warrant for his arrest." Darlyn visibly rolled his eyes at this. Of course there was, no one doubted that much. The real question was why, and why so quickly.

 

[Kay-Larr]

"Broke the law? What law?" She looked from Darlyn to the officer as she caught up to them and stopped running. Kay heard about the arrest warrant then. A brow raised as she was sure that she'd of been told of this. Afterall, [member="Darlyn Excron"] wasn't just an average citizen. He was one of her Ministers, a member of government.

"Under who's authority has the arrest warrant been issued? I didn't sign off on it. And what law is he being accused of breaking?" She held out her hand. "Let me see the warrant. Now." Kay kept her voice stern. This wasn't the time for please and thank yous when people were going above her head.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Signed by Judge Carwell, your Majesy. On the charges of treason and piracy." Darlyn was very thorough to make his distaste at the accusation show as he watched the officer show the arrest warrant to [member="Lady Kay"].

"At least they went through the procedures closely enough. If be more offended if they didn't. Kay my dear, could you read the date I supposedly marched out of my office to do this? I'd be very grateful if you could tell me how wrong they are and get the officers to stop having a gun to my back."

It was doubtful that any of the officers were surprised with his attitude. Frankly they'd expect it, considering the charges. The warrant was unexpected to them all. Naturally it stated his name and the charges, as well as the day the act in question had been observed to take place. A supply ship an route to Commenor had been raided shortly before Darlyn joined Kay and her delegation in meeting with her friend Ultimatum. Of course in reality he had been fitting a new suit of armor, but he hasn't been asked for his alibai had he?

 

[Kay-Larr]

"Treason and piracy?? Shouldn't someone have come to me about this first?" It was absurd. Ridiculous even. She knew [member="Darlyn Excron"] very well and the last thing that he would do would act against her.

Kay looked at the warrant. "They didn't follow procedures close enough if I wasn't made aware of it until now..." She looked to the date, furrowing her brows as she thought back on what took place then. "There has to be some mistake...Darlyn joined up with myself and a few others for a diplomatic meeting with the Metal Lords. He wasn't commiting treason. Let him go."

She waited for the officers to comply. Kay didn't like not knowing what was happening with her closest people. It was like they were all keeping secrets from her. There was no reason to keep her out of the loop.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"It was the judge's opinion you may be too lenient on Minister Excron based on your friendship with him. If you don't mind waiting for confirmation of this story..." the officer began, before his comlink went up.

He seemed pale as he hurriedly undid Darlyn's cuffs and returned his blaster pistol, while the redheaded male rubbed his wrists. "Remind me to fire someone later [member="Lady Kay"]. For now what say you and me figure out why they went to such efforts to get this done quickly."

 

[Kay-Larr]

"Too lenient? This isn't something that a judge could sweep under the carpet without me noticing. Arresting such a high profile person doesn't afford him that luxury."

Kay blinked as the officers comlink went off. The man looked as though he had seen a ghost, yet thankfully [member="Darlyn Excron"] was released. Still, it made her wonder what that was about. "Yes. Is there anyone that has grievences against you? Or does anyone want anything from you that would be in your office?" Clearing him out of there would make a search easier.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Well there's my ex Sith master, a few thousand assorted criminals, the First Order, that woman I took my lightsaber from under their nose, a few hundred crime syndicates... oh too many to name. Of course it really depends on what exactly was done to get me arrested. Pretty sure most of the people who dislike me would just mail a bomb like a fool." most of the officers cleared out, but Darlyn grabbed one by the nape of his neck, giving a very, very cold look.

"You are going to contact Admiral Vikras and get him to authorize a full transfer of navy logs relating to this incident. Understood?" the man nodded and ran off, leaving Darlyn to sigh. "[member="Lady Kay"], would you be so kind as contact your husband and any members of state you think will need to know what's going on? I'll have a meeting room setup within the hour. I'm going to get this all cleared up with state now, so no one can overstep my authority again."

A vase, a non expensive and common enough vase, behind him shattered with his last statement. Darlyn rarely got this mad, after all.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow as [member="Darlyn Excron"] rattled out a long list. It was much longer than she had realized. One of them had to be guilty.

"Contact Veiere? Sure....He might not be able to make it in person, but perhaps by holocall. Mac might want to know about it too. I'll see you in an hour." Kay turned to go, however she paused as the vase broke. She made no move to scold him however. Instead ahe just carried on. Both [member="Veiere Arenais"] and [member="Macoda Haberon"] needed to be aware of what was going on. Well, what little that she knew about it anyways.

 

[WolfMortum]

The Commenori Pheonix had already departed the world of Yutan, [member="Lady Kay"] having not yet made the call to him yet Veiere feeling very deeply the need to visit his wife for all the recent weight of his efforts he had carried atop his shoulders. It had been a number of weeks since they had last been in each others company, always in contact via holo-transmissions yet due to their very seperate directions taken in life these days, her place was with the Senate where as his lay within the Jedi Temple with the students and his fellow Knights and Masters.

With Terrac piloting the vessel, Veiere found himself within the quiet of his quarters sitting upon the edge of his bed, leaning forward and burying his elbows into his knees as his gaze took to the metal floor, his right hand playing with the Wedding Ring upon his left. Between the bond in the force that he and his wife shared, came certain instincts and feelings that drew them together in times of struggle or mental conflict, sometimes without reason at all yet the ring that he wore had been designed specifically to strengthen this connection they shared and though he did not know that she was seeking his company, the timing of his departure from Yutan could perhaps be considered something far more than coincidence with his yearning to drift into the support of her embrace.

So much of his time lately had been spent focusing and directing the efforts of the Order's re-establishment on Yutan that he had almost forgotten to take time out for himself. It took a lot of work to continuously look strong before the others, to act as if there were no doubts in his mind as to their direction yet often his methods were guided by his faith in the Force for he understood well that alike others, he was only sentient and prone to making mistakes as much so as the next person. Social status be damned, Veiere had not lost his sense of humility in how he looked upon his friends and peers.

As the Pheonix continued in its course towards Commenor his thoughts drifted to that of the Senate and Kay's last mention of the struggle she herself was dealing with in trying to lead the Commenor Systems Alliance towards a path of democratic leadership and stability for the nations around them. Before the Senate had been established, the end result of all government policies had landed in their laps what with a ruling monarchy. Veiere himself was glad to be away from that kind of leadership and responsibility; something that no matter how good of a Jedi, no member of the Order should hold such power over the livelihood of others in his perspective. He did however worry for how Kay might be doing and remained eager to see her again, for the two to spend some quality time together in the quiet of their home world.

[member="Darlyn Excron"]

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn wasted no time setting the meeting room up. Holotable, chairs, everything one would need to make a presentation, as he intended to do. The files sent over from the navy consisted primarily of audio accounts of the incident and recordings of the event in question. Fortunately whoever it had been damaged nothing, leaving just enough evidence to see why he was presumed to be guilty.

He'd even had time to stop by his office.. Not a thing had been touched. Though, for safe measures, he had clipped his lightsaber to his belt. The presence of Exar Kun's lightsaber further fed his darkness, an almost palpable feeling from the moment one entered.

And thus, he waited. Seated at the head of the table where the projector controls were located.

[member="Veiere Arenais"] [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

To Kay's surprise, [member="Veiere Arenais"] was already on his way. How did he know? She looked down to her wedding rings, spinning them on her finger slowly as her mind drifted. She knew that the rings enhanced their bond, but she had no idea that it would do so in such a way to influence their actions. If anything, she just figured that it amplified their skill of telepathy, yet clearly they wielded power in such a way that the two of them had yet to discover.

She stood at the landing pad, trying to not look so overly eager as she watched the Kingsguard on it's approach. Her hands were clasped before her while she waited, no longer fiddling with her rings, while her eyes were solely on her husband's vessel. It didn't seem to land quick enough for her liking, nor did the ramp lower at the speed that she had wanted. Time seemed to have slowed, feeling as though the minutes were hours. If only time did that when she was always in his company....

Once Veiere was in view, her face lit up and she walked with quick steps towards him, wrapping her arms around his torso and closing her eyes as she greeted him with a loving kiss. After their lips parted she rested her head against his chest so that she could hear his heartbeat and his breath. "Oh how I have missed you. I wish that we could just spend our time relaxing, but Darlyn needs our help. He's waiting for us in one of the meeting rooms." She stepped out of his embrace but held onto his hand, relaying to him what had happened recently regarding [member="Darlyn Excron"] 's warrant while they headed inside the Palace. It was bizarre and an absurd tale. "Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this quickly and find out why he's been targeted and by whom."

 

[WolfMortum]

As soon as Veiere had stepped away from the landing ramp of the Commenori Pheonix he was greeted by the embrace of his wife, she of whom he wrapped his arms around, his robe moving to cover her mostly from view as his loose sleeves draped down her back, his lips finding hers and kissing her most lovingly as he too had missed the comfort in her company. To his soon surprise, she expressed to him the urgency in the situation of which one [member="Darlyn Excron"] had found himself in, a slight hint of disappointment washing over him for all it seemed nothing stopped in the motions of the galaxy's bowel movements, it would seem that once again Veiere would be graced by the result of such a movement having to take on yet another responsibility where he had sought some much needed down time. Fortunately for Darlyn, he considered the man a friend and despite his own need for compensation against what had been a rather stressful time, Veiere's desire to give was more important than his wish to sate his own desires.

"It's so good to be home..." He replied less enthusiastically than the words themselves would convey, a hint of sarcasm in his voice though he smiled back down to [member="Lady Kay"], obviously finding humor in his pessimistic response. As they continued on, Kay began to explain a bit more surrounding the situation, Darlyn's supposedly being framed for a crime that the man claimed not to have committed. He was a practitioner of the Force like a number of Kay's associates were, though led by his passions as opposed to being as reserved as the Jedi were, Darlyn was a man who flaunted the line between the dark and the light, one of aggressive tendencies and who had led Veiere to question his methods silently behind the scenes. Still, to this day the man had taken no actions against the laws of Commenor, he had targeted only the guilty in any of his pursuits and to Veiere's knowledge all of his arrests had been justified both in conduct and by government.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay caught his emotions quite easily. It wasn't the ideal situation to come home to, but it could be far worse. She gave [member="Veiere Arenais"] ' hand a gentle squeeze. "When this is over, we'll get to spend some quality time together. I promise. Maybe we can finally go on our honeymoon? Find some place quiet and away from everyone..." It seemed like a pipe dream, but it was something to hope for. Their lives were too entangled in the events of their territory and beyond to allow them time to focus on being selfish. Yet time to themselves was needed every once in a while, to reinforce their bond and to give them some peace of mind.

They walked inside the Palace, directed to where [member="Darlyn Excron"] was. He had chosen one of the smaller meeting rooms. That meant that there was less likely to be others joining them. Or so she figured, anyways.

Kay bowed her head to him as she walked in the meeting room and then sat herself down at the table, folding her hands on the table. "Alright. Did you get everything that you need?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Vikras was appropriately bemused that I went to the formality of a request of document transfer, but admittedly he seemed surprised. [member="Veiere Arenais"], remind me to send him a thank you letter when I'm done clearing my good name." He turned his back a minute to pick up the datapad that had the recordings on it. "The written accounts match the events shown on the surviving recording, according to the officer that had been in charge of investigation. I'm liable to trust their judgement even if the conclusion on identity was wrong, I don't train sloppy detectives. Now we can just be thankful the recording was spared. Let us see this apparently damning evidence."

He put the device into a socket, and began the holo playback.

The transport ship rocked violently, clearly having just been docked to be boarded. The staff had minimal security personnel, which were seen lining up at the air lock as it was opened forcibly. A short firefight occurred, with the pirates easily overwhelming the security. The recording skipped ahead to the remaining staff kneeling together, arms behind their back. Standard procedure for any boarding, military, pirate, or not. They were guarded by some brutish men and even the bodies of the security were tied up in the center of the gathering. A figure enters the frame.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen. We need not resort to such violence now do we? We humble travelers simply require some of your wares to sustain ourselves, nothing more. Is that so wrong to desire?" The voice was modulated, as was the chuckle as the figure began to pace. Its face was covered by a mask, and judging by the reactions of the people kneeling it seemed to be somewhat reflective, not unlike Darlyn's own mirror mask. "Worry not, your security is not dead, yet. Stun blasters, quite more civilized wouldn't you agree? Something you lot seem to have forgotten in this day and age. Where is the Commenori courtesy I was told existed? Respite and succor for weary travelers... oh you must bring shame to your families."

Darlyn had a stoic expression. So far he could see the beginnings of the misunderstanding. Some did know of his mirror mask, particularly higher ups in chains of command on Commenor. Not to mention his past with more, underground elements. But surely that couldn't be it... could it? He paused the recording, and glanced up at the King and Queen. "I can start to see the similarities, can you not Kay? However I would like to point out the time stamp here. There is no way that is physically me, at this point I would be sending you the message to meet at the docking bay would I not? And this man is clearly not doing so."

 

[WolfMortum]

From what Veiere could thus far tell, this whole charade was based around speculation of [member="Darlyn Excron"]'s mask. The profile of the individual matched Darlyn's description but without the ability to identify the wearer let alone there being any evidence voiced to Veiere that matched the Minister of Justice' DNA then surely there was something he was missing here. Burying his hands within each sleeve draping across his front, he looked to Darlyn for a moment as the young man spoke, soon glancing back to the holo-image held in suspension. Vikras Ansion wasn't one to fuel the story of someone he felt to be guilty and the proceedings over this specific case Veiere found most odd, he was no officer of the law yet as a Jedi they were often called upon to solve tasks that could be compared to such a dilemma; Darlyn being allowed to explore the evidence surrounding a charge against his own name concerned Veiere greatly for the security of legal and confidential information, in most cases he'd have been held away from this sort of content and instead represented by another so not to compromise the case. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he exhaled slowly through his nose trying not to voice his frustration over the case, it really was a shambles. The amount of protocol being breached here was...-extreme.

'This needs to be kept under wraps, Kay...' his thoughts were passed telepathically to his wife, his concern and frustration coming with them that she might understand where he was coming from, 'The public would see a Grand Admiral conspiring with a suspect to compromise legal order, no matter the circumstance or his supposed innocence, Darlyn's suspected of a crime that he himself is residing over to solve. That's a huge problem...'.

This wasn't exactly the homecoming he had desired yet a Jedi's duty never ceased, evidently. [member="Lady Kay"] now had a much more complicated problem on her hands and Veiere couldn't tell just whether or not this had yet occurred to Darlyn or not. Speaking up on the question, he extended a hand to the side, offering a simple wave with his fingers and deactivating all the security holo-recordings that could be used against Darlyn. For the time being privacy was required, to much damage had been done already. "Darlyn you're being accused of a serious crime here...-Your position as a Minister isn't going to save you from speculation however that you're working over your own case to save your own ass, despite the possibility of a set up..." Looking between him and his wife, Veiere sought to question if he wasn't the only one concerned about their security of government across the trade world and how this might look had it come to light, "This cannot get out..." He added very reluctantly, turning then to Darlyn and adding and shaking his head slowly, "This isn't just about a raid anymore...You understand that yes?".

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay watched the recording with her brows furrowed as she kept her focus on it. Pirates. It was clearly pirates. The leader not only had a mask similar to [member="Darlyn Excron"] 's, but he had a sense of humour too, much like Darlyn did. Well, around her he had a sense of humour anyways.

She didn't look to [member="Veiere Arenais"] as he spoke in her mind. Being in the presence of these two afforded her the chance to not have to hide her abilities and Force signature. So instead of physically acknowledging what he had said in her mind, she did so with telepathy. ~Right. The last thing that we need is a public scandal. We've avoided them so far, yet something like this is easily pounced on. And we can't exactly tell Darlyn to go away somewhere while we get to the bottom of it either...~

Kay nodded as Darlyn wanted for her to confirm the timing of both the raid and his message to her. She didn't doubt that he was telling the truth, but some could point out that his alibi was weak. "Was anyone with you when you sent your message?"

She looked to her husband as he spoke and ecgoed his sentiments. "Veiere is right. We can't let this out. I'll have to talk with the officers and Judge Carwell about the sensitivity of this investigation. And Darlyn...it shouldn't appear as though you are investigating yourself. We'll have to get someone else to do it..." But who? Who could be trusted? [member="Macoda Haberon"] was an ideal candidate, but he was away. "Anyone that you can think of, Darlyn?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Well, there was the staff member helping me with measurements to fit my armor when it arrives. I'm sure there's also footage of me somewhere on palace grounds at roughly the same time. As for the investigation have little fear, though I doubt anyone expects me to refrain from investigating with my resources available I will assign it to someone else capable. It's just a shame Mac isn't around, he's grown a bit on me. Not to mention his general distaste for me would make it even less apparent what might be going on behind it all."

"However the report did note there were other similarities between myself and this individual, including something unique to me. I'll resume the tape, if you'd be so kind as to spare another few minutes." Darlyn waited, allowing them time to walk away if they wished before continuing. He understood if they wished to leave, he wouldn't blame them. He really didn't demand anything from them either, outside of what trust he had earned.

The recording resumed shortly after the man had given his little speech. The crew remained surrounded by pirates, and the masked figure spoke too softly for the recording devices to pick up on. After a while, one of the security guards stirred, unnoticed by the pirates who were distracted with what seemed to be their leader, the masked man. The guard shifted, rolling slowly so to hide his hands as he manipulated his restraints, undoing them silently as possible. After a short while, the guard practically pounced, grabbing a weapon from one of the pirates and attempting to turn it on the captain.

Of course a blaster shot rang in the recording, as the man pulled out a pistol. He sighed dejectedly, wandering over to the man writing in pain, clutching his shoulder where he'd been shot. "Oh such a shame, I really had hoped this could go smoothly without unnecessary violence. Alas, you forced my hand. It truly brings me no pleasure. Still, you're alive so you've that much to celebrate." The Pirate shook his head as he stood up. At this point the weapon was very clearly visible, a DL-18 blaster pistol. Not only that, but a pistol with extremely specific engravings on the side.

No doubt much to [member="Lady Kay"] and [member="Veiere Arenais"]'s unease, the darkness and anger in Darlyn began to swell. His hand was calm, but barely so, as he unholstered his pistol and placed it on the table. The recording paused, and he zoomed it in on the weapon. The two weapons, of course, bore the exact conclusion that Darlyn had come to. A near perfect replica. "... I want this man found, Kay. I want him found and I want to know for what purpose he went to this length to impersonate me. Tell me... that we will find him." His voice held venom unlike ever when he spoke to her this time. He wanted this man to pay.

And in his mind, a single thought played out. I will break every bone in his miserable body for this.

 

[WolfMortum]

Veiere continued to watch the holo-recording while remaining pessimistic towards [member="Darlyn Excron"]'s lack of concern surrounding his foremost position within the investigation. The individual upon the recording did hold a similar attitude though seemed to be far more comfortable in showing his lack of empathy for his victims and those fearing for their lives around him. Crossing one arm over his chest and lifting the other to pinch the bridge of his nose, he shut his eyes and simply listened to the rest.

The anger feeding off of Darlyn was palpable, Veiere's concentration being torn away from the recording momentarily to probe at the presence of their minister of justice who seemed to be bordering on the edge of his self restraint, a dangerous vulnerability for anyone in such a place of authority and responsibility. "You need to sate that temper of yours, Minister" Veiere called him by title to remind him of his position despite the crimes that he was being accused of. At least he was willing to stand aside and let someone else take the reigns so that Darlyn wouldn't muddy the waters any further. "Is [member="Macoda Haberon"] not available?" He turned to [member="Lady Kay"] curiously, finding the timing all the more frustrating that her chief of staff wasn't around to assist their minister in this new mess. Truthfully it was one thing on top of all the other things that were weighing him down lately.

"I don't suppose you suspect who this individual could be Darlyn?" Veiere turned back to the man who seemed ready to cut loose and strike out on his own for some form of buried vengeance. There was more to this than Veiere felt Darlyn was letting on, something about the way that the man watched the recording suggested that he knew exactly who this person could be. "Anyone you've pissed off recently. Some marriage you've recently broken up or someone's husband you've killed in a fit of jealous rage..." His humor was non-existant though the tone was rife with sarcasm for the temper that their friend there seemed to be struggling to keep hold over. It was easy to question the man's morale fibre in that moment, seeing just how feral his mood could become, lacking all patience and much of the self restraint Veiere himself often practiced. It was a wonder his history of arrests weren't a little more controversial than they had currently been.