Private The Unexpected

[Noelle Varanin]

"Is it true?" Noelle burst through her own office doors, hair falling out of the braids that held them back. " Is this real?" She brought her holo message to Kal , sent by Ashin Cardé Varanin herself.

Unless something had gone wrong with her mother's Academy. Power plays happened all the time. She new better than to take a message at face value. She cared little for her mother's work though, the bigger trouble came if her mother had actually escaped. Noelle was braced for fall out from the renegade jedi that were holding her mother and had been so since her visit in the cells. Until she knew all the details she'd be a hurricane of plans.

"Are there jedi in our airspace? What do your sources say?"

Kal

 

[Kal]

Wearing the form of an Echani nobleman - his usual guise, when on Eshan - Kal was seated in Noelle's chair, at Noelle's desk, with his boots on the fine wood and a datapad in hand. At the very least the boots were clean, almost oddly so.

"Yes. She appears to have reached an agreement with a... less traditional Jedi." The whole affair had been a bit out there, as far as he was concerned. The Shadows did not place all that much emphasis on mortal laws, but they were familiar with them. This particular group of Jedi seemed willfully ignorant - a trial without concrete laws?

It seemed a bit contradictory, in his humble opinion.

"Remember to breathe, I hear it's quite important for your kind." It was clear from his smug smile that he was teasing her. He usually did not do that when imminent doom was looming. "Clear skies, no Jedi in sight."

Picking up an official-looking trinket from her desk, he spun it around as if to direct her attention towards the royal seal. "I do not see them harassing her family, but if they do come knocking, why not have them arrested?"

Noelle Varanin​

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Noelle managed something akin to an eye roll. “And start a international upset? This is my mothers fight, not mine.”

A nudge of the force pushed his boots off her desk, but she came to sit across him none the less. In the visitors seat. It was considerably less comfortable— all the better for keeping her meeting short. She fanned herself and took a breath regardless, conscious of the stress she held. Well this all was a relief. The lack of Jedi, that was. And... the alive mother.

“Hold a sith under a false court of law and no one would care. But hold a Jedi?” She shook her head and relaxed back a little more. “I am not pulling Eshan into this mess. Justified or otherwise— what were you doing in here?” She prompted, thoughts shifting back to the present.

 

[Kal]

His boots were off the table, but that did little to make him less lackadaisical about the whole affair.

"Whoever said anything about a false court of law? They said it themselves, they are carrying out vigilante justice based on one of several interpretations of the Jedi Code. Hardly binding in Concord space, let alone on Eshan." Tapping the trinket with his fingertips, he smiled softly. "I wonder what the Silver Jedi would say if you formally requested their aid?"

Of course, Kal was more inclined towards internal solutions. He knew of some excellent mercenaries in case her world's law enforcement proved insufficient in the face of Force Sensitive vigilantes and their illegal machinations.

"Logistics, mostly. I still can't believe you gave the port to your concubine; does he even know anything about interstellar supply chains?" Not exactly Kal's favourite either, but he was knowledgeable enough and had well-positioned friends.

Noelle Varanin​

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Noelle let the topic of aid pass, mostly because she had already made up her mind and she didn't care to take it back. Besides, her mother had gotten free. It hardly mattered to her now.

"Yes. I do think he does. He spent a fair amount of time abroad, you know. He only returned in light of his parents deaths. You will find he is not as sheltered to the outside world as others-- Why?" A slightly cruel smile dawned her.

"Would you like to be assigned as his assistant as well?"

Kal

 

[Kal]

A soft smirk spread across Kal's features, his feet inching back towards the desk. "Connections beat experience in this area, or so I have found. No matter. It would be convenient if Eshan's port were selectively opened, however."

His associates loved their backroom deals and secret routes.

Smirk widening, he drawled a response. "Why of course, your most august majesty. I am but your humble servant, subject to your every whim. Shall I start by giving him a rash that would prevent bedroom activities - all the better to focus on his duties!" Kal liked Noelle, but sometimes she had to be reminded of the nature of their relationship.

Even when he was bound and restrained her ability to command had been tenuous.

Noelle Varanin​

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Noelle's lips pursed.

Power struggle. Those were the words that defined their relationship. It infuriated her but she never walked away. In a small way, she liked it.

"We'll need to get you some acting lessons if you're to contend with the port. That was almost believable." She reached forward and poured herself some water from the pitcher kept at hand, her gaze drifting to the ceiling high windows that overlooked the port.

She fell silent, chewing over something that would feel large and ... witheld. "Though I suppose... Allowing you to take over some of his contracts would allow for a... shift in things." Vague implications hung in the air. It would be impossible to keep the weight of them from their bond. Noelle had a secret.

"For the time being," She stipulated.

 

[Kal]

Acting lessons. Kal brought a hand to his chest in a gesture of mock offence worthy of the cheesiest of holodramas. "Acting is all well and good for drawing attention. What's next, Gamorrean squaredancing lessons?"

Feet landing atop the desk once more, having finished their grand journey, he nodded appreciatively at her concession. Her mutually beneficial concession. His eyes were calculating, however. She was hiding something. A flicker of white entering his eyes, he scrutinised her face for a moment, gaze quickly drifting downwards.

"How curious."

Noelle Varanin​

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Noelle gaze flickered from the window to him, the motion catching as she witnessed the scrutinization. She remained still, a brow slow raised at his response.

Did he know?

She folded her legs and tucked them neatly under the chair. "My goal in life isn't to frustrate you, Kal, sometimes I do find it fitting to say yes," she deflected. "And I believe the words you meant to say were thank you. You are welcome." She snuffed, light shining through her hair as the sun brought through a cloud. She glanced over her shoulder, squinting at the window before casting her attention back at him.

"Though don't make me regret it." A prim smile appeared on her face, jumping to life as if summoned by a button.

Kal