Public The Virtue of the Vicious (Open)

[Isar]

Dubrillion

Grand City

2200 hours

Lights from the capital city drowned out the stars, even this high up in one of their glass and durasteel towers. It loomed over the city with its fellows, like giant monuments to corporate wealth and splendor. But they too were decaying. Arkos stared out one of the massive glass windows at a nearby tower, missing half its upper floors from a missile strike years ago and never repaired. The state of the Grand City, war torn and haggard yet still clinging to former glory, was some strange mirror of the Imperial Order itself.

The Zeltron turned away from the window and put a hand in the pocket of his tailored pants. Felt strange to be out of uniform and but still be on a mission. Not like any mission he had ever had before though. This was an art gallery exhibition. He was supposed to work with the imperial agents among the crowd to win over some contacts among the royals, the Omalis dynasty, which were in a tug of war over the planet against the remaining Imperial forces. But they wouldn’t say no to any other contacts who showed up looking useful.

Strange work for a stormtrooper. He was pretty sure they only sent him because lilac eyes and a plum complexion meant a good time among certain circles of the ultra rich. Speciesist fucks.

Arkos took a sip of his drink, something frothy on the rocks with a bitter aftertaste.

Anyway. He supposed he should be mingling.

 

[Aculia Voland]

A bored Aculia sitting at the edge of the party. Art is (c) me.​

What I do for my children…

The thought echoed in Aculia’s mind as the youthful looking middle-aged woman reclined in a chair at the edge of the party, her pale blue eyes glancing at most of the attendees with thinly veiled disgust. She had never liked nobility who did nothing to earn their titles, especially weak nobility who were unable to hold their own kingdoms together, yet pranced around as if they were something special. Bitter memories of service to the Elysium Imperium flashed into her mind. So much blood, so many years wasted, all for it to collapse in the end because Valhoun and his wife could not manage to keep it together.

And Alasdair grew up seeing what that weakness wrought. Death, destruction, and decay, now soon to be ruled over by the Sith. Which is why I did not argue against him moving to the other side of the galaxy and being more interested in cooperating with these various Imperial remnant factions over the Alliance, who yet again allowed a bunch of psychopathic Dark Siders to rise in power without nipping them in the bud.

She motioned for one of the waiters to come to her, ordered a drink of Bespin Port, and sighed as she glanced at the artwork on display. From what she could tell, most of the pieces on display seemed to be valuable only as part of a money laundering scheme between elites to dodge taxes rather than artistic merit. Nepotism at the finest.

Yet Alasdair said there might be some Imperials with a backbone here, willing to try to reform their Empire and bring some sort of order to this section of the Galaxy. And it’s not too far from where he is on Bastion. It might be interesting to see who they are, and what they want, since I’ve only heard vague rumors about them opposing this world’s royal family and their little “democratic” puppets. Perhaps they will give him and our family preferential treatment or more, if we are willing to solve some of their problems. And Tella may come around too, once she has seen enough of how the Alliance runs things.

She leaned back and simply observed for now, nursing her drink. If there were Imperial agents about, and if they still had a decent intelligent arm, they would be by soon enough since she was making no effort to hide herself. And if they did not recognize a woman who had played a significant part in the Battle of Tython by taking down the Mawite Super Star Destroyer, then they weren’t worth her time to begin with.

Isar .

 

[Laphisto]

The rather tall and out of Place Draconic-looking male stood near the bar, grasping whatever drink he could. He didn't exactly read basic, let alone anything other than his natural language. Growing up on Ossus in the temple, he didn't see a need for it when the force helped him understand the language he needed to when he needed it. Though at first glance, he looked akin to some mercenary, not entirely dressed for the party at hand, managing to work his way in with the promise of selling weapons and machines of war if he could be persuaded to do such. After all, he was the High Commander of the Lilaste order, a small but growing faction that had set up shop in the Kalinda system a few years prior and had done nothing but grow since its formation, especially after their conquest of the Dusate Pirates in the region.


He, however, was here strictly for profit, willing to sell some of the Lilaste orders reserve stock to provide a substantial amount of credits to the growing factions bank, and he made that clear to anyone who asked him. The highest bidder would win whatever weapons and armored support the Lilaste order was willing to sell off. Promising that it would be of the utmost quality, so much so that it could turn the tide of this war in the owner's favor.

Finishing up a conversation with a potential buyer, he half chuckled, grabbing at the vambrace of his armor and showing a holo video to the man he spoke with, a stress test of one of their main battle tanks. The video shows the Tanks' survival from several explosions and withstanding rounds of blaster fire while continuing to march forwards. If one was observant enough, they could Recognize the Broad saber on his hip or the Beskar armor carrying the sigil of Clan ordo on the shoulder followed by an unrecognizable crest on the center chest plate

 

[Lila Doneeta]

​

DUBRILLION​

Grand City​

Dressed in a sleek purple dress, Lila admired the art that was on display. Her headdress matched the gown in colour with intricate golden embroidery, her two lekku trailing down to her shoulder blades. As one of the leading positions in bacta production, she was accustomed to partaking in gatherings such as this to continue good relations with other planets in the galaxy. After taking up the role of senator for Thyferra, the increase in her responsibilities meant that she had less time to conduct such business, leaving it to her peers in the corporation, but she still rather enjoyed them. Whilst Dubrillion was not under the authority of the Galactic Alliance, people in all corners of the galaxy needed medical aid and Lila believed that everyone had a right to it. That did not, however, prevent the opportunity to acquire information that may be important to raise to the Senate.

Throughout the evening, Lila had made polite small talk and pleasantries, greeting those who approached with a warm smile. She found it easy to talk to others, having a genuine interest in the stories others had to tell. Despite her experience, the woman still had a child-like wonder when it came to seeing other cultures and planets. She had also taken full advantage of the array of appetisers that were on offer to the attendees. Moving from art piece to art piece over the duration of the night, her magenta eyes also glanced subtly over the other guests, identifying any faces she knew and potential ones to keep an eye on.

A dainty glass filled with a vibrant beverage was suspended between the Twi'lek's index and middle finger as she looked thoughtfully at a painting before her. It depicted a violent storm on the vast oceans of Dubrillion, swirls of blues and greens in jagged waves as the dark cloud rolled above. From the fierce sky shone a single beam of golden light, emerging from a gap in the tempest. She was by no means an expert in the field but there was something about this piece that she found rather beautiful. "It's quite the piece, isn't it?" she said, not taking her eyes off the painting as a person approached her. "Even in the most relentless of times, there still shines hope. A planet that has seen war such as this one still holds the capacity for beauty." It was said with grace and she was aware of how it may sound to the other person but the landscape showed the promise that she always tried to aspire to and she wanted to play her part to provide that for all.

TAGS: Isar Aculia Voland Laphisto​