Ask The Room Where It Happens

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera Albion hadn't really met Emryc Thorne before now. Of course, she had heard of him. Of course, she had seen him on the Holonet. And of course, she had seen him once in person. Though their interaction on that occasion was limited to the extreme. He was smoking a cigarra, she was holding a corpse, it was an interesting time. Now that she was officially a Jedi Councilmember, Hera had enough diplomatic weight that she could request an audience with the leader of the ISC and not be instantly dismissed.

That being said, she still needed to come to him. Hera didn't mind the travel to Thyferra, the act of coming and meeting the leader of a group of sovereign planets was as Jedi as she could be. Jedi were supposed to be servants to the galaxy, in a way, and this was just another way they could serve. However, if Hera had her way, that mindset among the Jedi would change soon enough. Entering the bottom of the central planetary government building, Hera approached the secretary and spoke, "Hera Albion, here to see President Thorne."

At first, the thin woman glared at Hera from beneath her even thinner glasses. She looked at Hera as if the armored and unarmed Jedi were nothing more than a filthy mercenary off the street, daring to speak above her station. However, looking through her notes, the secretary responded curtly, "Take a seat, you will be informed of when The President will see you." and gestured towards a small waiting room. Smiling, Hera nodded and made her way into the windowless meeting room. Sitting down at the nearest chair, Hera gently reached out with the Force to make sure no prying eyes were looking for her.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Hera was led into a massive corner office moments later. Emryc was adorned in a crisp button down, his suit jacket hanging up nearby. Right away, she would see the similarities in dressing habits between Emryc and Ezra. The half Sephi studied her quietly, his face impassive and betraying nothing. If she reached out in any way with the Force, she would curiously find a complete and utter wall with him.

He was normally entirely too busy to deal with meeting Jedi, but his advisors told him to at least entertain this in light of how involved the Jedi were in assisting the ISC. The President tilted his seat to fully face her, gesturing for her to sit down across him. He recalled the incident with Draugr all too well. And he also remembered Raze stirring just beneath the surface, aching to lash out at the Jedi in the room.

And now one was here all alone. He was the President. He could make any sort of story to implicate her. Curiously, his thoughts did not manifest in his presence in the Force. Such was his command of it and the Will of Kravos enforcing his mind, that he was unreadable by anyone short of perhaps Grandmaster Voran herself. Even she would have to actively delve, pry and hurt herself to do it.

“How may I help you, Councilor?” He asked curtly, “Perhaps a drink?” He added, prepared to call in an aide to bring refreshments if she pleased.

@Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera, entering the corner office, was almost taken aback when she laid eyes on Emryc Thorne. In the light of the room, she could more clearly see his facial features and his casual businesswear. It was extraordinarily easier to see the similarities between him and Ezra now, from the way they dressed to their facial features. Smiling in as Emryc offered a drink, Hera bowed and responded, "No thank you, President Thorne. Though I appreciate you taking time to see me."

Standing still, she crossed her arms behind her back and spoke again. "Forgive me, but I am not one to know or play political games, I will get straight to my point. Would you be open to ending this war between the ISC and the Empire?" Straight to Hera's intentions, no beating around the bush or extraneous exchanges of information. Hera felt as though she knew quite a large amount about the President from the slew of holonet articles about him. Additionally, Hera was not so full of herself to believe that Emryc cared at all about who she was.

Something else nagged her though, drifting along the fringes of Hera's conscious thought. She reached out to Emryc with the Force, seeking to brush across any surface thoughts without invading his mind. She found nothing, however, except a wall. She did not examine it further or test its limits, as it would be rude to attempt to invade the mind of another without permission. Still, it nagged her.

Was Emryc trained to put up mental walls? Ezra was Force Sensitive, so perhaps it made sense that a powerful political figure such as Emryc would pay someone to teach him how to put those walls in place. Or did he pay someone to put those walls there, knowing he might interact with Jedi and Sith? The questions held in the back of her mind, but they did not command her attention. Hera's conscious focus looked to the President before her.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc said nothing in response to her, staring blankly. He silently waited for her to continue after asking such an obvious and silly question. She was already beginning to waste his time by ending with that question instead of outright giving her pitch. She would notice him glancing briefly at his chrono before looking at her again.

@Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

For a moment, the President said nothing, and Hera said nothing. Then, he glanced at his chrono before looking back at her, and Hera couldn't help but laugh. "Excellent!" She continued, "The Empire has never been in a weaker position, so I'd like to take advantage of this while I can. The Empire, as per the words of, Warmaster Altair, or is he 'emperor' now? But as per his words, he wishes to discuss the surrender of the Empire under separate terms from the unconditional surrender of the Sith."

A grin, perhaps a little cruel, spread over Hera's face as she continued, "I think it would be thoroughly humiliating for the Empire's remaining leaders if your terms for their surrender were delivered by the Jedi, so I would like to formally offer our services for that. More importantly, you'll be able to keep yourself out of having to deal with them personally. It's not been too long since Warmaster Altair's 'Sith surrender' so I suppose you've been busy, but I'd like this war to be over as soon as possible."

Snapping her fingers, as if she had forgotten something, Hera added, "He also offered half a dozen worlds, former Sith problem planets. Do you want them? If not, we Jedi could take them off your hands. Start destroying relics, Sith tombs, etcetera. Less of a headache for you."

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc listened to her entire pitch, and his expression didn’t change the entire time. His face was always difficult to read, but it was especially so now. After a almost a minute, he leaned back slightly in his seat, the chair creaking slightly beneath his massive frame.

“Councilor Albion, let’s take a quick walk through history,” He began, “The Sith Empire has historically been governed by the religious Sith. The Sith were responsible for mass destructions of planets, atrocities committed against civilians, and most recently this foolish war against the ISC. Throughout that entire time, the Jedi have done little to nothing to push them back from the territories they held. Throughout it all, the Jedi have become nothing beyond a defense force for the Alliance or the New Republic when the Sith attacked, but have done almost nothing offensively.”

“Which brings us to more recently when the Empire has attacked the ISC. Since then, the ISC has leaned on the strategies and alliances it has formed many years back to cut the Sith off from critical resources. The ISC has successful driven the Sith out from all their southern holds. The ISC has pushed this Imperial Altair Din to oust the Sith entirely from their borders. The ISC has delivered to you, the Jedi, a Sith Councilor with a neat bow on top. You were spared field combat and it was more akin to shooting a bound puppy.”

“And now you want to suggest the Jedi come take the stage to humiliate the Empire and deliver surrender terms? Now you want the Jedi to waltz in and destroy ancient artifacts that predate well beyond even my ancestors?” Emryc calmly stared at Hera, “The Jedi Order’s standards have lowered an alarming degree if sentiments like yours are considered Jedi principles.”

“No, Councilor Albion, I have no interest in your proposal. I am not driven by personal vendettas and a need to humiliate my enemies beyond what has already befallen them. My priority is to end the war and return to our state of neutrality. My priority is to ensure the safety of my people. I will especially not entertain allowing the Jedi to leech on the ISC’s success because the Jedi Order independently fails spectacularly to carry any sort of real impact or relevance across galactic affairs. I recommend you build up some credibility by destroying the so called Dark Lord and her followers, to start. Or join her based on your deep desire to humiliate your enemies..makes little difference to me."

“I appreciate your extreme concern for my time management, but I assure you I will make time to meet with Imperial representatives and handle this like adults,” He clasped his fingers together, “Is there anything else, Councilor?”

@Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Emryc did not speak with hatred, nor vitriol, in fact, Hera couldn't sense nor hear too many emotions at all in the manner that he spoke. It was a calm, collected, and entirely logical explanation of exactly the situation the two of them found themselves in. She listened to his every word as if she were taking the words of a mentor instead of a political head. All throughout Emryc's speech, Hera's smile never disappeared.

She just, kept, smiling.

Then, as Emryc clasped his fingers and asked his final question, Hera responded, "No, actually. That will be all. I appreciate your time and your honest opinion." At that, Hera bowed and turned to leave. A joy greater than the one she held when she entered the room now alighted upon Hera. No one had ever spoken to her so frankly, nor had anyone been able to give her a true opinion of how the galaxy looked at the Jedi. Perhaps another might feel hurt by Emryc's words and opinions, but clearly, he had not intended to attack Hera's feelings. Emryc did nothing more than state facts.

And was he wrong? Of course not. But Hera needed to hear it from someone who truly knew how the galaxy moved. The New Republic and Free Worlds were headless, the Sith had fallen and the Empire was quickly becoming a shadow of its former self. The only people that seemed on top were the ISC, and Hera had just been given a clear picture of how the Jedi stood in the hierarchy. The Jedi were at the bottom. However, with a clear picture, she could now work to fix things.

@Sreeya