Open Onderon The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

[Darth Draugr]

As Draugr waited with the small man Rayden, he would nod at the comment of his name. It was true, the name did sound violent but it was also not uncommon for Zabrak to have violent names. Especially those born from Dathomir. So when Horux Killmonger would acknowledge this he would give a slight smile, "Yes, my father was intending for me to become a warrior of sorts but I hadn't done so until now."

When the man began to speak of a thermal detonator, Draugr lost the smile. He would then give a look of confusion then worry, but due to his own life truly being at risk he was able to make it look more real, as it was pretty real. This was supposed to be quick and easy now he's in a fair bit of trouble. Lashing out now would surely give the small man freedom to set the thermal detonator and blow them both to hell.

"Keen senses you have.. if you must know I was sent by the Jedi Council. The Kingdom is in danger.. Sith have been seen close to Onderon by our scouts and we can only assume Onderon is a prime target. We understand the announcements about the Jedi were not in our favor but we only wish to protect." Draugr's speech would come out worried to try and get Rayden to drop his guard. "My true name is Malikai, Jedi Knight. I'm sorry this was how you met me, but I was only supposed to serve as a protector of the King."

The self proclaimed Malikai would look into Rayden's eyes and give a look of assurance. Hopefully this was enough to give Draugr a little time to fix the problem. Though knowing this was an intelligence officer, he'd be going somewhere he'd be watched closely at. The choices he'd make would need to be keen.

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[The Gatekeeper]

In the Main Audience Chamber
@Logan @Malon @llamallove @lizziie @Valen Pelora
​

The King did seem to enjoy the fact that someone else seemed to appreciate the truth - that President Thorne was an icon in their time for several reasons. He shared a grin with Charlotte as his shake was delivered by one of his guards. It was interesting that the Hapan Queen Mother was so invested in their alliance - it spoke well of how Onderon was being perceived on the Galactic scene.

"A shared destiny with Hapes would be beneficial to us all, I'm sure." he allowed with a smile as he checked the seal on his shake, "Of course my answer would be dictated by just how that destiny looks."

At this point, as his sister was pouring tea, King Weylin began to shake his shake - the metal ball within the shaker rattling loudly and incessently against the side of the shaker as he worked all the lumps out of the shake. Total Thorne might be the best damn shake in the Galaxy but it still had the powder issues.

He took a sip and sighed happily.

"Ah that's the good stuff... you sure I can't tempt any of you with a taste of Total Thorne Tropical Storm?"

More for him if they wanted to turn it down.

"Princess Belasi, I believe that trade between our nations would be very beneficial and I thank my sister's commitment to our economic growth and, if I may say so, her excellent taste in allies."

He shook the shake again - no lumps so far!

"But is it possible that we may marry these proposals together? Perhaps Onderon can be the bridge between Hapes and Belasco? A triple alliance stands to benefit us all more, surely."

Servant Tunnels
@Scoobert​

Radyn continued to just idly stand in the lift, eyeing the disguised zabrak with a raised eyebrow. After giving him a second to speak about his supposed loyalties, the intelligence officer let out a slow breath through his nose. He didn't find the answer to be compelling... at all.

Thankfully for Draugr, this was not enough for Radyn to decide to blow them both up in a blaze of glory for his cause immediately. Instead he just eyed the disguised man before sighing and holding the thermal detonator up so that the disguised Sith would be better able to see it.

Better able to see his thumb slowly sliding off the button - once it was off entirely it would begin the detonation sequence in very short order.

"Well that's a shame - my conspirators and I were very much looking for you to be a Sith to join us in our plot to overthrow the King." he smiled a little bit sadly, "But I'll be happy knowing that my conspirators will have one less obstacle with our deaths. Goodbye, Knight Malikai..."

He kept his gaze firmly on Draugr as his finger edged more and more off the button, getting them centimetres at best from destruction, as he lied as easily as breathing.

@Valen Pelora @Scoobert
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[Darth Draugr]

As Draugr listened to Rayden speak in disappointment over his newfound last minute cover, he could sense only danger. It seemed he had only one of two choices. Risk Rayden bluffing and die, or expose himself and die. Things were not looking very great for him at the moment. He could the small thumb sliding ever so slightly ready to detonate the two of them into particles. Draugr decided if he were to die, his killer would need to know his true name at the least. Best case, he finds a new ally in his plans of assassination.

Using the force, Draugr would put a stasis on all of the Rayden's body, looking to freeze him motionless entirely. The Sith Lord would then speak up, this time deeper and more menacing. "You're too smart for your own good.. now this overthrowing ploy.. explain." The Zabrak would give his icy stare into Rayden's eyes. His eyes not as menacing as the yellows he always bore, but the eyes themselves still held their weight.

Draugr kept watch of Rayden to be sure there was no chicanery of sorts occurring. The Sith Lord was waiting to see if he made the right decision. If so, then it seemed no one on Onderon wanted serve this new king. Hopefully his mission could carry on with some sort of ease. A man of Rayden's intelligence would be a valued ally, but for now his focus was on living.

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[Charlotte Le'Anna]

“How can I say no to that?” Charlotte held out her hand for the protein shake. “Total Thorne Tropical Storm is really the best flavor.” Assuming Weylin would hand the shake over, she would take a large gulp. Honestly, it did taste pretty good. The turn of the conversation was of far greater interest to the Queen Mother. A chance she had not predicated. “I could not agree more.” An opportunity to ensnare both Onderon and Belasco? Such a delicious treat.

“As we have shown with Commenor, and our alliance here, we are stronger together. We all know the Free Worlds are disparate by nature but that has left us vulnerable.” Charlotte’s voice was calm…even. “Which we have a chance to rectify.” She drummed her fingers on her arm. “What would you propose, your highness?” Charlotte could almost feel the shifting currents of the conversation. Yes…this was where she wished to be.

“And how would we cement this new commitment?” Push him. He wanted this. She could see it in his eyes. The attack on Onderon and loss of his father had left Weylin feeling wanting. A loss could fill with the right motivation.

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[The Gatekeeper]

In the Main Audience Chamber
@Logan @Malon @llamallove @lizziie @Valen Pelora
​

Weylin smiled at the clear display of good taste from the Hapan Queen Mother - clearly she was a woman of the Galaxy. There could truly be no other reason for her refined palate coming to the same conclusion that he had while beginning his journey of personal betterment; most food in the Galaxy was just needless distraction. No, there was no need to focus on exotic spices when all you needed could be provided in the form of a shake. Indeed, he handed her a shake that the same guard had been holding in reserve for him.

It seemed, also, that the Queen Mother was the most reasonable when it came to accepting some concessions and changes. She was flexible enough to adapt to something like his proposal for a triple alliance.

"I had heard of your alliance with Commenor." he noted with some interest, "Their leader is a rather no-nonsense figure as I recall... it seems that they have enjoyed some benefits from a tighter knitting of relations."

Indeed, the two sectors together were working both harder and smarter. They covered each other's deficits rather well on the Galactic, sector and planetary scale - even if they would likely still need to import much of their materials. It did lead to a question alright - what would he propose?

Despite what some might think, the King was no fool and he had taken great delight in taking the time to get invested in his planet's military and economy. When it came to the Galaxy they all lived in, these two facets of government were the most important. They were the sword and shield of a planet surrounded on all sides by the chaotic ravages of war.

"I would like to propose two things; we agree new trade agreements that make it more beneficial to trade amongst ourselves with discounted tariffs. And... we need to prepare for war." he said it as he crossed his arms across his chest, "We should begin drawing up plans to merge our militaries, at least in part to begin with."

Servant Tunnels
@Scoobert​

Rayden realised, as most people likely would, that his lack of motion was no longer his choice. He was unnaturally still and he could feel it, like a pressure, pushing at him from every angle to try and force him to remain exactly as he was. The agent would have raised an eyebrow at the Force power in use but he was, naturally unable to do that.

Instead he was entirely motionless as the Force User exerted his will through the energy field to force the agent to stay perfectly still. Forced to listen, the Agent would have smiled had he the ability to do so. He could struggle against the stasis, he knew, but managing to break it without alerting the user was impossible as far as he knew.

Even so, he wasn't too worried but he likely didn't give that impression as he stared blankly at Draugr... he had listened but he was unable to formulate an answer. Unfortunately, the disguised Sith had asked him a question but he was in no position to actually answer as, perhaps in mild panic, Draugr had forced his entire body to seize up.

His mouth was locked shut, Rayden merely waited to be given the chance to actually move to answer, pushing some breath through his teeth in his only real way to show his displeasure/answer. As the two of them were waiting, the lift they were in would continue to rumble away.

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[Reyna Vernize]

"Of course," Reyna said in response to Korre, the corners of the half-Sephi's lips lifting into an amicable smile. Practiced fingers poured two cups of tea, stirring in cream or sugar, depending on the Belascans palate, but the conversation between her elder brother and the Queen of Hapes was what captured her attention.
The Queen Mother was beautiful—alluring, even—just as Reyna had heard. There was an undeniable intelligence in the woman's light brown eyes, a shrewdness that surpassed her years. No one, however, had ever spoke of—or to put it more accurately—warnedReyna about the Queen's beguiling and brazen manner. It was obvious to anyone in the room that wasn't a celibate monk that she was, to some degree, smitten with Reyna's older brother. She'd go so far as to say had the hots for him, if the term in connection to her own flesh and blood were not so thoroughly revolting.

Since their guests had been escorted to the ball room, the Hapan Queen had done nothing but try to butter Weylin up while simultaneously undressing him with her eyes. Reyna wondered if the Queen's mental image of her brother included Weylin's Emryc Thorne underwear, the only kind he wore these days.

"If I might offer my input, I do not think it is wise to merge our militaries at this time," Reyna spoke up at last, handing Princess Korre a cup of fresh tea, dark eyes settling on her elder brother. Trade agreements was one thing. Merging their militaries was another. For the moment, her own cup of tea went untouched. Hapes and Onderon had had little to no contact before the death of Cassian and their father. The Queen Mother hadn't even waited until after their funerals to pounce on Onderon. It spelled out desperation to Reyna and, more troubling than that, rapacity. The Queen Mother was ambitious and eager. Perhaps too ambitious for Onderon's own good. The jungle planet had a reputation for not trusting offworlders, and Reyna did not trust the Queen Mother. Her timing was too convenient, following the deaths of Onderon's two leaders.

"Wouldn't it be prudent to wait before making such a decision, Weylin?" she continued. Her tone was respectful, but Weylin knew her well enough to know that she felt adamantly about this. "I do not want to see us act in haste."

 

[Darth Draugr]

Draugr watched as Rayden struggled to speak, releasing his grip on the small creatures head, he would use his focus to stay on the rest of the body. Looking Rayden in the eyes he would make his demand, "Speak. If you wish my help I'll need safe passage as well small one."

Draugr knew soon this lift would finish and there would have to be others there. The hold would need to be released eventually to keep his cover, but for now he needed to ensure he was closer to Rayden's fellow Onderonians before releasing the grip. The Sith Lord didn't plan to die today, and neither did Rayden he imagined, so trusting his instincts he kept his hold on all but the head of Rayden.

Rayden may not know it's Draugr specifically but he'd know they were powerful enough to control the force they way he willed it. If what he said was true then Draugr would be a valued asset in this overthrowing plan. If his cover was blown though, he had wondered how Charlotte had been holding up on the cool and not super hot surface.

@Nefieslab

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Charlotte took the offered shake from the guard. Spinning the top off and taking a small swallow. She had him. She could feel it in her chest. She took another sip as Weylin laid out his proposal. Perfect. How easy it would be to mold her intentions into Onderon slowly as their militaries combined. The Princess voiced her objections, but couldn’t the girl see the game was won? Give up. Charlotte smiled politely at the girl before turning her attention back to her true target.

“Ordinarily, I would agree with the Princess…but as you rightly noted, your majesty…times are changing. We no longer of the luxury of time. I find your proposal vastly intriguing for both our kingdoms.” So very intriguing indeed. “How would you propose we proceed?” Give her what she wanted. All she needed was a way in. The rest would take care of itself. Just like Hapes before her, Charlotte ambition would swallow Onderon.

@Nefieslab @Scoobert @llamallove

 

[The Gatekeeper]

In the Main Audience Chamber
@Logan @Malon @llamallove @lizziie @Valen Pelora
​

Weylin took another sip of his shake as he listened to his younger sister as she brought up a concern. He could see precisely where she was coming from - she was concern. She was concerned not only over Onderon over-committing but of the planet being dragged out onto the wider stage potentially against its own wishes. Waiting would be an option but it was not one that the King liked to entertain.

"We waited before." he noted without much in the way of an expression, his earlier enthusiasm and lust for life seemingly missing as he looked his sister in the eyes, "We waited and the war came to us and we were not ready because all we had done was wait."

Shaking his head slightly, to try and push himself away from the thoughts of what they had lost during the attack, Weylin let Charlotte speak as he gathered his thoughts. He even set his shake down to one side for a moment as he considered both sides.

"I understand your concerns, believe me I do, but this is a step forward - it is a step when we have stagnated for years before now." he rubbed at his beard, "My proposal would be the formation of a fleet of joint vessels and marines, allowing all planets involved to keep the majority of their forces stationed in defensive positions but have that fleet merged to co-operate and co-ordinate better. We must have a sword with which to strike back when we are threatened and none of us can have that alone."

The King scoffed as he picked up his shake again and took another drink.

"Not like the FWA's model of co-operation has amounted to much... it's time we consider changing it before it dooms us."

Servant Tunnels
@Scoobert​

Back in the lift, Rayden found that he was able to actually move his head and actually move to speak. Rolling his head a little bit, he noticed that he still wasn't able to actually move the rest of his body. This was unfortunate but he didn't feel like it would change his approach in the slightest. Letting out a small sigh, he looked at the Sith and he made sure that the disguised man was able to see his feelings written all over his face.

He was disappointed.

"I was baiting you." he admitted bluntly as the lift they were in pinged and the doors began to slide open, "But I don't really want to explode so here's the offer on the table..."

The lift opened to a level on the ground floor, it seemed, with a long corridor stretching ahead of them with daylight at the end after a bit of a walk. Lighting within the lift turned down as the power was turned off once the doors were open.

A breeze came down from the end of the corridor, blast doors visibly open at the end, revealing this area's true nature as an escape tunnel of some kind. After all, it was accessible only through locked staff-only doors and led to a set of blast doors and nothing else.

It was not, however, an empty corridor.

About ten feet away from the now open lift, half a dozen soldiers in armour stood at the ready. A trio in front armed with vibroswords and buckler shields, braced near each other with a trio of men with rifles aiming over their heads.

"The Kingdom of Onderon would like to give you this chance to go home. Give it up as a bad job and move on." the spy explained, "No tricks, no violence. You get to go home and you take the message back to your Empress."

He smiled woodenly.

"Stop sending assassins - we've killed a lot of them recently and we're sick of it. If you don't stop, we'll send a very effective assassin and I can assure you; we'll only need to send one."

Admittedly most of the assassins had been from criminal types and shady Onderon nobles but that undercut a cool line - and if he was about to die because the Sith got angry about being led around by a spy, then he wanted a good last line.

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[Charlotte Le'Anna]

“Deal.” The words slid easily enough from her mouth. They were aligned. If she could call on strength of Onderon to supplement her own, there would be few capable of resisting them. They might not wield the same might as the ISC, Empire, or Republic, but they certainly challenged for greatest power in the Free Worlds. It was a step. A necessary step and all the easier to sink her claws deeper into the king. “I will begin preparations immediately, your Highness.” Charlotte smiled. “It was truly a pleasure seeing all of you.” For whatever reason the Jedi had come.

“I’ll be staying at our embassy while we coordinate should anyone wish to continue our discussions.” She eyes darting back to Weylin and lingering. The Queen Mother nodded respectfully and swept from the room. A broad smile plastered to her face. Ah, she loved when a plan came together. Hopefully the First Blade was making out in his own way. She certainly planned to be.

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