Unexpected Reunion

[Retroboy]

The Royal Palace on Zakuul. The jewel of Apophe's little empire. A great gilded ziggurat jutting out from the centre of the city like a tower to the heavens, taller than many sky-scrapers. It shone in the noon-day sun, a beacon to the people of the city below that this was the height of Apophe's power. Troops marched through the hallways, wearing ceremonial silver-plated armour with red cloaks, vibro-axes held over their shoulders, ready to be used at their beloved Imperatrix's command.

Apophe sat on her throne, desperately wishing her new capital didn't get so unbearably hot. She looked again at the thermometer she had installed near her throne, grimacing. 41 degrees standard. She wiped the sweat from her face. Despite her royal position, she had neglected to wear her usual robes, instead simply wearing a halter top and some grey hotpants, her belly on full display. Her hair was done up, mostly to keep it from turning into a frizzy mess. The heat and humidity had managed to short out the air-conditioning, meaning her only relief were some slaves fanning her with a large leaf. A relief that was barely adequate.

She refilled her cup with ice-water, and downed it. How nice a cup of sangria would be right now. She craned her head back, and poured some of the water onto her neck. She had a pool in the palace, but somehow a fungal bloom had come and attacked its waters. She had the tenders who let that happen flogged.

Still, there was something to look forward to. Apparently her ally, Duke Kalan Ordo was set to visit her. Of course, circumstances had changed. He had been betrayed by his own people and forced to join up with GALAF. They were similar in that respect. A shame, too, because she thought that the Mandalorians would be above such petty politicking, as though they were miserable little Senators or Sith. It seemed the weakness of the Galaxy had extended farther than she thought.

She had given explicit instructions to simply allow the Duke to come up to her throne room, not to stop him. Traditionally, those outside the Royal Family had to pay homage to be allowed into the palace, but she figured that she could make an exception for the Duke.

@Prudence

 

[Prudence]

Kalan strode with a military gait which had been beaten into him at a young age. Each foot rose and fell in cadence, neither of them ever stepping an inch further than the other, and each fall sending a low thud echoing through the halls. He wore his dull gray armor, its surfaces buffed but still baring the scars of past battles fought and his helmet clanging against his armor from where it rested—clipped to his belt. He was a less regal sight than the last time the two of them had met, having previously worn the formal attire of a Duke, sitting behind an ornate desk and drinking from crystal glasses. Now here he was, in Apophe's throne room, wearing battle armor and with no guards, her guest and a member of a rebellion that he previously could have cared less about. Her guards flanked him, their axes sheathed but still present. A clear reminder that they could strike him down should they please—or that they could at least try. Before he'd ever been a Duke, or a Director, he'd been a Supercommando. No hit placed on his head could take the skills that he had accumulated during his time with the Dominion.

Tall doors were thrown open before him, and he was greeted by a sprawling ornate throne room. Kalan's hand rose to wipe a bead of sweat from his brow, the heat in the royal palace growing unbearable the deeper within they ventured. Ahead of him sat Apophe, and her appearance couldn't help but bring a slight smile to Kalan's lips. Rather than wearing the formal attire of a ruler, as she was, she was dressed in loose undergarments, trying to fight the heat as best she could. He could tell that she was quite pregnant, but despite her protruding belly she still radiated an air of beauty that could only come with power and confidence. Kalan approached her throne, before finding himself a proper distance away, and he lowered himself to one knee. Looking up he gave her a slight nod of respect, "Imperatrix KeYahm, I'm honored to have your presence today." He spoke far more formally than he had before, in Sundari, but there circumstances were quite different now, weren't they? There Kalan had been in control of everything, he'd been the one entertaining her presence. Now he found himself in her throne room, surrounded by her guards, and until she told him to speak casually, he would pay the due respects in an effort to prolong his lifespan.

 

[Retroboy]

"Kalan, do me a favour and get up off your knees," Apophe said. "It's way too hot for formalities."

She respected Kalan Ordo too much to have him act as though he were a commoner before her. The man had lost much, he didn't deserve to have to lose his dignity. Besides, she never expected such things from people she considered friends, or at least people she wanted to make friends with. It tended to make things a little uncomfortable.

She rose to her feet unsteadily, and her attendants rushed to make sure she maintained stability. It was thoroughly humiliating to have to rely on servants to do little things like getting out of her chair but there wasn't much she could do at this point. They made sure she could get down the steps leading to her throne before releasing her once she got to the level point of the floor. However, they didn't stray far from her, fussing over their Imperatrix like she was a small child. To think, she was one of the more feared people in this region of the Galaxy.

She stopped in front of Kalan with a warm smile. "So traditionally," she said. "The Yahm greet each other with a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. Considering I'm all sweaty and gross, I hope you don't mind if I skip that."

She giggled.

"It's good to see you," she said softly. "I'm sorry about what happened."

 

[Prudence]

Kalan slowly rose to his feet, stretching his back and legs a bit as he did so. He felt his lips twist into a slight smile as his hand moved to wipe more sweat from his face yet again, his eyes tracking the Imperatrix as she descended from her deis. The very pregnant woman was clearly having a bit of trouble, and Kalan knew it must bruise her all too strong sense of pride. As her handmaids fussed over her safety he replied to her comments, "I find myself increasingly glad that you've never been one for the formalities of authority. This armor certainly isn't cooling." He rested his hands behind him in a traditional military stance, and he could feel his forearms brushing against his jetpack. He could tell that her guards were eyeballing the assorted weapons that hung from his belt, and his wrists, and he found himself very thankful that he had forgone bringing his A-140.

As she reached him she giggled slightly, and then her voice became soft. As expected, she'd heard about his misfortunes and was offering her sympathies. Kalan's face didn't shift, but inside he felt a geyser of anger rise through his chest. "The news that my own government sanctioned a hit on me was certainly less than pleasing to say the least." His eyes narrowed a bit as he pursed his lips and moved to her side, assuming she would likely want to walk and talk. "Luckily I have generous allies, like yourself, abroad. So I wasn't without shelter for long. Though I imagine this leaves you in a peculiar circumstance. Your allegiance was to House Ordo, of which I am the rightful Duke—though there are still those that remain loyal to the current regime, and I'm sure they'll be less than pleased if they learn of my shelter here." Kalan suddenly felt a slight wave of guilt wash over him at the memory of the young Void Serpent girl he'd slain in the name of the Dominion. He'd been serving his nation, and his Mand'alor, but now in the generosity of Apophe and her people, and under fire from that very Dominion, he began to regret the decision he'd made.

 

[Retroboy]

Kalan was right. The political circumstances were less than ideal. The politics of the Mandalorian Dominion now threatened to interfere with everything that Apophe had built on Zakuul. The Mandalorians easily had the strength to endanger the Serpent Fleet and even GALAF, should the conflict grow severe enough. However, Apophe had her honour to defend and that would be lost were she to abandon an ally to the wolves. Not to mention, she liked Kalan and would hardly like to see him be subjected to whatever cruel fate that the schemers had in mind for him.

"My own loyalties remain with you, Kalan," she said. "As far as I am concerned, the usurpers aren't even a little bit legitimate. I've got very little patience for this sort of politicking, especially since I had to recently had to put down some of my own rebellions lately."

She shrugged, and began walking... well, more waddling. She thought about what to do. The palace was boiling and she hated being on her feet too long. At least part of her legs were still organic, and they tended to get tired quite easily lately. She went over possible escapes from the heat. The lower levels of the palace were certainly cool, but they did not have much in the way of amenities. The pool area was right out... Then it occurred to her.

"Well, do you want to go for a drive?" she said. "Maybe I show you around Ameliana, show you what I've accomplished so far. There's also a place that makes fairly good sandwiches and iced tea, if you'd like that. I would."

She'd renamed the city from merely the Capital to Ameliana quite recently, in honour of her now-gone wife. It was a small testament to her. It was one of the sticking points for the Yahm Traditionalists, naming a city after a non-Yahm, but it was something that she had pressed on. It was a way to keep her around in some small way. Besides, it sounded far better than just calling the City "the capital." That sounded silly.

"I have a speeder, we could take that," she said with a grin. "It has air-conditioning."

Normally, Apophe rode a heavily customized swoop-bike, but that was not something that she could really ride right now. Instead, she contented herself with a faily top-of-the-line airspeeder that had enough creature comforts to keep her sated.

@Prudence

 

[Prudence]

Apophe's words were more of a relief to Kalan than she could've known. He'd always respected the woman greatly during his tenure as Duke, but he found himself increasingly grateful that she'd caught him on a good day, and that he hadn't snapped at her when he was the one in power. Should she choose to take the easy road and retain her relations with the Dominion, he would be in a tenuous situation, having already joined GALAF. Kalan would like manage to stay alive, given that situation, but for how long? If Bria's portion of GALAF continued to shelter him, would they have lost the Serpents? Would they have lead the Mandalorians in and turned him over? Apophe's loyalty and honor happened to be the buffer between him and the cold embrace of his former government, and while he was grateful for said buffer it was not a position he liked to be in.

He turned his head slightly to face her as they walked, a sad but grateful smile forming across his lips, and gave a short nod, "Thank you Apophe. Your loyalty means a great deal to me. I heard of your recent insurrection, and I'm glad to see you made it out unscathed—I hope I will face similar luck."

The two continued to walk in silence, Kalan's mind drawn introspectively. As of now he was unscathed, the few guards loyal to him having tipped him off with just enough time to burn most of his documents and run, unfortunately he knew that he hadn't been able to purge everything. Kalan was no coward, and in normal situations he might have stood and fought—being no worse with a blaster than Hawk—but this was no normal situation. His warning had included that Hawk was able to order all of House Ordo's soldiers to stand down, leaving Kalan alone against Hawk, and whoever else may have been with him. With the authority to order his own soldiers, and to elicit their obedience, spelled misfortune for Kalan. Standing his ground would've found him in manacles, or dead—that was what he told himself, every time that he thought about his flight from Ordo. He bore the signs of his service, and its stress, on his face. The area around his eyes and his mouth were now creased with permanent lines, the hair around his ears already bearing gray, and the side of his temple bore a scar from a battle long since won. Despite his relatively young age, Kalan looked like he'd lived a lifetime.

"That would be lovely." Kalan replied, stirring from his thoughts, "Neither of us are getting any younger, and walking everywhere is for the birds—so is this heat. If we're being honest it's been far too long since I've had a good meal, ever since my flight I've been living off of ration packs and nutribars. A sandwich would be amazing." He let humor return to his voice, if only slightly, as his lips found their way into a somewhat genuine smile. "Now... Ameliana. I do recall my intelligence briefings informing me that you renamed the city that." His smile faded and sadness found its way into his eyes as he stared upon her knowingly, "She would be honored."