Ask Watering the Seeds

[Renfry]

Renfry had heard about the events that had taken place on Mandalore, and she was impressed. He was always a daunting power in every iteration. Renfry had come to Taris to greet him on his return, and she honestly wasn't sure who she would be greeting. It didn't really matter if she was Empress now or not, Raze made her viscerally uncomfortable, but the hard reality was that he was an absolute force of nature and there was absolutely no one who could deny it.

Despite the massive mood swings she'd been experiencing recently and the relative isolation she had imposed on herself as a result, she was absolutely determined that she was not going to get weepy, angry, hangry, or any other version of an overamplified emotion that she'd experienced... today. Yeah, all of those today.

Some of the fleet had returned, much of it hadn't. Rather than flying up to one of the destroyers, she simply waited at the landing platform, something that in and of itself was unusual. She rarely waited for someone else to land, but in this case she was far too eager for a later meeting.

Until the ship actually landed, she tapped away at more reports and messages that needed her attention, a constant slew of work that never seemed to end. Despite being eager to see him, there was a low, nagging feeling in her gut that she recognized as a tiny bit of anxiety (or was it this new baby-related reflux?).

 

[Darth Raze]

His shuttle touched down at the bay, the ramp extending out. He was still Raze, still donning his armor and still heavily contemplating his actions. Word had gotten to him that the Mandalorians were already moving on Lothal. He had left his apprentice with them, and he trusted she would handle herself. She had to.

Heavy footsteps took him down the ramp, and he paused as soon as he saw who was waiting for him. It wasn’t often that anyone had the Empress of the Sith waiting to receive them anywhere. Raze eyed her quietly for a moment through the crimson visor. She would know right away that Emryc was not entirely there just yet, his very aura pulsing with an icy chill. She would see his helmet tilt down the slightest bit to regard the swollen belly. He hadn’t seen her in some time, and that hadn’t exactly been by accident.

Raze began to walk towards her, a few strides of his long legs bringing him right across from her. He tilted his head down to regard her.

“Empress,” The mechanized voice stated curtly.

 

[Renfry]

Her question was answered before the ship's ramp even came down. Emryc's presence was one she knew well and could sense from even a great distance. Raze's presence was unmistakable, chilling to the bone. The slightly disappointed sigh that Emryc wasn't there came out long before the ship had even fully settled.

Nevertheless, she took in the full weight of Raze's presence as the ship landed. Impressive in its own way. Ice cold, terrifying to anyone who met it, and capable of doing the impossible.

As he came down the ramp, he appeared precisely as she expected. Armored and intimidating with his size. Even if it was Raze, she couldn't help but smile slightly upon seeing him. It had been months since they had seen one another, and she wasn't stupid enough to think that was an accident. Even now, this wasn't about the pregnancy. Even so, she could all but feel his eyes shift down to look at her even with his helmet firmly in place.

Lord Raze. It's good to see you. I wanted to congratulate you on your success on Mandalore, she said. The platform had been cleared of everyone nearby, allowing them the freedom to speak as freely as they chose as they started walking in the direction of the doors to the building.

 

[Darth Raze]

Raze simply nodded in response, beginning to walk towards the building. The differences between Emryc and Raze were pronounced even in the way they walked. Where Emryc was always courteous and purposely slowed down to account for Renfry’s height, Raze strode with military discipline. He faced forward and didn’t quite care whether or not the Empress could keep up.

“The Mandalorians will prove to be powerful allies, even if for a limited amount of time,” He wasn’t naive enough to believe they would always play nice. Once they got a taste of conquest, they would soon begin to look for ways to break the alliance. The key was to always have them by the proverbial balls, and Raze was the type to consider all angles, “They have begun the push for Alliance planets already. It gives us the benefit of forcing the Alliance into a two front war,” He paused for a moment before turning to regard her, “Provided we are not always wrapped up with playing the silly altruistic angle no one is buying,” Raze was perhaps the only one that openly criticized the Empress’ methods. Even Emryc knew to bite back.

The Sith Lord walked through the door, letting Renfry lead the way towards somewhere hopefully more private. As Emryc slowly began to bleed back in, the desire to remove the helmet grew strong.

“Have you come only to congratulate me?”

 

[Renfry]

I suppose it will remain to be see if they burn themselves out on the FWA and Jedi, she said. She knew that one day if they created a large enough beast they would have to put it down, but that wasn't today. In the meantime, they would get great use out of them.

She was definitely starting to fall behind with her waddling and his much longer legs, but that thought was quickly replaced by his comment about the Empire's altruism. He had been vocal enough about his opinion, and perhaps she was even beginning to come around on it. Psycho's like the Lothal senator - he was certainly getting his dues now - would make sure that no matter what the Empire did it was treated as a pariah. Maybe conquest would go forward as conquest did.

Yes, well we have you to keep the Empire honest, she quipped. He was the Empire's boogey man, and it was one of the topics she wanted to broach with him.

I came here for three reasons. The first to congratulate you, she said, holding up a finger. The second, to find out where would be the best place to send the gift that I'm getting you. It's very large. Small vehicle size, she warned so he could give her an appropriate location.

And third, I want to discuss your position in the Empire, she said. I've asked you to take the mantle of Dark Lord before and you declined. The thing is, you're already doing the work associated with it. I think it's only logical you take the title that goes along with it, she said, deciding that being direct was probably preferably and better with him.

 

[Darth Raze]

They kept walking till they entered the building, and even then Raze didn’t stop until they were allowed inside a room that offered privacy. He remained silent at the subtle compliment about keeping the Empire honest. He did things out of necessity, but also because others that held titles higher than him sat around doing absolutely nothing. When Renfry began to speak about a gift the size of a small vehicle, he took off his helmet. His eyes were still yellow, hair disheveled. There was a light smirk gracing his face.

“Is it the child?” His gaze flicked down to her belly before up again. It was difficult to tell whether the smirk was from a lighthearted quip or from disgust and mockery. Everything was difficult to read with Raze, especially when Emryc was in the process of returning, “Warehouse in the Corporate Sector where CHD assets are housed.”

The Sith Lord ran his fingers through his hair, putting the strands back into place. Raze wouldn’t have care, Emryc did. He paused when Renfry spoke next, his ears swiveling to almost flatten at the words. Unlike most half-Sephi, he had impressively strict control over his expressive ears. This largely came from most things having almost no impact on him from a reaction standpoint. This was clearly an exception for a topic.

“This again?” He exhaled, shaking his head as he looked away. Raze paused for a moment, his eyes narrowed. His jaw tightened as he thought in silence, “I have no desire to be held to anyone’s whims but my own. You understand this about me,” He always operated by his own rules, “I do things because they are not expected of me. The moment they are is the moment I lose interest,” Raze stared at her, his eyes narrowing, “And I do not approve of your worthless council and find you to be a weak leader. The foolish sentiments my other, weaker side has for you aside, you allow consistent stagnation and failures to persist with no repercussions. You would see me as the Dark Lord so you can dump every bit of responsibility on me that the rest of your leadership habitually fails to uphold. I will do no such thing.”

 

[Renfry]

What? No. Unless you're hoping it is, she retorted. He gave her an answer a moment later, however, and she nodded. Done, she said, though it was of course not literally done yet.

She could tell he was unhappy about the discussion being brought up again, but this time it was not being done subtly or in jest. It was a legitimate discussion point. What she didn't expect was the biting words that he pointed out. A slew of thoughts raced through her mind and they were only amplified by the hormones that seemed to be constantly raging through her. This however was not the moment to have a hormonal breakdown, and it did take every ounce of her willpower to keep from having one. Or from yelling at him. Or from doing any number of other things.

She took several moments before she had recollected herself and made a statement that was far calmer than what she had initially wanted.

I already have intentions to deal with the Council regardless of your answer, but removing seats only to leave them empty is not more helpful to me than leaving people who aren't doing anything, she replied flatly. The lack of alternative, suitable candidates had played a major role in her decision thus far, and that was undeniable.

Rather than devolve into simply arguing with him - what that wilder side of her wanted to do - she addressed the issues from a more objective point of view.

Regardless of your personal feelings for me or lack thereof, filling the Council with good seats is the right leadership thing to do, which is precisely why I'm here. If there were a better option, I would be there, she stated bluntly.

This is the logical move for you. The assets you would have access to would dwarf what you're currently working with, she said. She knew that what he wanted was power. He had a great deal of it through the ISC and she was offering him more for what was effectively little more work.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

He could tell she was bristling with rage. By now, the yellow had begun to dissipate in his eyes, replaced with familiar silvers. He blinked a few times before he finally began to feel more like Emryc. There was a moment of silence as he listened, surprised and impressed to see her stand her ground. He had expected her to lash out or grow defensive, but she took his criticism in stride and seriously. Exactly what he would expect in a leader. But he did disagree with some aspects.

"Leaving people who are not doing anything in council seats is far more detrimental than leaving empty seats," He stated sternly, "One of those things suggests that you have a high bar of entry and will not compromise principles just to keep seats warm. The other implies that the bar is very low and complacency is celebrated and rewarded. Don't ever forget that."

“If I am to do this,” He said after a long moment of silence, “I would operate above the council. I will be empowered to discipline or kill your council and your Sith Lords if necessary. You understand the duties you are asking of me on top of me already being a galactic leader,” The implications were vague, but there. If he had to make a choice, he would always choose himself. But Renfry had always known that about him.

Emryc paused again, looking away, “Give me a few days to decide if the terms are agreeable,” He said quietly. There was another factor to his decision that he wasn’t ready to share with Renfry. It was very much his personal business, and it meant discussing this with his partner. Emryc had always gone out of his way to have complete autonomy on every decision. This was the first time he ever had the desire to talk it through with someone before taking that step.

 

[Renfry]

She listened impassively to what he said, though her insides were far from as serene and calm as the sabaac face she had been forced to learn to survive in this world. The Empire was not in as bad of shape as it was under the Eternal, but it wasn't prospering and thriving in the way she hoped, and that ultimately came back on her. There was little more to it than that, and that meant it came back on her to fix it.

She knew what he meant by his statement, and she was also not arguing against it. She knew that at the end of the day, she was asking something large of him. While it may have been true that it was largely duties he was already doing, there was always that little bit more. And yet, as they'd both pointed out, it would give him a power and sway even over the Council that he didn't currently have. At least, didn't currently have in name.

He pulled off his helmet and she could tell that Emryc was returning bit by bit. Normally, this would be something she found comforting and soothing, but right now it somehow made things worse. In light of what he had moments earlier said to her and how little she had seen him in the previous months, it somehow made the cut that much deeper. It didn't matter that she understood the distinction between his two personas, the pained lump in her throat remained.

I think that's reasonable, she said when he asked for a few days. It seemed not typically like him, but this wasn't some small decision to make on a whim, so she didn't make too much of it at the moment.

Congratulations again on your victory today, she said, forcing a smile.

The race-swoop that won the 145ABY Grand Prix went on auction recently. You'll find it at your CHD warehouse soon as a token of my appreciation, she said. In this case, she wasn't too concerned that the gift would alter his decision. She was pretty sure he was too stubborn for that and getting an "I'll think about it" was already a large step in the right direction.

She turned to head back to her speeder a moment later, allowing him to return to wherever he was going. As she did, a tear trickled down her face and she just about lost it then and there. Not because of what had happened, but because she had absolutely had it with this emotional lability. Pregnancy sucked.