Post by Susan on May 15, 2013 10:27:56 GMT -5
Name: Samuel Havelock Cromwell
Race: Human
Age: 54
Height: 6’5
Weight: 167lbs
Eye Color: Dark brown
Hair Color: Bald/dark brown
Theme
Birth place: Coronet, Corellia
Appearance: Tall, thin, and completely bald, Samuel tends to dress in hand tailored plain black suits, often giving him the impression of a dark praying mantis. Or an undertaker. His face is weathered mostly from stress, and gives him an appearance of a man somewhat older than he is. Wrinkles are not an uncommon site upon him, framing his small dark eyes, giving them a beady, leering appearance. His facial hair is never untamed or unruly, he also takes good care of it, trimming it short into a pointed goatee. He often strokes thumb and forefinger through the rough trim when in thought.
Samuel is not a muscular man, but not is he fat or out of shape. He lives an extravagant lifestyle highly populated by rich food and wines, but makes an effort not to become unhealthily weighty. He enjoys his thin, almost gaunt physique, and finds it can sometimes come across as intimidating – especially in collusion with his height. Always a useful addition when it came to negotiations.
Personality: Samuel has been bred from birth to know that the most important person is oneself. He always looks out for himself, and takes any opportunity that benefits him, even over others. He can be more than a little arrogant, believing himself much better than others, and often looks down on many, many others. He cares very little for others, even those close to him, and see’s most personal relationships as nothing more as a means to an end. He is highly ambitious, and will do whatever he can to further himself in his career, no matter the consequences.
He takes on the mask of a caring individual, he pretends he has the interest of others deep in his heart, but he does this merely as a ploy to get close to others. He knows that to become the most powerful, he must rely on those that are more powerful than him. He attaches himself to others like a limpet, as a friend, an adviser, and does whatever he can to bend ears to his own cause. He has an old fashioned outlook on many things, and thinks that people should adhere to the rules at all times. As well as this, he believes himself far too important to be restricted by silly little rules all of the time, and when need be will bend them to suit his own needs.
He was well educated and raised to appreciate the finer things. He greatly enjoys the symphony and one of his favourite places in the galaxy is the Opera house on Coruscant. He believes himself an intelligent man, and takes great pleasure in intellectual pastimes. An accomplished holo-chess player, he believes the game is a good way to exert intellectual dominance on an opponent. One of his favoured pastimes, Samuel never let’s any opportunity to crush someone slip.
Occupation: Politician
Rank: Senator of Corellia
Skills:
Charismatic
Influential
Galactic Basic, Durese – Fluent
Huttese – Basic.
Ships/Vehicles: N/A
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 3
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 3
Leadership: 8
Unarmed: 1
Melee Weapons: 1
Ranged Weapons: 1
Bio:
Quintessential
Samuel was born the third child and second son of Clarissa and Edan Cromwell, another in the long line of Cromwell’s, a well established family on Corellia. He had the privilege of being born into a family of great wealth and influence that would expand all the more in later years. Samuel was the third, but not the last. Before him came the eldest, his sister Miriam, and then his brother Michael. After him came another daughter, Emilia then finally the last son Charles. There were a fair few years separating each child, but just short of two between Samuel and Michael. Samuel was close to his eldest sister and his youngest brother when he was young, although a deep rivalry grew with Michael as the two grew almost parallel with one another.
Spare
Being part of an incredibly wealthy family of core world aristocrats certainly had its benefits. The children were privately tutored from a young age, with no expense spared for education. Samuel and Michael shared a lot of the same tutors, and neither son minded or really noticed this. Although he didn’t recognise it at first, Michael was given preferential treatment, being heaped with more praise when doing something well, being offered more aid when struggling. Edan and Clarissa were exuberant about being blessed with as many children as they had been, but Michael would always be their favourite. The oldest son opened many gateways to future opportunities, and would be the one to carry on the families legacy. Of course, Miriam and Emilia were also highly prized – the young women were of good breeding and would be married off when of age, but of the sons – only Michael was the special one.
It was after his own sixth birthday that Samuel had begun to notice the changes. The slightly older Michael was taken out of their session and given personal tutelage, and not just by one mentor either. Samuel had noticed several and many strangers fussing over his brother, making a big deal out of the smallest acts. The young boy didn’t quite understand what was happening, but he certainly felt left out, and acted out as a result. He would try to show off, jump around and seek attention emphatically. He was often dismissed and more than once scolded, which had seldom happened to him before. Samuel did not, and could not, understand why he was being punished and his brother was being fawned upon. It was then that he saw his brother in a new light. Not as his friend that he spent every waking moment with, but as the evil miscreant that turned everyone against him. Samuel began to despise his brother.
Leading up to his eighth birthday, Samuel was excited about the upcoming event, and unbearably giddy. Emotions seemingly not shared by most others on the Cromwell estate. The elder son’s tenth birthday was due to occur just two short week’s after Samuel’s own eighth birthday, and it was going to be an incredibly extravagant and glamorous affair to celebrate the milestone. With his previous birthdays Samuel had gotten used to being showered with attention and gifts, this time though, everyone was more preoccupied with the elder son. Prominent families and people of import were invited to the gathering, and not just from Corellia, but from other core worlds as well. Samuel did not appreciate the full gravity of the situation, it was the first real chance to show off the Cromwell heir, and many would gather for the occasion – including the parents of prospective brides. To young Sam, it was just another indication that his older brother was the preferred child, not just to his parents – but to everyone.
His younger siblings grew up with the idolisation of Michael prominent, so it was built in from them from birth to do the same, and they would trot along after their older brother, trailing behind like lost puppies. The only person that was any different, the only one that didn’t appear to positively gush over the eldest son was the eldest daughter, Miriam. She alone seemed to understand Samuel’s plight, although she was at a better place to comprehend the gravity of the situation, and handle it much better than her child of a brother.
Samuel’s eighth birthday was celebrated, and he was showered with gifts as expected. The young boy’s detestation of his brother and feelings of neglect were washed away that day, but only for a few hours. His parents and his tutors celebrated the event, they made him feel special again. But later the same day, all minds turned back to the planning and preparation for Michael’s upcoming birthday celebrations. The feelings of Neglect came back all at once, and little Samuel had scuttled away out of sight, hiding in one corner of the overly large bedroom. He sat for hours, alone, head nestled firmly against his knees, the tears coming fast and free flowing. He was so preoccupied wallowing in a pool of his own self pity that he hadn’t heard the door open, and hadn’t heard his teenage sister walk in. Miriam clasped her young brother close to her chest, and softly sang to him. The keen attention and love shown from his sister soon calmed Samuel down, and the tears were wiped away and a smile once more graced his face. Miriam hadn’t just come to check up on him, she brought with her a very special birthday gift. A small piece of cake, with a single birthday candle, just for Samuel, and Samuel alone. For a boy used to lavish and unnecessary floundering, such a simple offering seemed out of place. But it was that moment that he cherished more than many others throughout his childhood and way on through is adult life, perhaps his most treasured memory. On such a dark day, there was always a slim ray of sunshine.
Purpose
Michael’s tenth birthday was a grand affair, but young Samuel was not one of the many people in attendance. He was present when the celebrations began, at his mother’s insistence, dressed like a little tiny waiter and sulking all the time. As soon as his mother’s attention turned to the elder boy, which didn’t take long, Samuel darted up to his room and hid. Although this time, not to huddle up and cry. The cake wasn’t Miriam’s only gift to him a few weeks before, his older sister gave him a story book. The datapad had a lot of words, a fair few of which Samuel was unfamiliar with, but it did not matter, from page one he was entrapped, enthralled. It was a story full of adventure, of heroism, of glory and victory. The only time he didn’t have his nose in that book was when he was trying to find out what some of the words meant. Usually by asking Miriam, who as always was kind and appreciative, helping him where she could. And while he enjoyed the story of the fiction novel, it opened his eyes to something that he enjoyed far more. The pursuit of knowledge.
As he grew older he started to take his tutelage more seriously. As a younger child he treated it as something he was made to do, and didn’t really enjoy it – often messing around and goofing off. But now he was eager to learn, he had developed a thirst for information, and would gladly lap up every droplet offered to him. In his free time he would spend the vast majority of it reading, and not just fiction and stories. He read up on other worlds, other peoples, and found the galaxy as a whole really rather interesting. He had never left Corellia, never even left Coronet, there was no reason to really and he had led quite a sheltered lifestyle. Access to the Holonet opened the galaxy up to him, and he quite enjoyed reading about the outer rim worlds. The cultures and daily lives seemed so different, so alien to the pampered lap of luxury he was used too. He gorged himself on every scrap of everything he could find, learning as much about anything he could as he could. Whenever he came across an unfamiliar term or word, he would endeavour to find out everything about it. It almost became an obsession for the growing child, but it gave him drive, purpose.
Samuel would never forget that it was his older sister was the one to lead him down this path, and he decided he should try and do the same boon for his younger siblings. He would often tell Emilia and Charles a lot of the interesting things he had read up on, and he would read them some of the fiction he himself enjoyed. His younger siblings soon started looking up to him, wowed by the knowledge the teenage boy had, and thoroughly star struck with sibling admiration. Meanwhile, the eldest son was much more detached from the rest of them, having to attend fancy soirees with the parents, having to met important and influential people almost on a daily basis. The same could be said for Miriam, but she still made time for the younger ones – Michael did not, he knew how special he was, what he represented, and what he was to become. And that was all that mattered to him. And Samuel was glad of that. His younger siblings were starting to forget about how amazing the older Michael was, their attention and respect was drawn away from the golden boy, and instead to Samuel. Where it rightfully belonged.
Drive
The year of his sixteenth birthday was both a good one, and a bad one – for several reasons. Samuel was developing into his own person now, his own man away from his tutors and his family. He had discovered what he wanted, what he would do with his life, and he decided that no longer he needed to clasp to a guiding hand, no longer need he suckle at the teat. With his older brother busy fraternising with anyone wealthy and important enough to deserve it, not to mention courting all of their daughters and sisters, Samuel became the top dog. And he enjoyed that immensely, his younger siblings revering him, respecting him – it was a thrill that Samuel never wanted to lose. Through discussion with his tutors and advisors, it was clear how he would shape his future, what career he would pursue. Politics was the key to everything he wanted, everything he could achieve. The thirst for knowledge, the love of control, the desire to be revered. Of course, he kept his true reasons to himself, and merely claimed that coming from such a privileged upbringing, he wanted to give something back to the people of Corellia. He would dedicate his life to serving the people, represent them – and provide them with a voice.
And so it was decided. The Cromwell’s had many friends, not just on Corellia, but all across the Core. And it was some of these friends that agreed to take the ambitious teenager under their own tutelage. For the first time in his life, Samuel was due to leave his home, and head to build his own life on Coruscant. As he prepared to leave, he was a little surprised that he felt a pang of longing in the pit of his stomach, almost like he didn’t want to leave. He said his goodbyes to his younger siblings, promising to bring them both home presents and tales of wonder. He made an effort to seek out Miriam, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, and speak to her in length before leaving for the Capital. Miriam was in a promising relationship with a very influential Corellian, and had long since left home herself – she was certainly the one that Samuel would miss the most. He didn’t even bother to try and look for Michael.
He had read a lot about Coruscant, about the tiered Ecumenopolis that straddled the entire planet. The huge variety of aliens, of clashing cultures, a vast spectrum of the entire galaxy crushed together onto one world. But nothing he had read prior could prepare him for the world in the flesh, in all her glory. At his own personal request, he wasn’t delivered directly to the home of the family friends where he would be staying, but rather one of the lower tiers. He had the understanding that this was what Coruscant was all about, this was where the planet lived and breathed. The first thing Samuel noticed when he stepped out of the shuttle was the sheer overwhelming smell. He felt like his nose was going to explode, it was pungent and abhorrent. Then there was the noise, like a solid wall of garbled sounds and strangled voices. And that wasn’t even the worst part. There were just so many people everywhere. Coronet could get crowded, but this was something different, it was just a crush, a swell of people shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see. And they weren’t just regular people either, they came in all shapes, colours, sizes. Some covered in scales, some in fur, and he was fairly sure he spotted something with more than one head. He had seen aliens before of course, and not just in his reading material. Corellia wasn’t just home to humans, after all, so the sight wasn’t completely strange and unexpected to him. It was just so incredibly... there.
As interesting as he had found reading up on alien species and their cultures, he realised that in writing and in the flesh were too entirely different things. He was happy enough to experience the diversity of the galaxy, only from a distance.
Encounter
For the most part, Samuel enjoyed his time on Coruscant. Living up on the upper tiers he was taken along to incredibly high class social events, and fell in love with the Coruscanti Opera the very first time he went. He was becoming his own man, and he was rather enjoying the man he was becoming. His private tutelage continued on Coruscant, with his family arranging for many leading experts, including former galactic Senators to help him study up on everything that he would need to fulfil his political aspirations.
Marcus Tremellius was one such tutor. Whilst never a senator himself, Tremellius was a revered scholar of quite some note, and had wrote many doctoral papers on the subject of galactic politics. Tremellius was rich in years and a fountain of knowledge, and much like Samuel he had learnt to appreciate the galaxy at arm’s length. The high class Coruscanti academic had seldom left the planet of his birth, and had never left the core worlds – he cited that he never felt the need. He spoke often of galactic politics, but for him the core was the galaxy. It was where the galaxy began, and it was where anyone of any real note or worth would always be. Anything beyond the core was simply space for the great unwashed so as they did not pollute the higher beings.
Upon hearing of Samuel’s first and only venture down into the under belly of Coruscant, Tremellius made a comment about personal sanitation which the young man assumed was a humorous jest. It was not, and the Corellian was forced to take a shower before the conversation could continue. At first Samuel found that attitude a little curious, and then ultimately refreshing. Over time working with Tremellius, he began to understand and agree with many of his views on galactic politics, and the diversity of galactic civilisation. Tremellius was not Samuel’s only tutor, nor was he the one he spent the most time with. In fact, often the older man cancelled appointments at the last minute for some unnamed errand or other. In spite of this, or possibly because of this, the core-centric intellectual was easily Samuel’s favourite tutor during his time on Coruscant, and became somewhat of a role model for the young man brimming with aspiration.
Homecoming
It was nearly five years before he returned to Corellia, and Samuel wasn’t sure if he had missed it or not. He had been invited back several times before, and most of the time pretended he was too busy to come home. Although one time he actually was legitimately too busy, and he regretted not being able to go home. Miriam’s wedding was a happy occasion celebrated not only by the family, but also by the whole of Corellia, and indeed across the Core. Miriam on her own, whilst from a wealthy and influential family spanning back for many many centuries, was not quite important enough for all the attention. Of course, the procession was derived not from her, but from her husband to be. The King of Corellia. Samuel’s big sister Miri became Queen, and he always regretted not being there to see it. He watched the ceremony across the Holonet, like many millions he was sure – but it was not quite the same.
He made a pact with himself not to miss something as monumental as that again, and was on the first shuttle to Corellia after he heard his sister had gone into labour. The house Solosten was about to have an heir to the throne, and Samuel did not want to miss the birth of his nephew. He arrived in time for the birth of the King and Queen’s first born, the first prince of Corellia had arrived, and it was a joyous occasion for all. Of course, Samuel was not the only one to turn up, representatives from other families and his own wanted to bear witness to the birth of the Prince. Samuel was one of the first few that Miri allowed in to see the mother and her newborn, an honour he was immensely proud of. Really, he didn’t think much of the child, an ugly podgy little thing, but it was something that his sister had made, and for that reason only – he was precious.
After spending time with his sister, Samuel knew that it was the done thing to stay around on Corellia for a while, and visit with the rest of his family. He went to his parent’s estate, told them about his time on Coruscant and how much he enjoyed it, and marvelled at how his younger siblings had grown. Charles was now nearly as tall as him, and apparently had great dreams of becoming a Republic Pilot. Samuel himself wasn’t quite sure on that path himself, but serving the military was an admirable career, and as such the family was behind the growing youngster every step of the way.
Three days after the birth of Miriam’s son, Michael arrived in Coronet. He had been in Tyrena, courting apparently, and hadn’t decided to show his face until that point. His visit to the hospital and Miriam was very brief, and Samuel felt the old feelings of resentment and bile returning once more. Michael decided it was more important to spend time with his sister’s husband, than his sister herself. Samuel had not missed the fact that having the King as a brother in law was greatly beneficial, but there was a time and a place for business and just after a birth was not one of them. The celebration gala thrown a week after Miri was released from the hospital was more such an occasion, and Samuel decided to stay until then. He would return to his duties on Coruscant the next morning, and try the best to avoid his older brother in the meantime.
It did not prove to be that difficult a task, Michael not even bothering to attempt to communicate with Samuel the whole time they were both there, and they both spent their time away from each other. Samuel spent a lot of time with Miri, whilst Michael preferred to spend time with himself, or people that he felt could benefit him. Samuel didn’t disagree with the schmoozing, just the haphazard and slapdash way in which the elder brother carried it out. He took a small amount of sadistic pleasure in his brothers multiple failed attempts at this. Whilst Michael was important, he still had not managed to be married, and had not even moved out of the parent’s estate. Samuel on the other hand had met a multitude of contacts of his own on Coruscant, and was working out of an Ambassador’s office in the Senate. Oh how he enjoyed seeing the mighty fall, the slaying of giants surely was a wondrous occurrence. Samuel was actually surprised that his brother hadn’t managed to find a suitable consort so far, he was the eldest son of an influential family, so a big catch – but apparently even that wasn’t good enough to hook them in, even though he had tried. Apparently the noble women of Corellia couldn’t stand the rat bastard, and Samuel was more than euphoric about that.
Whilst Samuel himself was yet to be married, he was not looking for it as much as his dear brother was. And really, he did not really need to be wed, at least not for any important reasons. Michael was so urgent to secure a spouse to benefit himself by marrying into another family, and to secure himself an heir. Samuel needed neither, and was happy enough to make his own way in life, as he had so far. If one day he was to be married, it would be in his own terms. That did not stop others interfering, however, and truthfully it did not bother Samuel. Whilst at the celebration gala, he was introduced to several women of repute, some he even found quite pleasing. His mother and even his sister was instrumental in orchestrating his meetings with these women, and he didn’t begrudge either of them for trying to find him a wife, even though it was not in his immediate plans. One woman, a good friend of Miri’s apparently, did quite interest him. Her appearance was more than pleasing, and he found her company to be genuinely enjoyable, an intelligent woman no doubt. His interactions with her were unfortunately cut short, partially by an intoxicated Michael trying it on with near every woman at the event. Mostly however because the King made a speech, and everyone was to take their seats and pay attention. The woman took her place with her family, and Samuel did the same. His brother was at a different table, whilst he himself was sat next to Miriam. Upon the same table as the King and Queen of Corellia.
It was truly quite an enjoyable event, and Samuel actually felt a wrench in his stomach, and was reconsidering leaving the next day. He had his duties to attend too, but he hadn’t been as happy as this for a long time, and he did so thoroughly enjoy seeing his sister once more. He hoped it wouldn’t be another five years until he did again. After the event, he had retired to his accommodations, musing over his plans for the next morning. He had chosen to stay at his parents estate as was proper, and was pleased to see that his old room remained undisturbed. It was quite Spartan at any rate, much like his current home, but it gave him a warm feeling again, browsing through his old things, his past memories. There really wasn’t much of either, but he did remember having quite an enjoyable childhood.
The one thing that wasn’t enjoyable decided to summon himself in that moment. Steamrolling drunk, the spurned and disappointed Michael barged into Samuel’s room, screaming every curse under every sun in the galaxy. Samuel was scared, terrified even, he had never seen his brother like this, and as much as he despised him, didn’t like to see Michael in such a state. Although brotherly concern soon went out the window as Michael’s right fist impacted against his face and knocked him clean off of his feet. The pain was overwhelming and Samuel clutched his nose, streaming hot crimson, cowering on the floor below his older brother. He crawled backwards, completely and utterly horrified by his brothers actions, until he reached a wall and could retreat no further. Instead he pushed himself up against it and rose to his feet. His brother was still coming forward, still screaming at how much he hated Samuel, how he had ruined his life and other such nonsense. But Samuel was not listening to his words, he was staring at the eyes of his brother. Eyes full of more than just hatred, but of murderous desire.
In sheer panic he began scrambling around him and his hand gripped around something tight and lashed out as Michael approached. The heavy lamp struck the drink-fuelled elder brother hard across the face and it was his turn to be knocked from his feet. Unlike the younger Samuel, however, Michael did not immediately get up. In fact, he did not get up at all. Samuel slid back against the wall and fell to the floor, all colour drained from his face, staring at the unmoving form of his brother. He was not sure how long he had sat there, motionless watching Michael, but to him it felt like an eternity. In reality it was closer to an hour. It took him that long to gain the confidence to actually do something, to fully comprehend what he had done. As much as he loathed his brother, as much as he had even dreamt of doing something like this, he never truly fathomed that he would. He had murdered his own flesh and blood. Samuel’s brain provided him with the word, fratricide, but that gave the young man no greater comfort.
His first thought was to call Miriam, explain to her what had happened, and hopefully her and the rest of the family would understand. He almost immediately dismissed that, even if his family understood, they would not accept it. Samuel would lose everything, and he could not let that happen. He knew that there was only one person he could rely on to help him out of this quagmire.
Perhaps by coincidence or even just sheer luck, Marcus Tremellius was himself in Coronet that evening. Not for the celebration gala, but attending another event elsewhere in the city. After receiving the harried call from his young protégé, the elder statesman made his apologies and hastily left to attend to the urgent matter. Tremellius never really shown any great favour to the boy in the past, but he recognised the use he could be, and also Samuel’s thirst for knowledge, and that desire for power. Tremellius knew he could use that, and it could prove a positive tool for his future projects. And so he went to the Cromwell estate, and discovered the scale of Samuel’s little mess. It did not faze Tremellius, he had been involved with worse, and dealt with worse. He gave the boy words of encouragement, calmed him down, and told him to leave that very night. The now oldest Cromwell son did not take much convincing. He left a note of apology for his parents, and a separate one for Miri, and left that very night with Marcus.
Grief
A night shuttle to Coruscant left the problem behind them, and Samuel stayed with Marcus that night. He could not sleep, for every time he closed his eyes he could see nothing more than his brother, haunting him at every turn. During the journey back to Coruscant he had recounted every moment of what had happened to Marcus, and the old man encouraged Samuel to believe that it was an accident, that he was not to blame. Samuel believed that, but it did not ease his mind completely. He had robbed his parents of a son, possibly of further grandchildren. It occurred to him that with Michael gone, he was now the Cromwell heir, and that just made him feel worse. He never wanted that, he had gotten used to being the second son, and was more than happy being such. As far as he was concerned, he had no claim to the Cromwell fortune, and was content in that, he enjoyed the life he had made for himself on Coruscant. Albeit a life made using his families connections, but for someone from his upbringing, it was close to self made as one would get.
But none of that was really all that important in the short term. Eventually his body succumbed to exhaustion and the dark tendrils of sleep took hold of him. It was dreamless and he soon awoke from it, and for a few blissful moments thought the events from the night before were nothing but a bad nightmare. Once he realised where he was, however, that theory went out of the window. He arose, and he spoke with Marcus, he was offered breakfast, but he refused it. He still felt sick, and was not sure if he would ever be able to eat again. Marcus did not bother to convince the boy to eat, and instead distracted him by talking of other things. They discussed politics, the future of the galaxy, their own shared opinions on galactic diversity. At first Samuel wasn’t very committed to the conversation, but after a short while his charismatic mentor drew life back into the troubled young man. To the extent that a few hours passed without Samuel thinking of the events of the night before. He was even able to blink without seeing dead people.
But of course, reality quickly caught up. His communicator buzzed with a call from his mother, and Samuel surely knew what it would be about, but albeit reluctantly, took the call. Unsurprisingly his mother was distraught and in tears, but what would surprise him was the reason for such. Apparently Michael was missing, not dead, missing. He listened almost mutely as his mother and then father explained what seemed to have occurred, apparently Michael wondered off into the night and had not been seen since. He was a grown man and had been missing less than a day, but the cause for worry stemmed not from this, but from the encrypted date file the parents had been sent earlier that afternoon. The file stated that a group had taken Michael, and demanded a heavy ransom, and if it was not delivered within the required timeframe, then the Cromwell heir would be executed. Samuel finished the call with his parents, after promising to use his limited contacts in the senate to try and have something done about the situation. But that was not what he did, instead he sat agape staring at Marcus.
The old man explained that whilst travelling from Corellia, he had arranged for the body to be removed and the scene to be repaired. As well as this he had arranged for the data file to be fabricated, and attributed to an obscure pro-alien terrorist organisation operating from the outer rim. Marcus told Samuel that this was done for him, to protect him, but it was not simply an act of kindness, but a favour that would one day be repaid. Marcus explained that, while he did have strong resources, it was not him personally that carried out this little excursion. The elder statesman explained that he was one of many representatives of an organisation, a group of people long thought extinct that shared beliefs that both Marcus and Samuel held deep to them. Pius Dea turned humanocentrism into a faith, a religion, a religion that the more he heard about, the more Samuel began to believe in. He had heard of the Pius Dea before of course, but in history books and old stories. He didn’t even know they still existed, but Marcus proved irrefutably that they did. And if their acts of the night before didn’t convince Samuel, then what happened a few days later surely did.
Samuel was preparing to return to Corellia to give support to his family in this dire time, his Senator allowing him time off again for him to tend to his personal matters. The good senator near forcing Samuel to leave his post, the younger man most reluctant to go back home after so recently leaving. Before he left for the spaceport, however, the news networks picked up a rogue broadcast depicting a very alive Michael Cromwell. A Chiss was seen in the vidclip standing beside the Corellian noble, reading off a list of the supposed crimes that Michael had committed against the people he represented. After the Chiss had finished, he declared the man guilty and sentenced him to immediate execution. The blaster bolt went straight through Michael’s head, and Samuel felt himself jump involuntarily. He knew it wasn’t real, it couldn’t possibly be real, but it looked so true. So believable. And that was when he realised that was exactly the point. He hadn’t killed his brother in self defence in his room the other night, no. His brother was stolen away from the estate, held hostage, and then executed on a live broadcast. Millions of sentients across the galaxy could attest to that. And strangely, that made Samuel feel better. His brother was still dead, but he was not to blame. And he knew who he had to thank for that. He promised Marcus that when he returned from Corellia, they would discuss more about the favour he and the Pius Dea had proffered to him, and how he intended to repay it, but for now he had other business to attend too.
He went home to his family and comforted them as best he could, grieving along with them all. He stayed with his family for several weeks, whilst funeral preparations were carried out. He could not stomach staying at his family’s estate, but graciously Miri offered for him to stay with her and her husband. It was interesting taking residence in the royal palace, and Samuel felt a strange, almost brutal, sense of accomplishment of being there, of the path that led him there. He cited to his parents that he did not want to stay at home because of bad memories, which was true – but he did not state which memories.
It took a short while for the funeral to be arranged, his parents holding the vein hope of recovering Michael’s body for the ceremony. And whilst the Republic launched several raids against the terrorist organisation that took claim for the execution, under great pressure from the Corellian senate, they turned up with nothing. Which was not a surprise to Samuel. When the funeral did come to pass, Samuel was asked to speak, and he agreed to. He spoke of how much he loved his brother, of how they differed but they were siblings nonetheless. He spoke of how much he would miss him, and how the evil that took him from this world would one day be punished. The words came easily, the tears followed swiftly. He lied with almost every syllable, and everything he said was believed, his grief was unarguable.
After the funeral, he planned to return to Coruscant, but he was requested to stay for a few more days. And who was he to ignore the wishes of his queen. Miri was struggling with the death of her brother, and she took great comfort in the way Samuel was handling it. She knew that they were never on the best terms, but it gave her happiness to know that even after everything, Samuel still cared about her brother. For Samuel, the lies and manipulations came easy and freely to him, and it bothered him not. Except when with Miriam, it hurt him more than any pain he had experienced before. He loathed to deceive his sister, but knew that there was no other solution – he could never reveal to her the truth. Staying with her did offer an extra benefit, however. During his time of grief, he was often consoled by the King, and the man shown great kindness and appeared to garner some affection for his brother in law. Being friends with the King would certainly be of great advantage.
Worth
He returned to Coruscant a week after the funeral, promising Miri that he would visit more often, and heading straight back to Marcus Tremellius’ apartment. When he arrived, he was told more about his new friends. He was told about The Goddess, about the divine deity in all her glory. He was told how those who followed her ways would be rewarded with great treasures. He was told of the unclean and impure that plagued this galaxy, the disease that had festered beyond the core – and had penetrated even there. The galaxy was a diverse place filled with a myriad of different beings in all shapes, sizes, and colours. And that was wrong. The core was where the galaxy began, and where it should end. Everything beyond was so riddled with the impure, it was impure in itself. For days Samuel stayed with Marcus discussing this, talking about the future, about Pius Dea, about everything. And he was so overawe and completely and utterly taken.
When he finally left his mentors side and returned to work, he was a changed man. He was still working with a junior senator, but now instead of being a mute shadow, he was an energetic and engaging young man. He had the ear of a Galactic senator, a senator who himself had never gone into the lower reaches of Coruscant. A senator who listened to Samuel, and certainly enjoyed promises of great rewards. Over time, the senators policies took an interesting change of direction. A direction influenced by his young understudy cum close adviser. And in that, Samuel had found his niche. On the day of his brothers funeral, he had realised that he had a voice that people listened to. When he spoke words, they were taken note of. And words had great power. Amongst his friends, Samuel counted a King and a Senator. Powerful men surrounded themselves with powerful men. And whilst Samuel wasn’t himself powerful, those around him were. Those that trusted him were. And that in itself was power.
Samuel served the senator for several years, being his friend and aide and offering his advice whenever it was sought, and often even when it wasn’t. He still kept in close contact with Marcus, and they would prostrate in worship of The Goddess time and again. He never met any other members of the Pius Dea, nor had Marcus made any inclination to reveal others. Samuel did find that a little curious, but did not look too much into it. After all, it was a secret practise – and one that would remain secret.
During his service on Coruscant with the senate, he still kept in touch with his family back home, and true to his promise he returned to visit Miri and her family often. At least four times a year he would take the short shuttle ride across to Corellia, and his first stop was not at his parent’s estate, but instead to the home of Miriam. Of course, he would be lying if he said the only reason for his more frequent visits was to see his sister. His friendship with the Corellian King had continued and prospered, and the two men were even candid with one another in private situations. Sometimes seldom the king even sought advice from his brother in law on delicate situations, advice Samuel was more than willing to offer up. Along with his own personal take on things.
Both Miri and her husband enjoyed having him around, and Samuel admitted that he himself enjoyed his little visits. Miriam’s children enjoyed him being around as well. She had two now, both sons, with a third on the way. The young boy’s enjoyed the company of their Uncle Sam quite a lot, and Samuel confessed to mutual feelings. He never really was one for children, and if his sister hadn’t made them, he probably wouldn’t have cared. But she did and they were his flesh and blood. He would even bring them gifts, he would spend time with them, he would play with them. He was a good and proper Uncle, and he felt accepted by a family that he cared for, and that cared for him.
It was useful that Corellia was only a short hop away from Coruscant. When he wasn’t too busy with Marcus Tremellius or helping out the Senator, he would go to visit his family, and his visits became more and more frequent. As such it came to no surprise for the King to take him to one side to converse privately. More than once he had done such, often taking a tour of the gardens or other such, the King privately speaking to his brother in law on differing matters, usually trivial. But this time it was not trivial, in fact it was a job offer. Samuel was always happy to give advice to his brother in law, and thought little of it. Apparently the King held such advice in great stead, and as such decided that such advice should not only be around a few times a year.
Samuel had been assistant to a junior senator for several years now, and it did not look like his career was going to advance any time soon. In truth, Samuel recognised that, but was trying to advance the career of his pet senator, rather than himself. But when offered to become personal advisor to the King of Corellia, his king, it was hardly something he could ignore. He asked for time to think it through, which he was granted. Although really the time wasn’t so he could think it through, it was to discuss it with others. The first he spoke to was Miriam, who already knew about the offer. Samuel should not have been surprised, his sister always has very sharp, and they both had had the same privileged education, after all. Thinking about it, it was probably her idea for him to become Royal Advisor, not that she would ever admit to that. Nevertheless, Miri was more than enthusiastic for him to take the job, for one thing it would mean him spending much more time on Corellia, and she knew how much her children enjoyed his company. For another thing it would mean she would be able to play matchmaker with him again, another thing she would never admit to her brother.
All but convinced, Samuel had another person to talk to, and when he had time alone he contacted Marcus on Coruscant. Samuel wasn’t sure how the old man would react to the proposal, but thankfully he was also in agreement. Having a junior senator in your pocket was one thing, but being the right hand to the leader of a Core world, was another and an opportunity that was not to be passed up. Marcus also intimated that having such a strong connection with a powerful individual was a step in the right direction as far as The Goddess was concerned. Samuel had still yet to meet other Pius Dea faithful, but he recognised what Marcus meant. The faith spread from person to person, as it had from Marcus to Samuel. Pius Dea were powerful a long, long time ago – controlled the galaxy even. It was a far cry from those days, but you had to start somewhere. Marcus Tremellius wasn’t a powerful man, nor was Samuel Cromwell. But they both had a similar trait, more so with the younger man – they knew how to surround themselves with power. Samuel was a charismatic man, and soon he would have the ear of an entire world. He accepted the job offer the day it was presented.
Family
A few months after Samuel moved back to Corellia permanently to take up his post as royal Advisor, the third royal prince was born. Samuel was not present for the birth of his third nephew, he had to take care of a few things in the King’s absence, but he arrived at his sister’s bedside as soon as he could. And for a change, Miri’s little bundle of joy didn’t look like a fat potato. Samuel thought that young Prince Rook was actually a handsome young devil, as much as a few hours old babe could be at least. Samuel stayed with his sister and new nephew as long as he could, but it turned out that being advisor to the King was a far more demanding job than he had first anticipated. Waiting on the whim of a junior senator was child’s play in comparison. While away at his wife’s side and doting over his newborn son, Samuel almost effectively took the King’s place, dealing with all sorts of manners in the absence of the monarch. Of course, nothing world shattering – Samuel could hardly declare war on Onderon, but he was in the position to mediate negligible land disagreements and the like. Even settling minor disputes, Samuel felt important – powerful even – and he relished the opportunities.
He enjoyed working at the Senate, but he found he enjoyed working for the Corellian Royal household even more. For one thing, his new employer sought his aid and listened to his every word much more than the junior senator had. Former senator. Samuel had found out, with more than a little undisguised glee, that less than a year after he resigned to take on his new position, his former employer had been hopelessly voted out of office. He did not know what would happen with his former boss, and frankly Samuel did not even care – he was just glad he left a sinking ship before it even began to sink.
The King did not treat him as a servant or a subordinate. After all, he was family, and more than that, his brother in law treated him as a friend. He was the confidant to Corellia’s most powerful man, for any and all situations. Having so much knowledge, so much influence was certainly exhilarating for the now oldest son of the Cromwell household. It wasn’t all business, however – living with the Royal household meant living with his own family. Or rather, parts of his own family. Miriam was easily his favourite relative, but he knew he still had other family, and he did take care to visit them when he could, especially since they were living on the same planet now. Well, with the exception of his youngest brother Charles, who had signed up for the Republic Navy. Apparently he was doing quite well, and often wrote back to his parents. Something that Samuel remembered doing when he first left home – although the novelty soon wore off for everyone.
His younger sister Emilia had yet to leave the home estate, although that was not down to the lack of trying of others. Her parents, as well as Miriam had many times attempted to marry her off with some rich influential nobleman, but the unruly girl was having none of it. Samuel often felt a surge of fondness when he heard such stories, it reminded him of how his family had oft tried to do the same to him. Still did, really. Like him, he was confident his sister would find someone when she wanted to. Until then, they would both have to do their best to avoid the match making incessantness of the rest of the family. Privately Samuel was glad that his parents had switched their focus to his sister, he was really beginning to get irritated with their meddling. He had dated on his own terms before, especially when he was on Coruscant, and whilst growing up he had been courted the suitor for several promising bachelorettes on Corellia – but very few of them really interested in them. As well as this, he was much more focused on his career at the current stage of his life. He was more than happy in his current job, but knew that one day he would have to look further afield, especially if he wanted to further spread the beliefs he had adopted. The good King, as nice a man as he was, often conflicted with Samuel when it came to his advisor’s rather humanocentric beliefs. Although the King was not the only member of the Corellian royal family.
Samuel had a good relationship with his nephews, all of them liked him, and for the most part Samuel enjoyed their company. But they could tend to be tedious, especially when they were younger. The youngest prince, however, Samuel bonded with much more than he had expected. Really he thought if any he would like the middle Prince the most, due to a situation mirroring his own. But the young Rook reminded him a lot of Charles when they were growing up, playful and carefree. Of course, the other Nephews, and Samuel himself, were all like that – but Samuel felt a close connection with Rook. He was not quite sure why, it wasn’t even as if Rook was special – he was the spare’s spare, he would never be King. But he enjoyed the company of his youngest nephew, and followed his development with great interest. At least when he wasn’t busy at his liege’s shoulder.
The extra attention and obvious favouritism was not lost by the boy’s mother, and whilst Miriam herself would never admit to or even exhibit similar emotions, she did not blame Samuel for doing so. In fact she was glad that her brother was able to connect so well with her children. The three boys soon became four, with yet another son of Corellia being birthed, and the entire planet rejoicing. As with the previous births, Samuel was there for his sister as he was needed, but was less enthused this time around. After all, she had already had three – the fourth was hardly going to be much different. And he was not disappointed, yet another podgy potato baby, no extra arm coming from its head or anything.
Whilst they were still young, the boy’s were taught together, but as they grew older they began to have their own private tuitions. Something Samuel remembered from his own childhood, and he remembered feeling special at the attention he was getting. He knew there was nothing special about it, but to a little boy it meant a lot. Which was why, at his sister’s suggestion, he agreed to take Rook under his wing when the boy got to that age. Samuel was actually looking forward to it, although not too soon – his own position kept him more than busy enough for the time being. Fortunately, he knew that it would be awhile before the carefree Rook was ready to sit down and seriously study – a child never wanted to stop playing, and a spare could play longer than most.
The natural progression of things was however interrupted somewhat by a tragic incident befalling the Royal family. The youngest prince, Jahn, was spirited away in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. The planet was in mourning, the King and Queen expectedly distraught. Samuel used his connections on Coruscant to try and find anything out about the abduction, the families fortunes hired the best of the best to track down the kidnappers – but it was all for naught. Even Marcus and his extra resources had no luck in turning anything up. Eventually it was given up as a lost cause, and Samuel delicately advised his sister and brother in law to try and find peace with it. Most importantly they had to look out for their other children, they were still young and Samuel was worried that this event could impact negatively on their development. At least, that was what Samuel had offered both as Royal Adviser and Uncle.
Mentor
As young Prince Rook grew older, the Royal Advisor watched him with interest, and noticed a few similarities to vague details of his own childhood. When Miriam gave him a gift for his eighth birthday, that was when Samuel’s own life changed course – that was when he stopped feeling sorry for himself, stopped playing, and started paying attention. Rook was a little older when it happened to him, but it seemed that some similar moment occurred that made the young boy buck up his ideas, and he was eager to learn how to become a true Prince of Corellia. Whilst Samuel didn’t have experience of being born into royalty, he at least knew how the Corellian nobility worked, and he knew how a Prince – even the spare’s spare – was expected to behave.
Samuel taught the boy in as much has he could, which was mostly subjects of academia. Rook had other tutors that would teach him the more princely things like swordplay, things that Samuel himself had never bothered with, and had very little real interest in at any rate. He was pleased to discover that like him, Rook enjoyed to learn, enjoyed knowledge. Samuel imparted a lot upon the boy about politics and similar topics, intergalactic law seemingly being one that Rook enjoyed the most. Although personally Samuel could see a future in politics for his nephew, the boy would never be King – but that didn’t mean he could not represent Corellia on the galactic stage regardless. Whilst Samuel still had his own political aspirations, that did not mean he did not want his own flesh and blood to step down that route. Especially if his own flesh and blood happened to have similar beliefs and interests. Uncle Sam was very careful what he said to his family and his nephews especially, and had yet to mention Pius Dea specifically, not even to Rook. Although he always had the boy’s ear, and would often drop subtle little phrases, steering the boy towards a pre determined route. Perhaps he would never be king, but Rook was still an important boy, and it would be most valuable to have someone like that believing in the Goddess. At the very least, he wanted to use his influence to impress his humanocentric beliefs onto the teenage prince.
Samuel spent most of his time on Corellia, although much of it was divided between the King and the third son, Rook. His duties as Royal advisor and his responsibility to his young protégé took up a lot of his time, and he was very rarely able to return to Coruscant. Although he took great care to watch the political situation with interest, and of course kept in near constant contact with his own mentor, Marcus Tremellius. He had been Royal Advisor for many years now, and whilst he did relish his power and influence, he was starting to long for more. He had known all along that he wouldn’t stay in this position for ever, as did Miri, and most likely the King did also. He did enjoy working in the Senate, even as an assistant to an unimportant junior senator, who was frankly a horrible little man, and he wanted to do so again. It was no secret that his own desire was to progress in politics, although he had told very few people that he one day wanted the top job. No Cromwell had ever been Supreme Chancellor, and Samuel was certain that that would not always be the case.
He knew he had to be wary with his favourite nephew, though. He was teaching him the important skills required to be a skilled diplomat, but there was no doubt Rook was naturally gifted. Whether that came from the King or from Miriam’s family was up for discussion, although Samuel had his own opinions on that matter. One day, if he chose to, Rook Solosten would represent Corellia in the galactic senate in some capacity, Samuel was more than certain of that. To what scale was remained to be seen, perhaps even there would be a Supreme Chancellor Solosten in the not too distant future, it all remained to be written.
As they grew up, Samuel had slowly begun to pay attention to his sister’s other children, his time and efforts all but completely focused on Rook. There were other people to teach and help develop the older siblings, and frankly Samuel didn’t care so much, their lives were already written for them. The Crown Prince was clearly the next King, with the second brother likely to become a General of the armies. Rook’s future was yet to be decided, and it was that that had always interested Samuel – someone had to be the author of young Rook’s story, and who better than good old Uncle Sam.
Being an adviser and a friend to the young boy did not mean he controlled him – as much as Samuel may have thought otherwise. Samuel himself did not get involved in the petty matchmaking that others in his family, the women especially, were more inclined too, and personally did not care that his nephew had yet to find a bride. His sister was now in a promising relationship with some Coruscanti aristocrat, and no one could really be too displeased with that. Samuel himself was still unmarried, and still not looking to tie the knot – he did not really see the need too. And as it was, nor did his favourite nephew – although Rook was much younger and there was clearly time for that to change if he wanted it too. But there were many other things that Rook wanted too. Despite the best efforts of the King, Queen, or the Royal Advisor, Rook did quite simply what he pleased to. And really, the best efforts were not all that much – most was content to let him go about his business, he was the spare’s spare and wasn’t doing any real harm.
But of course, there was only so long that a Prince could play before castle’s fell. Drunk idiotic children playing with weaponry seldom lead to a happy conclusion, which is why Samuel left dealing with firearms to those that were paid to know what they were doing. Samuel was roused in the middle of the night to the news that his nephew had gone missing, attacked in the wild on a hunting party, he and a friend had been separated from the rest of the group. Search parties were organised, plans were devised, and morbid thoughts were pushed to the backs of minds. But fortunately it was all in vain, the two young men found not too long after the frantic scurrying for them had begun. Although they were not in the best of conditions – Rook was barely alive, and his friend less than that. It was a sad day for a young life tragically cut short, but it was not the life of his nephew, and Samuel’s attention to that matter faded quite quickly, there were other issues at hand. If the people of Corellia found out that the Prince was a drunken arse that got his friend killed, it could lead to pandemonium. However, Samuel surmised that if they instead discovered that the Prince was a heroic soul that risked his own life to save that of his friend, albeit ultimately failing, then everything would be peachy. The King was informed of this information, and it was agreed that Prince Rook deserved recognition of his bravery, and that courage under threat of death was to be awarded with Corellian Bloodstripes. The public loved it, and it was a stroke of inspiration, and one of Samuel’s proudest machinations as Royal Advisor, even though it was to be one of the last. It was decided a long while ago that Samuel would leave his position with the Royal household to pursue a career in the senate, with the King’s blessing. And Marcus had recently informed him that Corellia would soon be having an opening in the Senate, an opening that needed to be filled.
Samuel was to leave his duties less than a week after Rook’s little incident, to begin a campaign on Coruscant. He delayed his journey for a few weeks until his nephew had fully recovered, but did not cancel it entirely. The King wished him the best of luck, and Miri made him once again to promise to visit – a promise Samuel was happy to make. And so he left Corellia once more, once again to go to Coruscant, it was becoming quite a familiar tale now. But this time the story would lead to greater things, Samuel was overwhelmingly confident that he would be the next Senator of Corellia. He already had the backing of a hugely popular King, and coupled with the influence of Marcus Tremellius, the win was all but assured. And eventually, it was assured, and Samuel Cromwell’s political career began in earnest.
Politics
Being Senate representative for an entire planet was certainly a big ask, but Samuel found it was not too dissimilar to being advisor to the King. The main difference was that he had to listen to the problems of billios rather than those of just one man. Which in fairness was quite a big difference, but Samuel relished the challenge. And after all, if all went to plan he would one day be listening to the problems of trillions across the galaxy – and making decisions for them. His humanocentric and pro core beliefs were fundamental to his Senatorial ticket, and he vowed to use his new found position of power not just to help his people, but to further his own cause. It was also the cause of his Goddess, but that was more by coincidence than anything else. He still believed in the Pius Dea, but he wasn’t entirely sure on divine interference, when he was young, confused and disoriented, it was clear and simple. Now though, his experience told him nothing worth pursuing was anything less than infuriatingly complex.
Living back on Coruscant did not mean he would neglect his family like he had the first time. He still kept in constant contact as often as he could, which wasn’t as often as he liked really. He thought he was busy as Royal advisor, and compared to this he had six days off a week. He tried to keep in touch with his nephew, but Rook had gone a little off the rails since his friends death. Samuel did not blame him, it was a hard thing to get over for some, and he recognised that the boy just needed time to find himself. And whilst that time seemed to mostly be spent taking part in unsavoury antics, it was not of too much concern for Uncle Sam. It was a concern for his sister, though, and Miriam called him up often just for someone to talk too about her maverick son. And whilst Samuel did care about his favourite nephew, he didn’t really have the time or the patience to take care of his little self destructive adventure, he was confident that he would snap out of it eventually.
And maybe he would have, if he was not wrenched from it prematurely. Whilst on Senate business he was having a meeting with the Corellian King, and as had happened in these meetings prior, the situation degraded from a formal gathering to a more familiar coming together of friends. And like his wife, the King shared his concerns about the boy with his brother in law. Samuel said the same to him that he had to his sister, boys shall be boys and he just needed time to grieve. And whilst over the years serving as his advisor, the King had more often than not listened to Samuel’s counsel, this was one of those cases where he went down the not route. He was sick and tired of how his son was acting, and how that reflecting on him, and the entire household. He gave the order for his son to be brought back to Coronet – knowing full well it wouldn’t be too difficult. Rook was hardly hiding out of the limelight, in fact quite the opposite, and the boy hadn’t even left Corellia.
Samuel returned to Coruscant to go about his duties as Senator, but agreed to return when Rook was brought back. Rook was his favourite nephew, and it was thought that Samuel may be able to have more than a little influence on the young renegade. Although that was not the only reason he was to return. Samuel was not sure if it was his idea or the kings – or even a combination of both, but it was decided that rook needed a guide again, a mentor to keep him from straying further. Samuel had benefitted greatly when he left home in his youth to study under a Senator on Coruscant, and who better to take the unruly Prince under his wing than good old Uncle Sam.
Redemption
Rook was undoubtedly displeased that he was to be shackled by his father, but Samuel assured him that there were far worse punishments than living with his Uncle in a resplendent apartment at the centre of the galaxy. Rook would be his junior in the senate, which meant Samuel was less his mentor and more his boss, but that did not mean he had nothing less to teach the young man. It had actually worked out well, Samuel had planned on pushing his nephew towards politics and a career in the senate, albeit not this early in his development. The prince was still boisterous and adventurous, but he had toned it down considerably since coming to Coruscant. Samuel was more than willing to turn a blind eye to the odd party or night of debauchery, so long as it was not overly grotesque. This was Coruscant, after all – there was a certain standard that one had to keep up.
Whilst under his employ at the Senate, Samuel introduced Rook to many interesting and powerful people, it was step one in climbing the political ladder, something Samuel had learnt many years ago. One of the first Samuel introduced his nephew too was Marcus, although the Corellian Senator never fully explained his relationship with the ageing academic. As anticipated, Rook grasped life on Coruscant and intergalactic politics quite quickly, it was not overly complicated after all – so long as you knew what you were doing. And Rook was a well educated man who excelled in situations like this, and Samuel was certain that he would one day be an excellent politician. Not as King of Corellia, but perhaps he could serve his people on the floor of the senate. After all, once Samuel became Supreme, Corellia would be in need of a new Senator.
Rook took to the road of recovery with ample ease, and it didn’t take long before he went from rebel prince to an upstanding Coruscanti gentleman. Samuel spent a lot of time at the Opera, and often took his nephew with him, talking animatedly and at great length about this production or the next. It was one of the few things he was truly passionate about. He wasn’t sure if Rook enjoyed it, and probably not nearly as much as he did, but he took him nonetheless. It was a good aristocratic pastime, and it kept him out of trouble. He did not just take him to the opera, but also to many social functions and gala’s, the growing man taking to them like an Opee out of water. Samuel was a little taken a back to how well and how quickly Rook had adapted and grown, and he was starting to think that he could be considered a political threat. Although he doubted very much that Rook would intentionally try and run his favourite Uncle out of office in any case.
The entire point of taking Rook with him to Corellia was to redeem the boy in the arms of his father, and the Corellian populace. It would seem that that was indeed a success, and as well as this Samuel hoped that he had imparted valuable tools and skills that would help the Prince in his later life. Hopefully, in a career pursuing politics. No longer Royal Advisor, Samuel was still attending to problems of the realm, and doing so to great effect. Just in time for the Coronation.
Checkmate
Samuel’s brother in law was certainly rich in years, but it was still a surprise to him when he was informed that the King was giving up his role as Lord Paramount of Corellia. The Crown prince had been groomed all his life for this moment, and very soon would have that shiny gold hat on his head that meant oh so very much.
The coronation ceremony was a huge and lavish affair, much greater even than the celebration of birth gala’s Samuel remembered in the past, or even the weddings. And the weddings were certainly something to behold. This however was something on a completely different scale, it was a life altering event after all, and the crowning of a king only came around maybe twice in a lifetime.
Samuel returned home to Corellia along with Rook to attend the ceremony, the entire Royal Family would be present, as well as representatives from very noble house on Corellia, and even from other worlds. Coruscant, Corulag, Onderon, many planets were represented by merchants and senators, Kings and Queens. Samuel himself found the whole pomp and pageantry to be skull numbingly boring, but it was the done thing to attend, and it was the done thing to enjoy, which he planned to do. As it turned out, he would not enjoy that day at all – it would become the worst day of his life. No one could quite anticipate the tragic turn of events the day held, Samuel least of all.
All of Corellia, all of the core watched as the ceremony progressed. They all watched as the King approached the Crown Prince. They all watch as the new King would fall to the ground. They all panicked, they all screamed. Samuel’s oldest nephew was dead, murdered, and there wasn’t even any time to grieve. The family was evacuated, Samuel making sure his Miri was safe on a transport before tending to his own needs, and the needs of his nephews. Rook had refused to leave his brothers side and evacuate like the rest of his family, and Samuel knew he could not leave Rook. And so instead of leaving with his sister, he stayed with his favourite nephew – and soon felt grief of a magnitude he had yet to experience. The Crown Prince would not be the only casualty that day.
The King would be killed, as would his second son. The wives of the prince, dead. And of course, Queen Miriam Solosten. Samuel’s closest relative and a person he cherished above all others was murdered, slaughtered like an animal. When his brother died he felt some grief, but nothing compared to what he felt when Miri perished. It was abhorrent to him that someone so pure, someone so inherently good could be stolen from the world.
He never really had time to grieve over his lost family, after all he wasn’t the only one to lose something. Rook was orphaned, the sole survivor of his family – he had lost everything. Samuel had to make sure the boy would not fall down the drain again, he had to make sure he knew he still had his Uncle Sam. So the Senator was forced to put his own feelings to one side, fight back the tears and the sorrow, and be there for Prince Rook. Although that was now an inaccurate moniker. Rook was the sole surviving heir of the Corellian throne, and the spare’s spare would become king. Rook Solosten, the last of his line, King of Corellia.
The new King was understandably distraught, and Samuel considered resigning his office and returning to his former position as Royal Advisor. In the end he was advised against it, the people of Corellia needed him more than his nephew did. Although Corellia needed a King more than they needed a Senator. He took time from his seat on the senate, there would be an interim Senator chosen in his absence, but it was no matter – his planet needed him. He stood besides the King in this time of uncertainty and distress, he helped arrange the funerals, and he was there for whatever King Rook needed. Samuel Cromwell stood tall at his King’s shoulder, strong and impassive, never failing, never faltering. But deep inside his whole world had imploded. He devoted all of his resources to finding Miri’s killers, but knew that even that may not be enough. His drive and ambition was higher than ever before, he knew one sure fire person that had the resources to scour a galaxy for the repugnant begins behind such a heinous crime. And Samuel would be that person one day soon. If the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic republic could not bring the perpetrators to justice, then no one could.
RP Sample:
Coruscant was a huge and bustling Ecumenopolis that played home to representatives of thousands of species from across the galaxy. This was a fact that could not be changed, and Samuel Cromwell felt that it was an incredibly unfortunate one. The only blessing was that many of the unwashed were limited to the lower tiers of the planet, to wallow in their own filth in the worlds under city, like the vermin they were.
Thankfully with them down there, Samuel could pretend that they did not exist whilst high in the upper echelons of the galaxy’s capital. After all, he had things to do, and he wouldn’t be able to carry out his duties as a Republic Senator if he had to take a shower every five minutes. That was not to say that he never came into contact with other species, in the senate especially it was unavoidable – but he did his best to limit his interactions. Coruscant was the centre of the core, and the core was the centre of the galaxy – he was happy for aliens to exist, so long as they did their existing elsewhere. The senate was unfortunately not as humanocentric as he would have liked, but no matter.
And it was the Senate where he was this day, as he was most every day, on his floating podium, just one voice amongst thousands. But this day was his to speak, today his podium would shine. He rose to the forefront of the Corellian representatives, standing tall and firm, his steely gaze never once moving away from the Supreme Chancellor.
”The Republic expects that every citizen will do his duty. And Corellia is at the forefront of that belief. Our people live and bleed for this Galactic Republic, and all we ask is that we are treated with the same promises, the same sacrifices.”
He launched into a speech, a monologue of buzzwords and passionate patriotic drivel, he wasn’t even sure how much of it he believed. All he cared about was that it put Corellia’s needs at the forefront of the agenda. And what Corellia needed most was a powerful and influential senator.
Race: Human
Age: 54
Height: 6’5
Weight: 167lbs
Eye Color: Dark brown
Hair Color: Bald/dark brown
Theme
Birth place: Coronet, Corellia
Appearance: Tall, thin, and completely bald, Samuel tends to dress in hand tailored plain black suits, often giving him the impression of a dark praying mantis. Or an undertaker. His face is weathered mostly from stress, and gives him an appearance of a man somewhat older than he is. Wrinkles are not an uncommon site upon him, framing his small dark eyes, giving them a beady, leering appearance. His facial hair is never untamed or unruly, he also takes good care of it, trimming it short into a pointed goatee. He often strokes thumb and forefinger through the rough trim when in thought.
Samuel is not a muscular man, but not is he fat or out of shape. He lives an extravagant lifestyle highly populated by rich food and wines, but makes an effort not to become unhealthily weighty. He enjoys his thin, almost gaunt physique, and finds it can sometimes come across as intimidating – especially in collusion with his height. Always a useful addition when it came to negotiations.
Personality: Samuel has been bred from birth to know that the most important person is oneself. He always looks out for himself, and takes any opportunity that benefits him, even over others. He can be more than a little arrogant, believing himself much better than others, and often looks down on many, many others. He cares very little for others, even those close to him, and see’s most personal relationships as nothing more as a means to an end. He is highly ambitious, and will do whatever he can to further himself in his career, no matter the consequences.
He takes on the mask of a caring individual, he pretends he has the interest of others deep in his heart, but he does this merely as a ploy to get close to others. He knows that to become the most powerful, he must rely on those that are more powerful than him. He attaches himself to others like a limpet, as a friend, an adviser, and does whatever he can to bend ears to his own cause. He has an old fashioned outlook on many things, and thinks that people should adhere to the rules at all times. As well as this, he believes himself far too important to be restricted by silly little rules all of the time, and when need be will bend them to suit his own needs.
He was well educated and raised to appreciate the finer things. He greatly enjoys the symphony and one of his favourite places in the galaxy is the Opera house on Coruscant. He believes himself an intelligent man, and takes great pleasure in intellectual pastimes. An accomplished holo-chess player, he believes the game is a good way to exert intellectual dominance on an opponent. One of his favoured pastimes, Samuel never let’s any opportunity to crush someone slip.
Occupation: Politician
Rank: Senator of Corellia
Skills:
Charismatic
Influential
Galactic Basic, Durese – Fluent
Huttese – Basic.
Ships/Vehicles: N/A
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 3
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 3
Leadership: 8
Unarmed: 1
Melee Weapons: 1
Ranged Weapons: 1
Bio:
Quintessential
Samuel was born the third child and second son of Clarissa and Edan Cromwell, another in the long line of Cromwell’s, a well established family on Corellia. He had the privilege of being born into a family of great wealth and influence that would expand all the more in later years. Samuel was the third, but not the last. Before him came the eldest, his sister Miriam, and then his brother Michael. After him came another daughter, Emilia then finally the last son Charles. There were a fair few years separating each child, but just short of two between Samuel and Michael. Samuel was close to his eldest sister and his youngest brother when he was young, although a deep rivalry grew with Michael as the two grew almost parallel with one another.
Spare
Being part of an incredibly wealthy family of core world aristocrats certainly had its benefits. The children were privately tutored from a young age, with no expense spared for education. Samuel and Michael shared a lot of the same tutors, and neither son minded or really noticed this. Although he didn’t recognise it at first, Michael was given preferential treatment, being heaped with more praise when doing something well, being offered more aid when struggling. Edan and Clarissa were exuberant about being blessed with as many children as they had been, but Michael would always be their favourite. The oldest son opened many gateways to future opportunities, and would be the one to carry on the families legacy. Of course, Miriam and Emilia were also highly prized – the young women were of good breeding and would be married off when of age, but of the sons – only Michael was the special one.
It was after his own sixth birthday that Samuel had begun to notice the changes. The slightly older Michael was taken out of their session and given personal tutelage, and not just by one mentor either. Samuel had noticed several and many strangers fussing over his brother, making a big deal out of the smallest acts. The young boy didn’t quite understand what was happening, but he certainly felt left out, and acted out as a result. He would try to show off, jump around and seek attention emphatically. He was often dismissed and more than once scolded, which had seldom happened to him before. Samuel did not, and could not, understand why he was being punished and his brother was being fawned upon. It was then that he saw his brother in a new light. Not as his friend that he spent every waking moment with, but as the evil miscreant that turned everyone against him. Samuel began to despise his brother.
Leading up to his eighth birthday, Samuel was excited about the upcoming event, and unbearably giddy. Emotions seemingly not shared by most others on the Cromwell estate. The elder son’s tenth birthday was due to occur just two short week’s after Samuel’s own eighth birthday, and it was going to be an incredibly extravagant and glamorous affair to celebrate the milestone. With his previous birthdays Samuel had gotten used to being showered with attention and gifts, this time though, everyone was more preoccupied with the elder son. Prominent families and people of import were invited to the gathering, and not just from Corellia, but from other core worlds as well. Samuel did not appreciate the full gravity of the situation, it was the first real chance to show off the Cromwell heir, and many would gather for the occasion – including the parents of prospective brides. To young Sam, it was just another indication that his older brother was the preferred child, not just to his parents – but to everyone.
His younger siblings grew up with the idolisation of Michael prominent, so it was built in from them from birth to do the same, and they would trot along after their older brother, trailing behind like lost puppies. The only person that was any different, the only one that didn’t appear to positively gush over the eldest son was the eldest daughter, Miriam. She alone seemed to understand Samuel’s plight, although she was at a better place to comprehend the gravity of the situation, and handle it much better than her child of a brother.
Samuel’s eighth birthday was celebrated, and he was showered with gifts as expected. The young boy’s detestation of his brother and feelings of neglect were washed away that day, but only for a few hours. His parents and his tutors celebrated the event, they made him feel special again. But later the same day, all minds turned back to the planning and preparation for Michael’s upcoming birthday celebrations. The feelings of Neglect came back all at once, and little Samuel had scuttled away out of sight, hiding in one corner of the overly large bedroom. He sat for hours, alone, head nestled firmly against his knees, the tears coming fast and free flowing. He was so preoccupied wallowing in a pool of his own self pity that he hadn’t heard the door open, and hadn’t heard his teenage sister walk in. Miriam clasped her young brother close to her chest, and softly sang to him. The keen attention and love shown from his sister soon calmed Samuel down, and the tears were wiped away and a smile once more graced his face. Miriam hadn’t just come to check up on him, she brought with her a very special birthday gift. A small piece of cake, with a single birthday candle, just for Samuel, and Samuel alone. For a boy used to lavish and unnecessary floundering, such a simple offering seemed out of place. But it was that moment that he cherished more than many others throughout his childhood and way on through is adult life, perhaps his most treasured memory. On such a dark day, there was always a slim ray of sunshine.
Purpose
Michael’s tenth birthday was a grand affair, but young Samuel was not one of the many people in attendance. He was present when the celebrations began, at his mother’s insistence, dressed like a little tiny waiter and sulking all the time. As soon as his mother’s attention turned to the elder boy, which didn’t take long, Samuel darted up to his room and hid. Although this time, not to huddle up and cry. The cake wasn’t Miriam’s only gift to him a few weeks before, his older sister gave him a story book. The datapad had a lot of words, a fair few of which Samuel was unfamiliar with, but it did not matter, from page one he was entrapped, enthralled. It was a story full of adventure, of heroism, of glory and victory. The only time he didn’t have his nose in that book was when he was trying to find out what some of the words meant. Usually by asking Miriam, who as always was kind and appreciative, helping him where she could. And while he enjoyed the story of the fiction novel, it opened his eyes to something that he enjoyed far more. The pursuit of knowledge.
As he grew older he started to take his tutelage more seriously. As a younger child he treated it as something he was made to do, and didn’t really enjoy it – often messing around and goofing off. But now he was eager to learn, he had developed a thirst for information, and would gladly lap up every droplet offered to him. In his free time he would spend the vast majority of it reading, and not just fiction and stories. He read up on other worlds, other peoples, and found the galaxy as a whole really rather interesting. He had never left Corellia, never even left Coronet, there was no reason to really and he had led quite a sheltered lifestyle. Access to the Holonet opened the galaxy up to him, and he quite enjoyed reading about the outer rim worlds. The cultures and daily lives seemed so different, so alien to the pampered lap of luxury he was used too. He gorged himself on every scrap of everything he could find, learning as much about anything he could as he could. Whenever he came across an unfamiliar term or word, he would endeavour to find out everything about it. It almost became an obsession for the growing child, but it gave him drive, purpose.
Samuel would never forget that it was his older sister was the one to lead him down this path, and he decided he should try and do the same boon for his younger siblings. He would often tell Emilia and Charles a lot of the interesting things he had read up on, and he would read them some of the fiction he himself enjoyed. His younger siblings soon started looking up to him, wowed by the knowledge the teenage boy had, and thoroughly star struck with sibling admiration. Meanwhile, the eldest son was much more detached from the rest of them, having to attend fancy soirees with the parents, having to met important and influential people almost on a daily basis. The same could be said for Miriam, but she still made time for the younger ones – Michael did not, he knew how special he was, what he represented, and what he was to become. And that was all that mattered to him. And Samuel was glad of that. His younger siblings were starting to forget about how amazing the older Michael was, their attention and respect was drawn away from the golden boy, and instead to Samuel. Where it rightfully belonged.
Drive
The year of his sixteenth birthday was both a good one, and a bad one – for several reasons. Samuel was developing into his own person now, his own man away from his tutors and his family. He had discovered what he wanted, what he would do with his life, and he decided that no longer he needed to clasp to a guiding hand, no longer need he suckle at the teat. With his older brother busy fraternising with anyone wealthy and important enough to deserve it, not to mention courting all of their daughters and sisters, Samuel became the top dog. And he enjoyed that immensely, his younger siblings revering him, respecting him – it was a thrill that Samuel never wanted to lose. Through discussion with his tutors and advisors, it was clear how he would shape his future, what career he would pursue. Politics was the key to everything he wanted, everything he could achieve. The thirst for knowledge, the love of control, the desire to be revered. Of course, he kept his true reasons to himself, and merely claimed that coming from such a privileged upbringing, he wanted to give something back to the people of Corellia. He would dedicate his life to serving the people, represent them – and provide them with a voice.
And so it was decided. The Cromwell’s had many friends, not just on Corellia, but all across the Core. And it was some of these friends that agreed to take the ambitious teenager under their own tutelage. For the first time in his life, Samuel was due to leave his home, and head to build his own life on Coruscant. As he prepared to leave, he was a little surprised that he felt a pang of longing in the pit of his stomach, almost like he didn’t want to leave. He said his goodbyes to his younger siblings, promising to bring them both home presents and tales of wonder. He made an effort to seek out Miriam, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, and speak to her in length before leaving for the Capital. Miriam was in a promising relationship with a very influential Corellian, and had long since left home herself – she was certainly the one that Samuel would miss the most. He didn’t even bother to try and look for Michael.
He had read a lot about Coruscant, about the tiered Ecumenopolis that straddled the entire planet. The huge variety of aliens, of clashing cultures, a vast spectrum of the entire galaxy crushed together onto one world. But nothing he had read prior could prepare him for the world in the flesh, in all her glory. At his own personal request, he wasn’t delivered directly to the home of the family friends where he would be staying, but rather one of the lower tiers. He had the understanding that this was what Coruscant was all about, this was where the planet lived and breathed. The first thing Samuel noticed when he stepped out of the shuttle was the sheer overwhelming smell. He felt like his nose was going to explode, it was pungent and abhorrent. Then there was the noise, like a solid wall of garbled sounds and strangled voices. And that wasn’t even the worst part. There were just so many people everywhere. Coronet could get crowded, but this was something different, it was just a crush, a swell of people shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see. And they weren’t just regular people either, they came in all shapes, colours, sizes. Some covered in scales, some in fur, and he was fairly sure he spotted something with more than one head. He had seen aliens before of course, and not just in his reading material. Corellia wasn’t just home to humans, after all, so the sight wasn’t completely strange and unexpected to him. It was just so incredibly... there.
As interesting as he had found reading up on alien species and their cultures, he realised that in writing and in the flesh were too entirely different things. He was happy enough to experience the diversity of the galaxy, only from a distance.
Encounter
For the most part, Samuel enjoyed his time on Coruscant. Living up on the upper tiers he was taken along to incredibly high class social events, and fell in love with the Coruscanti Opera the very first time he went. He was becoming his own man, and he was rather enjoying the man he was becoming. His private tutelage continued on Coruscant, with his family arranging for many leading experts, including former galactic Senators to help him study up on everything that he would need to fulfil his political aspirations.
Marcus Tremellius was one such tutor. Whilst never a senator himself, Tremellius was a revered scholar of quite some note, and had wrote many doctoral papers on the subject of galactic politics. Tremellius was rich in years and a fountain of knowledge, and much like Samuel he had learnt to appreciate the galaxy at arm’s length. The high class Coruscanti academic had seldom left the planet of his birth, and had never left the core worlds – he cited that he never felt the need. He spoke often of galactic politics, but for him the core was the galaxy. It was where the galaxy began, and it was where anyone of any real note or worth would always be. Anything beyond the core was simply space for the great unwashed so as they did not pollute the higher beings.
Upon hearing of Samuel’s first and only venture down into the under belly of Coruscant, Tremellius made a comment about personal sanitation which the young man assumed was a humorous jest. It was not, and the Corellian was forced to take a shower before the conversation could continue. At first Samuel found that attitude a little curious, and then ultimately refreshing. Over time working with Tremellius, he began to understand and agree with many of his views on galactic politics, and the diversity of galactic civilisation. Tremellius was not Samuel’s only tutor, nor was he the one he spent the most time with. In fact, often the older man cancelled appointments at the last minute for some unnamed errand or other. In spite of this, or possibly because of this, the core-centric intellectual was easily Samuel’s favourite tutor during his time on Coruscant, and became somewhat of a role model for the young man brimming with aspiration.
Homecoming
It was nearly five years before he returned to Corellia, and Samuel wasn’t sure if he had missed it or not. He had been invited back several times before, and most of the time pretended he was too busy to come home. Although one time he actually was legitimately too busy, and he regretted not being able to go home. Miriam’s wedding was a happy occasion celebrated not only by the family, but also by the whole of Corellia, and indeed across the Core. Miriam on her own, whilst from a wealthy and influential family spanning back for many many centuries, was not quite important enough for all the attention. Of course, the procession was derived not from her, but from her husband to be. The King of Corellia. Samuel’s big sister Miri became Queen, and he always regretted not being there to see it. He watched the ceremony across the Holonet, like many millions he was sure – but it was not quite the same.
He made a pact with himself not to miss something as monumental as that again, and was on the first shuttle to Corellia after he heard his sister had gone into labour. The house Solosten was about to have an heir to the throne, and Samuel did not want to miss the birth of his nephew. He arrived in time for the birth of the King and Queen’s first born, the first prince of Corellia had arrived, and it was a joyous occasion for all. Of course, Samuel was not the only one to turn up, representatives from other families and his own wanted to bear witness to the birth of the Prince. Samuel was one of the first few that Miri allowed in to see the mother and her newborn, an honour he was immensely proud of. Really, he didn’t think much of the child, an ugly podgy little thing, but it was something that his sister had made, and for that reason only – he was precious.
After spending time with his sister, Samuel knew that it was the done thing to stay around on Corellia for a while, and visit with the rest of his family. He went to his parent’s estate, told them about his time on Coruscant and how much he enjoyed it, and marvelled at how his younger siblings had grown. Charles was now nearly as tall as him, and apparently had great dreams of becoming a Republic Pilot. Samuel himself wasn’t quite sure on that path himself, but serving the military was an admirable career, and as such the family was behind the growing youngster every step of the way.
Three days after the birth of Miriam’s son, Michael arrived in Coronet. He had been in Tyrena, courting apparently, and hadn’t decided to show his face until that point. His visit to the hospital and Miriam was very brief, and Samuel felt the old feelings of resentment and bile returning once more. Michael decided it was more important to spend time with his sister’s husband, than his sister herself. Samuel had not missed the fact that having the King as a brother in law was greatly beneficial, but there was a time and a place for business and just after a birth was not one of them. The celebration gala thrown a week after Miri was released from the hospital was more such an occasion, and Samuel decided to stay until then. He would return to his duties on Coruscant the next morning, and try the best to avoid his older brother in the meantime.
It did not prove to be that difficult a task, Michael not even bothering to attempt to communicate with Samuel the whole time they were both there, and they both spent their time away from each other. Samuel spent a lot of time with Miri, whilst Michael preferred to spend time with himself, or people that he felt could benefit him. Samuel didn’t disagree with the schmoozing, just the haphazard and slapdash way in which the elder brother carried it out. He took a small amount of sadistic pleasure in his brothers multiple failed attempts at this. Whilst Michael was important, he still had not managed to be married, and had not even moved out of the parent’s estate. Samuel on the other hand had met a multitude of contacts of his own on Coruscant, and was working out of an Ambassador’s office in the Senate. Oh how he enjoyed seeing the mighty fall, the slaying of giants surely was a wondrous occurrence. Samuel was actually surprised that his brother hadn’t managed to find a suitable consort so far, he was the eldest son of an influential family, so a big catch – but apparently even that wasn’t good enough to hook them in, even though he had tried. Apparently the noble women of Corellia couldn’t stand the rat bastard, and Samuel was more than euphoric about that.
Whilst Samuel himself was yet to be married, he was not looking for it as much as his dear brother was. And really, he did not really need to be wed, at least not for any important reasons. Michael was so urgent to secure a spouse to benefit himself by marrying into another family, and to secure himself an heir. Samuel needed neither, and was happy enough to make his own way in life, as he had so far. If one day he was to be married, it would be in his own terms. That did not stop others interfering, however, and truthfully it did not bother Samuel. Whilst at the celebration gala, he was introduced to several women of repute, some he even found quite pleasing. His mother and even his sister was instrumental in orchestrating his meetings with these women, and he didn’t begrudge either of them for trying to find him a wife, even though it was not in his immediate plans. One woman, a good friend of Miri’s apparently, did quite interest him. Her appearance was more than pleasing, and he found her company to be genuinely enjoyable, an intelligent woman no doubt. His interactions with her were unfortunately cut short, partially by an intoxicated Michael trying it on with near every woman at the event. Mostly however because the King made a speech, and everyone was to take their seats and pay attention. The woman took her place with her family, and Samuel did the same. His brother was at a different table, whilst he himself was sat next to Miriam. Upon the same table as the King and Queen of Corellia.
It was truly quite an enjoyable event, and Samuel actually felt a wrench in his stomach, and was reconsidering leaving the next day. He had his duties to attend too, but he hadn’t been as happy as this for a long time, and he did so thoroughly enjoy seeing his sister once more. He hoped it wouldn’t be another five years until he did again. After the event, he had retired to his accommodations, musing over his plans for the next morning. He had chosen to stay at his parents estate as was proper, and was pleased to see that his old room remained undisturbed. It was quite Spartan at any rate, much like his current home, but it gave him a warm feeling again, browsing through his old things, his past memories. There really wasn’t much of either, but he did remember having quite an enjoyable childhood.
The one thing that wasn’t enjoyable decided to summon himself in that moment. Steamrolling drunk, the spurned and disappointed Michael barged into Samuel’s room, screaming every curse under every sun in the galaxy. Samuel was scared, terrified even, he had never seen his brother like this, and as much as he despised him, didn’t like to see Michael in such a state. Although brotherly concern soon went out the window as Michael’s right fist impacted against his face and knocked him clean off of his feet. The pain was overwhelming and Samuel clutched his nose, streaming hot crimson, cowering on the floor below his older brother. He crawled backwards, completely and utterly horrified by his brothers actions, until he reached a wall and could retreat no further. Instead he pushed himself up against it and rose to his feet. His brother was still coming forward, still screaming at how much he hated Samuel, how he had ruined his life and other such nonsense. But Samuel was not listening to his words, he was staring at the eyes of his brother. Eyes full of more than just hatred, but of murderous desire.
In sheer panic he began scrambling around him and his hand gripped around something tight and lashed out as Michael approached. The heavy lamp struck the drink-fuelled elder brother hard across the face and it was his turn to be knocked from his feet. Unlike the younger Samuel, however, Michael did not immediately get up. In fact, he did not get up at all. Samuel slid back against the wall and fell to the floor, all colour drained from his face, staring at the unmoving form of his brother. He was not sure how long he had sat there, motionless watching Michael, but to him it felt like an eternity. In reality it was closer to an hour. It took him that long to gain the confidence to actually do something, to fully comprehend what he had done. As much as he loathed his brother, as much as he had even dreamt of doing something like this, he never truly fathomed that he would. He had murdered his own flesh and blood. Samuel’s brain provided him with the word, fratricide, but that gave the young man no greater comfort.
His first thought was to call Miriam, explain to her what had happened, and hopefully her and the rest of the family would understand. He almost immediately dismissed that, even if his family understood, they would not accept it. Samuel would lose everything, and he could not let that happen. He knew that there was only one person he could rely on to help him out of this quagmire.
Perhaps by coincidence or even just sheer luck, Marcus Tremellius was himself in Coronet that evening. Not for the celebration gala, but attending another event elsewhere in the city. After receiving the harried call from his young protégé, the elder statesman made his apologies and hastily left to attend to the urgent matter. Tremellius never really shown any great favour to the boy in the past, but he recognised the use he could be, and also Samuel’s thirst for knowledge, and that desire for power. Tremellius knew he could use that, and it could prove a positive tool for his future projects. And so he went to the Cromwell estate, and discovered the scale of Samuel’s little mess. It did not faze Tremellius, he had been involved with worse, and dealt with worse. He gave the boy words of encouragement, calmed him down, and told him to leave that very night. The now oldest Cromwell son did not take much convincing. He left a note of apology for his parents, and a separate one for Miri, and left that very night with Marcus.
Grief
A night shuttle to Coruscant left the problem behind them, and Samuel stayed with Marcus that night. He could not sleep, for every time he closed his eyes he could see nothing more than his brother, haunting him at every turn. During the journey back to Coruscant he had recounted every moment of what had happened to Marcus, and the old man encouraged Samuel to believe that it was an accident, that he was not to blame. Samuel believed that, but it did not ease his mind completely. He had robbed his parents of a son, possibly of further grandchildren. It occurred to him that with Michael gone, he was now the Cromwell heir, and that just made him feel worse. He never wanted that, he had gotten used to being the second son, and was more than happy being such. As far as he was concerned, he had no claim to the Cromwell fortune, and was content in that, he enjoyed the life he had made for himself on Coruscant. Albeit a life made using his families connections, but for someone from his upbringing, it was close to self made as one would get.
But none of that was really all that important in the short term. Eventually his body succumbed to exhaustion and the dark tendrils of sleep took hold of him. It was dreamless and he soon awoke from it, and for a few blissful moments thought the events from the night before were nothing but a bad nightmare. Once he realised where he was, however, that theory went out of the window. He arose, and he spoke with Marcus, he was offered breakfast, but he refused it. He still felt sick, and was not sure if he would ever be able to eat again. Marcus did not bother to convince the boy to eat, and instead distracted him by talking of other things. They discussed politics, the future of the galaxy, their own shared opinions on galactic diversity. At first Samuel wasn’t very committed to the conversation, but after a short while his charismatic mentor drew life back into the troubled young man. To the extent that a few hours passed without Samuel thinking of the events of the night before. He was even able to blink without seeing dead people.
But of course, reality quickly caught up. His communicator buzzed with a call from his mother, and Samuel surely knew what it would be about, but albeit reluctantly, took the call. Unsurprisingly his mother was distraught and in tears, but what would surprise him was the reason for such. Apparently Michael was missing, not dead, missing. He listened almost mutely as his mother and then father explained what seemed to have occurred, apparently Michael wondered off into the night and had not been seen since. He was a grown man and had been missing less than a day, but the cause for worry stemmed not from this, but from the encrypted date file the parents had been sent earlier that afternoon. The file stated that a group had taken Michael, and demanded a heavy ransom, and if it was not delivered within the required timeframe, then the Cromwell heir would be executed. Samuel finished the call with his parents, after promising to use his limited contacts in the senate to try and have something done about the situation. But that was not what he did, instead he sat agape staring at Marcus.
The old man explained that whilst travelling from Corellia, he had arranged for the body to be removed and the scene to be repaired. As well as this he had arranged for the data file to be fabricated, and attributed to an obscure pro-alien terrorist organisation operating from the outer rim. Marcus told Samuel that this was done for him, to protect him, but it was not simply an act of kindness, but a favour that would one day be repaid. Marcus explained that, while he did have strong resources, it was not him personally that carried out this little excursion. The elder statesman explained that he was one of many representatives of an organisation, a group of people long thought extinct that shared beliefs that both Marcus and Samuel held deep to them. Pius Dea turned humanocentrism into a faith, a religion, a religion that the more he heard about, the more Samuel began to believe in. He had heard of the Pius Dea before of course, but in history books and old stories. He didn’t even know they still existed, but Marcus proved irrefutably that they did. And if their acts of the night before didn’t convince Samuel, then what happened a few days later surely did.
Samuel was preparing to return to Corellia to give support to his family in this dire time, his Senator allowing him time off again for him to tend to his personal matters. The good senator near forcing Samuel to leave his post, the younger man most reluctant to go back home after so recently leaving. Before he left for the spaceport, however, the news networks picked up a rogue broadcast depicting a very alive Michael Cromwell. A Chiss was seen in the vidclip standing beside the Corellian noble, reading off a list of the supposed crimes that Michael had committed against the people he represented. After the Chiss had finished, he declared the man guilty and sentenced him to immediate execution. The blaster bolt went straight through Michael’s head, and Samuel felt himself jump involuntarily. He knew it wasn’t real, it couldn’t possibly be real, but it looked so true. So believable. And that was when he realised that was exactly the point. He hadn’t killed his brother in self defence in his room the other night, no. His brother was stolen away from the estate, held hostage, and then executed on a live broadcast. Millions of sentients across the galaxy could attest to that. And strangely, that made Samuel feel better. His brother was still dead, but he was not to blame. And he knew who he had to thank for that. He promised Marcus that when he returned from Corellia, they would discuss more about the favour he and the Pius Dea had proffered to him, and how he intended to repay it, but for now he had other business to attend too.
He went home to his family and comforted them as best he could, grieving along with them all. He stayed with his family for several weeks, whilst funeral preparations were carried out. He could not stomach staying at his family’s estate, but graciously Miri offered for him to stay with her and her husband. It was interesting taking residence in the royal palace, and Samuel felt a strange, almost brutal, sense of accomplishment of being there, of the path that led him there. He cited to his parents that he did not want to stay at home because of bad memories, which was true – but he did not state which memories.
It took a short while for the funeral to be arranged, his parents holding the vein hope of recovering Michael’s body for the ceremony. And whilst the Republic launched several raids against the terrorist organisation that took claim for the execution, under great pressure from the Corellian senate, they turned up with nothing. Which was not a surprise to Samuel. When the funeral did come to pass, Samuel was asked to speak, and he agreed to. He spoke of how much he loved his brother, of how they differed but they were siblings nonetheless. He spoke of how much he would miss him, and how the evil that took him from this world would one day be punished. The words came easily, the tears followed swiftly. He lied with almost every syllable, and everything he said was believed, his grief was unarguable.
After the funeral, he planned to return to Coruscant, but he was requested to stay for a few more days. And who was he to ignore the wishes of his queen. Miri was struggling with the death of her brother, and she took great comfort in the way Samuel was handling it. She knew that they were never on the best terms, but it gave her happiness to know that even after everything, Samuel still cared about her brother. For Samuel, the lies and manipulations came easy and freely to him, and it bothered him not. Except when with Miriam, it hurt him more than any pain he had experienced before. He loathed to deceive his sister, but knew that there was no other solution – he could never reveal to her the truth. Staying with her did offer an extra benefit, however. During his time of grief, he was often consoled by the King, and the man shown great kindness and appeared to garner some affection for his brother in law. Being friends with the King would certainly be of great advantage.
Worth
He returned to Coruscant a week after the funeral, promising Miri that he would visit more often, and heading straight back to Marcus Tremellius’ apartment. When he arrived, he was told more about his new friends. He was told about The Goddess, about the divine deity in all her glory. He was told how those who followed her ways would be rewarded with great treasures. He was told of the unclean and impure that plagued this galaxy, the disease that had festered beyond the core – and had penetrated even there. The galaxy was a diverse place filled with a myriad of different beings in all shapes, sizes, and colours. And that was wrong. The core was where the galaxy began, and where it should end. Everything beyond was so riddled with the impure, it was impure in itself. For days Samuel stayed with Marcus discussing this, talking about the future, about Pius Dea, about everything. And he was so overawe and completely and utterly taken.
When he finally left his mentors side and returned to work, he was a changed man. He was still working with a junior senator, but now instead of being a mute shadow, he was an energetic and engaging young man. He had the ear of a Galactic senator, a senator who himself had never gone into the lower reaches of Coruscant. A senator who listened to Samuel, and certainly enjoyed promises of great rewards. Over time, the senators policies took an interesting change of direction. A direction influenced by his young understudy cum close adviser. And in that, Samuel had found his niche. On the day of his brothers funeral, he had realised that he had a voice that people listened to. When he spoke words, they were taken note of. And words had great power. Amongst his friends, Samuel counted a King and a Senator. Powerful men surrounded themselves with powerful men. And whilst Samuel wasn’t himself powerful, those around him were. Those that trusted him were. And that in itself was power.
Samuel served the senator for several years, being his friend and aide and offering his advice whenever it was sought, and often even when it wasn’t. He still kept in close contact with Marcus, and they would prostrate in worship of The Goddess time and again. He never met any other members of the Pius Dea, nor had Marcus made any inclination to reveal others. Samuel did find that a little curious, but did not look too much into it. After all, it was a secret practise – and one that would remain secret.
During his service on Coruscant with the senate, he still kept in touch with his family back home, and true to his promise he returned to visit Miri and her family often. At least four times a year he would take the short shuttle ride across to Corellia, and his first stop was not at his parent’s estate, but instead to the home of Miriam. Of course, he would be lying if he said the only reason for his more frequent visits was to see his sister. His friendship with the Corellian King had continued and prospered, and the two men were even candid with one another in private situations. Sometimes seldom the king even sought advice from his brother in law on delicate situations, advice Samuel was more than willing to offer up. Along with his own personal take on things.
Both Miri and her husband enjoyed having him around, and Samuel admitted that he himself enjoyed his little visits. Miriam’s children enjoyed him being around as well. She had two now, both sons, with a third on the way. The young boy’s enjoyed the company of their Uncle Sam quite a lot, and Samuel confessed to mutual feelings. He never really was one for children, and if his sister hadn’t made them, he probably wouldn’t have cared. But she did and they were his flesh and blood. He would even bring them gifts, he would spend time with them, he would play with them. He was a good and proper Uncle, and he felt accepted by a family that he cared for, and that cared for him.
It was useful that Corellia was only a short hop away from Coruscant. When he wasn’t too busy with Marcus Tremellius or helping out the Senator, he would go to visit his family, and his visits became more and more frequent. As such it came to no surprise for the King to take him to one side to converse privately. More than once he had done such, often taking a tour of the gardens or other such, the King privately speaking to his brother in law on differing matters, usually trivial. But this time it was not trivial, in fact it was a job offer. Samuel was always happy to give advice to his brother in law, and thought little of it. Apparently the King held such advice in great stead, and as such decided that such advice should not only be around a few times a year.
Samuel had been assistant to a junior senator for several years now, and it did not look like his career was going to advance any time soon. In truth, Samuel recognised that, but was trying to advance the career of his pet senator, rather than himself. But when offered to become personal advisor to the King of Corellia, his king, it was hardly something he could ignore. He asked for time to think it through, which he was granted. Although really the time wasn’t so he could think it through, it was to discuss it with others. The first he spoke to was Miriam, who already knew about the offer. Samuel should not have been surprised, his sister always has very sharp, and they both had had the same privileged education, after all. Thinking about it, it was probably her idea for him to become Royal Advisor, not that she would ever admit to that. Nevertheless, Miri was more than enthusiastic for him to take the job, for one thing it would mean him spending much more time on Corellia, and she knew how much her children enjoyed his company. For another thing it would mean she would be able to play matchmaker with him again, another thing she would never admit to her brother.
All but convinced, Samuel had another person to talk to, and when he had time alone he contacted Marcus on Coruscant. Samuel wasn’t sure how the old man would react to the proposal, but thankfully he was also in agreement. Having a junior senator in your pocket was one thing, but being the right hand to the leader of a Core world, was another and an opportunity that was not to be passed up. Marcus also intimated that having such a strong connection with a powerful individual was a step in the right direction as far as The Goddess was concerned. Samuel had still yet to meet other Pius Dea faithful, but he recognised what Marcus meant. The faith spread from person to person, as it had from Marcus to Samuel. Pius Dea were powerful a long, long time ago – controlled the galaxy even. It was a far cry from those days, but you had to start somewhere. Marcus Tremellius wasn’t a powerful man, nor was Samuel Cromwell. But they both had a similar trait, more so with the younger man – they knew how to surround themselves with power. Samuel was a charismatic man, and soon he would have the ear of an entire world. He accepted the job offer the day it was presented.
Family
A few months after Samuel moved back to Corellia permanently to take up his post as royal Advisor, the third royal prince was born. Samuel was not present for the birth of his third nephew, he had to take care of a few things in the King’s absence, but he arrived at his sister’s bedside as soon as he could. And for a change, Miri’s little bundle of joy didn’t look like a fat potato. Samuel thought that young Prince Rook was actually a handsome young devil, as much as a few hours old babe could be at least. Samuel stayed with his sister and new nephew as long as he could, but it turned out that being advisor to the King was a far more demanding job than he had first anticipated. Waiting on the whim of a junior senator was child’s play in comparison. While away at his wife’s side and doting over his newborn son, Samuel almost effectively took the King’s place, dealing with all sorts of manners in the absence of the monarch. Of course, nothing world shattering – Samuel could hardly declare war on Onderon, but he was in the position to mediate negligible land disagreements and the like. Even settling minor disputes, Samuel felt important – powerful even – and he relished the opportunities.
He enjoyed working at the Senate, but he found he enjoyed working for the Corellian Royal household even more. For one thing, his new employer sought his aid and listened to his every word much more than the junior senator had. Former senator. Samuel had found out, with more than a little undisguised glee, that less than a year after he resigned to take on his new position, his former employer had been hopelessly voted out of office. He did not know what would happen with his former boss, and frankly Samuel did not even care – he was just glad he left a sinking ship before it even began to sink.
The King did not treat him as a servant or a subordinate. After all, he was family, and more than that, his brother in law treated him as a friend. He was the confidant to Corellia’s most powerful man, for any and all situations. Having so much knowledge, so much influence was certainly exhilarating for the now oldest son of the Cromwell household. It wasn’t all business, however – living with the Royal household meant living with his own family. Or rather, parts of his own family. Miriam was easily his favourite relative, but he knew he still had other family, and he did take care to visit them when he could, especially since they were living on the same planet now. Well, with the exception of his youngest brother Charles, who had signed up for the Republic Navy. Apparently he was doing quite well, and often wrote back to his parents. Something that Samuel remembered doing when he first left home – although the novelty soon wore off for everyone.
His younger sister Emilia had yet to leave the home estate, although that was not down to the lack of trying of others. Her parents, as well as Miriam had many times attempted to marry her off with some rich influential nobleman, but the unruly girl was having none of it. Samuel often felt a surge of fondness when he heard such stories, it reminded him of how his family had oft tried to do the same to him. Still did, really. Like him, he was confident his sister would find someone when she wanted to. Until then, they would both have to do their best to avoid the match making incessantness of the rest of the family. Privately Samuel was glad that his parents had switched their focus to his sister, he was really beginning to get irritated with their meddling. He had dated on his own terms before, especially when he was on Coruscant, and whilst growing up he had been courted the suitor for several promising bachelorettes on Corellia – but very few of them really interested in them. As well as this, he was much more focused on his career at the current stage of his life. He was more than happy in his current job, but knew that one day he would have to look further afield, especially if he wanted to further spread the beliefs he had adopted. The good King, as nice a man as he was, often conflicted with Samuel when it came to his advisor’s rather humanocentric beliefs. Although the King was not the only member of the Corellian royal family.
Samuel had a good relationship with his nephews, all of them liked him, and for the most part Samuel enjoyed their company. But they could tend to be tedious, especially when they were younger. The youngest prince, however, Samuel bonded with much more than he had expected. Really he thought if any he would like the middle Prince the most, due to a situation mirroring his own. But the young Rook reminded him a lot of Charles when they were growing up, playful and carefree. Of course, the other Nephews, and Samuel himself, were all like that – but Samuel felt a close connection with Rook. He was not quite sure why, it wasn’t even as if Rook was special – he was the spare’s spare, he would never be King. But he enjoyed the company of his youngest nephew, and followed his development with great interest. At least when he wasn’t busy at his liege’s shoulder.
The extra attention and obvious favouritism was not lost by the boy’s mother, and whilst Miriam herself would never admit to or even exhibit similar emotions, she did not blame Samuel for doing so. In fact she was glad that her brother was able to connect so well with her children. The three boys soon became four, with yet another son of Corellia being birthed, and the entire planet rejoicing. As with the previous births, Samuel was there for his sister as he was needed, but was less enthused this time around. After all, she had already had three – the fourth was hardly going to be much different. And he was not disappointed, yet another podgy potato baby, no extra arm coming from its head or anything.
Whilst they were still young, the boy’s were taught together, but as they grew older they began to have their own private tuitions. Something Samuel remembered from his own childhood, and he remembered feeling special at the attention he was getting. He knew there was nothing special about it, but to a little boy it meant a lot. Which was why, at his sister’s suggestion, he agreed to take Rook under his wing when the boy got to that age. Samuel was actually looking forward to it, although not too soon – his own position kept him more than busy enough for the time being. Fortunately, he knew that it would be awhile before the carefree Rook was ready to sit down and seriously study – a child never wanted to stop playing, and a spare could play longer than most.
The natural progression of things was however interrupted somewhat by a tragic incident befalling the Royal family. The youngest prince, Jahn, was spirited away in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. The planet was in mourning, the King and Queen expectedly distraught. Samuel used his connections on Coruscant to try and find anything out about the abduction, the families fortunes hired the best of the best to track down the kidnappers – but it was all for naught. Even Marcus and his extra resources had no luck in turning anything up. Eventually it was given up as a lost cause, and Samuel delicately advised his sister and brother in law to try and find peace with it. Most importantly they had to look out for their other children, they were still young and Samuel was worried that this event could impact negatively on their development. At least, that was what Samuel had offered both as Royal Adviser and Uncle.
Mentor
As young Prince Rook grew older, the Royal Advisor watched him with interest, and noticed a few similarities to vague details of his own childhood. When Miriam gave him a gift for his eighth birthday, that was when Samuel’s own life changed course – that was when he stopped feeling sorry for himself, stopped playing, and started paying attention. Rook was a little older when it happened to him, but it seemed that some similar moment occurred that made the young boy buck up his ideas, and he was eager to learn how to become a true Prince of Corellia. Whilst Samuel didn’t have experience of being born into royalty, he at least knew how the Corellian nobility worked, and he knew how a Prince – even the spare’s spare – was expected to behave.
Samuel taught the boy in as much has he could, which was mostly subjects of academia. Rook had other tutors that would teach him the more princely things like swordplay, things that Samuel himself had never bothered with, and had very little real interest in at any rate. He was pleased to discover that like him, Rook enjoyed to learn, enjoyed knowledge. Samuel imparted a lot upon the boy about politics and similar topics, intergalactic law seemingly being one that Rook enjoyed the most. Although personally Samuel could see a future in politics for his nephew, the boy would never be King – but that didn’t mean he could not represent Corellia on the galactic stage regardless. Whilst Samuel still had his own political aspirations, that did not mean he did not want his own flesh and blood to step down that route. Especially if his own flesh and blood happened to have similar beliefs and interests. Uncle Sam was very careful what he said to his family and his nephews especially, and had yet to mention Pius Dea specifically, not even to Rook. Although he always had the boy’s ear, and would often drop subtle little phrases, steering the boy towards a pre determined route. Perhaps he would never be king, but Rook was still an important boy, and it would be most valuable to have someone like that believing in the Goddess. At the very least, he wanted to use his influence to impress his humanocentric beliefs onto the teenage prince.
Samuel spent most of his time on Corellia, although much of it was divided between the King and the third son, Rook. His duties as Royal advisor and his responsibility to his young protégé took up a lot of his time, and he was very rarely able to return to Coruscant. Although he took great care to watch the political situation with interest, and of course kept in near constant contact with his own mentor, Marcus Tremellius. He had been Royal Advisor for many years now, and whilst he did relish his power and influence, he was starting to long for more. He had known all along that he wouldn’t stay in this position for ever, as did Miri, and most likely the King did also. He did enjoy working in the Senate, even as an assistant to an unimportant junior senator, who was frankly a horrible little man, and he wanted to do so again. It was no secret that his own desire was to progress in politics, although he had told very few people that he one day wanted the top job. No Cromwell had ever been Supreme Chancellor, and Samuel was certain that that would not always be the case.
He knew he had to be wary with his favourite nephew, though. He was teaching him the important skills required to be a skilled diplomat, but there was no doubt Rook was naturally gifted. Whether that came from the King or from Miriam’s family was up for discussion, although Samuel had his own opinions on that matter. One day, if he chose to, Rook Solosten would represent Corellia in the galactic senate in some capacity, Samuel was more than certain of that. To what scale was remained to be seen, perhaps even there would be a Supreme Chancellor Solosten in the not too distant future, it all remained to be written.
As they grew up, Samuel had slowly begun to pay attention to his sister’s other children, his time and efforts all but completely focused on Rook. There were other people to teach and help develop the older siblings, and frankly Samuel didn’t care so much, their lives were already written for them. The Crown Prince was clearly the next King, with the second brother likely to become a General of the armies. Rook’s future was yet to be decided, and it was that that had always interested Samuel – someone had to be the author of young Rook’s story, and who better than good old Uncle Sam.
Being an adviser and a friend to the young boy did not mean he controlled him – as much as Samuel may have thought otherwise. Samuel himself did not get involved in the petty matchmaking that others in his family, the women especially, were more inclined too, and personally did not care that his nephew had yet to find a bride. His sister was now in a promising relationship with some Coruscanti aristocrat, and no one could really be too displeased with that. Samuel himself was still unmarried, and still not looking to tie the knot – he did not really see the need too. And as it was, nor did his favourite nephew – although Rook was much younger and there was clearly time for that to change if he wanted it too. But there were many other things that Rook wanted too. Despite the best efforts of the King, Queen, or the Royal Advisor, Rook did quite simply what he pleased to. And really, the best efforts were not all that much – most was content to let him go about his business, he was the spare’s spare and wasn’t doing any real harm.
But of course, there was only so long that a Prince could play before castle’s fell. Drunk idiotic children playing with weaponry seldom lead to a happy conclusion, which is why Samuel left dealing with firearms to those that were paid to know what they were doing. Samuel was roused in the middle of the night to the news that his nephew had gone missing, attacked in the wild on a hunting party, he and a friend had been separated from the rest of the group. Search parties were organised, plans were devised, and morbid thoughts were pushed to the backs of minds. But fortunately it was all in vain, the two young men found not too long after the frantic scurrying for them had begun. Although they were not in the best of conditions – Rook was barely alive, and his friend less than that. It was a sad day for a young life tragically cut short, but it was not the life of his nephew, and Samuel’s attention to that matter faded quite quickly, there were other issues at hand. If the people of Corellia found out that the Prince was a drunken arse that got his friend killed, it could lead to pandemonium. However, Samuel surmised that if they instead discovered that the Prince was a heroic soul that risked his own life to save that of his friend, albeit ultimately failing, then everything would be peachy. The King was informed of this information, and it was agreed that Prince Rook deserved recognition of his bravery, and that courage under threat of death was to be awarded with Corellian Bloodstripes. The public loved it, and it was a stroke of inspiration, and one of Samuel’s proudest machinations as Royal Advisor, even though it was to be one of the last. It was decided a long while ago that Samuel would leave his position with the Royal household to pursue a career in the senate, with the King’s blessing. And Marcus had recently informed him that Corellia would soon be having an opening in the Senate, an opening that needed to be filled.
Samuel was to leave his duties less than a week after Rook’s little incident, to begin a campaign on Coruscant. He delayed his journey for a few weeks until his nephew had fully recovered, but did not cancel it entirely. The King wished him the best of luck, and Miri made him once again to promise to visit – a promise Samuel was happy to make. And so he left Corellia once more, once again to go to Coruscant, it was becoming quite a familiar tale now. But this time the story would lead to greater things, Samuel was overwhelmingly confident that he would be the next Senator of Corellia. He already had the backing of a hugely popular King, and coupled with the influence of Marcus Tremellius, the win was all but assured. And eventually, it was assured, and Samuel Cromwell’s political career began in earnest.
Politics
Being Senate representative for an entire planet was certainly a big ask, but Samuel found it was not too dissimilar to being advisor to the King. The main difference was that he had to listen to the problems of billios rather than those of just one man. Which in fairness was quite a big difference, but Samuel relished the challenge. And after all, if all went to plan he would one day be listening to the problems of trillions across the galaxy – and making decisions for them. His humanocentric and pro core beliefs were fundamental to his Senatorial ticket, and he vowed to use his new found position of power not just to help his people, but to further his own cause. It was also the cause of his Goddess, but that was more by coincidence than anything else. He still believed in the Pius Dea, but he wasn’t entirely sure on divine interference, when he was young, confused and disoriented, it was clear and simple. Now though, his experience told him nothing worth pursuing was anything less than infuriatingly complex.
Living back on Coruscant did not mean he would neglect his family like he had the first time. He still kept in constant contact as often as he could, which wasn’t as often as he liked really. He thought he was busy as Royal advisor, and compared to this he had six days off a week. He tried to keep in touch with his nephew, but Rook had gone a little off the rails since his friends death. Samuel did not blame him, it was a hard thing to get over for some, and he recognised that the boy just needed time to find himself. And whilst that time seemed to mostly be spent taking part in unsavoury antics, it was not of too much concern for Uncle Sam. It was a concern for his sister, though, and Miriam called him up often just for someone to talk too about her maverick son. And whilst Samuel did care about his favourite nephew, he didn’t really have the time or the patience to take care of his little self destructive adventure, he was confident that he would snap out of it eventually.
And maybe he would have, if he was not wrenched from it prematurely. Whilst on Senate business he was having a meeting with the Corellian King, and as had happened in these meetings prior, the situation degraded from a formal gathering to a more familiar coming together of friends. And like his wife, the King shared his concerns about the boy with his brother in law. Samuel said the same to him that he had to his sister, boys shall be boys and he just needed time to grieve. And whilst over the years serving as his advisor, the King had more often than not listened to Samuel’s counsel, this was one of those cases where he went down the not route. He was sick and tired of how his son was acting, and how that reflecting on him, and the entire household. He gave the order for his son to be brought back to Coronet – knowing full well it wouldn’t be too difficult. Rook was hardly hiding out of the limelight, in fact quite the opposite, and the boy hadn’t even left Corellia.
Samuel returned to Coruscant to go about his duties as Senator, but agreed to return when Rook was brought back. Rook was his favourite nephew, and it was thought that Samuel may be able to have more than a little influence on the young renegade. Although that was not the only reason he was to return. Samuel was not sure if it was his idea or the kings – or even a combination of both, but it was decided that rook needed a guide again, a mentor to keep him from straying further. Samuel had benefitted greatly when he left home in his youth to study under a Senator on Coruscant, and who better to take the unruly Prince under his wing than good old Uncle Sam.
Redemption
Rook was undoubtedly displeased that he was to be shackled by his father, but Samuel assured him that there were far worse punishments than living with his Uncle in a resplendent apartment at the centre of the galaxy. Rook would be his junior in the senate, which meant Samuel was less his mentor and more his boss, but that did not mean he had nothing less to teach the young man. It had actually worked out well, Samuel had planned on pushing his nephew towards politics and a career in the senate, albeit not this early in his development. The prince was still boisterous and adventurous, but he had toned it down considerably since coming to Coruscant. Samuel was more than willing to turn a blind eye to the odd party or night of debauchery, so long as it was not overly grotesque. This was Coruscant, after all – there was a certain standard that one had to keep up.
Whilst under his employ at the Senate, Samuel introduced Rook to many interesting and powerful people, it was step one in climbing the political ladder, something Samuel had learnt many years ago. One of the first Samuel introduced his nephew too was Marcus, although the Corellian Senator never fully explained his relationship with the ageing academic. As anticipated, Rook grasped life on Coruscant and intergalactic politics quite quickly, it was not overly complicated after all – so long as you knew what you were doing. And Rook was a well educated man who excelled in situations like this, and Samuel was certain that he would one day be an excellent politician. Not as King of Corellia, but perhaps he could serve his people on the floor of the senate. After all, once Samuel became Supreme, Corellia would be in need of a new Senator.
Rook took to the road of recovery with ample ease, and it didn’t take long before he went from rebel prince to an upstanding Coruscanti gentleman. Samuel spent a lot of time at the Opera, and often took his nephew with him, talking animatedly and at great length about this production or the next. It was one of the few things he was truly passionate about. He wasn’t sure if Rook enjoyed it, and probably not nearly as much as he did, but he took him nonetheless. It was a good aristocratic pastime, and it kept him out of trouble. He did not just take him to the opera, but also to many social functions and gala’s, the growing man taking to them like an Opee out of water. Samuel was a little taken a back to how well and how quickly Rook had adapted and grown, and he was starting to think that he could be considered a political threat. Although he doubted very much that Rook would intentionally try and run his favourite Uncle out of office in any case.
The entire point of taking Rook with him to Corellia was to redeem the boy in the arms of his father, and the Corellian populace. It would seem that that was indeed a success, and as well as this Samuel hoped that he had imparted valuable tools and skills that would help the Prince in his later life. Hopefully, in a career pursuing politics. No longer Royal Advisor, Samuel was still attending to problems of the realm, and doing so to great effect. Just in time for the Coronation.
Checkmate
Samuel’s brother in law was certainly rich in years, but it was still a surprise to him when he was informed that the King was giving up his role as Lord Paramount of Corellia. The Crown prince had been groomed all his life for this moment, and very soon would have that shiny gold hat on his head that meant oh so very much.
The coronation ceremony was a huge and lavish affair, much greater even than the celebration of birth gala’s Samuel remembered in the past, or even the weddings. And the weddings were certainly something to behold. This however was something on a completely different scale, it was a life altering event after all, and the crowning of a king only came around maybe twice in a lifetime.
Samuel returned home to Corellia along with Rook to attend the ceremony, the entire Royal Family would be present, as well as representatives from very noble house on Corellia, and even from other worlds. Coruscant, Corulag, Onderon, many planets were represented by merchants and senators, Kings and Queens. Samuel himself found the whole pomp and pageantry to be skull numbingly boring, but it was the done thing to attend, and it was the done thing to enjoy, which he planned to do. As it turned out, he would not enjoy that day at all – it would become the worst day of his life. No one could quite anticipate the tragic turn of events the day held, Samuel least of all.
All of Corellia, all of the core watched as the ceremony progressed. They all watched as the King approached the Crown Prince. They all watch as the new King would fall to the ground. They all panicked, they all screamed. Samuel’s oldest nephew was dead, murdered, and there wasn’t even any time to grieve. The family was evacuated, Samuel making sure his Miri was safe on a transport before tending to his own needs, and the needs of his nephews. Rook had refused to leave his brothers side and evacuate like the rest of his family, and Samuel knew he could not leave Rook. And so instead of leaving with his sister, he stayed with his favourite nephew – and soon felt grief of a magnitude he had yet to experience. The Crown Prince would not be the only casualty that day.
The King would be killed, as would his second son. The wives of the prince, dead. And of course, Queen Miriam Solosten. Samuel’s closest relative and a person he cherished above all others was murdered, slaughtered like an animal. When his brother died he felt some grief, but nothing compared to what he felt when Miri perished. It was abhorrent to him that someone so pure, someone so inherently good could be stolen from the world.
He never really had time to grieve over his lost family, after all he wasn’t the only one to lose something. Rook was orphaned, the sole survivor of his family – he had lost everything. Samuel had to make sure the boy would not fall down the drain again, he had to make sure he knew he still had his Uncle Sam. So the Senator was forced to put his own feelings to one side, fight back the tears and the sorrow, and be there for Prince Rook. Although that was now an inaccurate moniker. Rook was the sole surviving heir of the Corellian throne, and the spare’s spare would become king. Rook Solosten, the last of his line, King of Corellia.
The new King was understandably distraught, and Samuel considered resigning his office and returning to his former position as Royal Advisor. In the end he was advised against it, the people of Corellia needed him more than his nephew did. Although Corellia needed a King more than they needed a Senator. He took time from his seat on the senate, there would be an interim Senator chosen in his absence, but it was no matter – his planet needed him. He stood besides the King in this time of uncertainty and distress, he helped arrange the funerals, and he was there for whatever King Rook needed. Samuel Cromwell stood tall at his King’s shoulder, strong and impassive, never failing, never faltering. But deep inside his whole world had imploded. He devoted all of his resources to finding Miri’s killers, but knew that even that may not be enough. His drive and ambition was higher than ever before, he knew one sure fire person that had the resources to scour a galaxy for the repugnant begins behind such a heinous crime. And Samuel would be that person one day soon. If the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic republic could not bring the perpetrators to justice, then no one could.
RP Sample:
Coruscant was a huge and bustling Ecumenopolis that played home to representatives of thousands of species from across the galaxy. This was a fact that could not be changed, and Samuel Cromwell felt that it was an incredibly unfortunate one. The only blessing was that many of the unwashed were limited to the lower tiers of the planet, to wallow in their own filth in the worlds under city, like the vermin they were.
Thankfully with them down there, Samuel could pretend that they did not exist whilst high in the upper echelons of the galaxy’s capital. After all, he had things to do, and he wouldn’t be able to carry out his duties as a Republic Senator if he had to take a shower every five minutes. That was not to say that he never came into contact with other species, in the senate especially it was unavoidable – but he did his best to limit his interactions. Coruscant was the centre of the core, and the core was the centre of the galaxy – he was happy for aliens to exist, so long as they did their existing elsewhere. The senate was unfortunately not as humanocentric as he would have liked, but no matter.
And it was the Senate where he was this day, as he was most every day, on his floating podium, just one voice amongst thousands. But this day was his to speak, today his podium would shine. He rose to the forefront of the Corellian representatives, standing tall and firm, his steely gaze never once moving away from the Supreme Chancellor.
”The Republic expects that every citizen will do his duty. And Corellia is at the forefront of that belief. Our people live and bleed for this Galactic Republic, and all we ask is that we are treated with the same promises, the same sacrifices.”
He launched into a speech, a monologue of buzzwords and passionate patriotic drivel, he wasn’t even sure how much of it he believed. All he cared about was that it put Corellia’s needs at the forefront of the agenda. And what Corellia needed most was a powerful and influential senator.
