A Scandal in Ramatesh [Captain Bonkers]

[Meira]

"Continue on your designated approach vector."

"Acknowledged."

"The Blood Monarch welcomes you to Thisspias, Master Jedi."

"I am honored."

Meira confirmed the approach vector in the ship's computer and released control to the autopilot for the landing sequence. She swiveled the pilot's chair around and stepped out of the cockpit. The ship was a very small transport vessel, consisting of a cockpit, sleeping quarters, and a small hold that doubled as lounge space. Much of the hold was taken up by the crates she'd been tasked with delivering to Thisspias' parliament. Those crates contained an anti-fungal compound to combat the spread of rust spore across the rocky ranges around Ramatesh. The compound had been the perfect opportunity for an emissary to be sent to the planet, which was rumored to be nurturing some talk of secession from the Republic. The Thisspiasians were a key component to Republic military strategy think tanks, and the planet's sector also proved to be prime real estate during the so called Armistice.

Some armistice. Meira thought as she leaned down to stow her lightsaber in the compartment in her prosthetic leg. She'd only just returned from her captivity with Jessoin Zarander, or Darth Solis as he now styled himself. The armistice had done little for her then, and the Sith would be seeing no repercussion for his flaunting of the treaty. Meira sighed, leaning back in the small chair and willing herself to let go of the anger that train of thought always brought up in her. It would only serve his purposes further and, more importantly, it would hinder her work here and now.

After a few moments of breathing exercises, Meira felt her way back toward her center. And just in time for the ship to touch down on the landing platform. She stood, and moved to lower the ramp. Hot, but dry air swept into the hold, bringing with it the mineral scent of the rocky world. Meira squinted into the bright light for a few moments, until her eyes adjust to see the large, snake-like form of a Thisspiasian moving up the ramp toward her.

"Master Jedi... Valli?" the being said, looking down at a datapad."

"That is me, yes." she replied.

"The manifest says this is the rust spore compound promised by the Republic." the being gestured toward the crates.

"Correct." she replied.

The being tapped at the datapad a few times, then nodded. "Very well, this way please." The being turned and moved back down the ramp, gesturing for two other Thisspiasians to retrieve the large crates. Meira followed the Tisspiasian down the ramp. The being stopped near the landing pad's entrance port, turning the datapad toward Meira. "You are granted access to Ramatesh and have an audience scheduled at the alcazar in two hours. Please sign for the delivery of the crates."

Meira scrawled her finger across the datapad screen. "I am supposed to be meeting someone here." she said, looking up at the dock master. "Another Jedi."

"Yes." the being replied. "He arrived about half an hour ago. The Offworld Cantina is that way." the being pointed southward from the landing pad entrance. "He said you could find him there."

"Thank you." Meira said. The dock master turned away with little more than a shrug. Meira began walking in the direction that had been indicated and found the sign for the Offworld Cantina a few minutes later. As she stepped inside, she had to allow a moment for her eyes to adjust again, this time to the dim light of the interior of the cantina. Music played, but it appeared to be from some sort of sound system, as no band -or even a stage for one- was present. The space was small and sparsely populated. In just the few minutes Meira had been on planet, she was able to note that this space was not designed with the Thisspiasians in mind. Outside, Meira had seen wide ramps and smooth walkways designed for the serpentine bodies of the planet's native species. Here, the spaces were narrower and steps down and up to different booths and tables were obviously designed with legs and feet in mind. Meira looked around at the patrons -two dugs in a booth in the corner, a Twi'lek and a Duros at a central table- and found her Jedi counterpart, a human male, at the bar. She moved toward him, taking up a seat next to him and signaling the bartender, a Rodian, for a bottle of Old Coruscanti Proper.

"Delwyn Forris?" she said to the man, the tone a question but that was really more of a formality. She could feel his presence within for force just as well as he could feel hers, she was sure.

[CaptainBonkers]

Ramatesh was little out of the ways to be truly lively but even there the cantina nearest to the starport had its fair share of patrons, most of them fellow offworlders. Delwyn very much liked places like this one; places where one could feel the heart beat of life if they tried hard enough. It was in the middle of a crowd where he felt the most connected to the Force, probably because of all the distractions stopped his mind wandering needlessly. Stimuli kept him focused in the moment, alert and balanced. In a secluded meditation chamber he would have likely just ended up wondering about something pointless and possibly writing a profound yet completely useless piece of philosophy examining the nature of existence. Noisy surroundings worked too, if crowd was unavailable. More than once his fellow Jedi had called his meditation practices 'quite unorthodox' which Delwyn always took to mean 'weird as hell but basically harmless.'

Delwyn took a sip from his drink, savoring the slightly bitter taste of the beverage for a moment before swallowing it. The coffee in this place was pretty horrendous but bearable as long as there was a drop of whiskey mixed in. A very small drop. He was here on official business after all and didn't wish to impair his judgement by overindulging. Though Force knew why the council had decided to drop this mission on him. Dealing with the Blood Monarch and the rest of the court was a job for a diplomat, not an investigator. So, unless the Monarch had some very special problem in need of investigation, Delwyn was feeling very much like he wasn't needed here. Here was hoping that the other Jedi the council had sent on this mission had a firmer grasp of diplomacy.

Speaking of the other Jedi, Delwyn could sense someone whose presence certainly seemed to fit the bill and soon enough a woman matching the description he had been given entered the cantina and strolled over to him. 

"Delwyn Forris?" She inquired. Delwyn nodded in response. "Aye, that's me. Master Valli, I presume. Nice to meet you." he said, extending his hand.

"I sincerely hope that you're good with words and diplomacy, because otherwise were up the proverbial shit creek without a paddle or a canoe." he said, once they had shaken hands.

[Meira]

Delwyn extended his hand, and Meira shook it just as the bartender brought over her requested drink. His hand shaken, Meira turned to her drink, taking a long pull as Delwyn expressed his hopes that she might be better with politicians than he apparently was. She took a moment to swallow and enjoy the taste of the ale, then took another drink for good measure before answering him. It wasn't liquor, and they had plenty of time before their audience at the alcazar. It wouldn't hurt.

"I've had my share of diplomatic missions." she said, nodding her head slightly. "Though, there hadn't been much of a need for them for a few years." Meira's lips twitched in a smile that showed no real amusement. "But the armistice has everyone trying to be nice to each other again so," she gestured around them at the cantina, "here we are." She took another drink.

The truth was that Meira had been hopeful when news of the armistice had spread. The war had been a terrible thing. It had challenged her to her core and she was not content with how it had changed her. Before the war, Meira had been an optimist, full of hope and belief that there was good inside every being in the galaxy. She had believed that evil was an affectation that, with the proper administration of support and opportunity, could be discarded to reveal the true being within. In the past several years, she'd seen the truth. Evil might start out as a choice, as an outside influence, but each time a being chose it they were pulled deeper and deeper into a bog. After a certain point, they simply could not be saved. She still wrestled with this revelation daily.

"You're an investigator, right?" she said suddenly, shaking out of that dark moment. The Council had begun sending such Jedi along with diplomatic missions lately. The armistice, not being a true peace, left lots of shadows for political subterfuge, which was the bread and butter of the Sith Empire. The intelligence Meira had been given suggested that the Sith were looking to influence the Blood Monarch to secede from the Republic. It would be handy to have a good detective along, should their mission turn out to be not as straight forward as it seemed.

[CaptainBonkers]

Well that was a load of his chest. “Prehaps we have a canoe after all.” he said, taking a sip from his cup. “Still missing a paddle, though but we’ll have to make due.” he added jokingly, accompanying the comment with a slight smirk. Even if Valli was an experienced diplomat, there were no guarantees that Delwyn didn’t somehow manage to stuff his foot down his throat at the most inconvenient possible moment. Built to rub elbows with national leaders and other fine folk he was not. Delwyn was much more at home wagging his chin with the kind of people that the society preferred not to acknowledge much and with the people that kept those folks in line.

“I’m one, alright.” he replied to the inquiry about him being an investigator.” Spent most of me life chasing lowlifes around the various black pits of the galaxy. Makes me good at finding people and figuring things out but not so much at talking to people who ain’t afraid of ending up in a little box on some asteroid penitentiary.”


Delwyn finished his drink. There was no hurry yet but he hadn’t visited this place ever before and arriving late to meet someone they were supposed to play nice with to prevent them from seceding was probably a bad idea. ‘Trust the Force but for goodness sake ask for directions’ like his old master used to say. Making sure you had enough time also applied.


He pointed at the Valli’s drink. “Unless you have an impeccable sense of direction, you’d better finish that one quickly. I’m not too familiar with the place and don’t much like the idea of being late.”

---

The whole place was strange to walk about. The architecture being designed around the lack of feet meant that stairs were an unknown concept. The architects here also seemed to favor round edges and smooth curves instead of hard turns or angles. It was a little disorienting, though only a little.


The palace was one of the largest buildings around. The spaceport was larger by necessity but it was hardly as beautiful and edifice to look at. The decorations seemed to borrow much from the local flora with some outside influences that reminded Delwyn a little of the Senate Building back on Coruscant. Though since he wasn’t particularly well versed in the art of architecture, he couldn’t say for sure.


“So, uh, I don’t think the council really mentioned why the Blood Monarch wanted Jedi to handle these talks instead of someone from the Republic Diplomatic Service.”

[Meira]

"Perhaps we do." Meira said with a chuckle, lifting the bottle of ale and then taking a healthy swig.

She listened, nodding as Delwyn explained his experience as an investigator. She hadn't had much opportunity to work with investigators before. The bulk of her training had been as a consular. It was all about avoiding trouble and promoting peace. Then, when the war broke out she found herself thrust into full conflict. She'd never had the opportunity to work in between those two extremes. Much as she disliked the war, she could at least appreciate the clarity of it. She wasn't sure she'd be too effective at rooting out the truth.

"People think diplomacy is some intricate, difficult thing." she said, then shook her head. "It's really just about manners and listening. Get people talking and they'll eventually tell you what they want. After that," she shrugged, "it's just details."

Delwyn suggested they finish up so that they could get on their way and Meira nodded. She tilted the bottle up, draining the last of her ale before setting the empty bottle down on the counter with a satisfied sigh. Tossing some credits onto the bar, she thanked the bartender and followed Delwyn back out onto the street.

---

It had been a good thing they left early. The city proved to be something of a maze, with the buildings and pathways blending so seamlessly as to make it difficult to pick out landmarks. They'd managed to circle back to one central square twice before finding their way to the alcazar. The palace was obviously that as they approached. It was grand and painstakingly crafted. The buildings near it were also obviously important, but the maintenance of the palace was obviously a priority.

"The Blood Monarch believes the Jedi will provide unbiased counsel." Meira replied to Delwyn's observation. "He was close friends with the Jedi Watchman for the planet years ago, But Master Onooda died on Rhen Var. The Council hasn't been able to provide a replacement."

They arrived at the top of the main entrance ramp where they were stopped by two guards. Meira, hands tucked into the sleeves of her Jedi robe dipped into a half bow toward them. "I am Master Valli, and this is Master Forris of the Jedi Order. We have an appointment."

One of the guards produced a datapad and focused on it for a few moments. Once their appointment was confirmed, he gestured for the two Jedi to proceed through the main entrance. Within, they found a security checkpoint. Another guard approached, directing them to handover any weaponry they carried. Meira nodded and then gestured toward her left leg. "Just a moment." she said. Kneeling down, Meira pulled down the zipper of her boot, exposing the prosthetic leg underneath. Pressing against a smooth panel along the side, a compartment opened and her lightsaber popped out. Meira closed the panel, zipped her boot back up and handed it to the guard.

"Welcome Master Jedi!" Another Thisspiasian, this one dressed in formal robes, came slithering toward them from the other side of the security checkpoint. "I am Minister Pesh, very pleased to make you accquaintance, ehm-"

"Meira Valli." Meira interjected, introducing herself with a bow. "And Master Delwyn Forris."

"An honor." Minsiter Pash said, lowering his own form in what Meira assumed was the Thisspiasian equivalent of a bow. "Please, follow me. The Blood Monarch is prepared to receive you."