Home Sweet Home

[Regnier]

The sleek Nubian Yacht slipped into the hanger sitting on the edge of Deeja Peak, both the city and the edge of the mountain itself, just before the clean drop-off that ended many miles below. Almost as soon as the ramp lowered, Senator Terek was on her way down it, glad to be off the ship, and towards the open-air landspeeder waiting for them, or more specifically, its pilot. Ric followed fairly closely, though Pakera stayed inside the ship to wait for Duranara, and carry anything he needed, and the pilot stayed inside the cockpit to 'settle the ship down', as he put it.

The trip to the Mid-Rim planet had been about as uneventful as expected; Sevrina had been unconscious most of the flight, Ric and Pakera had spent most of the flight playing Pazaak, sometimes with the pilot, and there hadn't been a single speed-bump. Upon arriving in the atmospere, the pilot had identified his vessel, and called for Senator Terek's landspeeder, which had been delivered by the Captain of the Guard himself while he was off duty, stating only that she had urgent business elsewhere with one of her passengers.

Sevrina sat on the side of the hovering speeder as she waited for the Bothan Senator, relaying her intentions to her brother so he'd know exactly what to say to their esteemed cousin; or more specifically, what not to say. Valen Demila had never approved with Sevrina's relationship with the Gungans, and always frowned upon her going into their territory. And so, she kept her visits from the King, as well as the fact that she was possibly the only Nabooian that any Gungan trusted to any degree.

[Jenno]

Senator Duranara descended the loading ramp into paradise. It must be paradise, he thought, looking out at the lush green grasslands and waters of the planet. Though he knew that if it truly were, then there would be no conflict, and he wouldn't be here anyway. All the same, it was a nearly poetic landscape which greeted the Bothan, too used to cities and skylines.

As he came down to the small group gathered at the Peak, he took a deep breath, shaking his fur as he did so, before again becoming a serious as he ever was.

"Lovely day, isn't it? Well, now that we've landed, perhaps now might be a good time to visit the planet's ruler, eh?"

He said, facing outwards at the wide expanse of sea in the distance.

"I trust we have access to a submercible vehicle."

[Regnier]

"Always a lovely day on Naboo, Senator. Welcome to Deeja Peak, I'm Captain Terek." Quirvos said in a very genuinely happy tone.

"My brother, the esteemed Captain of the Guard. Always too bright and shiney for his own good." Sevrina said sarcastically as she jabbed him on the arm. She turned back to the Bothan and nodded solemnly. Meeting her cousin wasn't something she minded, as long as any discussion stayed away from the native species. "Of course, he should be expecting me. Climb aboard, and we'll be one our way."

Quirvos laughed and turned back towards Duranara as he seated himself behind the controls of the landspeeder. "That we do. I have access to a few, though I think our good Senator here would prefer to take hers. I still have no idea how she pulled it off, but she conned the Gungans out of one of their bongo subs."

Sevrina gave him a sideways glance and smirked. "It was a gift for preventing Valen from dropping a few thousand gallons of waste in their little pond, remember?"

"Sure. Gift. I'm sure there was no smooth talking involved whatsoever."

[Jenno]

Senator Duranara moved himself sidelong between the two as he faced the sea.

"Incredible, isn't it, just how mistaken an entire galaxy can be about a planet?"

The Bothan said, already heading slowly down the path from the peak.

"It's like I said before, codominance rarely exists without some kind of conflict of understanding."

He continued, already too far into his analysis of the world to be bothered.

"To be honest, I'm surprised you're the representative of this world. It certainly doesn't seem too likely."

[Regnier]

Quirvos paused at the controls for a half-second as he gazed out over the landscape. He sighed, momentarily losing the warmth in his face, and snaped back to reality. "Sometimes, I'm amazed at just how mistaken an entire people can be about their own planet." He muttered as he engaged the drive on the speeder and started for the palace. "Sometimes, they stop seeing it for any else past their own playground. To think, that anyone would willingly want to start a war on that land for little more than personal dislikes. If Valen demolishes my beautiful home, I'm not sure what I'd do..."

"You wouldn't have to do anything, Vos, I'd beat some sense into him if he tried that."

The two listened to the Bothan Senator as they sped along the streets of Deeja Peak, watching the scenery go by idly. Sometimes you needed someone else to point out to you just how beautiful your home was after seeing it so many times to really see that for yourself again. A trip to the urbanized Coruscant didn't hurt, either. Sevrina cocked an eyebrow and turned to Duranara. "You know, sometimes that surprises me, too. It's not for lack of trying, let me tell you. I've had more than my fair share of politicians and nobles try and sabatoge my position, and I'm not entirely convinced the King hasn't considered trying himself. But, regardless of me doing a few things they all frown upon, Valen still believes me to be the best choice. I've got a little more heart in me than any of the others vying for my place, and I can argue any one of them to a standstill, then drive them back into the wall, and as long as I can do that, I'm the most qualified person for this honor. Long as I don't go and do something stupid, and don't walk into any traps, I'll be the unlikely politician."

"And when she says 'drive them back into the wall', she's being literal. One reason she's kept her place is because the other politicians from here are scared out of their wits of my sister. King Demila knows that, and he knows that she's no pushover in the Senate. This one's got claws, and she isn't exactly afraid to use them. Valen won't remove her, because he knows she'll fight the entire damn Galactic Senate to a pause for Naboo. That, and she still hasn't pissed him off too much. Yet. It may not be what you'd expect, but it works pretty well, and that's what counts, I suppose. 'Sides, it's what you're not expecting that ends up surprising everybody."

Quirvos pulled the speeder to a halt just outside of the central palace and hopped out of the speeder. "Now for the fun part. Follow the Senator, if you would, and I'll make the way." He said as he turned and started for the main doors. Even if the King wasn't doing anything, they'd still likely have to wait a period to see him, so Quirvos made his way into the building ahead of the other two to announce their arrival, before seating himself in the waiting room just outside of the throne room.

Sevrina muttered something about infernal conduct and started after her brother, motioning Duranara to follow as she made her way to the waiting area.

[Jenno]

As the ride came to a steady end, Senator Duranara listened to his colleague with a bit of dissappointment. It seemed as if his point had been totally lost upon the Naboo. Not that he expected the point to go over well. In fact, the idea itself was almost an insult to Senator Terek. It was one that would have to be dealt with carefully, expecially due to the fact that the party was now headed to the very place the Bothan had hoped to avoid.

As the group made their way into the waiting room, Senator Duranara did not feel quite as excited as he had been feeling when first spoken to about the subject. Indeed, the forum into which they now entered was not his specialty. And so, to save the group from the difficulties that could come of this, Senator Duranara took this chance to speak his mind.

"Senator Terek, I am somewhat... perturbed about this meeting. I must be frank, I did not expect us to come here, at least not yet. I know you have asked me for my aid, but I am not certain what you could possibly expect from me here, of all places. Not to fault you, but you have brought me here unprepared and totally unarmed... so to speak..."

He said, panting nervously

[Regnier]

Sevrina smiled thinly and nodded. "Don't worry yourself, my friend, we aren't here to make my cousin see the error of his ways just yet. We are simply here to announce ourselves. Formality, really. You see, I do not like going behind my cousin's back, and with you here, I have a valid reason for visiting the Gungans." She turned her head towards the great door that lead to the throne room and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Plus, I would like you to get an idea of what I'm dealing with on the matter. Word of warning: he can be very charming when he wants to be."

She rose from her seat as an attendant came from the room beyond and announced the King's readiness to see them. "To think, it wasn't all that long ago that that would've been me..." The Senator said under her breath. She turned back to the Bothan. "You don't even have to really say anything if you don't wish, just a greeting. Maybe a few words of confirmation. I'll handle the talking, though you can say something if you wish. I dislike wasting time like this, but it needs to be done; it may slow our progress even more later if we don't. Now come on, let's not keep the King waiting, he isn't the most patient of men."

The Senator muttered something about infernal conduct again and started for the door, with Quirvos waiting for the Bothan so as to take up the rear. Upon entering and making her way across the long room, the Senator stopped near the foot of the steps leading to the throne itself and gave a formal bow. "King Demila, I present Senator Duranara of Bothawui."

The King nodded his head at both, and turned back to his cousin. "Welcome back, cousin, and welcome to Naboo, Senator Duranara. It has been brought to my attention that you came here on business, yes?" He asked, cutting straight to the point. Seemed he wasn't in the mood to be his usual charming self today; probably had a lot on his mind.

"Indeed we do; Senator Duranara wishes to meet with the Gungans for one of the commitees he's involved in. I said I would arrange this for him." She replied, returning the favor of directness. So far, so good.

The King narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, but nodded. "If it is important to a friend of my cousin's, then so be it, but I suggest you take great care with those barbaric swamplanders." He said, with only a trace of an edge. "I have much to attend to, however, so unless there is anything else you wish to say?"

He turned to Sevrina, then to the Bothan inquisitively. Quirvos, who was somewhat hiding behind the Bothan, edged a little closer. "That means, if you have anything to say, say it now, or make an exit." He said in a very low voice, so as not to be heard by any save Duranara.

[Jenno]

Senator Duranara's shrugged at the formality bowed to the king of the Naboo, and listened as he was given unecessary permission for a completely legal diplomatic mission. As the relaxingly brief meeting came to a close, the Bothan's first and last words were those that would come to have much more meaning in the coming days.

"Thank you, and may Naboo forevermore be governed by those that are wise."

He said, quoting a very old aphorism from Bothawui and the surrounding space, bowing again and making his exodus from the meeting chambers. By this time, his wrist hair was standing on edge, and that was never a good thing. "Trust the Fur" his father had always said. Well, he was trusting it, and hopefully it would serve him well.

[Regnier]

"Well, that was profound." Sevrina said to Duranara after making her farewells and clearing the main doors. Quirvos stayed behind at the King's bidding.

Her instinct, everything she knew about the King, from bother her time as Senator and her time in servitude, it was all telling her there was more going on than met the eye. A lot more. She shook it off and motioned for the Bothan to follow as she started for her speeder again. "Never in my life has a meeting with the King been so short. Something's going on, and whatever it is, it had him distracted enough to almost completely ignore the fact that I'm going to see the Gungans. Usually that starts an hour's worth of debating. He didn't even seem to notice my attire, and he has never liked me wearing this uniform. I don't like this. Not one bit. I hope nobody went and did something stupid without me..."

The Senator pulled herself into her landspeeder and waited for Duranara to follow suit. "We'll move down the side of the mountain to the docks. Ric and Pakera should already have made it there and prepared everything." She sighed slightly and adjusted her cap. "Do us both a favor, and keep your wits about you."

[Jenno]

"My wits? I don't know what you mean. We've already left the belly of the beast. Now we just have to dive a few hundred meters down and engage an alien culture that could quite easily be hostile towards us. Now, Senator Terek, is the fun part of our little mission."

The Bothan said, climbing into the speeder and settling down for the quick ride to their next transport. Already, Senator Duranara knew what would come next. There were only two options, and one was far less likely than the other. A shame the unlikely option should be peace. A shiver went through the Senator's fur as he had a distinct sense of deja vu. Indeed, this was nothing new. In fact, he had seen it happen nine times before.

Once they reached the magnificent gungan transport, Senator Duranara turned to his colleague.

"I think perhaps now might be a good time to explain what is happening to your world..."

(Discuss on the bongo ride!)

[Regnier]

"You forgot the part about Colo Claws and Opee trying to make us lunch. I'd rather not be lunch today." The Senator said in a dry tone that had a tendency to make people wonder just how serious she was.

Sevrina paused as she brought the speeder to a halt inside the private dock. "I think you're right, but wait until we're inside the bongo. I know Ric agrees with my views, and while I trust Pakera's loyalty and ability as a guard with my life, I'm not as sure about his beliefs as a man." She said in a low tone. She slipped out of the speeder, and made her way towards the tribubble bongo resting gently on the water's surface inside the dockhouse. Ric was already inside, going over systems from the pilot's seat, while Sevrina took the rear-most seat, leaving the so-called "co-pilot's" seat, even though it had no controls, open, and Pakera moved back to the speeder. Ric simply waited for the Bothan Senator patiently as he ran over operating systems, with one hand moving over various switches and dials and the other on the switch that activated the hydrostatic passenger canopy. "Alright, Kaio, I think it's time to talk."

[Jenno]

Senator Duranara's usual bright eyes turned somewhat darker as he assumed a far more serious tone with the Naboo.

"It is a phenomenon known as Specism, as I've said. It is, sadly, very common on worlds with more than one sort of sentient life. What occurs is a sense of incredible loyalty to one's own species and an almost desentiant idea about any other species of the world. From there, all assume that their own species is superior to the other. And it almost always leads to the same thing."

He said, taking a breath before continuing.

"One species, almost invariably the weaker of the two, becomes arrogant and foolish, opressing the other species, totally unaware of their inferiority. And, once they push the stronger species far enough, a struggle for dominance ensues."

He narrowed his eyes.

"That weaker species, so arrogant and foolish... that species is the Naboo, Senator Terek. And if you do not stop this, your world will be thrust into a war, and you will lose."

[Regnier]

The Naboo Senator sighed and leaned back in her seat as the hydrostatic canopy engaged, and they began their descent into the water. For several minutes, even after the Bothan finished speaking, she remained silent. She removed her cap and spun it between her hands, idly staring at it, though more precisely staring through it.

"I know what you say is true, and you will find no arguements from me there. I know there will be war if we continue our course, and I know who will lose. The Naboo have no standing army, only volunteer security forces. The Gungans have armies. Several of them. Every tribe has a number of warriors. Individually, each tribe is small, and not much of a threat. This is how most of my people see them, but I know what will happen when blood is drawn. They will inevitably unite against us, and together, we would be a minor annoyance."

At last, the Senator looked up from her cap and towards Duranara. "My friend, my problem is not not knowing what will happen, my problem is stopping it. As you say, it must be done, but there are so few of us that want to try and stop it, that we wouldn't even be able to form a proper petition. I have tried...for years I have tried to change my cousin's mind, to help him see the error of my people's ways, of their beliefs. I have tried to prevent this with all my being. I have tried everything. The King will not see. There is only one thing left that I can even think of to try, and that is high treason. This, my friend, is why I ask your help. I don't know...perhaps I'm grasping at straws...perhaps my path is set before me, and I just refuse to see it."

[Jenno]

Senator Duranara sighed.

"You can't stop it. It was set into motion... probably even before you were born. The gungans have known it far longer than you have. All they need is for one of their goals to be interrupted by your prescence, and the opressed will become the oppressors."

He looked around at the inside of the Bongo, marveling at the Gungan technology.

"The only chance you would ever have would be to either deismantle your own government, or merge with the Gungan government. And neither side wants either of those. I fear that perhaps war may be the only way to solve this..."

[Regnier]

A somewhat uncomfortable silence filled the cockpit of the vessel for awhile after the Bothan had finished speaking.

"Otta." Ric said in an almost happy tone as one of the mammalian creatures swam past. He was at least trying.

Finally, Sevrina let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in her seat. "That's the problem, isn't it? Neither side would even consent to any type of merging, and the only way to disable my own government involves treason. A lot of treason. And though a war may be inevitable, and will indeed provide a solution to the problem, at least for now, my people would be soundly defeated, and though they may be in the wrong, I would never be able to sit idly by and let it happen. Stupid, full of themselves, and overly proud as they may be, they are still my people."

She paused briefly as Ric suddenly jinked the craft rather harshly. He half-smiled appologetically and laughed nervously. "Sorry...Beck-tori...thought it best to steer clear of it."

"Good idea..." Sevrina said warily as she glanced out the window of the craft. It didn't put her off her thought, however. "As much as I dislike the notion, or even the fact that I'm thinking it...I'm not certain a coup isn't the best course of action."

[Jenno]

Duranara sighed.

"I am sorry, but either there is to be great change, or a war will come. This planet is becoming too valuable for the gungans to sit by and let you decide its fate, both in your government and in the senate. How long did you believe you could keep a species from their rights to their home? I am again sorry, but had you done this on Bothawui, we would not have hesitated as the Gungans have. But, from what I can tell, the situation is very different here. Which is perhaps why we still have a chance."

He looked out, wating to see the orange glow of the Gungan cities he'd read about.

"We do have one option, though, that may buy us some time. But it is somewhat... unorthodox... But let us wait for that until after we speak to the Gungans..."

[Regnier]

"Very well, we shall wait. A word of warning: the Gungans do not generally tolerate outsiders of any kind. Our reception will not be very warm at first, especially with someone they don't recognize in our group. Be careful what you say, and they'll loosen up a bit after I convince them you're alright."

"And...here we are. Otoh...uh...something or other. Gunga, that's it. I think." Ric said as they came about a rock formation, and the massive underwater city came into view. Within a few minutes, Ric brought the bongo to an open landing bay, pulled inside, and manuevered it to a dock point on the repulsors. Within a minute, a small group of guards with electrostaffs had formed beside the sub as the hydrostatic canopy shut off. Some were particularly suspicious, while others downright hostile. "Well, here's the welcoming committee. They look ecstatic to see us, don't they?"

As Sevrina stepped out of the bongo and onto the walkway, something akin to a grin formed on a few of the Gungan's faces and they relaxed slightly. "Hello, Captain Hattic. It's been awhile. This is Senator Duranara of the Bothans, I believe I've mentioned him before. He may be able to help us."

"Straight to da Boss, dhen?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We don't have very much time, I'm afraid."

"Okey dey, follow mesa. Da Big Boss issa in da council room now." The Gungan captain motioned the three to follow him as he started off. Sevrina followed, motioning the Bothan after her, and Ric stayed in the back, along with two Gungans that lingered behind to take up the rear of the group. Hattic led them to the primary council room, where, after being announced, and a few minutes of waiting, he led them inside. Several bosses were arrayed along the wall of the room, though several seats were empty. In the center of the bosses sat Boss Bikk, the most powerful Gungan alive, the head of the High Council and the Boss of Otoh Gunga.

"Wesa no be seein' yousa for some time, Senator. What be bringin' yousas here now?"

"Boss Bikk, I'd like to present Senator Duranara of the Bothans. I've told you about him before, I believe. I think that we may be able to make at least some progress with his help."

The Ankura Gungan turned to the Bothan and raised a giant brow. "Yousa da Bothan? Wesa heard about yousa. Yousa bein able to help usen?" He asked directly. Bikk was always straight to the point.