Well, another fantastic year of my life has come round once again, and I find myself, older and maybe slightly wiser than before? at least I'm not shorter than before, but that is neither here nor there. thanks to those who review, it gives me great pleasure to know that people still care deeply about the progress of this story. Please enjoy the next installment. ~F
Chapter Forty Eight
Informative Sources
Zhar had been rather silent throughout the return trip to Dromund Kaas, pondering the implications of the Emperor's new weapon. Incredibly strong, to say the least of the newly empowered Scepter of Ragnos, but at the same time just as worrisome for the man's allies as well as his enemies.
Euka Qudru had voiced the same concerned, but only once they were out of earshot of the other high ranking members of the Dark Council. "Master, what stops the Emperor from using this new weapon on us if we displease him?"
Zhar had had no answer for her, as the truth of the matter was that there was literally nothing stopping the Sith Lord from devastating every side of this war once it was completed, both Dark and Light. "We must simply make sure to remain useful servants to him," Zhar had advised, even as the cramped shuttle withdrew from Hyperspace and started its decent to the jungle covered capital world.
But any hope that Zhar had of quickly returning to Korriban and escaping any immediate dangerous escapades were dashed when the Emperor started down the boarding ramp after them all, beckoning for Zhar and his apprentice to approach.
"I have a task that I can only trust my best to take care of," he said cryptically, "Walk with me."
The rest of the Dark Council separated for their personal shuttles, aside from Supreme Prophet Feyd, who took a differed corridor back to his own chambers. "There are few systems left in the regions of our Empire that have yet to flock under my banner," Veneficus explained, the Scepter in hand as he walked. The artifact gleamed menacingly in the darkness, but Zhar refused to comment. It also seemed that Euka decided to follow his lead as long as they were in the presence of the Sith Master.
"I want you and your apprentice to take a fleet to Mandalore." Veneficus explained, "The old warrior castes there have been most resistant to any attempts to be swayed to our side, and the fools that I allow to be commanders have yet to wage a successful campaign to break the Mandalorians of their pride. I know that you can more than make up for all the instances where they have failed me."
A daunting task to be sure, Zhar thought. The Madalorians were both powerful warriors and skilled politicians, since joining the Republic, and although their relationship with the main governing body was tenuous at best, they would greatly resent the idea of the iron rule of the Empire over their system.
Nevertheless, it was an order to be accepted, not a request that could be refused. "As you command, your Majesty," Zhar acknowledged with a short, stiff bow, copied by his apprentice.
Veneficus nodded, more to himself than to Zhar, and turned toward the main section of the palace, departing their presence and in so doing giving them leave to take their fleet and prepare for the task before them.
Boarding their own shuttle that would take them back to Admiral Setis, where they could then break the news to the human of their change of orders, Euka decided to finally voice her opinion, "Is it possible that the Emperor is going partially mad with power?"
Most other Darksiders would have possibly tried to kill their apprentice for such a treasonous thought, or at the very least punished her severally, but Zhar had known Veneficus from a young age, and therefore had insight that made him smirk at the comment rather than lash out, "Perhaps a bit, but then again he was always a bit off. It happens when you're trained from a young age to be a Sith Lord and a murderer."
They docked with the Basilisk quickly, making their way to the bridge and informing the good admiral of their new orders. For his part, Admiral Setis seemed delighted to be going out to potential battle rather than back to the lonely orbital vigil over Korriban.
They were restocked and fully supplied from the orbital garrison over Dromund Kaas while they had been with the Emperor, and set course immediately. Once the lines of Hyperspace overtook the stars from all viewports, Zhar knew that they may end up regretting in small amounts all the trust that they placed upon the Emperor.
Momentarily thinking of what his apprentice had already noticed, after her disenchantment with the figure that the Lord of the Sith presented to the sheep of the Empire, he momentarily shuddered. The man was far more unhinged than he used to be, and growing more so with every passing event that brought them closer to the end of the war.
The question then was what would happen to them all once the Galaxy was Veneficus'? Would he contently rule as Emperor and leave the governing of the Galaxy to the Dark Council, or would a grim surprise be waiting for them all and a new order be established?
Sith Lords were well known for their acts of betrayal, and Zhar was unwilling to just wait for his time to come when Veneficus decided that there was no more use in the old fallen Jedi that had known him since the Emperor was a child.
In fact, that knowledge made Zhar's life far more dangerous than most, as the Emperor would definitely want to preserve his mystique as the wizened old nexus of the Dark Side that he was currently, and all but forget the youthful terror that he once was under the rule of Darth Millennial before him.
Could it be that even now the Sith Lord plotted his death? Zhar surely wanted to think that was not the case, but then again, the first action that a Sith had him do when he came into contact with the Order was slay one that was once their servant. There was no mercy or remorse in those beings, and if Zhar proved to be more trouble than he was worth, then it was high time he look to his own interests, over even the accomplishments of the Empire.
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Johell had strictly followed the advice of Professor Trelawney, ever since she had used whatever gift or skill she knew in the art of Seeing, as she had called it, and the young reformed Jedi Knight had seen a marked improvement to his ability to handle the personal stresses he was dealing with.
The voice of Emperor Veneficus was definitely muted for some time when he had made powerful and conscious effort to remain around his fellow Jedi, even requesting that Temple Guards be posted outside his dormitory at night to prevent unconscious sleep walking. He had been caught twice and awoken trying to leave his room, and thanked the masked sentinels profusely for their tireless help.
Now, a few weeks worth of time later, Johell was fulfilling his promise to return and see what more could be done to rectify whatever evil that the Sith Lord had done to his mind and body, and found the Divination Professor waiting for him.
"My dear, you have returned, just as my cards had foretold." She said loftily, slowly picking up the strangest looking deck that Johell had ever seen from her table.
"Yes, I had promised, didn't I?" he responded, entering when she beckoned him to, and sat at her request. "What are those?" he asked as he sat, genuinely curious.
"Something that will be better explained in a future visit, when we are ready to look into your future more in detail. For now we shall glimpse at the past, and a bit more at the present, to try and See what ails you so desperately." Trelawney responded, putting the deck away in her robes and withdrawing a small box that rattled, as though many small things were inside.
"The runes will give us a clear idea of what troubles you, my boy, and ways that we might find a solution," the Professor explained as she swirled the box around, mixing the small objects within, every so often picking one out at random until she had nine in her hand.
Once she had done so, the box was returned to a separate area, and with a flourish, the Divination Professor cast the nine small stones onto the table, watching intently where they had fallen.
Five landed face down, and the others, scattered through the center of the small table, were in a language that Johell could not read. "Ah… that explains quite a bit then," the woman said, more to herself than Johell as she studied the stones that were face up.
Pointing at a center grouping of three that were face up along with two face down, she explained the runes one by one, "Dagaz and Mannaz are here together touching, meaning that your friends and your enemies will come together at a great balance point, and here near to them is Thurisaz, representing conflict. A great battle will be waged."
Gesturing at the last that was face up, nearest to Johell, she explained, "Hagalaz is closest to you, representing that you will endure great pain and suffering through terrible loss, I am very sorry my boy, but what are the causes, they are the runes which are Merkstave, or reversed. Let us uncover the mystery behind these events, shall we?"
And one by one, she turned the hidden runes face up, explaining as she went, starting with the rune that was matched closest with the Hagalaz, nearest to Johell. "Sowilo… bad or misguided counsel, for it was inverted, meaning someone will deceive you into this pain and suffering… Take great care in whom you put your trust my boy, to avoid this fate."
Moving to the group in the center of the table, she revealed the two that were there. "Algiz and Tiwaz, hidden danger and War… not much of a surprise in that grouping, as there will be a battle among your friends that is caused by the war. But hidden danger… now that is a cause for worry, perhaps these last two will show us the key of protecting those we care about?"
The last group, two tiles, was set between the center group and Johell's two, both upside down, and hastily the divination Professor flipped them, clearly eager to know as much as Johell was, "Fehu and Uruz… Domination by others, and cowardice…"
She sat back in her chair, breathing in the dense and heavily perfumed orders that wafted about her dormitory, and Johell watched her closely, striving to understand what it all meant together.
"My dear, I can See that a great battle will be fought at this Temple, toward the end of this war. Friends and enemies alike will fall in battle, but you will be among the part that could easily turn the tide, preventing much tragedy, if you are strong enough to hold to your commitments." She said, interpreting the runes and their meaning all together.
"Outside forces are and have been attempting to mislead you, so that at this pivotal moment you will fail, and allow the deaths of many that you hold dear. Whatever happens, you must hold strong, in fighting your inner demons so that you can aid you friends fighting those out here in reality. They will more than need you my boy, and you alone will have a role to play in this war, whether you feel ready for it or not."
The solemnity in the woman's voice was almost frightening, and Johell could only nod in acceptance. "This is a destiny, written in the stones, and events cannot be changed, but the heart of free-willed beings can still be emboldened, or fail. It is up to you to make sure you are as prepared to face this as any. Trust in yourself, and hold to what you know is right, and… what is the phrase… let the Force guide you to the Light."
Soon after that she dismissed him, stating she was again tired from Seeing so deeply into another person's future and present, and Johell departed, thanking her for her time.
Even as he reentered the corridor however, he almost ran straight into one of the Temple's many cleaning droids, which in and of itself was odd, as most of the time the little mechanical creatures stayed out of the way of the biological residents of the Temple as much as possible, doing most of their cleaning at night.
"Excuse me little friend," he said courtesy, patting the small droid on the top of its curved dome that served as a head, "we both ought to be more careful in future," he joked, but the droid didn't reply, and as Johell turned to leave it started rolling after him.
Pausing to watch the droid's antics for a moment, Johell was confused, but brushed it off, continuing on with his day, but the droid continued to follow him. "Can I help you?" Johell asked the little droid, and the head swiveled a few times, as though beckoning the Jedi Knight off to a side corridor.
"What, there's something you want me to see?" Johell asked, confused. He was not terribly adept with understanding the language of these droids, but he knew enough to get the basic idea that the T4 model wanted him to follow it.
The utility droid started to roll off toward the other path, which wasn't the direction that Johell had intended to go, but he didn't see any harm in making this small detour. Following swiftly, the little droid led him to an empty instruction room, before approaching and jacking into one of the consoles.
Johell was confused at the droid's behavior, when a blue holo communication activated, the head of a very easily recognized figure appearing. "Ah, Jedi Knight Johell, was it? I had been hoping to speak with you at some time…" the Chancellor of the Republic, Drakis Malfay, said as he appeared.
"Chancellor?" Johell said in confusion, "why did this droid contact you?"
"I requested it to," the Chancellor replied with a small smile, as though indulging a curious relative, "I find that speaking with those who live within the Jedi Temple to be very difficult at times, especially when the Council sees fit to distrust my motives for whatever reasons they keep to themselves."
Putting two and two together, Johell phrased his next question carefully, "And why do you want to speak with me specifically?"
"Now that is the important one isn't it…?" Chancellor Malfay said, stroking the small bear he sported, "I trust that you've met with many of my fellow countrymen in the Temple, the Mage-born, and you know that our Homeworld was recently taken by the Sith. I am very tired of the way this war is progressing, young Jedi, and I am trying to reach out to every possibly advantage the Republic has in order to further out chances of surviving to see a victory over their Empire. I was hoping that, with your permission, we could meet outside the walls of the Temple, perhaps for lunch, and discuss some of the things you witnessed while behind enemy lines; see if there are any weaknesses that we could make use of to strike back at these invaders?"
"Well…" Johell said, stalling. Technically he was granted permission to come and go as he pleased, so long as he remained of Coruscant, in fact he was encouraged to take an active role in some of the planetside missions that were available, but Johell had not as of this point felt ready to venture into the world outside the healing peace of the Temple. But at the same time, to refuse the Chancellor himself would be extremely rude.
"I understand my boy, I really do. From what rumors I've heard, you had a difficult time when you were captured, and I'm sure that you've had a lot of healing to accomplish. If you need more time…" the Chancellor said, but Johell cut him off, wanting to mitigate any possible falsehoods that the man had heard.
"No, nothing that overwhelmingly difficult, Chancellor, it's just been a while since I left the Temple. But I suppose one lunch would be a good means to start getting out and back into the Galaxy, so yes, I'll accept." Johell said quickly, hoping to forestall the man from mentioning anything that the Jedi would prefer stayed a secret, such as the extent of his actual harm from the Emperor and Zhar.
"Excellent, I'll send a transport around, say, midday tomorrow to pick you up and we shall go to a place I rather enjoy, plenty of variety so you won't have to worry about any particulars when it comes to the food. Plenty of privacy as well I might add," the Chancellor said with a conspiratorial wink, as though knowing that Johell wouldn't want prying eyes.
The Jedi smiled a bit back, still confused why the Chancellor of the Republic was taking such an interest in him specifically. "I would be honored your Excellency, until tomorrow then."
"Until tomorrow, my Jedi friend," the Chancellor said, just before shutting off the communication.
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Hermione was in love with her new workshop. Both the Jedi Order and the office of the Chancellor had pitched in, along with hefty donations from both the Republic war funds and several private investors had secured some massive sets of abandoned factories in the area known as The Works of Coruscant. Typically a run down, seldom used area of the planet, Hermione had seen it much like an artist looked at a fresh canvas, simply unfinished.
As hospitable as the Jedi had been also, she greatly wanted her own space, so moving directly into the office area of the new factory was all around her best option, especially when Lord Berethon had assigned several of his people to be her personal security force. All humans, the half dozen Corellian Jedi assigned to her were a stout and sometimes abrasive lot, especially when it came to her security, but Hermione was greatly impressed with their efficiency and determination to see their task through in exactness.
Still, she had put them to good use, making sure that every employee, both former citizens of New Terran and those of Coruscant, were not traitors or spies from either the Sith or rival business intent on stealing military secrets.
In addition to the Green Jedi's presence, the Republic had assigned a full garrison to keep security on the main floors, and protect them from any sort of attack. Hermione couldn't have been more pleased with the outflow of consideration and care taken to make sure that they had everything that they needed.
Quickly, though the use of careful charms and ample transfiguration, she and her mage-born engineers had transformed the derelict factories into pristine laboratories, liberally supplied with all items that they could possible need to research and develop technological wonders from many aspects, each engineer to their heart's content.
For Hermione herself however, everything was geared toward forwarding the war effort of the Republic. With the massive shipyard at New Terra lost, she had to convert a large portion of the factory space into a makeshift hangar, able to house a single capital ship if it docked in the right position. It made the going much slower, but in time she hoped to regain much of her company's capital and expand the Coruscant branch of Magi-Tech, as there was plenty of unused and abandoned space all around their new premises.
At the same time as upgrading ships resumed, she received a most curious and potentially insightful suggestion from dear Chancellor Draco Malfoy. Hermione did very much recall the power that the war droids had in fighting off the Sith foot soldiers, and with the right modifications, and perhaps with the assistance of her Green Jedi guard, perhaps there was room for upgrading them to where these machines could even combat the Dark Adepts of the Empire head on?
Once she found the plans from the original engineer who designed them, a man who had unfortunately not made it off the station during the first attack by Bellatrix LeStrange, Hermione was pleased to see that the work was indeed unfinished, and promised his memory that she would complete the work, and present it to the Republic for mass production.
She only sent a message back to the Chancellor's office that she would consider the idea however, best not to get their hopes up if it turned out that it would take longer than they had time.
Granted the longest part would be reassembling a prototype, as the one that had so valiantly defended her and her engineers back when the mad witch had attacked New Terra had been utterly destroyed in the subsequent battle against the Emperor. Still, this allowed Hermione to come up with a potentially superior outward design, perhaps something more humanoid in appearance, rather than a massive clattering tank-like design that screamed 'Shoot me,' to all enemies around it.
Flourishing her wand at piles of scrap metal and other items, Hermione poured her hatred of the Emperor into her work, hoping that maybe, one of these new children of hers would be the cause of that man's death, as he had literally taken nearly everything she had had away from her now.
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The tides of ships from the planet Hapes were seemingly unending, and Kelrek wasn't certain how they planned to get past them and on to the surface of the planet. Certainly they were slaughtering their pilots left and right, but for every one that they killed two more took their place.
He was thinking they might have to fall back and regroup for a different strategy, when he noticed that Srilis was grinning, and that always seemed to herald a brilliant plan that promised much danger, but usually victory.
"What are you planning?" he asked, watching the Stalker closely as she made several quick calculations, before nodding to herself.
"We go in the escape pods, with an elite strike force, and knock out their primary air bases, which will allow the shuttles to get through the blockade with significantly less trouble." She said, moving from the bridge toward where the pod entrances were located as she spoke.
Jenah was already following, leaving Kelrek to stand there in muted horror at the plan. This was not just risky, but suicidal. "You're crazy, the pair of you," he moaned as he followed both females, even as the Marauder summoned a large number of their most veteran soldiers, many of who had survived the battles on Kashyyyk, and knew of the three Adept's prowess in combat.
Srilis explained the plan quickly, and started dividing up the men throughout the pods, squeezing as many as would safely fit into each. True, there were hundreds throughout the ship, and even with some being filled with explosives, as a nasty surprise if the Hapans decided to take some shots at them, Kelrek was still uneasy about such a ploy.
He, Srilis, and Jenah were also separated into different pods; just in case the worst happened and one of them were shot down, and once his pod was sealed, the Sorcerer felt his adrenalin shoot up several degrees. The musk of the clustered soldiers was quite strong, but he was more than hearty enough to ignore the smell for the time being, especially when the pod started to rattle with its launch sequences. Plotted points were already configured into the pods, aimed for several key locations around the Hapan's capital city, also named Hapes. It was rather unoriginal, but Kelrek was not one to truly care enough to judge the nameing patters of the culture.
His momentary musing was disrupted when the Pod launched, and they had a spectacular view of the battle raging around them, even as dozens, if not around a hundred other pods were jettisoned from their main command ship, all spiraling downward toward the planet's surface.
Several detonated almost instantly, struck by projectiles of both Sith and Hapan in origin. But a few were explosive containers, and caused great damage to anything they were near, hopefully sending the message to the Hapans that they did not want to risk shooting at the pods, for fear of collateral damage to the planet below.
Their anti-air fire on the surface however, once they had cleared the atmosphere and the pod started heating up considerably in opposition to the coldness of space, seemed to have significantly less qualms of shooting at them, as the crash landings were enough to cause the dummy pods to detonate just as easily as shooting them down did.
Kelrek braced for impact, and with a sickening thud softened only by the last minute thrusters that were standard for every escape pod since the dawn of space travel, they impacted heavily into the dirt of the primary world of the Consortium.
Using the Force, Kelrek blasted the hatch off the escape pod, allowing the warm sunlight of the system's main star to shine through as he and his troopers hoisted themselves out to the wide plaza that they had crashed into. Leaping out after the last of the troopers, Kelrek found himself directly in the middle of another firefight, blaster bolts streaming from all direction as the Hapan tried to slaughter the elite Sith commandos invading their city.
Crossguard saber flaring to life, the weapon with an ancient design spun lazily as Kelrek deflected the occasional bolt that was shot at him, moving slowly and carefully to the nearest section of cover that his Troopers had acquired amid the firefight.
Other pods were still crashing down, some in flames, others exploding as they struck buildings or occasionally hitting the ground near knots of their enemies, sending showers of shrapnel in all direction and mowing through the lines of enemy troopers.
Another pod crashed into the ground behind the line that they were establishing, and Kelrek was pleased to sense that Jenah had survived the insanity that got them on the ground. The hatch exploded out and more commandos joined the fray, their weapons streaming bursts of blaster shots toward the rear flank, allowing them to widen the gap that they held, even as the Marauder's twin sabers ignited, and Jenah stormed the field.
Running to catch up with her preemptive onslaught, Kelrek unleashed a storm of lightning on a knot of soldiers trying to set explosives on one of the main entrances to the plaza, and cut them off from escape. The charges blew prematurely, knocking all the troopers back but not crumbling the surrounding structures as they had planned.
Meanwhile, Jenah had her sights on the large repeater cannons that were keeping their troopers pinned. She leapt, using the Force to aid her in reaching the high three story rooftop, and charged the soldiers precariously perched there to defend the cannon.
The petty soldiers stood no chance against her, and fell quickly in pieces to the onslaught of her twin blades, and soon the canon was in her possession. Wheeling it about, Jenah took only a few moments to reroute the autofire scanner to see the Imperials as their allies, letting it loose upon the Hapans, and Kelrek watched in amusement as they were forced to scatter when one of their own high powered weapons was turned upon them.
The ground started to rumble, and Kelrek knew that a pair of tanks was heading their way. They couldn't afford to be caught here, when they needed to press to the hangar where the streams of fighters were pouring from and disable it. Issuing the order for the commandos to pull back and start for the hangar bay, which resided only a few clicks from them deeper into the city, the Sorcerer guarded the rear, wrapping the Force around him like a shield as the tanks barreled into the plaza they just vacated.
Reaching out with bone crushing might, Kelrek seized one of the pair, lifting it off the ground and started to cause the metal machine to implode upon itself. Even as he did so, the other tank spotted him and was wheeling about for a clear shot, when from the shadows another figure leapt.
It was Srilis, double bladed saber activating as she landed upon the second tank, slicing off the barrel part way and burying one end of her weapon deep into the hatch where the pilots were kept, carving open the tank like a roasted bird.
Using the scrap that had once been the tank he had crushed, Kelrek threw the hunk of metal toward the main entrance of the plaza, where more Hapan troopers were massing to push onto their rear once more, forcing them to scatter or be crushed by the rolling ball of metal.
Jenah abandoned the automated turret when a missile flew at them, detonating the turret as she jumped down to the ground with them, and together the three Dark Adepts charged after their lines of soldiers, hoping to find more pockets of their commandos on their way to the hangar, so they could disable it permanently and allow their fleet to send down more convention troops in landing craft.
It was a sloppy mess of a plan, Kelrek mused as they sped through the streets of Hapes city, but truthfully he couldn't think of a more exciting way to take the planet. Not efficient, but simply splendid after the madness that had been their previous few assignments.
In short, he wouldn't have it any other way. Not that he would ever admit it to Srilis directly, as it would go straight to the Assassin's overinflated ego quicker than anything.
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Anguis was most pleased that his droids finally got the Jedi Johell alone to convey an encoded transmission through to his private offices. He was currently waiting in his private speeder as one of the Senate guards went to speak with the Jedi gatekeeper about sending for the young Knight for their lunch appointment.
Truthfully, Anguis had not expected getting that particular Jedi out of the temple to be that easy, clearly the man as starting to get a bit overanxious after his extended stay on the capital world of the Republic, and might have been chafing under whatever rules, handed down from the council or even self appointed, that governed his attitude of inaction.
Whatever the case, the Chancellor and Dark Adept was more than willing to do what was necessary, short of revealing himself, to pry every scrap of information the man had regarding his time among the Sith Empire. Anguis was most displeased that he himself had not had the pleasure, aside from one trip in his youth, to see the various Sith held planets, let alone now that they were more or less restored to their former glories.
It would be interesting to get an outside opinion of those planets, even if it was the jaded opinion of a Jedi Knight.
Soon enough his guard returned with Johell in tow and Anguis beamed like a pleased grandfather as he beckoned the young man into the speeder. "Jedi Asbfos, how good of you to come, I started to get slightly worried with how long it took them to find you."
"My apologies your Excellency, I was preoccupied for a moment with my morning routine, and slightly lost track of time." the Jedi said, abashed at making the Supreme Leader of the Republic wait on him.
"Now, now, don't worry about it my boy, no harm done," Anguis said, channeling every scrap of charisma he could into the comforting words, as much as he didn't mean them, "We're still well within the lunch period I have allotted for myself, so there is plenty of time left to get to the place where I have made reservations."
In reality, Anguis had all the time he could desire, having finally found cause to 'dismiss' Boot postmortem without raising suspicion, and hired several secretary droids to cover for him when he went out for his various purposes.
The speeder soared through the sky lanes of the Capital world, and the Dark Adept turned politician studied his passenger, noting that the young Jedi seemed rather ill at ease with regards to being out of the Temple. He decided to start the conversation on lighter tones therefore, to ease the boy into a sense of security with speaking to Anguis, and then, after a time, they would delve into the inner workings of the Sith or the Temple.
"So, I've heard much about the insides of the Jedi Temple," he began, "although I confess I have never been inside, even to the visitor areas. It sounds like a wondrous place to grow up in."
That started the slow back and forth, as Anguis would ask innocent questions regarding life as a Jedi, and Johell would tentatively give answers, slowly growing more accustomed to the Chancellor's presence, when they pulled down to the ground next to a top level restaurant that Anguis had chosen for the privacy and elegance that it provided their most important patrons.
The Senate guards formed a vanguard, although the street was mostly empty, one could never be too sure, and Anguis walked side by side with the Jedi Knight, knowing that many of the select onlookers would take note of a Jedi with the Chancellor and keep their distance.
Nodding respectfully to the greeters for the restaurant, Anguis led the young Knight to his favored booth, far in the back where the partitions could be pulled closed by his guards from the outside and they would have perfect privacy.
Taking up one of the menus from the table and browsing it for a moment, Anguis smiled at the Jedi, "Feel free to order anything you like, lunch is completely on me, as thank you for agreeing to speak with me on such short notice."
"You're too kind, you Excellency," the Jedi replied, sticking strictly to formality. Anguis waved it away quickly, "Please, in private call me Drakis, I find the life of Chancellor of the Republic gets far too stuffy at times, and behind closed doors it's rather tiring."
The Jedi smiled, but made no reply, probably uncomfortable calling another by their first name. Jedi were always so pompous that way. Their waiter arrived, and Anguis happily ordered a Bantha steak, cooked rare, along with a bottle of fine Andoan wine.
The Jedi seemed to have difficulty with so many choices, so Anguis decided to assist him when the waiter turned toward him, "Might I suggest, my friend, the smoked Nerf with a glass of Alderaanian brandy? It is one of my other favored meals at this establishment, and it rather safe for one who might be unused to such fine dining."
The Jedi colored at the choice of words, probably true as they may be regarding his lack of culture when it came to dining, but accepted the recommendation, and bowed his head as the waiter departed. "It's no issue, my boy," Anguis continued, "I understand that Jedi are not used to such extravagances, out in the rim territories saving the Galaxy all the time. You eat what you are given or can easily get and gladly."
The young man smiled, clearly thankful that the Chancellor understood his plight well. "Yes," Anguis continued, "there is much that is different between being a Jedi and the average citizen, but that is to be expected, is it not. Defenders of the Republic instead of another innocent caught in the crossfire as it were."
It was time for him to steer the conversation a bit more forcefully to where he desired it, Anguis decided as the waiter returned with their drinks. Swirling the deep purple color, Anguis took a long smell of the Aqualish-made wine before sipping it lightly. Many humans were not able to stomach such a beverage, but being both a Mage-born and gifted with the Force allowed the Chancellor to easily digest things that normally would cause many problems, and it did well to be seen partaking in other culture's delicacies from time to time.
It also didn't hurt that in the process of this he had developed a rather strong liking toward the outlandish drink, although he was always careful to not overindulge. But that was all lost upon the Jedi before him, who had likely never had a drink, let alone had the knowledge to tell them apart by taste or smell.
It was almost amusing to watch the young man sip slowly at his brandy, savoring it as his first real taste of alcohol. "Alas, time is starting to press upon us," Anguis said after their food came, and the waiter departed once more, "and I must begin asking rather uncomfortable questions, purely to help the Republic that I know we both love."
The boy nodded, gingerly taking a bite of his meat, before slipping in his stoic mask bred into him by the Jedi for a moment as the flavor burst in his mouth. Anguis knew that the cooks here did their utmost for just the casual patron. For the Chancellor therefore, they had pulled out all the stops to impress and delight the senses.
"I heard from those I have who are friendly to me that you were rescued from out of the clutches of the Sith on Korriban…" Anguis started, leaning forward a bit conspiratorially as the boy enjoyed some more of his meal, "Is this true?"
The young Jedi said nothing for a few moments, before slowly he nodded. Anguis could sense that the Jedi was still greatly uncomfortable with what had happened to him, a byproduct of his inferior training naturally, but there was not ample time to wait for him to move on.
Steadily, Anguis started asking his questions, starting at the most trivial things, such as the architecture of the planet, and what the Sith were attempting to accomplish with the tombs, subtly alternating and making comparisons to the Jedi Temple, snagging a comprehensive description of the layouts for each as they went, before moving to the more militaristic and political styled questions.
The boy answered them, slowly, and Anguis was able to thoroughly enjoy his own meal as the boy rambled on in his descriptions, keeping himself together for the duration of their discussion. "If I may ask, Chancellor, why do you want to know all of this?" the Jedi asked after while, as the empty plates and glasses were collected.
"Well, as you know I am a Mage-born," Anguis started, drawing his wand and setting on the table for emphasis, "and as such I was one of those unfortunate to know the Emperor when he was a young boy… now that I think on it he was rather frightening, and it is no surprise that he turned out so evil… But regardless, I suppose that I wish to combine as much knowledge that I have of him with anything else others may have discovered in hopes to try and deduce his plans on invading the Republic, and hopefully stop him at a crucial moment to teeter the flow of the war back in our favor."
"Incidentally," Anguis continued as the Jedi looked extremely thoughtful at his words, "You have met him in his more recent years, haven't you? Would you tell one who knew him as a child what he looks like now? I just want to see in my mind how much he has aged. From what public records we have the Jedi tell us that the use of the Dark Side warps a man's image, makes them old before their time. It may be petty, but I wonder if I myself have aged better than he."
Johell paused, "No, I feel that he has aged quite well, despite that bit of knowledge, which now that I recall it does seem strange. He barely looks a few years over twenty, whereas you are if you don't mine my prediction, nearing your forties?"
Anguis nodded, he was thirty-nine, but the guess was close enough. How had Veneficus managed to preserve his youth so well? Was it an art of the Dark Side, or something else unexpected? He had rarely seen more of the other man's face aside from the jaw and mouth from the way he held his hood over his face when they had been on speaking terms, but now that was no longer possible.
"Thank you, Jedi Knight Asbfos, for helping an old man answer some questions regarding the enemies of the state." He said while rising, the Jedi following suit, "I hope to potentially share another meal with you some time in the future. It isn't good for friends to go long without contact." As they exited, and Anguis noticed that Johell had relaxed compared to earlier that day.