The Dark Academy on Korriban

Sylvain arrived at the tent of the newly appointed queen and bowed to her guards. Hopefully they remembered him as the delegation lead to the Massassi from yesterday. It would only make sense if he was showing up to greet her right?

"Sylvain of House Torsin, here to greet the Queen of the Massassi." He said loud enough for anyone in the tent to hear.

Two female massassi warriors look at the aspirant and then to pull back the hide flap. Inside two more warriors stand at attention and the queen sits on a throne of bone and hides. She polishes a black steel axe and looks up and says, “You may approach.”

Sylvain bowed and approached the queen.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance after your ascension." He smiled warmly.

"Much more influential than poor Ensign Veers I must say." He said with a knowing smile.

"I came to congratulate you and welcome you into the Empire's sphere of influence." He paused briefly, "You've come a long way in such a short period of time. I'm glad for the small part I could play in it. I'm sure you will only continue to grow and command greater power."

“What is your purpose here, Sith,” she says calmly allowing the other words to drop away.

“You speak to Jug’tih, Queen of the Gunda and soon Queen of all Yavin.”

"Merely one of formal greeting and congratulations. Aspirant Ahaya was kind enough to notify me of the nature of your ascension last night, and as the one who was elected to represent the Empire to your people, come in that formal capacity to welcome you and discuss matters of diplomacy going forward." He smiled.

"There is an attack mounting by the Yubashi, but there are more matters to discuss beyond the immediate concerns of the day."

One of her guards leans over and whispers words to her and she nods and then waves him back to his spot. She cracks her neck and smiles.

“Speak and I will listen,” she says setting the axe aside.

"As you are well aware, the Sith Empire is at war with the Republic. While I personally am quite pleased with your ascension, maintaining that position will depend on how well you serve the Empire and its interests in this theatre. We are deploying troops and resources in order to crush your enemies today; that will mean that Yavin is integrated into the Imperial colony system and you become part of our protectorate. These deals however are not made out of benevolence as you well know. It will be expected of you to continue to provide any resource or need that the Empire requires of you in exchange for our protection of you and your position."

He paused, "That much is standard Imperial procedure as you undoubtedly learned during your temporary stay at the Korriban Academy. The next level of integration however is less apparent. You were present in the Council meetings and know of the serious divisions that confront the council. Associating yourself with the proper channels can greatly influence what is expected of your people. Taxation and corvee labor can be quite oppressive given the wrong connections. I come to offer you my assistance in connecting with the proper channels in such a way that your reign may continue without serious setback."

"Your resources are stretched thin, we will not be a colony but a soverign state in support of your Empire as long as it suits our interests," she replies.

"Support that and we can speak."

"It may be possible for that to be arranged. It would take considerable influence within the Ministry of War and the Dark Council. There are few with the ability to adequately make that case to both institutions with any level of success. If I may be so bold, however, I am one with the ability to do so." He replied nodding.

"I will not bow, either you have the authority or stop wasting my time," she says.

"I would never think of it Maga... Queen Jug'tih. I am the possible means for you to obtain that sovereignty. Let me be your voice with the Council and my master. I only ask that you reward my actions on your behalf and offer any boon that you can to make sure that I am successful in accomplishing your desires." He replied.

"I have been a better working partner for you than you may want to acknowledge. I know you don't care for me, but I have proven my resourcefulness more than others that you have dealt with."

She is about to respond when two massassi drag in Layne and toss her before the Queen. She looks at the guards who bow their heads and speak and then then she nods and dismisses them.

“I base my boons on actions, you have made a good case we shall see if you can follow through. Now you, Sith,” she directs to Layne.

“Why have you intruded on my privacy?”

"Ahem," she said as she dusted herself off and straightened up, looking between the two.

"Just to tell you that if you trust him with anything, you'll probably end up regretting it."

Sylvain looked over at Layne and shook his head.

What a spiteful little child... I'm working for Baras and you can see past your nose.

“Elaborate,” the Queen says to Layne.

“You are both here, get this all out in the open.”

Sylvain looks to the girl to speak.

"I don't know what he's promised you," she said looking to Sylvain, "but whatever it is, I doubt he has the power to give it to you. His master is just using him as a posterboy for the cause, and will dispose of him the moment it's convenient to do so. Don't think that any arrangements made through Torsin will stick around afterwards."

Sylvain shakes his head in frustration, "There are very few things in this world that are permanent Queen. The nature of the universe is chaos and perpetual change. I do not promise an eternity of unchanging stability; no such thing exists. But I do offer you an immediate boon, one that would help you maneuver your new surroundings in a way that would be beneficial to both you and the Empire."

He looks at Layne, "Whether any of us are here tomorrow is uncertain. But those who defy their master's will, even in the short term, will learn that type of behavior is not acceptable in this Empire."

Then back to the Queen, "I am here today. I have use in this situation. I would ask you to allow me to use what I can today... this moment.. to bring about a mutually beneficial outcome."

"By doing what? Beg Baras to let her keep her army once we're done here? If Baras wants that to happen, it'll happen through no effort of yours. And if he doesn't want it to happen, it won't happen no matter how much you whine to him about it. You have zero power over the outcome."

He shook his head, "I have no time to deal with your lack of foresight or knowledge on the topic. Let Baras instruct you on the error of your ways. I do not have the patience for your childish games."

He looks back to the Queen, "You know better than any what I am indeed capable of. You can choose to rely on some useless and obstinate dog like this girl over here, or you can rely on someone with at least a tiny bit of knowledge of Imperial politics to help you attain what you desire. You need a wall knocked over, or a man sliced in half? Pick her. You want to avoid being immediately enslaved, and find your place in this Empire? I would not suggest selecting her for that task."

He bowed, "We all have our uses. Let me show you how productive I can actually be."

She shrugged. "You can listen to him, knowing what we know about how he operates. Or you can choose to listen to family."

If he only knew.

"I'm not the sort who'se good with secrets and betrayal. But he is. So if you're going to deal with him and you get burned, don't say I didn't warn you."

"I cannot be both helpless and able cause serious damage to the Queen. You either doubt my abilities or you doubt hers. You cannot stand on both sides of the fence." He said.

"Family or not."

"Trust an incompetent and helpless fool to play his part in any plans you make, and the helpless fool can cause serious damage."

She looked directly to Torsin. "You either have no idea what you are to Baras, or you're putting on a brave face. But you're not fooling me the way you've managed to fool your friends, Torsin."

"So the Queen is not able to make up for the mistakes of a helpless fool with no real power or influence? Interesting perspective."

Sylvain then shook his head and turned back to the Queen.

"We have wasted more than enough of your time Queen with this meaningless dispute. If you would like to discuss the particulars of how to achieve your goals, I suggest we continue doing so in private. If you elect to refuse my offer, I would be more than happy to leave."

He bowed his head slightly and waited for the Queen's response.

“I have heard enough. Sylvain, your words are heard and will be considered. I cannot make such a decision with haste, we have a battle to win and I must devote my thoughts to the survival of the tribe. I do look forward to building a strong relationship with the Empire,” she says firmly.

“We have heard your concerns Layne, and shall consider our connections to the Empire, carefully. I will not sell the massassi into bondage, our sovereignty and freedom is vital to our way of life,” she replies strongly.