As the sky turned crimson on yet another day in the Moff Council, Aequitas sighed with relief as he heard the Grand Moff adjourn the day’s discussion. Although a fan of politics, and quite a mighty politician at that, Aequitas did tire easily during the discussions of trivial matters, for example, when the road re-surfacing on Kroprulu would begin or when the pod races on Tatooine would begin, as there was a need for extra-security. Aequitas was just daydreaming about this when he heard a cough beside him – it was his human secretary. “Excuse me, Moff Aequitas, but we must be going.” Aequitas nodded and motioned for his secretary to tidy up his things. He leaned back in his chair for a moment and closed his eyes. Too much to be done, he said to himself, in such little time. With this thought, he smartly stood up and began to walk to the exit.
As he approached the door, he noticed that the Moff of Bastion, and Grand Moff, Darth Tarna was also leaving. Aequitas, although being an Order Head, never really spoke to him, outside of the Moff Council of course. He decided there and then, that this fact needed to change. “Excuse me, Darth Tarna; I’d just like to applaud you on your handling of the Moff Council again today. Remarkable. However, not the reason I am speaking to you and no, I do not need your vote either, at the moment”, he added noticing the look on the Grand Moff’s face. “I would like to invite you to dinner, tomorrow night perhaps, at my personal residence here on Kuat. There are some issues, I believe, the Mages and the Royal Guard may need to discuss together. The Emperor is officially opening the Emperor Shadow Institute on Aeron next week, for example. So, dinner at my manor tomorrow night?” He smiled as he awaited the answer.
Sovereign Defender Tarna
The Grand Moff turned to his secretary. She looked at a datapad briefly, and then nodded at him. Tarna turned back to the Grand Mage and smiled, "Apparently I'm free, so I'll be there. Thank you, Lord Aequitas." Tarna turned to leave, his black cloak waving behind him.
Lord Aequitas
Aequitas bowed slightly as the Shadow Protector left. Excellent, he said to himself, just excellent. He turned to his secretary who was smiling at him with the smile of a deranged child-killer on his face. “Um, come along Grayson, are you feeling ok? You look a little odd”. No sooner than the words had come out of Aequitas mouth, Grayson dropped dead. There was a gasp and people ran over to see what had happened. Aequitas groaned and pointed at a young girl. “You there, are you employed presently?” She shook her head slowly. “Good, pick up those notes, books, etcetera and follow me, you’re my new secretary”. He said, void of emotions. That’s the third one this year, he said to himself.
The next evening, Aequitas was sitting in his parlour reading the HoloNet. Apparently, there were rumours of a top government official being gay. He read on and sighed, it did not mention whom. That would have been fun the next day in the Moff Council. As he placed his pad back on the table, his butler walked in. “Excuse me, milord, but Dark Lord Tarna is here for dinner. Shall I escort him into the dinner room, or here, sir?” Aequitas looked at the butler with a blank look on his face. “Oh my Sidious, I forgot about the dinner. Thank heavens you didn’t. Here, Geoffrey, here. Thank you.” He shook his head in wonderment. He never forgot anything. This was odd.
Sovereign Defender Tarna
Tarna walked into the charming parlor in his all-white robes. The white robes combined with his pale skin and all-white hair made him look like an angel of sorts, but anyone who knew him would laugh at such a remark. "Sorry I'm late, the Grand Inquisitor's office called and I couldn't slip away." He looked around and commented, "Very nice. My penthouse at 1500 Imperial Drive is all glass and modern stuff. Classical homes are refreshing now and then." he said, making small talk.
Lord Aequitas
With a smile, Aequitas stood up and bowed slightly. “Thank you, Shadow Protector. Yes, I like my home to be classical. My office has so much technology; it is nice to have somewhere nice and different to come home to”. He smiled as he motioned for Tarna to sit across from him. “Ah, the Grand Inquisitor. He’s such a, um, well he’s a, he’s a blind man. Yes. That is about the nicest thing I can say about him. I usually leave the High Mage deal with that Order.”
He smiled slightly. “Speaking of Orders, it is the reason I invited you here tonight, to discuss some Order issues. However, it would be rude of me to rush right into things before dinner. So until then, Lord Tarna, how goes the Royal Guard? I here you’re already looking at plots of land on Aeron?”
Sovereign Defender Tarna
"Yes, I feel the Guard Academy on Bastion isn't quite enough anymore. It's incredibly crowded, and the Order keeps growing and growing. There were some very very nice areas in the Southern Hemisphere. Large, open land perfect for training areas, shooting ranges as well as dojos, and several other things that we can't do on Bastion because of the established population areas." Tarna paused, then continued, "Speaking of which, I must say you and your men did a fantastic job with Aeron. It has so much potential now that was simply unimaginable before."
Lord Aequitas
Aequitas smiled. “Thank you, but it was really all the High Mage’s design and effort. You should pass on your thanks to him next time you see him, I know he’ll greatly appreciate it. He’s a great second-in-command, I must admit. Ever active and eager. I am lucky to have him. The Order wouldn’t be established if it weren’t for him.” He sighed slightly. “But where was I, ah yes, Aeron. I think it is a wonderful addition to our Empire. It’s handy, I think, at a time when population density is at an all time high.”
He looked into the fire. “Oh, have you seen the new timeline. The History needed reforming. As Director of the Council of Games and Canon, I assume you have actually seen it, yes?”
Sovereign Defender Tarna
(( I'm assuming you meant High Mage, not High Moff. ))
"Yes, I saw it. It's very nice, but I prefer the history in a more literary form, you know? With a timeline, there's no struggle, no emotion felt or understood. When you read the history, that's when it can truly be appreciated." Tarna picked his words carefully and continued, "I hate to be rude, but I haven't eaten since breakfast...when will food be served?"
Lord Aequitas
((Yeah, I fixed it.))
Aequitas smiled and called Geoffrey. “You may serve dinner now, Geoffrey. We’ll take it in the dinner room.” Aequitas stood and motioned for the Shadow Protector to do the same. “It’s been done since you got here, my friend.” They walked into the dinner room to an array of food. “Beef, Fish, other food stuffs, I’m not great with names. In addition, we have Onderon Ale, I believe you have a weakness for that, however if you don’t wish to drink that, there is water.”
Aequitas sat down at the head of the table. “Please, please be seated.”
Sovereign Defender Tarna
Tarna tried not to show too much joy at the thought of his favorite beverage, but he allowed a great big smile to appear on his face. "Wonderful spread." he said and sat down to eat. Picking a little bit of food from each plate, he asked, "I don't know much about your personal background, I've only ever briefly skimmed your file. Would you mind indulging me?"
Lord Aequitas
Aequitas took a glass of Chandrilan Brandy from Geoffrey and took a sip. “Of course, of course. Well lets see, I was born in Coruscant, schooled on Naboo, in 56 ABY to Senator Confucius Valorum, grand-nephew of Chancellor Finis Valorum. My Mother was an Appo, from Naboo, and Chief Aid to the Naboo Senator. I was born into politics, and was destined to live that life. I was brought into the Grand Deliberation Chamber with my father, met people from other planets, stuff like that. I was entered into some sort of Intern scheme, which saw me, at the age of 19, be appointed a High Judge in Coruscant. A great honour although I daresay alot of credits exchanged hands.”
He stopped to take a bite to eat. “Speaking of credits exchanging hands, it was when I was 22 that my father was put before us on charges of corruption. I could not handle it and just...left. I went to a bar, attacked someone with the Force, though I did not know what it was then, and was found by you, of which I am grateful, and told to go here, that is Kuat.” He sighed and took a bit more to eat. “And from then on is well known. I was apprenticed to the Emperor, received accelerated training of 5 years, became High Prophet and from then on you should know quite well. I was quite the, uh, the Sith as High Prophet.”
Sovereign Defender Tarna
Tarna smiled and gazed into his drink. "I remember that meeting. You weren't that much younger than I, honestly. That was briefly before I became Shadow Protector...by the four moons, that was almost twenty years ago." Tarna laughed and sighed, "To think I've been doing this job for almost twenty years. I've been in the Empire for thirty-nine of my forty-five years. Mom was a prophet, still is in the Order actually. I tease her all the time about how her nephew is her boss.
"If you weren't aware, Lord Praxeum and I are cousins. My mother was born Mara Praxeum, but then she married Amycus Dallow...he was a Guardsman back in the day. Lost his leg in a shuttle crash, though, and he retired before I ever got to the Guard. It was hard at first, being in the shadow of Darth Yileena and Darth Flayme. The name Dallow, really. Lot of famous ancestors...too many infamous ancestors." Tarna said as he smiled weakly.
Lord Aequitas
Aequitas chuckled in amazement. "Your mother is Mara Dallow? My word, when I was High Prophet, she was the only prophet I was actually intimidated by. I knew of course that you and Praxeum were related, but I never really clicked on the Mara connection."
"Time does fly. I feel I've been in this Empire for a lifetime, yet it hs only been aroun 20 years", Aequitas said. He paused for a moment. "Now, my friend, the Emperor's visit to Aeron next week. Will you be present?"
Sovereign Defender Tarna
Tarna finished chewing a piece of meat before saying, "I'm sorry, I won't. While the Emperor is off Kuat, I try and stay there just to keep everything nice and tidy while he's gone. However, Lord Vexen will be there representing myself and the Moff Council." He took a sip of ale. Smacking his lips together, he savored the taste of his favorite drink. "Now that the terraforming of Aeron is practically done, what's next on the Mages' to-do list?"
Lord Aequitas
Aequitas sighed and nodded. "Alas, I know what you mean. I myself won't be at the opening, I have a meeting on Coruscant. Unavoidable, of course. It's terrible I have to miss someone cutting a ribbon; it is my favourite pastime", he said with a smirk. He took another drink from his glass.
He thought for a second. "Well, there is that weird thing that keeps happening near Bastion. You stray out of an area and you get blown to pieces. It's an odd phenomena and I need to check it out", he chucked. He was refering to the public humliation the Supreme Commander recieved from the Emperor the previous week because the MAZ blew up a trading vessel that strayed out of the designated path to Bastion.
Sovereign Defender Tarna
Tarna rolled his eyes and grimaced darkly. "That was an awful affair for everyone. The people of Bastion wanted me to blast Lord Marix, but of course I couldn't. So the Governor and I played good-cop, bad-cop with the media and it worked for the most part. The trade unions are terrified and furious, of course, and have been threatening to boycott Bastion which could be disastrous!"
Lord Aequitas
Aequitas nodded, “Yes, it would. It was terrible business but I did say in the debates something like this would happen. Alas, the Supreme Commander needed the MAZ. Aeron has a good ten thousand people from Yaga Minor living on it, you know. All displaced because of his plans. Terrible, terrible”. He stopped to finish his dish.
Upon finishing his dinner, he sat back and mused for a few moments. “I was recently approached by a very non-important Moff, you know. He told me to vote no on a recent bill or he would personally blow me to pieces. I thought it was quite amusing. It seems lobbying has shifted from being bribed to being threatened. I miss the money, to be honest”. He took a few sips. “Which reminds me, the Moff for Cato Nemodia won’t be at session for a few weeks”, he said with a chuckle.
Sovereign Defender Tarna
"Yes, well, every freshman Moff comes to me with their ideas for...sports arenas and parks and for some reason they think naming it after me will help me approve it without calling a vote. Of course I call the vote, and it turns out they put a 125% tax on water and grain to fund the damn thing and then Moff Aequitas calls for hearings...it's lunacy." Tarna sighed as his plate was taken away by a servant.
"We told them, being a Moff doesn't allow you to rape your system. Those are the exact words we used!"
