Vernon Hala
SWRP Writer
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2017
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Alderaan.
Vernon Hala laughed heartily as the Alderaanian cracked an absolutely lifeless joke about the most recent tax hike on a particular type of Alderaan fish. He even put his hands on his hips and scrunched his face as he looked around to the other delegates, exchanging knowing glances with the Onderonians among him and laughing all the more loudly when looking to those from Alderaan. The newly appointed adviser to the Iziz city council, the full details of what the job entailed still unknown to Vernon two months in, was a part of an Onderon good-will delegation to Onderon.
While it was well known that Alderaan and its people to some extent looked down on Onderon and her 'wild ways,' it was also well known that the two planets were interconnected. Within the republic and within their own trade agreements, the interests of Onderon were often similar to those of Alderaan. And for those times where they were not, it was especially important to maintain positive relations where some arm-twisting might be of service to one or the other.
And so Vernon Hala was, walking with some Onderon nobles he had only met a few days ago, swapping jokes about being rich and members of the aristocracy with Alderaan nobles. For a man who had purposefully lived a life of poverty for most of his life, he felt wildly out of place. But the Jedi had taught him how to pretend he was laughing.
"Wild, Donald, truly wild," Vernon replied to the joke, a true knee slapper. Gesturing over to a fellow Onderonian delegate, he continued, "Melania, what was that bit you were telling us earlier? The one about the new import tariff?" The Onderonians all laughed before they even heard the joke, remembering well the bit that their fellow delegate had performed for them while en route to the beautiful world.
As Melania began her joke anew, Vernon tuned her and the others out as they walked, taking in the sights. The six of them - three Alderaanians and two other Onderonians - were walking down a ramp on an absolutely stunning gorgeous day. They were leaving a diplomatic session in the capital building, and ahead of them were some of the nicest streets in the nicest section of the nicest city on Alderaan. All of the majestic world's culture and affluence and best of society was displayed for them on this seemingly magic walk. Well dressed people of all different types - politicians, diplomats, businesspersons, and the like - brushed elbows as the little party started making their way down the street. Most were human, of course, but there were several aliens interspersed as well.
Vernon had visited the world a few times in his duties as a Jedi, but he had never seen such splendor. He had frequented the less nice parts of this city, and indeed the worst parts of the planet. He looked up to the orbital station, smiling fondly at the memories. They were out for the day, and having struck up a pleasant conversations with these folks, they had all agreed to go to lunch. The Arte Cafe. Sounded fancy, but it was on the Monarch's dime, so Vernon didn't mind.
Melania finished her joke, and so Vernon tuned into the conversation. During the meetings, all six of them had taken part in an interesting roundtable on how a new republic tax bill might effect the expert and import of fine textiles, an issue important to both worlds. It was interesting issue, and although it meant a lot more to the manufacturers of Alderaan, Onderon had some business that had been very local about the issue. It appeared that Onderon would be siding with Alderaan in trying to defeat the bill, but, that was what the lunches and the meetings and the roundtables were about. Not that any of them were decision makers on the matter, or anything close to it, but it was good to have dialogue. Or so they said.
As they strolled along the street, basking in the warm sunshine and taking in the clean, vogue looking city, they quickly arrived to the Arte Cafe. "Table for six," someone said, as Vernon continued to focus all of his attention on taking in the breathtaking Alderaanian culture. The six stepped carefully out of the sunshine and into the foyer of the restaurant, and as he passed through the door, Vernon looked off to his right. As he did, he caught a glimpse of the signature Jedi robes. He stopped there, allowing the rest of his party to enter as he regarded the Jedi. He wasn't sure if the robbed warrior noticed him or not, but something about the young human gave him a sense of familiarity.
Still, this was no time for him to deal with his Jedi problems. Vernon stole into the cafe, closing the door behind him. They were in a corner seat to their right, right along side these large, beautiful windows. The cafe was beautiful, Vernon had certainly never been in such a place before. At least that means the Jedi won't be running into me here, he thought to himself, taking a seat with a smile. He sat with his back to the wall, allowing him to see both the entrance and out the window. He wanted no surprises here, and certainly none that would reveal his true life's work to the fellow Onderon delegates sitting with him at the table.
@Richie B.