Ask Petty Is as Petty Does

[Jin Vaisra]

Jin felt a strange pressure on his windpipe as Emil spoke of the Jedi and the Sith. He thought a fish bone might have been lodged into his throat, perhaps down his larynx, and he rubbed at his neck muscles, trying to figure out the source of his discomfort. He cleared his throat, and when that didn’t work, he adjusted the collar of his dress shirt—still, nothing. It was only after Emil had finished his initial sermon that Jin felt the weight lift, and he sucked in a cold breath of air.

“Just because I am a senator does not make me your lapdog, Chancellor. You can at least afford a ‘please.’ Don’t forget I put you where you are. I doubt it will take much to see you topple.” Jin knew he was speaking too rashly. It was more than a vague insult, but a very clear threat. Emil could probably have him smothered in his sleep for the warning—if his guards could get past Venka—but the Senator was not worried. To beat Demeter, they would need each other.

Once they were finished, however? A different story.

Before either man could continue hashing out their scheme to depose the minister, however, one of the waiters who’d been circling the small party, keeping the guests off their back, peered in from over Emil’s shoulder. “Gentleman, I don’t mean to intrude upon your conversation, but I am afraid we have a slight problem in the suite foyer. An uninvited guest has arrived.”

Jin tossed his handkerchief onto the table. “This better be good.”

He rose from his seat and moved with Emil back inside, away from the gorgeous balcony view, to the normal din of the party, of clinking champagne glasses and boring smalltalk. It was only once he reached the foyer that he caught her, dressed in a gown the deep shade of red, with earrings and a pendant that shined under the low-hanging chandelier by the door. Her lips split into a grin.

“Chancellor Ro, Senator Vaisra,” said Minister Demeter. “It is such a pleasure to meet you both.”

@Mockingjay

 

[Emil Ro]

Emil was only slightly taken aback. He and Vaisra had rattled the bear's cage so-to-speak. It shouldn't be surprising that a caged animal would want to bite back. Still, he cursed their predicament. They weren't ready for a confrontation yet. They needed more time to get their hand in order.

"Minister Demeter," he said, cool tone masking the uncertainty he felt. "What a surprise. I didn't know you were in the capital. I had heard you were in the countryside, ministering to the afflicted."

Emil took the moment to size her up. Demeter was taller than he had expected. She was barely shorter than Jin. Fire from the nearby chandelier danced in her eyes, and she stood straight, a loose smile playing at her lips. She was confident. If anything they had done unnerved her, her poise didn't betray it. At once, he took back the metaphor of the caged bear. It was clear she didn't feel trapped, but he suddenly did.

Emil's eyes trailed past her to the door she had walked in through. The minister had not come alone. Members of the local press were lingering nearby. The witch was smart. She had sprung their trap with a trap of her own. And they needed to escape without suffering casualties, or this whole public experiment would backfire spectacularly. His gaze returned to her as she stalked closer to them.

"There are poor souls in need of my help here in the capital too, Chancellor," she said. "And I could hardly pass up an opportunity to meet with the Chancellor and the son of Fondor's new nobility." She eyed Jin carnivorously. "I'm sure you both have much you wish to discuss with me. I am terribly sorry I could not attend your early meetings with my fellow ministers; but let me rectify that now... by speaking with the both of you on a matter of great import to me."

"What matter might that be, Minister?" Emil asked.

She smirked. "The matter of our independence." @Song

 

[Jin Vaisra]

The shock of seeing Minister Demeter in person for the first time instantly evaporated the second she opened her mouth. If anything, he almost broke out into laughter. “Independence? Isn’t that rich. I hope you have not come all this way just to give us another one of your rehearsed speeches about ‘Death’ and ‘Nature,’ because unlike your followers, we are not so easily charmed by big words and false promises.”

Demeter didn’t seem fazed by his insults. She just smiled. “Crow all you like, Senator Vaisra. You cannot change destiny.”

Jin scoffed. Destiny can rightfully go fuck itself, he wanted to say, but refrained from speaking further, knowing the last thing he and Emil needed was a public altercation with the Minister. They could not afford to give her ammunition to sink into the local media. Both of them would have to play this carefully, no matter how much Jin wanted to order his bodyguard Venka to snap open the woman’s jaw like a pistachio. Retaliation could come later. For now, he would have to be patient.

Minister Demeter sighed, her gaze roving across the foyer, before she traced a finger along one of the nearby candelabras. “This is quite an opulent suite you have, Chancellor Ro. Fresh gardenias, chandeliers encrusted with gold, marble floors and mahogany paneled walls. And is that white truffle I smell in the air? I must say, for such a private gathering, you sure spare no expense for luxury. Ironic, considering there are those suffering outside the city gates as we speak. The poor, and the sick, and the weary. Hundreds of innocent souls begging for shelter, for deliverance.”

“For many months I have ministered to them, guiding them to a higher path, but where was the Republic until now?” Demeter’s red lips flattened to a line. “I know you do not care for the people of this world. You have come here because of Brentaal, but you cannot stop what’s already begun. The Republic is in decline. It is only a matter of time before it collapses as it had centuries ago.”

@Mockingjay

 

[Emil Ro]

Emil had frankly grown tired of this line of thinking. It was prevalent in the Galactic Senate too. This notion that the New Republic was in decline, close to collapse, as if the Free Worlds Alliance was not just a loose conglomeration of rural backwaters or the Consortium wasn't mostly barren wastelands with a few opulent planets, like Naboo, sprinkled like salt in between. The Sith Empire might be growing into a rival, but the Republic was still an economic and military titan, even without Brentaal and its sleazy, traitorous senator.

"You arguments are outdated, Senator," Emil said, folding his arms across his chest. "The Republic has fallen twice in its thousands of years as a galactic superpower; and both times it sprung back within two decades of its so-called fall. How many other governments have risen, claiming to be the ones to replace it, and where are they now? How many Sith Empires have risen and cannibalized each other with a decade of reaching their peaks? The Republic isn't going anywhere. But you may be."

Minister Demeter bristled. "Are you threatening me, Chancellor?"

"I am." Emil felt suddenly emboldened, smelling blood and noticing an opportunity. "How would the good people of this planet react to learn you were using their pain to further your own ends, Minister? What would they do if they found out there was more to this plague that ravages them than meets the eye?"

"What preposterous charges. I demand you—!"

"Show my proof?" he scoffed. "That's exactly what I intend to do. But not here. Not today. I have been summoned to this world to take part in an investigation into the causes of this so-called plague. The findings will come out in a week's time." It was bold. He was putting a time limit on their mission. But he needed this move. He could already see the press salivating behind Demeter. "We shall see if you are so confident in the Republic's fall then, Minister." @Song

 

[Jin Vaisra]

Jin had caught the flash of panic in Demeter’s eyes at Emil’s threat, at the possibly that the Republic may have uncovered her plans, but it was gone moments later, replaced by an icy expression and a curled lip. “Let me assure you, Chancellor Ro, the only thing you will find between me and this plague is that I am the only one with the heart to fight it. Not the Republic, and especially not you. But I will eagerly await your so-called ‘findings’ by next week. Just be careful not to jump to conclusions, Chancellor, else you may end up jumping into a grave of your own making.”

Now, that was a threat. Jin was almost tempted to order one of the guards to grab the Minister and throw her over the balcony, but he knew that probably wouldn’t play out well with the public or the other present ministers. But he did plan to be rid of her, one way or another. Emil may have a different line of thinking, but Jin was thorough. He would not allow Demeter to stay imprisoned in some cushy cell. He would not give her the chance to escape this planet. She was too great a threat to the Republic—and Fondor’s stability—to keep alive.

“I hate to be a burden on your little party, gentlemen, so I’ll leave you to your own devices,” said Demeter, flicking her eyes between both of them. “But we will be seeing each other again, that I do not doubt.” Then she turned and left through the door, the silk train of her dress following after her like a shadow. Jin considered stomping on it and letting her trip on the way out, but refrained from doing so.

Once she was gone, however, he hovered beside Emil with a quizzical expression on his face. “Did you really think it was wise telling her exactly what we intend to do next week? She’s going to be even more frantic and unpredictable in the coming days. Last thing I think either of us want is a package full of poison gas showing up at our doorstep. You do remember Coruscant, don’t you?” They’d nearly been assassinated, and just for meeting with Magistrate Nomes. Who knew what plans Demeter would concoct to stop them?

@Mockingjay

 

[Emil Ro]

"Relax, Senator," Emil huffed. He was used to other politicians underestimating him; but Jin, for all their animosity, should know better by now. "Frantic and unpredictable is exactly how we want her. For starters, she knows we're after her adoring fanbase, which means she'll spend more time in public than in the shadows plotting our deaths. Second, whoever is working in the shadows with her will now be frantic to cover up their connections. Hopefully that means they'll be easier to find."

His mind began to puzzle out exactly what channels they would need to keep tabs on. Bank transactions, public amenities, organizations hosting her bizarre speeches. All would be easy enough thanks to their positions atop the government. The second this shadowy benefactor made their move, they would catch them. That left the Minister herself. Emil's gaze slid out of his thoughts and over to Jin.

"You enjoy destroying people's lives, don't you, Vaisra?" Emil asked, grin crawling across his face. No doubt Jin would deny the charge in front of their esteemed guests, but they both knew how he wanted to answer. A Vaisra's livelihood was made by destroying that of others. A plan came quickly together in Emil's mind. "Very well, then. I leave Minister Demeter to you. Humiliate her at one of her events, dig up the worst bits of her past and make them public, work with local artists to put out a diss track—I don't care. Whatever tickles that smaller-and-smaller part of you that still feels human giddiness. Besides, of the two of us, you're prettier. Makes you better for these public events."

Then, it was his turn. "In the meantime, I will root around this grime-infested world in search of our mysterious benefactor. They should hold the connections we need to make our case. And Balmorra has more than a few business ties to this world I can pluck the strings of to make people uncomfortable. Maybe spook our shadow man (or woman) out of hiding."

He had to admit: it wasn't a perfect plan, and it relied on a lot of stars lining up for them. But if Jin did his part, Demeter would be too focused on saving her public face than focusing on what the Chancellor was doing. And if she and her benefactor thought he and Jin were working together on this public smear campaign, then that meant they might not suspect Emil to move on his own. At least, not at first.

"Assuming, of course," he returned his attention to Jin. "You haven't any objections?" @Song