| abstract
| - The nearby monsters of architecture, a.k.a. Fortress Zergata and Tei Spire, loom high in the skyline of the Nar Shaddaa landscape. The Hutt moon is not missing for such architecture as it seems to dominate the horizon. Really, you would think the Hutts could hire a decent designer and architect to provide something new and attractive. About a thousand meters from the entrances of the two spires is a temporary platform. It is complete with audio setup and a few chairs and dignitaries. The President of Sullust is currently making some final adjustments to the system as he stands at the podium. He turns to look over at Euphemia as he pulls a small device with a few buttons on it from under the podium. "Everything is wired up, tested, and ready to be executed. Shall we begin with the speeches?" Standing well back in the crowd, there is one man that wears a black leather coat. He leans on some crates and keeps a keen eye on the crowd that is gathering. Lines of clones are drawn up in front of the platform in neat little rows, their serried ranks perfectly motionless, their scarlet-painted bodies catching the moonlight. Euphemia stands on the podium by Pesiro, clad in a dramatic war robe trimmed with purple and gold. She nods calmly to Pesiro. "Certainly." James Loro tries to reach a better viewing point for the festivities Gand loiters around the street, watching quietly. Draven stands behind the podium, his hands crossed at his abdomen. He stares out into the masses with a blank expression. A silent sentry, for now. Near one of the edges of the group, a pilot (Richard) and a shorter, presumably human female figure (Anneke) with her face obscured by a headscarf and goggles come walking in. "Ya told me back'n Corsica that it'd be a good show 'ere, uh?" The girl says, a very pronounced Corsican accent, of the lower class variety. Pesiro nods his head to Euphemia. "Very well. I guess I am going first?" Pesiro queries. The quite young, and very conservatively dressed, Terienn keeps her head down and stays to the back perimeter as much as possible as she emerges from the Casino. Heard of a speech to be made by Euphemia and since he is keeping his adoptive sister out of trouble, which is news to him, only having found out that he had a sister. So when he did find out, he had a friend, namely Anneke take him to Corellia and fter talkign to some friends in CorSec, met up with his new sister and found out she had a ship, and well one thing lead to another and now both are here to watch the speech. Richard loosk at Alina, "No no trouble from you," he says. "Nar Shaddaa is Hutt territory, and there are always people here lookign to make a credit on anything from spice to slaves. So no wondering too far from me," he says to her. "I am not fully healed after my little incident with a Jedi on my ship, which cost me my ship, so if there is a fight here, whihc I hope not, find me and than we will find cover." he states. Ciar kind of hovers out of the way in the back, he isn't the sort that would end invited to such a place so more just happened to be here to watch anyway. He takes a look at the people and then back to see what exactly is going on. An elbow rests on a crate, Chas seems to be watching the crowd more than the speakers and the podium. A hand toys with the tooth pick that is worked at the corner of his mouth. He almost looks board. But those sharp eyes keep moving and surveying his surroundings. Euphemia nods curtly to Pesiro. "You may indeed." She says, otherwise observing the crowd from her place on the podium with a calm, if somewhat tight smile on her lips. "Ya worry t'much," The girl says back to Richard. "Ain't nothin'ere that's any worse than the slums on ... though it smells a bit more like bantha poodoo 'ere 'stead o'the 'eavy industry." A pause, "All the gangs there just wanna find the same things. Ain't no diff." Pesiro nods his head to Euphemia and turns to the podium. He puts the small mechanical device on top of the podium and taps on the speaker system. It gives off a little echo and he nods. "Gentle beings of Nar Shaddaa. Thank you for coming today to watch a momentous occassion for yourselves... and the galaxy as a whole. It has been said that the architecture of a culture is its most enduring system. Today, Sullust and the Black Imperium will begin removing the culture of the Brood of Zergata from the galaxy." Pesiro takes a breath as he collects himself for the rest of the speech. Richard Tan nods, "Been there a few times," he says with a nod as he looks around, with his eyes, and than as the politicians begint o talk, he shuts up and listens, but his hand does rest on his hip. Additionally, he has not seen Chas yet. Vordo the Hutt nods approvingly at all the words, listening along attentively. Terienn moves with a slow and deliberate pace to step a few meters away from the Casino entrance. With her hands folded in front of her torso, she moves as smoothly as a shuttle in orbit. James Loro has reached a point near the front of the crowd and halts to watch the show. An old drunk comes up to Chas and gives him an elbow "Eh, not'n like a big explos'n is there? Say fella, how 'bout a few credits for a fella down on 'is luck...what say ya, be a sport, mmk?" To which Chas chuckles and does hand over a few credits "Now I would suggest you best be getting out of here, never know what is likely to happen. Might even be some shooting." The old drunk begins to laugh till he looks up at Chas, sees something in his eyes and quickly scampers away from the black clad figure. Ciar just stands back and watching, curious as to the gathering. Among the neat rows of scarlet clones, one among them, seated appears to be having sporadic spasms and twitches, it convulses briefly unnoticed by the other clones. A Black's officer standing rigidly on the platform behind Euphemia, gives the creature a wary stare, he cannot help but burst out in a low voice to himself, "Why can't we use regular armies like everyone else? Damned freakish monsters." Effie only smiles, and, folding her hands, watches Pesiro with a calm and mild expression of approval. "Almost a shame." Anneke, or Alina, says. "Kinda cool lookin' buildings." She pauses and a wide and impish grin comes to her face. "But'll be soooooo sweet ta see 'em blow up! Boom!" She starts to laugh wildly. She starts to jump up and down, and stand on her tiptoes. "But I ain't gonna see a thing with all these people here, I'm too fekking short!" Richard Tan nods, "Yea and I am sure that when the fireworks go off, whoever it is that owns them, if they have any followers will be madder than a flock of mynocks looking for food," he says to Alina as he listens. "The Brood of Zergata had haunted the galaxy for the last year. Its stench was a plague upon the galaxy. Recently, the members of the Brood of Zergata have slowly been rounded up or passed on to their next sorry lives. At least on the Rim. That round-up will continue as the Black Imperium and Sullust begin to clean up the worlds of Ardak, Camodai, and Gamor Prime and return them to something that can actually be seen as government as approved by the cultures and peoples of those worlds." "However, in the Republic, these murders, thieves, rapists, kidnappers, and con-men are able to run free and there is where the remnants of the Zergata remain. Leaders such as Zilana Luce and Edward Zamir have escaped justice, to this point, seemingly through the greed of various Republic officials. Sullust and the Black Imperium calls upon the Republic worlds to throw off their corrupt leadership and bring these heathens and besmirchers of justice to the places they belong." Pesiro begins to finish the last of his speech. "It is time to celebrate, however. Justice and peace will be brought to this galaxy by the actions of good sentients, like those that sit behind me. Leaders who REALLY understand what it takes to annihilate despots, warlords, and thugs from this galaxy. Let us listen to one of these sentients before the fireworks begin. It is my pleasure to introduce, Euphemia Bellamy, the Lady Mediator of the Black Imperium." Pesiro claps briefly before taking the small mechanical device from the podium in hand and moving out of the way for Effie. Ciar cocks his head to the side and listens curiously to the speeches. James Loro listens to Pesiro's words then his brow furrows it thought and he goes slightly pale. Now left alone as the drunk scurries off, Chas smiles and looks back to the crowd. As Pesiro begins to speak he turns his attention to the podium, a hand fingers the blast that hangs from a strap on his shoulder. Alina giggles some more, and continues to peak around. "See, ain't nothin'ta fear right'ere. They're all sorta troops an'everthin." She shrugs and starts trying to push her way into the crowd... whether or not Richard is going to let her. Euphemia steps forward, her face a cool and icy mask of calm blonde beauty. There is a slight twitch of sarcasm to her lips as she holds up her white hands in a gesture of greeting. "Sentients of Nar Shaddaa and visitors from the wider galaxy, you stand in the shadow of two most barbarous structures, which have long struck fear into the people of the galaxy. Strange, how swiftly such power can evaporate; or not strange, when you reflect that there is a justice in the galaxy which punishes the bad and rewards the good. It is up to all of us to act as agents of this justice. We must be willing to destroy these barbarians utterly--the Brood, corrupt leaders everywhere, pirates and militants, and their spiritual brethren, the Stormtroopers. "When I say destroy," she adds sternly, "I mean it. If we do not, we will have no one to blame but ourselves when they destroy us." Draven nods slightly as he listens, the action cementing his thoughts on the matter. At the mention of Storm Troopers is the slightest shake of his head and a sad frowmn. Chas shifts a little as Euphemia speaks, but a smile comes to him when he hears about the destruction of the Stormtroopers. The Sullustan's brow furrows as the visor covering his eyes adjusts a bit as his face shifts shortly after the comment of the stormtroopers. James Loro barely hears the words, his mind still whirring away at full capacity. Vordo the Hutt listens attentively to the speech. Terienn listens politely and intently to the speeches. She stays as neutral and passive as possible, but the tension of a frown gradually creeps into the young gal's facial muscles. Ciar raises a brow as well, of course that doesn't bother him too much, more lately than oft his people have ended up mercenaries and probably against the whiteheads. But it is still a bit curious, he lets his eyes wander to see the effects of others. "Now, some of these foes of peace have already suffered the punishment for their misdeeds," Euphemia says crisply. "Others will in time. In all cases, they should be on notice that the free people of the galaxy will not stand for their piratical ways. Today it is the Brood's turn to pay the penalty. Tomorrow and hereafter, President Nonobi will lead the way in creating real freedom in the systems the Brood once pillaged. Under his capable direction, they will transition to peace and justice and freedom, and to democracy. President Nonobi, back to you." Richard Tan nods, "Yea, but that kind of gathering can always draw people out Alina," he says. "I've learned that bother the easy way and the hard ways," he says simply as he follows her. Pesiro seems a bit surprised at the last couple of sentences before standing up and heading over to the podium again. He keeps the little mechanical dvice in his hand this time as he arrives and speaks. "I believe it is time for the fireworks to begin. I would like to thank his exalted, Vordo the Hutt, in helping Sullust security teams in clearing the blast area and for his work in providing a stabilizing force on Nar Shaddaa after aiding us in destroying the Brood Fleet in the space over our heads." Pesiro turns toward the towers. "Feel free to watch as tyrrany takes a blow both physically and symbolically." The wayward clone tries to lean on one of the others and is rewarded with a sudden claw in the eye. It lets out a squeal and collapses. The rest of the formation does not move, but remains perfectly still. The Blacks officer groans. "Nice," he mutters to himself. "May the Force be with us," Euphemia says calmly, nodding her head toward the towers. Vordo the Hutt waves politely to the various people nearby as his name is called. Terienn takes a slow deep breath, and looks upward to the pinnacles of the towers. One thing being small is good for is slipping through tight spaces. Crowds included. And 'Alina' is navigating these crowds like it isn't a problem for her at all. She's trying to get as close as she is allowed to for seeing things go ! James Loro is shoved lightly stumbles slightly backwards still deep in thought. Ciar cocks his head to the side seeing one stumbled but the fireworks are going off about the same time so attention is mostly elsewhere at the moment. Richard Tan looks as he moves forward, beind Alina and he slows as he sees the trooper drop, for no reason at all and than sees the others not move. Blinking, he moves to catchup and grabs Alina and pulls on her, "Wait up" he says as he leans in and says something to her as the explosion goes off. Chas turns his attention from the podium to watch the towers. Richard Tan whispers to Anneke. The Sullust President brings the device up to chest level. Pesiro flips up a small box over a switch. He flips the switch downward before seeming to brace himself against something. He than puts his thumb and middle finger over finger-print identifying scanners. As soon as the little machine beeps, explosions can be heard rumbling from within both of the structures. The first few floors at the top of both buildings begin to fall in on each other as the buildings slowly fall in on themselves as both structures continue to explode level by level from the inside. The dust floats out overhead, but nothing larger than specks of dust reach the people outside the quardened off blast areas. The light from the explosions shines through the windows of the towers and glows in Effie's hair. She watches the towers shudder with rapt intentness. Vordo the Hutt nods approvingly. "That'll teach those sons of bitches.", he mutters to folks nearby. After nearly holding her breath as the detonators are set off, Terienn lets it out in a controlled, cleansing sigh. Which has the benefit of creating positive pressure to keep the dust from accidentally getting into her lungs. Just as silently and unobtrusively as she arrived, she drifts back into the casino and departs. Richard Tan looks up at the explosions and as he does, he looks aroudn the area, trying to see if by chance anyone pops out and starts trouble, which could be anyone here since there are so many people here currently. Nearly anyone of them could cause trouble. The expolsions finally break James out of his thoughts and he similes slightly as he watches the towers go. Alina squeeks at the sudden touch of her shoulder, "Hey!" She turns, and seems to be blushing under the grease on her cheeks. "Oh, sorry." She says, sheepishly. She nods to something whispered, then head turns towards the Explosion and she starts to cheer. Draven watches on, his expression again blank, the warm tones of the explosion reflected in his eyes, giving them an eerie glow. Ciar cocks his head to the side curiously and applaudes slightly at the explosions. Vordo the Hutt announces to the various folks. "To celebrate the removal of the Brood thugs from Nar Shaddaa, I shall be offering free drinks for one hour as soon as the explosions are all done. Right yonder in the Saloon." He points that way. As the tops of the spires and fortress fall into the middle, larger explosions are heard near the bottom of the spires. Suddenly, the entire building seems to fall into the bottom of the moon, far below its street levels with the pieces atop it falling further down to continue to fill in a rather large hole to house the remains of the Brood of Zergata architecture. "'Ey, Richard. What kinda fruits they got on Nar Sha?" 'Alina' asks. "Anything really good? Know I shouldn't 'ave any of the alcohol. But ain't wanting to turn down free! Right?" Richard Tan thinks and sighs, "Not much, a lot of things, fruits some but not much," he says to her as he walks with her. James Loro begins to move toward the casino entrance slowly, his brow again furrowed in thought. Vordo the Hutt stays out in the streets for a while, watching all of the buildings collapse. He looks to be super happy for whatever reason. "Well, I'm gonna wanna try the local fruitjuices then! Anyways. Got it?" The goggled girl giggles some more and looks over towards where the Hutt is. Then looks over some of the others present too. Richard Tan nods, "Alright," he says. "No arguments from me there," he adds. Vordo the Hutt is observing several buildings exploding and collapsing, namely the Zergata Fortress and the Tei Spire. Richard Tan nods, "Alright," he says. "No arguments from me there," he adds as he thinks. "Well, lets get going," he says to Alina (Anneke). And so the girl turns to begin following. "Ain't ever seen a building go down like that before. Really was pretty cool." Alina says. Still grinning widely. "Um... Is the hutt going there yet?" Richard Tan nods, "Yea, not it is just a sore throbbing feeling," he says as he still walks with a limp. Vordo the Hutt starts moseying that way at a leisurely pace once the collapses start winding down. A lone Chiss arrives in the street. She gazes out at the destruction and smiles. "Ah, now that is something to see." Sighting some familiar persons, Teela approaches. "It looks like I missed the climax of the show." Bellamy descends from the podium, a serene look in her eyes as the fortress is destroyed. She pauses for a moment just to look then approaches the collapsed clone, gone mostly unnoticed in the action. She bends down near to it and seems lost for a moment. It looks hideous and grizly, the eye gouged out and face twisted. The Blacks officer follows her down and speaks up. "Lady Mediator? Is that normal?" Effie looks up at the officer, her face pale and unreadable. "Normal?" She looks darkly at the clone on the ground. "The clones are unpredictable, Captain. This one is dead. It is behaving normally for a corpse, so far." Effie turns. "We will leave here soon." James Loro looks around and sees Teela and moves toward her. Vordo the Hutt heads on into the casino. "Teesaw, makacheesa achuta, patogga jeedai chaa jee haku dwana. Choo nobata cheeska." Hey, all right, free drinks in the saloon everyone. Ho ho ho. Richard Tan loosk and spots two people he knows, "Hey Alina, lets go over there, I want to introduce you to two freinds of mine," he says as he nod towards Teela and James. The Sullust President starts to direct traffic to tear down the platform. He pulls out a comlink. "After one hour, begin sealing the site," he speaks into it, likely to the engineer team he has own planet that setup the explosive display.
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