| abstract
| - Disturbance In Pax City Paxo: Pax City - Promenade North The northern promenade is a bit more residential than the others. Still there are the vendors, the machine shops, the boutiques, but there are housing developments, too. The developments are pristine and tall and rise through Paxo's envirodome. Usually they contain apartments and condominiums at the lower levels and more lavish abodes further up. At on the highest floors, walkways crisscross among the towers, making virtual cities that are reminiscent of spiderwebs. To the east and west the promenade continues. To the north lies the Paxville Spire, perhaps the most distinguished housing development in Paxo City. (Grimolf) There's a minor disturbance amongst the citizens of Pax City as they go about their day. Vil, looking rather out-of-place with his disheveled appearance, seems to be lost. He walks down the street, abruptly turns around, then heads in the opposite direction... He ducks into an alley then reappears later... Occasionally, his head pokes up above the crowds and looks about before he frowns and ducks back down. Finally, he picks a bare spot of ground in the shadow of a nearby housing development and sits down, resting his back against the wall and catching his breath. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie enters the hallway in a cloud of white dress, her expression serene and un troubled, she is followed by many white-and-silver, segmented, birdlike Clones which follow behind her very silently and solemnly, though they are not terribly bright and probably only do so because they are prone to obey. She looks around and smiles graciously around the white, open, well planned city. (Grimolf) Vil looks up at the sound of the rhythmic approach of the clone army. He immediately leaps to his feet with a clatter as his pupils dilate and his head swivels around to discern what direction the army is coming from. They're hard to miss and his entire body tenses up in preparation to run... but the man swallows and very slowly turns away and starts to walk down the street with his eyes cast low. (Euphemia Bellamy) "Citizen of Paxo!" Effie calls cheerfully, "don't you feel safer knowing that the ilk of Agrippa Junik can never assault This Proud Planet again? Paxo is for peace!" (Grimolf) Despite Effie's calls, Vil just keeps on walking. He doesn't even look up. (Euphemia Bellamy) Euphemia is still smiling, she shrugs and says, "Guards, stand at attention right here, you may be scaring this citizen." Then she walks gracefully after Vil. (Grimolf) As the sound of Effie's footsteps draws closer, Vil starts to pick up the pace... He tucks in his hands inside his coat and still he keeps his eyes downcast. It makes dodging the people in front of him marginally more difficult but the man deftly steps around each one. (Euphemia Bellamy) Now Effie's forehead is beginning to furrow, most of the people on the streets of Paxo do not run away in fear. The faces that see her may look speculative or smug, but they usually don't hide beneath a coat and flee. She speeds up, skirt flowing behind her. Effie says, "Where are you going, and what do you fear?" (Grimolf) Vil shakes his head as he walks along and that momentary distraction costs him. He plows headlong into one of the people in front of him, clipping into the woman's shoulder and sending her for a tumble towards the side. He starts to tumble as well but managed to catch his footing... And, as he does so, he produces a blaster from inside the coat and aims it towards the woman. The weapon hums to life but never fires a shot. Instead, Vil finds that the woman's expression matches his perfectly: terror. "Dammit!" he hisses under his breath and turns to run. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie goes wide-eyed! "No!" she cries, angry. "Blasters are illegal on Paxo! I will not harm you, but you must not threaten my people. You will cause a panic in the streets!" (Grimolf) Too late. Most of the people are already scattering, a couple are screaming, and Vil finds himself in the middle of it all. He ignores Effie's calls and starts a dead sprint down the street to try and put as much distance between himself and the clones as possible... For the most part, the people of Paxo oblige his run. One, however, steps out into Vil's path and swings. Vil goes down with a heavy 'thud' and the other man is on him in a second. The blaster is out but, still, no shots are fired. Instead, Vil starts to wail on the man with his weapon and he starts to back off. (Euphemia Bellamy) Seeing Vil clubbing one of her citizens, Effie shakes her head in sadness. "I did not want to resort to this nonsense," she says. "Catch that man!" Effie orders her clones, and they swish forward in a gleam of silver scales, rushing toward Vil with unusual speed. "Do not kill him," she orders, "capture him alive and bring him here." (Grimolf) "Get. Offa. ME!" Vil shouts between labored breaths and punctuates each blow with a strike from his blaster. The unnamed hero is starting to regret his decision as he finds himself taking the worst of in the fight. Once he backs up enough, Vin kicks him in the chest to knock him back and starts to scramble away, his boots squeaking as they start to gain traction on the floor. (Euphemia Bellamy) The clones rush in a silver flurry up to Vil, their claws shooting out. "Don't kill him!" Effie cries as the nearest clone aims a razor jab at Vil's legs. Effie looks away, not wanting to watch. "You must surrender," she says. "Paxo does not have a death penalty and we do not even care to imprison people for long periods of time, as you must know! Stop at once and you will be spared!" A clone is killed. The others pause, waiting for orders to strike again--a particularly well-trained bunch, it seems. By now, the streets are becoming deserted, as the people leave quickly, knowing that their leader will make this problem disappear -- as usual. The less questions asked, the better. (Grimolf) Vil keeps his blaster trained on the clone even as it's corpse crumples to the floor next to him. "Got you..." he says beneath his breath and starts to turn his blaster onto the next clone. And then they stop. He pauses in turn and listens to Effie's words and the blaster wavers... then he lowers his aim until the weapon is resting on the floor and he leans his head back, eyes closed, teeth gritted against the pain. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie looks at once relieved. "Throw it down," she says, "it's so uncivilized." (Grimolf) "And... clone armies... are better?" Vil replies through his breathing, eyes still closed. (Euphemia Bellamy) "They are obedient machines which do my bidding and do not harm my citizens," Effie says crossly. "Slide that weapon over to me. They would not have harmed you at all, but you attacked one of my citizens! I suppose you are not a native? You don't look it, and nobody from Paxo is so violent!" (Grimolf) Vil chuckles to himself... the sound is hollow and devoid of humor. "At least I have the spine to do my own dirty work," he says and opens one eye to regard Effie cooly. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie looks calmly down at the man and says, "I will not order you for a third time to put down your weapon, sir, but you will put it down one way or another. My clones do their part to maintain the peace of Paxo, and act as police, to protect The Citizens from angry persons like your self, or like that misguided Agrippa Junik." She takes a step closer, her white dress billowing. "Who are you?" (Grimolf) "Vil," the man says flatly as he watches Effie. Finally, he powers down the blaster, switches it to 'safe', and turns it around so that the grip faces her as he holds it out to her. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie is not careless. She motions for him to slide it across the floor. "Please," she says, "I was in the Navy once, and know the basics of officer's blaster combat." (Grimolf) "That's nice," Vil replies... but he sets the blaster down and sends it sliding towards her with a light push. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie looks at the blaster and smiles. "More than nice," she says. "You're an officer of the Navy yourself? Which ship, if I may ask, sir?" (Grimolf) Vil shakes his head. "I don't know what you're talking about." (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie says, "This is a Naval Pistol. It is the special kind issued to officers. I was not lying, I was the commander of RNS Corellia." (Grimolf) "Then what are you doing here?" Vil asks. He props himself up on his elbows, still lying back, and winces as he starts to watch Effie. (Euphemia Bellamy) "The Republic was too corrupt for me," Effie says. "Paxo needed me, and they tried to rip it greedily in pieces. Warlord Dragen has never threatened Paxo, and is an honorable man. Not like The Politicians. What is your name and rank, officer?" (Grimolf) Vil shakes his head. "I already told you that I'm not an officer," he says and a hint of anger creeps into his voice. "What the hell would a Republic officer be doing on a Black planet anyways?" (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie says, "All sorts of things. But why are you carrying a Naval pistol if you say you aren't a member of the Navy? Let me see your identification." (Grimolf) "I bought it," Vil says quickly. At the request for his identification, his eyes narrow ever-so-slightly before he slowly opens up his coat. He shows the inside of the coat to Effie, where his datapad is tucked away, and pulls it out. Then he pushes a button and holds it up to her. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie takes the datapad and looks it over, shaking her head. "You must be a Lieutenant or less," she says, "a higher ranking officer could afford a better fake ID." (Grimolf) Vil hisses through his teeth and swallow. "It's not fake... I just had to make a new one," he says, still watching Effie. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie looks at Vil and seems a little sad. "Please do not lie to me," she says. "It is not very appropriate. I said I would not hurt you, and I won't. If you are a Republic Officer, you can be treated as a Prisoner of War, but if you are just a criminal, you will be treated as a common fugitive, which is not nearly so well protected." (Grimolf) "Well forgive me for feeling less than cooperative after your freaks took a chunk out of my leg!" Vil replies heatedly and tries to get back on his feet. But his body rejects his haste and the wounded leg buckles beneath him, making the man drop back down to his knees and hands as he catches his breath. (Euphemia Bellamy) "You need medical attention," Effie says gravely, looking at the serious wound. "I just need to know if I am obligated to give it to you, as a Prisoner of War, or if I should have you thrown out into the Waste Lands as a criminal." (Grimolf) Vil swallows and looks up to try and meet Effie's gaze and hold it, just staring at her for a moment. His brow is furrowed and his jaw clenched as his hand covers up the bleeding wound. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie says, "I want to hear your answer. You are clearly no citizen of Paxo and Tatooine is a long way from here. Why pretend? We may even return you to The Republic as a sign of our good will. We have captured five Y-Wing Pilots all ready and kept them under guard, un harmed." (Grimolf) Vil blinks. "When? Where?" he says quickly, earnestly... then immediately he breaks his gaze from Effie and looks down. (Euphemia Bellamy) "In Paxville Spire," says Effie, "in my private city. You do not have to worry about their safety. My word of honor is good enough, for I have never broken it." (Grimolf) Vil says, "When were they captured?" (Euphemia Bellamy) "They were captured this afternoon," says Effie, "in this system. We shot down their leader, and tractor-beamed the rest." Effie says, "Now, what is your real name and rank?" (Grimolf) There is a pause... and then Vil slowly picks himself back up and stands, though he leans towards one side to keep the weight off his wounded leg. "Drax Grimolf," he says as he watches Effie. "Lieutenant. And those are my men." (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie straightens up and inclines her head. "Thank you, Lieutenant, you have made the right decision. Come with me -- you need medical treatment, but first I want you to see something." (Grimolf) Grimolf nods slowly and starts to follow Effie, walking slowly as he shifts his weight from one leg to the next. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie leads Grimolf north, and the silver clones follow her. (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie steps out into the first level of the Spire, which has been refitted for war. Guarded by turrets and by a combination of well-armed humans and silver-scaled clones in uncounted hundreds, this place is a terrifying sight. Someone with a very cool head could probably count almost three thousand ... "I can add a thousand clones a day, if I want to," Effie says. "I do not believe in under preparation. Merr Sonn is even more heavily guarded. If you decide to go back to the Republic, I will release you on Sullust to return to the Republic bases. But understand that by the time you get back to Corus II, I will have five thousand clones here, and more coming. The Republic will never seize this world from its people. We are free." She wears a tranquil smile. "You could join us," she says softly. "Surely you have seen the corruption in the Republic. No one could defeat a Republic that was unified and uncorrupt, but today we shattered it." (Grimolf) Grimolf follows Effie and silently takes in all the sights that she is showing him. His eyes widen as he surveys the clone armies and then he slowly turns his gaze back towards Effie. "And you would claim that your Black Empire is corruption free?" (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie says, "Nothing is perfect, one of my hot-headed underlings was saying he wanted your men executed on live holovid. But I am not corrupt and neither is Warlord Dragen, and we will build a brighter future. As you can see, I am making Paxo a paradise." (Grimolf) "A paradise with clone armies walking the streets..." Grimolf says darkly. "Listen to yourself: Warlord Dragen. "Warlord." What part of that word conveys 'peace' to you?" he asks as he walks. (Euphemia Bellamy) "If you would prepare peace, prepare war," Effie quotes. She says, "You have never met him, have you? Only fought against us in the air. Our clones are not ravenous Monsters, they can be controlled and made disciplined. The Clones will do what they are told to do. And I cannot pretend to live in a world of black and white, Lieutenant. The Republic is a far darker grey than the Blacks." (Grimolf) Grimolf shakes his head. "No, I haven't," he admits. "The most I've seen of Nash is his trying to whitewash the subjugation of another planet on galactic broadcast." (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie says, "The Republic Guard sacked Bespin and Ord Mantell. I think they probably didn't publicize the fact that Lord Dragen did not, and invested in both planets. Well, now there's war, and we will do what it takes to win. I myself am the niece of the Supreme Justice--do you think I would embark on a war lightly when my Uncle is one of the most powerful men on the other side?" (Grimolf) "If I recall, it was your Warlord who declared war on the Republic," Grimolf replies. "Not the other way around. How much have you personally invested in this war? You're safe here in a bubble city behind walls of mindless drones ready to die for you." (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie looks Grimolf in the eye and says, "That kind of platitude doesn't impress me. I have put myself in front of blaster fire for Paxo. I have fought off Agrippa Junik's armies in person, crushed your fleet in numerous battles, spent my entire fortune to protect Paxo from the Republic, and doubtless made your merciless Republic will have me killed as a traitor if we should ever lose, in sharp contrast to the honorable mercy I am showing you. Better to ask what you have invested in your side, Lieutenant." Effie says, "I can't even travel to Paxo without risking an attack from Republic ships. My safety is not particularly safe." (Grimolf) Grimolf meets Effie's gaze and his eyes narrow. "I turned down my personal fortune so that I could fight for my people. I've been doing it for years. I haven't lost clones, ships, or credits in this war," he says, "I've lost friends. My brothers and sisters. People who were far closer to me than blood ever could be. I fought alongside them. And I watched them die." (Euphemia Bellamy) "I fight alone," Euphemia says quietly. "If you think that is easy to do so, you have learned nothing from your friend's deaths. I do not think we are engaged in this war to mourn for the lives of those we've lost. I too have lost someone that was dear to me, but ever since he died, I have been alone. Most of my friends are on the other side." She smiles. Effie shrugs, "And if you don't think that is more difficult then fighting on the same side, you have learned even less about hardship and sacrifice." (Grimolf) "We do not fight so that we can mourn," Grimolf agrees... "But you are fighting people. You are tearing this galaxy apart and there is a price being paid by countless innocent people. And for what? You tell me that it's because of the Republic 'corruption.' What did the Republic do to your Warlord to make him raise a fleet and this abominable army in the Outer Rim?" (Euphemia Bellamy) Effie says, "Would you like to ask him? He will probably give you an answer, though he does insist on being addressed as Warlord, by his full title. Much as any Admiral would." (Grimolf) Grimolf watches Effie silently for a moment... then nods. "Actually, yes. I would." (Euphemia Bellamy) "Then you must remain here until he can spare time for you," says Euphemia, "but I will see to it that you are kept in a comfortable apartment." (Grimolf) "Of course..." Grimolf says. "Where would I go?" (Euphemia Bellamy) "Home, if you wanted," Effie says with a shrug. "Very well. I will tell the Warlord that Lieutenant Grimolf wishes to meet with him. In the mean time, you are under my protection. But you are wounded, and in a great deal of pain. Let us get you to the Medical Center now. (Grimolf) "I want to see my men," Grimolf states flatly and doesn't yet move. (Euphemia Bellamy) "If you wish," says Effie. She motions to a human guard. "Take a detachment of twenty men and show this man the five apartments in which we're keeping the downed pilots. Then give him an apartment of his own and fetch a medical droid, a doctor, and some sedatives. That is a nasty wound, but I want it treated." (Grimolf) Grimolf nods and starts to run away to follow the guard... But before he does he pauses and looks back towards Effie. "Thank you," he says simply. (Euphemia Bellamy) "Don't run, you will bleed very badly. Walk, and favor the hurt leg. There is an escalator, too." Effie looks at the soldier. "Give him a shock bandage," she says, "with styptics. He won't make it the whole way up, otherwise." She turns, her silver jewelry gleaming, her white dress fluttering as she walks away. "Farewell, Lieutenant." (Grimolf) Grimolf pauses. "And who are you?" he asks Effie. (Euphemia Bellamy) "I am Euphemia Bellamy, Lady Admiral and Princess of Paxo," says the young girl. "If we win, remember my name and I will always look out for you. If we lose, remember what I said about the cruelty of the Republic, and see if they spare my life." (Grimolf) Grimolf nods slowly. "We'll see," is all he says as he turns to follow the guard.
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