Advocatus Diaboli... (Victer Dejan)

[Salem Ave]

<dl><dd style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: left;">It was late evening. A matter of weeks had passed since the wedding of Razielle and Alastor, and at last the Court seemed to have calmed itself, returning to the age old routine of business and bickering. Whilst the latter had little appeal to Salem Ave, the former was always of importance. One man who understood that was Victer Dejan, the captain who had successfully insinuated himself into the good graces of the Queen and Princess. Salem was not sure what to make of him yet, having had little personally to do with him, but Adraudia claimed he was sensitive to the Force. </dd><dd style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: left;">
</dd><dd style="margin-left: 0cm; text-align: left;"> Clearly, there were matters to be discussed – and where better than over a glass of fine scotch, sipped by an open fire. There was even a box of cigarras on hand, if either man chose to partake of them. Salem did not. He sat in silence, waiting for Victer's arrival, his half-tumbler of scotch untouched.</dd></dl>

[Victer Dejan]

Victer always thought of Salem as a jungle cat. Powerful, and stealthly. He was content to let weaker prey pass by unnoticed simply to maintain advantage. When he moved, it was with devastating effect. In short, Salem Ave was a dangerous man. To top it off, he had a terrifying aura of dangerous secrets.

Thus far, he had overridden his fight or flight instincts. There was too much opportunity on Onderon to be ruled blindly by fear and uncertainty. His dealings with Ave were simple: keep in sync regarding the needs and wants of the State, and little else. Salem was always cool in his presentation, but made it clear he appreciated competence.

Victer was nervous, but shunted it aside. It had been a few months since his encounter with Adruadia and the barest of peeks at her secret. This was the first time he would be alone with Salem, and wasn't sure what to expect.

"Prime Minister Ave." He said in greeting upon entering the room.

[Salem Ave]

“Captain Dejan.”

Salem rose to his feet to meet his guests arrival. A tentative expansion of his senses through the Force revealed that Victer was... if not nervous, then at least unsure. Gesturing back to the two armchairs sitting before the hearth, the Prime Minister offered a small smile.

“Please, have a seat.. make yourself comfortable.”

[Victer Dejan]

"Thank you." Victer said smoothly, in a way that defied the way he felt about Salem. One thing that he always agreed with his family on - composure was always important. He sat, and appeared to look comfortable. Victer examined the scotch for a moment, swirled it, sniffed it, and took a sip. It was rather good. He let the tumbler rest in his hand.

"Very good." He remarked.

[Salem Ave]

“I'm glad you think so.”

The scotch had been, after all, imported under Dejan's watch. The Captain had been involved in stream-lining a number of the city's economic policies, most notably restructuring and resourcing trade. Onderonian goods were being shipped further afield than ever before, and in turn the city was importing a wider selection of goods, including the scotch the two men were currently sampling and the cigarras that neither of them had touched. Salem took a sip at last, and then allowed the tumble to sit comfortably in the palm of one hand.

“I thought it was time.. that the two of us finally got together and had a chat about your future here on Onderon.”

[Victer Dejan]

Victer blinked. That wasn't exactly the most friendly arrangement of words. He folded his hands in front of his belly.

"Certainly." He said. "Although I'm at a loss at to what you mean, exactly." He had some ideas, but assumption was not something Victer entertained often.

[Salem Ave]

Salem continued to look down into his glass, gently swirling the liquid back and forth. After a moments consideration, he lifted his focus back to the Captain. “It has been brought to my attention that you have developed a... connection of sorts with the Queen.”

[Victer Dejan]

"We're close, and have developed a special bond." He admitted. The Arkanian stared at him, absent conventional eyes. What was he getting at?

[Salem Ave]

“A special bond,” Salem repeated, glancing down with a slight smile. It was a fittingly vague description for the relationship between the two, given how cautious Salem himself was being.

“She tells me that she trusts you, that she has made you privy to certain.. secrets, truths that have been concealed from the Court at large.”

[Victer Dejan]

"I think I'm ahead of the curve on court gossip." Victer said. He suspected this had something to do with Adraudia's conversation regarding the Force, but, given the other possibilities, he was erring on being extremely cautious.

"I've heard that the Queen is extraordinarily..." he paused "...gifted."

[Salem Ave]

Salem's eyes didn't leave Victer's now. He wanted to see the man's reactions – more than that, wanted to feel them.

“It's quite funny, actually... because I've heard the same thing about you.” <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --> </style>

[Victer Dejan]

Victer shrugged.

"Queen Adraudia told me that once." he took a sip of the scotch, only leaving Salem's eyes to make sure the drink went home.

"It's a combination of hard work and luck, mostly."

[Salem Ave]

“It's a little more than luck, though, isn't it,” the Prime Minister mused, mostly to himself. Rising to his feet once again, he paced towards the hearth of the fire place, peering up for a moment at the royal portrait that hung above the mantelpiece. As he studied the picture, he set his glass down upon the mantel.

“I understand your desire for discretion, Victer. If the people of Onderon were to know what their Queen was becoming, I'm not so certain that they would embrace her as fondly then as they do now.”

[Victer Dejan]

"I've been told that." He said. Ave did know, then. Victer relaxed, but only a little. His brain instructed him that Ave was a dangerous man, and his body agreed.

"Onderon doesn't take well to sudden change, nor to people who are too special." Victer set the tumbler down.

"Even their own monarch."

[Salem Ave]

“The galaxy at large doesn't take well to people of such talents, the Empire made certain of that.”

The Jedi came to mind first, and second the Inquisitors, though the latter were viewed more as Imperial bogeymen than legitimate members of the social order. They were an effective weapon but not one that the Empire wanted to draw all too often. Turning to look back toward Victer, Salem smiled thinly.

“Fortunately, the Empire has little interest in our world, in recent times, so we are free to nurture and develop such gifts without fear of reprisal.”

[Victer Dejan]

"I certainly can appreciate being a small, unknown fish in a large lake. Being anonymous grants freedom. No one outside of Hapes and the freighter captains who make the run here know we exist. And the freight captains don't care because it's a milk run they get a bonus on for a low-traffic route."

Salem looked mildly disinterested.

"What are you proposing, Minister Ave?"

[Salem Ave]

Salem stood facing the Captain now, the fire behind him, colouring his features in a warm glow that seemed somewhat out of place.

“..I want to know that I can trust you, Victer.”

[Victer Dejan]

Victer paused. He watched the liquid in his glass filter the firelight. Victer knew how to lie, but he wasn't lying. He looked up at Salem.

"You can trust me."

[Salem Ave]

There was no deception in Victer at that moment. Either he was a fantastic liar, or he was telling the truth. Salem suspected it was the latter. He allowed himself a small, satisfied smile. The fire popped and hissed, as one of the logs in the hearth shifted, sending a small spiral of ash into the air. Salem watched the flames grow, before he spoke again.

“...What do you think I am?”

[Victer Dejan]

"I think you're the instigator behind Onderon's current unlikely ventures. Iziz, by nature, is insular." Victer paused and took a sip of the whiskey. He rolled it around in his mouth.

"To answer your question: I think you're dangerous."

[Salem Ave]

The answer was...satisfactory. Salem had no desire to offer an consoling words, any reassurances to the contrary. He didn't know Victer Dejan well enough yet to say for certain which would be the best way to deal with him, but in such instances the default approach - cultivating an air of fear and uncertainty - was acceptable.

“Only if you cross me. I'm sure you appreciate how much hard work goes into.. building up an organization of this kind.”

[Victer Dejan]

Victer nodded, knowing full well how much effort went into doing what Salem had. Setting up his small spacer's guild was a task in itself, but once things were established, it was easier to keep up than Salem's venture.

Salem's venture potentially had a tremendous payoff. He would be able to leverage the Hapan Consortium... somehow. Victer hadn't figured that part out yet.

[Salem Ave]

“There is much to be gained here, for all of us. Wealth, prestige... and, of course, power. All of these things-”

Salem turned slightly towards the fire and, extending an open-palmed hand, smiled as the flames rose first to meet his flesh and then to rise above it, massing together into a single burning sphere. Defying all sense of logic, it sat a mere breath above his skin, writhing within the invisible yet no doubt unshakable hold he had upon it. In the faint light, something flickered across his features for just an instant, bone-white...

“I can give you.”

[Victer Dejan]

Victer paused. He'd never seen anything quite like that before.

"I'd rather earn them." Victer said. He wasn't one to believe that victory was served on fine diningware. Salem raised an eyebrow.

[Salem Ave]

The arched eyebrow remained as such for a moment lower, before it lowered Salem's features smoothed into a smile. His hand folded over the ball of fire and, just like that, it vanished into smoke, pale threads of it winding through the space between his fingertips.

“Good. Such things are hard earned, even here, but if you are willing to.. endure what is necessary, you might well emerge a better man for it.”