"If this is what trust feels like, I would like to go back."
Our shuttle set down on the border world of Chembau, giving us the chance to get into position in the bare minute before the boarding ramp lowered. As the first row of our party marched down the port ramp of the completely standard luxury shuttle and as I got my first view of this world that had interrupted my well-earned break, my first thought was that the news anchors had managed to undersell the situation.
We had landed quite a distance from the center of government on this world, which was no surprise. What was a surprise was that we had also landed a fair distance from the world's primary spaceport. Wherever we were, it was not a hangar or some other spot under cover. No, it was wide in the open. In the middle of a broad avenue, no less!
Building rose into the sky on either side, shooting up at least five stories if I had to guess, adorned in red and black. Adorned in imperial colors, I did not fail to note. A little further along, barricades had been set up along the edge of the avenue, with guards bearing shields facing out. Or more specifically, facing the gathered crowds.
We had landed in the heart of pro-Empire territory, I realized, a walking exhibit of the end stages of a successful imperial propaganda campaign.
Yes, that made sense. If partisan activity was indeed running high, then it was only logical to assume that the foreign notables arrive somewhere their presence wouldn't act as a magnet for every brick people could reach.
It also explained why three Sith lords and their most prominent apprentices had been assigned to this mission. Six prominent force sensitive. Front and to the right walked Lord Elso, a reasonably accomplished lord. His apprentice was bareheaded and clad in the usual Sith robes, walking proudly a few paces behind him. Front and center came Darth Thur, who answered only to the Dark Council. Clearly the man in charge, the Darth wore black robes with an astonishingly intricate spiderweb pattern in red. But he was far from the greatest surprise. Behind him walked, of all people, Hibal.
The apprentice whom I had first met getting thrown out of a bar.
The group was rounded out by my master on the left, smiling as always. I was only shortly behind him, clad in my most attention-grabbing outfit. In other words, a black and red three-piece suit. With all-concealing face mask, of course. If anybody on this world was familiar with interstellar gossip, it was bound to grab some attention. If not for that reason, then just because I was wearing a suit in a galaxy that had never so much as heard of such a thing.
We made our way down the avenue as the rest of our entourage disembarked behind us. Ministers both full and subaltern and junior and everywhere in-between, bureaucrats of the highest grade, generals of armies, captains of ships, they were the people that made the imperial war machine run as it did.
Which also meant that they made the imperial government run as it did. Oh, this system was an actual nightmare. A shame I couldn't leave it without endangering galactic peace.
Eventually, the front ranks of our group met the reception committee. A collection of local notables, they were, their equivalents of- no, not ministers, they didn't call them ministers. But that was less important than who was here. I had studied the badges of office for the world, albeit briefly, and I realized one glaring detail: No proper ministers were present.
There was not a single full minister equivalent, only a wide array of their subordinates. A rank beneath full ministers for the bureaucrats, but plenty of them. But the military portion of the greeters were represented reasonably well. A pair of generals, albeit low-ranking, supplement by a significant gaggle of colonels.
Granted, given the crowds and the pair of people I was fairly certain were members of one of the higher represented political parties on the planet, they were already taking us seriously. Clearly, something was going on that required the attention of the full ministers. And the head of state, for that matter, so they were compensating for that with as many almost high-ranking officials and military officials as they could afford to throw at us.
Something like, say, the Valor-class cruiser in orbit above us. I was willing to bet some of my nonexistent credits that that was why the truly important people weren't here. And why we hadn't landed at the spaceport. And that the rulers of this planet were trying to hide somewhere while trying to figure out how to greet us without slighting at least one galactic superpower while their people were in a partisan frenzy.
Words were exchanged between the Sith Lords and the head of the local party – a man in the most ornate robes of the reception party – as I gave the perfunctory bow as I was introduced and promptly never mentioned again for the conversation.
The conversation did not last all that long. In short order, our large party was split up, the respective senior personnel crowding into an air speeder that was large enough to comfortably ferry a platoon of soldiers. Or in our case, three full Sith Lords, a pair of politicians, the generals, a sizeable chunk of the colonels, and the senior-most officials.
A second, identical air speeder took us apprentices, the remaining colonels, and the more junior officials and bureaucrats. There was a third air speeder, too, but I did not pay too close attention to who boarded it.
All things considered, it was hardly the worst turn of events. The colonels that had drawn the short straws behind the scenes were pleasant enough company, and the junior officials were capable of some decent conversation. But it was not the company that earned my attention during the brief air car ride to work, oh no.
It was what I saw as we flew over the city.
Just barely visible as we soared above the buildings, I saw a familiar white and orange color scheme. With another cluster of smudges of color streaking away from it, heading towards the massive square building in the center of the city. The same building our own air car was heading towards.
Yes, the pieces were starting to fall into place. The Republic was here, a fact I could have predicted the moment I saw the cruised in orbit. But more importantly, it meant that the Republic had arrived alongside us, but in a separate location. This suggested that there were people on this world who cared about the Republic as much as others cared about the Empire. That kind of polarization was something to keep in mind.
And perhaps more to my interest, that meant the Jedi were here, too.
Wait, not, that sounded like I was happy to see them. Apprehension, that was a better fit.
We eventually managed to land without further incident. On the eastern side of the compound that could only be the center of government for this world, I noted. Meanwhile, the shuttles from the other side of the city landed on the western side. No doubt that had been intentional, though the precise reasoning escaped me. We were well away from the crowds that could cause an incident…
Still, it was an impressive structure. The bottom of the structure grey and featureless, rising out of the ground for a few stories, like someone had stretched out the foundation to give the rest of the building some high ground to sit on. But above that, maybe ten meters above the ground, the walls became suddenly elaborate. Walls the same stoney grey as the raised foundation were supported by buttresses stretching up to the gently sloping roof. Friezes ran along the walls in regular intervals, the spaces in-between containing more windows than walls.
It had a look of delicate beauty about it, though I had a more than sneaking suspicion that that was only true on the surface. How else would the center of the structure have been cut away in favor of a surprisingly colorful garden?
Eventually, air speeder reached a spot where the walls receded, as though someone had carved out a semicircle from the actual building and replaced it with a vibrantly colored flagstone plaza with a commanding view of the city around it.
No guessing where we landed.
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Hey guys I would really appreciate it if you could throw some power stones to help elevate the ranking.
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