Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Jan Melmoar]

"..."
Jan cocks her head.
"Probably not, it goes against what I would stand for if there was any money in it. Besides, whatever the emperor is, he could have gone about his plans without constantly trying to get murdered by ever other living being in the galaxy. What's the point of being immortal if you put a supernova sized target on your back?"

Another cutting motion with her hand.
"No, far more sensible to have just worked slowly to live a life of luxury and influence."

[Cynella Alde]

"I imagine his plans for immortality involved angering a lot of people, to put it lightly," Cynella said, pursing her lips. The prospect of living forever was both intriguing and terrifying. If it meant outliving her family, then it wasn't worth it in the least.

Or if she would keep getting older too. Oh her body wasn't what it used to be.

"Where would your child grow up anyways? That in itself opens and closes many circles, you know."

[Jan Melmoar]

"With Luci and I, wherever we might be."
Jan waves airily.

"I've considered a flying palace, a secret underwater base, maybe a stealth equipped ship silently circling the core. We'll probably move a lot."
Reflecting on the words after they're said aloud.

"...We may need to find somewhere near children of the same age for socialisation. But then how to ensure the other children are also of sufficient quality..."

[Cynella Alde]

Cynella frowned ever so slightly. "It is typical for children to stay by their parents, barring extenuating circumstances." If she were lucky, then her children would all but forget this ever happened in a couple years. The alternative would break her heart.

For now, she kept her chin high. "But yes, socialization is important. On the contrary, I believe it would be wise for your child to experience all sorts of children. There's something to be gleamed from, say, misbehaving children. They can model what not to do, for example."

[Jan Melmoar]

"Yes....and learn how to control and manipulate them, it takes time to master those skills."
Jan smiles sharkishly at Cynella.

"You really do have some good ideas on this dear, clearly you've learned a lot from our own experiences."

[Cynella Alde]

Time and time again, Jan shook Cynella with such a blatantly exploitative outlook on life. There was a certain honesty that could be appreciated there. In that regard, her connection with Lucinia Malveaux made all the sense in the galaxy. "I do have three children, each as different as Hoth is to Alderaan and Alderaan is to Kuat," Cynella said, adding on her signature wink to the end. "In a way, I'm surprised you only want one child. Don't want competition between two or more?"

[Jan Melmoar]

"Competition?"
A slight frown.
"Well, they'd probably end up killing or maiming one another, like sharks do. Even I would feel terrible about that. Not to mention all the work finding the perfect child, what are the odds there are two of them?"
She pauses, stroking her chin for a moment.
"....Unless a pair of creepy twins. Luci would like that."

[Cynella Alde]

"A pair of creepy twins would forever keep the opposition at bay," Cynella said, feeling a bit more mischievous. "Why, one could pose as the other at any time."

She pursed her lips. "Would you happen to have any siblings, Jan?"

[Jan Melmoar]

"Oh true, the old identical twin swap, that is always devilish."
Jan is clearly intrigued by the idea even as she shakes her head.

"I'm an only child, if you can imagine. I can't imagine what a sibling would have been like?"
Offhandedly.
"Your family seems fertile, did you have many siblings?"

[Cynella Alde]

Despite extraordinarily apparent ideological differences, Cynella still found some joy in theorizing bizarre, fantastical situations with the Czerka Director. She smiled when she said, "Perhaps they would even be able to fool their own mother."

Cynella flushed as memories of a certain dinner flashed in her mind. "My parents also had multiple children. It's hard to say... I've always heard that single children want siblings and the opposite for those with big families."

[Jan Melmoar]

Despite extraordinarily apparent ideological differences, Cynella still found some joy in theorizing bizarre, fantastical situations with the Czerka Director. She smiled when she said, "Perhaps they would even be able to fool their own mother."

Cynella flushed as memories of a certain dinner flashed in her mind. "My parents also had multiple children. It's hard to say... I've always heard that single children want siblings and the opposite for those with big families."

"Perhaps...although I should hope not. Unless it was a necessary component of some greater ruse, but at that point it's all rather complicated."
She waves a hand vaguely at the notion with a splash.

"I do hate to be a contrarian, but I've never wanted the competition. I've always enjoyed the opportunity for quiet and solitude, even more so after I joined the army. I suppose I'd have made a poor sniper otherwise."
Evidently feeling this signaled her great compassion, she adds "I'm sorry you had many siblings, that sounds rather busy."

[Cynella Alde]

Cynella shrugged jovially. "It may or may not be part of a larger scheme in this hypothetical scenario. Children are so rarely perfectly obedient." There was certainly one child among hers who stood out.

Said child was also a toddler but that was besides the point.

"Army life, hm? I suppose all of us are full of surprises." Cynella pursed her lips. "Suppose there was a lot of waiting on your part then, hm? I can't imagine there wasn't still many a competition back at base."

[Jan Melmoar]

"What's surprising about my past? I'm an army woman through and through, I just dress better than most."
She gestures for N'Zzi who hurries to get a tower and run it over as Jan jumps out of the pool and shoos away a few last rodents.

"But there was an awful lot of waiting. Waiting on base, waiting in hyperspace, waiting in starports. And soldiers do like to find ways to pass the time. I wasn't nearly as good a shot then as I am now. Younger me was merely very talented."

[Cynella Alde]

"Yes, I did not expect to see military history in you," Cynella admitted without much fanfare. So too did she avoid her gaze when Jan stood out. No peeking, no embarrassment.

"We've seen plenty of waiting among the troops here in base, haven't we? All the different sorts of games. People can truly be innovative, can't they?"

[Jan Melmoar]

Jan start toweling off without much ado as N'Zzi starts handing over clothing items so formally you'd think she was dressing a queen.

"I'm from a military family, my parents served the empire, and there parents and so on and so forth. Lots of medals to prove it, and the scars, the memories...not a lot of money and recognition though. Service was its own reward yadda yadda."

She rolls her eyes.
"I did my time, but it's not for me. And it's certainly not for my kid either. When I get shot at these days I put in an expense claim and add a couple 0s. It's part of why I like doing my own work when I can. Keeps my eye in, lets me charge outrageously and limits the amount of folks who die on my watch."

There's a quiet snort at the last question.
"Yes, I suppose there's been a lot of waiting and a lot of games. A bored soldier is only ever minutes away from trouble, anything keeping them entertained is star sent."
Jan looks over her shoulder as she buttons her shirt.
"So, the pay is bad, the hours are worse and its dangerous. Why'd you join the military?"

[Cynella Alde]

Cynella smiled faintly. The two of them had followed such similar journeys yet also the opposite direction. "Perhaps you should have her enlist in the military," she said, clearly not serious. "You may be more pleased where she ends up than if she started with the weight of inheritance."

And then it turned to her. "It's not about the money, clearly. I came from it. No, I joined because of ideals. Absurd but... here I am."

[Jan Melmoar]

"Delightfully absurd my dear, do try not to be an idealist, you can only ever be disappointed if you think highly of people."
Jan spends a few moments fixing her hair as N'Zzi holds up a mirror.

"Foolish too. Still... It is perhaps in a small part, a sign of good character."
With a nod to the Chiss she feels ready to meet the rest of the day.

"Cynella, you're intriguing. We should do this again sometime, although perhaps with less rodents?"

[Cynella Alde]

"If I only think lowly of people, then I will be disappointed of the state of things," Cynella said with a bright smile. That was as far as she was going to go to defend her mindset.

"Perhaps we will be able to clear them out in the future. Rats are certainly... Troublesome, though. Sometimes it's like a whole tide of them is coming."

[Jan Melmoar]

"That's why we have exterminators, good or bad, rats are always troublesome."
Jan winks before heading over to the turbolift.

"Can I escort you back up?"


((Good to call the scene there? thanks for the RP!))

[Cynella Alde]

Cynella raised a brow. "I hardly believe that an exterminator came with us on the trip. But yes, I've inspected the vents enough for now. Hopefully there's room for improvement." She gave a polite bow before heading over to the lift. A rat scurried by her feet though she hopped over it. Thereafter, she quickened her pace...

/Scene!