Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Cynella Alde]

Cynella paced as she mulled over a list of personnel. Their food supplies seemed to be in good order after such an extended period of time trapped inside. Everyone was starting to get antsy, though. Even if this base had all the amenities of a capital ship (like the ones they'd lost), people weren't meant to be stuck inside metal forever. Or cold.

Perhaps that Junk Town my wife mentioned wouldn't be so bad.

Personal issues aside, she hoped that this meeting would prove useful. It'd taken her this long to finally open up to the idea of conversing with an actual Sith. If she could handle Jan, then Lucinia couldn't be so horrible...

[Lucinia Malveaux]

Lucinia was... well, it wouldn't be accurate to say that she was more than happy to meet another Republic noble. Goodness, they'd brought along a lot of them. But she was at least willing.

Dressed in one of her warmer black gowns, and with additional cold weather gear layered over it, she stepped into the room. Eyebrows went up as she noticed the other woman pacing, and a smirk touched her lips.

"Lady Cynella, I presume?" Lucinia greeted her, both eyebrows going up.

[Cynella Alde]

"That would be me," Cynella said, stopping in her tracks. "You must be 'Luci' as Director Melmoar says." She shook her head, a slight smirk on her lips. "Ah but I've read your file. The Malveaux Family is not one to go easily unnoticed." At long last, she gave a proper bow. A curtsy, as it was, seemed odd in here. "Our meeting has been long overdue, especially since we seem to be stuck in this base for foreseeable future." Of course, the implication was there: she wouldn't have chosen this otherwise.

[Lucinia Malveaux]

"Ah, I see." Lucinia smiled; not a smirk! "So you've met Jan, then."

One eyebrow went up. "Indeed. I suppose we do need to get along, at least to some extent. Keep the 'peace', as it were." There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone at that. "So tell me, Cynella... or may I call you Ellie? Tell me, Ellie, what did you have in mind?"

[Cynella Alde]

"Jan was among the first I wanted to meet, actually. The Czerka Corporation provides, as she put it, a little bit of everything. That would include tools of war, of course, and haven't these pirates proven that we need a little bit more of that?" Cynella asked, once again winking.

The created nickname elicited a brief moment, only a second, of her eyes widening. Oh she is clever. Or am I giving her too much credit? Cynella used the opportunity of returning back to her data. "Ellie and Luci, quite the pair we are, hm? But let us not become buried in formalities, seeing has we are so amicable already."

For a moment, she doubted her openness regarding her general distaste for the Sith. However, if Lucinia had invested anything about her backgroud, then Cynella's contempt would have been obvious.

"I wish to assume that the murder I've heard rumors about is nothing more than an unfortunate circumstance than a deceitful act of hostility. Even if left undiscovered, such would compromise both of our survival. My point is, we need each other. We've cooperated well enough but both factions could use a boost in quality of life." Cynella smiled, hoping she was channeling the ideals of her idol well. "And if we are to, say, battle the pirates who'd led us here, then I hope this earlier cooperation would lend itself in defeating our mutual enemy."

He had mentioned playing Huttball with the Sith, right? But would he truly have done what I am doing now? Maybe she needed another talk with Tethys about morality...

[Lucinia Malveaux]

Lucinia's (or Luci's) lips quirked. "Very well, then. Ellie and Luci we shall be, at least for the duration of this conversation. After that, well, even a Sith can't speak of the future with perfect certainty."

Crossing her arms gently, Lucinia looked at Cynella, smiling but with narrowing eyes. "Oh, but of course! I've met the accused. It's still unclear to me whether she's a Sith or a Jedi. I suppose this trial will sort that out."

She shook her head. "But I assure you, this is not some plan by the Sith. Not like that dreadful business with the Jedi Temple from a few years ago." Her lips twitched, just a little.

[Cynella Alde]

"Not for the entirety of our stay here? I was hoping that we would remain so familiar. It would be pleasant to share tea with both you and Director Melmoar in the future," Cynella said, again with that signature wink. Her lips twisted in thought afterward. "Unless we are leaving soon. If we do escape, say, tomorrow, then I shall say my farewells ahead of time."

The whole trial was a bit of a confusing thing. Perhaps it was a true gesture of cooperation on the Sith's part to abide to it. Perhaps that was all part of some... word that started with a k. She saw it in a show, once.

More pressingly was how flagrantly disrespectful this Sith was to the dead! Oh, like any good noble, she was positively furious at the callousness. But when she reeled herself back, she smiled again. You're not like other Sith, are you? Or like other girls, but that's beside the point. You're not so deluded into believing you're the good guy still.

And that she could respect. "Yes, Luci, I would think times like those are far in the past," she said with her practiced smile. "In a way, I imagine our cooperation here will serve as an example that such can be done on other planets too." A half-truth. Anyone who really knew Cynella could tell that she was spinning whatever she could. But maybe that naive girl inside her really wanted that.

Well, that naive girl would also want the slavery, genocide, etc. to end.

[Lucinia Malveaux]

Lucinia stared at Cynella a few moments, her eyes narrowed. Then... it happened.

"Oooooohohohohoho!" Lucinia laughed, one hand coming up to the corner of her mouth. "I like you, Ellie. We shall have tea sometime, you and me and Jan and... perhaps someone else?" Her eyebrows went gently up, inquiring.

Then she waved a hand. "Quite. Perhaps what happens here shall serve as an example elsewhere. We'll see after the trial, no?" Lucinia smiled. "But cooperation isn't out of the question, either here or in the future. Sith have long memories, after all."

[Cynella Alde]

That laugh reminded her of a girl she knew back at Kuat. It hadn't often been a good sign, but since this wasn't meant to be a longstanding friendship, Cynella abided by it. "My partner, Aurilie, would suffice, yes? She too has already met with Director Melmoar, or Jan, as you have described." She cupped her chin in mock deliberation. "Ellie, Lucie, Aurie, and... Jan...ie? Hm, I'll leave that discussion in your hands."

If the trial went inexplicably, horribly wrong, then they wouldn't very much need to report back to their respective governments. Well, the survivors would, few as there would be. "I've heard that the Jedi Archives are similarly acclaimed for recollection purposes." Not that Cynella read that much. Oops. "How are you finding arrangements in the base though? Is there anything that is lacking for the Sith that the Republic would not include?" Slaves and the like, certainly, but that seemed a bit too on-the-nose.

Then again, this Lucinia Malveaux did laugh in a particularly pretentious (yet somehow endearing?) way.

[Lucinia Malveaux]

"Jannie..." With one raised eyebrow, Lucinia considered that, then shook her head. "No, I think she's better as Jan." Her tone indicated that she considered the matter closed.

"Oh? I hope the archives weren't too damaged in the attack." That actually sounded more sincere than the first thing. "While we Sith don't like Jedi, I suppose there's no denying their ability to accumulate knowledge and other curiosities."

Grimacing, Luci waved a hand. "Oh, it's fine. Are there things I might rather have? I suppose chief among them would be more privacy. But the nobility in the Empire is no stranger to hardship. Quite the opposite, in fact." Another smile at Cynella.

[Cynella Alde]

Cynella kept her mouth shut regarding the nickname for Jan. Whatever that was about, it wasn't really her business. Still, she wondered which of the two would care more about the usage. Some things were forever meant to be forbidden knowledge.

Much like what was likely held in the Jedi Archives. "Unfortunately, I'm not to privy to the status of things there. We would have to confer with a Jedi." She smiled faintly. "And both of us surely will have some opportunity to do so here. Bizarre experiences is one of the few positive aspects of being trapped on this accursed planet, yes?"

The mention of hardship for nobility, at first, seemed laughable. But she forced herself to try considering how such could be true. Such didn't take long, for living in a cutthroat (literally and figurativelly) society innately meant that oneself could be a victim. "Privacy. Although I hesitate to start cordoning off or sectioning out portions of this base, I imagine pods would be inoffensive to the higher-ups. That may be far from ideal but would you consider it an improvement?"

[Lucinia Malveaux]

"Oh, perhaps." Lucinia waved a casual hand. "I think perhaps I won't truly feel comfortable until we're off this, as you say, accursed planet."

She considered a moment, then looked at Cynella. Once more, she smiled, even as her eyes narrowed. "And what of yourself, Ellie? Is there something that you're looking for that the Empire could provide? The Sith may make terrible enemies, but we also make very good friends." Well... it was half-true, anyway.

[Cynella Alde]

"I don't think anyone will be perfectly comfortable here. Well, other than species adapted for the cold, and that's a hard maybe." Even with that, there was still the horrible blizzards.

The nickname still didn't sound entirely correct in her mind. Nonetheless, she too smiled. "I'll admit, I too wish to a bit more amenities here. But truly, what I want is for there to be an open discourse on necessary items. Why starve on top of a pile of useful parts? Why freeze to death with a full belly? Something like that."

[Lucinia Malveaux]

"An open discourse..." Lucinia pursed her red lips a moment. Then they slowly curled upwards. "An open discourse sounds like a means to an end. We may have a discourse on the weather, or the latest gravball stats, or the best places to buy Ryshcate outside of Correlia. Or about nothing at all."

The smile grew. "So. Let us consider our discourse open. Anything you want from the Empire, why, you only need to communicate it. And the Empire will be there, if it is within our power." She tilted her head, regarding Cynella. "Is that what you want, Ellie?"

[Cynella Alde]

Cynella tilted her head. "Oh it's always easy to voice whatever we want. But for there to be an understanding that we help each other as much as we are able to? That requires a bit more investment on our parts." She tapped on her listed. "And it's not only about what I want. My people. I'm responsible for them too."

[Lucinia Malveaux]

"Hmmm..." Lucinia tilted her head. "We in the Sith value personal connections. You are responsible for your people, therefore you talk to us."

She sighed, then smiled. "But very well. I don't claim to be able to speak for the entirety of the Sith, but I can certainly be a voice for cooperation when the issue comes up. And you may come to me in the future. For tea, or otherwise." Her eyebrows went up. "Does that satisfy you, Ellie?"

[Cynella Alde]

"Based on rumor, I would say ever Sith places high value in a name, be it one of an ally or enemy." Cynella placed a hand over her naval badge with a fond smile. "Even if it weren't for my position, I would still volunteer for my people's sake." Such was what she thought Niall would do.

Would these two get along? For some inexplicable reason, she felt like they wouldn't ever be in the same room.

The insistence on desires and whatnot occupied more of her thoughts. She pursed her lip and mentally concluded that it had to do with the whole Dark Side thing. "It would be nice to share tea while discussing such matters," she said, mustering up her amicability. "I hope you will not hesitate to approach me either. So to answer your question, yes, I find your offer satisfactory." Couldn't give a Sith too much credit, after all.

[Lucinia Malveaux]

"Of course. But it takes more than a willingness. It takes power. Or a will to power." Lucinia's lips pressed briefly together.

Then she smiled again. "But of course. If there is anything that I desire from the Republic, I shall speak to you."

Then her smile turned into a frown. "Why are you so friendly, anyway?"

[Cynella Alde]

"Willpower," Cynella said with a faint smile. If hers had to be put on a numerical scale, then it'd be higher than average but not exceptional. "I do not intend on having my words be hollow. Though I will not overstate my capabilities, I will say there's much to be found anywhere with enough persistence." Ortolans, once one looked past the cuteness, possessed a wide stock.

And the Sith's question came as quite the shock. "That's a loaded question," she said with her signature wink. "Partly conscientious, partly upbringing, partly natural." She pursed her lips as she analyzed Lucinia. How much of that haughty demeanor could be attributed to each?

"I assume such an answer is unsatisfactory. In practical terms, there's much to gain by being receptive instead of hostile. It isn't always easy, however. Quite the opposite." For now, she kept the idealism in check. Sith cared for pragmatics, so she believed.