Bastion- late Saturday night
Jaina got a say in who her security team would be, because there was literally no other way that was going to go. She worked with Ashik and Jag's people to go through a list of suitable candidates, talked her way down to a single bodyguard, and then selected the one whose file she kept coming back to. It also deeply bothered Jaina that she understood why her choice was good politics, too.
Fax Muscow was a Lasat, a competent fighter whose superiors had always found him to be extremely loyal. He was also from a world that had once been ravaged by the Empire back in Palpatine's days, and was an alien who had applied to work for a government that Jag was very much trying to turn away from speciesist norms. It did very much send a message, and while Jaina hadn't intended it, at least she was on board with it.
The problem was that he seemed to hate her. At first she wondered if he was just one of those curt military types, which she was familiar with; she'd married one of those types, after all. But after a couple days of feeling uneasy about it and seeing him more easygoing around Jag, she had to come to terms with the fact that he had a problem with her, specifically. And she couldn't exactly dismiss him based on that.
If she was going out alone, or if she was doing something that could potentially be dangerous (Jag's security team knew her, after all) then she was supposed to bring Muscow along. It reminded her of the days of having a Jedi observer, but the big difference here was that she was the boss, so she had him with her as she was sneaking around in the middle of the night. She figured if she got caught, at least she could test how he reacted to it.
"I'm no legal expert, but I don't think you should be sneaking off to Modd Council chambers," Muscow noted, though he was at least keeping his voice low as they made their way through the building. The building was almost entirely empty at this hour, but they didn't want to attract attention.
"I'm not. I'm sneaking off to antechambers, which are considered public space and therefore I have every right to be there," Jaina said. "I looked it up."
"Then why go in the middle of the night?"
"Oh, they still wouldn't like what I'm doing," she said. "But I need something from there."
He frowned, and didn't say anything.
So Jaina did. "What's your problem with me, anyhow?"
"My personal feelings are completely separate from my job, Empress."
She flinched. "If we're working together, you might as well tell me so we can get it out there."
"We don't work together, I work for you," Muscow pointed out.
"Fine, then I order you to tell me," she said, barely managing not to roll her eyes.
He sighed, apparently realizing that he wasn't getting out of answering this. "I know nothing about you."
"And?"
Muscow shrugged, like that was it.
"Wait, that's all? You don't treat Jag like you do me," Jaina said.
"Emperor Fel made progress for my kind while he could, and when they began looking for someone to protect the royal family I applied to try and repay the favor," Muscow explained. "I respect him very much."
"And you got me," Jaina realized.
"You've done nothing to earn my respect."
Jaina had spent a lot of time lately feeling lost out here, which hadn't been helped by finding out that the attack on her hadn't been part of a plot, but rather someone who didn't like what they were seeing and saw a shot. But she really hadn't done anything yet to show the people here who she was, and that included her bodyguard. She considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."
"Okay?" he repeated.
"That's fair. I'll work on it," she said, and brought her finger up to her lips to shush him as they got to the antechamber, hitting the door controls. As the door slid open she motioned him to stay there, then slipped into the room. Immediately she used a Force flash technique to keep herself off camera- there had to be one- and quickly and carefully planted a couple of bugs while checking to see what was already there.
Once she was done, there were a couple other areas Jaina wanted to hit, and having seen what she was doing, Muscow stayed silent. It wasn't until they were in the speeder on the way back to the Palace that he said, "There's no chance that Imperial intelligence hasn't already got those rooms under surveillance."
"I know. But mine are better," Jaina said simply.
"What makes yours better?"
The fact that they were hers, for one, but she wasn't going to say that aloud right now. "Jag and I spent a long time hunting down a Dark Jedi who knew how to short out frequencies to go undetected. He worked on getting past that, and I implemented it. Imperial devices aren't built for that exact thing, which is why I think we haven't gotten any information from the inside," Jaina explained. "Also the information comes to me. There's a real possibility intelligence is compromised and I need to compare what I get to what they tell us, especially once the Jedi are officially involved."
It hadn't taken much for the Council to agree to send a couple of Jedi to investigate things, considering. It also included Ben, which made her feel better personally, and hopefully they'd be able to find something while she was sidelined from doing more of the detailed work..
Muscow listened, frowning. "You really believe it's a Sith."
"You don't?"
"I haven't seen anything to believe that they're a threat."
So he was one of those, the type that needed evidence before he'd trust it. And of course most people in the GA didn't even know the difference between a Jedi and a Sith. "That's because they were always stopped before they got out here," she told him. "Coruscant was the last big thing, though you had your own stuff going on over here." Like the election that had ended in Jag giving up his position to stop Daala from beating him and becoming a puppet for Abeloth.
(Why was Jaina's life like this.)
She waved a hand, passing that off as she continued. "I've dealt with more Sith than I can count. I've nearly died doing it, twice. I have a feeling I'll be doing it for the rest of my life. They're a viable threat, and now they seem to be here."
"Why do you care if they're here?" Muscow wondered. "You're not part of the Empire. Not really."
She almost took offense to that, which sort of freaked her out. And she supposed she could have passed it off as caring because Jag cared, but she figured she owed Muscow honesty. "Kriff whether I'm part of it or not," Jaina said. "It's the right thing to do."
"Hmm," he answered, and they drove the rest of the way in silence.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Thanks to craftyladyparts for coming up with Star Wars names! Because it's hard to.]
Fax Muscow was a Lasat, a competent fighter whose superiors had always found him to be extremely loyal. He was also from a world that had once been ravaged by the Empire back in Palpatine's days, and was an alien who had applied to work for a government that Jag was very much trying to turn away from speciesist norms. It did very much send a message, and while Jaina hadn't intended it, at least she was on board with it.
The problem was that he seemed to hate her. At first she wondered if he was just one of those curt military types, which she was familiar with; she'd married one of those types, after all. But after a couple days of feeling uneasy about it and seeing him more easygoing around Jag, she had to come to terms with the fact that he had a problem with her, specifically. And she couldn't exactly dismiss him based on that.
If she was going out alone, or if she was doing something that could potentially be dangerous (Jag's security team knew her, after all) then she was supposed to bring Muscow along. It reminded her of the days of having a Jedi observer, but the big difference here was that she was the boss, so she had him with her as she was sneaking around in the middle of the night. She figured if she got caught, at least she could test how he reacted to it.
"I'm no legal expert, but I don't think you should be sneaking off to Modd Council chambers," Muscow noted, though he was at least keeping his voice low as they made their way through the building. The building was almost entirely empty at this hour, but they didn't want to attract attention.
"I'm not. I'm sneaking off to antechambers, which are considered public space and therefore I have every right to be there," Jaina said. "I looked it up."
"Then why go in the middle of the night?"
"Oh, they still wouldn't like what I'm doing," she said. "But I need something from there."
He frowned, and didn't say anything.
So Jaina did. "What's your problem with me, anyhow?"
"My personal feelings are completely separate from my job, Empress."
She flinched. "If we're working together, you might as well tell me so we can get it out there."
"We don't work together, I work for you," Muscow pointed out.
"Fine, then I order you to tell me," she said, barely managing not to roll her eyes.
He sighed, apparently realizing that he wasn't getting out of answering this. "I know nothing about you."
"And?"
Muscow shrugged, like that was it.
"Wait, that's all? You don't treat Jag like you do me," Jaina said.
"Emperor Fel made progress for my kind while he could, and when they began looking for someone to protect the royal family I applied to try and repay the favor," Muscow explained. "I respect him very much."
"And you got me," Jaina realized.
"You've done nothing to earn my respect."
Jaina had spent a lot of time lately feeling lost out here, which hadn't been helped by finding out that the attack on her hadn't been part of a plot, but rather someone who didn't like what they were seeing and saw a shot. But she really hadn't done anything yet to show the people here who she was, and that included her bodyguard. She considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."
"Okay?" he repeated.
"That's fair. I'll work on it," she said, and brought her finger up to her lips to shush him as they got to the antechamber, hitting the door controls. As the door slid open she motioned him to stay there, then slipped into the room. Immediately she used a Force flash technique to keep herself off camera- there had to be one- and quickly and carefully planted a couple of bugs while checking to see what was already there.
Once she was done, there were a couple other areas Jaina wanted to hit, and having seen what she was doing, Muscow stayed silent. It wasn't until they were in the speeder on the way back to the Palace that he said, "There's no chance that Imperial intelligence hasn't already got those rooms under surveillance."
"I know. But mine are better," Jaina said simply.
"What makes yours better?"
The fact that they were hers, for one, but she wasn't going to say that aloud right now. "Jag and I spent a long time hunting down a Dark Jedi who knew how to short out frequencies to go undetected. He worked on getting past that, and I implemented it. Imperial devices aren't built for that exact thing, which is why I think we haven't gotten any information from the inside," Jaina explained. "Also the information comes to me. There's a real possibility intelligence is compromised and I need to compare what I get to what they tell us, especially once the Jedi are officially involved."
It hadn't taken much for the Council to agree to send a couple of Jedi to investigate things, considering. It also included Ben, which made her feel better personally, and hopefully they'd be able to find something while she was sidelined from doing more of the detailed work..
Muscow listened, frowning. "You really believe it's a Sith."
"You don't?"
"I haven't seen anything to believe that they're a threat."
So he was one of those, the type that needed evidence before he'd trust it. And of course most people in the GA didn't even know the difference between a Jedi and a Sith. "That's because they were always stopped before they got out here," she told him. "Coruscant was the last big thing, though you had your own stuff going on over here." Like the election that had ended in Jag giving up his position to stop Daala from beating him and becoming a puppet for Abeloth.
(Why was Jaina's life like this.)
She waved a hand, passing that off as she continued. "I've dealt with more Sith than I can count. I've nearly died doing it, twice. I have a feeling I'll be doing it for the rest of my life. They're a viable threat, and now they seem to be here."
"Why do you care if they're here?" Muscow wondered. "You're not part of the Empire. Not really."
She almost took offense to that, which sort of freaked her out. And she supposed she could have passed it off as caring because Jag cared, but she figured she owed Muscow honesty. "Kriff whether I'm part of it or not," Jaina said. "It's the right thing to do."
"Hmm," he answered, and they drove the rest of the way in silence.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Thanks to craftyladyparts for coming up with Star Wars names! Because it's hard to.]