Alderaan - Love and Intrigue

Yesterday had been rough, for all of them. More so for some, but they were still the ones left behind to pick up the pieces of Bouris' actions... but most importantly, to pick eachother up.

With her usual Jedi-garb stuck with the cleaners for now, Kat was only wearing the simple brown robe over regular civilian clothes as she sent messages inviting her cousins to a late breakfast in one of the nice common rooms with the nice view of the Ulgo-lands.

Bran dutifully dragged himself in as requested. He looked like he hadn't slept at all. He was wearing a plain white shirt and dull blue pants - rather like if a child's school uniform needed to be put on anti-depressants. He walked in, hands in pockets, and nodded to Kat. His grunted, "Morning," had the tone of something that took a lot of effort for him to say.

Rather than offering her usual bow and calm greeting, Kat stepped up to Brannis as he arrived and pulled him in to a hug.

"Your speech yesterday was good. You... you did good, Brannis."

Bran stops, eyes going wide as the hug surprises him. "Um." After a hesitation, he returns the hug, and squeezes even a little too hard. This... Ok, yeah, he needed this.

"It, um," he starts to say, drifting out of the hug when Kat lets him go. "It was the staff. Kaleena and the others helped... I don't even remember what I said," he admits, half-smiling. With the exhaustion on his face, it's obvious he wouldn't remember the previous day.

While she let him go, she still had a hand on his arm, looking to him. With kindness, gratitude, and patience.

"Helping eachother is good," she said, nodding. "... Just as we need to help Yula now in the time ahead of us. She has the greatest burden to bear."

Yulastranza entered the room in a crisp Ulgo military uniform. Soldiers and members stood at attention and she gestured for the to be at ease and said. She frowned and said, ”Take the time you need Brannis, but I won’t have moping and sad sack moods. What happened, happened and we move on from it. None of us made the decision, my father did, you want to carry that burden you do it on your own time.”

“We look forward.” She then found her seat at the head of the table and added, “Moral is going to be piss poor as is, I need all members of stature and position to present their best faces forward and if you can’t I will find someone that can.”

Bran inclines his head. "Of course, Duchess Ulgo," he says, a strain like the gritting of teeth coloring his voice but his military bearing keeping it to a minimum.

"How far has the queen's leniency been given? I've had questions from staffers to Ulgo members of parliament asking whether they still have jobs," Bran asks, his voice making clear he doesn't think office clerks need worry about a vengeful queen, but that those aren't really the folks who need an answer on this question.

“I expect people to keep reporting to their duties until I say otherwise,” was her reply as she began eating politely. “I understand their concerns, for now certain operations will be suspended, I have alerted those affected. There may be further changes, until such time they will do their duty.”

As the others talked, she was helping herself to some of the food as well.

"We are here to support you, duchess," Kat bowed her head to Yula for a moment. "I've decided to remain on Alderaan for a while longer, help out as much as I can. For you, and for Alderaan."

Garth was late, entering the room mumbling something about servants having taken his shoes for cleaning.

"Sorry y'all," he apologizes as he sits at the table in his Naval Dress Uniform. "Ah thought a li'l show of Ulgo solidarity wi' the Republic might go a fair way t'day."

The perceptive types might notice that he no longer wore his ilum necklace.

Bran simply nods in reply to Yula's orders. Carry on as before? Riiight.

Kat's announcement elicits a small sigh of relief -- probably not audible, but certainly the lowering of the man's shoulders is visible -- and a tired but relieved smile from her cousin.

The pilot turned parliamentarian reaches to take a little food. It isn't much, but he's settling down enough to realize he should eat something.

"Duchess, even if the queen doesn't do so directly, I worry that there will be forces in parliament that attempt to marginalize or outright remove Ulgo members. Do we know..." It's clearly hard for him to say the words. "Do we know if any of them participated in the uprising? We should ensure they're ousted with our support before other factions try to use it against us." Bran's face is drawn, eyes and voice cold, as he looks to clean up what's within his power to address. Maybe. If he has any power left.

"I don't do parliament, that's your realm," she said honestly. "I don't really understand how much of that works. We will have to expect for the near future quite a few snubs and lumps, I can't fix that. I can keep our people focused on doing their job. It's been a day, there will be changes, but I am still assessing how I want to move forward."

"As for others trying to marginalize or oust out Ulgo representatives... there's not much else we can do but to continue to prove our dedication to Alderaan. We can't help that some will probably hold some hatred against us - some even did before this happened, and they'll probably just feel justified in their biases now," she remarked with some sadness.

Kat looked more at Brannis and Garth now. "Marriages might help ensuring some bonds of friendship with the other Houses, after what happened."

Gazing over the breakfast spread, and deciding to throw a slab of nerf meat between two slices of toasted bread, Garth takes a pull of his kaff and nods.

"Well unless th' Duchess torpedoes th' whole thing, ah think ah'm all but spoken fer." He answers, appearing quite happy with his situation.

"Ah imagine with noble houses there'll be negotiations 'n things...ah guess that's up t' you now Duchess." Garth adds, looking to Yulastranza. "Is an alliance more important than which name Miyi and ah end up bearing?"

"Honestly, Thul is a rising star, tying one of ours to them will be helpful for the short term," she said while she ate. "It's probably more advantageous for you to join them than the other way around."

Bran stares at his plate, not wanting to engage on this topic. He knows he has to, but he feels like what he thought he'd built with Jameela is entirely gone.

"I don't..." He sighs heavily. "I don't know what to do, in that arena. I can't..." He shakes his head, still looking down. "I can't imagine that the princess will have any interest in seeing me."

"Did she have interest before? You made your stance clear yesterday where you stood, perhaps that will buy you some goodwill, otherwise, in the end it is her decision and that of the Queen," she said. "I am not sure any of us can fix that, maybe simply speak with the Queen before assuming."

"None of us are in prison, so there is that."

Kat nodded in agreement with Yula, and gave Brannis an encouraging smile. "The princess doesn't seem the type to hate or dislike you simply because of affiliations. Speak with her, and... even if things don't work out, she could still be a friend."

Bran laughs darkly at the dry joke. 'Well, no physical prison anyway..." After he says it he takes a deep breath. "Apologies, duchess, I am... not well rested and need to control my disposition."

Katarzyna Ulgo wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 12, 2021 12:17 pm

Kat nodded in agreement with Yula, and gave Brannis an encouraging smile. "The princess doesn't seem the type to hate or dislike you simply because of affiliations. Speak with her, and... even if things don't work out, she could still be a friend."

"Yes," he says tiredly. "Quite right." He nods at Kat and manages to return the smile, though his heart clearly isn't in it.