Alderaan - Love and Intrigue

Kat didn't look very much like a Jedi right now in the simple but elegant dress were it not for the lightsaber-holster on her hip attached to a pretty belt. Though for some they could just recognize that bearing of a Jedi compared to a noble, and Kat seemed more like a Jedi than a noble.

She waited first for her "co-conspirator", so to speak.

Niall, on the other hand, looked pretty much the same as he always did. Uniformed, medaled... caped. All worn with the ease of long experience.

He smiled politely as he approached her. "Lady Katarzyna." He murmured, inclining his head. He cleared his throat, looking briefly away, then back to her, still politely smiling. Hopefully she hadn't seen the video, or at least hadn't believed it...

"C--, Maj... Lord Niall." She went through a few hoops to settle on the right form of adress, as he had asked her to use his name rather than the official titles. Lord Niall was where she ended up in the end.

"How are you?" Kat asked politely, but she was visibly a bit nervous about this upcoming plan.

Niall smiled at her. Well, at least she hadn't quite called him Captain Alderaan. "I am doing well, thank you. Really, you needn't call me lord at all; although you're quite right, it would be the proper form of address. Still, please, just Niall." It was true, he'd called her lady, but she hadn't told him not to, had she.

He looked at her, eyebrows going up. "And how are you?" He asked, smiling gently.

"Fine. Nervous. Not certain how this conversation will go, to be honest." She breathed a heavy sigh, letting her shoulders loosen up as she released some of the tension there.

"Ready to go find my cousin?"

"Don't be nervous." Niall said. "Yulastranza has a good sense of what is wrong." He smiled. "Just stand up straight and tell the truth. That's what my father told me when I was just a boy. It's never stopped being good advice."

He nodded. "So. Let's go find her, then."

"That is a lot more clear-cut than how my master would say it," Kat chuckled, and thinking of Master Syo's peaceful calm did help with her nerves.

"Alright. Let's go find Yulastranza."

Yulastranza was wearing a military uniform of House Ulgo as she admired the sea alone. She had not yet noticed the two of them approaching.

Kat approached, speaking in a warm and friendly tone to her cousin. "Lady Yulastranza, it's a spectacular view we have."

Katarzyna Ulgo wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:10 pm

Kat approached, speaking in a warm and friendly tone to her cousin. "Lady Yulastranza, it's a spectacular view we have."

“Thanks, it is nice,” she said a bit distracted. “You clean up nice, fancy new robes?”

"Yes, newly issued from the Order," she said with a light chuckle, clearly joking. She was a bit more herself rather than standing on ceremony. "A friend of mine insisted I wear something else for the cruise, and I saw no harm in obliging them for just this. Thank you for the compliment. You as always look impressive, cousin."

Kat smiled. "Do you have a moment? There's something I want to talk to you about. Along with Niall Organa, if that's alright?"

She nodded for her to continue.

Niall cleared his throat. "Lady Yulastranza, I hope you don't mind if I am direct." He glanced around. Were there cameras? Probably. Would they pick up sound? That would be much harder, over the sounds of the parties, the music, and if they spoke softly enough.

So he spoke softly. "We've found some evidence of a plot, the ultimate aims of which we do not know for certain. But it seems to be attempting to destabilize Alderaan. And the method is by encouraging a conflict between Ulgo and Thul."

“No need to encourage that, that’s our every day,” she responded.

Kat nodded to Niall's words, her indication that what he was saying was true. "From my encounters with the Duke and Duchess of House Thul, I do not think they're the real enemy we need to be concerned about. Rather that outside forces are pushing two sides with tension between them already, namely Thul and Ulgo, against eachother further by instigating incidents that paint both sides in a poor light for the other. To push Alderaan to the point where it will become violent."

Yulastranza Ulgo wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:57 pm

“No need to encourage that, that’s our every day,” she responded.

Niall chuckled wryly at that. "Well, that makes it rather easier, of course."

He nodded to Kat. "But as Lady Katarzyna says, there's rather more to it than the usual sniping. And while you know I have no great love for Thul, they are not the villains here."

"Really? Are you serious?" she asks.

"Extremely serious, Lady Yulastranza." Niall said, his expression matching his words. "This conflict that is being encouraged, if it occurs, will not be good for Alderaan. It will not be good for any families. The only winners will be this group, whoever they are." Niall grimaced at that; there were still some gaps in their information.

Again, he smiled, this time without any humor. "And I suppose the Empire will be pleased, whether they're behind it or not."

"So this group of ne'er do wells is just what helping both sides? I believe you believe this group is at work but I am having a tough time processing this," she admitted.

Niall grimaced. "I shouldn't say helping both sides. Instigating. They're behind the protestors, and the attack on the Prince. Posing as pro-Ulgo protestors, even as they encourage other protestors to strike at the Crown." He shook his head.

Slowly, he inclined his head to her. "I can't blame you for your skepticism. It sounds rather far-fetched. Nevertheless..." Niall spread his hands. "We have some proof. We need time to uncover the rest, and allow cooler heads to prevail."