{{ simply being loved - chapter 06
General Jacen Solo heard nothing.
But he could see everything.
Commander Gadell Vessau guiding Queen Mother Tenel Ka Chume Djo around the floor, receiving admiring looks from dignitaries, friends and the Court. The Queen Mother's face was expressionless.
The song must've ended because the pair bowed. He softly pulled her onto the stage and told the crowd something, most likely about the marriage. He saw the Court stand up and clap. He saw Tenel Ka's father, Isolder, stand up and clap.
He saw his sister, a look of shock on her face.
Tahiri. A frown.
Jag. His eyes were wide.
Zekk and Lowie, mouths hanging open.
Danni Quee, Kyp Durron, his parents, and his aunt and uncle, whispering in a group. All of them surprised.
Most of the other people were cheering. Their Queen Mother, marrying one of the only men they ever admired.
He saw a fleeting vision of himself, crumpled up in the grove, in a pool of tears.
It flashed back to the chamber.
And Gadell led Tenel Ka to a balcony that connected to the chamber. She absently followed him to the railing, obviously having other things on her mind. And Jacen watched as Gadell soundlessly told her something.
He could hear her in his head.
'jacen solo I love you too jacen I love you please say something jacen please'
Gadell moved in front of her so her back was to the railing, and he leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. Her right hand gripped the railing as both of his fell to rest on her waist. The breeze blew Gadell's hair forward, so the tips tickled the Queen Mother's tan face. The Commander raised his right hand and caressed her cheek.
Jacen noticed every little movement.
As Gadell deepened the kiss, Tenel Ka's fingers twisted violently around the railing like she wanted to rip it off of the balcony and beat him over the head with it.
Her stream of emotions was furiously ripped away and cut off.
'jacen please i love you i----'
Jacen watched it all in slow motion.
The General could feel himself being shaken. He could hear the chirping and buzzing of the nocturnal insects and he could feel the soft breeze playing upon his cheeks.
He realized his CorSec uniform was damp with sweat which caused him to slowly open his deep brown eyes.
A pair of delicate, soft azure orbs were staring back at him. They were set in an angular face, framed by black hair which contrasted sharply with the pale tone of the skin. Jacen drew in a deep breath.
"General Solo?"
It was Gadell Vessau. He had a concerned look on his face and through the Force, Jacen could feel sincerity spilling out of his pores.
"Are you alright, General Solo?"
He replied with the first thing that came to his mind, "Call me Jacen, please."
Gadell nodded.
"And I'm fine. I think... Thank you."
The Commander stood up from his kneeling position and held out a hand, which Jacen took.
As Gadell helped Jacen up, he inquired, "Would you like me to call the medics?"
"Oh no. No thanks. I think I just tripped or something. Maybe I had a little bit too much to drink." He lied, forcing a chuckle.
Gadell smiled and motioned back towards the Palace, "Come on. I'll walk you back inside. Your sister and your parents were looking for you. I told them I'd check the gardens."
Jacen walked closely behind Gadell, flanking him on his right, listening to him.
"You look very tired, Jacen. You may retire to your quarters, if you wish. I'll let them know you are safe."
Clasping his hands beind his back, he noticed that the normal sarcastically bitter tone was absent from Gadell's voice.
"I thank you, Commander."
"Please. Call me Gadell." Vessau turned his head to Jacen and smiled.
Jacen returned the grin and continued to make small chat all the way to the door of his quarters. As they approached, Gadell pressed the button.
The door slid open.
Jacen politly nodded to Gadell, the man's genial eyes glittering. Solo stepped through the doorway, reaching over to hit the switch to raise the lights in the room.
Jacen's back was turned.
Gadell felt a sharp pain shoot throughout his body, originating from his chest. He twitched.
Jacen spun around to say thank you and good night, and was greeted by a pair of cold, icy eyes.
The General cleared his throat, "Thank you Gadell. Have a good night."
Gadell lowered his voice to a whisper; the tone had returned.
"Good night, General Solo." A black gloved hand reached up and slammed itself into the control panel, shutting the door between the two men.
Shutting the door and leaving Jacen Solo in an utter state of confusion.
Gadell Vessau tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck. He started down the hallway, away from the guest quarters and towards the meeting rooms.
He had a conference to attend.
Approaching the door to his meeting room, he stopped the female guard out front.
"Are my guests here?"
"Yes, sir." She responded.
"Thank you. And the line is secure?"
"Yes, sir." The guard just assumed he was going to be talking about Hapan fleets or battle plans or some inane military strategy that they wouldn't use for years.
"Thank you again."
The guard left his presence, leaving him to open the door, turn around and type the code in the control panel to lock it from the inside.
The room was dark, except for the soft glow of the large holo-screen and the small amount of light the paper lamp in the middle of the table gave off. The table was circular, placed in front of the holo-screen with three chairs around it.
Two of the chairs were occupied by vicious looking Hapan males.
"Gadell."
"Exna. It's nice to see you again. No small talk now." Gadell slid into the empty seat, his frosty eyes roaming around from Exna, to the shimmering holo-screen, to Jeauno. Who was Exna's silent, but incredibly big and brutal counterpart.
"Where is she?"
The holo-screen flickered to life, as the transmission knocked in, "Right here. Calm your little head down."
Gadell snickered.
A moment of silence passed until Gadell was the first to speak.
"When did you poison her?"
Exna narrowed his light brown eyes, answering Gadell's question, "She was talking to that Solo guy. I approached them, dressed as a server. The queenie took the glass closest to her. Which I slipped the poison into, obviously."
"Tee Cee. Don't you think it was a bit early for the poison?"
Exna turned to the screen, "Yeah, Tee Cee; shouldn't we have waited a bit for that?"
The woman sneered, leaning towards the screen, her image looming over the three men, "I want it to permeate. The effects of it only last about a week and a half and I want her drugged on it until we have time to situate her and her people with the arm."
Gadell leaned back in his chair, setting his hands in his lap.
The woman continued, "Anyways, the stubborn woman would most likely fight back if you got anywhere near her with that arm. And now that she's poisoned, she'll be too weak to do much of anything."
Exna breathed a sigh.
Gadell pursed his lips, shaking strands of hair out of his pallid face. He didn't look like most Hapans. Gadell was only half-Hapan. His father...
"What does the poison do, again? Exactly."
...was from Corellia. And while he got his mother's face shape and strength, his eyes, hair and skin all came from his father's side.
Tee Cee tilted her head. Her hair, usually hanging loose around her face was pulled back into a tight knot.
"The poison is basically a less effective version of the liquid in the arm. It's going to magnify her feelings. Whereas the liquid in the arm magnifies a certain type of emotion."
"Which is animosity in this case," Exna added.
"I have always wanted to test this on a Jedi." Tee Cee steepled her fingers in front of her face, giggling quietly.
Jeauno reached down beside his chair and picked up a case, slamming it down on the table. The noise echoed in the small room. He quietly slid the case over to Gadell.
The woman's voice broke the silence.
"She is going to go insane, starting tonight."
Gadell's eyes slowly trailed upwards. Locked into a stare, the woman spoke again.
"Once you install that, there will be no stopping us. It has already begun. Any negative feeling she has before you install it is going to hit her a thousand times harder then it normally would. And once you get that arm in place, the only feeling that will matter is animosity. Anger. Hatred. Jealousy."
Gadell closed his icy eyes, a slow shake of his head being his only movement. This was all moving too damn fast.
"Evil," her voice was like poison dripping into his ears.
Silence hung in the air between the four.
Minutes of silence.
"This meeting is over." Gadell arose from his seat, grabbed the handle on the case and turned around, heading to the exit.
The woman sarcastically called after him, "Not even going to say bye?"
"Goodbye Exna; Jeauno. I'll see you both later."
The woman laughed, a rich laugh, laced with lewdness and corruption.
Commander Vessau didn't even turn back and look at her.
After leaving the meeting, he carried the case back to his quarters and hid it in his wardrobe. He had no idea what Exna and Jeauno were doing staying on Hapes.
No doubt more of Tee Cee's dirty work. Since she didn't do it herself.
He knew they had already poisoned Tenel Ka after he had kissed her on the balcony. He could taste traces of it on her lips. Not enough to do anything to him. But there was enough in her.
It infuriated him.
He wanted to do this himself. This whole thing, himself. But she had to send Exna and Jeauno.
He had nothing against them.
But he had everything against her.
Scowling, he exited his quarters and followed the long hallways to the tall ornate door of the Queen Mother's room. After pressing the button, the door silently slid open.
Gadell reached down and pulled his boots off, dropping them by the inside edge of the door. His blue eyes scanned the dim room as he crept over to the bed, where the Queen Mother was tossing and turning.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he knew if he was caught in here that nothing would happen to him.
They were engaged after all.
Gadell took his right glove off and traced her jawline, back and forth. She nuzzled her face further in her pillow at his touch.
He leaned in, putting his mouth up to her ear.
Between a hiss and a husky whisper, "Everything is going be perfect, your highness."
She stirred restlessly in her sleep.
"Just perfect."
Narrowing his icy eyes, he pulled himself off of her bed and walked back to the door, pulling his boots back on when he got there. Throwing one last glance at her sleeping form, he left her alone to sleep and returned to his quarters to do the same.
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