500 Republica

=Jordan Halcyon=
The Jedi Knight assigned to shadow Khar by Master Raganella had had enough. It was time to make his presence known. Stepping toward the confrontation, he cleared his throat.

"I suggest you do as the lady says. Otherwise, may I remind everyone that this is a Republic world, and any security incident here must be dealt with according to Republic law. If you refuse her, and you refuse me, I will call in the Senate Guard and have the room cleared." The young knight said, speaking firmly and loudly enough so that a good portion of the guests could hear him.

"First, this man has been accused of possessing a lightsaber. That makes this case Jedi business, according to our mandate to guide and oversee all Force use in the Republic. If the man you are harrassing is a Jedi, then you should be ashamed of yourselves, and release him to Jedi custody. We will deal with him in our own way and repremand him if the council deems it necessary." His eyes flashed, not with anger, but with determination. "If, however, as I suspect, he is not a Jedi, then that saber may be stolen property and subject to confiscation. May I see the weapon? I may be able to identify it." Jordan hated to cast more suspicion on the young man, but he knew that the reactions to his request would reveal much about the situation.

He lowered his voice to address the Twi'lek sympathetically. "I'm sorry about all this, and for increasing your guest's embarrassment, but there's a line that needed to be drawn here."

As the outraged guests have started flying around, sel didnt move an inch at first. The twilek started to babble at him histerically, and he cought her in a lie, second of the same sort today. This indulged Seleevan a lot while he finnished off "drinking" his wine bottle. Vors lack lips, thanks to the large beak, thus drinking looks a lot more animalistic and uncivilised to other races when Vors do it. Its like filling a bowl, then gargling the contents down as fast as one wish to enjoy the liquid. This Sel now did, put down the empty bottle of wine and finally turned around at his social attackers.

A twilek and a jedi whom jumped out of literally nowhere.

"Lady, gather yourself, and start again, this time without lieing. I will not be lied to."

Turning to the jedi, Khar suddenly had a hand emerge from its sleeve with the lightsaber in question. The mans prints would still be on them, since Sel not only has a bloody god damned beak, but handy claws also.

"The man is not charged officially yet. That is, as you say, your business. You are more then welcome to escort him out of this event and question him however you like. My main concern is to keep this party free of death and destruction.

The lightsaber."

Ar'lah looked offended. I did not lie. I invited him, just now. It is my right. Besides, look around. She gestured to Crom'nen's Twi'lek guards on the stairs, as well as the massive beast Dunn that stood near him. Crom'nen's honor guard has spears, albeit blunted. His person bodyguard has that massive scimitar strapped to his side. My understanding is that ceremonial weapons are allowed, but not blasters, explosives, or any other kind of projectile. The lightsaber can be argued to be a ceremonial weapon, a right of the Jedi. This is not the first galactic Empire, where only Lord Vader and Inquisitors could bear such a weapon. He has shown to be no threat, and if he does, there are both Jedi and Imperial Knights who are more than qualified to deal with such a threat. Now release him before you do any further damage to the party.

Avaro leads Bel'fima to where Landrin stands. Landrin, this is Bel'fima.

=Jordan Halcyon=
The young Jedi Knight was surprised that the Vor had been able to detect the lightsaber crystal and the deceit that had been used to conceal it so carefully. This indicated, although it did not prove, that Khar might be in tune with the Force. But that was an observation on which to meditate later, on his own time, and report to his superiors. First, he had a dispute to calm. "That is reasonable, after all, this is your party. Unless you wish to grant this young lady's wishes" He nodded to Ar'lah "and allow her guest to remain, I will escort your unwanted guest outside for questioning. I am sure that I can discover the truth of this matter."

He stretched his right hand out towards the curved, silver and black saber hilt in the Vor's clutches, intending to take it from the self-claimed head of security (if Khar would allow him) and call it to himself telekinetically through the Force. Jordan had seen the man found in possession of the weapon, as had everyone else, and he doubted the prints on the hilt would add anything, but he would not directly touch it, at least not yet. And the Vor had no true claim to the item -- either it legally belonged to the red-eyed stranger, or it was stolen Jedi property. Once more, he was testing Khar's reactions and willingness to cooperate.

The Jedi Master smiled. "A very wise observation. You must have had good mentors. When I was more directly involved in politics, I followed a similar approach. Leading from the front is always more successful. People will follow you because they trust you, not just because they fear you or want something from you." He paused as his voice got a little bit nostalgic. "But it does take a certain amount of courage and fearlessness to go out and mingle with your allies and your enemies. I was detained on three occasions, and each time I learned a lot about patience. Because I kept my cool, each time I was able to stay alive until I was rescued or voluntarily released."

Kel never liked to brag about his time as Chief of State, but if Standash had studied his past, she would know that the Jedi had spent almost a decade in politics, starting at about her own age, before deciding that he could not continue as both a Jedi and a politician. He had served the United Federation of Free Worlds, one of the predecessors of the current Galactic Republic, and then had helped found the Galactic Coalition, which eventually was reformed into the Republic after a corruption scandal. It was this service that had earned Master Raganella an invitation to speak at the gala.

The Jedi moved to follow her as he realized what was happening, and something flashed in his eyes. But Jordan was faster, and he was almost there. Deciding to let his protege handle the situation, Kel observed from afar, ready to step in only if a fight broke out. Otherwise, one Jedi was enough. Two would have made the situation worse. Instead, he let the Alderaanian Senator go, followed closely by Koronov's Twi'lek secretary, Aylee'saresh, and turned his attention to a new arrival.

Former head of the Imperial Knights? That was interesting. The Jedi Order had little data on the Imperial Knights, their actual training practices in comparison to the Fel Empire era, or their leadership. If Solomon were the former head, who was in charge now? And to whom were the Knights guarding the Emperor truly most loyal, the current head, the former head, or the Emperor himself? Kel's tactical mind began to spin. He was always looking for threads that could be pulled. He did not have any current reason to want to attack the Imperials, but it never hurt to be prepared. Casually, he made his way over toward where Solomon was addressing a young woman.

Orik was becoming tired of the war of words going on all around him. He felt like taking the tizowyrm out of his ear so he did not have to listen to such drivel. He was a Yuuzhan Vong, though, and he had a mission to complete. He decided to stick with the alien who showed an interest in him. He could feel that major powers in the galaxy were represented here, and Orik did not want to alarm them before the new Yuuzhan Vong were ready for war.

He turned to the alien, Ar'lah, and spoke quite loudly. Hopefully whoever was important enough to take him up on his proposition would hear, for Orik's patience was now very strained. "The Yuuzhan Vong wish to pledge our living servants in the restoration of Ryloth. I need to know who to speak to."

"Princess..." Orik repeated, as if tasting the word. The tizowyrm translated it as hereditary power, though he was not sure if this was entirely the case. Orik kept his comments to himself, as his race believed in power through skill, and not into which family you were born. The Yuuzhan Vong of his ilk were less relaxed in the caste system than the members of his race who originally invaded, though the roles still existed.

"Standash Thul, I am Orik Kanor of the Yuuzhan Vong. I command the servant Crusader, currently waiting not far from here. I have been commanded by my superior to offer our biological expertise in the restoration of Ryloth."

Orik only accepted praise from his superiors, and would normally punish a subordinate harshly for such language. Being a Yuuzhan Vong warrior inherently made him superior to most beings here, save perhaps the jeedai, and therefore he only deserved praise from them. He shook his head at the infidels' ignorance, but remembered his mission. He was not to cause trouble, and allow the Yuuzhan Vong to mingle with other major powers in the galaxy as his master race readied itself for war.

"There is no better honour than fighting and dying against warrior from my caste. The Gods have granted us the best protocols and servants to give us unparalleled skill and prowess. We also excel at other things, too."

That was twice the tizowyrm had translated 'ship' and 'technology' as 'servant', because to the Yuuzhan Vong that was what their living tools were. Servants.