[for Theon] /making shit up/

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: from here]

Maybe it was showing off a bit, but Anakin had totally done a completely gratuitous fly-over of the Resolute when they arrived so Theon could appreciate the capital ship's majesty. And of course, once they settled in the hangar bay, he'd see there were even more ships carried inside. Starfighters, troop transports, etc.

Luckily, Obi-Wan wasn't there yet so Anakin hadn't had to explain to him what was up. The troopers more or less accepted he's a contact of the general's, no need to ask for details and Yularen? Well, Anakin gave the admiral more or less the same explanation except with Jedi business tacked on the end of it.

Eventually, of course, he'll have to provide something better when the Council comes calling but for the time being, it's easy enough to find quarters to put Theon up in. No need to mention the small room had last been used by Anakin's former padawan.

What Anakin hadn't expected was that, instead of being called to another battle, they were being recalled to Coruscant. Not because of Theon's presence, but instead something about an experimental weapons prototype. Why it was on Coruscant, Anakin wondered, instead of say...one of the industrial shipyards out there was a mystery presumably known only to the Chancellor.

Still, it does lead him to find Theon and remark, "I know you've mostly only seen the inside of a ship and a bunch of clones up until now but we'll be getting a change of scenery soon."

Comments

[krakenoutofwater]

It’s been strange to get used to, but compared to where he was and how it had all ended up, he’ll gladly take a little weirdness. It’s still hard to comprehend their current location, that giant ship hovering about in space. There’s a great deal of armored machines around - droids, right, those- and armored troops, all milling about. Everything is metal, too, or even materials he doesn’t entirely even recognize. There’s a sigil he’s seen around that he doesn’t recognize: but soon he finds out it stands not for some family, but for the Republic. Sometimes, he finds himself missing certain aspects of home… the forests and the familiar sights around Winterfell. The sea as well, but he has to remind himself about the things he should be missing, from his true home. There are people he misses as well, but that’s all tinged with too much regret, and he’d rather not dwell on such.

At least up here, no one calls him a Turncloak. At least here, he doesn’t have to run off to the Night’s Watch and take those vows in order to set aside his past. He’s starting over but without the old rules of his home.

“Just when I was starting to admire the view in here… Are we headed on some mission? Where to?”

[morally_cryptic]

"Sort of a mission but not a battle. At least not yet. We're going to Coruscant...the capital of the Republic." He grins. "The whole planet is one big city."

And Theon might finally see what Anakin had meant when he'd told him about aliens. Among other things.

[krakenoutofwater]

“The capital, hm? Then that’s where the king… I mean, the ruler of your Republic is located?” Not a King, he’s pretty sure that was mentioned at some point or other. Theon imagines something along the lines of King’s Landing when he thinks about a big city.

Yeah. He has no idea. No idea whatsoever.

[morally_cryptic]

Anakin nods, "his title is Chancellor. We have a senate as well, made up of representatives of the various planets that belong to the Republic." Something in his expression probably suggests Anakin's disapproval of the arrangement, though it has more to do with his disapproval of how long it takes the Senate to get anything done. "He's not really like a king though. He used to be a senator and when the old chancellor was voted out of office, they elected Palpatine to take his place."

Of course, there are those out there in the galaxy who might argue that Palpatine was more king by now than a humble civil servant but Anakin still thinks the world of the man okay.

And then, "come on, let's find you a viewport so you can watch the show."

[krakenoutofwater]

Theon can see that it’s somehow not ideal, this Republic and this senate. “That’s still so strange to me that leaders could be chosen like that. Where I’m from, we’ve never bothered with elections. The firstborn son is entitled to inherit his father’s title, whether king or lord… though you can luck out sometimes even as a third son, if the first two die off…” That was his situation, anyway, ha, yeah for all the good it had done him. A pesky sister thrown in sort of ruined things. “I might have been a king myself, you know, if my father’s rebellion had succeeded.” Or if he’d succeeded in his own attempt at seizing the north. But he doesn’t want to think about that mistake.

“Anyway, not that it matters here.” He’s still got to get used to that, homeland titles mean nothing, not all the way out in space. “I’ve got to see this.”

[morally_cryptic]

"What if you get a firstborn son who's terrible at ruling?" Anakin assumes said son might suddenly wake up dead one day but it was possible they could be really bad at ruling a country and really good at running a military. "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't make much of a king," he adds. Sure, he's a good leader if his military successes are anything to go by. But. Politics. Eugh.

Finding a viewport isn't difficult and Anakin makes sure it's one that will have a clear view of the planet as they drop out of hyperspace.

"Just in time."

[krakenoutofwater]

Yes, they definitely won’t be ruling for very long if they can’t manage it. It may not be an election, at all, but it certainly is a way of saying that person doesn’t “Then that firstborn wouldn’t last very long in their position. You hear about it, every so often, a lord who meets his fate in an accident or a poisoning or similar… There have been some bad kings. One not long ago went mad, they got rid of him and his whole family.” He grins a little. “Our last king made it look easy. Then again all he did was hunt and drink and whore around…”

Not a bad way to spend your time, but probably not the best for ruling the seven kingdoms. He follows along and stares out the viewport, still utterly fascinated at the sight of space suddenly slowing down and the planet looming before them. “That never gets old.”

[morally_cryptic]

Anakin wrinkles his nose, "and they let him stay king?" Though it sounds like from last king that the answer to that is no.

But then Coruscant was coming into view, glittering with millions of lights and surrounded by a halo of space traffic always coming and going. And several Star Destroyers in orbit for protection, of course. He grins back over at Theon, "I know what you mean and I've done it a lot more times than you have."

[krakenoutofwater]

“They did until recently. He had a hand in the victory against the last king… An election would probably be a less bloody way to take a bad ruler out of his position, though.” He can’t imagine that way ever gaining favor in the Seven Kingdoms, though. Not a chance.

As the sprawling urban planet comes more into view, Theon looks even more astonished at the sight of it all the ships, zooming past rapidly. As buildings come into view, gleaming metallic and lit up, he realizes that once again he had no real comparison to anything he knew before. “When you said a city, I imagined a large castle, perhaps a lot of buildings clustered together… not anything like this…”

[morally_cryptic]

Briefly, Anakin considers telling Theon about Naboo and how they elect their rulers there and how so many of them have been queens but that would likely just even more explanation than he's actually equipped to give.

"I know, right?" He smiles. "There's pretty much no visible ground. The buildings cover everything and go pretty deep. I'd suggest not visiting the lower levels." At least not until he actually knew what he was doing down there.

[krakenoutofwater]

The idea of elections is weird enough that anything else would definitely bring it over the edge. Though for now, he watches as the planet looms closer, the bustling city landscape becomes even clearer. Anakin is right... the whole thing just seems devoid of any sort of "ground" in the normal sense.

"You left that wide open for me to ask, but what's wrong with the lower levels?" Oh he has a feeling the answer is something unpleasant.

[morally_cryptic]

"Not wrong, exactly...but...the higher up areas tend to be more affluent. Things get...seedier the deeper you go. Some places it's almost like night all the time because the taller buildings block the light from the sun getting that far down. You go deep enough," and he means really really deep, "and you'll find things that have never seen the light of day."

[krakenoutofwater]

"Sounds like something they'd say to scare children," he says as he continues watching the remarkable sight of the city lights, the racing ships, endless traffic traveling across the planet. "Don't go into that horrible place or something will get you..." Don't go north of the wall, where there are wildlings and worse. "Though given that last planet we visited and the thing we fought, I'll take your word for it."

[morally_cryptic]

He laughs, "good plan. I've seen some of them."

Just some of the bipedal denizens could be problematic enough.

[krakenoutofwater]

"Are they any worse than the thing we fought? Do I really want to know the answer to that question?" Already, Theon is seeing things that he'd never have imagined, things he's just getting the words to describe. He thought regular ships on water were something, that horse-drawn carriages were adequate transport... it's nothing like these starships.

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: Dear Theon, come play in takodana plzkthx. :) Could maybe pick something up there after Theon gets settled in?]

"They can be and probably not. Some are just big and...sort of indifferent to humans. Which can be problematic when they're going about their business and accidentally squash you anyway."

Okay, there weren't so many of those, most of what lurked beneath Coruscant that was problematic was more likely to have many teeth than it was likely to be much larger than the average human. But it still didn't hurt to be wary.

[krakenoutofwater]

[ooc: ohh, fun, I'm always up for things like dressingrooms! That and keeping this whole thing continuing would be awesome... Whereabouts should I jump in? The open post at Maz's?]

"'Great. 'Big things that indifferently kill you'... the worlds out here just keep getting more exciting." Or terrifying. It's better to make light of it instead though, that sort of attitude usually works best as a go-to thing. "I hope the people on this world aren't as threatening."

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: yeah, I was thinking the Maz post unless he wants to bitch with Anakin the afterlife. ;)]

"Just like any place. Some people can be the sort you'd not want to meet anywhere, much less a dark alleyway and others are more scared of you than the other way around."

And a whole wide spectrum in between, of course.

[krakenoutofwater]

[ooc: Ok, I have it open in a tab to get at when I have some more time! Likely the Maz one then, though the afterlife idea amuses me now... probably despite being not canonically dead, it's... not too hard to work something out for Theon, lol]

"Ah good, and I'd hope there would be some pretty women among them to enjoy as well." After all, yes, of course, there is business to deal with, but every world has to have a brothel, he figures. It's one of the most basic needs, and Theon is beyond curious to see what these otherworldly ladies have to offer.

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: Coolio. Going to just let this one lie, if that's okay?]

[krakenoutofwater]

[ooc: Here we go!! Just a quick thing to get them started. And if we get to a stopping point eventually in that one, we can spring to the other prompts too! :)]