Imperial Query

It had been about a day or so since a rather unexpected event. Nero had been minding his own business as per usual until he saw a smoking and close to exploding mini-cruiser messenger ship rapidly enter Namek’s atmosphere out in the vast plains of Namek. Of course, Nero stepped in to make sure that the craft didn’t disintegrate or blow a hole in the ground or anything like that, but it had also turned out that the occupant— Ghleice Ayuro, a rather timid young Arcosian Lance Corporal— was being trailed mercilessly by some hired guns, mercenaries and assassins!

Nero stepped in and sent the ones chasing the Arcosian packing, scurrying away to lick their wounds, at which point Ghleice saw himself indebted to Nero, much to the man’s insistence that Ghleice did not owe him anything. Either way, Nero took Ghleice to Dend Capital to see a healer for his injuries.

Everything went back to normal after that, that was until now, when Nero could sense a strong power approach Namek, an unfamiliar one so it made sense to investigate. A truly massive craft had breached the atmosphere this time, thankfully it wasn’t crashing. Locals regarded it with caution, interest, and everything else in between. From the window of the healer’s place having chosen to rest after fully recovering, Ghleice recognized that craft. It was Emperor Ticoga’s ship! In his shock due to being chased he had forgotten why he even came to Namek!

In a mixed ball of embarrassment and panic, Ghleice rushed outside when he noticed that Nero was making his way towards the disembarking party that had come from the large spaceship. “M-m-m-m-mister Nero, sir!” Ghleice rushed forward to the man’s side, motioning that he wait. “I-I remember why it is that I came here, it was to seek you, actually— t-to deliver a message, that the newly crowned Emperor, Ticoga wanted to speak with you.”

Just then, Ticoga had properly arrived and introduced himself. “Oh, so, him?” Nero gestured to Ticoga to draw Ghleice’s attention. “Indeed sir, this is he.” Ghleice nodded, before suddenly realizing that Ticoga was right there and giving a quick formal bow. “A-ah! Your excellency, please forgive me. Lance Corporal Ghleice Ayuro of house Sanow reporting for duty!”

Nero sighed, looking worried for Ghleice, who was still exhibiting signs of shock after recent events. “See, this is why I told you to rest, you’re all over the place. Don’t stress yourself out, yeah?” Regardless, Ticoga was here now, and wanted to speak to Nero. “Anyway, hey, I’m Nero. What’s up?” He added, with a polite wave to the three newcomers.

“Likewise to you, Ticoga.” Nero gave a polite nod of the head. Ghleice still looked somewhat nervous, but took a deep breath to calm himself. “Thank you, your excellency.” Ghleice started to make his way to the ship, but Nero interrupted them. “Did you leave anything important behind? Hang on, lemme check for you.” He said, pausing in silence for a moment. Before long, a spry old Namekian had flown over, offering Ghleice a bag of his belongings. With a smile and a nod of thanks, Ghleice departed for Ticoga’s ship, with the Namekian healer giving a wave before returning to their house of healing.

After the two went about their business, Ticoga spoke up once more. Nero’s brow furrowed, having clear distaste for whatever the event in question was. “Ghleice had a pretty horrible run-in with some mercenaries. They outnumbered him and chased him relentlessly, which caused him to arrive later than he wanted to from what he told me.” Nero growled even at the thought of those scumbags. “Whoever hired them wanted him dead and for your message to never reach me, so I reckon the mastermind behind it all is someone that has something against you.” Even during the initial chaos, Nero had handily overheard several names whispered around the would-be assassins. “They were certainly just in it for the profit, I’m sure you know the sort. Before I sent ‘em packing I overheard some names, so if ‘Lord Eilid’, ‘Lady Eimal’ or ‘House Foross’ mean anything to you, I’d start there if you investigate.” Nero had a feeling that Ticoga was precisely the type to launch an investigation too. “In any case, after he recovers from the shock of it all, I’m sure Ghleice can give a proper report of some sort. He spoke quite highly of you, and is grateful that you gave him the chances not many others in your position would.”

Now, to get to hopefully less sour matters; Nero understandably had a question to ask. “So, what was it that you needed to see me about? Must’ve been pretty important.”

Magaera’s search for information would be effortless of course given her station. Some information was known to the public, but that was regular business information. The real juicy stuff came from the inner workings of the archives. House Foross for the most part was above board and in agreement with more morally good ideals... But when it comes to Eilid and Eimal beyond public surface information? To say they were far removed from moral goodness would be an understatement. Putting it lightly, they were a scourge within their own family and a festering wound in their sector of business. Eimal was the mastermind of the two, orchestrating secret sabotage against competition where Eilid was a spineless yes-man that greatly coveted superiority by any means. None of what could be found at Magaera’s clearance level was pretty, and this was just scratching the surface.

Meanwhile, to Tigoca’s conversation, Nero gave a sigh and a frown hearing that the Arcosian’s list of enemies was not only the exact sort of people Nero wouldn’t like, but it was a long list too. “I see. Even out here— as far removed as we are— we know about the criminal underworld of Arcose. You’ve got your work cut out for you, I’ll say that much.” Ticoga seemed dedicated to doing something about it directly though, which was a welcome thought. Nero smirked after hearing that Ticoga was proud to be causing upset to the scum of the universe. “Hah, I bet that makes them even more irate to hear. Still, their being mad says more about them than it does about you, let’s be real here. Imagine being mad that someone cares about the people around them.”

Nero hoped that Ghleice would recover soon and provide a solid report— they seemed to be the devoted type, so that hope was not unfounded. Looking upon the hologram provided, Nero tried to get a good look at who this was as Ticoga explained the situation. They sounded like a bit of a punk from the brief bit of information provided.

“Sounds like quite the nuisance, but I’ve got no clue who this fella is, I’m afraid.” Nero responded apologetically. “That said, I think I have an idea of his origins. Their purple hues are indicative of possibly being a descendant from a group of Namekians that left this world some fourty years ago. From what I’ve heard, this group didn’t get along with most folks here and just chose to take to the stars. Maybe they’ve been living in the same quadrant that Arcose is in ever since.”

Nero figured it might be a little bit frustrating for Ticoga to handle this sort of situation, but he appreciated that the Arcosian was level headed and took his position seriously. “I’d say making me aware of this fella is already doing more than most people would bother with. For that in and of itself, you have my gratitude.” As for why this particular group of Namekians splintered off, Nero took a second to remember what he had overheard from others or even managed to read from somewhere. “From what I’ve gathered, they were mostly of Mazoku clan origin, though some came from the Dragon and Warrior clans, they were often at odds with others over various traditions and customs. If what I’ve heard about this group is true, the main thing that caused problems with others was their way of raising their young. That alone sounds bad, but I don’t know the specifics, sadly.” If he even knew where this group had gone, he would have wanted to seek them out himself for more answers. At the moment, his best bet was in the same sector of space as Arcose, which was admittedly still a better bet than absolutely nothing.

Magaera did her best to research and soon enough Ticoga looked over it himself. He would be right to think of it as strange too, most Arcosian houses dealt with this sort of thing with almost surgical precision if they needed to. There was something deeper going on here; and within the imagery shown, several symbols were present— partially hidden or covered, but present all the same— looking similar to ones that had connection to the criminal underworld of Arcose. Either someone was sloppy about scrubbing this information, perhaps even a subtle way of showing influence, or it was an intentional trail of breadcrumbs left by an opposing group that investigated themselves. Hard to say without direct access to files or investigative equipment. “Did you find anything useful?” Nero inquired, leaving anything being shared to Ticoga and his crew rather than taking a look himself directly out of politeness and respect.

Truly, it was quite a relief to be in the presence of a leader that would prefer to see reason if he could first before acting on something. It was admirable that Ticoga took that experience in the military of his people and put it to better use than it was probably ever intended for by the looks of things. “I do my best to work similarly as a guide to the people and their political leader. It is no secret that those of us in positions such as ours have to take a lot into consideration a lot of the time. Pride is better suited for other things anyway, like feeling accomplished that you successfully built a coffee table or that teaching someone a vital skill has finally worked out.” To speak in such a way about Pride while being a Saiyan might even seem outlandish, but here he was, saying so with utmost confidence.

In the end, Ticoga saw it best to seek information in a more direct manner with better tools at his disposal. Nero also found himself impressed with Ticoga’s supposed personal title that existed outside of his being emperor. “Shield of Arcose? Heh, yeah, I can see it.” He gave a nod of approval. “If you find it appropriate, please give ‘em an extra rattling for causing a fuss out here for me.”

Afterward, Ticoga dismissed the duo of Magaera and Sentry, wanting to talk about other matters in a more formal setting. “Sure, I’m fine with that.” Nero tapped his chin. “The thing is, my people are known for exceptional hearing— I’m not saying anyone is gonna eavesdrop cuz they know I’ll reprimand them for it if they did obviously, but some of the kids haven’t got full control over their auditory senses yet, they just pick up stuff randomly at times. Anyway, I know that there is a room in the town hall that will bypass this small problem— I’d just rather not interrupt anyone that is currently using it. Though I’m sure if anyone is, they’ll vacate it for me if I ask.” Nero looked over his shoulder towards Dend Capital for a moment before turning back to Ticoga. “So before we get into any details in case you’re wanting to bring some private information to me, we could go check that out. Does that sound good to you?”

“Ohhh, okay, I get’cha. See, most of the time when people ask for a more formal setting in which to converse with me they also give the implication of wanting some measure of privacy too.” Nero explained as he walked with Ticoga back into Dend Capital. Given what the Arcosian had said though, Nero had a few guesses as to what the topic of discussion may be and none of them were good. “In any case, the community library should be fine instead, I think.”

Nero heard the warning from Ticoga’s scouter a bit before it actually came out audibly to most people and instinctively looked towards the Arcosian. “Hm? Oh, you’ve still got it on radar mode or whatever? I don’t really feel the need to use a scouter since I can sense energy naturally and communicate telepathically— but I’ve always been interested in the perspective of people that use technological assistance like that; how useful do you find it, if I may ask?”

He could see how it could be annoying during a discussion if it kept beeping and booping so much, so it was probably for the best that Ticoga put it in a different setting. “We’ve dealt with a lot lately, so we’re ready at a moment’s notice if something goes wrong, odds are your scouter picked up on the battle power of my fiancé or a few of my friends.”

Guiding Ticoga through the streets past a few vendors and street performers, Nero eventually stopped in front of a building that looked quite old, worn, but tended to as well as respected and loved. “Anyway, here. This is the community library.” Nero pointed up to the sign above the archway entrance— it was written in the Namekian language. “<The Aisles of Collected Wisdom>, to which the closest translation is library. Pretty neat, right?” Nero smiled as he walked into the main entrance hall.

It was a domed sort of area with mighty pillars holding everything up, and the floor had some art installations within the tiles that told stories with image alone. All manner of people were enjoying their time seeking knowledge or studying; and there was a children’s area where a few were playing; but they weren’t being rowdy or anything— they were mostly absorbed in chess or some manner of quiet card game. “There’s a nice seating area upstairs by the healthy living books and scrolls that is even more peaceful than the ground floor here. How are you with beanbags?” Nero asked as he made his way to the area he described.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right to a degree, that’s true. Quite a miserable way to live though if you ask me.” Nero responded conversationally. He didn’t understand how anyone could willingly latch onto an idea of needing to be superior like that.

Nero listened and nodded along to Ticoga’s explanation alongside his experience and understanding regarding the skills of energy sensing as well as telepathy. All sensible concerns, and very valid observations. “Hmmmm. Well, have you ever noticed the mood or vibe of a room changing whenever someone enters or leaves it? Or have you ever found yourself reacting to someone’s presence long before someone normally would? If you find yourself interested in learning how to sense energy there are some similar phenomena which you could investigate that may prove useful to the endeavor.” Telepathy was understandably a very different beast. “Yeah that’s generally why I ‘knock’ or ask beforehand just to understand someone’s boundaries. Myself and pretty much everyone that I know understand how to filter incoming telepathy so it’s inherently less intrusive both ways and it also helps to block out unwanted intrusions— training mental and emotional fortitude is very important to us here on Namek.”

The noise that the scouter made as the suction detached almost always made Nero snicker, but this time he refrained for sake of being polite. He handled the scouter respectfully while holding it in mid air above his hand with his telekinesis, taking note of the Arcosian language— a language that he was admittedly interested in learning one day, but he learned best when hearing a language be spoken. The scouter itself was finely crafted, and was a pretty standard model that fit best on those with smaller ears or a particular ear structure. As Ticoga explained; it also had all of the common functions. “Yeah, that tracks. Any standard scouter pretty much covers three whole skills, so I absolutely understand how it would be useful in a society where said skills are uncommon or even rare.” Nero smiled as he floated the scouter back towards Ticoga to return it to him. “I’ve seen some extreme advancements of the concept too, mostly made by my brother. It’s quite the sight to see creative engineering at its best.”

Nero on the other hand was very much aware that Ticoga unintentionally made a pun, but chose not to comment on that because Ticoga’s follow up statement actually threw him for a loop. The Arcosian had no idea what a beanbag chair was. “As hilarious as that would be, no.” Nero shook his head and smiled as they reached the seating area that was described; an array of multicoloured beanbags were there. “They’re woven and stitched fabrics filled with some manner of semi-soft pellet. On Earth they’re usually filled with either polyvinyl or expanded polystyrene pellets.” Nero explained as he sat on one. “Here on Namek though, we use magically treated plant based sap for the pellets so it’s more environmentally friendly, but it achieves the same effect.”