^
"What sort of stupid fuck gives up a life of riches to be a fucking politician?" grumbled Azrael Zell, staring out at the light tunnel engulfing the RSD
Galactus.
Kaine swiveled his attention from the Engine Pit to the retired Grand Moff and slightly smiled, "An idealistic one." he replied only to hear Zell snort.
"Seth Vinda does not strike me as a stupid man, though." Kaine advanced taking time to stare out into space with the old man.
"You know, Zell. You can't take it with you." The 'It' was, of course, the wealth that the old man envied from the Corporate Sector mogul.
"Of course you can. According to just about every religion from fucking ass-backwards Azguard to that fucking Taj Muh-hooiee to our own Citadel, we all got immortal souls. So what's to prevent my ghost from saying, 'fuck this!' so all that cloud hopping, harp playing and come back and spend some well earned credits on fucking mortals. Do you know how many young things I could get on scam like that?"
"Giving the afterlife serious thought eh?"
Zell barked out a laugh. "Me and every fucking Coalition bastard with rank."
"Maybe even some Imperials as well." Kaine ventured drawing Zell's laughter even louder.
"I wouldn't doubt it." he finally gave in (a rarity in the old man). "Still, makes one wonder what is going through Vinda's mind. Kids, I swear!"
"The same thing that went through our minds, Zell, when it was all said and done?"
"You're how old?"
Zell's perverted sense of humor finally startled a rare chuckle out of Kaine. Even now, the extent of Zell's crude behavior seemed to surprise a man who was not easily surprised.
"The question, Zell, is: Now what? Vinda's fight is over. He's won. He's won the corporate sector, stood toe to toe with others and still remains. He has more money than God... or enough at least to crown himself Emperor. He's just found an only child, though how he could have forgotten about her is anyone's guess. But did you see how he acted towards this relatively unknown woman? What if she was a plant? A doppleganger? Vinda did not question it."
"At least not in front of the cameras." Zell quipped.
"He grabbed onto her like a man dying of thirst." Kaine whispered.
"Dying from what?" Zell asked, curious despite himself.
"A lack of a legacy, Zell. A lack of legacy. An asking of yourself, is this all there is? Is there nothing more?"
"Remember, Zell? When we stood on Coruscant with all our armies and all our people and all the crowds and fan-fare? What we all silently asked?"
A cloud came over Zell's face as he stared silently through the transparisteel. "Are we finished? Is it over?" he finally murmured.
"We all look towards our own endgame. We all look ahead to the time when our struggles will be over but, we find that it is the struggles that define us and that without them, who are we really?"
"And when we die, who will remember us?" Zell coughed out, clearing his throat. He turned around to the Supreme Commander and narrowed his eyes, "So... you gonna offer Vinda a job? Something tells me the man is not a follower."
Kaine grinned, waving a hand away, "No, Vinda would not make a good Imperial unless he was offered nothing less than Emperor. No, Vinda is an empty cistern trying to fill himself with righteous purpose. A legacy that only a political career can offer and I aim to give him that."
"A career?" Zell asked incredulously.
Kaine shook his head, "No.. a purpose.
We enter Bonadan orbit in five hours."
"Be sure to tell them we're coming." Zell warned. "These Commonwealth peckers will be more nervous than a virgin in a whorehouse. We wouldn't want them--.."
"I get the picture, Zell." Kaine interrupted and moved away knowing that Commonwealth already expected their presence.
