It's All About The Benefits

Hey~ Hey~ Hey~ Hey~

Hey~ Hey~ Hey~ Hey~

I fight fire with fire~

I run rivers in rain~

A fever spreading like wild~

Gonna kill like Abel and Cain~

Nobody to see~ Nobody to lose~

Young blood on the street~

Been blackened & bruised~

Get ready for me~

I'm ready for you~

Go sharpen the blade~

Bear witness to truth~

Oh my, those teeth are pearly white~

The better to eat you with~

And I'm like~

Hey~ Hey~ Hey~ Hey~

Des Rocs - 'HVY MTL DRMR' played in the air, and the sound seemed to be coming out of thin air as Kol was half-laid on the throne of Naboo.

Kol lazily shook the wine glass in his hand and took a deep sip of the delicious blood cocktail, "Hmm... simply amazing! You really do have a talent in making cocktails Shmi.", he complimented Shmi Skywalker who stood on the side holding an empty tray, "Thank you! You may depart now. We've kept our guests waiting long enough.".

After she bowed and walked away, Kol lazily took another sip of the drink and looked down at the people below, studying them carefully with decerning eyes.

Queen Amidala and her escort along with the two Jedi Knights stood there, trying their hardest to break free from Kol's Telekinetic hold.

"So you're the formal queen of this planet?", he studied Sabe carefully, who was the Queen's decoy, "No! You are.", but then he pointed at the actual Queen who was dressed as a simple handmaiden, "Such tricks don't work on me.", and in response, a look of shock and horror flashed upon Captain Panaka's face.

It was his actions that led to this situation when he decided to interject and blatantly and loudly announce his position on the matter that Kol called Naboo, 'his planet'.

It only escalated further when the young Obi-Wan assumed Kol to be the mysterious Sith Lord. Then he further decided to educate him on behalf of the Jedi council, their position on the matter, the laws of the Republic, and whatnot that Kol couldn't care less about. He instantly put them in a Telekinetic hold as soon as he saw a lightsaber flash.

"Now I'm going to let you all go and we're going to have a civilized conversation, where the Queen and I shall talk and nobody else will interrupt. Either that, or I'll kill you and everyone you've ever known.", he warned them, "Understood?", and released them.

At the same time, the music stopped playing in the background and the hall became quiet.

As they tried to gain their footing and bearings, Kol continued, "Now I shall introduce myself. I'm Kol Mikaelson, not some Sith Lord or whatever, but the King of Himinnheim. I came here to establish trade relations between our two nations but was instead attacked without warning. Naturally, I fought back... and here we are.".

Then Queen Amidala, dressed as a handmaiden stepped forward, "Greetings your majesty, I am Queen Amidala, and I apologize for our conduct earlier.", she spoke as she glanced sideways at Captain Panaka, who had his head down in shame.

On the side, Qui-Gon was giving a disappointed look at Obi-Wan, who also had his head down for not only his impulsive behavior but also to wrongly assume that Kol's abilities had anything to do with The Force. Since he was a Jedi Knight, he should've been able to simply sense otherwise.

Amidala continued, "I can not thank you enough for saving our people from the invaders, even if it was to just defend yourself. We are truly grateful.", she bowed.

Then continued, "However, on the matter of the ownership of Naboo, it is a fundamentally democratic system. I understand that the responsibility falls upon the government of Naboo to provide security for its guests and citizens. My deepest apology for what happened. But I hope you would accept some other form of compensation instead. Naboo has much to offer in many areas.".

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Hearing this, Kol fell into deep thought. Amidala was indeed right. He was currently not equipped to manage Naboo properly. He simply did not have the time.

After thinking it through, Kol replied, "I understand your predicament, and accept your apology. I shall promptly relinquish control of the republic of Naboo over to your rightful hands. However, I have two conditions.".

As the Queen nodded, Kol continued, "First, Naboo must sign a free trade agreement with Himinnheim concerning all areas, unconditionally.".

"This is... acceptable.", even though it was disadvantageous for Naboo, Amidala had to agree to it in this situation with some hesitation.

So Kol continued, "Since Himinnheim shall trade with the republic of Naboo so freely, we will inevitably share many of each other's state secrets. As a consequence, Himinnheim requires utmost security and stability in Naboo's governance. Queen Amidala must accept the gift of immortality and become the eternal Queen of Naboo.".

This instantly caused a commotion for various different reasons.

Amidala asked hesitantly, "Your majesty when you speak of immortality...".

"I mean that very literally.", Kol confirmed.

It was shocking, to say the least. However, even still, there were so many civilizations in the galaxy and it wasn't yet so unexpected that they would deny such a claim that one of them had figured it out.

What was truly unexpected was Kol's blatant demand. An eternal Queen of a democratic nation? Could it still be called a 'republic' after that? This was simply challenging the very foundations their nation was built upon.

Naturally, Amidala could not agree to this, at least not so easily without conditions.

"I understand, it might be difficult. After all, you are elected by your people. So don't make the decision just yet. You can depart and take your time to think it through.", he gracefully moved his hand to put the empty wine glass on the side, "I believe we can surely establish an ever prospering, mutually beneficial system based upon mutual trust and undeniable public accountability.".

Then Kol turned towards the two Jedi knights, "Now onto the next order of business.", then he commanded the droids guarding him on the side, "Go, bring me the prisoners.".

These droids and droidekas used to belong to the Federation and broke down after Kol destroyed their command center. But after he captured the Viceroy and others, Kol realized that he needed them to establish order on Naboo, so he used The White to revive them, and made them work for him.

It didn't take them long to get back, bringing together Viceroy Gunray and his fellow Neimoidians, all cuffed up. In the back was the newest addition to the party, a red-skinned dangerous-looking alien, who was the Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. He was all bound from head to toe in chains carved with runic symbols.

It seemed like the two Jedi knights recognized him. Obi-Wan discreetly confirmed with his master, "Master, this is...", in astonishment.

Qui-Gon nodded and signaled him to remain quiet.

And just then, "No! Let us go. Spare us and you'll be the richest man in the galaxy.", the usually stoic Neimoidians suddenly started crying.

"It was the Sith. He ordered us... No! He made us, forced us to do this.", another one revealed while shivering in fear.

It seemed that their confidence in the Sith Lord broke when they saw how easily Darth Maul was captured.

And even in Darth Maul's glaring eyes, the other Neimoidians, including Viceroy Gunray, started shifting all the blame onto the mysterious Sith Lord, while desperately begging Kol to let them go.

They acted like a sissy little white boy stuck in a prison full of hunky old black dudes.

After a while of entertainment, Kol ordered them to remain quiet, but this only scared them even more as they thought he denied their request, refusing to spare them.

So they started to blame each other, "No! No, please no. We'll do anything. It was Gunray. It was all his idea. I'm a victim...", but was interrupted.

Kol had had enough of it "Desist!", he released a Telekinetic pressure that finally quieted them down.

The Kol spoke to Qui-Gon, "I'm guessing you know this Sith?", pointing at Darth Maul.

"Yes, your majesty. He attacked us on Tatooine before, when we had to stop there to repair our ship.", Qui-Gon replied.

"So what do you suggest we should do with him, Master Jedi?", Kol asked.

"I would like to thank your majesty to apprehend the Sith on behalf of the Jedi Council, but I believe it would be best if you hand him over to our custody. You see, the Sith haven't been seen for ages, but they never work alone. That is for certain. So we must interrogate him to know more.", Qui-Gon replied.

Kol nodded and went into deep thought. Then spoke, "So you know nothing! Which is alright. I already know everything there is to know about them, including their real identities and future plans. This one knows quite a bit.", indicating Darth Maul.

Then continued, "On the matter of handing him over, however, I can not agree. You must know, there are no free meals in this world, and my generosity quota of the day has already been spent on the Queen.".

Qui-Gon wasn't an idiot, he knew exactly what Kol meant.

He looked at Darth Maul who was looking at him with eyes full of haterade, and asked, "Of course, our gratitude needs to be expressed properly. If there's anything we could offer... what do you suggest, your majesty? Anything specific?".

Hearing this, Kol smiled a little at Qui-Gon's attempt at being formal, then shifted his attention towards a door in the back, "Anakin, come inside. I know you're there.".

Little Anakin had been hiding behind the door and listening all this time. Not only Kol, but even Qui-Gon, who had been glancing over in his direction for a while had noticed him.

Seeing him walk out, Qui-Gon observed him with interest. It appeared as he could feel something special from the boy.

When Anakin walked to the front, Kol introduced him, "His name is Anakin Skywalker, quite a talented boy, massive potential in him to learn the ways of the Force. I found him on Tatooine.".

Then continued, "It's quite simple. I'll tell you the real identity of the Sith Lord and his plans for the future, and in return, either master Qui-Gon or master Yoda of the Jedi council must stay here on Naboo to guide the boy in Jedi arts, under my observation.".

Hearing Kol's words, the hall became deadly quiet. Even Darth Maul turned to look at Kol with astonishment.

This was 'offering a square Inch and being asked to take out a square kilometer' kind of a scenario.

But after the capabilities that Kol had shown, Qui-Gon could not show disrespect, so he tried to refuse in the most polite way possible, "Your majesty... I'm afraid this is a bit...", but was interrupted.

"Don't misunderstand, master Jedi. You won't be teaching Anakin, just guiding him, while I will be doing the teaching. I'm sure you've already sensed that I don't use The Force, and I'm sure you have many questions which will be answered in due time, but just because I don't use it does not mean I'm incapable of using it and teaching it.", Kol spoke.

Then continued, "You have much to lose while I can save your losses, and I only have little troubles that might later become profits. So, I suggest you take Anakin with you on a trip to meet the council and decide then. Either way, Anakin will learn the ways of the Force and whether you have a say in the matter or not is entirely up to you.".

Then he looked at the Queen and her team and spoke, "On the side note, Naboo was taken over too easily by the invaders. So in the wake of our deepening ties, I'll pick one of Queen's handmaiden to learn the ways of the Force alongside Anakin.".

"Your majesty, I'm afraid that won't be possible. Not everyone is capable of learning the Jedi arts.", Qui-Gon promptly interjected.

"Yes, yes! Midi-chlorians and that whole shebang. I'm well aware! But that is irrelevant. You don't need to concern yourself with this and just solely focus on Anakin.", Kol casually waved his hand.

Then he pointed at Queen's decoy, "You! What's your name?".

"My name is Sabe, your majesty", she replied.

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"All this makeup... don't you know it's really bad for your skin? Keep going like this and you'll look like a grandma in your thirties.", Kol berated her.

Sabe looked down in shame shyly, and replied, "It is organic your majesty and a necessary part of the disguise.".

"It doesn't matter. It's a health hazard. Your skin is unable to get enough oxygen. I have decided. It will be you! I shall teach you the ways of the Force.", Kol declared.