"Most interested, Commander. Your hospitality leaves nothing to be desired." He smiled. Lotor was generally polite in his dealings with other Galra, when it suited him. Sometimes a little too polite, just enough to put them on edge when he seemed slightly less Galran than he should be.
"Knowledge is power, is it not? A fee is no issue." Inwardly, he thought that this tradition was one of the worst in the Empire. The gladiator pits were one of the greatest wastes of potential imaginable. Here were all these strong, capable, potential allies—a resource unto themselves—wasted in the pursuit of mere entertainment and petty greed. Experience had begun to harden Lotor to the sheer cruelty of the Imperial Machine, but not so much that he didn't experience a twinge of compassion, mixed with disgust, as Kralnak led him toward the cells.
Kralnak was one of his least favorite kinds of officers. At least someone like Commander Sendak, for all his many faults, had his loyalty—such as it was—to recommend him. Kralnak was interested only in himself, without a single principle to guide him. He was almost gleeful as he led Lotor forward, perhaps thinking of the wealth Lotor commanded, even in exile. Lotor did not, of course, intend to share that wealth with him. Most of it was funnelled back into the economies of the worlds from which it came. What Lotor was interested in was not wealth, but something else altogether. Wealth could help him obtain his goals, yes, but it was not his goal in and of itself.
Lotor studied the prisoners with interest, hiding his irritation with this custom as he did so. His interest, however, was not feigned, because he did sincerely want to know what kind of people he was dealing with here in the pits. Their strength was relevant to him. In the midst of this calm examination of the cells and their occupants, he suddenly paused. As much as he prided himself on being in control of his emotions, he couldn't suppress a flicker of feeling when he caught sight of the Tamaranean, though he quickly stifled it. Well, this called for a revision of his plans.
Raising his eyebrows, Lotor turned to Kralnak. "Are you still here? You will receive the fee you ask for." Lotor had not quibbled with him over the fee. He hoped to make him expectant of even more money in the future, so that his hospitality would not lessen. "I have no further need of company." Fortunately, this caused Kralnak to retreat, with the usual formal excuses. Although Lotor no longer had the authority of a prince, he acted as if he did when interacting with Galra, because that was what the Galra expected and responded to.
Let's do this!
"Knowledge is power, is it not? A fee is no issue." Inwardly, he thought that this tradition was one of the worst in the Empire. The gladiator pits were one of the greatest wastes of potential imaginable. Here were all these strong, capable, potential allies—a resource unto themselves—wasted in the pursuit of mere entertainment and petty greed. Experience had begun to harden Lotor to the sheer cruelty of the Imperial Machine, but not so much that he didn't experience a twinge of compassion, mixed with disgust, as Kralnak led him toward the cells.
Kralnak was one of his least favorite kinds of officers. At least someone like Commander Sendak, for all his many faults, had his loyalty—such as it was—to recommend him. Kralnak was interested only in himself, without a single principle to guide him. He was almost gleeful as he led Lotor forward, perhaps thinking of the wealth Lotor commanded, even in exile. Lotor did not, of course, intend to share that wealth with him. Most of it was funnelled back into the economies of the worlds from which it came. What Lotor was interested in was not wealth, but something else altogether. Wealth could help him obtain his goals, yes, but it was not his goal in and of itself.
Lotor studied the prisoners with interest, hiding his irritation with this custom as he did so. His interest, however, was not feigned, because he did sincerely want to know what kind of people he was dealing with here in the pits. Their strength was relevant to him. In the midst of this calm examination of the cells and their occupants, he suddenly paused. As much as he prided himself on being in control of his emotions, he couldn't suppress a flicker of feeling when he caught sight of the Tamaranean, though he quickly stifled it. Well, this called for a revision of his plans.
Raising his eyebrows, Lotor turned to Kralnak. "Are you still here? You will receive the fee you ask for." Lotor had not quibbled with him over the fee. He hoped to make him expectant of even more money in the future, so that his hospitality would not lessen. "I have no further need of company." Fortunately, this caused Kralnak to retreat, with the usual formal excuses. Although Lotor no longer had the authority of a prince, he acted as if he did when interacting with Galra, because that was what the Galra expected and responded to.