5 weeks later
"Now, were here to relax for a few days so forget about work at least during this time." stated Elara.
She had dragged him here to see their daughters and relax for a few days. She knew that if left to his own decisions, then he would work all day and night with maybe a few hours of sleep for decades until the work was done.
It was not a bad mindset to have, but one should also take some rest here and there to recuperate.
"I know." replied Daimon. "There's just so much to do." He was about to begin explaining all the problems, but then he saw the look on her face and decided not to.
So, he nodded his head, showing that he understood her.
As they flew over the city, Daimon could see how much it had been transformed since the last time he was here. He could also sense that most people were generally happy with their lives except for a small minority which would always exist in a society.
If everybody could be pleased all at once, then the concept of a paradise wouldn't be something that is seen as a myth. By now there would have been several paradises and the galaxy would probably be a lot better. But things are never that easy.
On the ground, the people noticed an increase in security and wondered what was going on. Most figured that there were either some remnants of the old Hutt regime trying to fight back, or something important was happening.
Word had not been officially released that the Emperor himself was visiting. Luna and Vaelora had kept the information contained to a small circle who had spent the better part of five weeks preparing for the Emperor's arrival.
The preparations were not anything lavish as Daimon would hate to see that while he was supposed to be taking a break. If it was something official then he would not mind it as he had an appearance to keep during official visits.
The transport descended toward the palace's landing platform, and Daimon continued to watch the significant progress that his daughters had achieved. He had been here briefly during the war, but what he saw now was different.
"She has exceeded my expectations." Daimon said.
Elara looked out the viewport beside him. "She's been out here every day for years. I heard that the people have great respect for her because of much their lives have improved. Winning the hearts and minds I think she called it."
"That sounds like her."
Daimon turned to his left and saw Lord Maxim sitting in silence while strolling through his holopad. It had its privacy mode on so Daimon couldn't see what he was doing. "Why are you so quiet over there Maxim?"
Maxim was so caught up in what he was doing that he didn't even hear Daimon calling him.
"Maxim!" Daimon called again, this time causing Maxim to jump a little.
"Sorry, I was just…uhhhhh" he looked at Elara for help who recognized the look and jumped in.
"It was something I asked him to do, that's he's been quiet this entire time. But forget about that, let's go and see our daughters." Said Elara as she grabbed Daimon's arm and began to drag him off the ship.
He wanted to say something, but if they were going to such lengths to keep him from knowing then it would be best to just let it go.
In front of them, Luna and Vaelora were standing together flanked by their respective guards. Behind them, arranged in a line were five Hutts who were doing an admirable job at appearing calm. But Daimon could feel that they were not calm at all.
Ignoring that though, he walked up and held his arms out as his daughters walked up and hugged him from both sides.
"By two best daughters." Said Daimon.
"We're only two daughters though," replied Vaelora laughing.
"And that's why you're the best." he said. Elara joined them shortly after and it was a massive family group hug.
Once they separated, Daimon looked between his two daughters, noting the changes in their appearance. While their physical appearance was relatively the same due to the Gen'Dai growth speed, Daimon could still tell that the problems that came with ruling over billions still weighed on them.
"You've both done well," he said. It was not the first time he had made this statement towards them outside of training.
"We still have a lot to do." replied Luna as she straightened up.
"You always will," Daimon replied. "That's how you know the work your doing is having an effect. Now whether that effect is bad or not depends on time."
Behind his daughters, the five Hutts had stayed in line, waiting to be addressed.
He turned his attention towards them and approached. They were nervous at first, but after Daimon started conversing with them, they had calmed down somewhat. From the perspective of a person who had never talked with the Emperor, it may seem like a scary thing, but when it actually happened, they found it to be similar to a normal conversation.
Daimon spent a few minutes talking to them before he walked further into the palace. The 5 Hutts didn't follow but instead were dismissed back to their assigned tasks since this was supposed to be family time for them.
Inside the palace, Luna and Vaelora gave a tour of the parts of the palace that were already renovated. Daimon was really impressed with their work. Even though this was expected of them as his daughters, he still wanted to show them how proud he was. Afterall, that's what a father should do.
After the tour, the servants of the palace already prepared a meal for the family. It was set in one of the newly renovated dining halls with high ceilings and large windows that looked out over the city below.
It was a nice time spent together and would have been even better if Daimon's son Malrik had been here. Unfortunately, he was still spending his time in the Kingdom of Ryloth with the Princess. It seemed he would be the first person to make Daimon a grandfather.
Leaving that matter aside, as night rolled around, it was time for Elara's plan to come to fruition.
"Now that it is nighttime, I have an idea for how we should spend it." Daimon smirked as he had a few ideas on how it would end. But none of them pointed to what Elara was suggesting.
"We're gonna have a boys and girls night out." she announced.
Out of all the things he was thinking, a boys and girls night out was not something he had on his mind.
"Boys night?" he questioned. A second later, Maxim had walked in with a few other Empyrean Guards, without their armor on, but on some clothes that nobles of the Imperium wore.
"I'm sorry, My Lord. It was the queen's orders." In this moment, Daimon felt betrayed.
"Now get going. I want you to have as much fun as possible." She said, shooing him away.
Daimon followed the group outside of the room and into the halls where there was not a total of 10 of them. "Where are we going?" Daimon asked.
"It's a well-known establishment that has risen in popularity in this past year. It's a good place to grab a drink, relax, socialize, enjoy some music, and you know experience the culture." Said Maxim with a mischievous smirk on his face.
"It's a night club isn't it."
"Noooooooo….what are you talking about my lord, it's a nice establishment that's well known"
Fast forward half an hour later.
Daimon was standing in front of a Nightclub called 'The Gilded Void.'
A queue of perhaps two hundred people stretched along the side of the building, a mixture of species that represented the new demographic reality of Hutt space under Imperial administration.
Former slaves who had built enough of a life to afford a night out.
Merchants who heard about the place from others.
Imperial officers who were off duty and had discovered that the establishments here were considerably more interesting than anything the garrison cantinas offered.
The security at the door were two Gen'Dai who were clearly retired military and clearly recognized Daimon the moment his group approached.
They said nothing. They simply stepped aside with a silent agreement that they did not see the Emperor himself visiting a nightclub.
"Look at that. We didn't have to wait in a line," Maxim said.
"I wonder why," replied Daimon shaking his head.
Inside, the sound of music hit their ears. It was a mixture of traditional music played in the old Cantinas of the area and some Imperial music that had begun to blend together into something entirely new. It was the sound of two cultures that had not chosen each other but were nonetheless finding a shared language through music, which had never cared about political arrangements.
The interior was large. High ceilings with various lights and other ornaments hanging down. At the far end was a performance stage where a band of seven musicians were something that Daimon didn't immediately recognize.
"What is that?" he asked Maxim.
"The locals call it Void-step. It started about eight months ago. A former slave who played traditional Hutt court music started mixing it with Imperial music. The result was apparently very popular." Maxim paused. "I read about it in one of the cultural integration reports."
"You read nightclub music reports." Daimon corrected.
"Oh, I read everything." Maxim replied in serious tone.
Daimon wondered just how much 'research' did he did.
They made their way toward the back of the establishment where a section of a curved booth overlooked the main floor. Below them, several hundred people were moving to the music, some like they had been here often, others like they were trying this for the first time.
Daimon settled into a seat, followed by others who sat around him. For the first time in what felt like a very long time, he simply watched what was going on around him.
Various servers and dancers were walking around in some very skimpy apparel. Most glanced at his group from time to time, curious as they thought the group were some young Imperial nobles here for a night of fun. It was either that or some off duty Imperial officers.
Those two groups were the ones most sought out as the servers and dancers knew that they were loaded with money.
Within minutes, a young Twi'lek server had walked up to their table. She guessed from the way they dressed that they were Imperial nobles, and she was about to get a fat tip.
"What can I bring you?" she asked.
"Whatever is popular here," Daimon said. The others ordered the same, with some making specific requests for something heavy. She nodded and disappeared to go and prepare their orders.
Maxim, who was sitting beside him had smiled. "When was the last time you were somewhere like this?"
Daimon thought about it for a moment since it had been a long time. "Somewhere that wasn't a war room, a council chamber, a palace, or a battlefield."
"Yes."
"I genuinely cannot remember."
Maxim nodded as this confirmed something he had already guessed. "The Queen's instructions were specific. You are not to think about work, governance, insurgencies, the Jedi reformation, the Republic's constitutional process, the Sith Empire, the droid fleet deployment schedules, or the economic integration of newly acquired territories."
Daimon looked at him. "She gave you a list."
"A very thorough one. She also told me that if you attempted to discuss any item on the list, I was authorized to order another round of drinks until the subject changed."
Daimon burst out laughing. "She thought of everything, huh." Maxim joined him as the two couldn't stop laughing for some reason and they weren't even drunk yet.
The server returned with a tray of drinks, setting them down in front of the group. Each person grabbed their drink, looking at it closely. The glasses contained something that glowed a amber color, which Daimon suspected was either a local specialty or something the server had decided suited them because they were Gen'Dai.
"What is this?" he asked the server.
"It's our signature Void-honey. They use fermented grain from one of the agricultural settlements outside the city. The amber color comes from an additive that's technically a spice derivative the old Hutts used for something else entirely, but it turns out it tastes considerably better in a drink than whatever they were originally doing with it." She explained.
"Most people who try it for the first time either love it immediately or don't finish the glass. There's not much middle ground." Daimon nodded as she turned around to go serve some more customers.
Daimon looked at the glass for another second, then took a sip.
It was strange. Not unpleasant, but strange. The grain gave it some earthy taste, while the spice derivative added a warmth that came late and stayed longer than expected.
"Well?" Maxim asked.
"I think I'll finish the glass," Daimon said.
Maxim smiled and the group began their long night.
Before you knew it, a few hours had passed and most of the group except for Maxim and Daimon had ventured off somewhere.
Meanwhile Daimon slammed a cup onto the table. "That's 35 Maxim, come on, you got to catch up."
Maxim slowly put his cup down and drunkenly said. "I give up you win." he said standing up. "I'll go find the others; they've been gone for too long."
"Yeah, yeah, just don't get lost along with them. I don't want to carry that many people back." Maxim ignored his remark and walked off.
As he walked away, Daimon simply sat back on the bench and stared up at the ceiling. He wasn't drunk, instead he was sitting between being sober and drunk. A few minutes later, a group of dancers came and stood in front of him.
"May we, my lord." one of the dancers asked.
Daimon looked down at them and wondered whether or not they were waiting for this moment. "Go ahead."
The 4 of them sat down on each side of him, all giggling to each other. They were a mixed group, two Twi'leks, a Mirialan, and a human woman. They were young, professionally cheerful in the way that people who worked in establishments like this learned to be, and they had clearly identified Daimon's group as the most interesting table in the building sometime in the past hour.
"You've been sitting here watching everything all night," the one closest to him said. She was the Mirialan, and she had the particular directness of someone who had decided that a man who had been chugging drinks for three hours without seeking company was perhaps the most interesting one in this whole place. "That's not how you're supposed to spend a night at the Gilded Void."
"Is there a correct way?" Daimon asked.
"There's a better way," she replied as she moved her body and mounted him while whispering into his ear. "We can take you to a private room where you can do more watching."
Daimon already knew what this group was doing and what they wanted. He placed his hands on her waist, causing her to slightly jump from how massive his hands were.
He looked at her for a moment, with the same hunger for her that she had for him. What kind of person would he be to refuse such an offer.
"I don't know if all of you can handle me." stated Daimon.
She smirked, hearing his response. "I've got a few friends that I can bring along too." she responded.
Daimon was about to say something, then thought about the others. "What about the rest of my group? They're going to need some company too."
The girl beside him, one of the Twi'leks leaned in closer. "I can arrange some friends for the others if you come with us."
"Then it sounds like everybody wins tonight," Daimon said.
The Mirialan woman slid off his lap and stood up, extending her hand. The other three were already exchanging glances with each other, already thinking about what was about to happen.
He took her hand and stood, and it occurred to him somewhere in the pleasant warmth of thirty-five glasses that this was perhaps the most uncomplicated decision he had made in the better part of two years. No strategic implications. No downstream consequences that require thought. No reports to file afterward.
Just a night of pleasure.
A/N: Alright, I'm done edging you the readers. The big one is coming soon.
And by big one I mean the 1000 year time skip.
Also, Daimon is due for another queen soon, so who should be next?