Ask A Thirst for the Future

[Alexander Xerxes]

The music was light and formal disappearing into the background noise of chatter and glasses chinking. Supreme Chancellor Alexander Xerxes smiled as he greeted another guest near the front entrance to his private apartments, around him dozens of the New Republic’s elite mingled amongst themselves. All manner of conversations from Politics to war to Hutt ball were going on, all smiles and laughter.

Though behind it all there was fear, fear of the future, of the Killik threat and of the reason Alexander had chosen to host this party at such short notice and with such a high calibre of invitees. The top brass of the military and of the political spectrum were assembled tonight, whatever it was it was going to be big.

“Madame Olien, you look beautiful as always.” Alexander said, taking the woman’s hand and lightly kissing the back of it. The Chancellor himself was dressed in a bespoke suit a small republic lapel pin fastened to his collar. Senator Olien, the head of the Military Budget Assembly was the final invitee to arrive. With that everyone was here and Alexander could start the gathering properly.

Giving a nod to his nearby staff, he turned away from the entrance and went towards the centre of the room, picking up a glass on his way. Standing before the large table he invited the collection of people to sit.

Once seated as the waiters began to pour drinks for the guests he raised his own glass. “Esteemed guests, I thank you for attending this dinner at such short notice. I hope this evening can be productive in the future of The New Republic and the Galaxy as a whole. Now I ask that we begin with a toast. To The Republic.”

@lizziie

 

[The Storyteller]

"You're too kind, Chancellor," the woman chuckled in response, clearly flattered by the Chancellor's compliments and decorum. She had arrived last - but not least - to the dinner dressed in a fine, red velvet gown with silk gloves that climbed up her plump arms. When he turned away, she brushed one of her lekku gently back behind her shoulder and joined the rest of the party.

"Care for a drink?" asked a waiter soon after she took a seat at the table. He presented her with a sparkling concoction out of a dark, wine-red bottle. She, along with the whole of her table, happily accepted the proposal of alcohol and held out their glasses. After all, alcohol was a politician's best friend - off camera, of course.

At the sight of the Chancellor's raised glass, a hush fell across the room as conversations politely took a pause. Tens of glasses were raised up into the air at the Chancellor's toast, and a chorus of "To the Republic!" followed suit. Quiet chatter resumed shortly as the guests chatted among themselves, discussing this that and the other as before, though the topics were slowly becoming less leisurely and more political.

"What plans does the Chancellor have for the revival of the credit?"

"What will we do about the Kililk threat?"

"Can we truly trust the Sith to sit among us in the Senate?"

Perhaps they would be answered or perhaps they wouldn't, but either way, anticipation buzzed throughout the room as eyes settled on the Republic Chancellor.

tag: @Braden

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

A smile lifted across his face as the rest of the group returned his toast, before the Chancellor took a long swig of the red wine himself. “Shall we eat?” The chatter and clicking of cluttlery returned as Alexander took his own seat at the table. As he walked along the length of the gathering he heard all the gossip and questions, all he hoped to resolve in time. Some would start tonight, others in good time.

His seat was next to the Grand Admiral of the Republic and the Speaker, two individuals he needed on his side to quickly and easily resolve the Killik issue. “Mr Speaker, I hope the fried Quilirian Rab Tail is to your liking, I had it purposefully brought in for you tonight.” He said with a smile before turning to the Admiral to his right.

“Grand Admiral, how is the fleet’s deployment going? I hear our forces are mounting near the borders of Corellian space.”

@lizziie

 

[The Storyteller]

"Mmm? Oh!" The man quickly lowered his fork and dabbed the sides of his mouth with a napkin before he gave himself a second to respond to the Chancellor. "All the trouble just for little ol' me?" He chuckled at his own comment, then took on a more formal expression. "The gesture is much appreciated, Chancellor."

Once Alex switched his attention to the Admiral, the Speaker resumed his feast of Quilirian Rab Tail without hesitation. It wasn't difficult to tell he was a voracious man. He was dressed extravagantly in clothes that hid away the fullness of his belly and accentuated the broadness of his shoulders, and his fingers were adorned with rings of gold and precious gems.

The Grand Admiral, on the other hand, was a rather serious-looking man in a plain - but sharp - formal uniform.

"The deployments are going smoothly, although there is rampant paranoia among those serving closest to the front lines," he answered as he set down his glass. "I will admit, Chancellor, that it is my personal opinion that we continue to strictly defend our own borders and remain selective with those we choose to assist. The Killiks have hit the ISC hard, and one can only imagine how the Free Worlds are faring."

Further across the room, a couple of senators from the more rural reaches of the New Republic had gotten into a hushed, but clearly heated argument.

tag: @Braden

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

“I agree Grand Admiral, the security and safety of our own people comes before all else. Though I would also comment that I wish not to burn all the bridges with the Consortium or the Alliance. Perhaps we could send the fourth flotilla as an active assistance to their fight.” The flotilla was made up of mainly obsolete ships from before the re-rise of the Sith and was usually just jumping from sector to sector to show face nothing else. It wouldn’t offer much in terms of absolute firepower, but Alexander hoped he showed that they would still help their ‘friends’.

“Any thoughts on how best to deal with this ‘rampant’ paranoia?” He continued, though his eyes had been drawn to the two who were continuing to add hand gestures to their heated argument, after waiting to hear what the Grand Admiral, had to say he would lean forward across the table so he could see the Senators in question clearier.

His gaze quickly drew the attention of others, who also turned their eyes on the pair until at least half of the room was staring at the two. Finally one nearby elbowed the closest of the two which quickly caught both their attention. “Senators, Drk and Matonal. It seems you are having an interesting debate, I would love for you to enlighten us all, perhaps a few more ears could help decipher a suitable concussion.”

@lizziie

 

[The Storyteller]

"The fourth flotilla," the Grand Admiral chuckled. He took another sip of this drink, swirled it around a bit as if he were inspecting the contents, then turned his attention back to Alex when he asked about a way to deal with the rampant paranoia. "Perhaps if we can learn to trust one another, we can better work together," he finally mused after a moment of deliberate consideration. "Confident officers make confident soldiers, so perhaps I will organize some team-building events for those in charge. Something quite like this, even. Food, drinks... the lot of it."

Further across the room, the two arguing politicians slowly realized they'd caught the attention of the room. Senators Drk and Matonal begrudgingly bit their tongues and began to frantically think of something they could claim to get the room on their side.

"Senator Matonal thinks the best course of action is to go completely closed borders, but my people depend on their agricultural exports. He can't do that!"

"It wouldn't be a problem if you would agree to close your borders to everyone else except us! Between the two planets, we could sustain ourselves until this whole thing blows over!"

"That isn't reasonable at all!"

tag: @Braden

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

Alexander smiled as the two Senators squirmed under both his and the collective room’s gaze. It took a few moments for the pair to collect their thoughts before stating their quarrel to the group at large. “I see the conundrum at hand.” Alexander replied, picking up his drink and taking a small sip before continuing. “However, as you both know, the policy of the Republic is to help and assist all that require aid during the Killik Incursion.”

Turning to face everyone in the room as he spoke he purposefully caught the eye of the more ‘difficult’ attendees he had purposefully invited to this meeting. “We have been blessed to not have felt the wrath of the Killik Hive Mind yet. As such we must be magnanimous in our actions and help those in need, less we come under assault ourselves and require the assistance of others.”

“Senator Matonal, I would also add that we have no idea how the Killik spread their influence, so they may already be Joined upon your planet. We cannot be sure, but only by working together can we secure our future in this galaxy. Not by standing apart, less we are picked off one by one.”

@lizziie

 

[The Storyteller]

The senators Matonal and Drk held their tongues as the Chancellor spoke, well aware that the attention of the room was only off of them because Alexander was the one speaking. In fact, most of the room was watching Alex speak with attentive, unwavering gazes and the occasional approving nod.

Meanwhile, servants continued to circulate the room, topping off glasses from the opaque bottle and asking others to fill their glasses. They eventually made their way over to the argumentative senators, offering to each one to fill their glasses. Both of them quietly accepted while Alexander spoke.

"A toast to our future!" One of the senators in the room, just after Alexander finished, stood and lifted his glass up while looking expectantly around the room. Most everyone followed after, raising their drinks to the air and taking a sip. The rest of them slowly trickled in to do the same, and even the two bickering senators joined together in a toast before returning to their seats.

With alcohol in their stomachs, perhaps the senators would be a bit more agreeable, and the dinner conference could continue much more smoothly.

tag: @Braden