A Toe-stomping Good Time [Xinder] | Star Wars Universe RP

nothing worth anything ever goes down easy

9,275 posts

55 likes

the one and only

last online May 2, 2022 22:30:17 GMT -5

Master

Jun 27, 2011 1:21:47 GMT -5

Post by Mara on Jun 27, 2011 1:21:47 GMT -5

[... from Wrong People at the Right Time]

Even though she couldn't hear it, Senator Irrina Icharus took great satisfaction in slamming down her briefcase on the coffee table in her living area, the door having only closed behind her a second or two before. She was angry, a feeling that was getting more and frequent after she left sessions of the Republic Senate. A feeling that had made her think more than once whether it had been a good idea to run for the position for Arkanian senator in the first place. The Offshoot just never seemed to get anywhere with the issues she truly cared about, the issues that got her to enter the race less than a year prior.

Behind her, her friend Ofi settled down on the plush couch, warming up the vidscreen in order to communicate with Ina. The AER droid knew that in these situations her friend generally did not have the presence of mind to pick up her datapad and read transmissions so that she knew what Ofi had said. Despite them being alone and not needing to speak aloud, the droid just had a habit of doing so anyway. Something about seeing her beak move gave Ina a better sense of normalcy than just silently logging her words over. And so when Ina was in foul moods, it was just easier to transmit wirelessly over the vidscreen instead of waiting for Ina to pick up her datapad.

Ina's hands flashed in anger, signing to Ofi. At the same time, she flopped into one of the chairs, getting back out of it seconds later because she couldn't sit still and preferred to pace. Ina generally liked to disappear into her art studio to work off aggression, but right now she was too wound up even for that. << I can't believe those other senators. Going against the wishes of their people back home in order to please all these corporations in hopes of getting a few extra credits for the next election. Corporations that are far from being blameless, and if these senators weren't in bed with them, would see through to their faults and prosecute them. It just... makes me sick. >>

Finally she had calmed down relatively enough and sat back down, though uneasily, perching on the edge. << Even just this afternoon that senator from Ralltiir almost seemed to be swooning while talking about the "amazing" research and advances Czerka has contributed. Czerka, of all things! >> Ina sighed, settling against the seat back after pulling her briefcase into her lap and opening it up, waving a flimsi at Ofi. << How any being could condone the practices of a company who uses slave labor is beyond me. But the other senators just won't listen. I'm not sure if it's because of my "green" status or maybe they just don't care as long as they have full pockets. Maybe I just need more proof to get them to see my point. >>

Having given her friend time to vent, Ofi spoke up, her words scrolling across the vidscreen, covering the news report that was currently playing. She tried being the voice of reason. "Well, your proof so far is hearsay and rumors, at best, and you know that. No matter whether they want to believe you or not, they simply just won't investigate this without something duracrete, Ina." Before her friend could protest, Ofi continued. "Perhaps a change of scenery would be best. It's no use on dwelling on this right now. You'll only sign yourself in circles." Reading the response, Ina nodded begrudgingly to Ofi's suggestion. "Let's go down to the park and see if that hover food cart you like is there and grab a late lunch."

Her stomach acquiescing to the mention of food and the fact that she hadn't eaten in hours, Ina stood up and brushed out any wrinkles in her business suit, a beautiful shade of light pink that set off her dark blue eyes but didn't wash out her pale skin. She wouldn't completely disregard the matter, though, taking her briefcase with her, citing to Ofi that there were other issues she needed to review for the next session, completely unrelated to corrupt business dealings.

* * * *

A half-hour later Ina and Ofi were settled on a park bench a couple levels down from where her apartment building was. Ina was digging into a piece of something that could only be described as fried and amazing; Ofi was scanning the park, her red optics looking for any sense of danger to her friend. After a particularly pleasing chunk of greasy dough and what she thought was some kind of cheese, Ina felt finally relaxed after the stressful session in the Senate. Right now, she didn't think anything could ruin her day now that everything in her little world was back at peace for the moment.

(((Xin, this is where Tosh can enter; I figure Ina will notice her first, as Tosh probably won't recognize her.)))

edited Jun 27, 2011 1:27:43 GMT -5 by Mara

One-Trick Pony =XINISTER=[/b]

1,080 posts

0 likes

Blood Mage

last online Oct 10, 2012 17:23:34 GMT -5

Master

Aug 10, 2011 4:57:01 GMT -5

Post by Vipervertical on Aug 10, 2011 4:57:01 GMT -5

Whoa, got a little carried away with the political side of business there. Whoops. Sorry it took so long, but here it is. I gotta figure out something with Tosh's text color. Too tired right now, I'll change it just for this thread when I think of something.

"Not to mention the constant encroachment of Sark Industries. We've lost another military contract to them just this morning! They're quickly becoming a threat. We have to do something about them!"

"Korneg has a point. Even if he is far more vocal than he needs to be. Sure, they may be only a fraction of our size, but they're growing at an incredible rate. If we sit back and allow them to grow unchecked, we could lose trillions of credits in the next standard solar cycle. We cannot allow this. Miss President, we are in need of some action."

Toshiko looked over the entire board from her seat at the head of the table. Korneg had grudgingly sat back down when Rithon spoke up in agreement, but the look on his face showed that it wouldn't take long for him to jump up again in anger. He was hotheaded, it was Rithon that was the real problem. His even temper allowed him a better grasp of the situation and more credible points. Several of the other board members were nodding in agreement, while Danith appeared to be biting his tongue barely restraining an outburst in her defense most likely. Then there was Rand, who was leaning back in his chair and giving the appearance of indifference to the whole situation. Only his tense muscles gave him away. Not that she could tell which side he supported anyways.

At last, she lowered her clasped hands to the table, a slight smirk on her face. All eyes were already on her, but that slight motion caused every body to tense in readiness for her response. "Action? You want me to take action against Sark? Of course that's a viable option. You're onto something here." Many faces turned to confusion at this point. If she was in favor of action, why hadn't she already done something? Why wait until they forced her into a board meeting? "I can see the headlines now: 'Czerka attacks Republic military supplier. Loyalties in question.'" She took another pause to let the words sink in, speaking again right before Korneg could shout a half-baked point. "Do you know what would happen to our credibility after a move like that? How much money we'd lose in contracts?"

"But think how much we're already losing to them!" It was the perfect argument from him. He appeared as the face of the opposition by responding first so loudly with what seemed at first to be a reasonable point. But it was just so simple to counter that in doing so, she'd quell much of the opposition right then and there.

"Yes. We'll lose money to them. They'll take contracts from us. But if we were to perform such a blatant act and gain all that bad press, we'll lose far more. It's a simple matter of risk versus reward. We wait for now and strike when they're at their weakest." That should settle them for now. A few grunts and half-hearted agreements fizzled from the table. "If that's all we needed to discuss, I move we end the meeting here. I have an appointment in two hours with a senator that I'd rather not miss."

Another smirk grew on her face as the chorus of "aye"s rounded the table, quite grudgingly in some cases. They had been appeased for now, but it wouldn't be long before they'd call her back into here for another asinine reason.

---

Half an hour later, Tosh had made her way down to one of the upper levels' many parks. It was about five minutes away from the office by airspeeder, quiet, grassy, and had some rather good tasting food. All good reasons to drop by for a bit of relaxation after the board meeting. She came here after every board meeting to unwind a little.

The winding walkway made for an excellent path to pace absentmindedly while she organized her thoughts. If only she could stay here long enough to solve all her problems, but she would have to be leaving again in just over an hour. She'd have to make the most of the time she had. And so she walked.

nothing worth anything ever goes down easy

9,275 posts

55 likes

the one and only

last online May 2, 2022 22:30:17 GMT -5

Master

Aug 15, 2011 19:29:17 GMT -5

Post by Mara on Aug 15, 2011 19:29:17 GMT -5

(((Sorry it got so long.... I guess that's one drawback from working offline, for me. ;p)))

Closing her eyes and letting a slight breeze brush past her face, Ina smiled. Ofi was right; this was exactly what she needed to let go of the frustration from the latest Senate session. She popped the last of the fried balls of cheese in her mouth and turned back to her datapad and briefcase. Corrupt corporations and misguided senators could definitely wait for another day, or at least till later in the current day. Right now she had some briefs to go over concerning a couple of the committees she was part of. One, a boring financial one her predecessor had stuck her with, the same one that had also led to the incident on Rodia; the second, something that was close to her heart, as she had begged her way into a committee investigating equality among all species.

Of course, the other senators were trying to prove that the Senate needn’t get involved, that all the planets in the Republic had slavery and similar acts under control. They felt additional laws were completely unnecessary, and Ina had been trying very hard to get them to see her way. Not only had she gotten into politics to fight for her own kind, the Offshoots, but she had discovered it was happening all over the galaxy, not just on Arkania. She was determined to see that all beings in the galaxy were treated the same, no matter the species, level of sentience, size, looks, or any of the other hosts of reasons that made ‘smarter’ beings think they could treat them as less than full citizens.

Tossing the financial statements back in her briefcase, she decided to focus on the equality committee information. There was only so long she could stare at those numbers. And again, her thoughts on the Republic’s spending were usually met with opposition. The other senators just felt leaving budgets as they had been was the best policy. Ina, though, wasn’t so sure, having gone through and compared the various numbers. But she could work on those later tonight; right now she wanted to get things prepared for what she thought of as the more important meeting.

She had gathered information on a few planets to use as some examples of where there wasn’t inequality in the galaxy. Ina wanted to show the other senators that the Republic couldn’t just stand by while these atrocities happened. The incidents weren’t all flat-out slavery, but all were instances of species mistreating other species for various reasons. Slavery did exist, of course, but it wasn’t the only way. Of course, Ina had her own personal example of what the Arkanians had done to her ancestors. Plus there were others, some going so far as exterminating a species to gain some material or other, such as land or resources. One of her flimsi sheets held the totaling of deaths that one such ‘superior’ species on a backwater Outer Rim world had inflicted. It made her sick. But hopefully it would make the other senators sick, too.

While Ina tapped away on her datapad, occasionally glancing at some flimsi printouts, Ofi continued to perch on the back of the bench, scanning the park. Though a public area and containing quite a few other beings from the surrounding buildings, the droid knew she couldn’t be too careful. Her friend was worried that perhaps her stances in the Senate could draw unwanted extra attention on her. Ina didn’t think it would lead to any serious, but yet, after the unrelated events on Rodia, she was no longer a stranger to danger. Anything could happen at any given time, and there wouldn’t always be a good-hearted mercenary—or whatever Shine really was—to save her. Ofi would continue to be the only one always there for the senator.

As her optics continued focusing on the faces of the various park-goers, she went through her databanks of knowledge, seeing if any of the beings popped up as dangerous, or at least, familiar. Most of them ended up as neutral status, normal beings out for a break at the park. Just as she and Ina were. Ofi had little to no knowledge on them. But a few came with extended folders of information, though mostly benign. That was until her red eyes settled on a dark-haired woman walking on the other side of the park, a small green space currently separating her from where Ina sat. Even without her wealth of electronic knowledge, Ofi knew who that woman was: Toshiko Mokona, the CEO of Czerka.

Quickly, Ofi shifted through the pros and cons of either telling Ina about the woman’s presence or letting it go. Obviously she didn’t want to lie to her friend, but the droid also didn’t think it would be a very good idea if she pointed her to the senator. Ina had just been grumbling about senators making under-handed deals with corporations, including Czerka, and ignoring what was really going on all for the sake of their bottom line and upcoming elections. The relative peace she had finally found her would completely disappear, and Ina would get upset again. But then again, if she found out later that Ofi had known Mokono was there and didn’t say anything, there would be even more anger.

If she could have, the droid would have sighed. Instead, she just pinged Ina’s datapad, speaking quietly and letting her words scroll across. “Don’t look now, but Toshiko Mokona is here, and she’s coming this way.” Ofi turned her face on on Ina. “Please, just ignore her, and don’t make a scene.” Though she knew it was fruitless, the droid had to request it of her friend. It wouldn’t do any good to confront the woman here, but with the earlier nonsense, she knew Ina would go on anyway.

Ina looked up and her eyes narrowed. She set down her datapad and briefs, signing to Ofi. Without speech, she had to communicate with sign language, something that could be advantageous in situations like this. Most beings had no idea what she was saying, and plus, it was a quiet language. The datapad would have been, too, but Ina was much quicker with her hands in this way. << You know I can’t ignore her, Ofi, not after what she’s been responsible for. >> She smiled at her friend. << Don’t worry. I’ll be civil about it. No scenes to give to the media as fodder for my opponents. I promise. >>

Gathering herself, Ina put on her best smile and waited for the woman to approach, lost in her thoughts. Mokona obviously would have no idea who Ina was, but the senator was hoping to remedy that quickly. The path the Czerka CEO was on would lead her right past Ina’s bench. When the woman was still a few meters away, Ina stood and began speaking with her hands, Ofi translating word-for-word. Normally Ofi would just summarize in the larger, more formal Senate sessions, but in places where Ina was one-on-one with someone, it was just more comfortable for all if she just repeated exactly what Ina said. “Ms. Mokona. What a surprise to see you here.” Came the unnerving female electronic voice, speaking Ina’s words.

edited Aug 15, 2011 19:29:51 GMT -5 by Mara

The Enduring Flame	Great Power Games
Rabbit	Tenkalus