Yes, Ministers

[Symm]

There were few sights in the galaxy quite as spectacular as Kaas City, and this view, in particular, would inspire awe in even the most jaded of individuals.

Sauvhay's, a high-class restaurant serving the Empire's elite, had the distinguishing honour of being at the very pinnacle of a great tower set across from the Imperial Citadel. While the Citadel soared above it, as no buildings should be taller, the vantage point provided a unique view that included the mighty capital building.

As Sorin peered out through the tinted and reinforced window, a flash of lightning struck one of the many rods set about to attract the wild energy. While on other planets such a storm might be impressive this was a common occurrence on Dromund Kaas. A relic, some say, of a mighty Sith Emperor who delved too deeply into forbidden knowledge; a scar left on the spirit of the planet.

Sorin didn't know about that, but he knew it was within the realm of possibility.

A small red globe lit up on the control board of Sorin's repulsor-chair, a warning from his security detail that the person he came to meet was almost there. He waved his hand over the controls, simultaneously extinguishing the alert and spinning the floating chair about silently.

The Betrayal at Nar Shaddaa saw Sorin near-permanently in a chair, unable to stand for more than a minute let alone walk. This repulsor-chair had been custom-designed for him, the latest Imperial technology embedded within a smooth, non-descript chassis. He was not a man of frivolous excess, if you'll exclude his fascination with dangerous wildlife, and the chair reflected this in spades.

Further reinforcing this, rather than dressing in expensive dinnerware as might befit the setting, Sorin outfitted himself in his military dress. This uniform was unique, though, not quite navy, not quite army; in his new role, he needed to show no favouritism, and this extended to his dress. He chose too to forgo wearing the medal pins he'd earned, instead wearing a single banded rank insignia: A solid band on top, proudly displaying the colour of the Empress, beneath which ran a significantly smaller band of colour in that of the military. The Empress above all, as it should be.

Sorin directed his chair to the centre of the room. There sat a small table, that and it's sole accompanying chair the only furniture in the otherwise empty room. Not yet set, the size of the table suggested a more romantic dinner than what was to come, but perhaps this choice was on purpose.

The repulsor's pushed Sorin up to the edge of the table just as the door at the back of the room opened, admitting his dining companion.

"Minister Torrik. Glad to see you well." Sorin smiled, though it was the practised smile of a courtier rather than genuine pleasure; which he made no attempt to hide.

[CaptainBonkers]

Havlen had lived on Dromund Kaas for several years now, ever since the capital had been relocated there from Muunilist. A decisions Havlen had always found to be an unnecessary endeavor, especially when undertaken during war time. Setting up the various agencies under the Ministry’s umbrella had been a bloody hassle he really could have done without but the old leadership had wanted to forge symbolic links between the Siths of old, everything else be damned. The only positive to come out of that ordeal was that the new headquarters were larger and more modern than those back on Muunilist. That and the fact that the capital was manufactured from scratch meant the Ministry could oversee the installation of various security systems on a scale and access impossible on planets with older infrastructure. As a result there were few secrets on Dromund Kaas the Ministry didn’t already know.

Also, it made preparing secure meeting places considerably more convenient than on Muunilist. During the construction of the capital and the subsequent appearance of businesses and enterprises aimed to service the new inhabitants the Ministry of Security had earmarked a number of different venues for potential use as meeting places. A bunker mile below the headquarters might have been more secure but the atmosphere there was hardly conducive for anything else than briefings above clearance 9-G. A place like this served perfectly for less classified matters; it was under constant monitoring, was inspected twice a month for any non-Ministry surveillance and underwent additional security sweeps every time the Ministry chose to use its services. The establishment was naturally compensated handsomely for its compliance and cooperation.

As Havlen entered the room, he acknowledged Ashrer’s greeting with a polite nod.

With all that had happened over the past few months, Havlen had not had a chance to properly acquaint himself with the new War minister, though he had naturally overseen the mandatory security assessment and background check all ministerial candidates went through. The man seemed wholly suitable for the position. Intelligent, focused and with a more than respectable service history in the Navy. The only potential security risk was the number of illegitimate children that had turned up in the course of the assessment but others had held the same position with worse issues. The Ministry was aware of the issue and could take action if the existence of one of the Asher’s bastards ever seemed to become an issue.

“Minister Asher, it’s a pleasure to finally see you again. I trust you have been settling in well at the War Offices?” he said, extending his hand for a shake.

[Symm]

There was nothing to read into the handshake that followed; no attempt by Sorin to assert some masculine sense of dominance by squeezing harder than necessary. Even before his injury sapped his strength, Sorin had never ascribed to such, in his mind, nonsense. There were much better ways to display your superiority, and very few of them involved muscles.

Instead, the shake was simply a cordial greeting, giving equal pressure as given.

"Quite," Sorin said, setting his hand back to the armrest of his chair. "Though I may have to redecorate. The previous Minister had some very questionable taste and far too much clutter. I prefer a more austere environment in which to work." He gestured for Torrik to sit opposite. "And it makes my security teams work that much easier; fewer things to search for threats, you understand," he continued, maintaining that same nothing smile.

The Minister leant back as a droid entered the room, carrying two glasses and a bottle of wine. "I've taken the liberty of deciding the menu. I hope you don't mind." He fell silent as the droid set the glasses in front of the two, then the wine in the middle. "A wine, from your homeworld. I have no idea of the quality, I'm afraid. I was hoping you'd be kind enough to educate me about it."

The droid, its mission complete for now, silently wheeled out of the room, leaving the two ministers alone once again.

"I have to say, Minister, I'm something of an admirer," Sorin leant forward, beginning to pour out a small taster for Havlen. "You've survived in your Ministry across wars and regime changes, something very, very few people can claim, and restructured your department into a force to be reckoned with. If I can claim even a measure of your achievement, I'll consider my tenure to be a success."

[CaptainBonkers]

”I fear you have made a small mistake there.” A small but genuine smile passed Havlen’s lips as Ashir mentioned ordering wine from Havlen’s home planet. In his case, that was Muunilinst and while Havlen had a favorable opinion of his planet of birth in many things but viticulture did not number among those things. Passable was generally the best Muunilinst wineries could hope for in Havlen’s opinion. “Muunilinst is not known for its wines, as much as admitting it hurts my home planet pride. Though I have heard some good things regarding some of the more recent vintages made with cloned grapes from off-world but have yet to have a chance to try them personally.”

Havlen’s knowledge of wines was considerable, even extensive, for a non-sommelier or an active enthusiast. However, he shared a household with a woman who took her wines very seriously. And since Havlen was incapable of forgetting things he had heard as long as he registered what was said, more than little of Silena’s vast knowledge on the subject had been deposited into his brain over their marriage. Of all the inconsequential subjects Havlen had acquired familiarity with through osmosis he minded wines the least. Especially considering that there were parts of his memory that was held hostage by teenager fashion tips and other rot popular with the youth.

The wine wasn’t bad, which for a Muunilinst stock was quite the compliment. “You are too kind.” he replied with practiced modesty to Asher’s compliment. While he was indeed proud of what he had achieved over his career Havlen had never been one to toot his own horn or bask in the adoration of others, no matter how deserved said adoration was. Humility with strategically placed displays of pride earned one more friends than unabashed smugness, after all.

“I merely picked the right side each time picking a side in internal politics became relevant. But if you seek advice the best I can offer is this: Her radiance appreciates loyal initiative. As long as you serve her will it is better to apologize than to ask permission over a trifling matter.”

Of all the Sith Lords Havlen had had the misfortune of knowing over his career, Renata ranked among the most reasonable. That did sound like being damned with a faint praise but reason seemed to be a rare quality among the leadership of the Sith Order. Until the ascension of the most recent leader of the Cult of Strife, the only other Darth Havlen had had anything positive to say about had been Aurelius. Then again, one could hardly expect that an organization that even tacitly seemed to tolerate murder as an advancement strategy would see it’s most stable members regularly reach the top and remain there.

“I suspect you will have plenty of opportunities to gauge how closely she wishes to micromanage your department in the coming months. If things continue on their current trajectory we will be in war with the Republic before year’s end and I suspect that will have her interest focused on your branch quite keenly.” he said, taking another sip of the wine.