Private 3:16 to Denon

[Dominique Vexx]

Dominique wondered. "Cassian," she reached over to touch his chest, "do you genuinely believe that? Most people standing where you are would think of setting people free of the corporate leash." Even the Galactic Alliance Jedi and Senate had gotten taken in by Darkwire's propaganda. "And while I admit, some people are disenfranchised, exploited, and struggling just to survive -- all of which we can address without destroying productivity -- I'm not about to annihilate the stability and social structure of our planet in the vain hope things will somehow work out."

"Even Ayumi wants to rebuild all the Districts in just a decade," she sighed as her hand fell away. Dominique turned to lead the way toward that walkway to stare out at the city that loomed before them. "I worry, Cassian, things may move too quickly. Change -- even good change -- brings instability. They resist it out of fear. Fear of losing what they have. Fear of not gaining what they feel they deserve. All the while the galaxy wages one war after another among neighbors. Even allies can turn into enemies, and people like us have to navigate those dark waters."

She turned to look at him for a moment before she smiled. "Have you ever seen a cyberparlor? You should. None like it anywhere else in the galaxy." There were other business, of course. Some luxurious. Most not. But Denon's were unique. Dominique would start to leave the walkway to show him the way.

Cassian Abrantes​

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Dominique Vexx ​

Cassian's gaze lingered on her hand as it fell away, her touch leaving behind a faint, almost electric echo against his chest. The conversation, no, the philosophy in her words pulled at the corners of his mind even as he followed her down the walkway. The light from the skyline played across her features, painting gold and silver where the neon struck the glass. Denon's pulse was all around them: the constant hum of repulsorlifts, the murmur of traffic flowing like a river of light beneath the bridges, the mechanical heartbeat of a world that never slept.

He caught up to walk beside her, his stride measured.

"I believe in setting people free" Cassian said at last, his tone calm, deliberate, "But not in tearing down the walls that keep the roof above their heads. Freedom without stability isn't liberation it's chaos. That's something I learned the hard way, long before I ever wore a uniform."

He glanced toward the city below them. Denon stretched endlessly into the haze, its layers of brilliance and shadow folding over each other like the strata of civilization itself. "You're right to be cautious. Change forced too quickly burns people out. Makes them desperate. And desperate people can do terrible things."

He looked at her again, one brow lifting slightly as his voice softened.

"You worry because you care, Dominique. Not because you're afraid of losing control—but because you understand what happens when control is abandoned. That's a rare kind of leadership."

The glow from a nearby sign rippled across the walkway as she mentioned the cyberparlor. Cassian's lips curved slightly, a small, almost playful smirk crossing his face.

"Can't say I've ever been inside one." he admitted. "Closest I've come is a slicer den on Coruscant, and I doubt they serve the same drinks."

 

[Dominique Vexx]

Cassian was surprisingly receptive to Denon's challenges and how to respond to them. Admittedly, Dominique had grown accustomed to people complaining about how there hadn't been more progress in such matters faster. Everything sounded easy until someone had to foot the bill, or reallocate resources to see it happen.

Though for him to say it was because she cared... Few people ever accused her of that. Though she didn't disagree with his assessment that she cared about the outcome. Productivity was affected by a number of factors. Darkwire sought a utopia that would never happen in her estimation. But the CAD had thought they could just feed people into a grind and the system would never run out of people. There had to be a better way. A way to make profit while still enabling her people the ability to life a fulfilling life. They wouldn't all sail in the skies on a private island, but they didn't need to live in squalor either.

"You've been to a slicer den?" Dominique smirked over at Cassian. "Well, you're right about the drinks. Parlors don't offer a lot. Something for the pain, maybe, but drunk and disorderly might get someone killed in a parlor." After chuckle, feeling a little of the weight of the conversation lessened, she waved for Cassian to follow. "You've got to at least visit one. Admire all the gear they keep on stock. What's possible with the human or not-human body. It took our scientists and engineers a long time to perfect rejection-free augmentation."

Cassian Abrantes​