Private All My Friends Are Dead

[Natasi Fortan]

SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
Office of the Honorable Member for the Renascent Republic
​

The name Calgar evoked a curious mixture of emotions in Natasi Fortan. She experienced, in one moment, the years of history she had with the name and the man with whom she identified it. Dante Calgar had been placed in her cabinet by Sieger Ren himself, some parts rival and helpmeet. It was still not clear to Natasi, some decades later, whether the then-Supreme Leader intended Calgar to undermine Natasi or to push her to be ruthless to keep herself on top of the pile. Hell, it may even have been to ensure an orderly succession when Sieger unceremoniously ejected Natasi from her position as Grand Moff. Luckily it had never come to that.

Irritation and resentment and suspicion had given way to fondness as Dante Calgar had come to be one of Natasi's most trusted advisors. In some ways, Natasi owed Dante Calgar her life. He had been instrumental in the implementation of Project Aeternum. It might even have been Calgar himself who had instituted the cloning that had made Natasi's resurrection possible.

Natasi had been unable to make any headway as to Calgar's whereabouts upon her return. Two layers of the First Order's collapse had muddied the waters, and anyway, Natasi had had other fish to fry now that she was a Senator and the Galactic Alliance was hurtling toward war.

Until now, anyway, when an announcement about the newly-seated Senator for Anaxes, Raphael Calgar , came across her desk. She studied the circular, dark eyes scrutinizing the features of the man himself. What are the odds? she asked herself. Anaxes was a long way from First Order space. Then again, so was the Renascent Republic. The galaxy was as vast as it was infinitesimal, it seemed. She had asked Kenat, her principal private secretary, to call over to Calgar's office to see if the Senator was free for a drop-in. The Senator from the Renascent Republic wished to welcome Senator Calgar in person. It was all arranged.

Natasi picked up her teacup and went out onto her balcony. She had planted a dozen orchids, cultivated to thrive in the bizarre climate of Coruscant. Natasi had always had orchids; they were fussy and delicate, challenging to grow and keep alive. Like herself, they could be convinced to thrive where they were planted with the right handling. She surveyed the orchids as she finished her tea. The orchids were of varying shades and sizes. To her surprise, the plants that she had bred from stock from Herevan seemed to thrive here in the cool, filtered sunlight of Coruscant. Her dark eyes alit on a small, arched plant, golden with delicate veins of carmine. A descendant of the breed that she had created herself. Avalonian Gold, she recalled. That's the one.

She picked it up and returned to her desk, setting down the teacup and the potted orchid long enough to pull her suit jacket on before scooping up the orchid once more. Kenat rose to his feet as she exited the office, bowed from the neck. "I'll be back," she told him. "Keep the fort while I'm away."

Office of the Honorable Member for Anaxes​

Natasi entered the outer office and smiled politely at the receptionist. "Good morning," she said graciously. "Senator Fortan. My private secretary called ahead."

Raphael Calgar​

 

[Raphael Calgar]

-

Natasi Fortan ​

It felt almost wrong, the amount of time he'd been spending away from the very planet who'd elected them their governor. Of course, the wheels kept turning every time he made a run to Coruscant, and he couldn't have had better advisors in his absence, but it still felt like he was neglecting a very important part of his duty. That wasn't true though, was it? Taking a final sip of the deep brown liquid in his cup, the man stepped away from the large window in front of him. "I'm never going to get quite used to that, am I?" he said quietly. Raphael gently placed the cup on the edge of the desk which adorned the Alliance-provided office space. When he had arrived it had been what one might call, austere. Blank walls, a cold metallic floor. He hadn't known his predecessor but it seemed whomever had occupied the space previously leaned more into the utilitarian. Raphael had changed that immediately. Now, splashes of color lined the room from Anaxsi tapestries on the walls to a thick woven rug that spread across the seating area preceding the desk and several chairs in the back of the room which sat upon a separate, more corporate floor covering. Large and hardy plants lined the edges of the room, set in corners or empty spaces along the walls between the bookshelves. Books. That was another oddity perhaps, physical books far outdated by the millions one could access on a datapad. Something about them made Raphael feel at home, however, and so he'd had a portion of his collection brought and placed in his off-world home away from home.

A chirp sounded at the small comm pad attached to the desk, a voice cutting through a small burst of static. "Sir, Senator Fortan is here to see you." Raphael shook his head. From what he gathered, his predecessor didn't take many meetings here, explaining the poorly maintained comm system. "Thank you Xaya. Show her in, if you please."

Stepping out from behind his desk, Raphael stepped towards the door, intent on greeting the woman. This realm of politics was a strange game, a perceived sleight or insult could send relations into a spiral. First impressions were important. Straightening his posture and brushing down the front of his tunic, Raphael smiled. Time to go to work.

-

"Right through here, Ms. Fortan," said Xaya, rising from her chair and stepping over to the office doors. The woman's dark hair contrasted strongly with her light red complexion. Zeltron through and through, her professional attire had bits of colored fabric hemmed in. It was a step away from the formality of most but still far more conservative than the average Zeltron ensemble. Pressing on the control panel, the doors to the larger office slid open and Xaya stepped aside, politely bowing her head.

"Ms. Fortan." Raphael's crisp tone held barely a hint of an all too familiar accent, despite his upbringing on Anaxes. He bowed, then looked up, eyes meeting hers. "It's an honor to finally meet you. Do come in." Raphael motioned towards the modest seating area. "Tea, if you will Xaya," he added, the doors slowly closing behind the Senator from the Renascent Republic. Following in Natasi's wake, he found a chair opposite and seated himself after she had. "What can I do for you, Ms. Fortan?" he asked, eyebrows raised. Raphael knew precious little about the Renascent Republic, save that it fell within Alliance space. Natasi Fortan however was a name he'd heard before, read numerous times during his tenure with the Anaxes Planetary Defense Forces. Surely this couldn't be the same woman, a daughter perhaps? No, it was certainly her - had said the briefing but had he only eyes to go on, he wouldn't have known it.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi had long since given up on correcting people; she merely smiled over the mental cringe when someone called her Ms. In truth, Natasi had never been Ms., nor Miss, nor Mrs. She had been Lady Natasi Fortan at birth and only accumulated titles since then, culminating in Supreme Leader. It would have been churlish to expect the Alliance and its senators and staff to refer to her as Your Majesty, so she didn't bother. "Thank you so much," she told the Zeltron, Xaya, as the woman led her through into the inner office.

"Senator Calgar," Natasi said, her tone somewhere between collegial and friendly. "The honor is mine, truly. I -- ah -- well, I brought you a little something for your office. When I moved in it was all grey walls and black floors and I thought a little color. But I see you fall along similar lines." Her eyes moved appreciatively over the collection of luxuries that now populated the office as she proffered the orchid to him. Unusual to see books in this environment, though Natasi was -- obviously -- partial to them.

She took the seat he had offered and after an effortless duchess slant, rested her hands on top of her knees, and fixed her eyes on Senator Calgar. He seemed to want to cut quite to the chase, and Natasi had to admit being caught on the back foot. "Well... I could tell you that I am merely a friendly face wishing to welcome you to the halls of the Senate and offer my assistance -- however limited it may be -- to finding your way. And, of course, that's all true," she hastened to add. "But more importantly, I -- well, I'm curious about you."

She paused momentarily rotating her left wrist briefly before clasping her hands together. "In the interest of collegial relations and trust, I thought it better to simply speak with you rather than request a covert dossier on you. There's been... rather too much of that going around, for my tastes," Natasi said, this last part coolly. "I'm -- rather, I was acquainted with a man named Calgar some... forty years ago, give or take. We lost touch, for lots of reasons mostly having to do with the fact that I died -- and since my return I'd been unable to find hide nor hair of him in any of the databases to which I have access."

Natasi thought she must have sounded like a complete blithering idiot, but it was too late now. An apologetic smile and she went on: "Calgar is not, perhaps, an uncommon surname in this galaxy, so maybe I'm -- as they say -- barking up the wrong tree. But is there any chance that you know a Dante Calgar? Is he -- a relation of yours? I'd like to be in touch, if... well, if that's possible." Rather indelicate, perhaps, which was regrettable. Still, at least it was done.

Raphael Calgar​

 

[Raphael Calgar]

Interesting, he thought to himself. Not that he wasn't in some way on some level a narcissist, all politicians were to a degree, but what drove her particular interest in him? Raphael's eyebrow rose slightly at that. Involved as she was with the SIA, it would have been a trivial thing to have a workup run on him. As she continued the picture became clearer. It was an interesting tale, an interesting revelation. "Forty years," he shook his head. "Before my time I'm afraid - and the statistics don't bear out in your favor but..." Dante. Now what are the odds of that.

Raphael's eyes narrowed at the familiar name, his head tilting just to the side. "It seems you've beaten the odds," he paused, eyes looking briefly to the golden orchid before turning back to Natasi. "Dante Calgar is my father."

How strange. The stories he'd heard snippets of over the years began to paint a clearer picture, form a clearer vision of his father's past. Dante Calgar, the now elderly man once brushed shoulders with Natasi Fortan - in the peak of their lives no less. Or at least, the peak of his. What other secrets did his father carry? Did Raphael really want to know the details? "I'd never have guessed," he blinked, then nodded. "He's still around, if you don't mind a bit of a flight," he chuckled knowingly. "The old man went off grid, doesn't engage much with technology. He's..." Raphael struggled to find the words. "Without saying old, he's not aged near as gracefully as yourself I'm afraid."

A chime at the entrance to Senator Calgar's office trilled followed by Xaya's voice over the intercom. "The tea is ready, Senator." Raphael pursed his lips. I could use a spot of tea about now, he mused. "Excellent Xaya, thank you." he replied. A soft hiss as the doors opened and the Zeltron re-appeared, tray in hand. The woman made her way over to the two, first setting the tray down on a nearby table. Gently pouring the hot water into the delicate cups she turned to Natasi. "Sugar or milk?" Raphael took his tea plain, perhaps an old habit from his days in Planetary Defense. With a nod of thanks to Xaya he took the cup and saucer, smelling the aromatic liquid slowly. A taste of home. Anaxsi tea, he mused silently. Having poured the tea, Xaya placed the tray on the table between the two and retrieved the kettle. "Biscuits and scones, if you like." With a shallow bow she proceeded back from whence she came, another slow hiss as the doors sealed behind her.

Raphael took a sip of his tea, piping hot. "So, you worked together then? I'm afraid I haven't been privy to much of my father's younger years - though I understand if you deign it his story to tell." He rather hoped she didn't. Raphael and Dante didn't have a bad relationship by any stretch but his father was stubbornly silent about his past at times.

Natasi Fortan ​

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi's eyebrows shot up in surprise when Raphael confirmed that he was, in fact, Dante's son. She nearly reeled when he confirmed that Dante Calgar was still alive, her jaw dropping in a smile of disbelief and delight. "Oh, I'd be delighted to see him again, whatever the travel required," she said effusively, clasping her hands together like a little girl on Life Day. Her heart swelled with delight that Dante had survived the mess that she had made of the First Order.

She could still remember her last day alive. It had been Calgar who brought her a cup of stale coffee in a cardboard cup rapidly approaching sogginess. Calgar who had helped her into the protective blaster-proof jacket and escorted her to the situation room in the Palace. She had learned, later, that the Palace had suffered greatly in the invasion, though the timeline on when was unclear. And the First Order's archives had been decimated during the Ssi-Ruuvi onslaught.

"Thank you -- ah -- a little milk, please," she told Xaya in response to the question that intruded into her ruminations. She accepted the teacup and saucer from the Zeltron with a murmur of thanks, then inhaled the steam billowing from the teacup. When she had excused herself, Natasi cradled the cup and saucer gently, studying her Senate colleague with an amiable smile. "Well... I do rather hate to invade his privacy," Natasi said bashfully, and then after a brief pause, she said: "Then again, I'm sure he wouldn't mind me sketching a rough outline."

She lifted the teacup, took a polite sip. "Oh -- that's rather good," Natasi said after swallowing. "I'm something of a tea snob -- so I'm told -- and so often tea tastes like someone has boiled a handful of whatever they found on the ground. Is it an Anaxsi blend?"

Once the subject of the tea had been settled, Natasi leaned forward. "Your father was a member of my cabinet when I was the Grand Moff of the First Order. He was the Minister of Security and, if I had to say, one of the finest men I'd ever known. It is no exaggeration to state that his actions allow me to be here, in this office, alive and well today." Another sip of tea, then a throaty chuckle. "You know, it occurs to me that you and I may be similarly situated. Your father was appointed to my cabinet directly by the Supreme Leader himself. I never knew a thing about him before that day, and he was not especially forthcoming with information about his past to me, either."

Raphael Calgar​

 

[Raphael Calgar]

"He's living on Dantooine now, in the care of my mother. He's not on quite his deathbed or anything like that," he added. The specifics he'd leave for his father to go on about. "It's a little bit in the middle of nowhere, to be truthful." Raphael listened carefully, helping himself to a particularly small-looking biscuit. The man smiled as Natasi commented on the tea. "One of our local staples," he said in response. "I hadn't expected it to be readily available, I'll have to give Xaya a raise," he half laughed.

Grand Moff. Minister of Security. Intriguing. The title meant little in a vacuum but it wasn't the first time Raphael had been exposed to a ranking structure. Minister had to have been near the top. Perhaps the revelation that his father had been appointed by the Supreme Leader himself was the most shocking to the Senator from Anaxes. He did little in the way of showing it, however. He raised the cup once more, the liquid cooling down a bit from his initial sip. Funny how such little things could remind one of home, this far away and in such an urban environment. Raphael smiled at the last bit. "It's always been a bit like pulling teeth I imagine. He's grown a little bit more talkative but he's very skilled at saying a lot of things and yet nothing at all."

He sat silently for a moment. It was strange, Raphael suspected he should have felt intimidated by the presence of the Senator, former Grand Moff. Her history was storied and here he was a meager planetary governor and representative to the Senate - but he didn't. A friend? That might have been too far, but as a colleague with shared ties to the past and present, he felt comfortable to a degree. "You know, with the war kicking off all the generals and staff will want to have their day in the sun, show their collar brass, and talk big," he said. "Maybe I can convince the old man to visit Anaxes, it'd be a great opportunity to pick your brain on a couple of domestic issues and I'm sure I could secure a bit of privacy if you wanted to catch up," he offered. Raphael had plans for Anaxes, ones that involved a lot of retooling and forward-thinking but it could be immensely helpful if he could gather some semblance of wisdom from a woman such as Natasi Fortan. "Hydroponics is where we're leaning - not to talk shop too in-depth but I hear that Ukatis has been on the cutting edge of agricultural technology for some time now. Might be worth a visit?"

He smiled. It was a careful balance, Raphael didn't want to press business too hard - the woman had after all sought a meeting with him.

Natasi Fortan ​

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi's smile was vague and enigmatic. "Honestly, it would be a real privilege to see him again, but -- well." She hesitated there. Her return to the galactic stage, dramatic as it was (to say nothing of her re-disappearance and re-return, also dramatic), was not greeted with cheer by all of her former colleagues. There were many among them, she was certain, that thought Natasi Fortan should have been left in the Netherworld. A woman not designed for the current age.

Natasi counted herself among them, most of the time.

She cleared her throat. "Perhaps you ought to discuss it with him first, Senator. I'd hate to push in if he'd rather let sleeping dogs lie."

Her attention turned to his discussion about hydroponics, a field which interested Natasi. "We can certainly talk shop, Senator. I'm delighted to discuss policy." She sipped her tea and considered Ukatis, her eyebrows furrowing somewhat. "Indeed -- an unusual planet and not without its... somewhat scandalous history, but as you say, they may well be one of the breadbaskets this nation needs to weather the storm of war. I am eager to see my own worlds play their part, as well, so -- yes. I think it very well could be worth a visit. And sooner, rather than later, I think -- what with the war looming." She set her teacup down, cradled it in her lap. "May I rely upon you to arrange transportation? I've always wanted to see Anaxsi ships up close. Fear not, Senator, the Renascent Republic has no intention to crib your designs. Consider me an enthusiast, nothing more."

The Galidraani aristocrat canted her head to one side. "I confess I am woefully inadequate when knowledge of your homeworld is concerned. Can you tell me about it? What is it like?"

Raphael Calgar​

 

[Raphael Calgar]

"I'll run it by him, certainly," Raphael replied and nodded.

He continued to enjoy the tea, pausing for a moment to appreciate its aroma. The tannins were a bit strong but a strong tea never went under-appreciated by the Senator. "It's that history that I think makes it what it is today - and hopefully other worlds such as ours, tomorrow. Raphael nodded, punching in a few taps on a nearby datapad. "Of course." He smiled at Natasi's quip, "Fortunately, the secret sauce is a little more than skin deep anyway - or so I'm told by our engineers." Raphael went for another sip but paused as the woman asked after Anaxes. How to answer? Anaxes was an interesting dichotomy of worlds, steeped in history. Strong Imperialist ideals tempered by membership in the Galactic Alliance. It spoke of industry but also had a capital that was only permitted to be traversed by kiffi. A balance of sorts.

"Well, where to begin?" Raphael asked before continuing. "As the capital, Pols Anaxes is probably the most striking of our cities - of course each locality will fight you tooth and nail for the title. Really though, it's quite unique. You won't find crowded skies in Pols Anaxes, not like here. The majority of traffic is handled below ground, and above ground we're a bit old school, kiffi drawn carriage. Of course," he added. "There are exceptions to that rule, though sparse."

Raphael thought again, pausing for the last sip of tea in his cup. "If you're in the area in the future, you'll have to let me show you around. Just like our politics, Pols Anaxes is a bit of a dichotomy. Moreso now, but we're really driving towards sustainability, it's why I mentioned hydroponics a moment ago. It's a careful balance, Imperialism runs deep in our blood but so also do we share values and goals that align with the greater Alliance. Likewise a planet of industry, and nature. Of course, I'm biased but it truly is something to behold."

Well that was quite the sales pitch, wasn't it? If Raphael had been alone, he would have shook his head. Enough rambling you twit, this woman has seen the galaxy twice over, what could Anaxes possibly hold that's better than anything else out there? The internal monologue came to an end as Raphael let out a short chuckle.

"And what of Aegis?" he asked. "I've heard it has not one, but two moons?"

Natasi Fortan ​