Private Around Here

[Verity Stuyveris]

THE SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
DRUCKENWELL SUITE
​

"Are you sure we have the name right?" Verity murmured as she surveyed the resumé that her Chief of Staff had handed her. "Abrantes. Of the Naboo Abranteses? Surely he'll want to work for Sibylla Abrantes ." It was the late afternoon, and she had had half a dozen of these interviews already: a parade of intelligent, bright-eyed, polished young people looking for their foot in the door of the political process. A few had been from Druckenwell, but Verity's Chief of Staff was from Druckenwell, as was her chief press officer. She didn't want an echo chamber of only Druckenwellian opinions.

So that Mr. Abrantes was not from Druckenwell was a boon.

She wondered idly whether this was a young man looking for an easy ride, a line on a CV before moving on to the next thing, but there was no way to know from just looking at the paper Varencourt had handed her. She looked up at him and tilted her head to one side then nodded. "All right, bring him in." Verity stood and rolled her sleeves down, then put her chic pale blue blazer on so that she looked somewhat presentable. "And Luc?" Her Chief of Staff paused at the doorway, turning back. "Can you ask Kira to bring coffee? A pot and three cups -- milk, sugar. All the things."

Varencourt nodded and exited. He murmured the instruction to Kira, the receptionist, who immediately stood and went in search of coffee. Varencourt approached Elian Abrantes and offered a polite smile. "Senator Stuyveris is ready for you. This way, please." He led the youngster into the Senator's inner office. The room wasn't large, but it was well-appointed while still maintaining Verity's minimalist preferences. Comfortable without being overstuffed.

"Mr. Abrantes," Verity said, rising and coming around the desk. She offered a hand. "Verity Stuyveris. Thank you for coming in."

Elian Abrantes​

 

[Elian Abrantes]

​

Was he fidgeting, no. Nervous, absolutely not. More excited than anything, this was new. Almost like a new mountain to climb and conquer. He had been boxing, has his arm blow off. Now his brother was missing. Gods he wondered if there could just be a normal day in this life. But he knew those days were damn well over.

So he was here, ready to try something else. This seemed more enterainable, something he could present to his family then his other extra curricular activites.

And they were indeed plenty. You would think loss, would bring you together more. But it breaks you down and you are forced to rebuild yourself. It's just something that happened.

Verity Stuyveris 's receptionist had spoken up, indicating she was ready for him. Elian was dressed well, not to extravagant, as that was not his style. More so dressed well enough to please.

Still not able to figure or obtain a prosethetic arm, hopefully soon.

"Thank you." Elian made his way forward, until he entered her office, as he showed a small sly smile and extended his hand to meet hers. "Senator Stuyveris, its a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for meeting with me." Elian nodded his head with a big smile, before speaking again. "How goes, Senatorial duties?"

 

[Verity Stuyveris]

​

Verity smiled, shook hands, and gestured toward one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Please, have a seat."

She didn't go around her desk, instead choosing to perch on the edge facing the chairs. She caught Varencourt's eye, flicked her own to the other chair in front of the desk, and he sat. The two chairs were slightly angled so as to create an informal conversational space. She balanced the portfolio containing the paperwork on her lap and rested her hands on it. "Never a dull moment, as I'm sure you know," Verity answered, her voice slightly wry. "My legislative agenda is undoing something of a renovation following the failure of the Diplomatic Accountability measure, but we'll be hitting the ground running very shortly."

Her cool blue eyes settled on young Mr. Abrantes. She didn't linger on his injury, though of course she was empathetic. It seemed not an appropriate moment to mention it. Instead, she cleared her throat and said: "Before we begin, I'm curious about what brings you to the Senate. Have you always been interested in civic matters?"

Elian Abrantes​

 

[Elian Abrantes]

Verity Stuyveris
​

"Never a dull moment, as I'm sure you know," Verity answered, her voice slightly wry. "My legislative agenda is undoing something of a renovation following the failure of the Diplomatic Accountability measure, but we'll be hitting the ground running very shortly."

"Very much so." Elian voiced with a smile. Dull moments were hardly a thing for people of this galaxy. "Failure isn't always a bad thing. It can lead to more places and more opportunities. I look forward to seeing what you have planned."

"Before we begin, I'm curious about what brings you to the Senate. Have you always been interested in civic matters?"

"Honestly, no I havent. I will be graduating early from the Academy of Political and Astral Sciences, in Theed. I didn't delve too much into politics until I spent more time with my Sister Sibylla and the King of Naboo, Aurelian. I've learned quite a bit just by watching them, but I'm faced with my own, challenges, as we all do. I'm not a soldier, warrior, orator. After facing different hurdles in my life, I want to do something that gives my life meaning. I'm talented, very talented with Engineering, Mechancis and everything surrouding those fields."

Elian cleared his throat before speaking again. "Truthfully, I want more. Not in a sense of power, but I just know I can be more than what I am."

 

[Verity Stuyveris]

​

Verity put her thumb under her chin and allowed her index finger to rub along her bottom lip softly, her gaze lingering on Elian for a few moments.

"I have a great deal of respect for your sister, Lady Sibylla," Verity said honestly. "Her position is not an easy one, and from all I've seen she carries it off with an uncommon grace. If that's a familial trait then I really ought to snap you up right away." She smiled faintly and glanced at the door as there was a knock. Kira came in with a tray of coffee and set it on the desk next to the Senator, then left.

"Would you care for a cup of coffee?" Verity asked. If he did, she'd fix him one, and if not she'd fix one for herself.

Her shameful first instinct was to latch onto this boy and exploit his connection to Sibylla and -- even more crucially -- to Aurelian. His Majesty was one of her Senate colleagues with whom she had not forged a connection. She had only his demeanor in the Senate to rely on, and she was -- quite frankly -- not impressed. But he was also clearly not impressed with her. Perhaps there was a disconnect there. Perhaps knowing each other might make working together more plausible.

The problem being, of course, that Verity was painfully aware that an attempt at connection that was rebutted would be more damaging than not not bothering at all.

She turned her attention back to Elian and sipped her coffee. "Tell me about the Academy. What are Astral Sciences, exactly?"

Elian Abrantes
​

 

[Elian Abrantes]

Verity Stuyveris
​

"She has a knack for that, much responsibiility is thrust on her shoulders. Unfortunately me and my brother don't do much to help. We all have our own things going on. I'm still in school, my brother is Intelligence and Military. Doesn't leave much time anything else." Elian asnwered honestly. "That's kinda why I'm here, I'll be graduating soon, early so I can dedicate some time to this game of politics. If that's one thing I've come to figure out, is that people treat this as a game. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I'll figure it out for myself."

Elian nodded when she mentioned Coffee. "That sounds great, thank you very much."

"Tell me about the Academy. What are Astral Sciences, exactly?"

Elian chuckled lightly. "It's honestly just a fancy word for space study. We learn much about space, but that's just one of the many things. I tend to lean more towards the engineering department." Elian hated to throw it out there, but there was no really other way to say it. "All aspects of engineering I excel and thrive in, I'd say except for anything medical wise." He jerked his head towards left arm that was no longer there. "Couldn't save that."

 

[Verity Stuyveris]

​

Verity's eyes lingered momentarily on the man's empty sleeve. She tried not to look sad, or like she felt sorry for the man, though of course she did. Still, it wouldn't do to patronize the young man. It would only add insult to injury. She took a sip of her coffee and then murmured: "Since you brought it up... this has no bearing on whether you would be a good fit for the office. It's more -- a matter of how things are organized." She paused, glanced at the milky surface of her caff. "Are there things you wouldn't necessarily find easy to do?"

His educational background was interesting, too, Political sciences and space science was a fascinating combination.

"What are you areas of interest?" she asked him. "I try to involve my staff in areas of special interest when I'm working on legislation. For instance, Mr. Varencourt here -- my Chief of Staff, you'll be reporting to him if we bring you on board -- takes an interest in banking and insurance. Too, too thrilling, I know." She shot Varencourt a playful half-smile. "Came in quite handy on the bill imposing sanctions against the Sith Covenant, though. Kira has a soft spot for animals. We haven't done much there yet, but when we do I'll have her sit in."

Verity settled into a sensible perch atop the desk, crossed her legs primly. "You don't need to decide now, of course."

Elian Abrantes​

 

[Elian Abrantes]

Verity Stuyveris
(I'm so, so terribly sorry. I thought I responded to this already. )
​

Banking and Insurance, a small smile showed on Elian's face, yet he knew that was something that totally did not interest him. And he would probably die of boredom if he had to assist with that. "Nothing against that at all, but that's something that would be last on my list of things." Elian did smirk and nod his head. "Now of course, if I had to I would get it done. But I wouldn't be happy, to say the least." Elian gave a small nod to her chief of staff. Nothing personal with what they did, just not something that was up Elian's alley.

"I can pretty much do anything, not as such a quick pace as I'm used to. That's the lesson in that. Once I choose to utilize my prosethetic arm, I will be more grateful for it. And won't be such a fool next time."

Elian smiled and then chose to speak plainly. So it didn't seem that he was dodging around the question. "I can function at around 90 percent capacity, heavier lifting, if any that I can't do with one arm, I would require help."

 

[Verity Stuyveris]

​

Varencourt's eyebrows -- the only hairs on a head so bald and shiny that it would give Marlon Sularen a run for his money -- lifted fractionally at the young man's bravado. Whether Varencourt thought it was admirable or foolhardy to start laying down strong preferences before being offered the job was unclear, even to Verity, who had known him for years.

The Senator remained impassive, though she had to confess to herself that she appreciated a direct approach.

"Luckily, this is an office," she assured him, her voice wry. "If we need to do something very, very quickly, it's likely because the building is on fire and there will be more pressing concerns."

She examined his CV a little more, scanning along its bulleted points, its history. Pale blue eyes flicked to Varencourt, one brow arching in an unspoken question. In response, the shiny-headed man's eyes looked up toward the ceiling, this way then that, then he cocked his head to one side. Clearly that meant something between them, because Verity turned her gaze back to Elian.

"I would like to offer you the position," Verity told him. "And to be clear, I did mean what I said about Lady Sibylla Abrantes earlier, but your name and your family have absolutely nothing to do with that decision. I believe you are an intelligent young man and it does you credit that you are looking to participate in this process. I hope it will be a good experience for you, if you accept the offer."

The Senator set the papers down on her desk and lifted her cup for a sip.

"What do you say?" she asked.

Elian Abrantes​

 

[Elian Abrantes]

Verity Stuyveris
​

Elian chuckled lightly at her words, the boyish grin on his face. Before he straightened up a bit more, relaxing more into the person he was working on being. He watched her carefully, as she looked over his file and she spoke once more and offered him the position. He listened carefully to what she said, as she was glad that she said it.

"I understand, and truly, I appreciate what you have said." Elian looked between her and her assistance with the smallest of smiles. His mouth curving a bit more than he wanted it to. "I will gladly accept your offer, Senator Stuyveris. I assure you, you won't regret it." Elian took a small sip of his caf, the sweetness hitting him a bit more than he anticipated.

"What's first." He said with a smile, eager and sure.

 

[Verity Stuyveris]

​

Verity smiled broadly. "Wonderful. Well, what's first is I send your file to personnel and they get you in the system. You'll need an identification badge that will get you into the building and into the office suite here. They'll work with information technology to get your email set up and access to all the systems you'll need. That should only take two to four business weeks, depending on which IT agent gets it, but we'll do our best to expedite."

She rose, handed the file to Varencourt.

"When can you start? I don't want to rush you if you have things you need to see to before you begin."

Verity headed for the door. "Come on, I'll show you where you'll be working."

It wasn't an office, per se, but it was more than a cubicle. It was more like a... working closet. Large enough for a desk and chair and a filing cabinet, but there was no door, not much storage space, and a window? Don't even hope. It was secluded around a corner from Kira's front desk, and down a short hallway from Varencourt's office.

"You can bring things in to make it... you know. Bearable," Verity said, surveying the space dubiously. "Office rules, let's see. Be on time, I guess? Don't commit me to anything. Am I missing anything, Lucian?"

"Never microwave fish in the break room."

Verity nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, that's also very important."

Elian Abrantes​

 

[Elian Abrantes]

Verity Stuyveris
​

Elian smirked, ah...the boring stuff. Good thing was he wouldn't have to wait to incredibly long to start working, while waiting on getting put into the system. Two to four weeks, wasn't as long as one might expect.

He chuckled warmly, as he shook his head. Nothing at all, I came here expecting to get put right to work. He followed the Senator as she showed him around, and his area, wasn't much at all. But in truth he didn't need much, this was going to be perfect for him. He ran a finger along the desk and just chuckled.

"It's going to be perfect for me, I don't need much, to be quite honest. I'm more than ready for this." Elian said with a sly grin on his face, before it vanished with his next question. "But I do have one question. Why would anyone microvave fish?"

 

[Verity Stuyveris]

​

"My friend, that is one of life's age-old questions," Verity muttered. "There are certain types of people I think should be studied. You know, for science. But alas, I am not in charge of how things work here. That's but one of the many antisocial behaviors you'll encounter here in the galaxy's pre-eminent monument to social cooperation and cohesion."

Verity rolled her eyes and beckoned him toward the exit to the office suite.

"I'll show you the way on the way to personnel so you can get your photograph taken, then we'll turn you loose." She smiled and they exited into the broad corridor, and she pointed toward an archway. "The restrooms are down that way, just around the corner to the right. If they're closed for cleaning I recommend going down one floor and they'll be open."

Her heels clicked on the marble floors. "There's the breakroom in there. Kitchen opens to the rear," she said, pointing again. "Personnel is down on sublevel one." Verity boarded the lift and punched the appropriate button and scanned her badge. When the doors opened, they emerged into the personnel office and she was greeted by an older, weary-looking Zabrak woman.

"Senator Stuyveris, good afternoon. How can I help?"

Verity smiled. "Jaxa, you're looking well. Kicked that flu finally, I hope? Good. This is Elian Abrantes." She gestured to Elian, and the Zabrak glanced at him with a professional smile. "He'll be joining my team. I thought we'd get the ball rolling on his processing so he can start as soon as possible. Would you be able to help me with that?"

Jaxa nodded and reached for the file Verity proffered. "You can leave it with me, Senator. Mr. Abrantes, come with me."

Verity turned to Elian. "You don't need a badge to get back to the lobby, but if you run into any issues..." She produced a platinum business card holder and snapped it open, producing a business card on thick, high quality stock. "...call the office, all right? Otherwise, Jaxa here will take care of you."

Elian Abrantes
​

 

[Elian Abrantes]

​

Elian followed alongside Verity Stuyveris taking in every word that she said. His eyes darting back and forth between here and there. Giving himself a quick study and layout of what was seen by his eyes. He was introduced to Jaxa, Elian extended his hand giving a small shake. Exchanging quick pleasantires with those he was being introduced too.

The young Abrantes, reached and took the business card from the card holder. "I'll be sure to do that, Senator. I can't thank you enough for this." Elian reached out to shake Stuyveris's hand.

"I won't let you down."