Private Brand New League

[Reyes Sutherland]

Reyes dropped the box on the large desk, wincing slightly at the metallic clang that echoed through the still mostly barren office. Inside the box were mostly useless items he had brought from his families home on Dremulae; pictures, a knife given to him by his uncle, and a piece of shrapnel. Looking at this last item as he brought it out, Reyes brought his free hand up to touch the scars running across most of his chest, wincing at the pain that had long since left his body, but not his mind. Placing them all on his new desk, he adjusted their positioning slightly before moving around the two meter long piece of furniture, and taking a seat in the desk so recently afforded to him.

Glancing up at the sight of movement, Reyes watched as another Senator went rushing by his office, a long formal robe trailing behind him as his footsteps echoed down the hallway. Looking down at what he was wearing, Reyes questioned, not for the first time, if he was really cut out for this job. Rather than any formal clothing, he wore a sleeveless shirt with an attached hood to the back, and jogging pants he wore when he would go for his mornings jogs back home. He was moving in to his office, and there was a lot of manual labor to get done, but it still felt wrong in a way to be so under dressed.

Pushing the thought from his mind, Reyes got back to his feet, and headed across the office towards the still open door. Two large stacks of boxes lay in neat towers beside the opening, one of his personal affects, and the other of official work a Senator of the Galactic Alliance would need. He had been offered assistance in moving in by the Senate when he arrived, but he had refused the offer. While it would have saved some time, he was certain somethings would be lost in the mad rush to set his office up. You could not work for a government without things getting lost in the endless shuffle of bureaucracy. Even the relatively simple task of moving into an office posed risks that Reyes had decided to side step.

Picking up one of the boxes filled with dozens of reports, he made his way across the room to one of the three bookshelves he had been provided, and began to unpack and organize the various files.

Carolina Tevinter

 

[Carolina Tevinter]

Planet Coruscant
Federal District
Galactic Senate Building

Carolina Tevinter was strolling down the curved hall of the Galactic Senate building. She was flanked by two members of her secret service. They wore blue coats with their collars standing out. Normally they carried a blaster and dagger, but those had been left at the door. The Senate Guard had tightened security around the Galactic Senate in light of the string of assassination attempts on Senators.

Carolina heard a loud clang further down the hall. She noticed from the side of her eye the way her servicemen tensed, instinctively reaching for weapons that weren’t there. She wondered what that sound could have been. As she had that thought, a Senator ran past them. His long robes fluttered as he sprinted past them.

“Education Committee,” she mouthed, vaguely recalling the reservation schedule had the Education Committee coming up.

It’s been around four months since the Galactic Alliance was established from the political union between the Core Federation and the Corellian Confederacy. Things were messy. There were debates on the role of the Galactic Senate, the role of the Chancellor, and there weren’t any easy answers. Education wasn’t her area of expertise but she didn’t envy the work they had before them.

Carolina realized she had arrived at her destination. She brushed her skirt down and adjusted her blue coat. It was important to make a good impression, she thought. She waved her hand, signaling for her security detail to stand out. Carolina took a step in the open door frame, scanning the around the room, with its half-opened boxes, she glanced at the young man. “Senator Reyes?” she asked incredulously. She wasn’t sure if he was just a mover, or if the tanktop wearing man was the Senator, she was leaning towards the former.

Reyes Sutherland

 

[Reyes Sutherland]

Reyes spun around at the sound of a voice behind him. Before he turned though, he had been crouched down to one of the lower shelves. The sudden turn slammed his head into the shelf above his head, and he let out a muted curse as his free hand reached up to rub the back of his head. Forcing a smile on his face, Reyes took a single step forward before a loud crashing sound halted him in his tracks. He did not even need to look behind him to know that the bookshelf had collapsed in on itself, scattering the files he had just sorted across the floor.

Another issue with government work, they usually bought furniture from the lowest bidder.

Shaking his head, Reyes walked the short distance across the room, extending his hand out to Carolina. "Hello, yes I am Senator Reyes, but please just call me Reyes. Please ignore the mess..." Reyes accented his words with a brief glance over his shoulder, and a shy smile across his face before he turned and gestured towards his desk. Pulling a spare chair from a corner of the room, he placed it in front of his desk before quickly walking around it and seating himself in the chair. Before he spoke again, he saw that the glare of the sun was beginning to become an issue in the room. Tapping a few buttons on his desk, he lowered the light filters over the room before leaning back in his desk chair, an easy smile on his face now.

"Sorry, was not expecting visitors this soon. I did not catch your name, Senator...?"

Carolina Tevinter

 

[Carolina Tevinter]

Planet Coruscant
Federal District
Galactic Senate Building

Carolina grimaced at the way Reyes slammed his head into the shelf. She took a step back to give him some space. She was a little surprised how young the Senator was. It wasn’t unheard of course, and he did come from a resort world. Somehow that seemed to click in her mind. She glanced at his manner of dress. He looked like he was ready to hit the gym rather than a committee.

Carolina glanced at the heap behind Reyes. It seemed like he had accepted the standard furnishments provided by the General Services Agency. Her own office had been furnished with antiques from the Great Manifest Period from her home system. Though that didn’t mean a whole lot for comfort.

Her eyes followed the Senator as he walked around his desk. She nodded, letting a smile show, “How rude of me, I’m Carolina Tevinter, Prime Minister of the Azure System, and of course, a Senator as well,” She said, putting a notable emphasis on the former title, rather than the latter. “I decided to swing by to congratulate you on your appointment, and I confess, I’m not as aware as I’d like about your person. What brings you to the Senate, Reyes,” she said with notable emphasis on his name as she took a seat.

Carolina rested her hands on his table, glancing up at the younger Senator. She had steely, blue eyes, that looked on with interest.

Reyes Sutherland

 

[Reyes Sutherland]

Reyes' eyes did not falter as Carolina spoke, his mind work quickly as he memorized the small amount of information provided to him. It was hardly uncommon for planetary rulers to be elected as their planets representative position in the Senate, but Reyes had thought it would be a few days before he met many of his fellow Senators. Especially one so well placed in her life outside the halls of the Senate. Folding his hands across his stomach as he leaned back in the chair, he inclined his head to her.

"Well, Prime Minister, I must say that I am pleased to be the focus of your attention today." The brief flash of a smile was executed perfectly, and the small tilt of his head calculated. His words were not untrue, but it never hurt to go a bit beyond what was really necessary in greetings. Small things like that now could add up to benefit later.

"Thank you, Prime Minister. To be honest with you my appointment was largely by chance than it was anything else. Originally, I was the Vice-Senator of Dremulae, elected to the position in all fairness, but with little expectation to do much with it. All the work was expected to be done by the Senator himself, and I was supposed to follow him along, padding out my resume, and securing a better position for myself later in life. Many of my predecessors in the position did the same, and it was seen as a sort of right of passage back on Dremulae." His words drifted off as he glanced across the desk, to the glass container holding shards of metal shrapnel.

"Those plans came to an end when the Senator's shuttle was shot down by dissidents. I was onboard, along with the rest of the staff, and the shuttle crashed into the wilderness outside the capital city. By the time emergency services arrived, only I and two others, of an original staff of twenty, were still alive. In a single event, I became the legal Senator of Dremulae, though everyone I knew was urging me to step down. While I was recovering in hospital, I really thought about just walking away." He fell silent as he stared at the wall beyond Carolina, his mind running through memories still so fresh in his mind, before turning to stare at Carolina, his blue eyes unwavering as he spoke.

"Obviously, I refused all of them. Despite everything, I felt I owed the people of Dremulae, as oddly as it sounds, for surviving when so many others did not. I felt that I had an obligation to take up the fight to try and stop those like the ones who had killed by predecessor. As foolish as it all may be, it is what has led me here. It is also why I have so few staff and support right now, which I am sure you noticed. Every member of a Senator's staff must be elected, from the Senator to the lowest aide by the laws of Dremulae. At the moment, very few people are foolish enough to put their names forward." He quirked the corner of his mouth as he leaned forward in his chair, eyes narrowing slightly.

"So what about you, Prime Minister. What brings you to these halls of judgement and debate."

Carolina Tevinter