DENON
DISTRICT ONE - PENTAPLEX
The room was dimmer now, with the rest of the Direx Board gone for the day. A squint might have perceived steam still rising from the seats, even those inhabited by holographic projectors, recalling the caterwauling of debate and deal-making that took place there each day. Much of the true politicking took place in backrooms and over the HoloNet, leaving the rest for show on the main floor. With the lights down and the cameras off, now there were only four DireX left.
It used to be five.
Marlene Starlight took a sip of her third —or was it fourth?— caf, gone cold from neglect. She nursed it slowly, more so these days. Her presence here had always been a show of power. At the head of the largest voting coalition, she was forced to corral as a DireX. Now she had nearly half the voting weight on her own, invested with the power of ExO, and she could spend her time making subtle nods or frowns at the proposals which garnered enough interest. It was everything she had ever wanted, except for a hot cup of caf.
"This Senate investigation will be a waste of time!"
A blue-skinned Pantoran a few seats downshifted in his chair, idly tracing a whorl with a single fingertip in the steel-gray metallic table. Yellow eyes blinked once, registering a look of frustration & confusion on his otherwise perfectly smooth face.
“The Senate is happy to accept donations and keep their nose out of our ventures. What I want to know is, how does some upstart from a minor-league Corp get the backing enough to attempt a coup?” He paused, then glanced toward the ExO.
“And, if he really wanted to be in charge, why is he not sitting in one of these seats?”
"None of the Independents have truly consolidated behind a singular seat yet, not for the lack of trying." Luminous Sun smiled that practiced smile, reflecting an actor's infusion of warmth and goodwill into chilly words.
"It's quite the shame about Purgill's last annual earnings call, perhaps they'll rise to Direx Board prestige again someday."
“Upstarts always attack from any angle they can reach, if they can’t grab power from official channels, they will attempt to subvert the ladder by knocking it down. A familiar and effective tactic, but overplayed like this, only gives us ammunition to anticipate the subversion. The Senate investigation will proceed under our discretion, our senator did well to counter-offer with the compromise of due process.” Diviak Manfloon seemed unconcerned as ever by the development, a veteran Union leader who had survived comfortably through a mind-boggling number of investigations. Malicious cooperation was his modus operandi whenever the threat of force wasn’t an option. His eyes were set on a holographic screen, inputting encrypted data into his cybernetics about various operations across the galaxy.
"You would know a thing or two about upstarts, wouldn't you, Diviak? I hardly recognize your face in person, you look so different from that poster the little Chuma girl made. I have that hanging in my office, she just has so many good ideas for improvements, wouldn't you say, my dear Diviak?" A tinkling laugh emerged from the red-painted lips, the woman's Hapan lineage glowing through where lines and blemishes might have marred another lady of her age. Luminous Sun shone as bright as her name, happy to wear the spotlight for the moment as she chided Manfloon in lieu of the Pantoran. He was still new, newer, yet quickly becoming her valuable ally among the bickering of their most powerful members. There was no question of how
he had come to sit among their vaunted inner circle. Like her own industry, Moonveil's executives could quickly make many friends and tolerate many enemies with a simple press of a button on their ubiquitous communications network. Sun was all too happy to treat with his coalition of votes than that of the other two. Or worse.
The handsome Pantoran coughed into the palm of his hand - keeping it there a span of heartbeats longer than necessary in order to cover the amusement on his face… but he said nothing.
The report on her datapad wasn't the least bit interesting, not even with her glasses on. Marlene didn't truly need them, the ExO had access to the best medical care and top implants, and there was no need to suffer the degenerative effects of aging on her eyes. The glasses simply became a useful prop, a means to signify which documents were important enough for a busy woman such as herself to read. So now she put them on, her eyes soaking in the report on CorpSec's second-quarter revenues in District 12. Illuminating data, no doubt, her assistant had already written a few annotations for Marlene to make note of. For now, she only needed enough to engross herself away from the petty debate occurring in the seats in front of her.
Marlene sipped her caf again, then put it down. She tired of this act and snapped her fingers once. There wasn't much more she needed to say to her assistant, and within a minute, Sola replaced the cup with a new, steaming version of her caf. Marlene picked it up, ignoring the heat to sip the beverage, glaring over her glasses at the uninteresting report.
“A child is not a capable investment opportunity; I’ve put forward a great deal of research into it. Early investment is too great for failed indoctrination.” Manfloon remarked seriously towards Luminous Sun’s barbs. Just then, a holographic symbol with the Blackheart Crest appeared beside Luminous and Diviak, creating a distorted whisper to each simultaneously.
“Why do you even bother? It’s not like he understands your brilliant point.” Blackheart puzzled at Luminous.
"It's far more entertaining to see what's not being said," the luminous DireX pointed out. She flashed her gold-painted eyes at Manfloon one last time before they glanced out toward Starlight.
“That’s not what she meant by that; I hope you know,” Blackheart pointed out to Diviak, who promptly ignored his missive.
The Blackheart Crests then merged above the newly inducted pantoran DireX, who had such boisterous questions needing to be answered. Having often foiled the security of his communications protocols from time to time to “stress test” his competitors, Blackheart saw himself as uniquely positioned to answer what he would consider his antagonistic protege.
“These sorts of things tend to happen, Moonveil; Senate proceedings and investigations happen to all corps. In fact, I’d consider it a mark of success. A shame it’s your first time. You’ll get more once you figure out how to navigate those scary government officials.” Uninterested in the newcomers' response, the Blackheart Crest vanished until Larz found it prudent to respond again.
Luminous Sun kept looking around the room, each time catching glimpses of their ExO, supposedly engrossed in something else. The woman was nearly as good an actor as she was.
"There's far too much silence from those Senators who would typically oppose our corporate ideals on principle alone." Sun could guess why, as well as any of them there, enough credits and favors could buy a galaxy's worth of silence, especially from a colleague.
"As it turns out, early investment in our Senator's election campaign did lead to profitable results. Oh, but we all donated to her campaign, didn’t we?”
Niko silently considered the disembodied words of Larz Blackheart. He hadn’t bothered responding, already familiar with Blackheart’s MO. Sun’s statement went unanswered; after a few moments of silence, during-which Niko chewed at his bottom lip, he changed the subject - directing his inquiry toward his business partner.
“Would it be prudent to reach out to our people on Coruscant, to issue a statement on behalf of The Board? Denounce these accusations as patently false, and declare our willingness to cooperate with any investigations launched on behalf of The Senate? I can attempt to ascertain who’d likely be put in charge of such an endeavor… See what manner of skeletons they, themselves, have in their closet.”
Diviak Manfloon ignored Sun’s banter in regards to the election campaign, knowing full well he had financially supported the opposition to clear a debt with the late Qanatain Xopsaloff, who was hedging his bets on the election. He did pay Niko the attention he was looking for, as at least his contributions to the conversation were functional in nature, and it helped to close this conversation.
“A financial donation should suffice unless Sun wants to get involved; I’m not sure we want to donate air time to our new enemy on the topic. The investigation should proceed out of the spotlight as much as possible. Better for the public to assume we might be guilty than removing all doubt by denying it.”
Always-feuding. Ever-colluding. The dramatics in the Direx Board once kept her fueled, now, they simply made her weary. Marlene sipped on the caf, irritation growing as it failed to restore her energy. So much of it wasted on petty conflicts now, when the stakes had grown far greater. The ExO had always looked up, higher and farther past her status in life, always planning for something beyond herself, beyond Starlight Industries, beyond the Direx Board. It was all she could see now, a glimpse had become an expanse, revealing bigger powers and agendas beyond their ideal Corporate state. To preserve it, someone had to act for the state, not simply themselves, as the DireX did far too often.
"Make it official. A commendation on behalf of the Corporate Authorities, add in a ceremony with a plaque." Her hand mimicked the placard of an inscription less well than it merely waved in the air.
"'Incredible Valor in Defense of the Corporate State.'"
Niko had turned his attention toward Manfloon, chewing on his lip in thought. Silently, the blue-skinned man recognized he was playing on a much larger stage - recognizing that he (and his Company) still had much to learn about the rules of the game. He nodded, considering the ramifications of outright denial and deciding that Diviak was right. The ExO’s suggestion of a plaque recognizing Senator Vexx’ contributions gave him an idea, and he sat for another moment - considering the angles - before turning his head to glance down the table in Marlene’s direction.
“Madame Ex-Oh, if I may suggest another option…” He said, leaning forward & placing his hands on the metallic tabletop before him - steepling his fingers.
“A plaque would be rather formal, and considering Senator Vexx’ loyalty in this matter, I’d recommend a personal call -” he paused, glancing around the meeting room at his fellow conspirators before turning his attention back to Marlene.
“-to voice our support, and recognize Dominique’s efforts in upholding our interests.”
“If I understand correctly, it’s been some time since we’ve spoken directly with our asset within the Senate, and it would serve to illustrate that we are paying attention. Closely.” As Niko finished, the Blackheart Crest re-materialized interrupting his gaze toward Marlene.
“Now you’re getting it, an excellent suggestion, great work volunteering for the class.” The crest then flickered into a smaller image hovering over Marlene’s shoulder,
“Why don’t I ever get plaques for stuff? Also, this meeting could have been a holo message.” The crest then dissipated once again as Marlene waved it away like nothing more than a bothersome fly.
Luminous considered the blue DireX for a moment, her eyes barely flickering at the suggestion. Of course, Moonveil wanted all the credit for themselves, credit that she was happy to relinquish. The Alliance Senate was all pageantry and bluster; to engender goodwill there cost little. The actress was almost jealous she wouldn't get to play the role herself this time.
"I concur. This is an excellent plan! Do smile and all that, Niko. We want to stay on friendly terms with our Senatrix."
With three in favor, there was little need for any more discussion. The votes would tally in over the next day, a mere formality now that the decision was made. After everything was said and done, a plaque was minted anyway, and Senator
Dominique Vexx
received a flattering and personal call from DireX Moonviel.
Aiko Hayata
's direction at the woman's kind advice. Dominique smiled back without deigning to stoop to answering such bait. She'd already indicated the government would comply in accordance to all legal requirements as appropriate to such an investigation. If Aiko was hoping Vexx would trip over herself to over sell that point and commit to some specific and binding action, the crafty woman would need to seek another avenue.
Xasha Callisto
and
Alicio Organa
were all too happy to announce their... qualifications in being part of the investigatory committee. Standard political fare. Impartiality and some 'unique' skill, which was meant more to sell why their own electorate should retain their services than their value to the matter at hand.
