Cressida Tolliver
extraordinary and plenipotentiary
When the Galactic Alliance collapsed, Cressida Tolliver hoped she had seen the last of Senates and Senators, of horse-trading and committee markups, of Chancellors and the bizarre polite fictions one told oneself about power and authority. She thought that her appointment to be Foreign Minister of the Renascent Heirate, representing Her Majesty's Government to foreign entities, put another layer of separation between herself and petty politics. And yet, here she was, being escorted with the Supreme Leader
Natasi Fortan
through the Senate office building on Theed, bearing in one hand an attaché case and the other a portfolio of dark cerulean leather emblazoned with a crowned First Imperial cog of gold leaf. A solid, serif font beneath the cog read Gratia et Mensura -- the motto of the Renascent Crown.
Paperwork was too pedestrian for the Sovereign of the Renascent Heirate to carry herself, naturally.
Within the portfolio were the documents requesting membership for the Renascent Heirate in the High Republic, signed in three hands: her own slightly looping script, the no-nonsense script of Renata Westaway, Prime Minister, and a somewhat uncharacteristically sharp and slanting hand of one Natasi Josephine Fortan R. I. It was the R and the I that gave Cressida Tolliver pause. It seemed cognitively dissonant to display the titles, Queen and Supreme Leader, while seeking to subsume one's authority to a larger state. Not that there wasn't a need for it. The Sith Covenant snaked ever closer with that lean and hungry look the Sith mastered so well. They needed protection. And if it took looking a little ridiculous to the outside to make it work?
Everything had its price.
The first of the Senate delegates that Cressida was to visit was of Naboo. The Heirate felt that it showed the respect that was due to Naboo for its foundational role in the High Republic. The Prime Minister felt that a proud crowned head like
Aurelian Veruna
would not be put off by the admittedly unusual organization of the Heirate: equal parts social democracy and enlightened monarchy. Knowing that the Heirate would put forth a policy that did not rock the boat where the rights and privileges of the nobility were concerned ought to smooth matters.
The question that waited in the wings was that of the Heirate's First Order roots. Old symbols cast long shadows, and now that some other junta was waving the First Imperial flag once more, it wasn't just an old symbol. Cressida frowned thoughtfully as she wound her way through the senate office building with her escort and Fortan, until they arrived at the outer office of the King of Naboo and its senator. Cressida stepped forward and met the attention of the aide there. "Good afternoon," she said. "Foreign Minister Tolliver and Her Majesty the Queen of the Renascent Heirate for His Majesty the King of Naboo."
This could take twice as long with all these titles, Cressida thought, though her smile was anodyne.
Natasi Fortan
through the Senate office building on Theed, bearing in one hand an attaché case and the other a portfolio of dark cerulean leather emblazoned with a crowned First Imperial cog of gold leaf. A solid, serif font beneath the cog read Gratia et Mensura -- the motto of the Renascent Crown. Paperwork was too pedestrian for the Sovereign of the Renascent Heirate to carry herself, naturally.
Within the portfolio were the documents requesting membership for the Renascent Heirate in the High Republic, signed in three hands: her own slightly looping script, the no-nonsense script of Renata Westaway, Prime Minister, and a somewhat uncharacteristically sharp and slanting hand of one Natasi Josephine Fortan R. I. It was the R and the I that gave Cressida Tolliver pause. It seemed cognitively dissonant to display the titles, Queen and Supreme Leader, while seeking to subsume one's authority to a larger state. Not that there wasn't a need for it. The Sith Covenant snaked ever closer with that lean and hungry look the Sith mastered so well. They needed protection. And if it took looking a little ridiculous to the outside to make it work?
Everything had its price.
The first of the Senate delegates that Cressida was to visit was of Naboo. The Heirate felt that it showed the respect that was due to Naboo for its foundational role in the High Republic. The Prime Minister felt that a proud crowned head like
Aurelian Veruna
would not be put off by the admittedly unusual organization of the Heirate: equal parts social democracy and enlightened monarchy. Knowing that the Heirate would put forth a policy that did not rock the boat where the rights and privileges of the nobility were concerned ought to smooth matters. The question that waited in the wings was that of the Heirate's First Order roots. Old symbols cast long shadows, and now that some other junta was waving the First Imperial flag once more, it wasn't just an old symbol. Cressida frowned thoughtfully as she wound her way through the senate office building with her escort and Fortan, until they arrived at the outer office of the King of Naboo and its senator. Cressida stepped forward and met the attention of the aide there. "Good afternoon," she said. "Foreign Minister Tolliver and Her Majesty the Queen of the Renascent Heirate for His Majesty the King of Naboo."
This could take twice as long with all these titles, Cressida thought, though her smile was anodyne.