Private MUND3T_PELAGON

[IVI]

CORUSCANT | GALACTIC CITY | SIA HEADQUARTERS
TRUST IN ME
Ashalin Pelagia

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“Right in here, please Senator.” One of the administrator-level agents encouraged, ushering the
Senator of Pelagon into the space where her interview was to take place. “M’s ready for you.”

Spartan, decorated only with the information those within chose to divulge, the room had little to offer by way of interior design. It’s how M liked it. No need for fruitless details and ornate intricacies that persons could be distracted with –– even when this was merely an interview, less an interrogation.

Perhaps the greatest differences between the lobby-level room and the lower detainment centre interrogation floors were the choices in lighting and paint.

This room was painted white. Bright and pristine, untainted. Downstairs was pure, raw, durasteel. Easy to wash off if it got bloodied.

This room was well-lit. No shadows stretching more than a few inches and bathed in a warm glow that replicated day and sunlight. Downstairs was less generous in luminescence. Easy to obstruct emotions and movements from holocams if necessary.

Inside, the Chiss who’d been seated stood to rise. The movement was graceful, fluid and punctuated with an extended gesture to the seat across from her. There was no table between. Just chairs of varying comfort levels where two persons could fully expose their body language to one another.

“Senator Pelagia, good of you to make it. I appreciate you taking the time to meet, especially given our future working relationship on the recently curated committee."

Her tone revealed little to her true opinions on the senate's interference in the SIA's affairs, expression listless as ever.

Folding one long leg over the other and nodding to the woman across from her, M took the lead in getting comfortable. “Please, take a seat.”

Can we offer you anything?

How was the benefit at the Opera?"

 

[Ashalin Pelagia]

SIA Headquarters

You could learn a lot about a being from how they decorated their personal spaces. Some beings decorated extravagantly, wanting to show off their wealth and material possessions, engender greed and jealousy in anyone that came to meet them. Some beings valued strength and placed trophies and ancient weapons and armor they collected, other did the same with knowledge with shelves upon shelves of books and scrolls and datapads and what not.

The SIA Headquarters, from what she had seen, were none of those.

It was sparse and utilitarian, plainly painted, but functional. The lobby was to put one at somewhat ease, while the room she was guided to now seemed much more for a question and answers session... and perhaps not always in such a pleasant situation. She could easily see how quickly the room could be configured. A benefit of keeping it sparse. Not even a table between them and plenty of lighting to make sure you could always see and watch what the other person was doing and saying. Clever.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Director IVI " she greeted, giving the little half smile that she wore when out and about on Coruscant. "And of course I would take the time to meet with you. We'll need a good working relationship after all."

Being named to the Senate Intelligence committee was both a carefully crafted surprise for the young and new Senator outwardly, but internally, it was something her father and client both believed would serve her well and had quietly arranged it. She took the offered seat, crossing her legs and settling herself with comfort, although tinged with just the tiniest hint of nervousness. She was a junior Senator meeting with the head of the GA's intelligence organization after all.

"Perhaps some water," she said, her smile forming more. "I suspect I'll be doing a lot of the talking. As for the benefit opera..." She waved her hand idly, "it was exactly what I expected. Lots of glitz and glamour and celebrity, lots of money flying around, and all publicly for the fallen but privately for the personal pocketbook. All in all, a normal night for many Senators. What good did it do the troops that died in the Stygian Caldera and on Ossus? Nothing at all."

 

[IVI]

"And of course I would take the time to meet with you. We'll need a good working relationship after all."

The Chiss' smile was tight-lipped and almost mirthless. She detested the Senate having authority over her jurisdiction, but the bright-eyed nascence of a self-serving politician might do her well to establish a relationship.

"Perhaps some water, I suspect I'll be doing a lot of the talking. "

Nodding once, the admin assistant that had ushered Ashalin Pelagia into the room left to fetch some water as requested.

The junior senator's self-awareness brought an appreciative smile to her lips, and M gave a gentle nod to the delineation of roles. M asked the questions. M always asked the questions.

"It's a shame to agree with you," M admitted, a touch of forlorn edging her tone. "The Stygian Campaign certainly is a controversial subject. Expensive too, the price of souls and resources. The benefit covered the latter I suppose.

Interesting alignment of values though, Senator. I'm intrigued to know more about yours –– values, that is. Those tend to bleed into our line of work quite often, I'm sure you can appreciate."

Efficient as ever, Bartych –– the administrator assistant –– reappeared and produced a bulb of water for the senator, and set down a matching carafe and glass for the pair to share through the rest of their conversation on a side table that was positioned somewhat mutually before he scuttled out of the room for their privacy once more.

 

[Ashalin Pelagia]

"I would disagree on what the benefit actually contributed to," she said, but before she would elaborate further, the Director IVI 's aide returned. She smiled graciously at the aide as they delivered the water, placing down a little side table for both the Senator and Director to use at their leisure. She would wait until he had left the room before addressing the question asked of her.

"Efficient," she commented before turning back to the subject at hand, "the benefit was for the social elite to be seen and heard, to be on the record of saying how tragic the events have been. How much of the credits donated will actually go back into the Alliance's efforts, even outside of the military industries? Not much I would wager, but then I also don't know Senator Fossk very well, but I've seen the type in the Tapani Sector. Is that a cynical way of looking at it? Perhaps, but then my mother always said I could be too blunt when it came to my words and I have a penchant for speaking uncomfortable truths when I think they need to be said. She hoped my appointment to the Senate would teach me some tact, but my fellow Senators strike me as much the same as the nobles from back home."

She sighed, pouring a small measure of water into a glass for her to nurse.

"Maybe I'm just naïve, being new to galactic level politics, but I think the Senate and the Alliance needs to serve the people. Not just in some abstract way, but on a visceral, every day function." She chuckled to herself lightly. "Another disappointment of my mother is I never could quite pull off that aloof aristocrat. I make friends easily, but a lot of my friends aren't nobles or politicians. I guess you could say the same will probably be true of me being here in the Senate."

 

[IVI]

M leaned deeper into her seat –– a hand that had been resting in her lap reached up to brush against her jawline thoughtfully, keeping her gaze trained on the junior senator. For someone about to enter the Intelligence oversight, this girl certainly talked a lot. That could be her natural personality, or it could be a ruse of nascence.

Either one was variably dangerous and hard to control.

"Cynical and blunt are a useful pairing. It makes you seem more trustworthy." The Chiss admitted, feeding into the dialogue when appropriate. "Atypical for a politician, certainly."

Ashalin Pelagia referenced her mother several times as well, and behind those listless ruby eyes, she was retracting any information she could recall on the matriarch Pelagia from the junior senator's file. House Pelagia was a well-known House in the Tapani Sector, of course it was, and it was known for not being blunt. Which was..interesting. How much disapproval was the young woman burdening from her parents?

"You don't speak like a politician, you're not surrounded by friends in the senate nor nobles –– who would you say are your friends then if you don't mind me asking?

A historic House, powerful House, is a good start to getting involved, but not usually enough to land you straight in the Senate.

How would you and your friends go about that visceral, every-day helping of the people?"

 

[Ashalin Pelagia]

"I'll certainly take being called an atypical politician that as a compliment," she laughed, taking a sip of her water as she listened to the blitz of questions from the Chiss director, nodding along to herself and staying politely quiet until she was done.

"While I hope I make at least some friends among the Senate as it would strike me as horribly lonely otherwise, I enjoy the company of artisans and merchants much more than politicians, common folk like cooks, servants, and techs than nobles. I've always felt, being from a wealthy family with power over a world, that it was responsibility to listen to their troubles, to help them make a life. My father made sure I was part of the outreach program for the Pelagon government's to the less fortunate on our world. Even centuries after the devastation visited on it, some places have barely recovered and need assistance. I found it was much easier to figure out how to help by doing something a lot of government officials and nobles never do; go among them, listen to them, and make friends."

And the fact that these people were always fonts of useful information when it came to her... other activities was something was not going to bring up at all. What politician paid attention to what their servants knew when it came to illicit activity that might garner the attention of someone that would hire her? Not many.

"I guess all my work with that outreach program, and some help from my father, got the attention of the government and the people enough for my selection to the Senate," she continued, taking another sip of her drink. She chuckled a little, "and I'm still not sure I should be the one here, but I'll be doing my best to live up to the trust my people put in me."

As for helping people on the scale Senate politics would dictate... and making sure her cover as such a selfless being continued, she added, "I'm still learning all the rules and procedures in the Senate, but I hope to introduce some legislation to further fund and bulk up Alliance's ability to help the poor and less fortunate. Some proposals to help with the efforts even here on Coruscant to make the lower levels more stable. I understand REC has made a presence of themselves down there to try and limit the damage done by gangs and other nastiness, and I can guess SIA is active in such operations too. The lower levels would be ideal for enemies of the state to slip in and out of."

IVI

 

[IVI]

M nodded along with the explanation from the young senator, taking small sips from the tall, slender glass of water whenever there was an occasion in the conversation. There was little latency between her questions and the noble’s response, which M both appreciated and was wary of.

Ashalin Pelagia ’s person-of-the-people tale balanced somewhere in the juncture of genuine and a façade. Nobody was that giving and still got involved in politics, which suggested that the woman had some self-serving nature about her; to what end though, the Chiss couldn’t determine yet.

“Listening to the people..” M repeated quietly, mostly to let the senator know she was listening.

“You’re correct about the lower levels. REC has done an excellent job tightening up loose ends, but there are..” she rolled her wrist, fingers gently threading through the air as if playing a harp. “Many loose ends.” She made a movement with her hand that suggested she wanted to redirect the conversation away from the SIA’s affairs and back to a topic they’d touched on only briefly.

“Tell me more about your insertion to the people. The methods of listening are important.

Did you do it as yourself all the time? I understand enough to get yourself elected to your seat, but wouldn’t that draw out bias in responses or what’s being said? Or do you conduct these good-willed natures with an alias?”

 

[Ashalin Pelagia]

"Oh just as myself," she answered easily, accepting that IVI wanted to move on from any topic that might be operational details for the SIA. She was definitely protective, and even being on the Intel Committee, she knew that the Director would keep some details obscured for plausible deniability. She could appreciate that in the Chiss; she had to compartmentalize her own activities after all.

"To be honest, I never really thought about bias developing," she continued, swirling her water around in her glass in thought. "I was just one noblewoman after all, just one more official trying to better the lives of the people. Did some of the people I listen to bring me selfish problems or proposals? Probably, but that would happen no matter what work I did. At least this way, I could look them in the eye and listen to them in person instead of over some holo-message. I could gauge their motives better that way, after all, the best way to get to know someone is to talk with them face to face."

Well that and whatever you could observe passively, through their records and personal documents, and so on.

"I know it probably sounds very naïve," she said, taking a sip of her water. "I'm aware of that, just another idealistic young kid trying to make the galaxy better with no idea they might be getting manipulated. But I do know how the game is played, Tapani politics can be pretty cutthroat, I just choose to not engage if I don't have to and just..." she waved her hand for a second, "well I guess I just don't have that selfishness or deep seated killer instinct."

She did have that killer instinct, but that wasn't for the Chiss to know anytime soon.

 

[IVI]

The junior senator seemed to dig her heels into the persona of innocent do-gooder once more, and M took note of the dedication. This was either true, or a very well crafted lie. Again...both were dangers. Despite this, there was no tangible reaction that flickered across the sapphire countenance of the director.

"I'm aware of that, just another idealistic young kid trying to make the galaxy better with no idea they might be getting manipulated. But I do know how the game is played, Tapani politics can be pretty cutthroat, I just choose to not engage if I don't have to and just..." she waved her hand for a second, "well I guess I just don't have that selfishness or deep seated killer instinct."

"Or engage on your own terms." The chiss suggested when the junior senator acknowledged her own potential shortcomings in innocence. She didn't press further than that statement, instead chose to lean back into er seat and make a small noise at the back of her throat.

"Terms that seem to align with your interests in the Intelligence Committee." A small smile crawled across berry-coloured lips, and she tapped the rim of her glass with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, we can turn this conversation into our mutual interests and less an interrogation on your history.

I'm interested, Senator Pelagia, in your interest in the Intelligence services. How are you intending for your involvement in this committee to advance those goals you mentioned about visceral, every day functions to help the people.

Or are you simply involved for oversight."

 

[Ashalin Pelagia]

"Perhaps a little of both," she said, giving that small half smile again in response to IVI . "And I don't mind discussing my personal history as some of it touches on my desire to be a member of the committee. The Tapani sector has a tradition of shadowy conflicts between the houses, especially between Pelagia and Mecetti. I'm sure you are aware of the Mecetti and their Mecrosa Order chapters."

The galaxy had seen a few versions of the Mecrosa appear, briefly, before disappearing again, but they were still there. Lurking. Quietly working. She would know, after all, but that wasn't something she was about to say.

"Intelligence is the bedrock for creating a safe and peaceful society, to keep it safe from external and internal threats," she continued. "For my work in helping people create better lives for themselves, you need a stable world to build in. It's all sort of interconnected with each other, so the way I see it, the better the SIA is, the easier humanitarian work will be."

Plus, and she definitely wouldn't mention this, it would make her other work a lot easier too.