She was busier than a one-armed kowakian monkey lizard with two...

[Danger Arceneau]

OUTER RIM TERRITORIES
ELYSIUM STATION
Danger's and Alric's personal office

With the holo conference done, Danger gave herself a small moment to relax.

Her shoulders sank, and she went leaning back against the plush black leather of her chair. For a moment, she felt every one of her five decades. A robust woman of inner strength, this was a side of Danger that few rarely ever saw. Silver streaks in her hair, crow's feet at the corner's of her eyes, and the fine lines that wisened her heart shaped face were clear to see.

[member="Alric Kuhn"] had left her earlier to take care of the holo-conference on her own, so it was just she amidst the vast carved wood and holographic viewport behind her, where the distant sun of the system would cast a flare of light against the planet below.

There were other steps to take now. Everything from here on out was critical - no vital - to not only the free market but to the collective reputation of the Corporate Entity.

[member="Aldiel D'Lessio"], CEO of SIlk Holdings and she were on the same wavelength. With luck, they could hash out exactly how to come to terms with the Republic Senators about the situation that has gotten them in all kinds of hot water.

Leaning forward, Danger quickly adjusted her holoscreen and began to type in the holocall frequency for the CEO of Silk Holdings. The soft ring would lance through, and go up the encrypted chains to hopefully reach D'lessio so they could discuss in a quieter settings what was to follow.

 

[Alndys]

The Galaxy was in a big hurry all of a sudden - at least the parts that wanted Aldiel's attention - and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. On one hand, he was taking action for the benefit of a cause he felt in favor of. On the other hand, even the most convincing fictions were hard-pressed to suffer hourly scrutiny. When the call from [member="Danger Arceneau"] came through, Aldiel was waiting for it. He wasn't sure how the conversation was going to go down, only that it did need to happen and that the Galaxy would be better off if he kept a couple fingers in this potentially tumultuous pie. Danger couldn't save the soul of the private sector herself. Or maybe she could - but she shouldn't have to. Aldiel knew that one from personal experience.

Svelte and well-dressed, Aldiel answered the call from his office - the holographic image of his uncluttered desk gave context to his part in the conversation as a professional, a man of means and accomplishments. Context was an important thing to keep a finger on, after all. "Miss Arceneau - your timing is to be admired." Aldiel gave an easy compliment, slowly taking his ever-present hat off and setting it on the desk before him. With measured, graceful motions, he lit a thin cigarette before continuing. "I was just thinking of you. Were your ears burning?"

Keep the tone light and jocular. As dark as things could get, Aldiel had ever been of the belief that small measures of light could beat back the shadows. And if that meant starting things off with a warm tone, then all the better. Taking a small drag from his cigarette, Aldiel sat forward and folded his arms on his desk, inviting Danger to establish the pace of their conversation. After all that had happened and how involved she was in it, Aldiel wasn't about to rush her into talking shop if she wasn't ready.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Aldiel D'Lessio"]

Danger couldn't help the upward perk of her lips, the light hearted banter a refreshing change from the chaotic mess the past twenty-four hours. A slow chuckle came bubbling forth, waning into a soft sigh as the woman would sink back into the comfort of her chair. The tension would ease from her shoulders, and she was grateful for Aldiel's warm tone.

"Mistah D'Lessio, you're fit to make a woman blush." she'd drawl out with mild humor, chuckling a few more moments, gratefulness in her eyes. "One hopes that a girl's secrets stay her own and aren't so easy to read." she'd say with repartee, noticing the curl of smoke rising from the vice between the CEO of Silk Holding's fingers. Truth be told, she was feeling like having one herself. While Vanir Technologies had created a tobacco-less vape, there ain't nothing that didn't satisfy as much as the real thing.

"I reckon they'll cool off soon enough," she said warmly, moving to palm a platinum etched case from alongside her desk. Her thumb swept over towards the latch, where it swung open.

"Seein' as how we've found ourselves in a whole new kettle of Giju, I'm feelin' mighty truthsome, Mistah D'Lessio." she began, feeling again, every one of her years. Fingers would pluck one cigarillo, twirling it to settle between the index and middle.

"My daddy done taught me how to handle myself within the boardroom." green eyes would flicker up to meet the holographic ones of Aldiel. "He didn't pass on lessons on whathave you with a Galactic Senate."

That was a whole nuther ball game.

 

[Alndys]

"Miss Arceneau, if I may be frank?" Aldiel began with a genial tone, almost playfully looking at the holographic representation of [member="Danger Arceneau"] before him. "Your daddy taught you well. And you already overqualify the senate by half, far as I can determine."

The slender businessman pushed himself upright and standing, the holocam smoothly following his motions. He walked around his desk with the sure footing and graceful step of a lifelong dancer, leaving a thin trail of fragrant smoke behind him. "The Senate, you have to remember, fancy themselves as the best of the people they represent. Most of them believe wholeheartedly in the democratic process, but they are very quick to let the reigns pass to someone else so long as they get to keep cutting a check." Aldiel explained, his tone carefully measured and neutral - lacking in the contempt and pity that struggled within him.

He glanced back to Danger and risked a smirk. "Idiots, basically. Lazy idiots." Aldiel promised. "Keep your wording focused on ideals, morality, and the future - things they can easily agree with without having to risk their vaunted seats - and they'll fall into line. Never admit fault, because the only thing the Senate loves doing more than nothing is ripping apart a wounded target." Aldiel explained, having made his way to the front of his desk. He leaned his backside against the old wood and flicked the ash from his cigarette into a tray on his workspace, the absent gesture of somebody who had been smoking for years.

"Simply put, your boardroom skills will be more than enough. The skills required are more or less the same." He added with a warm smile. "Just imagine you're going before a board of directors who are afraid to take risks, cannot be fired, and love for one person to assume responsibility so that they can hang them when things go sour or claim they supported them all along when things don't. Keep the subject framed on moral rights and wrongs, and never yeild the high ground in that matter - they'll smell blood in the water the second you concede an inch." Aldiel slid his hands into his pockets and leaned back comfortably, slipping his fancy hat on. "Just lead them by the nose, basically, and make them think they're arriving to your conclusions on their own. Don't try to intimidate or threaten them."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Aldiel D'Lessio"]

The flash of a lighter would bloom the tip of Danger's vice a bright cherry red. All the while Aldiel gave his pearls of wisdom, Danger would mull on each and every word. Sure did crack a half smile a the compliment, but it was more the genuineness behind it that she could respect.

Aldiel spoke softly, but what he said would prompt a need to pay attention. Oh, she could very well understand the mind of one to go on about and let others do their duty s'long as they got paid. In that degree, someone is business was no different when it came to profit.

"Things that they can easily agree without having to risk their vaulted seats," a perk of a brow, then the wry tone.

"Well I sure as heck believe they'd be able to get behind the fact that Genevieve is the tyrant that got them to where they are now." she'd muse, only to add. "Granted to no small help by the Senate letting her get into that position to begin with." oh there were a few here and there who had always been in odds with the Prime Minister, just that majority rules and the majority had all too often spent monies on Genevieve's schemes than where it was best suited to go.

She took the time to take a deep drag of her cigarillo, letting the smoke fill her lungs and ease her nerves with it's familiar kick.

"Emphasizing the the unprovoked attacks, the previous support that the corporate markets had given them prior...all the humanitarian aide."

 

[Alndys]

Aldiel leaned back on his desk and offered a small smile. "Not a bad approach - but be mindful of your phrasing." He advised in a gentle manner, folding his arms acids his chest, cigarette softly burning away. "Some of those senators are sure to have backed her regime at some point, and they won't take kindly to you pointing out to everyone how wrong they were on the content of her character." He explained, pushing himself upright to walk a lazy circle around his office. The camera followed. "To a senator, reputation is everything - they will fight against you for even the slightest whiff of a hint that they were wrong or skills have seen this coming. Or worse, that they were fooled." Aldiel paused and adjusted his cap, offering [member="Danger Arceneau"] a thin smile.

"As tyrannical as she was, if the climate of the Senate is more than... say, a third undecided on her? Then it is better to frame her actions as a temporary fit of madness, or some other external force that the Senate could not have seen coming." Aldiel instructed gently, pausing to take a small drag from his smoke and absently fan himself with his hat. "It may leave a bad taste in your mouth, if you have to discuss her at all, but it gives those who might defend her out of pride an easy way to support you without losing face, themselves." Aldiel illustrated, pausing at a large glasteel window with his back to Danger for the moment. Somebody hadn't neglected his glutes. "Better to not pursue justice against her yourself at all, however. Remember - you're taking the moral high ground. Slinging mud ruins that effect, and polarizes people you've yet to win over, maybe in the wrong directions."

Not that Danger had specifically spoken about wanting to persecute the Tyrant, but the thought couldn't be too far from her mind. She'd lost business, a good amount of money, and even more importantly, may have lost employees. Justice was something that needed to occur, it was only a matter of how far it was away.

Aldiel slid his hand into his pocket and faced the camera again. "I feel that you're more than equipped to handle this task, Miss Arceneau - And I apologize again that I cannot be at your side." He assured the red head genuinely. "But my presence would only undermine your platform, and I fear my vaunted self control would be... diminished in the presence of such a famous collection of sycophants and buck-passers." Aldiel apologized sadly. It wasn't a lie - his temper was rare, but nothing brought a fire to his heart like Republic incompetence. "On a more personal note, if I may ask, how have you been keeping up? This cannot be an easy trial for you to endure."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Aldiel D'Lessio"]


That made perfect sense.

“Are there any Senators that you know of that I should look out for? Perhaps contact first?” D’lessio seemingly knew more about the senate and how it worked than Danger did. It was in the way he would elaborate and explain how to approach the Senate.

Or was that just conjecture?

Either way, Danger let a stream of smoke float out of the corner of her mouth, just in time to see that handsome specimen of a man silhouetted against the window. Danger may be engaged, but she wasn’t blind.

His personal query would prompt her from her reverie, and she shone him a faint smile.

“Well,” she began, flicking the tip of her cigarillo onto the glass ashtray upon her desk. Bits of grey would scatter, and the scent of cloves saturated the room. “Reckon it ain’t the best of times to deal with this bag of womprats in a bag.”

No, not at all. Not when she was keen on simply enjoying taking it slow.

“Takes up time I’d rather be using to move slow myself.” a bit more than she’d normally admit, said with a weary smile.

“Took me long ‘nuff to realize where my priorities lie, and to be truthsome…” her words would drift, the vice coming to her lips for her to take another drag. A few seconds passed where she studied the vice with a deep furrow of contemplation.

“...as much as I want to, it is hard to completely let go.” she spoke of the life of an entrepreneur. Of a work addict who had made her entire life the dream her granddaddy had, that her father had. That she sacrificed her life for.

 

[Alndys]

Aldiel replied to her cautious question with a slight wave. "Maybe, but it isn't hardly worth your time to worry about them." He explained with a smirk. "When you're up there in front of the Senate, it is like being a cliff that waves just throw themselves against - worrying about individual particles of water is a waste of your time, at that point." Getting worn down by them over months or years: that was the real killer. But somehow, Aldiel didn't think that [member="Danger Arceneau"] was going to have that particular problem. "In any case, senators become and cease being active at the drop of a hat, singling a couple out is a waste of your mental energy." He added for good measure.

Shortly circling back to his desk, Aldiel cleaned his cigarette with a casual flick and nodded his loose understanding. "I understand that struggle." He emphasized with a gentle smile, stroking his well-trimmed goatee in mild thought as he considered Danger. "There was a point before Silk Holdings where I aught to have let a difficult and dangerous lifestyle go, but my pride prevented it. I thought I had it under control." He confessed. "Holding on took years off of my life, and nearly drove away those who cared most about me - I've since come to believe that duty can corrupt a person's sense of perspective and well being as surely as power can."

Aldiel let his head tilt slightly to the side, liking mildly wistful. "Granted, I was young and entirely out of my depth." He admitted with a secretive smile. "Now I know the value of using one's vacation days, you could say."

"In any case, no one should have to stand alone against the darkness without respite." Aldiel concluded, offering a warm smile. "Consider my personal line at your disposal if you need somebody to talk to, Miss Arceneau - or simply if you need to step back and move slow for a bit."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Aldiel D'Lessio"]


Now there was commonality to she and he and that warmed Danger's heart. An understanding. Maybe it was because she was getting up in the years, or maybe it was due to finally finding some sort of peace with Alric. She spent a long time fueling a burning hate and bitterness in her heart. A long while.

So long that it had been hard to really trust again.

A wry smile of knowing crept upon her lips, following an expression that said she understood that exact mentality Aldiel described.

"Vacation? Now what is that?" she would joke in mild banter, flicking ash into the tray again. On a more serious note, she gave an incline of her head in gratitude.

"I take that to heart Mistah D'lessio," at his offer of the personal line, "And much appreciated. Your counsel in this has been mighty beneficial to me. Daddy always said that one pair of eyes shouldn't be the only thing checkin' the quality of the goods." a bit more colloquial but meant well.

"Reckon things will work out as good as they might." she brought her cigarrillo back to her lips. Another inhale and then a question, "How you been so far Mistah D'lessio? Silk Holdings and yourself?"

 

[Alndys]

Aldiel chuckled and sank into his chair with a smirk. "Silk is a large and efficient locomotive, and has been since before I took command." He explained, no small measure of pride in his voice - And, less obviously - the set of his shoulders and wrists. Lorrdians gonna Lorrd. "I sit at the head and nudge it in directions, and make the big choices that the other shareholders don't want to tangle with, but this machine would keep turning with our without me. Mobility is something the Galaxy, at this point, expects. Something the people deserve. At times, I feel like we're as much a public utility as a private corporation."

"And that's fine by me. Having to micromanage brings out the worst in me." Aldiel added with a grin, setting his hat aside and stubbing out his cigarette.

At that, Aldiel shot [member="Danger Arceneau"] a look that was very nearly flirtatious, treading the line of his professional demeanor for the first clear time. "I'm not ashamed to admire those who have it in them to personally oversee virtually every aspect of their business, however - present company being the most notable example I can think of." Aldiel complimented warmly, gesturing to the holographic redhead before him, almost as though inviting her to dance in the middle of a conversation. Kinetic communication could be like that, at times. "I was appointed to my position when Silk was already a household name, but the Arceneau Trade Company - And its subsidiaries - have ever rested in your talented hands. You're one of the most exceptional women I've ever met, Miss Arceneau, and that is not a compliment I issue lightly or without thought." He'd met no measure of exceptional women, after all.

"If I seem overly concerned for your wellbeing at times, I suppose it is because I've a vested interest in the happiness of exceptional women." Aldiel mused, leaning back in his chair comfortably. "I've seen far to many burn as bright as comets, only to burn themselves away - though you seem as though you may keep burning long after I've faded into memory."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Aldiel D'Lessio"]

It was rare, rare indeed, when one would see a rush of rouge color up over her neck and settle into a warm glow over her face. Aldiel had managed to what was near impossible to do; make the Queen of Trade blush.

Truth be told, it was that sort of praise and compliment she'd been searching for ever since she took over for her daddy. It had been a dream of her granddaddy to make Arceneau Trade a household name, and by the Nine Hells she had driven herself to the ground to get it there. Some may say that she sacrificed too much for reaching that goal, others would say that she attained all that one could dream.

Having someone genuinely worry over her well-being that didn't have an agenda was rather refreshing indeed. She could count on her hand the amount of souls in the 'Verse she trusted impeccably. And to be frank, she had trouble enough getting past three. It was just a long life of acquaintances, never really letting anyone in. All a role one would play, and she played the part of the hostess well. Colette Arceneau wasn't about to let her baby girl out into the 'Verse without proper schoolin', and before she passed she ensured those lessons stuck.

"Mistah D'lessio, keep on and you just might find me sweet on you." the words were said with lighthearted air, but appreciative none the same. There was no coquettish charm, just a woman delighting in the praise and the compliments.

"I'll take the advise to heart. 'Verse knows I'm gettin' up there to realize I ain't as young as I once was. The tick of the clock tends to bring in perspective." and the solitude of not being able to bear a legacy of ones own. Oh Arceneau Trade would likely last long after she passed. However, she was the last of her bloodline.

And Fiona was dead.

Sobering, she gave Aldiel a ghost of a smile. "Your words are kind, and I appreciate them so."

 

[Alndys]

Aldiel offered a small nod and smile of a reply, gesturing vaguely to one side. He spoke with his hands, with his shoulders and each angle of his smiles. It was as close to an accent as a Lorrdian could have, to be fair - There were scant other ways to show your heritage and pride when your planet was more or less a barren Sith-screwed world and had been for millennia. "I can think of worse fates, than to have such a woman as you sweet on me, Miss Arceneau." He stated with a near-professional tone, standing slowly from his desk. "Perhaps the next time you find yourself on Drogheda, we'll discuss that matter over wine and music."

Flirting was fun, in the right place and in moderation. Moderation had been reached - Danger wasn't calling to get in his (largely inaccessible) pants, anyway.

"But more importantly, please consider Drogheda a haven, if you - or your people - come under undue persecution." Aldiel clarified, clasping his hands behind his back, profile straight and professional in presentation. "There are scant few enough humanitarians in the Galaxy as it is; I feel a personal duty towards those humane souls I do encounter." He explained, trailing his fingers over his desk. "And I have been in the business of identifying humane people far longer than I have stood at the helm of this company."

At one point, he'd been amazed at how Jorus had cleanly and really identified charitable causes from scams, been able to cleanly sort through the grifters and thieves in order to find the people in need of help. It was a skill he'd been developing with some pride for a long time on his own. It helped that it was exercised frequently.

"And it should go without saying, but: if you've need of my counsel again, Danger..." the use of a first name was, perhaps, a little too bold a move for someone he'd only recently formally met, but it was entirely deliberate. They were in this together, and camaraderie held the Galaxy together. "...My door is always open."

Seemed like a good place to add in a concluding offer. She had heard what he had to say, and any more would just be belaboring the point. He wasn't hanging up, but unless she had more questions for him or more to say, it was better to not let a conversation drag on forever. They were both busy people.

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Aldiel D'Lessio"]

For Danger, hearing that well... it brought a knot to her throat. Honestly, she wasn't sure how to take it. Was she getting more emotional as she added on the years? Did it now make her more prone to taking things to heart? Or was it just simply that appreciation of just finally being able to accept what was said to her without searching for some hidden agenda.

Her time, these decades spent at building Arceneau Trade was a mighty lonely endevour. And it wasn't just them, she'd chide herself. No, she was equally to blame. She had taken Noxu's betrayal, Narevni's indifference, and Alric's breech of trust to heart.

Her daddy had once said, that 'the difference between Shesharilian vodka and Corellian whiskey is time'. Shesharilian Vodka drips from the still crystal clear and straight into the jug. Corellian Whiskey must mellow and age. The older it is, the more precious it becomes. Both make a sentient fall to their knees, but with whiskey the experience is far more reverent.

Which a man prefers says more about the man than the spirit.

Every barrel of Whyren's Corellian whiskey has its own way, it's own identity, it's own essence. The Blake family knew that well; no two barrels are ever exactly the same. The grain can be picked from the same field, the sugar poured from the same bag, the maple for the charcoal cut from the same Corellian Oak tree. Yet there in lies the subtle differences that distinguish each whiskey run: the depth of color, the degree of smoothness, the smoke absorbed from the charred handmade barrel.

That barrel that “breathes” as the whiskey ages -- expanding in summer, contracting in winter, forcing the Corellian whiskey in and out of the wood and giving it that color and flavor. As much as 30 percent of the alcohol evaporates into the air by the time it is ready for the bottle. The Blake's have been known to call this the " 'Verse's share.” For them, it is a small sacrifice for the spirit that remains.

A bottle that was ever more rarer now in the wake of the Nine Hells pouring out their dead.

Most would consider this bit of history of the spirit to be naught but mindless trivia; but there is a method to the madness. A reason to the tale. See a woman is like whiskey. She evaporates a little over time, distilled by disappointments and grief. One can never predict if the 'Verse will take the best of her or the worst. Only time will tell if the woman that remains will be bitter, dispirited, or aged to perfection.

Bitter, dispirited, or aged to perfection.

That's what her daddy done told her; and it had been a lesson the Queen of Trade had mulled night after night and year after year. Until finally, the realization set in. That time stops at certain moments in life, taking snapshots of the best and worse. Dreams and wishes fade to nothing and in the end, a life is totaled and defined by a handful of memories that hang in the mind.

She didn't want to be bitter any more. Nor dispirited. Maybe that's why when Aldiel D'Lessio made his offer, her name falling from his lips with genuine concern and invitation, Danger found herself with a certain kind of well of emotion she wasn't quite sure how to process. Things had turned out like that a bit so with [member="Judah Dashiell"] and [member="Makai Dashiell"].

Maybe it was time to open that door a little bit further?

Biting her lower lip, Danger gave an appreciative nod of thanks, her smile lingering but for a Lorrdian, one would gather from the subtle nuances that his offer had struck a cord in her.

"I'll take that to heart, Mistah D'lessio." Colette Arceneau's schoolin' was hard to shake, but even the lack of intimate use of Aldiel's first name didn't diminish the truth to Danger's words.

"Reckon you'll see me 'round Drogheda more often than not." but for now, there were other things to consider. The Senate. The chaos. The clone army.

But at the very least, Danger could truly say she met and identified with another who was much like her. Oh they'd have their differences, but the core of it was there.

And maybe, would pave a path for Danger to find another whom she could potentially be herself with.