The First Triumvirate

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Alena Beswin"], [member="Kiskla Grayson"], [member="Caid Centurion"]

The elections were over, speeches had been made, parties celebrated. Now it was time for the actual business of running the Republic to begin.

Could the Republic work more efficiently with three potentially competing people leading it? They were about to find out.

The three chiefs would be meeting, with the Jedi Grandmaster invited as well if she wanted to come along.

Aurelia arrived first and sat in the room, making an agenda for the meeting to come. It would indeed be a rather interesting occasion.

 

[Terras Zordok]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"]

"Good morning, Chief Saelari." Alena greeted the Chief of Government politely as she entered. She wasn't very informed on the nature of the meeiing, but she guessed it had to do with how they were going to be running the Republic from here on out.

She sat herself down, waiting for the Grandmaster and the third triumvirate member to arrive.

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid finsihed skimming the message on the datapad provided by Captain Velez, his current aide-de-camp, before handing it back to the man. "That's fine, send it back to the Colonel for processing." Stopping just outside the door to the meeting room, Caid turned and delivered brief instruction to Captain Velez. "Come up with an emergency if I'm in here more than an hour."

The Captain smiled thinly with a nod of his head. "Yes sir."

Caid's expression, however, remained completely even. Turning, the Grand Admiral palmed open the door and slipped inside. Given this meeting was not much of a ceremonial occassion, he'd arrived dressed in a less...attention-grabbing working uniform. No awards or ribbons adorned the uniform, and the rank insignia was definitively subdued against the dark blue fabric.

Offering the two women present a gentle nod of the head, Caid took a seat. "Hello, ladies." While the Admiral had seen that the Grandmaster had been invited to the meeting for some reason, he kept his thoughts to himself.

[member="Alena Beswin"] | [member="Aurelia Saelari"]

((OOC: Sorry for the delay!))

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Caid Centurion"], [member="Alena Beswin"]

This writer having delayed enough, has decided to push ahead.

Aurelia nodded to the other two, smiled.
"Good morning, Chief Beswin, Grand Admiral Centurion. I am pleased you could make it. We have much to discuss."

"The first point we should address is whether 'Chief' is the correct term. It implies a primitive tribe...though given the way the Republic has occasionally performed.... I would suggest something more dignified like Consul, but it is not a big issue."

"Second, we should allocate responsibilities between us, and how decisions are to be made."

 

[Terras Zordok]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"] [member="Caid Centurion"]

"I do not have a preference as to what we call ourselves, Chief Saelari. I suggest we focus on allocating responsibilities first. Perhaps then we will have a better idea as to what we shall call ourselves. So on the second issue... I would like to first question if making all three of us equivalent in power would make sense. I feel as though that the Chief of the Government must hold superiority over the Chief of Senate or Chief of Military, for this triumvirate idea to work most effectively..."

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Alena Beswin"], [member="Caid Centurion"]

“Names are important, Chief Beswin,” Aurelia replied, though not with heat, more thoughtful than usual.
“Names are important because words are important, and how they are used tells much about what people think…or would like to think. The difference between a King, an Emperor and a Lord Protector is not immediately apparent if you merely look at their roles. But which carries stigmas of autocracy, which of antiquity, which of a more modern conceit?”
“However, you are right, it is something which can wait.”

The next words of course were things which only served to increase Aurelia Saelari’s already inflated ego. However, a show of modesty and humility was due, though not too much.
“I would agree with your next point. However, I would not want it said that you were lesser colleagues of mine. I think a 2-1 vote is prudent in most matters to decide issues, but in a tie I could cast a deciding vote. Or in matters related to my sphere of course I should have some discretion. Is this agreeable?”

 

[Terras Zordok]

[member="Aurelia Saelari"]

"Ofcourse it is agreeable, Chief Saelari...." she began.

"What I'm trying to say is that we need to decide in specifics where it is exactly, let's say, where Chief of the Government's sphere meets with the Chief of the Senate's. So for example... do we grant you the right of veto as Chief of Government? A veto that could be overcome by a 2/3 majority in the Senate, that is. Also, what of the military? If the military was too separate from our legislative and executive branches, wouldn't a coup be all too possible? It's that sort of thing I would like to discuss."

 

[Caid Centurion]

((OOC: Sorry guys!))

Caid was silent apart from a subtle nod of his head to [member="Aurelia Saelari"] following her welcome. He was happy to see his colleagues interested in getting straight to business. The Admiral was not one for idle talk or half-measures. The concept of having a center point of authority was...an interesting one, but he challenged whether or not what [member="Alena Beswin"] suggested had any appreciable difference from the system with which they were attempting to depart.

"This form of government, like any form of government, will ultimately fail if those charged with stewardship are not of sound mind and capable of compromise. The insinuation that any one of us holds more authority than the other, I think, runs counterintuitive to the intent." Clearing his throat slightly, Caid proceeded to a...counterproposal of sorts. After all, it was not enough to simply take issue with a suggestion.

"There should be limits on authority yes...just not limits that impede the performance of duties. For instance, I cannot fund any operation or institute a procurement plan without the back of the Senate, whom controls Republic finances." Motioning to Aurelia, Caid continued. "You, Chief Saelari, likewise cannot enact any laws without the Senate. Perhaps temporary executive orders governing civilian government officials you can certainly enact of your own accord." Shifting focus to Alena, he added to his stipulation. "You cannot order the movement of military forces or make movements to enforce the laws passed by the Senate."

Brushing a few strands of lint from his uniform, Caid concluded his thoughts. "A system of checks and balances, sure. Firmly stating one has superiority over the other, no. There may certainly be situations wherein we do not all agree, but that cannot exactly be helped. Perhaps in such a situation, we push the issue to the Senate for a vote." Raising a hand, Caid added a...condition. "The only situations I can imagine requiring all three of us to necessarily agree are when it comes to declaring organizations enemy or ally and sending the Republic to war. I think outside of the highest levels of decision-making, there are other bodies better suited to the task."

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

@[member="Caid Centurion"] | @[member="Alena Beswin"]

"I am in agreement with Admiral Centurion. A balanced system is vital if we wish to survive and prosper. Failure to do so will lead only to defeat and disunity.

A budget is necessary, from which myself and the Admiral can allocate funds through the year. This would have to be approved by the Senate. Any increases to these amounts would also have to be approved by the Senate."

 

[Terras Zordok]

[member="Caid Centurion"] [member="Aurelia Saelari"]

"Well, then, we all seem to be in agreement regarding allocating funds for budget management. This, ofcourse, would mean that the Senate also has the power to vote to reduce the budget as it sees fit."

"I just want to make one final point regarding this 'balanced system' of power. Don't get me wrong, I do believe it is a great idea to have the head of the military, the head of the legislature, and the head of the government working together in a triumvirate. However, my concern is, with control of the military going to one figure, and the political leadership going to another, wouldn't it be possible for, let's say, a civil war or a coup to break out? I am by no means saying that this particular triumvirate would do that, but in the future... Wouldn't it be too easy for some ambitious Chief of the Military to order the Senate Guards and other troops to conquer the Senate, then get some sniper to assassinate the Chief of the Government?"

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid exhaled heavily and audibly. "The Senate Guard do not report to the military. However, yes, I certainly could order the military to take over the government. That being said, I seem to recall a story about a Supreme Chancellor using unilateral authority to wipe out the Jedi and make himself an Emperor."

Falling silent, the Admiral shook his head. He probably should have expected his first meeting with politicians to be about how best to avoid them losing their lives and their power. Caid really didn't care about the optics or the what-ifs. A perfect system without risk simply did not exist. "Are we ready to proceed to the business of strengthening this Republic?"

Rhetorical. He did not wait for an answer - cognizant still of [member="Aurelia Saelari"]'s proposal to change the names of their positions. "Aurelia - I can agree with your suggestion on titles. I and the rest of the military refer to myself as the Military Chief of Staff - implying a supervisory position over a group of people working towards the same objective." It wasn't much different from Chief of the Military, but it was different.

"Also. I would implore the Senate to investigate a more reasonable, permanent capital than Anaxes. My suggestion being Bilbringi given the natural protection of its asteroid field, which is resource rich, and well-established infrastructure."

[member="Alena Beswin"]

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

[member="Caid Centurion"] | [member="Alena Beswin"]

“One would imagine that having three of us will make it harder for any one of us to seize power. As the Admiral said, Palpatine managed it because there was no countermeasures in place to prevent it. In this scenario either the army would need to rebel, or two of the Chiefs would have to conspire. I admit either is possible in some future reality, but everything is possible, and our job is to make it as unlikely as possible.”

“Bilbringi is an option. That is a matter to bring before the Senate, I feel, as you say. I would not be adverse as that is close to my home. However, moving capital again will be expensive and cause considerable disruption. Provided everything seems in order though, I will instruct my second to vote in favour of this bill.”

She was hoping the name change to Consul would come though. ‘Chief’ sounded like she was the head of a tribe of nomads. Though, considering the talk about shifting capital, it did have a grain of truth.

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid took the opportunity to continue while there seemed to be something of a lull. "Also. I prepared a brief summary of changes that either have been or are in the progress of happening. These are all occurring under the current expanded budget courtesy of recently passed legislation. However, I do expect to be going before the Military Oversight Committee sometime in the near future regarding the acquisition of a few new design contracts. This, however, will not occur until after the Leadership Council has conducted a review of various proposals and submitted a recommendation to my office. At that point, I will do my own investigation to make a final determination of suitability before presenting to achieve the increase in funding."

Pausing, Caid picked up his datapad and dispatched a batch file to the datapads of [member="Aurelia Saelari"] and [member="Alena Beswin"]. "You'll see it contains some limited information regarding the formation of new System Defense Commands in all major systems. This new approach will combine and streamline efforts from military assets, civilian law enforcement, and port authority under the overall umbrella of the Republic Navy Fleet Commander and System Governor jointly." Typically, the System Governor was a local official 'blessed' by the Republic to adminster their system within the scope of the Republic's laws. They were all capable, but Caid would not be placing them into sole control of Republic assets. "This primarily only relates to the arrival and departure of transports. Once they are cleared into the system, Port Authority still retains principal control of the vessels to their destination. This just...puts everyone together in the same room for continuity of information. Next you'll see potential proposals for new armored vehicles from Lucerne Labs, Republic contractor, and InVal Cybernetics, Protectorate contractor."

Pausing once more, Caid allowed for consumption. "They're still in the investigative stages. Then there is the Noblesse-class Star Destroyer from Rendili. This one has been approved by the Committee, and I am scheduled to fully investigate within the next couple of weeks. Last but certainly not least, the final projection steps in the institution of two Republic Assault Groups designed to be cycled in rotations for continuous forward deployment of augmented assault forces. Really all I have for now." Stowing his datapad, Caid leaned back into his seat. "Oh, right, I'm cool with whatever you two wish to call yourselves. I'll stick with Military Chief of Staff."