The Knitting Club

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Deep space was one of those things (if on could refer to vacuum as a 'thing') that went underappreciated in almost every possible way. It was a strategic setting in the sense that no one was there to hear you. Of course, it could also be considered an irresponsible place to carry out business because, in space, no one can hear you scream.

But no one was being murdered today, so there was nothing to worry about there.

PM Lasedri had established these coordinates as a location of assembly en route to Ord Mirit. Geneviève and her little posse were taking a step in good confidence that the world would be secured for them to visit by the time of their arrival--though not without a fallback plan should they discover the gun had been jumped. Various precautions had indeed been taken, with the inclusion of four different vessels to add an extra dose of confidentiality to this meeting. Gen had never believed that there was such thing as too much care in these situations. Actually, paranoia never quite abandoned her regardless of where she went.

Today, she had arrived in her ship and transferred to her ship. That well-modified CR90 had carried her off Onderon, and now, in the middle of a literal nowhere, she was back aboard her faithful blockade runner from her Rebellion days, the Intangible. Her two senator accomplices were to arrive in similar fashion.

Standing behind her captain's seat on the command bridge, Lasedri eyed the virtually uninhibited sparkles of stars and awaited the hyperspace exit of the two other emissary vessels. "Two friendlies to starboard," the captain reported. "Identifier codes are cleared."

The Prime Minister said not a word, but nodded and simply swept away, aiming for the docking partition to greet her political company. Hopefully they would find her unusual hospitality not too concerning. She had a particularly interesting discussion itinerary for today.

 

[Cecily Demici]

Cecily had boarded a ship in the Royal Port of Onderon, a ship she took to Ruusan, where she boarded a new ship, a star yacht aptly named the Silver Lady. The small star yacht held a small crew of two and two of her most trusted body guards.

"Are you certain this is wise, Lady Demici?" said Rudy, the tall, thin, young woman who served at Lady-Commander of the guard.
"A'course it int wise, is it?" the more crass Felicity interjected almost immediately. The two women were contrasting figures, one tall and slender, the other short and somewhat squat.

"Whether it be wise, or not," Cecily interrupted and both fell silent immediately, "a request has been made and I shall answer it, and I will hear no more from the two of you." It was clear her admonishment had injured them and they hung their heads in a sign of shame. It was not but a moment later that they dropped out of hyper space before the Prime Minister's very own ship. Cecily stood as they docked, waving at her ladies in waiting to stay behind, before descending the steps of her own ship to greet Gen.

She was wearing silky robes the color of a tropical jungle canopy, tight fit around the waist, but caped and flowing around the arms and back. Her hair was drawn back in a tight bun at the back of her head and sparkling amber gems hung from either ear.As she came to the bottom of the ramp, she gave as much curtsey as she could. "Prime Minister," she knew that Gen despised such formalities, but Cecily would ever show the respect afforded to her leader.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Aurelia was dressed rather more simply, in a pair of form-fitting slacks and a calf-length, high-collar, voluminously-sleeved jacket. It was the right mixture of elegance and functionality, not to mention warmth, which came in handy in the dark, cold void of space. Her ship made the appropriate clearances and then docked with the Prime Minister, and she squeezed her pilot's shoulder and thanked him for the steady flying. "Feel free to get yourself something to eat. This may be awhile," the Senator from New Holstice told her pilot, and then turned and made her way to the docking chamber, picking up a stylish, quilted knitting bag on the way. When she emerged from her ship, she gave a shallow bob of her head to the Prime Minister and the other Senator, [member="Cecily de Demici"].

"Prime Minister," she murmured. "Senator. I hope I find you both well."

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"] | [member="Cecily de Demici"]

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Gen twisted her lip at the much too formal greetings on the part of the boarding senators. While being referred to by a prestigious title certainly did wonders to one's ego, formality was simply a nuisance and a hindrance to promoting straight talk. "Senators," she returned, forgoing any sort of bowing. The politician from Onderon annoyed her with the curtsey. "Glad you made it."

Geneviève was, of course, in her habitual white outfit of eminent symbolism--hope, purity, honesty, and victory she intended for it to signify. And then there was the sunhat that had become her trademark over the past few years, its wide and floppy brim crowning her head. Without spoken word, she gestured for her guests to follow her to the command room and turned on her heel to do the same.

The narrow, brightly lit spinal corridor of the corvette ran to a more spacious, circular partition complete with a center holoprojector and a fair amount of lounge furniture surrounding it. Being the ex-militant she was, Lasedri had never fully accepted a life that did not involve some form of self-imposed immersion in an orderly official environment. Thus, her lounge and command room were one in the same. "Apologies if this isn't inviting enough," the Prime Minister said as she took a seat. "But it has the amenities. Besides, it's quiet here." She procured a bottle of Chandrilan red wine and poured the cherry-colored liquid into a stemware trio.

"Ladies, welcome to the Knitting Club." She smirked.

[member="Cecily de Demici"], [member="Aurelia Volcata"]

 

[Cecily Demici]

Cecily smiled at Aurelia as she appeared next to her and waited for a signal before following the Prime Minister into, what she assumed was intended to be a sitting room. Having been raised to appreciate luxury, but never indulging as much as her fellow members of the 'nobility' did, this suited their purposed quite fine in her opinion. So, she lowered herself into her seat and crossed her hands gently in her lap and looked on as Genevieve spoke.

"Kn-knitting club?" Cecily did not suffer from a speech impediment, but she was taken aback by the revelation of the pretense of their very secretive meeting.

"I imagine this is code for--?" She was actually not quite sure what it might be code for, but she was intrigued.



[member="Aurelia Volcata"] [member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"Brilliant," said Aurelia as she watched the Prime Minister pour goblets of wine. "Thanks very much." She took a seat in one of the functional but comfortable acceleration sofas. "I'm glad I read the transmission right." She set her bag on the deckplates at her feet, where the handles separated and opened to expose several balls of yarn and several sets of beginners' knitting needles, one of which was attached to a rather hideous... something. Aurelia hadn't yet decided what it was going to be; at the moment it was long enough to be part of a scarf, or perhaps the back of an unfortunate sweater. She looked up, imagining that the other two women might be gawking at her. She cleared her throat and glanced down, murmuring, "Well... I've always meant to learn."

[member="Cecily de Demici"] | [member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

"It's code, yes," Gen confirmed, eyebrows rising a little incredulously at the thought that either of these women expected her to be the type to engage in knitting. But, now that she thought about it, maybe that would actually be a calming hobby to help deal with the insanity of the largely incapable Senate.

"What I'm really aiming for is a collaborative group--one that actually gets things done. Because--let's be honest--I'm tired of sitting with my hands under my ass waiting for someone to compromise on vital wartime alterations." That was a forward way to go about things, but they need not waste breath and such brevity could act as a sieve anyway. "We need to be less 'political' and more 'hands-on'." That could provoke some perilous conclusions right away, so Gen made sure to soften the implications. A political move, admittedly and ironically. "But subtly so. I implore and expect both of you to not let on about this." The Prime Minister took a sip of her poison and prepared to gauge her associates' responses.

[member="Cecily de Demici"], [member="Aurelia Volcata"]

 

[Cecily Demici]

Cecily played absently with the platinum ring on her right hand, twisting it this way and that. It was among her most valuable possession, set with a diminutive corusca gem that seemed to capture and reflect the stars themselves. She seemed to only be focused on the ring, but in reality she was closely mulling over what Genevieve was saying. This was evident when she finally looked up from the ring and spoke.

"So we are to help shape and direct the policies of your government in ways that favor victory?" Cecily summarized simply, having assumed this is what Gen had been moving toward, though she hardly thought she would be included in the plans.

"Yet, instead of acting purely in the Ministerial roles, we will also be serving as the inner circle?" She added this, suddenly realizing the implications of keeping this meeting secret. She was intrigued by the idea of forming both the cabinet and the kitchen cabinet, that is to say the public and private advisory council to the Prime Minister, but at once she also saw the necessity of keeping the executive ranks of the Republic closed. One could never know how pervasive the Sith had become.

"You retain my loyalty... and have gained my secrecy," she said simply, turning to Aurelia and awaiting her answer to the Prime Minister's request.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"] [member="Aurelia Volcata"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Aurelia stared working her little project, and not particularly well either, managing to miss and repeat steps in succession, as she listened to the Prime Minister. This seemed to be the woman's modus operandi, and while Aurelia felt the whole thing was a touch undemocratic, she recognized that there was a war on and a certain phrase about omelettes and eggs that seemed applicable.

[member="Cecily de Demici"] went about her unique and rather peculiar way of summarizing events. "You can count on my assistance, Prime Minister. Whatever I can do to improve the war effort, I will do. And, naturally you will have my discretion, as far as I can extend it." Aurelia looked down at the project she was working with and frowned. "This is not going to work."

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

The 'inner circle' was a good way of putting it. "At this point, a dirty little secret is merely a blight in comparison to the unacceptable defeat at the hands of these Sith monsters. I'd put the Republic's long-term well-being above my personal reputation any day of the week." Geneviève found herself somewhat distracted by Aurelia's botched attempts to ply the yarn in constructive fashion, yet envied that sort of peaceable persona that the woman exuded. It was a characteristic perhaps more suitable for a more socially-minded politician. "We'll need to garner some support from those in the dark, however little they ever come to knowledge of our workings. They may not understand who is what in their quarrelsome minds, but we need to become the base establishment that can evoke what we will in order to protect the people at all costs."

Gen allowed herself another sip of wine. "A good secret remains mostly speculative even after it is unveiled."

[member="Cecily de Demici"], [member="Aurelia Volcata"]

 

[Cecily Demici]

"What is our first move?" she mused after she had listened to everything the Prime Minister had to say. She was very much intrigued by the idea of subterfuge, especially subterfuge for the sake of saving their people. It was so thrilling. She had stopped playing with her ring now and her hand went to the him of her skirts. This was what happened whenever she was weaving intricate plans in her head. Something of a tell, really.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"][member="Aurelia Volcata"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Aurelia's fingers paused in their work as she listened to the Prime Minister. The woman did have a ways of rather talking in riddles, and although it seemed to suit her in its way, it did make following along while multitasking somewhat difficult. "Our problem is financing. My office is in the final stages of drafting a comprehensive wartime economics bill that I hope to get in front of the Senate by end of this week. But we need more than that. We need a charm offensive -- we need something that is half-distraction, half-confirmation -- some sleight of hand, if you will. People need to see that we're working for them although they might not necessarily need to see exactly what we are doing. Certainly some of our more...ah..." Her eyes cut to the side where, in her peripheral vision, she could see [member="Cecily de Demici"] sitting primly. "...glamorous Senators, should do the tricks."

Senator Volcata sighed and tucked her knitting away; it was a hopeless effort at this point.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]