Behave Irrationally

[Trenton Kaizer]

It was only because Terminus Faunus' attempted assassination of the Supreme Chancellor that Trenton was even here, the new Senator of Chandrila. Despite his intelligent mind, though, there were some things that he couldn't quite figure out about why his predecessor did what he did. People think that it was anything from treason to dementia that caused him to do what he did. Trenton didn't believe that. The man was more cunning than that, even in the days preceding that now infamous hearing, and the actions that he had done during his time as Senator made a sudden betrayal unlikely at best.

That was why he had arranged a meeting between them in the jail Terminus stayed in while awaiting his trial. The room would be a comfortable one, with food that Terminus probably hadn't been able to eat in a while spread on a table between them. It wasn't to mock him, it was to be kind, to try to coax out the truth. If possible, Trenton preferred to act with a velvet glove instead of an iron fist. He waited in a comfortable chair, just like one Terminus would have, for the man to arrive. He just hoped that Terminus wouldn't be hostile. He could handle the old man as needed, but violence would be a true loss of his objective here. He wanted to show this man respect, which many probably hadn't up until now.

@StratusGold

((OOC: Death/Capture/PVP disabled))

 

[Terminus Faunus]

Terminus sat, silently, the cold stone walls of his cell, deep at the bottom of the well, staring daggers into his skull. There were no tears left, his body dried and shrivelled, but that did not stop him from trying. Every waking moment was torture, a constant reminder of what he had done, or rather what he had failed to do. His cell was small; those who committed treason weren’t well liked within the Republic. He had no doors or windows, only the dim light of the prison complex that sprawled out above the crippled man, occasionally casting deep black shadows when the guards passed by on the catwalk above – guards once sworn to protect him from others, now protecting others from him. Terminus didn’t know how to feel, made no better by the fact that he let his emotions take control of his actions in the rotunda just a few weeks earlier. He was confused and scared. Scared of his past actions, the consequences to come and, most importantly, his present self.

It was early in the morning when they came – or at least he believed it was morning, based on his own sleeping schedule in the windowless prison – two guards, fully equipped in combat gear, announcing that he had a visitor. “Former Junior Senator Faunus, originally of Chandrila, Prisoner Number 116493,” one guard begun, reciting the formalities of the prison drearily, “Arrested on September 12th on one account of High Treason, one account of attempted assassination of a high ranking Republic official, and endangering the lives of others. You are hereby being released from the cell for a visitation period of two hours. You may come when ready” the guard looked up from his datapad, his shoulders sagging beneath his armour, and motioned for Terminus to stand, clearly bored by the process already. The elderly man nodded solemnly and stood, the bed he had been perched on creaking beneath him. That thing is probably as old as I am, he thought, the fatalistic tone that had taken over his voice creeping into even his thoughts now, dispelling the cocky quips that had regularly plagued his mind before.

As the three men walked slowly down the long corridor, the two significantly younger guards having to physically restrain themselves from going at their normal pace to allow for Terminus to stay with them, he nodded towards the bulky man next to him, in particular the large assault weapon he cradled in his arms, “Not really necessary, is it?” he croaked, but all the guard gave in response was the small rise and fall of his shoulders that resembled a shrug. The party passed into a bright room, causing Terminus to shield his eyes from the blinding lights with his cuffed hands in order to discern the furniture in the room, and his eyes lit up with glee as he did. Before him were two chairs, one already occupied – by whom he was unaware, though likely a now important figure in the aftermath of the shooting – and a small, stainless steel table covered head to toe in foods and delights that the prisoner had not lain eyes upon in what seemed like a lifetime. Though the realisation quickly settled upon him that this was probably some political ploy by someone to frame him in a bad light, as if he hadn’t already done that enough himself. Terminus was thrust forward by one of the guards that had been gripping his arm tightly, and fell into the empty plush chair, instantaneously feeling euphoric in the welcome comfort, despite the throbbing pain in his abdomen, still from the museum attack.

Finally, he turned to his visitor and, with an inquisitive look, said, “Sena—Sorry. Former Senator Faunus. And you are?”

@Insalius

 

[Trenton Kaizer]

"Current Senator Kaizer. I was elected after your incarceration. I know most of the higher families on Chandrila are rather close, though I can't say we've ever actually met. Regardless, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person." Trenton's words were sincere and he hoped they came across as such to Terminus. "As for why I asked for this meeting, I have some questions of my own that I was hoping you'd be able to answer. Please, do have something to eat or drink. I can guess that the fare here hasn't been nearly as robust. And no, this isn't some kind of political ploy or power game. Whatever you may have done, during your time as Senator of Chandrila you did good work for our people. It may not be much, but this is the most I can do to show the gratitude that I felt at what you accomplished." He would allow Terminus to eat and enjoy what he wanted first, before going into the questions. It was only the right thing to do, after all. There was a chance this could backfire, that Terminus' skepticism was too much for Trenton's simple gifts to break through, but it was worth a shot. He really did mean what he said, after all. The commlink recording their conversation, hidden in his pocket, would pick that up as well.

@StratusGold

 

[Terminus Faunus]

Terminus nodded politely as the man who revealed himself as Senator Kaiser ...of Chandrila... spoke. It was true, of course, that they had never met, for Terminus had not been born to one of the higher families - he had built his reputation as a man who saw the struggles of the every man day in, day out, and had wanted to make a difference - he had not grown up with many of the luxuries that the much younger man before him had been lucky enough to endure. “As it is a pleasure to meet you, too, Senator Kaiser” Terminus looked to his feet, struggling for the words to say - the right words to say - “I’m sure the people of Chandrila will be pleased to be represented by someone who is much saner” he let a small smirk grace his face as he tried to lighten the mood between the two politicians, as the awkward tension had been slowly killing the man.

Plucking a small scone from the spread of food laid out, he continued, “I greatly appreciate this gesture, Senator. You can’t understand how much this means to an old man like me, after... after all that has happened” he looked his companion dead in the eye, his own bloodshot and cathartic. The look of joy on his face was gone, replaced by a longing expression of somber and a need for solitude. “My apologies...” he murmured as he snapped his gaze back to the ground and pulled out a ragged tissue from his sleeve to wipe his eyes.

@Insalius

 

[Trenton Kaizer]

Perhaps it was a good thing his commlink was recording video as well. Trenton was silent as the former Senator spoke, a sneaking suspicion coming to him as he looked at how broken and defeated this man was. What had happened that day? And why had no one else, especially his colleagues, come to talk to this man, to find out his side of the story? Had they all just had better things to do, or did they not care what happened as long as they got what they wanted? It was interesting in a way how despite Terminus' failure to kill Mori that he had still managed to depose her from her seemingly ironclad grip on the Chancellor's office. Had that been his game all along, to take the fall and Mori along with him? If so, Trenton didn't know if the move was brilliant or foolish.

"Please, you have nothing to apologize for, to me. I'm not here to catch you in a lie, to seal your fate to be incarcerated. I'm actually surprised to learn I'm the first of any Senator to come visit you here. I must say, it doesn't raise their esteem in my view any. I apologize if I seem straightforward, but..." He leaned forward a bit, taking a small drink from the table in front of him. He decided to get to the heart of his visit quickly. "Why DID you do what you did? I've reviewed your record, seen you speak on Chandrila. You've been one of the most fervent supporters of the Republic and its people for longer than I've even been alive. I have to...No, I would like to know. I'm not going to force anything out of you that you don't want to say. That's not the kind of man I want to be. I would appreciate anything you could tell me, though. More than you could know."

@StratusGold

 

[Terminus Faunus]

Terminus’ replacement was nice, he had decided. Polite, understanding, moreover deserving of a position that he had tarnished with his brash actions and left picking up the pieces from his office. That’s why he couldn’t understand why he was here, with Terminus. When the galaxy was falling apart around them, this man was here to discuss why, unlike countless others who did not burden themselves with the reasoning, but rather the simple fact that he had done it, and there was no going back.

Finishing wiping the tears that had been welling up in his eyes, he begun to speak once more, the cogs in his brain turning slowly to produce coherent sentences.

“Standing in that rotunda is a magical feeling, don’t you agree?” his eyes met Kaiser’s, “That feeling of power, of purpose. That fire burning in your chest, telling you that you can finally make a difference in the galaxy at large... if only you’re brave enough to take the plunge...

While underwater, you can only see what’s right in front of you. You get scared, behave irrationally and forget that the world is still spinning despite whatever it is that you’re doing. When you surface, you finally see the ripples. The aftermath as it seems to you, but reality as it always has been for the onlookers. The bigger the dive, the larger the waves.”

Terminus let out a sigh, and slumped slightly in his chair. “Sometimes, Senator. The ripples are worse than what lies beneath.” He turned his palms skyward, arms outstretched to his sides, as if to emphasise his current situation.

“Why. Why is the question that I ask myself daily, and I fear that I’m too afraid to admit the truth to myself, or anyone else. I’d like to believe that I did what I did because Chancellor Valorum neglected the truth, as I have until today. However...” Terminus paused, collecting his thoughts, unsure of whether to admit to his own failure, “... the reason why I shot Mori Valorum is that I am a coward. I feared that what we were doing as a democracy wasn’t enough, or, more specifically, I wasn’t doing enough, wouldn’t do enough to counteract the Chancellor. That I wasn’t a good enough Senator to make the changes I wanted to see happen.”

The truth was finally out. A truth that had been growing and festering inside and rotting his brain, finally let out, and it’s weight was finally lifted from the old man’s chest. He could breathe again, both figuratively and literally, as he suddenly realised that he had been holding his breath.

Averting his gaze, he muttered to no one in particular: “I’m a failure.”

@Insalius

 

[Trenton Kaizer]

Trenton took in everything that Terminus said silently, a comforting look on his face. He could understand the man's frustrations, his own perhaps mixed in when he had seen the debate and how the former Chancellor had refused to even acknowledge the reality of the galaxy around her. Yes, peace was the ideal, but just looking away from a problem didn't make it disappear. And now they were all at war, a war that had begun far before the recent vote. A war that had started during the time of Mori Valorum, though a war that many couldn't see at the time. There was blame to go around, yet it was not Trenton's job to assign it. No, he had gotten what he had wanted. This man loved the Republic and had been willing to sacrifice everything he could to lead it down the path he felt would lead to it's survival.

"No, you're not a failure. Or, to turn it around, all of us are failures. There is no perfect campaign, we all stumble while walking our paths. It's the ability to pick ourselves up and continue on that shows the merit of a person. Yes, you could have chosen any number of paths that day, and whether or not the one you chose was the best, that's not for me to say. It would seem that in a moment of absolute despair, at feeling that you didn't have the power to save the thing you love most, the Republic, you took the only action that made sense, to try to lead us all down the path that could save us. Your shot might not have hit true that day, as Ms. Valorum wasn't killed, but it shook her enough to step down. Admiral Vincent Deryck is now the Supreme Chancellor and we have already begun mobilizing our military for the war against the Cartel we have just declared." He moved over to the side of Terminus to put a hand on his shoulder, a small smile on his face. "In a way, you didn't fail. In fact, it could be said that your single shot that day started the change to the Republic's path. However the jury sees what will happen, I hope you can take solace in that you DID make an impact.

@StratusGold