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[Alexander Xerxes]

Sleep was seemingly something that Alexander could rarely afford at this moment in time. The first few days of his Chancellorship were nothing if hectic, beginning with the expulsion of the Jedi, the peace talks with Andruil, now flying off to the Consortium capital to speak with President Thorne. Not to mention the countless Senate meetings which had been called in the middle, after hardly being called in the last three months, it felt as if they were now being called daily.

He was able to get a few hours sleep whilst transiting hyperspace, but that was broken by visions of darkness and fear. Perhaps spending time around the single most powerful Dark Side user in the galaxy triggered some old memories and feelings long since buried. The ‘Democracy’ exited Hyperspace over the Consortium capital and was immediately met with an escort down to the surface. Alexander had decided against bringing a military escort, leaving them on the borders of Republic/Consortium space. At this moment in time peace and prosperity between all the nations was what Alexander was after. Bringing half a fleet to a meeting between two heads of state would cloud those ideals somewhat.

After landing, Alexander was taken by private speeder, guarded by Consortium Security through the Capital City itself to the grand chambers that housed the Government's body. They were beautiful, much more so than the concrete and durasteel halls of Coruscant, maybe moving to Chandrila wasn’t such a bad idea.

Ushered through the front door, past the crowds which had gathered outside. The Hynesitan was eventually led to a private chamber where he was to meet the Consortium President. Dressed in a slim fit suit a small pin showing the Republic flag on his jacket, he waited for the man who had almost created an Empire. With nothing but his words.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc had been watching the elections closely, and he was intrigued by the outcomes. Seeing the ban on Jedi was certainly better than anything he could have expected. The Chancellor certainly made sweeping gestures, and he worked far more swiftly than the half Sephi. Emryc played the long game, and he wondered if the Chancellor wasn’t flying dangerously close to the sun with his drastic moves. Public opinion of him was divided, though Emryc knew ISC citizens certainly applauded the moves made to keep Jedi out.

The President was dressed in a gray suit, his appearance always neat and immaculate with great care put into it. He was waiting for the Chancellor to arrive, his signature bodyguard droids always flanking him. Emryc towered over everyone around him as usual and the Chancellor would see in person just how massive the ISC President truly was.

“Chancellor Xerxes,” His smooth baritone cut in as the man arrived. Emryc strode towards the man, extending a hand to shake his, “Congratulations on winning the elections and by such a wide margin at that,” Emryc offered a polite smile, his piercing silver gaze studying the other man. He glanced over to a service droid, “Care to join me for a whiskey? Aged and one of the finest from Ryloth,” He offered. Most Core citizens only knew of whiskeys and drinks from the Core, but seldom had the chance to sample things from the rest of the galaxy.

Emryc gestured to the Chancellor to have a seat before sitting down across from him, “I must say, I am impressed by you sticking to your guns and the platform you stood for since before the elections. I understand your latest executive order ruffled some feathers,” The half Sephi always kept a pulse on politics around the galaxy no matter what governing body it was for.

@Braden

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

The President of the Consortium was not a hard man to miss. Emryc’s towering frame was only one of the defining characteristics of the man, his silver eyes, pointed ears and strong jaw. No wonder he had developed such a ‘Fan Club’ over time. Giving the President a strong smile as he greeted him, Alexander stepped forward to meet the giant of a man. “President Thorne, it is an honour to meet you.” He replied, taking the man’s hand with his own. “Thank you, the people demanded a change, I was just the lucky man to be there when they asked of it. Thank you, I have rarely had anything from the Rim.”

He was more of a brandy man himself, but he wouldn’t turn down the President's offer. Even if he wasn’t a particular fan of the drink, he knew it would be of the highest quality at least. Taking a glass from the server droid he followed Emryc to the pair of seats set aside for the two leaders. Taking the seat he raised his glass in a toast and thanks to his compliment before taking a small mouthful of the liquid. It was good, a little too strong for the Hynestian’s taste but it flowed smoothly down, perhaps a bottle could make its way to his office.

“I was elected on a platform, to turn my back on it so soon is to invite destruction. I do not intend to be a fraud, nor do I intend to be voted out within a year.” He replied, resting the glass on his knee. “Ruffled some feathers is the polite way of putting it. He said with a little laugh. “More seemed to be upset I used an executive order, rather than the contents of it. But it was the stamp I needed at the start of my Chancellorship, the people realise I am for them and their desires and the opposition realise that I have the power even in the short that if they stall things out in the Senate. I can get things done. Although I do sincerely hope not to need to use many of them in the future.”

“Or better yet, In time I can create the sort of trust in my own leadership as your people have in yours. It truly is the sign of a great man, to have no enemies within his circle.”

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc gave Xerxes a half grin, “I wouldn’t go that far,” He remarked as he took a sip of his drink, “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t have enemies,” The half Sephi admitted flat out, “But I suppose I do enough to where it’s more mutually beneficial for them to keep their opinions to themselves,” Emryc flashed a playful wink.

“So, Chancellor,” He said, “I assume you came here to do more than just to flatter me,” Emryc did enjoy flattery, and it was no secret. But he also liked to cut to the chase. He wondered how long this Chancellor would last - the good ones usually seldom did. To think that Emryc genuinely had no hand behind Emil’s death was surprising even to him. He had to explain as much to Renfry when she had called him up to thank him.

“How do you envision our great governments working together?”

@Braden

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

Emryc’s reputation as a man who normally cut straight to the point seemed to be pretty accurate by Alexander's count. So the Hynestian decided to follow suit. “Closely I hope.” He began. “Ever since the Consortium was formed relations between yourselves and the New Republic have been mainly conducted on a verbal basis, apart from a few trade deals arranged between the two nothing much has been achieved in solidifying our friendship.”

Alexander swirled the dark brown liquid in the glass as he spoke. “With the galaxy in a state of flux with the rise of the Sith Empire and its war with the Alliance. I think it is time we look to solidify this verbal friendship we have into something stronger, greater.”

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc knew the man was bold, but this certainly caught his attention. The half Sephi said nothing for a moment, pausing before he took a sip of his drink, “There was a reason for that,” He remarked quietly, “The Alliance and Republic have both historically sought to pressure the ISC into battles that weren’t theirs to fight,” Xerxes would know this mainly referred to the Sith and the various attempts by both governments to bully ISC into joining war councils or declaring a new enemy.

“The ISC has just ended its war with the Syndicates and we stand neutral on matters of the Sith. We have no war with the Mandalorians,” Emryc listed off before continuing, “Several critical worlds have already left the Republic to join the ISC,” He knew the Chancellor wouldn’t be pleased to be reminded of that, but both men knew such was the case, “Tell me, what lucrative proposal do you have for me to consider an alliance that wouldn’t be me tethering my people to a sinking ship?”

There was no bite to his tone, no sarcasm, no chiding. He simply presented cold, hard facts. The Republic, from where he sat, had little to offer to sway Emryc into a formal alliance, especially as that meant joining in their fights.

“Furthermore, you already have dissenters in your Senate,” Emryc stated, recalling Hedariel openly speaking out against Xerxes, “You have no more control over your senate than Prime Minister Belasi did over hers. What assurances can you provide that you won’t simply be deposed by your senate with the admirable, yet sweeping, gestures you’re making?”

@Braden

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

Alexander had to fight himself from frowning at the President’s comment about a sinking ship, yes they had taken damage. But they were only beaten, not broken and many had not yet realised that the Republic which had been pushed around this past decade was just the soft outer shell of the giant which may soon rise. The Consortium had pulled a number of worlds away from the Republic but most of its powerbase still resided in the hands of the senate in the hands of Alexander, Kuat, Fondor, Anaxes and Coruscant to name a few.

Cracking a smile he replied. “Firstly and most importantly Trade. Yes we have some verbal agreements at the moment between our two governments but nothing concrete and as stable as a Free Trade agreement. The Alliance, your previous largest trade partner, is slowly crumbling without Prime Minister Belasi at the helm, I doubt they will last out my term in office.”

Alexander took a sip of his drink before continuing. “All trade which has been previously conducted between the Consortium and the Republic has been licence to taxes which have hamstrung much of the goods moving between our two governments. I propose that we arrange a Free Trade route for specific materials to transfer between the Consortium and New Republic space. The increase in such material transfer will have a knock on effect in related sectors as well as the local populace who will see an uptake in jobs and salary. We are all still recovering from AMS and the Sanctions which attacked our people and economy, items like this only strengthen our rebuilding process.”

“As you just said, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I did not have enemies. Much of the dissent within the chamber comes from the Populist party who just lost the election. But even though I won and by a good margin, there were still some who voted against me. Those people have a right to voice their opinion, we are both democracies President Thorne I thought you would understand that I cannot deny them a voice because it does not echo mine. However even with dissent and voiced opinions, I still control a majority within the Senate, one which is only growing. So I do not foresee any coup d'etats in the future.”


@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc listened to the man, taking a sip of his drink as he did so. He digested the words in silence, swirling the drink and gazing away briefly, “A boost in trade can certainly be agreeable,” He pondered on it. In reality it was assisting the New Republic, but if it meant a ramp up of ships and other highly expensive resources, he wasn’t going to say no to that.

“Do you plan on lifting the sanctions?” He eyed the Chancellor curiously. The sanctions had caused more panic than any tangible damage, but the panic was all that was needed in order for the stocks to crash. General public misunderstood them to mean that no materiels were getting out to the Outer Rim.

“What other terms do you propose for this…alliance?" He asked skeptically, “Historically there is a defense pact component to these and you must understand why I would be hesitant to open those doors when we have prided ourselves in neutrality.”

@Braden

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

Well it seemed that money was some way into the mind of the President and Trade was the greatest builder of wealth for both governments, opening with that seemed to have been the best course of action. “I have agreed with the Empress to remove all sanctions, barring the sale of Warships.” He replied, taking another sip of his drink. “Even though we are not at war and the Empire made their justifications for the actions. They still bombarded a number of planets and took countless lives, my people want peace, but they still remember the Holo-Vids, selling warships to the Empire at this time would not be, in the public’s eyes a reasonable course of action.” In time things may change, as long as the Empire keeps its actions to limited scope and tries to not burn another world to the ground.

“I understand your hesitation, President Thorne, your neutrality in the war with the Sith has been a backbone to your Government. But you were also left alone when war with the Five Syndicates came to your doorstep. What I would propose is a defensive alliance, one which would see one government come to the aide of the other, if they were ever declared war on. But have no responsibility to join an offensive war of the others making.” It was a bold ask, but one Alexander hoped he could convinced Emyrc to agree to.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc wasn’t surprised about not throwing away the sanctions - he couldn’t blame the Chancellor for that. A defensive pact, however, sounded no different than getting engaged in a war again. The President threw his drink back to finish it off. He didn’t mind helping himself to another one.

“We can establish the trade agreements now, but the defensive pact is not one I’m ready to initiate right now,” Emryc said, “I would like to see you perform in your role for longer and see the Republic bolster its own defensive posture before I make any commitments for my own resources. As for the Syndicates, we did not reach out for aid because we were capable of defending ourselves. However, no other governing body proactively offered assistance either. On the contrary, it appears your Senators are perfectly happy to engage Crime Bosses as business partners. I think you need to get your own house in order before we solidify pacts that obligate critical military resources to conflict.”

@Braden

 

[Alexander Xerxes]

Alexander did wonder if the option of a physical defensive alliance between the two democracies could be feasible. And from the Half-Selphi’s rather stern initial rejection of the alliance Alexander was not sure that even with the sweetest of words that he could change the man’s mind. At least not now, luckily however the man did give him some guidelines on what could perhaps signal a defensive treaty in the future.

“Understandable, I hope that we can one day sit around this table again and discuss this. However In the meantime, I shall have my Minister of Trade contact your own to discuss the fine details and have everything set up.” Little more work wise would be discussed that day, most of the rest of it was pleasantries and bolstering of egos. Before finally Alexander left and returned to the Republic at least with one less enemy, if not one more friend.

___
End Thread

@Sreeya