War! What Is It Good For?

[Numenius Pax]

(OOC: Changed to Ask, Death Disabled)​

Sometimes things just got to the point where grabbing a drink was the only option that seemed sensible. Numenius Pax was a Senator of the Republic... but he didn't feel like acting like one right now.

He felt like having a drink or six.

Sitting up at the bar, he raised a hand to order a glass of... some kind of wine. He was still in the senatorial distract so they served things a little bit more refined than the typical swill of beer and the like. They probably still had it but Numenius wasn't really in the mood to care.

Spotting the news on one of the flat-screen holo-screens around the bar, he scoffed when he realised the news report was talking about how the people of Chandrila were clamouring for war and rejoicing at the news that the Republic was going to be voting about war with the Hutts. It showed images of people holding up signs calling for action.

Receiving his drink, he raised it to the holoscreen and chimed, bitterly,

"Thank me later." he declared bitterly, "When your sons are dead and your daughters too. Thank me for giving you what you wanted. Cheers!"

He already knew he was going to vote for the war... and didn't he just hate himself for it already?

@Insalius

 

[Trenton Kaizer]

Trenton didn't feel the need to drink often, he didn't like the loss of control or the fogginess in his head. However, this upcoming vote was one that required, if not demanded, at least some form of alcohol to get through. Declaring war wasn't an easy thing, and it never should be. Already he could feel the weight of his decision settling on his shoulders, though the screen he saw as he entered the bar was of his home on Chandrila. The people were riled up at all the attacks, meaning that there was a good chance his prospects for re-election were high if he voted for war. He wondered how many of the throng on the screen could see past their own anger and hatred, though. To foresee the costs this war could bring to them all, both in lives and currency. He hated war, yet knew that it was a fact of life in the current times.

That was when he saw Senator Pax make his little toast. He couldn't fault the man and could even agree with him on some level. Before entering the Senate, Trenton had made sure to study up on his fellow Senators as much as he could, that way he wouldn't be at a disadvantage when it came time for him to join the inevitable verbal battlefield. The fact that Numenius had seemingly started to support a vote for war despite his stances meant quite a few things. The man had managed to not only stick to his convictions but accept the reality around him to guide his path, a very respectable thing in the Chandrilan's opinion. Such a thing still wouldn't have been easy, though. He could almost feel the wavering in the man's heart from here, the emotional turmoil. He would either drink himself into depression or need someone to reign in the imbalance and restore his soul to normalcy. Perhaps if he did this right, he would get a new friend out of this encounter.

"I'll have one of what he's having. And another for him, if he wants." Trenton gave Numenius a small pat to the shoulder as he sat down next to the man, gazing up at the screen. "I feel the same way. When people hurt, or hate, they want to lash out, thinking it will end the pain. All it does is create a cycle of vengeance, though. Most people aren't willing to look that far. I feel you and I are quite able to do so, however." He extended a hand to the other man. "Trenton Kaizer, of Chandrila. I'm sorry we had to meet personally like this before such a bitter vote. I've been intrigued more and more by your actions in the Senate, such as your approved motion for the Peace Corps. I know it probably means little but I appreciate what you have done and said."

@Nefieslab

 

[Andraste]

Andraste had been going back and forth from Alderaan to Sith space in her efforts to be more involved in the political climate. The Republic’s poor decisions regarding the planet had made it a prime opportunity for her to take advantage of all the chaos. She hadn’t been back on Coruscant in some time, and she decided to fly over to the planet after several years of being away. While most of it remained unchanged, she noticed quite a few new bars and clubs had opened up along an old familiar strip she used to frequent.

She wore a hat and sunglasses to keep from being recognized outside, though her presence was enough to make most people passing by uneasy. Once she arrived at the bar, she removed the hat and shades, hearing a few gasps here and there. Thankfully, the bartender did his best to keep his cool, nodding politely in greeting. This bar was familiar with high profile senators and celebrities, and she especially liked that they had a wonderful collection of mocktails.

She took a seat that was immediately cleared away for her at the bar, watching the news footages. All of this amused her to no ends, though she kept her thoughts to herself. She had in front of her a huge glass of some fruity, slushy drink that was absolutely delicious and catered to her sweet tooth. She could hear the Senators talking nearby, but her focus remained on the Holonet.

There was no doubt that people were uncomfortable with her presence, but Andraste had long since stopped caring about the impacts of her aura on people. She casually sat there sipping from her beverage and occasionally looking down at her comms for incoming texts. There was a flood of messages about the latest Senatorial debacle and what she planned to do about it. Well, now she planned to sit around and enjoy herself.

 

[Numenius Pax]

Trenton Kaizer was a senator that Numenius had never actually met before today but he knew of him and what he knew were rather good things in his opinion. Especially considering the other man had decided that he was going to buy him another drink! Well... whatever was going to help him feel less awful about the upcoming vote was a-okay with him. He nodded to the bartender who hurried to fetch another glass for him.

"Most people can't look beyond that... and because of that a lot of young men and women are going to die. Hutt, Republic... death is coming and it won't be leaving alone." he declared with a snort before sighed and shaking the other senator's hand, "Apologies for my black mood. Numenius Pax, of Corulag. Such is the realities of politics I fear. Although... I'm glad that I can say this without it being public and seemingly used for the media. I am terribly sorry to hear about the Hutt encroachment on Chandrila. Please let me know if there's anything Corulag can do to assist."

Being a Force sensitive, albeit a mostly untrained one, Numenius felt Andraste before she arrived. The pit of his stomach seemed to house a lead weight and his mouth seemed to run dry... and then she entered, looking like a holonet star trying to avoid the media. He took the offered drink from the bartender before she ordered her own drink. Taking a drink from his wine, Numenius turned to Trenton.

He was, due to the alcohol and the fact that he was still shaken by how her presence in the Force made him feel, not as quiet as he should have been,

"Trenton... remind me again what the Republic policy is on buying the Empress of the Sith a drink is?" he asked the senator, not noticing how the hush was still present in the bar until he realised he had been a bit loud. There was utter silence, "I said that rather loudly..."

A pause.

"Poop."

@Insalius @Sreeya

 

[Connor Hanner]

Connor had just finished his duty for today, finished patrolling the planet of Coruscant, the planet on alert since the Hutt attack on Chandrilla. The old lieutenant didn't even had time to get comfy and take his RJF uniform and lieutenant insignia before hearing the news, he certainly didn't expect to hear about war after getting his workday done. Now he had to of course prepare himself for another war, there was no better way of doing that than by ordering a few drinks for himself.

"Corellian Whiskey" Connor said drily to the bartender, looking up at the screen still a bit surprised. He actually didn't mind going against the Hutts, the bastards were the worst type of scum that ever lived in the galaxy, murderers, slavers and drug dealers whose's riches come from the innocent's blood. But he didn't know if the Republic was ready to lose more of his own. Connor himself didn't mind shooting at the slimes and getting shot and killed in return, he was an old, broken dog that only knew that life, a man that was prepared for that stuff, but...he didn't know if he wanted more people, young men and women that didn't experience such atrocities, to become what he was, or end up where is once friends and family were, six feet under inside a pine box.

Connor noticed the two senators taking a drink at the bar too, two senators that took part of the debate, one of them, Numenius talking about what it meant, the death of the Republic's children "Hopefully we will stop the Hutts from terrorizing the galaxy with this, make this at least worth in some regard" Connor said to the senator of Corulag, looking at his glass before drinking from it.

Now, if the situation wasn't stressful enough, Connor saw with his own eyes someone he thought he would never meet, the empress of the sith, Andraste. The old man felt then even more unease looking at her, trying his best to not associate her with the people that he fought a few hears ago, and failing. Connor finished the glass in one swing, trying to drown his feelings in alcohol "Another" He asked the bartender

 

[Primula Peyvand]

Arriving a few days before the scheduled vote, Primula Peyvand was already making good use of her time, trying to interact with as many other government officials as she could before the vote would be taking place. Whatever it was about, she had a good idea already. With all the debates on what to do about the hutts recently, it could only make sense they were going to be delegating a more direct plan of action.

For that reason, she wanted to be out and amongst the other senators and well to do people of the galaxy. A good majority of them had their ears to the ground so to speak and would likely have some interesting viewpoints for her for the upcoming vote.

Spotting the senator from Corulag seated next to a senator she had not yet been acquainted with, she hurried over to them. Quite interested in what they would have to say to be honest.

Upon approach however, she felt almost a cold wet blanket surround her. Her skin began to crawl and she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. She did her best to shake it off as she sat next to the senator from Chandrilia. It was then her eyes looked over to see none other than the empress of the Sith Empire to her right! She then looked back over to the other senators wondering if they had noticed before staring straight ahead in bewilderment. She shook her head as she closed her eyes. Today was an interesting day.

Glass of wine please, thank you sir. And could we change the channel please? If it's not a bother to anyone that is.

She said to the bartender before looking at both parties to her right and left. The empress seemed enthralled by her comm and the senators with their drinking and talking. So at least she hoped they wouldn't interject as the bartender stepped up and turned the channel to a much more bleeding heart news source about how the gamoraens didn't have any responsibility in the civilians being hurt due to their generally lowered intelligence and all. A rather weak narrative to be pushing she thought to herself, but nonetheless she knew so was the freedom of speech. Anyone being allowed to say anything had it's drawbacks to be sure.

 

[Octadar Kithar]

Octadar was tired. Tired from the war of words he waged with... Pretty much every pacifist in the Senate. He liked a drink, and he came here often. So when he sat down and ordered his usual, he leaned back slightly in the chair, and had a look at the holo tv. It didn’t show much, so he got slightly bored. He had a look around, and saw Senators appearing out of nowhere. It was a party!
“Maybe I should start cutting a cake” he said, slightly out loud as a joke. He didn’t care really what everyone else thought. Then, he heard Pax talk about the Empress come in, and he quickly straightened up, and looked round
“What?!” He asked

 

[Trenton Kaizer]

Trenton gave a small smile at the man, completely understanding where he was coming from. His impending words were stifled before he could say them, though, when he noticed Empress Andraste enter the same bar as them. He noticed some of his other colleagues enter as well, including Octadar. Well, this could get ugly fast. Luckily Numenius had an intriguing idea that might just forestall any explosive events. "The same protocol as we would have if we bought the Chancellor a drink while off duty. We're all human at our core. Here, let me handle this." He looked over to the bartender, motioning with a finger. "Bartender, please send another of Her Highness' drinks to her table, on my tab." With that he gently pulled Numenius over with him to her table, giving a polite bow as he approached.

"Pray forgive the intrusion, Lady Andraste. I am Senator Trenton Kaizer of Chandrila and this is Senator Pax Numenius of Corulag. Even in a setting like this, it would be remiss of us to not properly introduce ourselves." He glanced over at Octadar, hoping the man didn't do anything to rile up the Sith leader. That was a headache Trenton was unprepared for. "I hope your visit to Republic Space hasn't been met with any problems or troubles. I know some number of us harbor nothing but suspicion and ill will, though gratefully I am not among that number. Please, allow me to buy you another drink."

 

[Andraste]

Andraste was minding her own business, but she knew others were picking up on her presence. She was relaxed and in a particularly good mood. Seeing the Republic fumble over itself brought her nothing but glee. She quietly sipped from her overly sweet drink, and she overheard one of the Senators blurting out about buying her a drink. She simply smiled and shook her head, putting her comm away and glancing up as a different Senator approached her.

“Well met, Senator Kaizer,” She extended her hand to shake his. She quietly mulled over his words, her predatory yellow eyes gazing into his. There was no denying the chill she sent up the spines of anyone that looked at her. Andraste was in a great mood and feeling social, and still she had a haunting aura about her that would make most people uncomfortable. She offered a smile to Trenton, “I’d be flattered if you bought me a drink – though I must confess I’m here for the mocktails. I’d go as far as to argue they’re better than their regular drinks,” She took another sip, listening to his words, “I’m very unconcerned about what people have to say, Senator,” She grinned, “I have my own agenda and I follow it. No one decides or influences it for me. From that perspective, Republic space has just been peachy and I’m quite enjoying it.”

Andraste nodded her head towards the Holonet that briefly did a recap of the painful vote that took place, “You know, I don’t think I’m brave enough to sit in one of those sessions. It takes a tremendous amount of patience with some of these…characters. Perhaps I should be the one buying you a drink,” She tilted her drink towards him before calling the bartender over.

 

[Numenius Pax]

Numenius allowed himself to be moved over to the table where Andraste was sitting. He had met her once before and he was happy enough that she hadn't seen fit to kill him then. She probably wasn't in the mood to kill so while he did give Primula a little wave, he didn't do anything stupid like ask for help or anything.

He let Trenton introduce himself and as he did he intercepted the bartender and whispered into his ear,

"Make sure that not drop of alcohol touches her drinks." he reminded the man before adding, "And no matter what she says? The credits come from either myself or Senator Kaizer."

Nothing wrong with being kind to the Empress.

He smiled a little bit nervously and gave her a little wave as he stood closer to Kaizer and her table,

"Hello again Your Majesty." he greeted her, "Numenius Pax... we met briefly on Balmorra. I must admit that I didn't expect to see you again in Coruscant - I half expected it to be on a mission to a mid rim world."

Or if he managed to obtain his goal of being named ambassador to the Sith Empire.

"Do you mind if we sit at your table? I'm sure we can regale you with stories of our time in the senate..." a thought occurred and he added, "Like the Great Senate Pod Race."

@Insalius @Sreeya

 

[Primula Peyvand]

Well didn't this just turn into quite a lively bunch of mismatched people in the same room together she thought to herself. Well she wasn't going to sit by and let the other senators have all the fun! Of course that now meant having to cross the floor and introduce herself to the empress of the Sith Empire. Not something she had mentally prepared for beforehand. Still, shed try her best at least and join in just after senator Pax had spoken.

Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. I am senator Primula Peyvand of Taanab. I hope you don't mind us joining you? It's not everyday one gets to meet royalty.

She said smiling politely and with a courteous bow of her head. Then she turned to address the senator from Corulag.

Ah, and unfortunately I wasn't present for that senator Pax, but I did see the holo reports just like everyone else. I'm sure it must have quite the sight to witness in person though?

 

[Octadar Kithar]

Why was everyone marching over to her, and bowing down to the Empress like some god. Octadar certainly would not go the same way, and so would continue drinking. He asked for the remote to the TV, and switched through the channels. He saw some kind of sport going on, which seemed kinda interesting, so he stuck it on that. A team called “Manchester United” or whatever that was. They were certainly good, they were thrashing the opposition. He thought. So he sat back, and became a fan for the team

 

[Trenton Kaizer]

Oh good, Octadar was staying away. Crisis averted...for now, perhaps. Trenton resisted the urge to sigh, instead focusing on the Empress' words to him and his companions. The Senator of Tanaab's presence wasn't unexpected, so it would be something he tried to roll into the situation. "Unfortunately, I was also not present for that debacle. It was my predecessor, Senator Faunus, that was the cause of that spectacle, of which I was his elected replacement after his incarceration. And yes, sometimes there are members of the Senate that take more to work with than others, but it's the battlefield I've chosen so I'll fight the good fight as long and hard as I can." He gave Andraste a small but genuine smile, his gaze holding more truth of the situation that there were some in the Senate that were just plain difficult to deal with or seemed to do what they could to drag the Republic's name through the mud. Still, he wouldn't prefer to be anywhere else. He would wait to sit down until the Empress gave them permission. Despite being Senators, she outranked them, and she was from a friendly faction. It was only courteous to await for her approval.

@Sreeya

 

[Andraste]

Andraste had to admit, she hadn’t expected to be surrounded like this. Normally people gave her a clear berth, and she had gotten used to others avoiding her altogether. She could sense some hostility from certain people, though it did nothing more than amuse her. Her focus was first on Senator Pax, who she had met before. She gestured with her hand for him and the others to join her as they asked to sit at her table.

What she hadn’t expected was the mention of the pod race. Within moments, she couldn’t stop herself, and she burst into a fit of giggles. It was a strange sound coming from her, but it was light and airy in nature, not at all what one would expect from the Empress of the Sith. She recalled the event all too vividly, and she especially remembered Pax chasing the culprit down with an almighty “Stop that senator!” cry. Andraste almost had tears in her eyes as she burst out laughing, having to wipe her face as she looked up at Numenius again, “Forgive me…that was…one of the funniest things I’ve ever witnessed.”

In a considerably better mood now, she then turned to Primula, offering her a smile, “Oh please, Senator, today I’m just another patron here having a drink like anyone else. Very kind of you to join me,” She grinned at her comment, “I wasn’t present either, but my ambassador was. He desperately wanted to escape the pod race, the poor old fool.”

By then, the bartender had brought over a drink for Trenton, and Andraste was good on her word. She turned back to the others, sipping from her mocktail, “So what has driven you all to pursue the life of a Senator? It seems like nothing but stress so far.”

@Nefieslab @Insalius @anzat17

 

[Numenius Pax]

Numenius was a young man but he had already seen a lot of things that seemed to begger belief. He had seen war torn planets, he had seen people using the Force to better punch people, corrupt officials get torn down from their lofty perches and people who should have been the villain...?

Play the role of the 'hero' perfectly.

By all conventional logic and the actions of the Exiles - Andraste should be the villain and she should feel like she was the villain. She should have some other-worldly aspect to her that made her evil, right? Well aside from the taint of the Dark Side, which he could only feel due to beginning his training with the Force, she was just normal.

A touch short maybe.

...

Okay so she was a short-ass but it hardly mattered when she was sat across the table from him, drinking mocktails and laughing like a schoolgirl. Admittedly, it was pretty funny... though his cheeks did redden and he felt the need to take another drink of his wine at this point.

"Huh... so this is the woman they see..." he mused in a whisper to Trenton as she laughed, "The husbands that is."

Aloud he continued,

"It was... an experience to be there." he admitted with a little chuckle of his own, "Could have done without the ending however. Seeing the senator... embarrass himself further... was something I could have done without."

Nicer way of saying 'flashing the entire senate his junk'.

Why had he become a senator?

Numenius was the first to answer.

"Peace." he almost blurted out, looking across the table at Andraste, meeting her gaze for a moment before admitting, "I want to do my best to ensure peace for my people and the people of the Galaxy. And I know... that I'm going to fail. I've tried for so long but I know that war will come and my dreams of peace will die - for now. Best thing about wanting peace? It always comes back and it only ever looks more appealing."

He paused before chuckling,

"Sorry! Feel like I killed the mood there..."

@Insalius @anzat17 @Great Jamie @Sreeya @Versok

 

[Octadar Kithar]

Octadar couldn’t care less for politics right about now. This sport thing was cool! He was entirely engrossed into the events occurring on the TV. It seemed like they were kicking some round shaped object around. Hmm. Maybe he could try and play that sport one day. Where there was some green space of course, Coruscant hardly advocated greenery. Soon, the object was in the net, and the number for his new favourite team went up by 1. He thought this was good, so he went
“Yes lads!” At the TV. Then he realised what he did. Crikey, he WAS starting to like this sport. Perhaps too much. He then saw the other side’s name. A team called
“Chelsea”. Obviously they were so bad, so he didn’t like the team anymore.
“7-0” read the score line. Things were definitely rosy.