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Ares Valure
Zara


Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 16

 Post Posted: Thu, August 13th 2009 08:53pm    Post subject: Chief of State's Office
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The lights were dimmed and the only real illumination came from the low fireplace in the adjacent room, which flickered back and forth, making the shadows around it jump about. In the main office, Ares hovered over the front of his mess he called a desk, moving some papers and other trinkents around in an attempt to look organized. He wasn't really sure if he was trying to convince anyone other than himself, however, and quickly decided to abandon the task and set his sights on the holo waiting above the fireplace in the next room.

They had been showing various events from New Years and especially Unification Day throughout the entire program, which Ares had mostly drowned out by now. Instead, the sounds took up a place as a sort of background ambience, seeming to be swallowed by the room itself. Despite his lack of interest, Ares wandered toward the sofa set with a clear view of the screen and plopped down with a heavy sigh. He watched it for a short while, taking a few sips of the drink waiting in his hand every few minutes until finally deciding to break the silence.

"I do so miss those days," he said, almost as if he was talking to himself. A slight "clink" from the kitchenette reminded him that Trenor was there as well, although he didn't say anything immediately. Deciding that he might as well keep going, Ares downed the rest of his drink in a single gulp, then continued with a bit of a rough start, "I used to be the one going out on the town on nights like that— like tonight, for that matter. Now, here I am, celebrating the new year behind the walls of my office."

"I bet you were the life of the party," Tren noted as he began to make his way from the bar into the other room. Ares casually threw a hand back over the sofa without bothering to look back at him before explaining.

"Oh, never a dull moment. I always seemed to have a retinue of fans about me back then." Ares stopped to look down at his empty glass and contemplate getting a fresh refill, but the moment his hand flipped up past his head, it met a familiar shape. Tren, standing right behind Ares, suddenly placed a cold glass in the open hand. He felt around the glass for a bit, weighing to make sure it was full, then slowly brought it around before him to inspect with his own eyes.

As Tren made his way around to sit at the other end of the sofa, Ares took the empty glass and placed it on the table before him with a slight thud. "Well, you've got something of a retinue now, don't you? Else you wouldn't be where you're at."

"Perhaps," Ares replied, moving on to inspect the drink with his mouth. After a sip, he continued to stare straight forward, as if looking into his memories as he described them, "But the company of all the politicians in the galaxy doesn't compare to those who truly look to you with eager eyes. The ones who hang on every word."

Tren quickly jumped in with an attempt to reassure him, "But everyone went wild over your speech earlier. You're an inspiration for people. You know, the voters." The boy hesitated for a moment. "People like me."

Finally, Ares turned his gaze to meet Tren's after taking another sip. He watched him for a moment before asking in a curious tone, "People like you?"
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Tren Drexel
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 Post Posted: Tue, August 18th 2009 11:48pm    Post subject:
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People like me, I thought to myself, my glass just short of my lips. I'd hoped Ares wouldn't really hook onto my line, since I'd just intended it as an empty reassurance. But now I had to consider what I meant.

It was the tenth anniversary of Unification, something I had been too young to fully appreciate in my childhood on Chandrila – but I could see that Ares was not well. I had known him for three years, served as his personal aide for two years, and – surely – been his friend and confidant for that time. Ares spoke to me freely like he would to no one else. I doubted he would talk so loosely even to his own family members. Our relationship was almost fraternal.

Of course, Ares never forgot that I was also here to learn all I could, and neither did I. That was the main goal. I was lucky enough to be noticed by someone of Ares' discriminating tastes so young, and it only put me to the test more when Ares ran for Chief of State. And he won. And someday, I hoped Ares would be there to congratulate me when I finally followed his footsteps, down the road of governance.

My family had groomed me for politics, making sure I attended the proper classes and was tutored by the proper people on Chandrila, in my youth. To me, though, that was all inconsequential. The benefits of formal education were vastly over-exaggerated. A man doesn't truly learn anything, if he simply reads it from a book. No, he needs to learn it for himself, drawing from his own experiences; he shouldn't rely on someone else's digested conclusions. Ares Valure understood that, even if his own conclusions weren't right all the time.

So, I could only answer him truthfully. Who were people like me? “Well,” I started, drawing my alcoholic concoction away from my mouth. I laid it on the table with a tinny clink. “You know, the people that look at you and say, 'hey, mom, that's what I want to be when I grow up,'” I finished with a smirk.

Ares appreciated the levity. He threw his head back, allowing it to lie draped on the back of the sofa. “Ahh,” he emitted with mock realization, a small grin across his features. “So, you're after my job then?”

“Hey, I can dream,” I laughed, with a rub at my lip and a shrug of my shoulders. My eyes drifted back to the Holo after a few seconds of silence. It had been showing images of celebration from across the galaxy, but now it was back to images of times past, showing the signing of the Treaty of Unification. “People never thought that was going to happen,” I reminded my mentor, indicating the projector with my hand. “And, well...”

“I suppose you're right about that,” Ares conceded. After that, he didn't respond for a long while. I could only imagine what was going on in his mind. Ares was on top of the world, yet sometimes, it seemed like he was starved for oxygen in his own stratosphere. “Gods, has it really been ten years?” He asked, somewhat rhetorically, as he finally lifted his head back to its rightful place on the top of his neck.

Sometimes I cursed my age. There were some nights when Ares needed support – usually when he had a glass of vodka in his hand – but often times I couldn't truthfully and fully sympathize with him, since I had not been around to experience what he had experienced. Chandrila had been sheltered from much of the Emperor's reign and the war, and that was all before my time anyway. My earliest memories of hearing about this grand Civil War taking place across the stars was probably when I was about four, overhearing a random news cast about Republic “causalities” in the dead heat of Zend's major offensives. I had asked my father , “What are causalities?” He replied, “Victims of failed governments.” I would not have remembered those words had my father not repeated them over the next fourteen years I spent at home.

It was much later when I learned that “causalities” meant “dead men.” It didn't seem so far away then, even though it never touched home. I hadn't understood it. In some ways, perhaps I still didn't.

“Time flies,” was all I could say to Ares. I would never know, gods willing, what the galaxy felt like twenty, or even ten, years ago. But sometimes, I think, Ares mourned more about the loss of his ever-fading youth, rather than the crimes of ages past.

“Yes,” Ares agreed with a quiet, almost monotonous diction. He brought the refreshing liquid to his lips again, drawing what comfort he could from the soothing draught. “Yes, it does.” He stared back to the illumination of the Holo, and I found my eyes focused on its almost-oracle allure.

The mood was getting too somber, in my opinion. I had to get back to my apartment, prepare for the next day. As much as I appreciated these moments with Ares, where I could be certain I was truly in his “circle”, I worried about leaving him alone. He was an important man, and he was the most depressed I'd ever seen him (especially considering he was still mostly sober).

I reached over for my cup, letting the thick glass drag across the stone table. The clanking sound broke the silence. “If you start to cry, nursing isn't in my job description,” I joked, my lips revealing my teeth.

Ares broke his occular grappling contest with the Holo and turned to me. He cocked his head a bit and let out a single, solitary chuckle. I supposed he was sort of amused, but he wasn't quite ready to open up to humor. He returned his gaze to the viewer, but stopped short, doubling back and holding out a hand to catch my attention. “Oh, did you manage to get that list of... senate issues that, uh... need addressing made up?”

Hm. Maybe he was a little less sober than I thought.

I polished the last of the liquor from its vessel and nodded several times in the affirmative, my face wrinkling a bit as I endeavored to talk before the burn had subsided from my throat. “I'll have it on your desk in the morning,” I paused and massaged the exterior of my still-partially-inflamed neck, smiling as I spoke. “It's gonna be an interesting session, that's for sure.”

Ares sipped quietly, his brown eyes locked on the floor. He spoke without irony, instead sadly. “Isn't it always?”

I wanted to frown, but I forced it into a thin grin, trying to keep things from bottoming out totally. I stood up after a few moments. “Well, I'll leave you to the festivities,” I announced with a small snort on behalf of the Holo.

I took a few steps backwards from the seating area. Ares would probably be finished moping by morning. But, he silently gulped down another sip. “You gonna be alright?” I questioned, trying to straddle concern and faithfulness.

He held up his glass, indicating it, although he didn't break contact with the flashing lights on the newscast. “I'll be fine,” he began to say. Then the Holo showed the iconic picture, the hallmark of Unification. Ares continued, a bit more wearily. “See you in the morning.”

He took another sip.

I could sense Ares would no longer want me to stay, even if I offered. He could indeed handle himself, but sometimes I wondered. “See you,” I said before pulling my denim bag from the floor. I left Ares Valure in the stillness of the night, given voice and light only by the pictures from the past.
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Tren Drexel
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 Post Posted: Wed, June 16th 2010 11:13pm    Post subject:
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It was the morning of the eleventh day since the New Year, and it was still hell. There hadn't been an attack in four days - which everyone seemed to believe was a blessing - and there was only more and more discussion, bureaucracy and security coming between Ares and the Republic. I felt sorry for my mentor. This wasn't meant to happen. He wasn't destined to deal with all of this, but he was. And, all things considered, he was doing pretty well.

I held a datapad in my right hand, an iced Chandrilan tea in my left. Pacing around Ares' office early in the morning, I chewed on one of the chunks of frozen water as the words on the screen reflected off of my eyes. I stopped for a moment, looking across the way at the alcove with the holoprojector and the fireplace, where Ares had confided in me so many times. I recalled the night of Unification Day, when Ares had lamented the status quo of being a politician. Things had changed so much since then. I didn't want to know the man's thoughts now; he himself could barely handle them.

Sighing, I set the glass down and looked over the reports. There was so much to review and send out. There was more information coming into the Chief of State's office than there ever had been - not guests, however. Ares was under guard at all times now.

I began collating the reports, raising an eyebrow. There wasn't much of interest. The Sixth Fleet was engaging in wargames exercises. The Senate was preparing a meeting, under high security measures. The Fourth Fleet had changed location, a last-minute decision. I made sure everything was set and filed properly to make my boss's job easier. Ares would be in soon, for another interesting day. I had his drink waiting on his desk.

I wished the year had never changed. No one was ready for it. And, I was sure, I was not alone in thinking that.
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Ares Valure
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 Post Posted: Mon, June 21st 2010 05:20pm    Post subject:
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Ares found himself leaning forward in disbelief, nearly sliding straight out of the couch's seat as he stared at the holovision. Both hands rested on either side of his head, each with two fingers pressed gently against his temples. Although he didn't feel it yet, he knew a splitting headache was well on its way. That much he could prepare for, but nothing in the galaxy could have possibly prepared him for the message that still played over his screen.

Eventually, Zend's face disappeared, leaving only a brief shadow in its place as the regular nightly news flickered back into existence. For that single moment, he wanted to believe more than anything that he had simply had one too many drinks again. That it was all in his head and that the woman he had just seen delivering a terrifying message to the galaxy was merely the Coruscanti weather-woman wearing an ill-fitted white suit. And at first, it seemed that he was right. There was little acknowledgement of the event.

That is, until the reports started coming in. The news anchors interrupted each other again and again as they reported the transmission appearing on every frequency with an alarming clarity. Wherever she was broadcasting from, it was obvious that she was no longer hiding from anyone. Daara Zend had indeed returned to the galaxy, even if the galaxy itself wasn't ready for her.

Ares continued to remain as a statue. His wide eyes stared straight forward, beyond mere doubt and now seeming to stare straight through the screen, into a space some distance behind it. His sight unfocused more and more and eventually, drifted down to the floor, maintaining its lifelessness the entire time. He wished he could be anywhere else in the galaxy other than where he was, since he already knew what was coming next. Although it had felt to be a short eternity, it had only been mere moments after the transmission had ended, but it was apparently long enough.

The communicator resting atop his desk in the background began to shriek out and vibrate furiously with the voices of a thousand people all wanting to talk to him at once. Ares wanted to slump down, but somehow couldn't get his brain to actually issue any orders. Thoughts were building up at such a terrible rate that everything within him was simply breaking down. The only thing he could muster after all his tense silence was a single word, as if the entire moment had been building up to his only reaction.

"Frak."

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 Post Posted: Tue, June 22nd 2010 02:41pm    Post subject:
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I raced through the halls as fast as I reasonably could, the security guards eying me curiously. They knew me and let me pass into Ares' office; they knew why I was rushing so quickly. I could see it on their faces, and they could see it on mine.

The moonlight could be seen outside the newly-reinforced transparisteel windows. I had been here just a few hours ago - another late night. Now, it was only halfway past the first hour of 1:12, and I had just been ready to go to bed when the news hit the Holonet. I had gotten up immediately and came over to Ares' office. I hadn't had time to change; I still wore my nighttime clothing of a blue tee and shorts. I was dressed informally, far more informally than I would have normally been while at work, obviously, and my hair was an oily mess. But there wasn't time for pointless endeavors. Ares had to have been reeling more than I was, and there was no time for delay.

Zend was back. I knew it, and now so did everybody else in the galaxy. Nothing could have prepared anybody for that. And now, the Union's citizens were calling for the Remnant's head, for hiding such an important secret. So many things could have been done, if only others had known.

I knew she was responsible for the attack against Ares. I hadn't really experienced the Empire under her command, although I knew quite a bit about it. But while some throughout the Union were disgusted, others were carefully reticent about the matter. I could feel it, even just walking over to the office. For every person loudly protesting in the streets, demanding action, there was a quiet being not saying much at all.

I came to the door, encountering a diminutive-but-fierce Noghri guard. He looked like he was ready to tear out my important parts. Thankfully, he recognized me and allowed me through, in to Ares' office. My eyes darted around the room immediately, trying to find my mentor.

"Ares?" I called out, exasperated. My tone packaged almost every thought I had, from worry, to nervousness, to wanting to help the man. I feared there was nothing I could do to help him anymore.

"Ares," I repeated after I spied the Chief of State sitting in the living alcove, watching the Holo. "Did you hear?" I asked, the question incredibly stupid. Of course he heard. The whole blasted galaxy had heard. But I could think of nothing else to say in the moment.

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 Post Posted: Wed, June 23rd 2010 02:30pm    Post subject:
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"Did I hear what?" the man answered, his head slung back over the couch while an empty glass waited in his limp hand. He kept his eyes closed and didn't even bother moving as he spoke, aside from his eyebrows shifting back and forth in a confused manner. "Unless you mean the sound of the galaxy tearing itself in half and its maw opening wide enough to swallow me and the entire Republic whole. No, I heard that."

Darkness enveloped the entire office with the only source of light coming from the screen of the holo, still replaying the same images from the message only moments before. Ares rolled his head around and threw himself forward into a heavy slouch. His eyes finally opened, but they locked onto the glass he held in his hands as he curiously swirled the few drops of amber liquid remaining in the bottom again and again. Much the same way as his own thoughts swirled around in his head, coming back to the same few over and over again and every time finding new connections he had never thought of before. He knew he shouldn't have been wallowing in them as he was, but what choice did he really have? How could he have simply gone back to work as if nothing had changed?

Too much had changed. Too much to avoid facing it. Going back was nothing short of impossible, even to the best political leadership. The only option was moving on; taking what was given and using it to build a new tomorrow. However, with Ares' own life on the line, what kind of tomorrow could he really build? What would it be worth? Would it even last?

As his inevitable headache caught up to him, Ares leaned back a little and pressed two fingers against his temple. Too many questions were being asked, none of them being given any sort of answers. The man was nearly at the end of his rope, with Tren seeming to be his only grounding left. Although barely a handful of words had been exchanged, the boy was the one person that Ares needed. Even if his communicator continued its furious buzzing in the background.

"What now?" was all he could muster from the silence.

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 Post Posted: Thu, June 24th 2010 01:25am    Post subject:
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I stood before Ares, the words I wanted to say not even materializing in my mind. What was there to say, in my predicament? I couldn't do anything to make Ares' burden lighter, nor my own. What had been done couldn't be changed. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't forestall it.

Moving forward, I sat down on the sofa next to the Chief of State of the New Republic. That title commanded so much authority and prestige, but I knew that right now it offered Ares no illusion of protection or safety. It was almost like he had been violated in an assault as personal as any knife-fight or rape. Everything in which he had invested himself was falling apart. I wish I could somehow understand his position, but I couldn't. I never had been able to.

"I don't know, Ares," I confessed, my eyes ostensibly on the holo, but just as intently viewing the man's profile through my periphery. I sat for moments, staring at the images of Zend from decades ago, watching political commentators debate on the veracity of the message, comparing the images from the galaxy's past to those of Zend's purported current state. After those arguments had ceased, they moved onto how to respond to the Grand Admiral's return.

The frightening fact was that those idiots knew nothing more than the New Republic did right now. The exact same debates were ongoing throughout the rest of the government. I knew it was authentic.

I turned to face Ares, watching his contemplative eyes. He still looked forward, transfixed with the holo. This was indeed eerily similar to Unification Day's night, except there was no flippant self-deprecation or wistful grin on his lips. I didn't know what was on his face right now. I felt guilty that he needed me so much, and that I couldn't aid him.

"Maybe," I began, my gaze not faltering. He needed to hear me. "Now's the best time to appoint someone to replace Ulgo. When everyone wakes up in the morning, it's going to be even more of a nightmare than right now. We should give them something to grab onto."

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 Post Posted: Sat, June 26th 2010 01:34pm    Post subject:
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The words Tren spoke took a moment to sink in. Ares stared into his empty glass as he ran over them, letter by letter again and again. None of it seemed to have any effect on him as he fit the words together in different sequences, cutting the superfluous words out and simply focusing on what he needed to. However, after what felt like an hour of utter silence, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Which is, ironically enough, when the realization hit him.

Change.

"Everything else in the galaxy is changing, why should we stay where we are?" he muttered to himself, though Tren would have easily picked the words out. He remained in place for a moment, collecting his thoughts with his eyes still slammed shut, as if the darkness was helping him somehow organize himself better.

Eventually, however, he sprang forward and up to his feet. The delicate crystal in his hands slipped for a moment, but he snatched it before it fell much further. As he made his way around the couch and back toward his desk, he planted the glass firmly atop the surface and sat down in his chair. After a brief second of surveying the mess, he shoved some of the datapads aside and cleared a bit of room before turning toward Tren and finally addressing him personally.

"Get me the files of... Oh hell, everyone. Every officer in the entire bloody navy. We'll find a replacement even if it kills us," he ordered. "Daara wanted us to walk right into her little plan, well let's see how fast she can keep up."

As he yanked one of the datapads from a stack and began flipping through its digital pages, his new found confidence faltered for just a moment. Only enough for him to realize just what he was doing and come to the unavoidable conclusion.

"It's going to be a long night."

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 Post Posted: Sun, June 27th 2010 12:55am    Post subject:
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The warm cereal grain in the bowl didn't smell very appetizing, but it'd have to do. There wasn't enough time and I didn't have the expertise to make something better - and there was no chance of calling for breakfast as I traditionally did for Ares. There was simply too many security concerns, and chef nor delivery boy would be allowed into the office right now.

The strawberry red light of Coruscant's sun was spilling through the windows. We had been up all night. Ares still hadn't answered his calls, preoccupied with finding somebody to lead the entirety of the forces of the New Republic.

I took the food, together with Ares' traditional orange juice and gin, and sat it on his desk. I poured a bit of the liquid into the the grainmeal. It made it taste a bit better. I didn't have anything for myself but an iced tea; I felt that if I would eat something, I would feel sick. It took every bit of me to resist the pressure that both the galaxy and my boss were putting on me. I was keeping it together, though.

"This is the best I could do," I told Ares.

"I'm sure I've had worse," came the absent, distracted reply. The man was transfixed on a single datapad that he held in his hands. Displayed on it were the fruits of our labors since late last night - not that they were very sweet. Every officer above captain in the navy, and every officer above colonel in the army, were listed in Ares' hand. I didn't know what he was trying to do. The list was ridiculously huge. It had taken almost an hour just to collate all the data, even though it was purely electronic. Ares had been going over the names, reading references and notes on many of them, for the past five hours. It was thousands of rows long.

But he was doing something. I was no psychologist, but maybe that was half of the reason for his preoccupation with the list. And truly, I hadn't seen Ares so focused and concentrated on something, driven so seriously, for a long time.

We couldn't afford wasted time, even if Ares thought his deep trance with the data was helping. It would take him days, if not weeks, to go through such a list, even if he devoted all of his time to it. We didn't have days or weeks. Ares could have easily chosen somebody obvious to replace Ulgo, like Soler or Darklighter, two of the highest ranking living officers in the navy. But, I thought, maybe he was so deeply disturbed that he wasn't willing to trust anybody - anybody. It was probably a very wise policy.

But it was too slow. "You can't stay awake forever, Ares," I admonished, sighing quietly. He was running on caffeine and alcohol, but somehow was entirely lucid.

"That's what they told me in university," he muttered, his wide eyes not leaving the datapad readout.

"Gods," I cursed. I was getting frustrated, on behalf of myself and on behalf of Ares. It was hard to see him not finding his perfect choice. He needed to hear what I had to say. It was the most important thing in the galaxy right now. "This isn't getting us anywhere. You might as well just point at a name on the list and promote that person. These aren't CiC material. Not every lower officer is a Kira Daast. All we're doing is wasting time here."

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 Post Posted: Thu, July 01st 2010 03:21am    Post subject:
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The name made him freeze. He didn't say anything at first, simply staring into and almost past the datapad before him as the gears turned round and round in his mind. After an extended period of silence that seemed to stretch on just long enough to make it awkward, it seemed that Ares was entirely lost in thought. Just when Tren felt the need to open his mouth and offer some sort of relief to the moment, Ares snuck in and put his own words in first.

"You're absolutely right."

He planted his finger onto the screen of the pad and dragged it upward, flipping through the names on the list in a blurry spin. Eventually, he saw the name he was looking for and slammed his finger back to the screen, causing the list to immediately screech to a halt and bring up the data requested. Without even looking at the information being presented, he popped the datapad into a small dock at one end of his desk and spun around in his chair. Behind him, a large holoprojector lit up with the exact same readout, albeit much larger and easily visible to both Tren and Ares.

"Raised on Corellia, knows everything there is to know about plenty of ships, reached Commodore at only 34," Ares read aloud, twirling his hand in the air next to his head as he spoke. "It's like she was destined for this job."

With another flick of his finger on the datapad screen, the words on her profile blurred downward until coming to a stop a short distance later. Ares leaned in a little closer, squinting his eyes to make out everything he could. As he went over the words in his head, he began thinking out loud once more, "Perfect service record, no black marks— Wait, no. There is something here. Had a bit of an... Emotional involvement with a fellow superior officer during her time in an outer rim patrol unit."

He then leaned back and turned to Tren to address the find. "But hell, what harm does that do? If I was ostracized for every inappropriate relationship I've ever held with a woman..." He didn't finish his sentence. Instead, his eyes simply wandered aside and stared into space for yet another awkward few seconds until finally coming back to Tren and deciding to avoid the topic altogether.

"Well, it can be overlooked, in any event."

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 Post Posted: Thu, July 01st 2010 11:17pm    Post subject:
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My eyes went wide as Ares' mouth refused to stop moving. I couldn't say I hadn't intended to shift his line of thought, but now it was a runaway train. He hadn't stopped to think about what he was saying. He shifted from recounting his romantic adventures, moving from topic to topic. "Whoa, Ares," I said when the man was finally looking at me. "Ares. You're going to promote Daast? Seriously?"

I swallowed. She was a good officer, but she wasn't seasoned. She could no sooner be Commander-in-Chief than I could be Chief of State. Then again, perhaps she would be a useful tool to forward the galaxy.

But even still, perhaps the decision deserved a little more thought. I wasn't about to convince Ares otherwise, but at least I could try to get him to slow down. "What about the others? This is going to throws things into a stir."

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 Post Posted: Mon, July 12th 2010 09:14pm    Post subject:
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"In case you forgot, things are already 'in a stir,' " Ares retorted, throwing a finger out to counter the boy's argument along with a quick, side-long glance before returning his attention to the holoprojector. His eyes scanned the slowly scrolling words for a brief moment as he collected his thoughts. Tren was right, of course. He usually was, but in this case, perhaps the best thing was to simply ignore every piece of reasonable advice he could find and go with his instincts. It wouldn't have been the first time Ares had done so, and he did manage to get into his position one way or another.

Besides, he had done worse.

"If we're going to revitalize the navy, then we're going to need someone fresh. Someone new," the man went on, rolling his wrists around again and again as he tried his best to justify his outlandish thought process. "Things are stagnating. Maybe that's why Ulgo died in the first place. Traditions and protocol won't save us anymore, that much is obvious. Daara spent twenty years in the middle of nowhere using her ingenuity to survive and come back stronger than ever. All just to start a war that had been waiting for her the entire time."

Ares turned back and laid his set of eyes upon Tren, letting a far darker overtone seep in and smother the air between them. A brief moment of silence passed seemingly far longer than it ever should have as Ares made sure the weight of his words would be felt in full. Once he felt the time was right, he parted his lips and simply added, "If we can't adapt, then there'll be no war to fight."

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Tren Drexel
Cray


Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 26

 Post Posted: Tue, July 13th 2010 11:00pm    Post subject:
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Ares spoke truth, and it bothered me. He had always been a master of the political art, but I'd never thought of him as a sage. Well, I still didn't think of him as a sage, but he was now surprisingly lucid. Maybe there was some logic in his crazy ideas — or maybe I was too tired to think straight.

Besides, it wasn't my decision to make. Ares had a brain and he would think and decide for himself. He regarded my own recommendations well, but in the end, the choice didn't lie with me; it began and ended with him. No — ultimately, it was by and for the citizens, but at times like this it was almost as if they didn't matter... at least, not until election season.

Regardless, Ares had made a choice, and I wasn't going to change his mind. It was my job to support him, whether or not I agreed with him. Just like the Republic, I too had to adapt to an evolving situation.

"Alright," I said, although we both knew my agreement meant nothing. "I'll... I don't know, I'll try to get some more records up on her; do a little digging."

I moved to the other side of the office, grabbing another datapad. This was going to be a long day.

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