Russard approached Xavier, who's gaze had been moving non-committally about the room.
"He looks like a bit of a dullard to me" The Old man opined, "Your girl will be back here talking to us in no time. Synik, isn't it?" Jason asked, more by way of getting to gruff introductions than to confirm who it actually was he was talking to - he knew quite well who Xavier was. "Silenus Corp, correct?"
"Most Imperials do." Cristobal smiled as he looked at Lykaios. "They prefer to remind people how 'important' they are to the universal economy. I ran into an Inquisitor once." His voice lowered. "During an operation on Caamas. I was barely able to get out alive before the bombardment hit.Originally Posted by Estelle Russard
"Him though. I don't know. Think we should introduce ourselves?"
"Shadowstar."
The name came out polite enough as could be expected given the entire situation.
"Though I don't suppose its a name you will have heard of. I'm afraid I'm not as..." She pondered the words for a moment. "renowned as others here."
Emelie's eyes wandered the crowd again, passing by Moffs, fellow company owners, maybe even an esteemed general or two of the Empire's military...her gaze even flicked back to Xavier for a moment who was now speaking with the elder Russard. Gods they were all so important compared to her. Even the man in front of her...a Prime Minster...goodness. She was out of her element. If this had been a meeting of some heads of back handed criminal organizations she could have bluffed them all and tried to play them...this...this was just odd. For a split second she came to the conclusion that when all this pomp was over, she was going to retreat to her own bar she owned on the middle levels of Coruscant and have a pint of beer. Get out of this getup, maybe enjoy a good game of pazaak...
"Though, I suppose I must admit...I thought you might have just wanted to get away from that woman for a bit."
Emelie let a small polite, almost innocent laugh leave her just before she finished the glass of wine she held...and before another comment could leave her lips a waiter was offering her another. That was impressive. Even her own aids weren't that attentive to any guests she'd ever had about. It stunned her into silence for a moment before she could take another sip of the stunning vintage.
"The Empire is not so accepting of other races, until now, it seems. I find this to be a grandiose step forward for them. After all, a few years ago I would have been shunned and I pale to think of the opportunities missed if they had chosen to disregard one of your status."
Gods...Emelie hated small talk that was forced to be proper. Truthfully she knew the Prime Minster held the ability to grant her company rights to access and even aid in the imports and exports from Onderon and their new allies of the Hapes Consortium and beyond...but to start there was just...uncivilized. And it wasn't that she was there to talk pure business, either. In truth, some part of her was genuinely interested in the man who stood before her. After all, everyone else appeared completely human in the room except for Ave and herself. Even if Emelie was trying her hardest to disguise the half of her lineage that spoke of far more unsavory things.
"If you say so," was all she gave him in reply, as she tried to get out of the speeder without doing any damage to the netting of the dress. This seemed such an outlandish and thoroughly alien concept for her to worry about, that once she'd alighted from the speeder and was standing outside in the fresh air again, surrounded by what appeared to be some kind of park, she felt dizzy with the surrealism of it all.
Trees? On Coruscant?
But a gentle pressure on her arm brought her back to herself, and the cogs in her mind were turning again. Trees: only the extremely rich could afford greenery, so to own as large a park as this, with actual trees inside it, right in what seemed the center of Imperial City, must mean the owner had to be much much more than just filthy rich. Unfortunately she didn't know the "upper" part of the planetcity quite as well as the underlevels, so she had absolutely no idea who this place belonged to.
The undertone had still been there when he'd told her the objective of the evening; there had still been something lurking underneath that businesslike attitude of his. But she couldn't guess at its meaning, and she wasn't going to pry otherwise, so... all she could do was hope for the best, for this to be a smooth operation - and over quickly.
So she allowed herself to be led inside - rather meekly, but looking as proud and erect as she could manage on her high-heeled shoes.
"Never seen him before. What's he own?"
Looking over into the direction that Jason Junior had indicated, he found his old friend engaged in conversation with someone of whom he could only see the backside at present. Looked young, this Synik creature.
He had planned to head straight over to Jake and see if he could be pulled aside for a game of Imperial chess, but it wouldn't be polite to barge into a conversation with a man he had no measure of just yet. Better to find out something from Junior here before doing so.
“You know... I suddenly feel rather ill, Cael. Would you be a darling and fetch me a glass of water?”
Bathala nodded in obedient silence and broke away from his companion with an almost palpable sense of relief. Sanya watched him go and then steeling herself with a breath, turned her head so that although she was not looking directly at Quenn, the Moff was visible out of the corner of her eye. She spoke through a pretty smile, though her words were anything but.
“Don't you have anything better to do than yap around my heels like a kath-pup, Yeart? It was flattering at first, but now.. it's just sad.”
Adelaide fell into an easy step beside Idalix as they made their way to the outer edges of the gathering. She was thankful for the chance to reign in her thoughts a little and moved absentmindedly in the appropriate direction whenever Trix gave an occasional guiding touch of his hand to her elbow.
"I may have seen you on the Promotionals the Navy have been broadcasting" she said, though her tone indicated that she rather doubted it. Del couldn't honestly say if she had seen even one of those holovid spots. No--he was familiar from a less recent time...perhaps in his early career days. It would come to her eventually, things like that always did and usually when she was doing something completely unrelated - like folding laundry or setting the alarm chrono.
Happy for the moment to be going in the opposite direction of where she had last seen Aurelias, Adelaide determined to be a little more engaging. This mental crushing everytime she saw her ex-husband and the emotions that catapulted themselves throughout her had just got to stop. She must try harder..
"Im a friend of the Russard family, so I only know a few people here too" she explained of her own purpose here. "Oh, and I know the Judge" she said, as if that was self-explanatory.
"How do you like being in the Service? I guess things are ramping up a lot more now that we have a new Empress....?"
Adelaide was far from expert on anything Imperial...apart from the very negative aspect of things and those observations had been greatly influenced in the past by Kazaar, and now in the present, by Eliessa. She was genuinely interested in the chance of hearing someone's point of view who was an enthusiastic part of the Empire and what they might have to say.
"How do you like being in the Service? I guess things are ramping up a lot more now that we have a new Empress?"
He led them on a meandering path through the party, careful to steer clear of those who didn't seem very engaged in their conversations. He was just about to ask Adelaide who “the Judge” was, when she asked her own question; he wouldn't be rude, so he answered her question and hoped he'd remember his when he was done.
“It's...” he paused, trying to find the right word to describe his feelings about the service. He finally settled with the simple statement, “I find it to be fulfilling.”
He shrugged. “The Empire is far from perfect I know, but I've heard and seen some things from people who've fought in the Clone Wars or were on planets where battles were fought. That's why I joined, to keep something like that from happening again. The Republic was largely at fault for the Clone Wars beginning in the first place, so I couldn't in good conscience join an organisation that wants to bring it back.”
That was as close to saying that he had once thought about joining the Rebellion as he'd ever get. He didn't join them in the end, and his record was clear, but all the same he'd rather not have to explain it to some very suspicious Intelligence Agents or some such people.
“As for things getting busier, well, I guess you could say they are. Some things I can't tell you, but there's been some rumours of a big offensive being launched at some point.” He winked. There was a moment of silence, and Trix suddenly remembered his own question.
“It must be nice to so connected to have friends like the Russards, hm?” he grinned. “But I wonder, who is the 'Judge'? Your employer or something like that?”
Xavier was somewhat shocked. Not that the elder Russard knew who he was, as from what he knew of the man he was the type who would have reviewed any personnel files for anyone that he hadn't known before. No the surprise was from the fact that the host of the party had actually taken the time to greet him.
"Yes Sir." Xavier extended his hand to the elder Russard. "It's a pleasure to meet you. it gives me the opportunity to thank you for your gracious invitation this evening."
Estelle gave a quick glance at Mili to see if she liked the idea, but her head was down - her eyes beading down a miniscule speck of lint that had attached itself to her deep blue dress and she was in the process of plucking it off.
"Sounds good" Estelle declared, not waiting further and she took Mili's hand in her own, so they might make their way over to where he stood.
Russard would not say Lykaios wore the most approachable of visages, but he did develop a faint half-smile as they neared him.
"I hope you are not finding things too boring" she said as they shuffled up beside him, incongruous company that they were for a probable Inquisitoriate officer. "I wonder if there is someone you were expecting here tonight that we might assist you in finding?"
Jason gave a sideways look at Getar, finding it hard to believe the old man didn't have Synik's particulars down to his tax audit file number, much like his father might - but gave him the benefit of the doubt.
"Young money, as far as I know" Jason said, recalling the general info easily. "Operates out of the Ruusan System. Transports and Acquisitions are the bulk of the enterprise I think. Probably here tonight to diversify a bit.." That was Jason's impression, anyway. And his fathers by the looks.
"Silenus is one of the fastest growing Corporations we've seen in a long while. Synik is a man to watch."
Blue eyes appraised with a hint of amusement as Jason shook Xavier's hand...geez, had he ever been that young? "You're welcome, Mr. Synik." Russard reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a sleek silver case, popping open the lid by depressing a small bronze R on its edge. "Smoke, do you son?" the old man asked, offering him his pick of a cigar. "Saccorians - best tabacco ever grown" he assured Synik. "'Course, we'll have to smoke 'em outside - Roger will have a durf-monkey if I light up here." Outside would also be a good place to escape Lissell's watchful eye, but the Old Man kept that to himself. His nurse was far too concerned about his health for Russard's liking.
Adelaide felt an odd sensation of alarm as Trix hinted at some Imperial offensive, but it never got a chance to hold her thoughts for long. He had smiled and changed the subject, managing to assure her with his own confident manner that it was nothing at all to be concerned about.
She considered his decision to serve the Empire and found his openness refreshing. It was more than she had expected and she found herself relaxing a little and warming to Trix's company.
"Judge Corta is with the Judiciary Department - I am her assistant, though all I really do is carry the breifcase and summon the driver." Trix laughed, he thought she was joking. Adelaide smiled herself, it was kind of funny despite it being true. "I feel very fortunate" she added, realising that she really did feel that way. After all the horrible things the past year had brought, Del could honestly say she had a lot to be appreciative of.
"Are you stationed here in Imperial Center?" she asked, sipping her lime and soda.
After making his way inside the manor, Lykaios’s gaze danced around the hall, from one countenance to the next, putting names to the faces he had studied on his way to the Ruusard Estate.
Aside from always attracting attention, being 7’1” (2.13 mts) could have its advantages, in this case in particular, such asset was the fact that he could pretty much see everybody and anybody from where he stood.
As he made his way through the room, a glass of champagne had already made its own way to his right hand. Taking a sip of the alcoholic beverage, Lykaios realized it was one very expensive liquor and an extremely good one, albeit not the best he had ever tasted, but one that was certainly more than fitting to such special occasion.
As the glass untouched his lips, his eyes found the familiar sight of Sanya Tagge, The Imperial Minister of Truth, and the very reason he had joined The Empire. Did she seemed annoyed at her company? And who was she with? Before the Inquisitor could match a name to the Minister’s companion, he was told by The Force that someone was coming in his direction. Instinctively and naturally turning in the direction he had been alerted, his gaze met a woman’s who was leading another woman and apparently also being accompanied by man.
“M’lady,” Said the towering Imperial at the same time he nodded slightly. “This gathering is anything but.” Was the party frivolous? Perhaps. Filled with appearances? Maybe. But boring? Absolutely not.
“I am afraid I’m not as lucky as you to have such fine company,” His eyes were now posed in Mili “Or any company for that matter. But I’d like to thank you for your kind offer.” Switching the glass to his left hand, he reached for Estelle’s right hand and placed a light kiss on the tip of her knuckles. “Name is Lykaios.”
She was not quite as fashionably late as she usually was, but Sasseeri had managed to stall her Imperial hosts by changing her clothes at least a dozen times before deeming herself ready to go. The half-human, half-Cizerack female had settled on a bluish green dress that was long but managed not to make her look shorter than she already was. A pair of three and a half inch silver heels helped with the illusion.
Her hair was swept up into a loose twist, a few haphazard pieces artfully hanging loose around her face, and she hung lightly from her escort's arm as he walked her up into the party. Inquisitor Rekoj seemed a bit dour, and not her usual type, but he was male and that was pretty much all that mattered. She'd already determined that she was going to have her way with him before the evening was out, just to spite the Grand Inquisitor.
She leaned up close to him, speaking softly. "Qujite a gatherrrjing of the rrrjich and powerrrful, jisn't jit."
you make me come... you make me complete...
you make me completely miserable
He felt her relax and some unfelt tension also eased from his shoulders. Captain Idalix decided that her smile was very fetching, and that he'd like to see her smile more.
“For the moment,” Trix replied, smiling wanly. “I've been promoted, so I got a bit of down-time here before I made my way to my new post to smile and tell everyone who'd listen that the Service is the best thing since the Baron's Breakfast Biscuit.”
He remembered the last time he'd had a Breakfast Biscuit. They were very tasty, truth be told.
“I'm supposed to find my new commander at this party and give him the papers so he can finalise the transfer,” he shrugged, sighing wistfully as he looked out the windows to the lights of Imperial Centre. “And then it's off into space again, to serve my Empress with dignity and pride.”
He'd puffed himself up and said the last with a mockingly dramatic tone and punctuated his attempt at humour with a quick snap of his heels as he stood at attention; but it didn't hold up for long, and he grinned as he resumed his normal relaxed posture.
“Looking to enter the Judiciary yourself?” he asked, keeping the conversation going. Adelaide was good company, and while he didn't judge himself very good at socialising, he'd do his best to keep her interested.
He'd led her, somewhat discreetly, to the area around the fireplace, being content to just observe for the time being and see just how long he could evade Cora's attention. Freely, his eyes wandered the room, a man passed by with a tray off of which he plucked two glasses, handing one off to Nya, keeping the other for his own enjoyment. At that moment, he'd spotted Estelle pointing him out and he made a small effort to smile handsomely and wave back. The girl was younger than him (nine years!) and growing up, he'd often ended up with the task of entertaining her, which wasn't all that bad he had to admit, not that he would have admitted it to the other boys at the time.
"That's Estelle Russard, daughter of our gracious host for the evening. She's probably spouting off some nonsense about besting me when we were younger." Caran muttered amusedly to his companion. "As girls go, she wasn't half bad."
As nice as it was to see Estelle, given they certainly didn't see much of each other nowadays what with the busy and rather separate lives they led, he was a good deal curious about the lithe creature standing close to her. He browsed over her features from afar for a good few minutes before shaking his head and laughing, turning his attention to other attendants. He spyed Jason Russard, the Younger, chatting it up with his much older father.
"Ah, there's my father, Getar. He's talking with Jason Russard, who is the father of the young lady I pointed out to you earlier. His father, by the same name, is around here somewhere..."
And he went on, introducing her to the gathered from their cosy position by the fire, oblivious to anyone that might take interest in himself or Aree and decide to approach. He could happily pass the evening having only her for company. He'd been to several do's like this before. Remaining in relative quiet with only Nya as his company would be enough, but as he caught the eye of one patron, his hopes for a quiet evening were ultimately dashed.
Putting one hand firmly to the small of her back - the cool and smooth silkiness of her dress against his fingers was giving him goosebumps - he gave a low chuckle at her prissy manner. This dame was anything but that - if one managed to get under her skin, as their last encounter had shown. He was starting to really enjoy making her squirm, especially with all these other people around - she'd have to stick to the tedious Imperial protocol for these occasions and remain polite down to the tips of her delicious toes. What a wonderful opportunity.
"Oh I have - but it all figures you and a bed in it, and since I doubt you want to give these people something to gawk at, that's rather out of the question right now... my dear."
And before she had a moment to react to that, he leaned sideways and licked the bare skin behind her ear, where she had proved so sensitive the last time.
"'Thought it was a woman who headed it. That pink-haired one, she's around here somewhere. Shadow-something or other."
He'd had her in sights since she'd arrived. Exotic dame like that wasn't something one saw every day at shindigs like that. Of course he'd familiarized himself with her details a long while before this party, but he didn't recall the man's name at all. Must have skimmed that part about her, in his interest.
Too bad she was still so young. There weren't many female CEOs around. He would've enjoyed that, had he been a little younger. Then again....
Not waiting for Russard Junior to give him the correct name, he resolutely made his way over to his old friend, who was looking around with the air of someone trying to escape that dragon of a nurse of his. Good for him! Getar, knowing where Jake was going, didn't bother pushing through the crowd to get to him, but instead vanished through one of the side doors and from there on outside onto the balcony. For a man of 88, he could still move astonishingly fast - something he took pride in.
Her eyes had slipped over the crowd for a while, and been arrested by a very tall and certainly very handsome young man who was a total unknown to her. There were indeed quite many unknown faces here this evening, and Cora didn't know whether she should find this refreshing or a nuisance. There were even some unhuman features around - the CEO of Silenus Corp, for one, and a Cizerack, too. And then there was the strange white-eyed man who had somehow felt wrong, even though she had no way of understanding why. He certainly didn't look wrong, except for the unusual color of his eyes, but then a waiter she had asked had told her he was an Arkanian, and all Arkanians supposedly had eyes like that. Yet still she got an uneasy feeling whenever her eyes slipped past it.
The tall young man remained by himself for a while, and Cora had just made up her mind to go over and introduce herself and maybe make the poor boy a bit more welcome amongst this crowd of whom he obviously didn't know anyone, when she saw Russard's little girl accost him with a friend of hers. Yet now that she was already in mid-motion, she couldn't very well stop again and attract the attention of anyone by such jumpy behavior - no, she'd need to go somewhere.
It was then that she became aware of a presence in the room, and as she looked up, she met the eyes of her only son, who was suddenly almost directly in her way, even if there were more than 20 people milling between them.
He looked away after a moment during which his face had set into a scowl, but he didn't leave the spot he was in. Cora couldn't see who was next to him, but .. well.. she would - she was his mother, after all! Didn't a mother have the right to see - to talk - to her only son? He wasn't going to deny her that right here, in front of all these people! She'd be damned if she couldn't get him to at least exchange a word or two with her!
And before her courage could leave her again, she forced her way through the people in her way, eager and yet apprehensive of what was to come.
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