A Common Job Interview

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Rex Cruger"]


Staff tended to come and go. So.etimes it was due to being transfered, or for something needing them off world. But Kay found it hard to keep certain positions filled. Maybe she was a bad employer or maybe tjose positions were jinxed. Regardless, she needed them filled.

With the birth of her child coming within a few months (provided all goes well), she was soon going to be away from it all, hidden away during those precious months of bonding. So there was going to be more staff required to be sure that everything ran smoothly and safely. She couldn't expect it all to be on her husband's shoulders, nor on all of her Ministers. That was far too much stress for them all to handle. Plus, they all had their own lives. Only she couldn't afford to have much of a social life. Her position denied that, and motherhood would deny it as well. But it was all to be worth it, she's heard.

So messages were sent out for various positions, some for military, some for security, some for assistants, workers and the like. And not just for her Palace or for Commenor, but for their growing fleet and space stations as well.

Kay spent much of her time in her office at the Palace now, trying to stay home as much as possible for her health reasons. Interviews were held whenever people were ready. Not everyone that applies would be Commenori. She was certain of that.

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

[member="Lady Kay"]

It had been a long time since he had been in such a grand city. He wasn't sure what to do or say around the people of Commenor so he tended to keep his mouth shut. He had been staying there in light of his friend telling him that there was work for him to do there, but so far there wasn't any.

But finally when it arose, it was in the place he least expected, in his friends position. He was retiring, ironic as though it were he wanted him to take over for him as Lady Kay's personal bodyguard, he had no mind in doing this but it had been a long time since he had been prepared. He was definitely physically and mental able and ready to fill this role but he didn't have the equipment. This is when the unusual happened, his friend sent him a gift, his own personal armor, fitted to fit the beast of a man and some design changes.

So the man walked down the streets with the holo-filter turned on as to not scare any of the people in the city. His eyes were set on the palace, where he was scheduled to meet Lady Kay for his interview.

He walked into the grand palace and asked for directions to Lady Kay's room for his interview and he was led straight there. Standing outside the door he watched as he was just left there, so the only thing he could think of was to knock. Not very formal, but it was what seemed logical.

 

[Kay-Larr]

The knock at the door was what Kay was used to getting. She was a Queen to be sure, but she wasn't raised as one, wasn't born into it, nor had she been taught how to act. So formalities wasn't something that she was a stickler for.

Instead of being at her desk, she was looking out of one of the windows, her tea cup cradled in her hands as she was lost in thought. Already she could feel the movement in her belly, the child turning itself over or stretching out. Just a few more months to go if all went well. It was an odd thing to feel, as though a muscle was rolling inside, but wasn't under her control. In this she had no control. Maybe that's what was so scary about it.

She headed over to the door and opened it, surprised at the size of the man just waiting on the other side. According to her notes, he was a friend of her retired bodyguard, [member="Rex Cruger"] . It wasn't easy to lose this man in a crowd, that was for sure and certain.

Kay stepped to the side to give him room. "Please, come on in. Would you like some tea? Or some brandy?"

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

[member="Lady Kay"]

He stood in the hallway for a moment quite antsy, he wasn't a big fan of waiting but before he knew it the door was opened and a lovely lady opened a door. She looked to be well into pregnancy, that would have been nice to have known before he came here but it was of no difference to him.

He made his way into the room as she gestured in walking in slowly and looking around a little seeing what there was inside, his internal sensors kicking in and making it eligible for him to see everything in that much more depth. He knew it'd be safe but he needed to get used to the thing anyways. It was weird looking normal on the outside when you were actually wearing a set of armor that was hiding the fact.

"No thanks 'mam, I'm a ale kind of man myself." He said in a very deep voice as he looked back at the woman as he stood more towards the desk waiting for her to sit down to begin, but he had a feeling this would be a little more unconventional then that.

His mind flashed to his Bothan friend in the moment, giving him a mental warning as he stood there. Do your best.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded as he politely refused a drink. That could be a good thing. Whether or not he was the type to drink on the job remained to be seen. One of her pilot's loved his whiskey. And her Minister of Justice was fond of drinking quite a bit lately. But that was to help him to deal with some trauma than anything else.

She walked over to her desk and sat down in the chair, picking up her datapad and opening up the file on him. "I can imagine that you come with a wealth of experience. Rex Cruger told me that you were good at your job, steadfast and reliable. Was he just embelleshing? Or is there truth in that?" Some people liked to go a bit overboard when it came to recommending their friends for a job. However Rex was always straight forward and this man seemed to follow along those lines as well. Still, it didnt hurt to ask.

[member="Leonhardt Wilhelm"]

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

He stood there and justly put his arms behind his back grabbing arm with the opposite hand and held it back their seeming to be at full attention if he was in the military. He looked not at her but over her almost as if he was watching something important happen behind the window, but his attention in that moment was focused purely on her.

As he stood there he heard her voice pipe up as she looked over her file and remembered what Rex had said about him. He gave a slight nod as he slowly fumbled over what to say. Finally he managed an answer, "I'd like to think so mam, when you get to be my age things tend to be natural habit instead of work." He said his deep gruff tome coming out again as he stood there. "I served in the military on my home planet for many years, and also the resistance movement there. I've seen enough combat for multiple lifetimes."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay almost laughed as [member="Leonhardt Wilhelm"] began his answer. With age does come habits, along with wisdom. And the traits that she was given didn't sound like bad ones at all.

Her lighter demeanor diminished somewhat as he spoke of years of conflict, even resistance. There was sure to be plenty of stories there. And still, he wasn't too tired of it to consider retirement. Or perhaps like Terrac, he had retired for a while and then found it to be too boring. That was certainly a possibility.

"Well rest assured, war hasn't come to our territory in centuries. We get the odd pirates, the odd bounty hunters, but nothing that brings about a large call to arms." She raised a brow slightly in amusement. "Did Rex tell you that I'm a magnet for trouble?"

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

He knew he wan't a man for too many words but he wasn't a man of none either, he liked to get to the point and get on with the topic with out giving too much away, even though he explained a little about his past.

The man that stood in front of her looked old in face and that was about it. His body looked good, if better than most men ever did in their prime, which took a very constant physical and medical protocol to achieve. But that wasn't the point of him being there.

"I'm not afraid of war m'am, sadly war is not brutal combat, or something to be avoided, it's an art, their are those who partake in it, and there are those who master it, like a music piece. Each note, and key stroke to be learned and figured out...." He cleared his throat a little. "I'm sorry m'am don't let me drone, but yes I have heard quite a bit about your.... predicaments."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay furrowed her brows as [member="Leonhardt Wilhelm"] spoke of war being an artform. Was it really? She just saw it as a way to bully people, to bring them to their knees or to destroy them completely. War did not care about what it touched, it did not make anything beautiful. It was too destructive.

But not everyone thought as she did. And it was the difference of opinions and the different ways of thinking that drew her to hire certain people. It did no good at all for her to only have people on her staff that agreed with everything that she did.

She smiled in amusement as he apologized for him going off on a bit of a tangent, as well as stating that he knew of her predicaments. There was no doubt in her mind that plenty of people had heard of them. "It's alright. I wouldn't mind hearing some of your stories. Soon I'll be stuck here or hidden away, so you'll do well to keep me from getting too bored. I do my best to keep out of trouble, but it finds me...I don't ask for it. And my mistakes are never intentional." Her intentions were usually good, her heart always in the right place. Things just didn't always go as planned.

"When would you like to start? And what kinds of hours would you like?"

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

His jaw clenched slightly as he stood there thinking about what he had said, she was a different kind of person than he was, he understood that, and might not appreciate the fact that he thought that war was art, in one way it was, sadly the mastery of it was like a performance.

He did not want to make her uncomfortable with his ramblings on philosophy or the art of war, two big things in the galaxy, with all these raging factions plundering between sectors, and all the ideas spreading about.

Listening to her he stood there un-moving unwavering in his stance as his ears picked up what she was saying and his eye took in the movement of her words and the movements of everything in his visual sight. "My stories are all very... unique in that they all show a piece of a larger whole, they might not interest everyone in that they show some.... gruesome parts, but if you are willing to listen to an old man talk than I would be pleased to enlighten you on such stories that I hold."

"A guards duty is not to work when is best for him, but what is best for his employer."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

War was not pretty, and she knew that. Although Kay had never taken part in one, she has had her fair share in violence and gruesome acts. There were some events in her life that she never told a soul about and never will. It was far too damaging. There was so much good here that she had done, so much that it far outweighed the bad. But in the world of politics, small things can easily turn into an avalanche.

"I would appreciate your stories. It can help bide the time and give me possible solutions to some problems. I'm not much of a strategist in that way, I'm afraid. So I depend on those around me."

As to when [member="Leonhardt Wilhelm"] figured he should work, Kay just smirked a little. "Well I couldn't possibly have you working all hours of the day or night. You'll need some rest. Are you a morning person or more of a night owl?"

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

War was much more simple than diplomacy in his head, diplomacy required you to know people and how to infuluence them, while war was simple, ABC 123 things happened to due to other things, but you didn't need to know what was inside peoples heads to do war. For diplomacy people could change their mind with no coming reason.

"I would love to also hear some of your stories M'am, I bet you have as much to teach me as I have to teach you. The iron fist of war needs to end someday, no matter how much there is in this galaxy, there must be peace, for a time."

"I will work when you need me, I don't need a set time, it's the easiest way for me to make sure my job is being done m'am." He said his stance unwavering and his voice as deep as ever as he talked to her.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smirked. Oh she had stories to tell and plenty of them. Not all of them had to do with politics either. Plenty of them had nothing to do with it at all. It wasn't as though she's been in politics her entire life. She's done other things too. But as [member="Leonhardt Wilhelm"] had said, there was a lot that they could learn from eachother. And with that she had to agree.

She turned off her datapad and got to her feet, making her way to him as she held out her hand for him to shake. "You seem to be a great fit. Welcome to the staff. At times I may appoint you to look after [member="Bradshaw Ku"] . He's a bit....reckless. And I should get you to meet [member="Amelia Sorenn-Syrush"] . She's our new Head of Security. Medical care, room and board, all of that will be provided for you, plus your pay. Is there anything else that you'd like to cover before I show you around?"

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

When Kay gave him a knowing smirk he chuckled softly to himself, he had heard a few already but he no doubt there was a plethora more behind the Queen that stood over the people of Commenor. She was not a bad person but there are people like her that just attract all the dangers of the galaxy right to their doorstep.

He grabbed her hand as gently as he could, which to her still had a pretty good grip. "Thank you m'am, I hope to be able to fit all your needs and I promise to fulfill my promise to you and to the Commenori people as best as I can. I do have two questions, number one how is the eye care here? Number two, do we have a dental plan?" The first question was asked in all seriousness but the second one was a little more jokingly as he looked down at [member="Lady Kay"] giving her a knowing smile as he let off a soft chuckle.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Well that was quite the grip. Kay tucked her hand behind her back when [member="Leonhardt Wilhelm"] released it, slowly flexing her fingers to get the circulation flowing back a bit better. An iron grip like that wouldn't be easy to get away from. That was good to know. It was amazing what one can learn from a simple handshake.

She held his gaze while he asked his questions, his chuckling lifting the seriousness from her face. "Both are eye care and dental are top notch. Plus they are covered. It makes no sense for people to have to fall on hard times because they are ill or something, don't you think?" Most of the taxes to pay for everything came from their exports and trade tariffs. It was a fantastic system that didn't need to hurt her citizens.

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

He nodded as he looked down with his good eye. "That's good to hear, you have a good system going on here and I'm glad to be able to be a cog in the wheel. Even if people fell on hard times I have a feeling it wouldn't be too bad or last to long." He said to her with a slight grin as he looked around the room a little bit.

"You know people, that is your gift young Queen, all people are born with a gift, something they exceed at, and yours is that, or at least in my mind it is." He said this with a light smile as his gaze fell back upon her. "You are also wise beyond your years, but everyone still has more to learn, whether they know it or not."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay stepped back to her desk to pick up her tea, holding it in hand and sipping from it while [member="Leonhardt Wilhelm"] looked about the room. He was a good fit. But then again, so were others. Yet those individuals moved on. Perhaps she was too much trouble or perhaps they just wanted the experience. Regardless, she didn't hold it against them. That just wasn't her way.

She laughed a little at how he viewed her. It wasn't the viewpoint of which she saw herself at all. "If only you were right. If I did know people, then maybe I'd get myself into far less trouble. I'm too trusting." Far too trusting. Kay was naive enough to believe that if she was nice to everyone, then they would return that kindness. Treating others the way that she wanted to be treated didn't always work out so well."But yes, I have plenty to learn. I just take it all one day at a time."

Kay turned to the spiral staircase by the bookshelves in her office, gesturing with her free hand for him to follow. "My bedchambers are up here. But this isn't the only way to get to it, just the one that I use most often. There are secret passageways throughout the Palace that lead to different escape routes, as well as to the network of tunnels and saferooms below Chasin City. Whenever we are under attack, all citizens are directed to go deep underground. Some of the tunnels are old mine shafts. They extend 30 kilometers below the surface, so there's plenty of room." She placed her hand on the touchpad by the door, followed by the retinal scan. Another touch to the left corner and she stepped aside. "Place your hand on the touchpad and look at the sensor. This way you can have access if you need to."

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

He looked back at [member="Lady Kay"] and gave a slight sigh, he had heard about her and her tea from Rex and thought it quite funny, Rex had a big problem with Kay's tea drinking for some reason that no one truly understood but him. It was still fairly funny though how much Rex hated this small little habit of Kay, not even he knew why.

As she chuckled he raised a brow slightly as he listened to her speak nodding slightly as he understood what she meant. "There is nothing wrong with trusting someone, it is their fault if they deceive you. You are opening up to them and if they truly are lying to you and hurt you, then they deserve the pain that is coming to them." He said this statement matter-of-factly as he looked down at Kay his arms coming up to his chest as he crosses them thinking about his words.

Looking at her he gave a slight nod as he followed her to the staircase. "I will most likely be using the main passageways because of the more obvious reasons that would be hard for me to be traveling inside those tunnel ways." He said this statement with a little laugh gesturing at his size as he continued to follow Kay. He nodded as she instructed him to put his hand on the door and look at the sensor which he did and watched as the system made his profile and then allowed him access so he could begin his job. "Pretty high tech, I guess that's what I get for joining royal security."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay gave [member="Leonhardt Wilhelm"] an appreciative smile as he commented on the fault not being her own when others broke her trust. Most would tell her to stop trusting others, but her newest hire told her almost the opposite. Still, she was going to follow her instincts. That's what she has always done.

He commented on his side with a chuckle, and Kay laughed a little as she had to agree. The passageways were built small for a reason. It was harder for invaders to navigate if they found them.

She sipped her tea as Leonhardt was given access. "It's not the best of high tech, but for now it does the job.
We're not at war with anyone, so there's not a huge worry to overdo it." Once inside she showed him around. There wasn't much to see that wasn't out of the ordinary except for the passageways. One was hidden behind a bookshelf, while the other was hidden behind a tapestry. The two passages weren't connected, giving her a better chance of escape if she needed it. Once that part was finished, she led him out of her bedchambers and down the spiral stair to the door of her office.

The tour lasted nearly an hour. Kay showed him everything that she could think of as being important, such as the kitchens, the armouries, security offices, even the catacombs and training centers. Lastly came his own chambers, which were in the same wing as her own. It was moderate in size, had it's own kitchen insert, living quarters, bedroom and the like. It was all his own suite. Kay finished her tea and approached the desk, opening the drawer and taking out a commlink, handing it to him. "Here. This has my private channel. If I need you or vice versa, it'll be the quickest way."

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

Trust was a hard thing for some people and too easy for others, and it wasn't [member="Lady Kay"]'s fault that she was too trusting of people, it was their fault for using her trust to take advantage of her.

He thought it was funny that they expected him to fit through the tiny little passage ways. He thought a little about a future if he had to use them but he shook his head forgetting it.

Glancing back at Kay he chuckled, "Ha, well my tech is old school compared to the modern era's way of doing things, my suit, my weapons, are all too old for all these new fancy things that we can do with technology." He watched as she showed him the two passageways making a mental note of them as he tapped his chest looking at them and inspecting them seeing if they were good enough for him and he nods with a slight smile. "Okay this is good enough for me, No one can really see it unless their purposely looking for it." He turned to her with a slight smile as he folded hi arms and laughed a little bit.

He followed around on the tour looking around at the very fancy royal palace a little in awe of it a he followed behind Kay standing quite a bit bigger then her. When they finally got to his room he looked around a little bit picking some things up and putting it back down and nodded a bit as he looked back at Kay. "This is a pretty nice room thank you." He said looking back at Kay and walked up to her and took the comlink interfacing it with his power armor and nodded. "I'll try not to use it too much."