Take It From Me

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Elias Truden"]

He was led through corridors and finally the Givin ended his walk in front of a pair of doors.

An office of sort on the far-side of the facility, but it did not seem to be very special for an office that was presumably occupied by the Magister of the Humbarine Sector, but such was the way of things with Tai. He enjoyed theatrics and pleasant things, but he also understood pragmatism and the need for caution when you were occupying a high-enough public office.

"An advice for you, Mister Truden." the Givin offered softly, before he would depart and leave Elias with the Thirriken. "Be honest and straightforward. If you lie to make yourself look better, he will know."

Without waiting for a reply the Givin bowed and departed, leaving Elias with his own thoughts.

Perhaps the doors would seem even more daunting now.

 

[Asher]

[member="Tai Fa"]

There wasn’t anything about Eli that fell within the confines of what people would consider something that he himself would be able to turn into an ‘alternate fact.’ The suit on his shoulders was by galactic standards outdated by perhaps one or two years, the slight scruff-stubble on his neck and cheeks were about as well-kept as he could have made it during a twenty hour transit in which he had slept for the most part of it. He was not going to hide the fact that he had dedicated the last few years to come to terms with things while remaining as far off the radar of his old life as he could.

Just being here was a situation of mixed emotions, but in the end he decided to heed Amina’s words. He could do more good out here than he could on a backwaters planet looking for better cellular communications between both themselves and the galaxy. Not that he thought of it as any less rewarding than life as an executive had been, but the rewards were certainly not as double-ended, financially, as the old life had been. He’d lie if he said he hadn’t missed that.

And so he stepped through the door to the magister’s office.

“Magister Fa?” He inquired from across the room.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Elias Truden"]

Tai was sitting at his desk and studying some of the papers that were crowding his plate.

It was surprising how much work there really was when you simply wished to give people the ability to walk again. Walk, talk, think, using their bodies as they were made to be used, instead of letting themselves be pushed into the corners and alleyways of society without being able to be productive.

No possibility to earn their living and being forced to simply squat and beg for hand-outs.

Even the strongest and best of minds would probably crumble from facing that indignity.

"Mister... Truden." Tai greeted without looking up, just a single wing raising itself and gesturing for him to come forward and settle down in one of the seats in front of the table. The silence ruled after this, only sometimes interrupted by the scribble of the Thirriken's pen changing something on flimsiplast in unintelligible markings.

It was a wonder how the avian managed to hold the pen in the first place.

"Miss Talith let me know that you would be the perfect spokesman for our program here. Fully aware of the pain and suffering others go through with your own experiences and with an honest face to make them believe you are genuine in your attempts to assist them with their plight."

The voice cut through any thoughts Elias might have had.

"What do you think of that?"

 

[Asher]

[member="Tai Fa"]

Well now, that was a question Elias wasn’t quite sure if the bird before him really wanted an honest answer for. Between the silence as the avian wrote something on his desk to the short description of why they had chosen to consider him of all people to lead their project. Elias had yet to meet this ‘Miss Talith’ but he had certainly heard of her. Where he had failed to deliver anything with his own IT company, now defunct, she plopped results as if it was nothing. Work-wise admirable, but her decision making…

“Not sure you want an honest answer to that.” Elias quipped without really offering the thirriken any kind of option to really weigh in on the matter. “Miss Talith’s choice to pick me despite never having met me speaks more about a callous disregard of her own interests than anything else.”

“That said I do have experience with what she seems to need of me. At least I’d like to think my time with Iron Crown wasn’t all for nothing.” He perked his brows and tilted his head to the side, a sign of arrogance perhaps, or an attempt to further his own joke. Part of him could feel the frown Amina was giving him from lightyears away, he was going into “that” part of himself again. Stuck-up Coruscanti trader try-hard.

Mouth hung for a bit before he shook his head and tried again.

“In short, no. I do not know why Miss Talith would pick me, it was dropped on me out of nowhere. We have no previous contact.”

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Elias Truden"]

The pen continued to scribble while Truden was doing his little talk.

It almost seemed as if Tai wasn't paying attention to what was being said, but anyone who knew the Thirriken knew that was the furthest of the truth in this particular situation. There wasn't any possible way that he could pay more attention, unless he decided to hop onto Elias' lap without warning to listen closer.

But Truden's lap did not seem all that bouncy.

Which defeated the point for Tai.

"Honesty is a rare thing in this business of ours, Mister Truden." Magister Fa remarked after a moment more, before giving the smallest of shrugs and putting his pen down. Shrewd eyes moving up and studying the humanoid in front of him - he seemed quite vanilla all things considered.

Which was perfect.

"It might not serve you well in other endeavors, but for this project it is perfect. Sentients love genuinity and if you radiate anything... it is that."

Was that enough? That was the true question, was it not? Tai didn't really react to his judgement of Kaili though. Mostly because he wasn't wrong, she was still... young, still prone to making rash judgement and decisions that didn't benefit her directly. It only pleased her sentiment.

"I take it you are interested, you wouldn't travel half the Galaxy to meet me otherwise."

 

[Asher]

[member="Tai Fa"]

Vanilla was the name and being a puppet was his game. It wasn’t exactly as if Elias was unaware that his role with ICE had been forgotten since his time there, but he still prided himself in keeping it all floating while he was there. And that was perhaps where honesty got into it. Had it not been for the last few years and the people it had brought into his life he might not even have been as honest as he was, but at the same time he had also been urged not to lie about himself by the people that had led him to Magister Fa. To him, well, he was quite simply doing what he was told. That was what he was good at.

“I’ve worked humanitarian and goodwill projects for the last three years.” Elias began with a small shrug that would split his hands from one another before letting them clasp together once more. “From what I have seen, this project is a combination of both.”

“I am interested, very much so.” He nodded. “What would my duties be?”

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Elias Truden"]

What did they need?

Sentients were naturally predisposed towards caution and even a healthy dose of paranoia.

It basically meant that it was in their personal interest to simply go ahead with this procedure and make the least amount of fuss about it as possible, but that this wasn't the way many were willing to go. It was understandable, it was difficult to admit to others and to yourself that you needed some assistance to get back on your feet.

Sometimes literally.

But what they needed in this instance was putting a comforting and pleasant face on the project. Someone they could trust when it told them that this was the correct path for them to follow.

"Public relationships mostly - heading up events, interviews, doing press releases and going into the neighborhoods themselves to start fostering connections with the communities and ourselves." It was all a very socially demanding job and would mean a lot of time spend talking to people and being out there in the field.

"We also considering forming a think tank where people with first-hand experience with cybernetics can share those experiences, so our designs are formed after them."

 

[Asher]

[member="Tai Fa"]

To many degrees it reminded him of his job for Iron Crown. While he had done his fair share of work within the confines of what a CEO worked with he had still done most of his job within the PR department. Not so much that he would have placed himself in the spotlight as perhaps to maintain the company’s status as someone who had to be respected. Marketing had been his thing after all, but it had never been enough to warrant him a guaranteed spot as heir to the Truden family company, and with the company having fallen into the hands of Kallista he had been locked out of the chance of it ever happening.

He hated to admit it, but it had been one of the more obvious reasons he left his home. The other being his guilt, but Amina had helped wonders with that. He knew now that it was not his fault, especially so when it turned out the people he mourned came back from the dead to murder their own father. It had been a shock to say the least, one that he had still not quite gotten over.

And to think that in the end neither of the outcast Truden had decided to make amends or even make an effort to contact one another. On Elias’ end he knew it was the awkward silence he knew it would ensue and on Kana’s behalf he could only imagine the deepseated hatred she housed for him as well.

Would she murder him as well? Probably not. She was still with the Healer’s Circle last he checked, but he was never one to take a risk he couldn’t… Calculate. Or something. Perhaps it was all just an excuse or perhaps deep down he knew that she wouldn’t ever want to meet him. It made things easier to think that the latter was the truth.

“I can handle both of those.” Elias eventually gave Magister Fa a nod to signal his ‘understanding’ of the situation. “I was lucky with my prosthetic, but few others have. If you have the resources available to make this happen I’d believe myself capable of handling what you need.”

“The only question is why you would want to do this. This is a tremendous undertaking and I have to admit that I am…” Looking a gift horse in the mouth. Elias quickly changed his course. “Curious.”

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Elias Truden"]

It was a fair question.

But presumably it was also a question that did not truly have a satisfying answer for Truden. Unless Tai decided to go for something as surprising as: "Oh, this is pure propaganda to make these people trust me, so they will let me exploit them for financial monetization and the sort."

How terrible that only the most cynical of statements sounded believable in this time and age.

"I would like to earn money, mister Truden." The Thirriken finally responded with a little shrug. "But sometimes you must spend money to make money."

He leaned back and smiled softly.

"If I can spend money, make people happy and earn a profit in the progress? That seems to be a win-win situation for me, wouldn't you say?"

After all, it was only the stupid Sith that thought the only acceptable way of conquering a world was through war and blood and death and destruction. There was little profit to be had when your populace was slaughtered, its infrastructure destroyed and all the valuable resources wrecked from the fighting.

"We have an accord then?"

 

[Asher]

[member="Tai Fa"]

Ah, it was as devious of a scheme as Elias thought that it seemed to be. The man couldn’t help but grin at the situation, perk his brows and staple his fingers. Big business wasn’t a clean business, no matter how much some people would like to tell themselves otherwise. Kaili had picked him because she was an idiot working off of idealism rather than reality. Few companies with altruistic ideals lasted, it was just a fact. It was a career where the mind needed to be as shrewd, as sharp as that of the most greatest of politicians and that was something Kaili had already proven that she had no grasp of with the simple choice that she had chosen Elias to represent her without having ever met him.

No, Tai was most likely the man with the upper hand here. He had a plan and he most likely had the resources to make it happen. He had that air about him, much like Elias’ former boss had.

“Well then, money is what you will make.” It was almost too easy to slip back into that persona, the one he had tried to stay away from when he left ICE, but maybe it was just the man he was. “I can see this working, but we’re going to need the right teams and plan the approaches with a pinpoint accuracy.”

“Needless to say, I believe you have that already underway.” Elias nodded. “We have an accord, Magister Fa.”