Ways of the Crown

[Geneva Wessiri]

M'haeli​

White Lotus Palace​

​

Democracy was a disgrace. Geneva hated it with such passion that she often couldn't sleep at night, thinking about what the foolish political ideology had done to the planet of M'haeli. Of course, there were other planets where democracy was working well, but the planet in the outskirts of the Galactic Alliance was not one of them.

Despite her people's dislike for her, she enjoyed being the Queen of M'haeli, ruling over the people and granting them better lives. And while she was not overly successful, she could feel that she was doing well. And what mattered most to her was that the planet was completely under her rule, with no pressure from the Galactic Alliance whatsoever.

She often thought about the old times of the Republic. The endless bureaucracy and needless banter in the Senate were tiring and never achieved anything. Those were dark times. Those were the times when people often thought the republican way of living was a failure. And that was probably why the Alliance was suddenly so gladly greeted by the people of the galaxy. Because for once, independence from the central democratic government was reached.

Governors in this faction were pretty much only in control of their own planets and that's the way Geneva liked it. And what was really amazing was that those Governors could freely create new treaties with each other, make agreements and just cooperate with no interference.

The Queen looked into the mirror in her White Lotus Palace's master bedroom. She was wearing a new dark green long dress and her typical crown over her bun on this special day. The dress had been tailored just days ago, made to match the grandiose style of the galactic capital Coruscant.

She was going to the ecumenopolis this day, to meet and greet the new Governor of Coruscant. The planet had been without a leader for too long and now this great day had come for the planet to finally have an overseer.

It was going to be a good day, she could feel that.

To: Coruscant
Governor's Residence
​

[ [member="Jerolme Moore"] ]​

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Spoiler: Governor's Residence, Coruscant

http://tord.mmo-fashion.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2015/05/Stronghold-Tour-Coruscant-2.png

From his private office, the new Governor of Coruscant watched speeders fly against the backdrop of Coruscant's beautiful orange skyscape. The fingers of Jerolme Moore's left hand tapped his desk intermittently for several moments before he returned his attention to a file held in his right hand. The subject of the report was Geneva Wessiri, the Queen of M'haeli. He was expecting a visit from her, and at the moment, he wasn't quite sure what to make of her. And that was very concerning to him indeed.

Wessiri had been born to a life of luxury and wealth, much like Jerolme himself had. Though much younger than he was, she was no doubt highly versed in the realm of politics and diplomacy herself. Wessiri had been M'haeli's chief diplomat before she had transformed the planet into a constitutional monarchy. And who turned out to be the Head of State but herself? It was certainly no mean feat, and spoke to the extent of her understanding of politics. Worse, Jerolme had no idea what her upcoming visit was about — he knew only that it was more than just a visit to welcome him to his new job, as she had claimed it to be. Somebody like Geneva Wessiri would never travel so far to Coruscant for a mere meet-and-greet.

He wondered how much she knew of him. Jerolme always took the liberty to study up on whoever he met, particularly in the political or diplomatic arena, and if his suspicions were right, Wessiri would do the same before their encounter. After all, knowledge is power. A politician without power is a like a painter without a brush. You know what you want to paint, but without the brush, I'm afraid you can't do anything. And politics is as much an art as much as it is a game of survival. In any election, the last one standing wins, but it is the one who paints the greatest artwork who is remembered by history.

Jerolme set the file on the M'haeli queen on his desk, and went outside to the balcony for a breath of fresh air. In an instant, his doubts and insecurities were swept away. Casting his gaze out to the Coruscant traffic, Jerolme lost himself in thought again for several moments. Then he turned to go back inside.

The Queen would be coming soon, and Jerolme intended to play her game and win.

God save the queen.

[member="Geneva Wessiri"]

 

[Geneva Wessiri]

Coruscant​

Governor's Residence​

​

Queen Geneva's shuttle landed on the landing port of the Governor's Residence on Coruscant. It was a long time since the last time she'd visited the magnificent planet. The never-ending city that spanned the whole planet was something of wonder, and keeping all of it running must have been no easy task. She admired the people who had the power to govern this planet. Maybe she would admire the current Governor as well.

The woman had not done a lot of research on the man, but that didn't mean her staff wouldn't have done that. She knew what she had to know -- the man had always been living in luxury. Much like the woman herself, he'd slowly made it to the uppermost levels of politics, having started off at a low local councillor level. Yet now he was a Governor.

Before the Queen would step out of the vessel, four bodyguards would move out of the ship to ensure the safety of the majesty. Of course several bodyguards were already on the planet hours before Geneva had arrived, just to make sure there was no threat to the woman. And then after the bodyguards came three women in gold ceremonial robes, close behind them a man in an even more luxurious gold robe, also wearing a headpiece that closely resembled an angel's wings.

All those people would stop a few metres away from the ship and then make way for the Queen herself. Geneva looked over all of that, took a deep breath, and then walked out of the vessel.

"Good day, my dear fellows," she simply said upon walking up to the people who'd come to welcome her.

[ [member="Jerolme Moore"] ]​

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Jerolme hid his file on the Queen within a drawer in his room and made some final checks of the building's interior. Every new occupant of the building renovated the residence to match their design, and Jerolme had only just settled into his new home before the Queen had arranged to come here. That had prompted him to order a mass cleaning process of the entire building, rendering it spotless from top to bottom.

The most unsettling aspect of the upcoming encounter was the fact that the Queen had the advantage of Force-sensitivity. Jerolme himself lacked the gift, but he was well aware of the stories — those connected to the Force could read the minds of others or potentially even control them. He had also heard, however, that such powers worked predominately on the weak-minded. Fortunately, Jerolme carried his mind and will with iron resolution born from years of physical and mental hardship in both the military and politics. It helped that he had spent well over a decade practicing hiding his true self from other politicians.

Jerolme's advantage in this affair was that the meeting was taking place on his turf. Whilst the Queen would no doubt be accompanied by an entourage, Jerolme would equally undoubtedly be able to field much more security. He'd need the advantage in personnel to make up for the Wessiri's Force-sensitivity if the encounter ever came to something undesirable. Not that he'd expect such from a diplomatic visit, of course.

The Queen was due to arrive. With his security team behind him, guards posted at every door within the building, and his wife by his side, Jerolme made his way to the balcony to be greeted by the sight of a shuttle landing on the round landing pad overlooking the Senate District. Jerolme's own shuttle was parked in a hangar downstairs, but it was essential for foreign dignitaries to land quickly, easily and with the beautiful cityscape behind them. With benign smiles on their faces, Jerolme and his wife Sara stood at the base of the short flight of stairs connecting the landing pad to the balcony.

Four bodyguards came out of the shuttle, followed by three women in ceremonial vestments, then a man in even more opulent attire. Finally, the Queen of M'haeli herself emerged from the shuttle door. "Good day, my dear fellows," she said to the Coruscanti entourage that was waiting for her. Jerolme ensured that he was physically, mentally and emotionally composed. He had warned his wife to do the same. It was essential that they minimize whatever benefits the mysterious mind-reading abilities of the Force could offer the Queen.

"Your Majesty. We're humbled to host your visit today," Jerolme replied with a courteous bow. "This is my wife, Sara," he said as his wife, herself dressed in the most luxurious clothing she had, came over to greet the Queen personally. "Please, do come inside. I'm sure you haven't travelled all the way from M'haeli just to be disturbed the noise of speeders flying past." As he said the words, he held out a hand to respectfully direct the Queen to the living quarters that were already visible through the balcony window, then followed once Geneva Wessiri and her entourage had moved past him.

Jerolme followed the Queen inside the living room, where a spacious lounge awaited them. Everything in the room from the seats to the decorations on the walls were made of opulent, fine materials, denoting fine taste as much as it did exorbitant wealth. Again, Jerolme gestured respectfully for the Queen to take her seat first. Once that happened, he and his wife took their own seats, as his security staff formed a circle around the group. A server poured refined Alderaanian wine into elegant glasses for the entire company bar the security. The security guards were close enough to take immediate action in the case of an emergency, but they left enough space so as to ensure that the group didn't feel pressured in any way. Jerolme raised a glass of wine.

"To the Queen of M'haeli," he said before taking a sip of the wine. Placing his glass back down, he continued, "To what do we owe the honour of your visit, Your Majesty, if I may ask?"

[member="Geneva Wessiri"]

 

[Geneva Wessiri]

"Very nice to meet you, Sara," Geneva spoke, smiling to the Governor's wife. She let her eyes quickly inspect the woman, looking for any interesting clues her appearance or body language would give off. As well as to see if she had a better sense of fashion than the Queen.

As they all moved over into the inside of the luxurious living room, Geneva admired the beauty of the lounge for a moment. It looked nice -- not like her throne room or any of her other spacious rooms, but it was still beautiful. And what mattered the most was that she could see a bottle of wine in the hands of a server. Despite the woman not being a drunkard, she did enjoy a good glass of Alderaanian wine every now and then.

The Queen of M'haeli took a seat and looked at the couple as they did the same. Nice people, she thought to herself. They must have had a good relationship. If she could have only said the same about her own love life, that would have been awesome.

After raising a glass and even taking a sip of the wine, Geneva replied to the man's question.

"Nice of you to ask. As a relatively long-serving Governor of a Galactic Alliance planet, I believed it would be polite to welcome you amongst the ranks and come for a visit on Coruscant."

She took a glance at the security personnel all around. Things were really serious, she could tell. But it had to be so when two rulers of such high caliber had a meeting.

"Of course, that is not the only reason behind my visit," the woman said. "I believe it to be the time to warm up the relations between the two of our planets. Coruscant and M'haeli have not always been in such a good state, so I find it to be essential for us to act now to provide the best to our citizens."

Whether the man thought the same way or not didn't matter at the moment.

"Cooperation is often the guarantee of a better life, isn't it so?"

[ [member="Jerolme Moore"] ]​

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Jerolme noticed the Queen cast a brief, admiring look at himself and his wife. He allowed his eyes to dart over to his wife, Sara, and back. She had played an integral part in his political career, and of all those who remained in the universe, she was the only one who continued to support his ambitions. The power of his love for her was perhaps the only thing that exceeded his love of power.

The Queen's look could've been interpreted to betray a sense of longing for such a relationship. Whatever was behind it, the Queen moved the conversation onwards smoothly. "Nice of you to ask. As a relatively long-serving Governor of a Galactic Alliance planet, I believed it would be polite to welcome you amongst the ranks and come for a visit on Coruscant."

"You're too kind, milady," Jerolme replied with a warm smile. Formalities formed the backbone of politics. In the diplomatic arena, those who were devoid of manners were indeed akin to the spinally injured cunable to walk, to move anywhere, or do anything.

"Of course, that is not the only reason behind my visit," the Queen continued. Ah. There it is.

"I believe it to be the time to warm up the relations between the two of our planets. Coruscant and M'haeli have not always been in such a good state, so I find it to be essential for us to act now to provide the best to our citizens."

A deal between the two of our worlds? Agreeable.

" Cooperation is often the guarantee of a better life, isn't it so?"

"You might very well think that, Your Majesty. I couldn't possibly comment." He retained his warm, benign smile. "Not to worry; I am completely on board with you. What is it they say -- great minds think alike?" Jerolme chuckled kindly as he raised his glass to the Queen again. Putting it back down, he continued, "I assure you we have every interest in cooperating with M'haeli — politically, economically, militarily. But before we negotiate the minutiae of our agreement," he paused for a moment. "I have but a simple question for you. Why me?" There was a genuine hint of curiosity in Jerolme's voice.

"It is not my intention to appear egocentric, milady, but the fact that you choose precisely this moment, just as I replace another man as Governor of Coruscant, to visit our planet, leads me to believe that your interests lie somewhat less in the planet itself," he paused again as he raised his glass of wine to the Queen for the third time. "As they do in the man in charge." He drank and set his now-empty glass back on the table. A server quickly replaced it with another filled glass. "Is there something I possess or represent that was lacking from my predecessor? Is there something you want from me in particular? Or perhaps I am simply mistaken?" Jerolme maintained his cordial smile as he awaited the Queen's answer.


[member="Geneva Wessiri"]