05.23.3014: Ryder And Sauveur
Summary: Nikomachos and Leandra talk under their new names as Senator and Sauveur.
Date: 11 January, 2014
Related: None Directly
Leandra Nikomachos 


Main Lobby, Senate Tower, Landing
In poses
23 May, 3014

It is mid-afternoon by the time Senator Leandra Ryder takes her lunch. The hustle and bustle of the lower conservatory has diminished as most have returned to offices or meeting rooms to finish up their daily affairs. The Rovehn Senator has chosen a seat near the koi pond where fat orange and white fish swim about in lazy circles. Her chopsticks poke at the last of the noodles that float about in the rich broth of her soup. She watches a recent H.N.N. feed that profiles the current war status across Haven. With a frown, she pauses the feed as the beautiful Treena Starlight draws up a map of Imperius and the current known Hostile encampments. "And what will come next," she murmurs as Treena announces that the Hostile numbers are diminishing.

Nikomachos gets away when he can, coming up around the back of the bench holding the Senator. Her security detail get a brief nod, and then he brushes his half-cape back, moving to sit down, "The next wave. And then the next after that. And the next after that. Lea, I meant to stop by and congratulate your in person, so… congratulations, Senator. I am rather in awe of your determination and sacrifice."

Leandra brightens at the sight of the Cindravale as he takes a seat. "Well… Nikomachos Cindravale… or should I call you Sir Nikomachos?" She rests her chopsticks in the thick disposable cup, straightening up from her hunch over her tablet. "I don't see it as a sacrifice, Niko… it was what was needed to be done, and I was the one to do it." The ex-Lady sets aside her lunch and tablet so that she can focus on the Knight. "You're right though… the next wave… that's how they come, isn't it? Wave after wave… like a constant itch that no amount of scratching can sooth… why do we insist on being forever at their whim, Niko. We sit and wait for them to come… I do not believe home field advantage counts much these days."

Nikomachos smiles faintly at the greeting, "That's a name I haven't heard in a good while." And when she goes back to his nickname, he nods in satisfaction, waving dismissively a bit, "Oh, don't stop eating on my account. I know how difficult it is to get a few moments free, and I wouldn't want to disrupt your lunch." There's a moment's pause, "Or is it dinner?" Leaning back on his right hand and crossing his legs at the knee, he notes, "There isn't much of an alternative, unfortunately. At least not without a great deal of time and effort on the part of the Orelles, and us packing into those miserable spaceships."

"Its alright," Leandra says in regard to her unfinished lunch. Then she rolls her shoulders back a bit as she rests her hands in her lap, fingers neatly twined together. "Haven could progress so much further than it already has if we did not have to expect a new war every five-hundred years, and you know that, Niko… perhaps not this time around, but we should be preparing to bring the war to them once this cycle is done instead of waiting. When they retreat, we should chase after…" She then shakes her head. "But, certainly you didn't come to see me to discuss politics…"

Nikomachos nods his head, "Oh, I don't disagree. I think it would be wonderful if we could take the fight to the Hostiles, Lea." He waggles one finger at the new Senator, "I am after all, a Hawk myself." His shoulders rise and fall in a slight shrug at her theory, "Actually, I rather did. To offer the congratulations as well, and see that you're settling in well in the Towers, but also to talk politics. I've been talking to members of our generation across Haven, about the need to get active people like yourself into positions of power where you can help direct us into at least an active defense, rather than the senseless turtling we've settled into until recently."

"You didn't come to show me pictures of your lovely daughter?" Leandra asks, one brow arching over her storm-colored eyes. Then she sobers, and brushes a hand across her smooth silk skirts. "You do realize you live in the same Tower as the one man who can ensure that more people like me are brought into greater positions of power," she says with the faintest hint of a smirk on her lips. In an idle gesture, she reaches down to brush her fingertips across the mirror-like waters of the koi pond. "The Vale has set the standard, but it shouldn't need to."

Nikomachos straightens up from his lead at the first question, pulling his sleeve back from the bracelet on his left wrist and grinning, "Do you want to see them?" For all the gravitas to his earlier conversation, he's rather more animated now, pulling up a slowly-changing collage of baby pictures… about one every two minutes of Alexandra's young life thus far by all indications. "Yes, but if I look over at His Majesty during dinner and demand a change at any level of society, I think I might find myself following in my father's footsteps — right back to Phylon. My thinking, however, is that if the suggestions come from a thousand throats, it will not be seen as someone stepping beyond his place."

Leandra leans forward once more, flicking water from her fingertips. She rests her cheek in her palm, elbow propped on her knee as she admires the newborn girl. "She's quite lovely," the Senator compliments. Then she laughs. "I recognize that look," she says, pointing at one with Xandra looking very focused. "A true Valen knows how to look serious while wearing a pink hat." She then breathes out a sigh, deflating a bit as she rolls back. "You know that, that is not true… but change is not something that happens in an instant… time, Niko… time."

Nikomachos nods his head, "Thankfully, she looks like…" he flashes a crooked grin at the Senator, "…well, a beautiful baby. I can't really say she looks like either of us yet." He keeps his arm steady so that the series of photos can continue to run from the bracelet, "A true Valen knows how to look good while wearing a pink hat. I have three myself." Well, probably just one. "You know as well as I do, Lea, that time is the one thing we don't have at the moment. The second wave was stronger than the first, and if they are to have any hope to win, the next wave will have to be significantly stronger still."

Leandra smiles gently toward the new father, but she says nothing more about the beauty of his daughter or the capabilities of a Valen in a pink hat. She glances out across the moderately empty conservatory, gaze following the rare aid who wanders from the entryway to the lift. "We should be prepared then…" She meets his eyes now, her expression calm and smooth as she regards the Knight. "What should I bring to the Senate floor?"

Nikomachos laughs lightly at the question, lifting his shoulders in a shrug once more, and he leans back, bracing his hands on the seat of the bench, "You know what's going on in the Senate better than I do, Lea. But at the moment, it's just gathering like-minded people and talking. Agitating for action wherever it makes sense. It's momentum that I think is important, but you're the politician." Once more, his lips curl into an easy smile, "…more so now than ever. What do you think should be the next step? The first step besides deciding to start, really."

Leandra folds her fingers together in her lap, and her gaze falls aside to look thoughtfully into the koi pond. "That is a difficult question," she muses after a thoughtful moment. "You will need to make yourself more visible, for one…" She lifts her gaze to meet his once more. "And you will need to do so without fear of retaliation from the Crown. You are his cousin now… he cannot remove you as easily he removed Alexandros." She arches up her brows now. "Have you considered speaking before the Senate?"

Nikomachos arches his eyebrows slightly, "You think it would be good to have a figurehead? I had been sort of trying to make this about the Generation, not about one person. I mean, I would flatter myself to suggest that I would be an example of an active leader, but I've been struggling mightily against my own natural inclination for the spotlight. Especially since the only actual action item I have, besides simply direct action against the Hostiles where they land, is returning my father to the Citadel — even if not as Knight Commander."

"It is human nature for us to rally behind someone with ideals and norms we favor." Leandra shrugs. "If you do not feel you could be that figurehead, find someone who you think can." She then smiles gently. "You are not the only one who feels the way you do, Niko… but the Generation of Vengeance needs a guiding force, and we have not found it in our King Regnant. He could be the one, but not while he allows the Khourni to clutter the Council and wait too long to commit to action until it is too late."

Nikomachos shifts his weight to press his fingertips to his breastbone, "Oh, you know me well enough to know that I don't have any problems with being the center of attention. I simply didn't want to draw attention away from the ideas. But if you think it would be of benefit to the cause, I'm rather happy to take some spotlight." Shifting in his seat, he reaches up to pull at the collar of his jacket, looking discomfited for a moment, "I rather thought it would be Father that everyone was rallying behind. But yes, the lack of Arborenin and Valen on the Council is quite disturbing. One might even think that someone were trying to block our voices from being heard by His Majesty."

"I dislike conspiracy theories," Leandra slowly draws up to her full height, gathering up the remains of her lunch. "But… I suspect that Emund may be putting his trust in the wrong voices. There is only so much the Senate can do if the Council does not wish to hear our voices." She then brushes her fingers down along her skirts before she offers him a gentle bow of her head. "Sir Nikomachos Sauveur… I should return to my duties. Have you any need of the member of the Senate… my heart is always in the Vale, as is yours I believe."

Nikomachos nods his head, "I tend to agree, actually." Before them, the parade of baby pictures continues, masking the conversation quite nicely, actually. "The Council will always listen to the Senate — if it knows what is good for it. Haven is the Citizens." Plucking at the edge of his cape, he adds, "Don't let me keep you from your duties, Senator." A touch of a grin plays at his lips at the title, "But making sure that the right words come from Senate to Council… that's not something I can influence."

"The Regnant would not be the first of his title and position to listen to the voices closest to his ear… if the third wave is as fierce as you believe, we will not afford waiting to strike." Leandra begins to smile. "And you may not be able to mold the words of the Senate… but it is something I can." Then she inclines her head once more, her gaze averting respectfully. "May They Guide You, Sir Nikomachos." Then the Senator begins to step away while her security detail falls into stride behind her.

Nikomachos rises as Leandra bows her head, nodding himself, "And also you, Senator Ryder." He finally shuts down his bracelet display, turning on his heel to walk the other way.

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