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Post by Neo Queen Serenity on Jan 12, 2009 0:42:20 GMT -5
"I will prove myself worthy of such trust, as you have proven yourself to me," Usagi responded somberly, feeling rather touched for some reason. Then again, it wasn't every day that she felt a connection like this. A 'connection' to say the least...
"I'll have these files," she indicated the presentation on the touchscreen, "emailed to your office. This is off the record, and pending all required paperwork, of course, but I think we're in business." The kind of initiative, creativity and willingness to take risks that Khalid had shown her in an hour had not been matched by any of the other competitors. She had not met everyone, of course, but had read the transcripts of the meeting. Usagi knew she was taking a risk of her own, but it was up to her to further the working relationship and put some faith in him as he did her.
Usagi just hoped Luna wouldn't think she was being too hasty in her decision. She stood up, smoothing out her blazer. "I've enjoyed this meeting, and I look forward to working with you a lot more in the future," she smiled, choosing to bow her head and dip into a quick curtsy. It was a little more formal, and after they had gotten along so well she would usually have offered her hand to shake-- but Usagi was almost afraid to touch him again.
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Post by Khalid ibn Maleec on Jan 12, 2009 10:14:46 GMT -5
Khalid nodded, "I'm sure that you will, Majesty. I have every confidence in you." And he did, though he'd have to figure out how and why that was later.
He raised a surprised eyebrow as she unofficially confirmed that they would get the contract. That had not been his intention, well, not after the first few moments in the lobby anyway, but he would be lying if he said that he was not pleased with the turn of events. "Thank you, Majesty. I hope that it works out, and we will endeavor to live up to your expectations and trust inus."
He stood as she did and bowed deeply to her. "It has been a pleasure. I hope you have a good day." He knew a dismissal when he heard one, and he knew that his contact information was on file with the palace. She'd be able to contact him.
He then turned and nodded to Luna as well, "It was a pleasure to meet you as well. Salam Aleikum." With that, he left, this time truly heading out of the palace, with a lot to think about.
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Luna
Senshi/Shitennou
Advisor to Neo Queen Serenity
Posts: 185
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Post by Luna on Jan 12, 2009 15:37:54 GMT -5
Luna watched silently as Usagi unofficially confirmed that she would give UAE the contract. The only evidence of her disapproval was that she had dug her claws into the fine fabric of the chair she was perched upon. She refused to show Khalid anything other then pleasant politeness as she murmured her own farewells. The moment Khalid had left the room, Luna turned to glare disapprovingly at Usagi. She waited to speak until the door was firmly shut, but once it was she wasted no time in beginning a lecture.
“Usagi-chan, do you have any idea what you have just done? You don’t even know that man beyond what you have seen today and you haven’t even met most of the other canidates. You acted far too hasty in your decision making Usagi. You are the queen now and every decision that you make will affect other people, you know this. You can’t go around trusting people that easily, what did you think you were doing?"
She glanced down at her paws thoughtfully for a moment before turning back to Usagi, her gaze a little less disapproving and more worried this time. “There was something about him Usagi-chan. I can't really say what, its just that ... I know he seemed honesty and kind, but looks can be decieving. You need to be careful."
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Post by Neo Queen Serenity on Jan 12, 2009 17:31:49 GMT -5
"Same to you," Usagi said with a gentle smile and nod, walking him to the door of the room. She closed it gently behind him, frowning at the beautiful cherry grain patterns as Luna launched into her. I should have figured...
"Yes, I am well aware that my decisions affect others," she said, pouting a bit as she turned to face her friend and advisor. "You know, if you don't agree with me you can say it without accusing me of ignoring the needs of other people. Or maybe just asking me why I did what I did?" Though, Luna seemed to know somewhat, especially since she went off on how appearances can be deceiving.
Usagi flopped back on the couch, kicking off her Manolo heels and making a face at her coffee, which was cold by now and hadn't been sipped on at all. She wished she had a soda instead. "Believe it or not, I was thinking of others-- you know me well enough that I wouldn't put the lives of men and women in even more danger. I know it seems precipitous to you, but think about it. I haven't met everyone, that's true, but there was no concrete plan to ever do so. I have read all the transcripts and talked to a few people. We're also done our own research on these companies-- nobody has come here thinking about the better good, or being willing to take a risk, or even seemed capable of the kind of vision needed for creative problem solving. I do trust him, Luna, but it's more than just appearances... From the moment I saw him there was something different there..." she stared off for a moment, recalling that expanding sense of time, the strange sensation that she was on the Moon instead of Earth, ready to greet him...
Usagi shook her head as if it would clear her of her vague thoughts, cryptic even to herself. "If you don't trust my judgment, then trust the process. You know how rigorous the ethics and security checks are, if there is a problem, we'll catch it. It's just the beginning of the process. And you know-- there was a moment--" she hesitated. Was Luna right, she seemed to sense something odd from Khalid as well, but had become more distrustful for it, whereas Usagi could not entirely account for her sense of familiarity and ease with a man she had known for barely more than an hour. "--oh, it's probably nothing," she waved her hand. "Our fingers brushed when he handed me the disk, and I swear it felt like I had been shocked by one of Lucan's Tasers. And I've been having déja vu this entire time-- have you? It's like I've the guy for years. I can't shake it."
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Luna
Senshi/Shitennou
Advisor to Neo Queen Serenity
Posts: 185
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Post by Luna on Jan 12, 2009 18:18:48 GMT -5
Luna watched Usagi flop back onto the couch and kick her heels off, listening quietly to what she had to say. Despite what she had said a moment ago, Luna did trust Usagi’s judgement. She had lived with the girl long enough by now to know that she could trust Usagi. It wasn’t Usagi that she didn’t trust, it was Khalid ... and even that wasn’t quite right. Khalid had done nothing wrong, but there was something about him that made her uneasy. She didn’t have Usagi’s trusting nature and so that uneasiness translated itself into suspicion.
She leaped to the floor and padded over to the couch before saying, “I do trust you Usagi, I know that you wouldn’t knowingly put anyone in danger. I just ...”
Luna fell silent as Usagi continued speaking, trying to understand what her friend was saying. However, try as she might she couldn’t trust as easily as her queen did and the fact that Usagi herself was talking about how familiar Khalid had seemed made her unease grow. She didn’t think that Usagi had ever met Khalid before and she knew that she hadn’t. Where did this sense of familiarity come from then? What was it about the man that struck them both so very much?
She shook her head confusedly and murmured, “He was familiar Usagi, but I know that I’ve never met him. I know that you trust him, but can’t. There is something about him that makes me uneasy, something at the edge of my thoughts that I just can’t reach that tells me to be careful around him. Please Usagi, just be careful. That is all that I ask ....”
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Post by Neo Queen Serenity on Jan 13, 2009 15:53:17 GMT -5
"That's what it feels like to me, too. That there's something in my mind that I can't reach when it comes to him." Usagi sighed, slouching down now that she didn't have to be proper for any visitors. "It makes my brain hurt. At first I wrote it off as being briefed on him, but that wasn't it... I'll be careful, Luna, I promise... I always have to be nowadays," she said sulkily. Usagi hated how high the stakes were, so high that she had to be extremely wary of just about everything, even seemingly simple and personal things could be taken and used against her. "And you may not understand this, Luna, but I sort of want to keep an eye on Khalid, too-- that's another reason for doing this. I have a feeling that he's someone I could keep on hand. It's so confusing how I feel!"
Usagi played with her hair from a moment, twirling a long strand over her finger, gnawing on her lip in deep thought. "Luna... What do you remember of the Silver Millennium?" The question just popped out unexpectedly. Usagi lowered her eyes, feeling a bit nervous for asking. "I just... For some reason I was reminded of it today. What kind of cultural traditions were there... Did my mother ever make political choices that you disagreed with? There are so many times-- and this would be one of them-- where I feel as if I am making choices while in the dark..."
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Luna
Senshi/Shitennou
Advisor to Neo Queen Serenity
Posts: 185
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Post by Luna on Jan 13, 2009 17:29:16 GMT -5
Luna sighed as she listened to Usagi sulk. Usagi had trusted people easily throughout her entire life and so now that she had become a queen it would be difficult to be more careful about giving away her trust. Luna did understand that and she wished that things could be different. However, no amount of wishing and sulking would change that.
She shook her head regrettably before saying, “I will trust your judgement on him Usagi, perhaps he will prove to be nothing more unusual then a man that resembles someone we once met.” She didn’t really believe that, but she would give Khalid the benefit of at least attempting to trust him.
Luna fell silent as Usagi started to play with her hair, though she did stiffen somewhat when she was asked about her memories. Those were memories she didn’t really like to think about. The end of the Silver Millennium were very painful memories to have. However, Usagi deserved to know about her mother and so Luna would talk a little of those memories she held.
The small black cat settled herself down, her tail curled once more around her front paws. She was silent for a moment before finally raising her blue eyes back to Usagi and saying, “There are some things that are really foggy Usagi-chan, but for the most part I remember those days. As for cultural traditions, well there were many ... remember the Silver Millennium existed on many different planets and they all had their own cultures, their own way of doing things. The moon had their own of course, but we also took on many of the other planets cultures. The people of the moon were as varied as the people of Earth are now. Remember, it wasn’t only the senshi that moved from their planets to the moon, common folk of each of the planets also occasionally took up residence if they so wished and they generally brought their own customs and culture with them.”
Luna glanced down at her paws for a moment, sadness overtaking her as she remembered her home on the moon those many long years ago. It had been a happy time before evil destroyed it and it hurt to think of all the lives and dreams lost so long ago. Turning back to Usagi she smiled sadly and said, “You are a lot like your mother Usagi-chan. You both had the same tendency to trust people whole-heartedly. There were things that she decided to do that I had trouble understanding, but I trusted in her experience. She was already a queen when I met her and I rarely ever actually disagreed with her, at least out loud. I spent far more time with you, as I was your advisor and companion. However, I know there were times when she was just as confused as you are. Times when she didn’t know what was best, but she always went with what her heart told her was the right path. She trusted to her heart to see her through, a trait that you share with her.”
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Post by Neo Queen Serenity on Jan 13, 2009 23:40:07 GMT -5
"Probably," Usagi smiled at Luna, though she knew that they both thought that wasn't the case. "Or we'll figure it out, eventually." That didn't seem any more realistic, but Usagi was an eternal optimist.
"Another pluralistic society, it figures, I suppose..." Usagi had wondered if there were any Lunarian customs that she could revive, but perhaps there was no such luck. And her mother had been just as confused as she was most of the time-- not reassuring, but at least she wasn't alone in her feelings.
"Thank you, Luna," Usagi responded softly. "I just don't know sometimes... I thought maybe the Silver Millennium would have some answers to how to get through this, or at least to know what the hell I'm doing half of the time. Maybe not. I suppose ambiguity comes with the job. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish at least a dozen times that I wasn't doing this."
Usagi sighed heavily, bending over to put on her pumps again and stand up. "I suppose I need to get back to work; I'm behind on a few other things because of taking time to do this meeting. I'll grab dinner as I go. Thanks for being chaperone, Luna," she said with a small grin.
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Luna
Senshi/Shitennou
Advisor to Neo Queen Serenity
Posts: 185
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Post by Luna on Jan 15, 2009 14:05:35 GMT -5
Luna smiled sadly at Usagi and murmured, "It's never going to be easy Usagi-chan, but things will work out in the end. You will see ..."
She watched Usagi get ready to leave for a moment before saying, "I didn't mind playing chaperone, no do I mind doing any other things that would help you out. I wish I could do more ..."
Luna shook her head as she watched Usagi leave before sighing and laying her head on her paws. There were times when she wished that Usagi could have remained a normal girl without the pressures that her destiny put on her. It might have been easier if she had been raised as a princess as she had been during the Silver Millennium, but that hadn't been possible at the time. Oh well, she knew that it would all work out in the end. Usagi would probably never enjoy some of the things she had to do, but she would get more use to doing them.
Eventually Luna left the room herself, deciding that there were better things she could be doing then just laying there thinking about the past.
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