"Well, your secretary may be overworked- but it's not just secretarial work.  Think of it like a butler,"  Smoker drawls, "Except sometimes I gotta do things like make sure he eats and drinks enough, or keep a real close eye for psychological distress.  Your handler's job is to make sure you function, at all times, not just make sure you got your schedule in order.  So whoever you get to do this, you gotta really like or at least really respect."

"Overworked, yes definitely." He agrees. "Well, she does do parts of what you said, she just doesn't get paid for it. I'll look into it, thanks for the advice."

He is thankful for actual advice and has gained a respectful first impression about Smoker. Kendall is looking forward to possibly work with him in the future.

"Well, I don't think I had anything more on my mind, so I think it's time for me to try call Red Queen."

"Look into paying her then.  One way or another."  He sucks on his teeth, "Well, good luck.  Don't forget to let me know how it goes.  Don't have to call right away.  I got a lot on my plate for the next few hours."

After another 'Good luck' Smoker hangs up.

Red Queen's call, on the other hand, plays 30 seconds of heavy dubstep before it segues to a canned voicemail.  The voicemail is oddly depressing and flat after the music.

"This is Tara.  Leave a message."

((9, 7, 7, 6, 6, 4 & 1.

27 + 10 + 10 = 47 Inspire))

Honestly he is not surprised she didn't pick up, more so it is an unknown number to her after all. Anyway, he will leave a voicemail and wait for a bit if she happens to call back or not before moving on to the next one.

"Hey, Kendall Raines here, I hope you have heard of me at this point. Anyway was just calling to say hello and hopefully chat as I'm new to this exalted scene and all, making contacts and all that... Soooo if you have time and interest just call me back. Hopefully hear from you soon."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:40, Wed 19 Feb 2020.

((Confidence check:  46.  Nice.))

He's able to enjoy a nice cup of coffee before he realizes that she's not likely to answer his phone number anytime soon.  Maybe she's not going to-

There's a ring.  Instead of his normal cell phone ring, it's instead a brassy, aggressive digital beat that instantly turns some heads in the coffee shop.

"This is the Red Queen,"  She says, imperiousness in her voice cut by more than a hint of exhaustion, "It's been a long time since anyone called me on this line.  Who gave you this number?"

Well I'll be damned, she actually called back. Did she do it because she was concerned about how Kendall got this number or because she respected the request? Who knows.

"A pleasure to meet you." He replies politely, she already knows who she is calling. "I got this from none other than our old friend Smoker. Were you in the middle of something?" He asks.

"How did HE get this number?  I only gave it to one person..."  She trails off, "Never mind I don't want to know.  No.  I wasn't doing anything important.  Working on a song.  Maybe."  She sounds defensive, clearly on her back foot.  "Aren't you busy causing a constitutional crisis?"

He silently agrees not to address how Smoker gets his information, moving on.

"Yes, a workaholic like myself is always busy, but never too busy to contact fellow exalted." He tells her, "A song? Would be great to see you performing again to be honest, but anyway, I figured i'd ask how you are fairing but it would be quite an intimate question to ask a person i just met huh?" He tries not to be pushy, but since Smoker was concerned about her he makes an attempt to make her share her mind.

"Yeah, that's a pretty fucking intimate question,"  The Red Queen responds with obvious venom in her voice, "If you want some advice, I've got some for you.  Build a rival.  Hate them with all you've got, every fiber of your being, because that hate makes you awesome.  And then make sure they don't do something stupid like dying, because that ruins everything."

Well, she answered the question anyway. It's obvious she is still moping over her lost rival, but who is Kendall to say anything about it? She is not his friend and seems that she likely never will be if this toxicity continues.

"Sorry if I overstepped, wasn't my intention." He says, "I take that finding something new to hate is out of the question? Not many musical stars running around to build a rival out of."

"That's the problem, isn't it?  A proper rival takes a lot to invest in, Mr. Raines, and they should be your mirror in almost every way.  There's nobody around here that fits that bill."  She scoffs for a moment, "Except for that one guy down in the Underdecks and he doesn't know his guitars from his bass.  Hardly fitting.  Not worth my time.  Not many people worth my time here."

Can't tell if she called because she is actually lonely or if she is just being a bitch.

"Well, can't find a new one sitting home all day right? I don't know how else you spend your time, but going out once in a while might help clear your head and get those sweet notes rolling." He is not asking her out, just telling her to go out with her friends if she has any. "But if you want to vent frustration to a friend of a friend just let me know, hell, I think I need to go vent about the whole constitution fuckfest sooner or later." He takes a calmer tone to not raise any eyebrows, he is in a cafe after all.

Well, if she just to talk shit that's cool, but if not she is just more or less in need of a distraction. Now is not the time for a deep analysis.

"Have you considered you shouldn't have to vent about it at all?" She snorts, "It's high time they realize who's buttering their bread.  We're the ones keeping them alive, we're the ones operating the ship... I don't understand why we go through this pretense of caring what a bunch of Dragon-Blooded and self-important gods think.
 At least the humans and most of the demons know it.  We're being ruled by a bunch of angry middle managers."

"This sounds like a very fine topic of discussion face to face. Sharing worldviews is not something to be done over the phone." He remarks.

Her political views seem somewhat opposed to his, she did have some part in politics right? No idea what kind though.

As far as Kendal can remember, as a Pre-Exodite Exalt she only has that as political strength.  After all, he's the first Exalt to hold a political position.

"Fine, fair enough."  She answers abruptly, "If you'd like a meeting fine by me.  Might as well step out of my room for the first time in a few weeks..."

Honestly didn't expect her to agree.

"Nice, just name the place and time and I'll be there. Unless you want me to pick you up at your place." He responds. The latter part is not really a question, more of a statement. She will voice her opinion if she wants to be picked up or not.

"Meet me at the SunUp Amphitheater in two days," A popular venue, one of the many she'd been known to frequent; by anyone's guess it's likely booked solid, "There are some musicians I've been wanting to trash for a few months now playing that night.  Might as well be a good time to meet just before or after."

Then she sighs,

"Fuck it, earlier than that, they're not worth my effort.  Maybe, I dunno, meet me before the doors open.  You can get us in earlier right?  Right."

Well making them a call and name dropping a solar and an infernal should be more than enough to secure open doors, with Kendalls silver tongue at least.

"Its'a date then. Call me is something comes up." He says confidently. Booking the date on his own calendar to not forget or book something on top of it. If she doesn't have more input in the matter, Kendall will wish her a good afternoon, take a breather and proceed to with the list.

Next up is Kyle Weston.  Kendal, like most people on the Last Refuge, has seen some of the solar's work.  A skilled cinematographer and documentarian, Kyle has kind of dropped off over the past few years.  It's his job to control the Last Refuge's physical movement in times of trouble, and piloting the vast ship is something of a full-time job, even with Core.

But, it turns out he must be monitoring his phone carefully, because he picks up immediately.  His voice is cultured, bright, but a little hoarse and weathered.  This is the voice of someone who doesn't speak much.

"Hey,"  Kyle says aloud, "You're Senator Raines, right?"  He takes a sip of some sort of drink, "Newest Eclipse. Welcome to the fold, Kendal.  We're glad to have you on board."

"Hello, either you have good intuition, information or my phone number already and I don't know which option I like best." He jests

"Pleased to meet you by the way. Do you have a moment to chat? I was calling people to somewhat establish myself a little bit among other exalted in the fleet." He asks, he himself being glad to call a fellow Eclipse, them being the only ones to his knowledge. "Any life saving advise or snarky comments about exalted life?"

"I have probably the best CallerID system in the Last Refuge outside of Core and Command,"  Kyle informs him, "And I watch all of the news obsessively, so, I see a K. Raines calling and it's not hard to put things together!  Yeah, I'm totally free to talk right now- we're moving the fleets around a bit but the Last Refuge is staying put so I don't need to focus too much."  Another drink, "Best advice I can give you is- be a doer.  You know?  I found out pretty quick that you've gotta always have something actively going.  It's fine to have a few plates spinning at once but you've got to be kinetic."
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 17:14, Mon 27 Apr 2020.

"Hm, fair enough, where does one acquire such good tech?" He asks about the callerID.

He laughs a bit about the advice, "Heh, so there will be no problem there for me it seems, I always have more on my plate than I can chew, also as you know, now I have to convince lots of people it would be a good idea to allow a solar in the political circles."

"Supplied to me by Core and Command.  They really put me to work up here,"  He explains to Kendal, "I pilot all of the ship and also control the fleet around it.  It's a lot of work, like trying to kick a dozen balls at three dozen goals and somehow score four dozen points." He explains- then listens, "Well, is it really a good idea?  Not saying yes or no.  Sell me, Kendal."

He takes a deep breath, "The truth is, every single Exalted is already influencing politics in one way or another and to deny that is just plain ignorance. There are a number of Exalted pocketing politicians and everything we do divides opinions. I'm just going to do it openly.

"And if I would 'sell' this, it would be more on the side that why not? Our politics are already infested by corruption and people doing everything in their power to cause chaos, agents of the dead trying to infiltrate our ranks and to make everything worse, humans and demons are divided and squabbling among each other.

People worry that I... or other Exalted would steamroll the political scene, but I say it is in a dire need of us." He says with all the imposing coolness he can muster through a phone call.

"There is a difference between influencing and steering, though, is there not?"  Kyle asks, "We can influence laws just by existing, but we're not the ones defining them.  Which Exalted are pocketing which politicians?  Do you have any solid proof?  I'd be very interested to hear."

If Kyle is impressed by imposing coolness, he doesn't say.  But he does sound amused- though not necessarily at Kendal.

"Do you know why the Exalts aren't involved directly in politics?  Because we put it up to a vote."  He chuckles to himself, "A democratic vote, of course.  Gods, terrestrials, demons included."