#Senator Yarua

[sw5w]

Senators Voice Their Opinions

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:29:06

[dapurinthos]

there's a fireplace in yarua's senate office suite sorry i don't make the rules, i just follow the logic.

no, you cannot see the outer rooms on the complete locations image.

i just know there is one there. other people use highly illegal droid spyballs to chew through the walls so they have put wires through the tiny tunnels. some wookiee senator five hundred years ago used a bunch, instead, to expand the transparisteel pneumatic tube network pipes in their office (the system was installed when the rotunda was first built, used for only a handful of years before they realized everyone was using it to spy on each other and intercept messages, they could have unpaid aides running around to deliver messages, and senators kept misjudging the size of the tubes and getting things stuck) to a working chimney and now there is a nice crackly fireplace.

no one's going to tell a wookiee not to have a fireplace in the office let alone the many wookiees in that office.

[this-acuteneurosis]

So here’s the knife I’m waiting to see slip between Leia’s ribs: Chewie. With rising friendship between Senator Yarua and Padmé, it’s only a matter of time. Am I right?

I've answered similar asks before. I have remembered for quite some time that Chewie is alive and well in this universe. And I know exactly what I am and am not going to do with it. :D

[kiwikipedia]

Novaturient

Fandom(s): Star Wars

Rating: K/T

Summery: (ADJ.) A desire for powerful change in one’s life or situation.

The Dorin Senator is acting a bit strange in the Senate meeting today.

AO3

Thinking about the Dorin senator and representing some NB Kel Dor

There was something strange about the Senator from Dorin, Bail noticed as he watched the normally neutral-voting, neutral-speaking Kel Dor tear into the Trade federation representative who was pushing a bill for more control over the Order, more Clones, more war. War meant profit for them, of course, but the usually silent forms of the Dorin Senator and their aides had spoken up suddenly.

( Bail knew that Senator and Sage Lun Feng did not fit into the common gender boxes that humans had despite their deep voice, but had resigned themselves to their title of ‘man’ to many others. Bail respected the Dorin people’s no-nonsense view of politics and justice, even if it did get quite a bit more violent and vindictive, and he respected Senator Feng. He resorted to using ‘they’ and ‘them’ and had laughed when Feng’s aide let out a very happy trill at that idea. The aide was young and also did not fit in the boxes, and was happy to know there was another option.)

Now, it wasn’t as if Senator Lun Feng had simply stayed silent during these matters. Their vote had always been a firm ‘no’ when it came to control over Jedi and from what the rumors stated, they were working on a bill to give the GAR Clones their rights alongside of the Kashyyyk representatives.

But this was new. This was a verbal ripping-into, reminding the Senate of their own faults— the Jedi took up arms because they had been strong-armed into taking the Clones, the Jedi were dying for them with the Clones on the field while the Senators stayed cushy and warm behind the lines. Jedi names that Bail hadn’t heard before had been brought up: Master Ima-Gun Di on Ryloth, defending the people until his last breath right alongside Commander Keeli, Master Even Piel who had kept the secrets of the Hyperspace lanes until his death even under torture. The numbers of the battalions lost for the Senate per the Senate’s Orders and there was a bitter note in the mechanical voice, Bail noticed.

And Senator Yarua seemed very amused from their pod, the rest of the Kashyyyk senatorial group as well.

Feng was ruthless, striking where it hurt, and Bail couldn’t help but be awed by how his eyes were beginning to open. Had the Dorin Senatorial group been waiting, biding their time, for this? Or had a Jedi approached them, breaching the usual code in order to aid their fellow Jedi and the Clones dying for them?

When the decision to vote on what the Trade Federation was proposing was counted, it was a nearly unanimous ‘no’— and the Dorin Senator seemed very pleased.

(x)

“I’m quite surprised, my old friend,” Lun Feng commented as the other Kel Dor leaned back on the Sofa in the Dorin Senator’s office, the atmospheric shields up, allowing for the both of them to remove their masks safely. “Who knew you had such a vicious streak in you?”

A laugh came from the other Kel Dor, dressed in the Baran Do traditional robes, though as he shifted, a glint of metal could be seen on his belt.

“Why of course,” he said back, placing a hand against his chest, as if surprised that Lun would think anything else of him. “How do you think I managed to become a Jedi under Master Tyvokka without having a bit of a vicious streak?”

Lun just shook their head, chuckling and tusks flexing in amusement. “Still, you are certain that this will not put you under fire with the Jedi Order?”

Plo Koon gave Lun the equivalent of a grim smile. “Masters Windu and Yoda knew what I was doing,” he admitted. “The Jedi do not like to resort to lies, but we are desperate. Our only other choice is to grit our teeth as we head into the front again, with Padawans too young to be there. With young men who should not be bred to serve us.”

Lun nodded, fingers steepled. “Indeed, something that our siblings back on Dorin would be horrified to learn. They are all just children. How could we allow children to fight our wars for us? If I could, I would like nothing more than to don my old robes and staff and join you and your Wolffepack on the front.”

Plo snorted. “And let you show me up out there? I think not. I’d rather you join the 501st and cause chaos there when they ask why ‘Master Koon’ is with them and not using his lightsaber, instead.”

Lun just laughed at that, gently reaching over and patting Plo’s shoulder. “Perhaps I will, my Exploring friend.”

“I’m certain the Order would welcome a Feng in their ranks,” the Jedi Master drawled, but there was no bite to his tone. “It astounds me to this day that you and your battle-hungry ways were appointed our people’s senator. Lun Feng, the Sage who preferred to pick fights with Fae Koon and Ban Sult, than direct the weather.”

He shook his head, but smiled as he stood, checking his Chrono. “I must get going, my friend. Thank you for allowing me to don your face for a while and speak my mind.”

Lun waved him off as they stood as well, reaching out and lightly touching the back of their talon guard to the other’s chest. “Your Wolffepack and your Order are your family, Plo, that makes them the Koon Clan’s family, which makes them mine. The Feng Clan’s warriors and the Koon Clan’s explorers have been family for ages, I would gladly drop all my duties to aid you, my friend and brother.”

Plo mirrored the gesture, a gesture that signified family between two Clans. “And I for your own wars on the Senate floor. But be careful, the Federation will not take this slight well,” he murmured and Lun just laughed.

“My friend, I am a Feng! Well versed in politics, yes, but my talons are sharp and the Force within me sings for battle!”

Plo chuckled as the two put their masks back in place, walking from the Office. “Of course, a Feng never loses their blade, is that it?”

“Precisely, my friend. Just like how a Koon never misses a chance to adopt an entire platoon, it seems.”

The Jedi gave him an amused look. “It keeps others in the Clan from constantly asking when the war is ending so that I  come back and settle down with my mate and have children.”

Lun just made a face at that. “A Koon settling down? Impossible. You lot always exploring new places. And adopting new children.”

[minnarr]

Kanera Week Day 3: Show of Support

Rating: G / No warnings

Eyes on You

7970-7971 (C.R.C. date)

The Senate dome buzzed like a hive as the many representatives of Republic worlds chatted and made their leisurely way to their repulsorpods. It looked like every session Caleb had ever attended. Most of them, he had to admit, had been with a class of initiates or at Master Billaba’s side. He hadn’t been inside the dome in several years.

But Caleb knew how important this session was to Hera.

—

Hera’s finger traced along hyperlanes, disturbing the hologram like a stone tossed into a pond. “It started up here,” she said. “Kashyyyk, Saleucami, Boz Pity, Boonta.”

“I remember hearing about Boonta,” Caleb said, leaning forward to look. “The slave uprising, while the Hutts were busy trying to take Saleucami.”

“Tighten your grasp one place, weaken it in another,” Hera said. “They got greedy, or maybe the Shadow Collective convinced them it was the smart play, and Boonta...Boonta’s coup became legend.”

“A legend you listened to?” Caleb asked. “You don’t talk like someone who was there.” The room was dark but for the hologram; it made it easier to ask questions, to feel she might give answers. Caleb was greedy for answers, when it came to Hera.

She just hummed in response, more thoughtful than anything. “Once I was old enough they’d take me, I knew what I had to do,” she said. “It’s far from Ryloth, but I could see the possibilities. I can still see them.” 

Caleb’s eyes followed her finger down along spidery lanes, from Kashyyyk through the Mid-Rim to their destination. Daalang. “There used to be a Separatist base here, right?”

“Yes, but that’s not why we’re going. It fell into the control of a particularly repulsive Hutt, but if we do our jobs right, we can help the local resistance push them out.”

A shiver went through Caleb, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad one. Just that the Force was telling him this moment was important. “Hera, my assignment isn’t…”

Just like that, the warm easiness of the conversation evaporated. Hera sat bolt upright, her expression steely. “You came to us looking for what was left of the Shadow Collective? If you play your cards right, you’ll pick up your trail here. Like I said: if you want to chase Separatists in our space, you work with us.”

—

Caleb slipped into the Jedi Order’s pod, taking a moment in the shadows to straighten his hair and ensure his cream-colored tunic lay flat against his chest, just a peek of green showing at his neck. When he stepped up to join the other Jedi, he knew no one would blink at his appearance.

The other knight in the pod gave him a startled look, though, and he gave her a wink in return.

He knew now why Daalang was so important. Not just another chip taken out of Hutt Space, but a step towards the lesser-known Hutt strongholds in Ryloth’s neighborhood. 

—

Daalang’s capital was a jewel-bright city spread out across a river valley. When Caleb had first seen it from the air, fire was eating through one of the outer districts. Now, Caleb stood at the heart of it, crouched atop a building with a squad of resistance fighters. 

At the far end of the square stood Mottell the Hutt’s tower. Already, the evacuation was underway: a series of explosions had reduced the upper levels of the tower to rubble. The rest groaned ominously. By now, Mottell would be realizing that his underground escape routes were cut off.

The front doors opened, and a procession of armored guards stepped out. The people standing with Caleb shifted as a large shape darkened the doorway. Caleb held up a hand, something nagging at the back of his mind, then his eyes widened as realization hit him. “Get down!” he roared, pulling two of his people down with him as the world erupted into chaos.

The shape was not Mottell. They had wheeled out an antivehicle cannon and opened fire.

Caleb flung his senses out, an unnamed panic gaining a name as he realized he could feel Hera, alive and angry on top of one of the other buildings. On his own, the cannon’s first blast had eaten away a chunk of the roof, taking one of Caleb’s squad with it. It continued its barrage, spraying deadly chunks of rubble.

“Down into the alley,” Caleb yelled. He spared just enough attention to be sure they got moving, and then he was running forward, towards the cannonfire.

—

Among thousands of pods, it took some looking to find the right pod. Once he’d located it, though, he spotted her immediately.

Caleb slipped his comlink from his pocket and called up a familiar frequency. He didn’t place a call; just sent a series of pings, long short long short. A signal they had used to let each other know, I have eyes on you. 

She reached for her hip, then looked up, clearly searching the crowd. Moments later, the comlink in his hand buzzed: long short long short. 

Leaning forward against the rail, Caleb folded his hands in front of his mouth. It didn’t hide the goofy smile there.

—

It felt like from the time they landed on Daalang to the time they left a little over two weeks later, they never got a full night’s sleep. There was always something to interrupt it, or work to be done late, or watches to take. 

After Mottell’s death, and the tumult of victory celebrations, Caleb and Hera stumbled up the ramp of Hera’s ship. Exhausted but too wired still for sleep, they ended up in the galley. They collapsed on the same side of the booth laughing and talking about nothing in particular.

Which was how Caleb woke from a light doze to find himself drooping over onto Hera’s shoulder. 

“Go to bed,” Hera said.

With a lazy salute, Caleb hauled himself upright. 

It was the exhaustion. It was absolutely the exhaustion that made him say it, and maybe a little the high of having done some good together. “You could come with me,” he said.

She looked him up and down, and the single raised eyebrow said more than any number of words. “Ask me again when you’re awake enough to take me on a date,” she advised.

—

Caleb listened to Daalang’s petition for entry, because he was here partly to see this through. But when deliberations ended for the day, he didn’t stick around to talk about it. He hurried through the corridors that wound around the convocation chamber, counting pod numbers until he reached the one he wanted.

He skidded to a halt outside and reminded himself that while it was perfectly fine to feel nervous, he had to look like a Jedi representative right now. He stepped slowly into the pod, stopping to bow to Senator Yarua, the sponsor for Daalang’s petition. The Wookiee rumbled a pleasant greeting in return, and Caleb joined the circle of delegates.

Hera was deep in conversation with Daalang’s contingent. He watched her face, captivated by the intelligence and enthusiasm that animated it. He left her to it for the moment, offering congratulations and an interested ear to those he stood with. After a few minutes, a familiar shape appeared in his peripheral vision.

“Hera,” he said.

“Caleb.” 

He turned, and his stomach took flight. She had tilted her head up to smile right into his eyes, all warmth and shared excitement. It took him a moment to find his tongue. “Congratulations,” he said.

Hera wrapped her hand around his elbow, squeezing it briefly. “I’m glad you came. Come say hello.”

[fialleril]

A Snippet for Fialleril's Heretic Pride

Jar Jar quietly looked around the party as he sipped his drink. Despite Unification Day still being a couple days away, that didn’t stop Orn Free Taa from throwing a lavish party. Of course, with the political climate as it was, it had turned into a massive gathering, with people from every coalition there. It wouldn’t do to be absent and miss possible allies. 

“Senator Amidala” had begged off after making a short appearance, claiming exhaustion from the recent events. It was true though, Dorme was exhausting herself with the stress of pretending to be Padme for such a long period of time. So, Jar Jar was the only one representing Naboo here. A great deal of the senators had ignored him, sneering at the “lesser” Gungan who didn’t even have his own vote. That was alright, there was power in being ignored. 

He drifted from group to group, listening and evaluating who would be allies and who would be opponents of the bill he intended to introduce. Senator Organa and Senator Farr would be allies, they usually were. Senator Yarua would likely agree; Kashyyyk was always looking for ways to fight the slave trade. There was that new senator, Senator Chu-Chi. She looked uncomfortable, but too nervous to just leave. Jar Jar searched his memory. She was earnest, young, and generally believed in the Republic. He would talk to Bail, and see if they could feel her out. Not here, though. Talking business at a party was dangerous. Who knew what kind of people could be listening? 

Senator Taa was loudly griping about the situation in the Outer Rim, and the lack of security there. Ironic of him to care about it now, considering that he had been a staunch opponent of the bill that Padme had introduced. Still, that had been before the Separatist movement. Jar Jar wondered how much of Taa’s worries were because of losing “business” in the Outer Rim. If he was a betting fellow, and he was, Jar Jar was willing to bet that at least one of Taa’s “aides” served him unwillingly. Unfortunately, there was no solid evidence, and on Coruscant, they couldn’t just have Sabe or Ani investigate. That would open far too many questions if they were caught. 

As the party began winding down, Jar Jar ran over a mental tally in his head. Naboo, Alderaan, Onderon, Rodia, Manaan, Chandrila, and Ithor were firmly opposed to the Military Creation Act. Kashyyyk, Mon Calamari, Corellia, Ord Mantell, Telos, Pantora, Lothal, Ando, Christophsis, Hosnian Prime, Lira San, Mygeeto, Toydaria, and Shili were the most notable neutrals. Cato Nemoidia, Balmorra, Kuat, Trandosha, Ryloth, Sullust, Malastare, Iridonia, Fondor, Cantonica, Carida, and Hapes were the most influential players supporting creation. 

The situation would be easier if it were actually possible to tell what the Chancellor thought. Jar Jar frowned. Something seemed deeply off about how Chancellor Palpatine viewed things. On the one hand, he seemed to be a staunch pacifist. On the other hand, he also seemed determined not to let the Republic fall. It was difficult to tell where his opinions lie. And with Padme gone, the Military Creation Act was starting to gain more steam. 

As he climbed into his speeder, Jar Jar sighed. He would much rather go back to setting up resources and safe houses for the Freedom Trail, tangling with lawyers and Naboo traditionalists, than continue dealing with these politics. But nothing would change if someone didn’t try to change the laws. And knowing what would happen if the changes they were trying to make succeeded made everything worthwhile. He just hoped there wouldn’t be a war along the way.

- submitted by @darthlordrevoldemort

[sw5w]

The Senators React

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:29:03

In this shot, you can see Orn Free Taa's two Twi'lek aides, Pampy and an unnamed Lethan female, who were added in the DVD release of Episode I to replace two human aides portrayed by costume designer Trisha Biggar and concept artist Iain McCaig.

[dapurinthos]

oh no i might have to reread cloak of deception and darth plagueis again because i need to see if there are descriptions of senator yarua's aides.

[dapurinthos]

you know when you have 90% of the chapter complete and that final 10% is just being a little bastard and refusing to let you do the bridge?

yeah, we're there. in about the fifth iteration of going senate rotunda > yarua's office > hallway > greater senate area > garden (where those two old fools are finally showing up). sweet fancy zeus.

“Code me.” Four? “A homonym? Really?” I depress the comm button and make a sound of disgust before releasing it. “Not that kind of code, Ari.” Oh. I can do that. I think. Individual emotions are tricksy. I need the colour wheel for them, but emotion as a concept is easier. The physical symptoms, the excitement, the limbic system arousal, all this, I can do. That’s a sensory experience. Pulse racing, dryness in the throat. Yet is a binding: a ribbon forming a knot, a bow. Peace— “Words, please. Let’s start with … ” There’s a pause, where he takes a moment to figure out which direction he wants me to go in. “Translation. First line, like it’s your Mandalorian language class.” Oh. It’s one of these times. I scrunch up my nose and review my inner dictionary. It takes a bit, because the Mando’a I’m taking is about six millennia out of date, and I’m still getting myself back toward baseline after that shutdown. Sometimes it’s easier to start with the present day words and then move backward through all the consonant changes and vowel shift chains. “Éyélahyé,” I start. ‘Yet’ is easiest. It’s a single syllable, the vowel sound shifting from the modern top back of the mouth, to a bit lower, and then all the way to the front on a decline to get: “séw.” They’ve got some strange ideas about what peace is, those Mandalorians. Not as bad as the Tsis, where peace is equitable to stagnation and, interestingly enough, a coma. Still, the main word for peace isn’t even a concept on its own. It’s ‘not fighting.’ There’s also peace of mind, ‘brain health’. “Meyrjéhéyél.” The last word comes out in a rush. The evolution of Mando’a over the millennia has been big on compressing the vowel sounds that came about as a language used by a multiplicity of species with all their different mouth shapes. Vowel sounds are the easiest. Sifo-Dyas’s chuckle comes through. “Give me the next line in Taizhan-jen and you can do the one after in Basic. I know you hate translating ‘passion’.”

[dapurinthos]

today's star wars fic itinerary:

note-taking on this interview with cavan scott, re: dooku: jedi lost, esp. the 'I liked the idea that in times when he was busy perhaps he would have a trusted aid to train Dooku', & 'I’m not saying that Kostana was Yoda’s Padawan in any way, but you know the idea… that someone that Yoda has trained, that he trusts because for all her welfareness there’s obviously a relationship there between Yoda and Kostana' which actually really helps me triangulate the relationships & lene herself some more.

kick this second chapter of the first arc into its actual shape by allowing it to be what it is: afraid of being at the senate, not only because of how the senate treats the jedi but hey. senator palpatine is right over there and is so friendly to the jedi why shouldn't we let him introduce himself to the children, along with what i want to do with actually watching the senate session itself (feat. the yam'rii going 'we have resources you want help us kill these kaleesh,' the trade fed going 'yes resources we all love resources' & the republic sweating remembering that time they backed a coup on guetica that ended up with them tricking the kaleesh into fighting for them). (also there are wookiees because each crèche fieldtrip to the senate involves visiting a sitting senator for the majority of the day and senator yarua was all 'yes. bring me the tiny ones.')

so it goes 1: 'corporate espionage', character, situation establishment, w/ quin, rael, anap; 2: nasty bad senate bad feelings rub as much hand sanitizer all over body as possible, wtf the trade fed is practically showing a snuff film as their 'evidence', 'mom i'm scared come pick me up', w/ a grove of wookiees (love the collective term), rael, sha + hawk-bat clan, 'mooooooooom there's a sith lord', sifo & dooku showing up at the plaza post-evacuation for everyone's (especially sha koon, noted telepath. 's why she's such a good crèchemaster) sanity.

figuring out the yaddle, jocasta nu, lene kostana 'there's still part of a sith temple beneath us????' side-adventure to the depths of the sacred spire/below the temple that happens c. phantom menace.

[dapurinthos]

slogging through this senate scene to the point where i've just started plotting it out in chat form.

trade fed: hey these guys have some resources we all like to exploit resources especially resources outside the republic. yam’rii: there’s this fucking lizard trying to stop us from giving you their our resources. araithana: this is sus. rael: this is really sus. adi gallia: how sus? scale of one to ten? trade fed: this is so terrible we want these resources. senate: well if you really want these resources. trade fed: we really want these resources. senate: okay we’ll send some jedi in to help the not-lying giant mantises. rael: really fucking level eleven sus. jorus c’baoth: fuck-ups should shut up. rael: people whose asses i’m going to kick say what. c'baoth: what? sha koon: someone please get this jackass away from my children. i had to convince senator yarua that he couldn't eat c'baoth and i'm regretting it. yam’rii: of course. they are our resources. we never invaded other planets, enslaved the people that lived there, or ate their babies. also there’s this guy named qymaen jai sheelal they’ve started calling general grievous. we should attack defend ourselves against him first. c'baoth: as part of the interspecies advisory committee, i approve this course of action. t’chooka doon, jmmarr, senate: there’s no way this could have consequences for any of us later. araithana: this is going to have so many consequences later. grievous: surprise bitch i lived.

[fialleril]

Snippet anon: tysm! I'm good with pretty much any verse, but I do have a bit of a preference for something angry and cathartic, although I'd be happy with anything really.

Well it just so happens that angry and (hopefully) cathartic is my specialty, so!

This is a snippet of Anabasis that’s pretty far along in the story (the bit I’m currently working on, actually), and it’s not in final form so some things may change when I (finally) post the full fic. But hopefully you will still enjoy it.

If anybody is for some reason scrupulously avoiding spoilers, probably don’t read this one?

The bit where Anakin interrupts a meeting of Senators concerning the “Outer Rim Development” bill in a...rather creative way.

Warnings for discussion of slavery, implied abuse, serious injury, scarring, and limb loss.

Orn Free Taa and his entourage arrived half an hour early,but Obi-Wan and Yan were there to meet them. Padmé saw the scowl the Twi’leksenator tried to hide and wondered. Had he been hoping to find her alone? Andif so, why? Or did he think that their presence meant she had the support ofthe Jedi in her cause?

Did she have thesupport of the Jedi? That was a startling and uncomfortable question to have,particularly so close to a vote. The Order had no legislative voice in theSenate, of course, but as the Senate-Jedi liaison, Yan would be given theopportunity to speak on any proposed bill. And there were still enough senatorswho remembered the days of the old Republic, and for whom the Jedi would stillspeak with the voice of moral authority.

But Padmé and her supporters, the majority of themwell-known as leaders of the Rebellion, had a moral authority of their own. Andthis was, ultimately, a moral issue. She just had to make the full Senate seethat.

Taa had brought nine other senators with him, none of whomPadmé could say were unexpected. He’d probably expected her own choices, too.This was an act for the sake of appearances. There would be few surprises here.For just a moment, Padmé allowed herself to resent the necessity of a meetingin which everyone already knew the foregone conclusion.

But her annoyance was pushed aside as the last of Taa’scontingent filed in followed by Taa himself, and with him two of his aides:young Twi’lek women, demure and silent, goosebumps standing out on theirexposed skin. They followed in Taa’s wake and made eye contact with no one.

Padmé’s stomach twisted. He’sa slaver, the memory of Anakin snarled in her mind.

But Anakin himself wasn’t there. He’d packed away all of histools after their…discussion, and the last she’d seen him, he’d been headed tothe shower. But that was almost an hour ago now.

She caught Sabé’s eye and nodded minutely. The handmaidenslipped soundlessly out of the room, noticed only by the Jedi, whose expressionsremained perfectly neutral, and Padmé returned her attention to welcoming herguests.

Bana, Fang, Yarua, and Giddean all arrived together, in ashow of strength that certainly didn’t go unnoticed by Taa and his cronies.Riyo Chuchi came ten minutes later, uncertainty all too obvious in herexpression. But she was there, which counted for something. Padmé hadn’t beencertain she wouldn’t back out at the last minute. Pantora had held interests inthe Outer Rim in the past.

Mon Mothma was the last to arrive. She was in mid conversationwith an audio-only comlink as she stepped off the lift. Her hair and her simplewhite robes were pristine as always, but she still gave the impression ofsomeone with far too much to do and not nearly enough time in which to do it.

“Yes of course, Chancellor,” she said, quietly but not soquietly that it could be missed by anyone else in the now silent room. “I willsee to it momentarily. Yes. Yes, Senator Amidala’s meeting. Not more than twohours, I think. Yes, that’s right.” She slipped the comlink into a pocket andnodded briskly at the assembled senators. “I’m terribly sorry to have kept youall. I hope you haven’t been waiting long?”

“Not at all, Senator Mothma,” said Orn Free Taa. He soundedperfectly cordial, but he looked as though he’d swallowed something rancid.

Padmé caught Fang’s eye and saw that he, too, was trying notto laugh. Mon’s entrance had been masterful.

And now it was simply a matter of getting everyone settledcomfortably, exchanging all the necessary pleasantries, and seeing that herguests were provided with refreshments.

That was when things got…complicated.

“Can I get you anything?” Dormé asked the two Twi’lek aides(whose names, Padmé now realized, she didn’t know; Taa had never bothered tomention them).

The women glanced at each other nervously, darted their eyesin Senator Taa’s direction, and then looked at the floor.  They said nothing.

“Perhaps a glass of water? Or a cup of Naboo floral tea?”Dormé pressed.

“Please, don’t trouble yourself,” Senator Taa said, waving acareless hand. “Just you hurry with the other drinks, and then we can begin.”

Padmé bristled. Who was he, to order Dormé about as thoughshe were a servant and not an experienced political attaché in her own right? Totreat his own aides like –

Dormé caught her eye and shook her head sharply. Padmé bither tongue. She wondered where Anakin was. He would not have stayed silent.

But Dormé knew well how to speak without words. She slippedsilently out of the room and returned a few moments later with Sabé and Artoobearing a tray of drinks. Sabé met Padmé’s eyes and nodded once, then turnedback to the guests with a polite smile that could only mean trouble. She andArtoo began passing out the drinks, but Dormé took two steaming mugs of floraltea from the tray and approached Orn Free Taa’s aides. She didn’t once look atthe Twi’lek senator.

“I took the liberty of making some floral tea,” she told thetwo women with a smile. “It’s a specialty of Naboo, offered to guests.”

Padmé was watching the two intently, and she saw the exactmoment when one of them reached a decision. Her eyes sparked and she lookedDormé in the face as she reached forward to take the cup. “Thank you,” shesaid. Her voice was soft but there was durasteel beneath it.

Padmé should have called the meeting to order. She shouldn’thave allowed Taa or anyone else a chance to react to Dormé’s hospitality. But shewas too stunned by what she’d seen. The look on the Twi’lek woman’s face wasintimately familiar to her.

It was the way Anakin had looked, just before he turned hislightsaber on his master.

“Senator Amidala,” Taa snapped. “If you’re quite finishedwasting our time, perhaps we can discuss the matter we’ve come here todiscuss.”

Her mind still occupied by the defiance in the woman’s face,Padmé answered, “I think we already are.”

An explosive silence followed.

“I beg your pardon,” Senator Taa said, low and dangerous.Ask Aak and most of his other supporters were openly glaring at her.

Padmé felt a hot, sharp spike of fury low in her gut. It wasn’ta new feeling, but something ferocious in her that had been burning since that worldshattering moment in the Emperor’s throne room. It was frozen in her memory, anunspeakable place of terror, desperation, and sudden clarity, where politicsand appearance were meaningless and the acknowledgement of humanity became aweapon.

And Orn Free Taa was no Palpatine. Padmé remembered Anakinand his talk of surviving the storm, and thought she understood it more fully now.After such a fierce storm, what was a little wind?

She wasn’t afraid. There was nothing Taa could threaten herwith. There might be political fallout, but she could deal with that. Therewould certainly be consequences to her senatorial relationship with Taa and hisallies, and they might be far-reaching. But she could face all of that. Shecould fight it.

Perhaps some of Anakin’s uncompromising anger had taken rootin her. Certainly what she was about to do was far from a proper, measuredpolitical response.

Padmé couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she held OrnFree Taa’s gaze steadily. It was strangely liberating.

“I believe you understand me perfectly, Senator,” she said.“We’ve gathered here to discuss the existence of slavery within this Republic.Both in the Outer Rim Territories, and here in the Core as well.”

Even Mon Mothma was staring at her in surprise. Riyo Chuchi lookedalmost frightened. But Padmé was untouchable now.

Taa drew himself up in sneering affront. “The Republiccannot be held responsible for the activities of gangsters in the Territories,”he snapped. “And your allegations – ”

“Are perfectly accurate. As you know very well, Senator Taa.”

Padmé looked up sharply. Anakin was standing in the doorway.Someone – she thought it might be Senator Chuchi – gasped audibly, but shedidn’t turn to check. She couldn’t look away from Anakin. No one could. He stoodthere like a black hole in space, their eyes inescapably drawn to him.

He must really have come from the shower. His hair was stilldamp and curling at the ends, softening his face. And he wasn’t wearing ashirt.

The diffuse light of Coruscant midday filled the room, andin it Anakin’s scars stood out with livid violence. They crisscrossed his arms,shoulders, and upper torso, ending abruptly in a discolored, unnaturally smoothstretch of skin covering most of his stomach where the bomb wasn’t. The controlpanel set into his chest neatly bisected a long red burn scar. Light glinted offof the durasteel of his left arm and the warmer metal of the panel.

Padmé was uncomfortably aware of the fact that she knewexactly what each of those controls did. That she knew the code that wouldallow her to adjust his life support – or to shut it all down.

“I’m very sorry to interrupt, Senators,” Anakin was saying.That was an obvious falsehood in spite of his almost perfectly sincereexpression, but it hardly mattered. Padmé didn’t think anyone was reallylistening. His mere presence spoke loudly enough.

“But I thought, perhaps, that your conversation mightbenefit from an Outer Rim perspective,” he continued. “And as Tatooine has norepresentation in the Senate…”

That was true, Padmé realized with a start. Shame followedquickly: this was a truth she’d never given any real thought to before. And shedoubted her fellow senators were giving it any consideration now. Not withAnakin standing there, dressed in his scars and seemingly the only comfortableperson in the room.

Dooku broke the heavy silence with a soft chuckle. “I dobelieve you’re underdressed for a meeting, Anakin,” he said. The nervouslaughter of several others followed.

Anakin blinked, making a show of looking down at himself insurprise and then embarrassment. He even flushed slightly, something Padmé hadnever seen him do before.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, shooting them all an abashed smile.Padmé bit her lip to hold back a laugh. Not a politician, indeed.

“I’ll just, uh,” Anakin said with exactly the right touch ofawkwardness. And he turned to leave.

This time there were several gasps. Even Padmé sucked in abreath. She’d seen the scars on his back before, but never in the unforgiving lightof day.

Anakin walked out of the room with his head held high,shoulders squared. He didn’t wait to be sure they were watching. He knew he hada captive audience, and he made his exit look perfectly natural, evenunthinking. It was all the more effective for that.

Padmé wished she could see his face. In part because, nomatter how she tried to deny it, the scars on his back still left her deeplyunsettled. But mostly because she was almost certain he was laughingsoundlessly to himself, and she wanted to share the joke.

But the moment Anakin was gone Orn Free Taa stood in a huff.“It’s clear to me that this meeting was not planned in good faith,” he sneered.“I will not stay here and be insulted. Good day, Senators.”

“That’s a great shame,” Mon Mothma said gravely. “I’m sureAnakin didn’t mean any offense. He’s still recovering, no doubt.” Even Mon, whohad mastered the art of appearance, still looked deeply unsettled, and shedidn’t quite manage to hide a grimace. Anakin’s message hadn’t only been intendedfor Taa, after all.

“That’s hardly any excuse,” Taa sneered.

“I understand your dismay, Senator Taa,” Padmé said, shapingher own fury into an overly sweet smile. “But surely the issues your billaddresses are important enough to warrant discussion, and we can hardly holdthat without you. I’m sure we would all like to see a Republic that upholds thefreedom of all people as a central value. Don’t you agree?”

She’d all but said he didn’t earlier, and no one in the roomwas likely to have forgotten it, least of all Taa himself. That would onlyserve to make his position more untenable.

“No doubt,” Taa said sourly. His gaze shifted briefly to Monbefore turning once again on Padmé. “But we will find no solutions here, whenyou are so clearly uninterested in engaging in an honest dialogue, SenatorAmidala.”

Padmé bristled. He’d written a bill titled “Economic andSocial Development of the Outer Rim Territories” as a pretext for the continuedtacit acceptance of slavery, and he was accusing her of being unwilling to engage in dialogue?

But, perhaps fortunately, Senator Yarua who spoke before shecould. His interpreter, a small, chromed droid hovering on repulsors, translated.“My people know only too well the pain of slavery. I will not disguise thatfact, and I will not condone any ‘dialogue’ that considers the issue in any wayopen to debate. But I would like to believe that we are all gathered here witha similar purpose. And I would hope that you share that view, Senator Taa.”

Taa’s eyes flashed to his gaggle of supporters. Ask Aaklooked ready to leave himself, but the others seemed more uncertain, and IsterPadie looked openly nervous. Padmé could easily see why. Yarua’s words had definitivelybacked his contingent into a difficult political corner. And with the Jedithere observing, silently withholding any input in a pointed display ofimpartiality, a false move on Taa’s part had the potential for much greaterconsequences.

Of course Anakin chose that moment to return. He had an excellentsense of dramatic timing, she’d give him that.

“Oh, Senator Taa, are you leaving?” he asked from thedoorway. “I do hope I didn’t scare you off. I was so looking forward to talkingwith you again.”

Everyone else turned once more to stare at Anakin, but Padmékept her eyes on Taa. He had a decent sabacc face, but it always took a momentto settle, and in that brief, unguarded period his expression was anunencrypted data stream.

She saw disgust, fury, and a distinctly hunted look. He wastrapped now and he knew it. There would be no way to leave with any dignityafter a statement like that.

“Of course not, Lord Vader,” Taa said with a barelydisguised sneer.

Now Padmé did look at Anakin. He’d dressed once more all inblack (and for the first time she wondered if he actually owned clothes in anyother color) and, strangely, he made absolutely no effort to hide his flinch atthe name.

“I’m sorry, Senator,” he said, stepping fully into the room.“I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Anakin Skywalker.” And heoffered his left hand in the traditional Twi’lek form of greeting.

There was a subtle stir of surprise from Orn Free Taa’s twoaides, something Padmé, who was intimately familiar with the small gestures ofher own handmaidens, noticed immediately. The women’s eyes were fixed onAnakin’s extended hand. Padmé followed their gaze and saw something new there:a symbol carved into the metal, a circle broken into seven pieces. The markswere too deep and too deliberate to have been accidental scratches, and thoughthe design meant nothing to Padmé, it was clearly something the Twi’lek womenrecognized.

Grudgingly, Taa accepted Anakin’s hand. Whatever his aideshad seen in the sign carved there, it was apparently lost on him.

Anakin flashed his unnerving society smile again, releasedTaa’s hand, and stepped back to stand beside Padmé’s chair.

Padmé frowned. There was something wrong about that: Anakinlooming silently beside her, the only person in the room without a seat. She’dseen that same tableau played out far too often with another politician fromNaboo.

“Sit down, Anakin,” she said, moving closer to Bana andpatting the newly open space beside her on the sofa.

Anakin turned to look at her with surprise that was all tooobvious. Padmé offered her best attempt at a reassuring smile and patted theseat again. He hesitated a moment longer, then sat gingerly beside her,straight backed and stiff limbed. In other circumstances, she might havelaughed: she’d rarely seen him look so painfully awkward.

“Now that we’re all settled, I hope we can have a productivemeeting.” Fang’s words might have sounded biting, but he said them socheerfully that no one, not even Orn Free, found it prudent to object. “This billrepresents a matter of particular import to the people of Sern Prime, as we liealong many of the Outer Rim trading routes. I think we are all familiar withthe policies of the Empire with regard to the, ah, use of sentient resources.”All eyes turned to Anakin, and he met them with a blank face and a raisedeyebrow. Fang allowed the pointed pause to drag on just past the edge ofcomfort before continuing. “And I am concerned, Senator Taa, at the similarityof some of the language in your proposal.”

“I am as well,” said Mon. “Perhaps you could explain yourintent?”

Orn Free Taa huffed and blustered a bit before launchinginto a canned policy speech that was both generic and littered with statementsthat took a strikingly creative approach to the truth.

Anakin let him get all the way through it before saying,“Yes, my Master used to say something very similar. Prosperity requires order,and that requires a strong hand. People given too much freedom and control oftheir own lives will inevitably fall into decadence and lawlessness. As theRepublic did.”

He said it with all the earnest surety of the man she’dfirst met over a year ago, the man who took his Master’s word as absolute truthand offered those words up by rote to any question she’d asked. She hadn’theard him speak that way in months now. There was an unthinking subservience inhis tone that made her wish Palpatine were still alive, if only so she couldempty another blaster cartridge into his face. Even that might not be enough.

“And I suppose a willingness to accept a certain amount ofcollateral damage is a requirement for a stable society?” Padmé bit out. She’dmeant it to be dry and mocking, but the words emerged soaked in a bitter fury.“In the name of furthering prosperity, of course.”

Even Anakin looked startled by her vehemence. But he kepthis voice light and gave her just a hint of a smile as he replied, “Of course.”