7.

Bail was being detained in a holding cell that was essentially a cramped, unused office sealed in with a portable force field generator. The furniture had been removed so that he could not use any of it to try to escape, hurt himself, or more importantly, be comfortable. Consequently, he sat on the floor. Night had come and he could begin to hear a distant cacophony of nocturnal creatures through a window that had been left slightly open. He wondered if he should try to get some sleep. It seemed doubtful that anything else would happen immediately, and if he didn't keep himself rested and alert, he might end up cracking under the pressure of extended solitary confinement.

He did some pushups and a variety of balance and stretching exercises that he had learned in his academy days. The instructor had loosely implied that he had learned the forms and techniques from and old Jedi master that he had met in his youth, but Bail was skeptical at best that the story had any veracity. The lore and legend of the great warrior religion did not strike him as something very serious; however, once he had become a senator, he had become privy to more tangible materials that documented some of the Jedi's involvement throughout the history of the republic. Many of the tales seemed fantastical; epic battles in which a lone brave knight would fend off entire armies. But it seemed that the Jedi had also dabbled in politics for a time, even holding a council of their own and advising the senate on matters of state.

After the exercise he spent a short time in meditation and then tried to lie down to sleep on the hard stone office floor. He took off his shirt and bundled it into a small pillow to give himself something to rest his head on. The overhead light had been left on and he had no way to reach the control, so he shut his eyes, hoping he could forget where he was.

But his thoughts would not settle as he kept wondering about Breha. He had only caught pieces of side conversations while he was being processed and summarily incarcerated, but the news seemed grim. Only a few ships had even managed to lift off from the surface, and it would seem from all reports that every single one had been destroyed in an attempt to escape. Of course it was possible that the reports were exaggerated, and it was also possible that Jan and Breha weren't even able to find an available ship, and were still hiding on the surface somewhere. He hoped that whatever the explanation was, that it was not the one that he feared most.

He was saddened by the thought that he had not been with her much in the past few days, too busy with work and meetings. They had planned to go to the mountains soon, and spend time together at Breha's family retreat. He so looked forward to being alone with her, but it was already so hard to find the time to do so.

Bail kept going round and round in his mind with these thoughts, trying not to give in to despair, but convincing himself more and more that Breha must be alright. He told himself this again and again, and somewhere deep in the night, he must have finally fallen asleep.

He woke to the office door opening with a groan, the sound of old metal hinges carrying the weight of a solid wooden door. Four of the fully uniformed Federation soldiers came in with blaster rifles slung over their shoulders, and took positions with two on each side of the door, halfway between the wall and the shimmering force field. Once the soldiers were in place, the Viceroy entered, looking beleaguered.

Bail sat up slowly and didn't show any sign of apprehension. He looked toward the window and saw that the sky was brightening and the sun would soon be up. Rubbing his fingers through his hair he crossed his legs, remaining seated so as not to show any deference to the syndicate leader.

"Mmmm, I apologize that your accommodations are not more comfortable, Senator," the Viceroy hissed with a distasteful sneer. "Perhaps I can have the guards provide you with a cushion and blanket."

Bail looked down at his shirt, which still lay crumpled on the floor. "Don't go to any trouble on my account, Gunray."

"Yessss, well, I imagine you're wondering why I am here?" The Tall trade leader began to smile slightly, as if amused by his own joke. Bail did not reply, not wanting to give the slithering serpent the satisfaction. Gunray puckered his mouth, widened his eyes and continued. "I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news that I thought you had better hear as soon as possible, mmm? It seems that a few hours ago, the chancellor tried to escape using a small energy detonator he had hidden on his person while being detained. He managed to free himself from his makeshift cell," the Viceroy nodded in the direction of Bail's cell generator indicating that the arrangement for the chancellor must have been similar. "However, the guards that were on duty were just a touch overzealous, and I'm afraid they killed the chancellor as he attempted his escape."

Bail felt the pit of his stomach drop, but still managed to laugh out loud at the Viceroy. "Gunray, if you are stupid enough to think that anyone would believe that load of garbage you just spewed, you are gravely mistaken!"

"I believe it is you that are mistaken, good Senator; very mistaken indeed." Gunray began to pace again as he had when he first confronted Bail and the chancellor in his main office. "You are resisting signing he articles of surrender, but you will resist no longer, otherwise you may well find yourself involved in a very unfortunate accident of your own. Either way the surrender will be validated. If not by you, then perhaps by a member of the royal family."

Bail didn't like where the Viceroy was headed with this line of reasoning. "Gunray," he clenched his teeth, "you are the lowest form of life that has ever…"

"The princess is here somewhere, senator. Mmmm? That is good news at least, I'm sure." The Viceroy stared at him and Bail remained tense, a bundle of strain and emotion. "We analyzed the wreckage of the ships that had attempted leaving the system, and it seems that her highness was not on any of them."

Bail was sure now that Gunray knew of his personal connection to Breha, and was just toying with him. He was relieved by the possibility that Breha still lived, but his fists clenched in absolute anger at the disgusting Viceroy. "I'm sure that wherever she is hiding, she will be found shortly. I'm quite certain that with the correct, mmmm, motivation, that she would be more than willing to do anything that we desire."

He burst from the floor and threw himself at the smirking leader, prepared to rip the man's head clean from his shoulders. But he hit the field that surrounded him and felt a jolt of white hot pain. He bounced backwards and found himself once more laying on the floor next to his shirt. His vision was blurred but he could see Gunray turning for the door and pointing back in the direction of where Bail was laying stunned. "Gentlemen, please see that the senator is reminded of our sincerity in these matters." The force field dropped with a buzz and the four soldiers came forward, each taking turns kicking him and beating him with the butts of their rifles.

With each violent strike he found himself drifting in and out of consciousness, yet he focused on one single idea. "She's alive!" he thought to himself. "Breha, you're alive!"

In the grand offices of Sheeve Palpatine on the planet Coruscant, political capital of the Galactic Republic, the senator was having his morning cup of tea and planning for a meeting with the central banking guild commissioner when a page knocked on the door and poked his head in, trying to get the old man's attention. Palpatine had a twirling wisp of white hair, and age lines around his eyes. Behind him was an enormous panoramic window looking out on a vast, planet wide cityscape.

"Excuse me, sir? I don't mean to disturb you so early in the morning, but…"

"oh, what is it now?" the Senator grumbled, throwing his notes down onto his extravagant desk. "I do not have time for trivial matters this morning, Boy!"

"Yes, I apologize," the page continued, "but we did not receive our regular morning report transmission from Alderaan this… this morning… sir. Sorry, but I though you would want to know."

The Senator let out a long, frustrated sigh, "Does nothing get done when I am not there? I need up to date figures for the commissioner in less than an hour! Use my access code to send a priority one request and get the damn report!"

"Yes… Yes Sir!" The page turned and ran out of the room.

"And don't bother me again until you have it ready for me!" Palpatine yelled after him.

Once the door closed completely, the senator turned his seat so that he could look out over the bustling ship traffic not far from his window. He took a long sip from his cup, closed his eyes slightly, and the hint of a smile appeared on his face.