Star Wars
Episode 7 – The Balance
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...
In the aftermath of the war between the GALACTIC EMPIRE and the REBEL ALLIANCE, THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC was reformed to help restore the balance that was lost after the lengthy rule of the empire and Princess Leia was unanimously elected as its Queen.
It has been nearly 25 years since the Empire was defeated by the rebel forces led by Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, nearly 25 years of peace and growth. QUEEN LEIA is now due to celebrate her silver anniversary as the queen of THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC and as per the laws set on its foundation, she will have to recognise and name an heir to the throne from her offspring, PRINCE BEN SOLO & PRINCE BAIL SOLO.
With news of an heir to be named, reports of terrorist attacks have engulfed many parts of THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC, reports of a group known as THE KNIGHTS OF REN have taken credit for the attacks and have released multiple communications calling for the end of the reign of Queen Leia, for the arrest of The Grandmaster JEDI Luke Skywalker and for a return to the rule of the EMPIRE.
Queen Leia has 2 weeks before her Silver Anniversary to name her successor, to find out the seriousness of the reported threat posed by THE KNIGHTS OF REN and to remove all obstacles that threaten the PEACE of the GALACTIC REPUBLIC.
For if she does not, DARKNESS may return to the galaxy once more.
Chapter 1 – The Senatorium
In the early hours of the morning, the echoing sound of rain falling heavy on the tombstones in a graveyard based on the planet Masina, known as 'The land of hero's', filled with all the rebel alliance soldiers that had died in the wars with the empire, they were memorialised or buried in this graveyard, each grave built with a black box, marked with the name of the dead and a few words from their loved ones.
At the front of the Graveyard, the caretaker, a male from the species Duros, walked out of his hut with a spade in hand, he placed his long-brimmed hat on his head and put on his long brown overcoat. The caretaker made his way to the back of the graveyards and opened the golden gates to the Royal part of the Cemetery, he took his time as he dragged one of his legs to get where he was going, he stopped at a section of graves in the middle of the royal graveyard, he looked at the graves as he passed, he looked at a grave that read the name 'Chewbacca' with the words below 'Chewie, a Loyal friend, a Loyal companion, a Hero of the Republic' and the grave next to it read the name 'Hans Solo' with the words etched below 'A Husband, A Father, A King, A Hero of the Republic', next to that grave was a tiny grave, it read 'Padmé Solo' and the words etched below 'Princess, Daughter and Loved' and next to that grave the caretaker read the name, 'Anakin Skywalker' with the words etched below 'Hero, Jedi Master and Father', a hand with a white glove tapped the caretaker on the shoulder, he turned around with the rain dripping from the brim of his hat and the white gloved hand pointed at the grave of Anakin Skywalker, the caretaker nodded and began digging into the grave of Anakin Skywalker.
In the capital Imperial city of the Galactic Republic on the planet Coruscant, many members of the Senate of the republic were making their way to the Senatorium, a building specifically designed to host the Senators and the Queen to discuss matters of law and rule, Senators from all the aligned planets of the republic were making their way to hear a special announcement from the Queen before the anniversary of her 25th year of rule.
"Can I count on you, Senator Makan?" asked the man with the horseshoe moustache and long hair to the skinny frail grey-haired man standing next to him as they looked down from their booth at the senators filling the Sanatorium,
"I will have to think about it, Senator Banda" replied Senator Makan,
Senator Banda smiled and walked away while Senator Makan watched the rest of the Senators filled up the seats and balconies in the Senatorium, finally a man dressed in white robes appeared on the main stage which had a throne situated in the middle and silence quickly filled the room,
"The speaker of the Senatorium" a voice shouted as the man in white robes stood staring out at all the senators
"Senators of the Republic, thank you for gathering here today in accordance with the silver accords, this is a historic occasion, a day we should look at with fondness and celebration, nearly 25 years ago we were led from the darkness that filled the galaxy with the Empire into the light, throughout these 25 years we have been led by a supreme leader, who has ensured that we have not had to worry about wars, famine or allowing criminal elements to run amok... I remind you that after we had defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor Palpatine, we stood on this ground together, we chose and agree to have who the Princess of Alderaan lead us, she has led us with strength, fairness and a zeal that has improved all our lives. It was also agreed upon that day that 2 weeks before the silver anniversary of our chosen leader, the senate would gather for her to make an announcement... and without any further delay, I announce the Queen, Queen Leia Organa of the Galactic Republic" he said as he moved to the side of the throne,
From the side entrance walked in the Queen dressed in a red and white dress with a crown encrusted with rubies on her head, she looked at the cheering and clapping senators as she slowly took her place on the throne, she raised her hand in the air with the palm facing up and waved from side to side,
"I give welcome and thanks to my Senators of the Galactic Republic" she said,
The Senators who were standing bowed and took their seats.
"My dear Senators, the silver anniversary of my being elected Queen is fast approaching, 25 years ago it was agreed under the silver accords that I would rule for 25 years and name an heir to the throne on my 25th year, it would then be that a new leader from the heir of my choosing and a candidate chosen by all the Senators would then be selected from 7 senators of the 7 planets who originally helped reform the Republic. The 7 Senators from planets agreed upon under the silver accords are, respectively from Naboo... Senator Averee, from Bespin... Senator Leroy Brown, from Endor... Senator Jocanda Delice, from Hoth... Senator Kamio, from New Alderaan... Senator Makan, from Renchen... Senator Casul and from Tatooine... The Grand Master Jedi Luke Skywalker. As per my duty and that we are now 2 weeks away from my silver anniversary, I hereby rule that the voting for the senator's candidate to begin and for a name to be provided in 2 weeks' time, the Honourable speaker of the senatorium, Sir Mozzam Behg will be assigned to collect the votes and release the results at our re-assembly in 2 weeks' time, and on that day I will name my heir, and also on that day, the 7 Senators respectively will select the new leader for the Galactic Republic" said Queen Leia,
The man in white robes, Sir Mozzam came back onto the stage,
"Thank you, your Majesty, Senators, your votes will be collected over the coming week and will need to be signed with the official seal of your government, as per our usual quarterly meetings I have received numerous requests from our esteemed Senators to discuss topics of a wide variety and from those requests, I have chosen 3 to be discussed in the Senatorium today" he said,
Sir Mozzam looked at the Queen,
"You may proceed Sir Mozzam" she ordered,
"Senator Daha of Daho, please stand and move forward" said Sir Mozzam,
A Neimoidian stood up from the group of Senators and walked up some stairs to a podium with a spotlight shining on him,
"Thank you to her Majesty for her honouring the silver accords and thank you to the speaker for allowing me the honour to speak" said Senator Daha,
"Thank you, Senator Daha, I now call Senator Maja of Kautter, please stand and move forward" said Sir Mozzam,
A Mon Calamari stood up from the group of Senators and walked up the stairs on the opposite side to the Neimoidian and stood on a podium with a spotlight shining on him,
"Thank you to her Majesty for her honouring the silver accords and thank you to the speaker for allowing me the honour to speak" said Senator Maja,
"Thank you, Senator Maja" replied Sir Mozzam, he went to the queen and whispered in her ear for a few moments, he then went back to the centre of the stage,
"Your highness, the 2 respective Senators have asked to discuss a dispute between their planets, I have briefed you on the specifics, for the rest of the assembly the issue is as follows, according to the complaints from Senator Daha and Senator Maja, Daho decided to enter the barren planet Iho 6 and have been mining it for the past few months, during one of their mining expeditions they found vast quantities of spice, upon learning of this discovery, the Kautters are claiming the spice as theirs by them being the previous inhabitants of the planet, the situation has escalated to troops from both planets now being stationed blocking any exports of spice." said Sir Mozzam ,
"Senator Daha, please enter your plea" ordered the Queen,
"Thank you to the speaker of the house! Your Majesty, it is quite simple, the government of Kautter are trying to steal from the hard work of the Dahons, they evacuated the planet 10 years ago and have not been back to it since they left, I believe this to come under the ownership action that was passed by the senate 2 years ago with a similar complaint from 2 parties, that if money or time has gone into searching for materials on a disputed land, ownership would go to the one who committed time or money... as you can see, from the records I have sent to Sir Mozzam, we have done both. That is my plea" said Senator Daha,
"Thank you, Senator Daha! Senator Maja, please enter your plea" ordered the Queen,
"Thank you to the speaker of the house! Your Majesty, I do not wish to bore you with insignificant matters, however it is as simple as this! As you all know that we left the planet IHO 6 as there was a natural disaster which would not allow us to grow crops to live, we did not disown the planet, the planet is ours and whatever is in the planet… is ours, the Dahons have invaded our land and illegally began to mine it without permission! We wish for the Dahons to leave our planet and leave what is rightfully the property of the government and people of Kautter" said Senator Maja,
"Thank you, Senator Maja!" said the Queen,
"I will enter both pleas exactly as stated into the record for legality on the ruling" said Sir Muzam,
There was silence for a moment while the Queen looked down and pondered on the pleas, she finally lifted her head up,
"Thank you to my respected Senators for bringing this to our attention and not allowing it to escalate any further than it already has, after going through all evidence that has been submitted to me, I can only determine that the planet Iho 6 is still under the jurisdiction of Government of Kautter and that the Dahons should leave the planet immediately and leave all materials found on that planet behind." said the Queen,
"Your Majesty this is absurd!" pleaded Senator Daha,
"Senator Daha! Behave!" snapped Sir Mozzam,
Queen Leia gave Senator Daha an angry look,
"No Senator! What is absurd is that you never spoke to anyone at the royal council to clarify this before wasting your resources!"
"Please accept my apologies your majesty" replied Senator Daha with a defeated voice,
"I ask the Senators to show the behaviours that should be expected for senators, not only because this is the way of the senatorium but because this is also being screened live across the republic, anymore behaviour that is unacceptable or unbefitting of a senator will cause for you to be removed from the senatorium" said Sir Mozzam,
"Thank you Sir Mozzam, I have come to this decision very carefully and have to advise that under all documentation filed by the Kautter government since the evacuation, Iho 6 was named as a property of the government of Kautter. Regarding the ruling that was mentioned by Senator Daha as a support for the actions of the Dahons, the ownership act, the previous matter in the eyes of the Senate was considered disputed land, this however is not disputed land, it is the land of the people of Kautter and the only party disputing this is the government of Daho."
"Thank you, your Majesty," squealed Senator Maja whilst grinning at Senator Daha,
"Also, after careful consideration, appreciating the time, money and effort that the Dahon government have placed in mining Iho 6 and considering they did find the spice, I order that the government of Kautter will reimburse the government of Daho with what they have spent plus 50% of all sales of Iho 6 spice will be paid to the Dohans for 1 year, I will send an independent team to the planet to make sure all accounts add up and the split is followed as ruled upon for 1 year" ordered the Queen,
"The Queen has given judgement" shouted Sir Mozzam,
Senator Daha looked very unhappy and walked down the stairs from the podium in anger, Senator Maja who was grinning earlier walked down the stairs from the podium with his head down and sad.
"Senator Anansi of Skungan, please stand up and move forward" announced Sir Mozzam,
A tall dark man stepped onto the podium with a spot light shining on him,
"Senator Anansi, thank you for passionate words, we have always treated such matters with an unspoken acknowledgment but as we are coming to the end of reign of Queen Leia, I believe it only fair for the whole senate to hear your words" said Sir Mozzam,
"Uh hum", Senator Anansi cleared his throat and was silent for a moment,
"Please speak Senator Anansi, we are all waiting" said the Queen with a smile,
Senator Anansi nodded his head but did not say anything, the lights went out in the Senatorium and quickly came back on,
"Thank you to the speaker of the house! I transcribed the comments to the speaker of the house that I knew would allow me to speak today, but these were not the exact words that I wish for the senate or for the new republic to hear today" said Senator Anansi,
Senator Anansi went paused, the whole senate was quiet and intensely listening, Sir Mozzam tried to speak aloud but no one could hear him,
"Your highness, I need to go find the technicians, my voice projector is not working" said Sir Mozzam, the queen nodded and he walked off from the stage,
Sir Anansi stood there quiet,
"Go on" shouted a senator from the crowd,
"Speak" shouted another,
"Go on Senator, let us hear what you wish to convey" said Queen Leia,
Senator Anansi stood there nervously and looked around the senate, the lights suddenly went off and came back on, he smiled and raised his hand to silence the senators that were shouting at him to hurry up and speak,
"A moment was needed to compose myself my fellow senators, I am here to say what many of us Senators feel but for fear of reprimand have kept silent, in this senate we have become voiceless. Today I say that ends, the truth will set us free, there are many of us who are not happy with the rule of Queen Leia and now I have received evidence that she has lied to the Senate and the Republic!" said Senator Anansi,
A huge uproar filled the Senatorium, Queen Leia tried to speak but her voice projector too did not work, she motioned the attendant of Sir Mozzam over who was standing nearby,
"Go find Sir Mozzam and tell him to get control of the senator Anansi now! or I will order the Jedi Knights to!"
"I received a communication recently, and the voice that I was speaking to revealed to me the lies that have spread to across the galaxy, spread by non-other than the Queen! firstly, she told us that she had rid the galaxy of the Hutts and their ilk, when what she actually did was helped the Wolf gang defeat the Hutts and moved their enterprise to the free planets, she has also allowed the wolf gang to attack some of our shipping lanes without fear of retaliation. Secondly, she has given us all ships to defend ourselves but limits the technology on those ships, she has the biggest personal army and has kept the best and most powerful ships for her own fleet!" Said Senator Anansi,
"Jedi! remove him from the senate now!" ordered the Queen,
"Thirdly, after the stormtroopers joined the rebellion of the last Sith lord Kylo Ren and were defeated, she gave them all pardons and allowed them to live their lives without punishment! Lastly, she told us it was Kylo Ren and his Knights that had destroyed the planet Kabal, it was actually Queen Leia who ordered their destruction, we have replaced one dictator for another! I say now, that voice that contacted me, he is the voice for the voiceless, he is the truth and he will set us free"
The Jedi ordered by the queen grabbed the Senator to remove him from the podium,
"Stop! What are you doing! I am a member of the senate!" screamed Senator Anansi as he tried to hold onto the railing around the podium, the Jedi finally got his hands free, but as he was being pulled from the podium, he let out one final piece of information,
"He lives! he lives! The voice! Kylo Ren lives! It was Kylo Ren!" shouted Senator Anansi,
Sir Mozzam made his way back onto the stage, The Queen got up from her throne,
"You have lost control Sir Mozzam and this is unacceptable" she said,
"I went to find the technician to fix the voice projectors" replied Sir Mozzam,
"Could you not send your attendant?" asked the Queen,
"He is only my attendant because he is my nephew your majesty, he is best suited to tasks which require not much use of the mind" replied Sir Mozzam,
"We shall be having words about this Sir Mozzam! End this assembly now!" said the Queen and made her way off the stage.
The senate assembly was being broadcast to the whole republic, and one person took special interest as he watched on from the planet Tatooine, he laughed as Sir Mozzam addressed the senate to advise the assembly had some to an end and the feed was cut.
In the cloud city of Bespin, a woman in a red dress was frantically running through the crowd of night goers, "Spice for sale" could be heard from all over the promenade, most that came out late at night in Bespin were either looking to buy spice or under the effects of it, she ran down multiple corridors, pushing past people whilst going deeper and deeper into underground of the cloud city, she tripped and fell over something on the floor,
A security guard saw her running in the forum and followed her "What is going on? What's wrong?" he asked,
"There is... there is a... a man... he is after me... he is going to kill me!" she said wildly as she was holding her ankle in pain,
"What man? Who is it?" he asked,
The woman pulled the gun that was holstered from the guard's belt and shot into the long dark corridor multiple times, she hit the walls, the ceiling and a steam pipe, Steam quickly filled the corridor, the guard snatched the gun from her,
"What are you doing? What spice are you using?" he asked as he grabbed her shoulders to try and shake her out of the panic,
She did not say a word to him but just pointed into the steam with a look of horror on her face and wide eyed, the guard turned around, as quickly as the guard could blink a Yellow lightsaber came out of nowhere and took his head off, the guards head landed in the woman's lap and her face was covered in blood, she screamed from the top of her lungs as the shadow in the steam walked towards her.
In the capital of the Galactic Republic, later in the afternoon, many of the elite from society and Senators were getting ready to make their way to the annual Victory gala held to celebrate the defeat of the Empire at the Royal Auditorium, the evenings events were a play on the Battle between the empire and the Rebels and a meal made by the Great Chef, Hi Jin Fin. At the Royal Palace nearby, the Queens attendants began their work to get Queen Leia ready for the occasion.
"It is the white dress for tonight, Hana" said Queen Leia as she looked at herself standing in front of the mirror in her under garments,
"Yes, your Majesty" replied the Queens attendant Hana,
Another of the Queens attendants came in with her shoes and placed them at her feet as there was a knock on the door,
"Your Majesty, we have a problem!" said a woman's voice,
"Yes, Margreet" replied Queen Leia,
Margreet entered the room and bowed to Queen Leia,
"It is Prince Ben, he will not get changed and he has said that he does not want to come to the victory Gala" said Margreet,
"Go back to him and let him know that he does not have a choice in this!" Replied the Queen annoyed,
"He keeps hiding under his blanket" said Margreet,
"How does he expect to take over my position when he acts like a child! Let alone if he cannot do the things that he does not wish to do!" said the Queen,
"I have tried your highness, I do now know what to do, I even said that I would be coming to speak to you" pleaded Margreet,
"If he does not get ready, I will send the Jedi Knights to drag him there, no matter what state he is in. Go back to him and let him know" stated the Queen,
"Yes, Majesty" replied Margreet anxiously and rushed out of the room.
The Queen put on her dress with the help of her attendants and sat down to put on her make up,
There was another knock on the door,
"Ufff, I told you already Margreet, I am in no mood! tell him there is no discussion! There is no choice!" shouted Leia,
"We always have a choice, Mother!" replied a man's voice on the other side of the door,
Queen Leia quickly shot her head up and looked at the door through the mirror and smiled,
"Bail, you always know when to turn up at the right time" she said,
"And to say the right things!" the man's voice replied,
"Yes, always!" added the Queen with a laugh,
"Well, I am the son of the Queen for the galactic republic, how could I not have such wonderful traits" said Bail,
"Are you going to keep flattering me from behind the door?" asked Leia,
"May I come in Mother?" asked Bail,
"Of course, my son" answered the queen,
In walked a tall, dark haired, handsome young man in the finest clothes that anyone in the galaxy could wear,
"Wow, you look beautiful Mother" said Bail,
"Thank you, my son! how was your trip to the shipyards in the republic?" asked Leia,
"It was educational" replied Bail,
"What did you learn?" Ask the Queen,
"We have learned that many of the governments have decided to illegally modify all the ships which you have provided them, many were altered with illegal weapons or speed modifications" said Bail,
"And what did you do?" Asked the Queen,
"I had the Master Chief Harmada remove all the offending modifications and installed software that would notify the Galactic force if any modifications were being made" replied Bail,
"Good boy! We will need to make sure that no one has the means to act irresponsibly as we are approaching a period of uncertainty" said Queen Leia,
"I have it all under control Mother" said Bail,
"I am happy to have you back Bail and will need you by my side tonight for the Gala!" stated the Queen,
"I heard what happened today at the Senatorium, would you like me to deal with Senator Anansi?" Asked Bail,
"No Bail, I am dealing with the matter." Replied the Queen,
"Is there anything you want me to do before we make our way to the Gala?" asked Bail,
"Yes, you can go and get your older brother ready for the ball, he is being difficult and I have no time to humour him today" ordered the Queen,
"Faiz said he was out all last night again at the casinos and bars..." said Hana,
The Queen stared at her with a piercing look,
"Forgive me, your majesty" whispered Hana,
The Queen looked back at Bail,
"Bail, I told you to speak to him about not going out late at night!" said the Queen angrily,
"I have been across the whole galaxy for the last 3 months, how am I to control what he does? Mother, you have the Jedi guarding him, why not question them?" argued Bail,
Queen Leia got up from her chair and placed her hand on Bails face,
"You are a good boy Bail, very much like your uncle, Ben is a good boy too, however at times he can be very much like your father used to be! Rebellious! your uncle was a calming influence on your father and I want you to be the same with Ben, just keep trying with him… for me" said the Queen,
"You know I would do anything for you Mother, leave it with me" replied Bail with a smile,
"We need to make sure both of you are safe, I know you were adamant that you did not want this before but I want to place some Jedi with you to make sure you are safe until the silver anniversary" said the Queen,
"Do not worry about me mother, as I said before I do not want the Jedi with me, I have actually already found myself some personal guards, they are 2 former stormtroopers, Andeddu and Nadd, they are on their way to the palace" said Bail as he kissed her forehead and made his way out the door,
"I am your Mother, it is my job to worry" said the Queen,
"Prince Bail is very handsome your majesty, he will make a lady very happy one day" said Hana,
"He has the same smile as his father" said the Queen lost in thought,
"Call Faiz, ask him to bring the Chief minister of the Galactic force to me" ordered the Queen,
"On my way" said another one of the attendants and rushed out of the room,
Queen Leia put on her shoes and gave a twirl in the mirror,
"Majestic" said one of the attendants who was standing by the wall,
"Thank you!" replied Leia,
"Beauty... beau... bbbbb... uuuuuuu..." the same attendant spat out words in a frenzy and then stopped, her yellow eyes closed and her head dropped down as if she switched off,
A knock came on the door and in walked a young man with tanned skin and jet-black hair tied in a pony tail,
"The Chief minister, she is waiting outside" said the man,
"Very efficient as always Faiz, let her in" said the Queen,
The door opened and in walked a young Lady in a bright blue uniform who bowed her head at Queen Leia, she looked at the queens. attendant who had her head dropped down,
"What happened your highness?" asked The Chief Minister,
"Another Biodroid malfunctioning Chief Minister Neva" said Leia,
"I do not trust these biodroids" said Neva,
"If we do not move forward Neva, we will get stuck and move backwards, one of the many things I have learned in my lifetime is that things will always change and you have to adapt" said the Queen,
"I have arranged the meeting with the Royal council to discuss what happened today at the senate" said Faiz,
"Good" replied the Queen,
"And I have done as you requested your highness and Senator Anansi has been deported from the planet" said Chief minister Neva,
"I would also like to place a fine on the Senator Anansi, increase his governments taxes by 15% for breaking the Senatorium rules and inform him and Sir Mozzam that he will have no vote in matters of the Senatorium relating to the new leader" ordered the Queen,
"Consider it done" replied Neva,
"Thank you, Chief Minister! ….. and have you found Dr Kinsale yet?" asked Queen Leia,
"No, your Majesty, we have not, all clues seem to suggest that he was abducted but we do not know by whom or why" said Neva,
"Do you believe he is dead?" asked Leia,
"We cannot afford to rule anything out or say anything until we are certain" replied Neva,
"What about the wolf gang?" Asked Leia,
"I have sent out feelers to our contacts and am yet to hear anything back, but I doubt the wolf gang would break an agreement that has proven so valuable for them" replied Neva,
"I want you to speak to the wolf brothers directly" said Leia,
"I will arrange a meeting" replied Neva,
"What about the knights of Ren?" asked the Queen,
"All my sources seem to suggest that they do not exist" replied Neva,
"They do not exist!? What about the terrorist attacks that have been reported that we have received communication that they take credit for?" asked Leia,
"The Senators have denied any attacks have taken place on any of their planets, we are unable to determine who was the source of the reports that has spread like wildfire across the republic, all we have to prove their claims are these communications which have been sent to the galactic force" replied Neva,
"After this morning's events, I suspect someone is making a play for the candidacy and trying to use fear as a manipulation tool, I need you to have everything and everyone recorded tonight at the gala, review all the footage" said the Queen,
"I will inform my team" said Chief Minister Neva,
"If Dr Kinsale has fallen into the hands of an enemy of the republic, the possibilities are frightening and the outcome could be disastrous" said the Queen,
"They could be using him to perfect his work with the biodroids or they could be using him to build a biodroid army" stated Faiz,
"I have..." Neva tried to reply but was cut short,
"Or they could be using him to manipulate the existing Biodroids, order 66... we cannot have a repeat of what happened with the clones" said Leia,
"There is nothing to worry about your Majesty, we know all the materials that are needed for the biodroids and I have people who are monitoring all sales and purchases across the trade network and black market" said the Chief minister,
"My dear chief minister, nothing to worry about? I need more from you on this, faster and quicker! this is not a time to hold on to what was, as if it will always be, I need you to look at all possibilities, investigate all possibilities, doubt everyone and everything and OfCourse, bring me results!" said the Queen,
"I will do my best" replied the Chief Minister,
"You do not fill me with confidence Neva, not at all! I need someone on this with you for my peace of mind, Faiz will work with you, find Dr Kinsale or at the very least find out what has happened to him... speak to the wolf brothers… find out if the Knights of Ren stories are true or not….and find out who is spreading these lies…." Said the Queen,
"I will look into all the matters of concern" said Neva,
"You have 2 weeks Neva! Otherwise, I will have to find someone else to do the job of Chief Minister" said the Queen,
"I will find out everything, you have my word, I have never let you down before nor do I plan to" replied Neva as she looked at Faiz and nodded,
"That's better! I see that you still need to get ready for the gala tonight, so you may now go" said the Queen,
The Chief minister bowed her head and left the room,
"Faiz, take the biodroid out of here and see if our mechanics can fix her, also let them know that I want all biodroids disconnected from the hive system" ordered Leia,
"Yes, your majesty" replied Faiz,
Faiz picked up the attendant that had malfunctioned and dragged the biodroid out of the room, as Faiz stepped out of the door, he found the Chief minister staring at herself in the mirror,
"Are you okay Chief Minister Neva?" he asked,
"I am… looking at my outfit" replied Neva,
"Why?" asked Faiz,
"Because this is my outfit for the Gala tonight and the Queen asked me to get ready" she replied,
He placed the Biodroid to the side and went over to her,
"Go to the Artila boutique on the Ba'nam parade and see the Lady Rima, tell her I sent you and give her this" Faiz pulled a gold card from his pocket and gave it to Neva,
"She will look after you" he added,
"Thank you!" Neva gushed,
The both smiled at each other for a moment too long and Neva's face went from smiling, to red, to very serious in an instant,
"About the Doctor, you may be able to help me, I have a lead of sorts…" said Neva,
"We can meet to discuss... tomorrow?" asked Faiz,
"Yes, after the royal council meeting, meet me at the skywalker statue on the elite boardwalk" replied Neva,
"Perfect" said Faiz,
Faiz nodded his head and smiled as he picked up the biodroid and they both walked away in different directions.
In the opposite corner of the Palace, Bail opened the door to his brother Ben's room, Margreet was in the room pleading with Ben to wake up,
"Please Prince Ben, I promised the Queen!" she pleaded,
"You can tell my mother to send the Jedi, they don't have the stomach for a battle with me, I am the Prince of the Republic! Future King of the Galactic Republic!" he yelled back while under his blanket,
Bail walked in and placed his finger to his lips to advise Margreet to be quiet, he picked up the blanket,
"All hail Ben Solo!" he yelled as he threw a bucket of water over Ben, Ben now drenched was huffing and puffing, wiping the water out of his eyes, he looked up and saw Bail smiling at him,
"You!" he shouted,
Ben jumped out of bed and chased after Bail, Bail began running as soon as Ben's feet touched the ground, they made their way out of the room, to the hall way, to the staircase, through the bathing room, through the study, through the dining room, through the meeting room, through the kitchen and then into the back gardens, 2 Jedi knights walked up, one tall and one short,
"Everything okay your highness?" The tall Jedi Knight asked,
Ben stopped and looked at them up and down,
"Give me both of your lightsabers!" He ordered, the Jedi knights reluctantly gave Ben their 2 lightsabers and he threw 1 at Bail who caught it,
"You will pay for that Bail!" he shouted,
"Maybe you should learn how to bath yourself and not have other people do it for you" shouted Bail,
They both switched on their lightsabers which glowed yellow and walked around an imaginary circle in the gardens of the royal palace, keeping their eyes locked on to one another,
"Please stop this Prince Ben and Prince Bail" pleaded the short jedi,
Ben and Bail ignored him,
The Taller Jedi looked at the shorter Jedi,
"5 credits on Prince Bail" said the taller Jedi,
"I will take your bet" said the smaller Jedi,
"Bail, you need a reminder that I am the big brother here" said Ben,
"Then look at me face to face and remind me!" replied Ball while pointing out that Ben was shorter than him, Ben ran towards Bail.
A man in brown robes made his way up the stairs and up to the Queens chambers and knocked on her door,
The queen's attendant opened the door and let him in,
The man walked in and bowed to the Queen,
"Your highness" he said,
"Jedi Ramsey" said the Queen,
"You called for me?" He asked,
"Senator Anansi has recently been deported, I would like for you to arrange a ship to meet him along the way and interrogate him as to where he has been receiving these lies that he spewed in the senate today" said the Queen,
"I will have a team make haste to meet them" replied Jedi Ramsey,
"Only you are to know the specifics of the meeting Jedi Ramsey, you are to lead the team, no one else from the Royal guard should know anything more than you are stopping a ship for security reasons" added the Queen,
"As you command" replied Jedi Ramsey,
"You will also need to increase your detail around Prince Ben!" ordered the Queen,
"I will add some more knights to guard the prince" replied Ramsey,
"And the ones that are around him at the moment will need to be removed" added the Queen,
"May I ask why your majesty?" Asked the Jedi Ramsey,
"They are unfit to their jobs" snapped the Queen,
"They are 2 of my best" replied the Jedi,
"If they are 2 of your best, I am very concerned! How did they allow Prince Ben to go out during the night when I have specifically ordered for him to be kept in the palace at night?" Asked the Queen,
"They consulted me before doing so and I advised that he could go and sent additional Jedi to covertly guard him" replied Jedi Ramsey,
"So, you disobeyed my command! If you cannot obey my orders, let me know now and I will relieve you from the role as head of the Jedi Knights!" Snapped the Queen,
"Please forgive me your highness, I made a mistake" replied Jedi Ramsey,
"I will not accept any more insubordination Jedi Ramsey, just know that if anything does happen to my son, it will be you who first feels my wrath" said the Queen,
Jedi Ramsey nodded at her to acknowledge her statement as he touched his neck,
"Now, I have another task for you Jedi Ramsey, I need for you to look into what happened with the speaking equipment today at the Senatorium, if life has taught me anything, it is that nothing happens by coincidence" ordered the Queen,
"I will look into this and report back to you" replied the Jedi Knight Ramsey,
"You can go" said the Queen,
Jedi Knight Ramsey walked out the door, Queen Leia looked at herself in the mirror for a few moments and suddenly ripped off her dress,
"Not this, I changed my mind, Hana! I want the green dress!" She said to her attendant who rushed to get her what she asked for.
Back in the gardens, Ben and Bail were swinging their lightsabers at each other, whoosh, bang, at a ferocious pace swinging back and forth, Bail kicked Ben in the stomach and knocked him over, Bail swung his saber as hard as he could at Ben's face, who just moved out of the way, Ben got up and straightened his shirt and stared and Bail,
"Ben, you may be older but I am stronger" teased Bail,
Ben ran towards Bail and swung his saber with all the force that he could muster, back and forth they moved across the gardens, after 5 more mins of brawling and throwing garden furniture at each other, they both were gasping for air and now swinging their lightsabers without any force at all, they both fell down and were now resting on each other back-to-back, trying to get their breaths back,
"You need to go to the Gala tonight!" ordered Bail,
"It is the same thing every year! You go with Mother!" replied Ben,
"I am going! Mother wants us both to be there" said Bail,
"Look, we both know the play is full of lies, the evening is a farce, we celebrate the downfall of our grandfather but the reality is that it was our grandfather who killed the emperor" replied Ben,
"And it was our grandfather who followed the emperor for all those years" added Bail,
"What do you know about history! You just keep being the favourite son!" said Ben,
"I know allot more than you think, stop being a pain Ben, if you want to be named the heir to the throne, you have to do things you do not want to do and go to events like this!" said Bail,
"I AM the heir to the throne! I am the oldest son!" stated Ben,
"As I tried to get into your skull before, you can be the oldest but it does not mean a thing" said Bail,
"When I am running things, you will all see, this will all change!" said Ben,
"Well, we will have to wait and see! But until then, please try not to upset Mother! Get dressed and come with us" pleaded Bail,
"No!" said Ben,
"Quit being a baby" said Bail,
"Quit asking" said Ben,
"Have you taken a look at yourself Ben?" asked Bail,
"Yes, and I am very happy with how I look" replied Ben,
"The way you live your life, you are a few years older than me, but it could easily be said to be decades!" laughed Bail,
Ben gave a fake laugh,
"Remember when we were young and we would play hide and seek?" asked Ben,
"Yes, and I would always win!" said Bail,
"I could never find you" added Ben,
"I was always more intelligent than you Ben" said Bail,
There was a moment of silence,
"Where is your saber?" asked Ben
Bail lifted the saber up,
"Here" replied Bail,
Ben swung his saber and knocked Bails saber out of his hand which went flying across the garden,
"I win! You see, you may be stronger Bail, but always remember, I am more intelligent" said Ben,
They both turned to look at each other and cracked a smile,
"Come on! Let's get you ready for the Gala! The intelligent prince of the Galactic Republic" said Bail as he put his arm around his brother, they both got up laughing and walked back into the palace.
The Jedi Knights picked their lightsabers up from the ground and looked at each other,
"I thought they were going to kill each other" said the taller Jedi,
"So did I!" replied the shorter Jedi,
"That was a draw" said the taller jedi,
"What! Give me my credits!" replied the Shorter Jedi,
The tall jedi gave his credits to the short jedi,
"They are a very strange family, Strange!" said the tall one,
"And you gave them your lightsabers! Strange indeed!" A voice yelled from behind them,
They looked around and it was Jedi Ramsey,
"It's his fault" said the taller one pointing at the shorter one as they looked at each other.
Chapter 2 – The Gala
