Padme licked her lips nervously.
It had been quite a long time since she had been on Coruscant. Months,
in fact. Dorme had carefully curled her hair, filed her nails, and
zipped her into the uncomfortably corseted, elaborately beaded dress.
After so long wearing light summer dresses, the formal outfits she had
once been so used to now felt heavy and laborious to wear.
"Senator Amidala," Chancellor Valorum
enthused, "It is so good to see you after so long. Has Representative
Binks arrived with you?"
"I'm afraid not, Chancellor," she
replied, a now-rare smile playing on her lips. It was no secret that
after Jar Jar had accidentally flooded the Senate environmental systems
with Xenon gas, he had not been Valorum's favourite Gungan.
Valorum returned the grin conspiratorially,
"Pity...please, take a seat, Senator. Ah, Welcome, Bail Organa, Senator
Teem, Senator Brill...some refreshment?"
"Please, Chancellor, no niceties with
us," Bail Organa responded flatly, as always, coming straight to the point.
Valorum smiled at the Alderaanian,
but this time, it seemed hollow and annoyed. "As you wish.
There have been a number of disputes along the outer rim as of late.
Non-aligned worlds like Tatooine have become the breeding grounds for rebellious
influences bent on attacking the Republic at its most vulnerable.
Every step we make towards recovery is brought two steps backward by their
assaults!"
Padme recognized the rhetoric.
It was nothing but overblown politician's verbosity, a skill Palpatine
had mastered. If an entire planet was destroyed, he could find a
way to justify it. By the same token, if a bug had been stepped on,
he could make it seem as if the galaxy would never be the same, if it aided
his cause. Though Padme had always chosen her words carefully, and
was always well-spoken, she had never been disposed to speeches of propaganda.
"At the same time, the Kaminoans are
unable to keep up with our demand for clones," Palpatine paused, and swivelled
his chair towards the window, where he overlooked the skyscraper-littered
skyline.
"What about droids?" Amidala asked,
"They have performed admirably in the clone wars so far."
"Very true," he added with a thoughtful
pause, "However, droids are best suited for war. These rebels don't
attack en masse. Instead, they are tiny cells of fighters, hiding
in pockets amongst dozens of non-aligned worlds. They must be repulsed
with intelligence. Creativity. If droids were sent at them,
we would be left with a dozen worlds left with no population, vegetation,
or atmosphere. They would simply destroy everything in their path."
There was quiet brooding for a moment
as they pondered that fact. It was true. Clones, however, had
their limitations. The first group the Kaminoans had supplied were
nearly extinguished. Internally, Padme was repulsed by the idea of
using clones. Her heart told her that they were people, that they
were just like her, or Anakin. At the same time, she knew they were
the Republic's only hope in defeating the Separatists. So she kept
trying to push down her feelings of revulsion, trying to convince herself
that the clones weren't really people, and that they really weren't creating
disposable creatures to die for the Republic.
"Though martial law has been declared,
it is important for us to keep the face of the Senate respectable.
We must show that the Senators still believe in the cause of democracy.
So, I have called you here to back me as I announce an important new military
act," Palpatine slowly swivelled his chair towards the collected Senators.
Suddenly Padme felt ill. The
expression on his face was trancelike. He absolutely glowed, some
fantastic image of glory playing out in his head. She glanced towards
Organa. He too seemed concerned. Suspicious, a better word,
as he always was.
"I have begun to set up military training
in the Republic's schools, where citizens can serve the Republic in the
army. This way, we may have enough troops to annex the non-aligned
worlds which have been harbouring these fugitives!"
There was a collective silence.
Stunned.
"But Chancellor," she protested, "There
have never been worlds forced into the Republic! It has always been
a peaceful union of consenting worlds..."
"Amidala," Palpatine soothed, "Padme.
The time for peaceful immobility is over. We must act assertively
to maintain what order we have left."
"Are you saying that the ends justify
the means, Chancellor?" Organa asked icily.
"But when our clones are being destroyed
by the thousands each day by a collection of rag-tag rebels being harboured
by..." Senator Teem retorted.
"That's unfair," Padme objected, "We
can't simply invade dozens of worlds because we don't like who lives there?
Besides, most of the outer rim planets have been more than happy to extradite
the rebels...when they can actually be found."
"Believe me, Senator Amidala, once
my troops are on the surface of those planets, we will find the rebels."
"Chancellor," Bail Organa snapped,
"This is far from assertive action. Aggression of this sort cannot
be tolerated. Thousands of civilians will surely die. As well,
these military schools you are proposing cannot be successful. We
have had very few citizens who wish to join your - what did you call the
clone armies? Storm Troopers? Not with the fatality rate as
high as it is now."
"I promise you, Bail Organa, I will
have them knocking down the doors to join my Stormtroopers, once my educational
plans are in place. As you can tell, this subject is not open to
debate. Instead, I ask you here to back me during my Address to the
State."
"Of course, Chancellor," Senators
Teem and Brill confirmed.
Padme hung back. She simply
could not imagine Tatooine invaded by thousands of the white-armoured stormtroopers,
guns pointed at Cliegg and Owen, Lars and Watto, enslaving them into the
multitude of new laws passed by the republic, taxing them, typing them,
forcing the podraces to end and the gambling to stop. All gambling
was now illegal by punishment of life imprisonment, by order of Supreme
Chancellor Palpatine. He disapproved of it, saying that it was time
that could be used productively towards bettering the Republic.
"I'm sorry, Chancellor, but I cannot
support this action," Organa responded softly, "I will return to Alderaan
at once."
"I have supported many questionable
actions of yours in the past, Chancellor, because I trust you have the
interests of the Republic at heart. But not now. I simply cannot
agree to this offensive action."
"All right, child," he dismissed casually,
"If your heart no longer serves the Republic, then be gone and waste no
more of my time. Go back into hiding in your Naboo retreat."
With a wave of his hand, two Imperial
guards appeared, and escorted both Organa and Amidala away.
()()()