Chapter One
"Imperial Center has always been a ferment of political intrigue, of secret plots. Being the seat of two major governments had its consequences. No matter how many good-intentioned people promised to put an end to the cloak and dagger way of politics, the shadows remained."
--The Imperial Chronicles, Chapter Two
"Bail Organa once described the state of Imperial Center to me. He said, "Everyone knows everything about everyone else while being arrogant enough to assume everything about them is completely confidential.""
--Pooja Lydonia, Senator of Naboo
They were as efficient as they ever were, Pooja reflected as she watched her three handmaidens and Head of Security enter and arrange themselves within her sitting room. It had not taken them long to assemble and come before her.
Captain Welck Peoly did not take a seat on the available sofa. Instead, he chose to stand at attention behind it, his back to a wall which gave him a full view of the room. His lips were set in a thin, grim line against his dark skin. His sharp, dark brown eyes swept over the area, missing nothing.
Niaé sat in the center of the sofa, her hands folded and resting demurely in her lap. Her blue eyes, one of the few physical differences between Niaé and herself, gazed at Pooja, unassuming and yet questioning all the same.
To her immediate right, Meliaé sat waiting, her body tense and ready to spring into action. Growing up in Keren had contributed to the woman's on-edge state, something she'd never lost. With the rise of the Empire, Keren had slowly been converted into the base for stormtroopers. The people who had stubbornly refused to leave had quickly learned to abide by a single principle: be ready for trouble before it finds you. And the skills Meliaé had developed there made her a highly effective bodyguard.
Finally, on Niaé's left, Amarié sat quietly, the most inscrutable of them all. The girl had been born and raised in the Lake Country, where time and life itself seemed to come to an idyllic standstill. That feeling still radiated off both her and Pooja, which helped Amarié greatly when she stood in as Pooja's double.
Pooja did not mince words with them. "I've received a warning from a credible source that something could be going on within the workings of the Senate. I want to know what." Standing from her own chair, she handed each of them a data pad.
"Niaé, see what you can find out through the various Senators' aides and assistants. They can be very… liberal with information once they are in the correct setting," Pooja said, a small, amused smile causing her lips to twitch.
She then turned to Amarié. "See if you can find anything in the personal files of the Senators," Pooja instructed. "The computer security system is sophisticated, but the new programs you have developed should be quite enough to get you in."
She then turned to the last two people present in the room. "Meliaé, Captain, I need the two of you to work together and create a plan that will allow our people to leave the planet in a hurry. Keep the ship well-stocked and on stand-by status at all times."
Captain Peoly nodded, his dark eyes flying over the data pad's information. "Of course, milady." He then looked up at her. "But if I may ask, what warning did this 'credible source' give?"
For a moment, Pooja stayed silent, considering how to phrase her words. Finally, she said only, "My source said only that something was going to happen. She was unable to say anything specific, but I trust her words and feelings."
Her Head of Security pursed his lips unhappily, obviously unsatisfied with the lack of information. He only nodded and murmured, "Very well, milady."
"I'll make sure Jack Forsye packs his model collection," Meliaé muttered sardonically.
The inhabitants of Conference Room Three Hundred Sixty-Four were known throughout the Senate Building for being overly loud in their meetings and discussions. It was a well-established tradition that, when the Emergency Relief Committee met in conference, everyone removed themselves from the immediate area.
And as Pooja fought the urge to just slump over in her chair in weariness, she silently envied them. They did not have to listen to her associates rant in frustration at one another.
"My esteemed colleagues," Ait Sorrenn said loudly, trying to override the bickering Senators around him, "This argument solves nothing. Until we can obtain more funds from the Senate, we will simply have to-"
"Have to what?" Jasmille Candroon snapped, cutting him off. "Simply decide between drought and famine or planetary armageddon. How can such a decision be made?"
Pooja had asked herself the same question many times. She had yet to find a satisfactory answer. Still, she did not speak.
Antur Shysha, the newest Senator to join the Emergency Relief Committee, spoke up next. "Perhaps we could explore other methods of obtaining funds? Private fundraisers, for example-"
"We've tried that in the past, Senator Shysha," Corr Lassiter, the Chairman of the Committee said, wearily glancing around the table at them. The balding man with startling blue eyes and a thickening waist due to age leaned back in his chair. "All funds brought in by the various committees and sub-committees are subject to the Senate's confiscation and methods of redistribution."
Pooja winced at the suppressed bitterness in the man's tone. She recalled very clearly the incident Corr was alluding to, when one of the Emperor's political representatives, Major Scrye Pavish, had smugly informed the Committee that the credits they had managed to collect from various wealthy philanthropists was being confiscated in the name of the Emperor and the Senate. Both she and Bail had been forced to keep restraining hands on Corr's shoulders, preventing him from doing physical harm to the irritatingly arrogant man. That had been several years ago, of course, but he had never forgotten it nor had he forgiven his grudge against the Major.
She straightened at that point, hoping to bring her coworkers' tempers to cool, when the door slid open, revealing Corr's top aide, Fin Staver. The man looked absolutely harried.
"Senators," he said breathlessly, bowing to them hurriedly, "Major-"
The man was cut off by someone else entering the room behind him, interrupting loudly, "Yes, yes, I am here. Enough." Waving a negligent hand in Fin's direction, the sandy blonde haired man with brown eyes bowed in what could, in theory, be called a gallant manner.
Major Scrye Pavish had arrived.
Think of a demon and he shall saunter forth, Pooja thought sourly.
"Senators," Pavish said pleasantly, "It is an honor to see you all again."
Corr's jaw tightened and his blue eyes flashed, which vividly stood out from his round, middle-aged face. "Yes," he finally ground out. "I'm sure it is. What can the Emergency Relief Committee do for you, Major Pavish?"
The younger man straightened, coming to attention. "His Majesty, Emperor Palpatine, in two days time, will call the Senate back into full session." Pavish then executed a sharp military salute and proudly marched out, but not before he flashed a bright, flirtatious smile in Pooja's direction. The remaining occupants of the room were left to sit in their seats, stunned and, in Pooja's case, disgusted.
Jasmille was the first to break the cloud of silence. "What in the name of the Seventh Helix is going on," she demanded hotly. "The Senate convened only yesterday and is not due to come together again until the first day of next week!"
Pooja sighed. "Undoubtedly, it is something our Emperor considers to be of great importance," she said wryly. She then rose smoothly to her feet, the sound of her violet brocade dress shifting as she did so.
"My fellow Senators, I fear there is nothing further to be done today. If there are no objections, I shall take my leave of you." Barely pausing to wait for an affirming nod from Corr, Pooja walked quietly out of the chamber, Meliaé falling in step behind her.
Pooja barely heard her handmaiden speaking quietly into her com-link to Captain Peoly as they walked at a rapid pace down the hallway. Her mind was already on the Senate, what had happened in the last session, and what could possibly occur two days from now.
Pooja needed to speak with Niaé and Amarié.
The large, cavernous Senate chamber was filled with a low, rumbling hum of conversation as the various Senators waited for the meeting to be called to order. Their numbers had dwindled greatly since the days of the Old Republic, but the Imperial Senate was still a sizable body.
Pooja took her seat in her Senate pod, moderately aware of Niaé, Meliaé, and Captain Peoly arraying themselves in different areas of the small, confined pod. Staring out at the other Senate pods, she could see several seats were still empty; not everyone had arrived just yet.
"Niaé," Pooja called quietly. She heard the other woman's dress rustle as she stood and moved to her side.
"Yes, milady?"
"Refresh my memory, what is being covered today," she inquired.
"The Army and the Navy are both petitioning for more funding, Malastare and Corulag are both asking for more labor workers, and Imperial Intelligence is to give an update on the recent attack by the Rebel Alliance," the handmaiden recited dutifully.
Pooja pursed her lips and sighed quietly. More money for the military. Given the growing unrest throughout so many sectors, that funding request would surely pass. More labor was being requested on two of the most productive worlds within the Empire. 'Greedy fools,' she thought bitterly.
The Emperor's chair began to rise through the dome that covered his private office, interrupting Pooja's grim thoughts. She quickly noticed the Emperor's absence, but thought little of it. Palpatine rarely attended Senate meetings anymore, usually delegating to several of his minions.
She fought a sigh of irritation when she saw Major Pavish standing at the podium. The man was absolutely insufferable, not to mention a perfect example of the Empire's corruption. It had become an open secret within the government that the Major lived in a type of luxury that most of the upper classes would envy, a state that, ordinarily, would be beyond the means of a mere officer in the Imperial Army. It was even rumored that he kept several slaves in deplorable conditions in his home, much to Pooja's private horror and disgust.
The conversations came to a halt as the Emperor's chair rose into place. Almost immediately, Major Pavish began to address them.
"Honorable representatives of the Galactic Empire," he said stoically, "It is to my great sorrow that I must interrupt this meeting as the bearer of tragic tidings. Merely a few hours ago, the Star Destroyer Devastator intercepted a distress signal coming from the remote region of space near the planet Tatooine. When the ship arrived, they discovered that the distress beacon was originating from the cruiser Tantive IV, the personal ship of the esteemed Senator Leia Organa. Lord Vader, who was onboard the Devastator, personally led a search and rescue team aboard the ship, only to find that everyone onboard the ship had been killed, including the Senator."
Horrified gasps and anguished cries were growing louder and louder within the chamber. Pooja only sat in stunned, frozen silence, unable to move or speak.
Leia was gone. Bail's only child was dead.
I should have argued with her, Pooja thought suddenly, barely aware that her hands were beginning to shake. I should have insisted she send someone else, contacted her father, anything.
"The Emperor wishes to send his heartfelt condolences to the Alderaani people and to the Organa family especially," she faintly heard Pavish say. "I also recommend that the Senate break for recess to recover from this most unfortunate news."
The recess and continuation of the session all passed by in a blur, hardly keeping her attention. Both the Imperial Army and Navy received the funds they wanted and the governments of Malastare and Corulag were granted more labor workers.
It was not until Pooja had left the Senate chambers that she remembered one final, vital detail.
"Niaé," she murmured quietly as the group moved down the crowded corridor.
"Milady?"
"Shadows are either at the side, in the front, or behind," Pooja said idly, not even glancing in her handmaiden's direction. "Never on top."
Go, she said silently.
"Of course, milady." Niaé quickly and efficiently vanished into the growing throngs of people, blending in with ease. Pooja kept walking with her two remaining handmaidens and Head of Security, giving no outward reaction to her chief handmaiden's departure.
The transport ride to her quarters from the Committee meeting was a silent one for Pooja. She could easily hear Meliaé and Captain Peoly arguing in low voices from the front, but she did not attempt to prevent their squabble from escalating. It did little good, as they always found something else to quarrel about.
It was an unusual thing for the Emperor to call for a full Senate meeting, as nearly everyone on the Council was very well aware. Indeed, he had not done so in years, always allowing the Senate to prattle on about various matters, but taking little real action. It was something that had been going on since before the fall of the Old Republic, and it was also a cause of great consternation to democracy-driven worlds such as Naboo or Alderaan.
When they arrived at the Palace, Pooja strode out of her transport and directly into her chambers, silently grateful for the private and heavily guarded entrance on her own terrace. She found Niaé and Amarié already present in her sitting room.
"Handmaidens," Pooja said urgently, "I have just been informed of a full Senate meeting that has been scheduled at the command of the Emperor. Have either of you managed to uncover anything at all in your searches?" As she spoke, Pooja shrugged off her cloak and tossed it over the back of one of the chairs before seating herself in it. Niaé, Amarié, Meliaé, and Captain Peoly quickly followed suit. It was Niaé who spoke first.
"I have listened carefully to dozens of whispered and loud conversations alike among the various assistants and few of them have amounted to anything. Mostly rumors of the circumstances surrounding Senator Organa's death," Niaé explained, shaking her head. "If there is something going on, then either the aides and assistants have been ordered to remain absolutely silent or they have been kept completely in the dark."
Pooja clenched her jaw in frustration, but nodded. "Both possibilities are unusual, but still plausible," she admitted. She turned to Amarié, silently hoping, pleading for better results.
The decoy handmaiden shook her head ruefully. "I worked my way into every private and encrypted file I could find, milady. There were few political plans within them, mostly documents of a highly… personal nature," she finished, blushing slightly.
Meliaé snorted. "Let me guess: documents such as the deeds to their mistress's apartments?"
"Among other things, but yes," Amarié murmured quietly.
Pooja sighed. So nothing to support Leia's feelings had been found. That meant that either Leia had been wrong, or the plans had just not been discovered just yet. She wouldn't give up just yet.
"We'll wait until the Senate meeting," she announced, sounding more decisive than she felt. "If anything is going to happen, it will be then. Captain," she turned towards the dark-skinned man, "keep our people on alert."
The Captain nodded respectfully, but as Pooja rose to leave, she saw him and her three handmaidens exchange looks. She could guess very well what they were thinking. She was jumping at shadows at the words of a woman who had ended up dead within days of speaking them; she was being overly paranoid at nothing.
Pooja wondered if they might be right.