Cal Omas, Chief of State, walked slowly into his office. His day had been spent arguing about the new constitution. The fifty-man committee could barely agree on anything, making the already immense process of rehauling the government that much harder. Todays dispute had revolved around the method of representation in the new senate. The debate had revolved around whether representation would be by system or sector. Celch Dravvad of Corellia had argued vehemently for representation by system, due to the Corellian Sectors large amount of them. Councilor Triebakk of Kashykk, on the other hand spoken in favor of representation by sector, since his sector was marked by uninhabited systems.
Omas himself thought the whole point was moot. The Senate would, for a while at least, be sparse at best with as many planets as there were unaccounted for and senators either staying home or missing.
"Or dead" he stated to noone in particular, thinking of Borsk Feylya, whos position he now held, and Feylyas newfound heroism from his valiant final sacrifice, in which he had chosen to remain on captured Coruscant and annihilated an entire platoon of Vong troops with a proton bomb hidden under the former Senatorial headquarters on Coruscant.
"Oh well" he said aloud to himself "Were politicians. Without anything to argue about, why would we be here?"
He passed his secretary, Alenar Fash, who was very efficient and had been on his staff when he was an up and coming senator for the displaced Alderaanian refugees. She looked up and gave him a warm smile.
"How did the constitutional council go?" she inquired.
He just smiled back, sighed, and headed for his private office.
"Just like the last four days then" she said with a chuckle. "Well, only one more meeting today"
Omas stopped. He had not remembered another meeting, although the council tended to make him ignore everything else to the point of forgetting it all. Two days ago, he had completely forgotten about a meeting of the Jedi Council he was supposed to attend and went home to rest. Luckily Luke Skywalker had forgiven him. But he had no recollection of a meeting now.
"Its a diplomatic envoy from the planet Naboo," Fash said, holding out a datacard "Here. Ive compiled a summary of all the information in our databanks on them. Im sorry to say its very sparse. They were never a member of the New Republic"
He took the datacard out of her hand. "When will they be showing?" He asked.
"The meetings scheduled to start in forty minutes" she said "More than enough time for you to review that information and get a relaxing cup of caf"
"Thank you," Omas opened the door to his office "But, if these council meetings keep being this unproductive and tiring, Im going to start needing something stronger than caf"
He closed the door to the sound of her laughter and sat down in his chair, which was the only item he had been able to save from his office on Coruscant, and was made from wood from the forests of Alderaan.
He inserted the card into his datapad and opened the files. Alenar had outdone herself, arranging the data into the neat categories of history, culture, customs, and renowned citizens.
"Dammit Alenar, where would I be without you?" he stated as he opened the history file.
Naboos earliest colonists had arrived fleeing a revolution on the planet Grizmalt in 3900 BBY, and had taken the natives word for Plainsfolk as their planets official moniker. They had started clashing with the native Gungans, apparently amphibious humanoids, and started an era of mutual distrust between the two.
Alenar delivered his caf, and he scrolled down towards more recent history. Around fifty years ago, the planet had been the victim of a blockade initiated by the Trade Federation.
Which had been officially disbanded by the Emperor early in his reign, Cal remembered. Some accident had befallen the Executives of the corporation, leading to their eventual assimilation into the Galactic Empire. It was assumed that since the Trade Federation had supported
Apparently they never received any support from the Republic and settled the matter with their own militia. He noticed that after that, their Senator, named Amidala, had been a forceful opponent of the Clone Wars, until her suspicious death near the end of the conflict. After that the Naboo had withdrawn from public affairs, choosing not to elect another senator and closing their borders.
Omas frowned, the records stopped there. Apparently no news had come from Naboo for over fifty years.
He quickly breezed through the next two categories, noting the Naboo tradition of a monarchy, which he noticed had become an elected office. He also made sure to look at their demeanor, noticing that most Naboo were generally respectful and slightly archaic in their customs.
He went back to the main screen. "I hope fifty year old information is still valid" he thought. "I wonder why such a secluded sector is now making their first bids for recognition"
He shrugged "Im sure Ill find out soon enough" He opened up the last file on the datacard.
What appeared made him jump out of his seat, spilling his caf all over his desk. The first thing to appear on the datapad had been a image of someone recognizable to all residents of the known galaxy, and probably a majority of the unknown portions of it, a face every children learned about in school, and quickly associated with some of the worst crimes in recent history.
Staring up at Cal Omas with piercing eyes was the scarred visage of Emperor Palpatine.
The burly figure of Senior Admiral and diplomatic envoy Hevias Falachor stalked though the Senatorial Hallways, which until recently had been Mon Calamaris most popular resort hotel. Accompanying him was a women who was dressed in regal garb, possibly an aide, and four men dressed in black jumpsuits. These were obviously Falachors bodyguards, due to their lithe frames and darting, inquisitive faces.
Unlike his guards, who were quick to look at any disturbance, Falachor faced straight forward and never seemed to take any notice of any disruption. He was dressed in a bright purple vest and dress pants, topped off with a flowing cape. His regal demeanor was accentuated by the carefully combed black mustache and goatee which seemed to pull his mouth into a perpetual frown. He walked in a manner that suggested aristocracy, with his hands behind his back and chin up.
The entourage made its way down the hallway containing the Senatorial offices, scattering groups of staffworkers and the occasional cleaning droid. Soon they reached the apartment that Omas secretary had provided them. An armed guard stood outside.
Falachor was the first to speak. "I have a meeting with your Cal Omas, if you would be generous enough to step aside." He addressed the guard without ever looking in his direction, as if he felt the guard wasnt important enough to warrant his gaze.
"One moment sir" The guard answered, his hand stiffening near his blaster pistol on his hip, even though he knew that if he tried to draw, the mans bodyguards would be on him before he could fire. Fortunately, the door to the Chief of States office could only be opened from the inside, and any conflict within the Senatorial apartments would draw the military police instantly.
"Im going to need an ID" the guard stated
"Hmph" Falachor snorted, handing over a datacard.
The guard pulled out his scanner, ran the card through, and pulled out his comlink. "We have a diplomatic envoy from the planet Naboo here to see the Chief of State he commed to the inner secretary. His paperwork checks out"
"Hes expected, let him in" was the reply.
"Ok sir, youre free to enter, but your bodyguards must stray out here and must leave all weapons with me" Falachor grumbled. "Do you allow no protection on this forsaken ball of water?" Nonetheless, he reached into his vest and pulled out a nasty looking blaster pistol and handed it, barrel first, to the guard, still making sure to avoid looking him in the eye.
The guard took the weapon and with one last look of resentment, pressed the all-clear button on his comlink.
Inside the room, the Alenar Fash got the message and pressed a button on her desk. The door slid open, and Falachor entered. Without saying a word he walked through the outer office and opened the door to the Chief of States official office.