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Phase 4

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Part 5

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Chancellor's office

Senate Building

Coruscant

Chaos offered opportunities. It also had a life of its own. That was particularly true as far as the Senate was concerned. After all, the Senate and the Senators were merely the upper and most visible layer of the structure that governed the Republic and its members.

Over ten thousand Senators represented thousands of Sectors and over a million worlds—tens of thousands of species. Arguably, even more, distinct cultures, corporations, and even specific religious interests. Many of those were not singular entities but alliances, as often as not, uneasy ones.

The very idea of controlling all of that directly was laughable. Guiding it? Allying and subverting the most powerful players? That might be doable. Direct control? That was sheer insanity. There weren't enough hours in the day to review a fraction of the necessary information concerning even the major players on the galactic stage.

In this case, chaos offered both a deadly threat and a priceless opportunity. My past self might have gambled for more power sooner. The very thought of giving up control would have been anathema to him. Instead, I saw other options.

I listened to my advisers and accomplices argue about the bill and how we might use it to gain and retain power.

"We'll be doing both if practical. We will use this crisis to restore some of the powers my Office used to have in the distant past." I smiled at the gathered people sitting in front of my desk. "However, when the time comes, and the situation is stabilized enough, I will happily give up most emergency powers. All those that we can't enshrine into my office during the duration of the crisis for good. Doing so will make it more likely for people to trust us and give us the tools to handle any future crisis we might face. After all, I would have created a precedent that I am ready to step away from such powers when the issue is resolved to my satisfaction."

Those who weren't entirely in the know looked at me with an appreciation for the proposed gambit. The rest had similar expressions on their faces. Nevertheless, the glean in their eyes told another story. The next time I wouldn't be giving up emergency power. Or I would if I was sure that right after doing so, the Senate would vote me as Emperor and enshrine those same powers in my new office. Depending on the circumstances in the years to come, such a gambit might be a deadly weapon against the Jedi, any dissenting Senators, and the people who backed them.

"With this out of the way, now we should focus on the proposed bill in earnest," Sly suggested. "Does it give us what we need to deal with the current situation?"

The usual suspects and several legal advisers attached to my office looked at each other and the data pads in their arms, containing the full text of the bill. There were a few hundred pages in there. Going over it, even if everyone focused on only a section, took time. Making sure there weren't hidden traps in it would take longer.

"If we're to make any major alterations, we will need a few days with the complete text to be certain of all implications of the bill and how any additions or exclusions would affect it." One of the legal aides explained. "I shouldn't need to explain why such texts need to be properly evaluated and thought through before being offered in front of the Senate, should I?" The old Zabrak woman demanded.

"We've all passed the relevant courses on essential legal theory. Or at least should have." I pointed out. "I need to know first if the bill is broad enough. Will it give me what I need to resolve the situation? If not, will it be feasible to expand it fast? Otherwise, my options are straightforward."

"It would be ideal if you don't jump ship," Amedda grumbled. He tapped a clawed finger on the device in his hands. "In theory, this should give the Chancellor's Office the authority to command elements of the Judicial Forces directly. You can deploy task forces as you see fit to resolve the situation."

"The funding issue might be a problem. What this bill offers won't make credits appear from thin air," Kimman pointed out. "Negotiating loans takes time. Going around the budget-related legislation to use those credits for the Judicial Forces instead of paying the deficit would be even more time-consuming. I'm not sure this part of the bill in its current variant can solve the financial issues we're facing."

"We must examine that section in-depth and its interaction with the existing financial legislation binding the Chancellor's Office." One of the financial advisers noted.

"Do it fast," I told them. "All the command authority in the galaxy will do us no good if we lack the assets to command. At this time, any and all alterations I'm interested in implementing are those needed to ensure we have the tools to resolve this crisis before it can sink the economy."

Now that everyone got their marching orders and was on the same page, my staff went to work earnestly.

Needless to say, we could do little in the way of alterations by the time the next Senate session began. Instead, I got Pestage to talk with my backers and some of his contacts.

We needed a second bill to resolve the funding knot that tied up my office. From what I gathered, this particular mess came to be both intentionally and by accident. The intentional part served to hobble any Chancellor with delusions of grandeur further. Such people could do little without the funds to pay for their ideas.

The unintentional part was meant as a desperate bid to control the steadily increasing budget deficit without touching the key reason for it – ever-decreasing federal taxes.

When all was said and done, the mess worked great to keep the status quo. Of course, it was a disaster waiting to happen the first time we had a crisis at our hands that needed resolving.

Obviously, I couldn't be seen as the one proposing or even backing such a bill. It had to come from one of the various neutral corners of the Senate people used to propose such things.

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The Techno Union proposes an emergency funding bill to restore and expand the Judicial Forces!

HoloNet News

Senator Chappel introduced Emergency Resolution in front of the Senate like she promised earlier this week!

GNN Evening News

Senate to meet again in two days to vote on the Emergency Bills! Meanwhile, Chancellor Palpatine and elements of the Judicial Forces are busy drafting plans for Republic intervention in the Outer Rim Territories!

Galactic City News

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Part 6

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Trade Hub I

high orbit above Skako

Skako system

Wat Tambor spent a few minutes enjoying the view of his homeworld. At the same time, representatives from the Techno Unions' most important members gathered either in person or through the most secure holonet channels money could buy. Without his advanced cybernetic eyes, the cyborg would have seen only a dull expanse of thick grey clouds. That, combined with the urban sprawl that covered most of the planet, gave the impression of a useless death ball. The streams of transports carrying food, materials, and water coming to the planet, only to leave with holds full of technological marvels, told another story.

Tambor shifted uneasily and turned around at the arrival of the two humans important enough to be present on the station in person. The representatives of Kuat Drive Yards and the Corellian Engineering Corporation were influential enough for the Skakoan to push aside his instinctive xenophobia. Experience with dealing with all kinds of aliens did help in that regard.

That was especially true today when Onara Kuat herself came to defend Kuat's interests. In contrast, the Corellian man was a high-placed CEO but nowhere near as important as his Kuati counterpart.

"Welcome to Skako." Tambor's translator intentionally buzzed with cold mechanical precision.

He walked away from the large panoramic window made of one-way transparent metal. He sat at the head of a long, polished metal table. The humans joined him, sitting to his left and right, offering inefficient platitudes. Holographic projectors spun up, forming the images of more aliens – from the insectoid Xi Charrian fanatic and a radically different Collicoid engineer to more humanoids.

The Prelate of the Xi Charrian religious order that established and controlled Haor Chall Engineering 'sat' across the table from the constantly angry and hungry-looking Collicoid. The other insectoid represented the Colicoid Creation Nest. These people designed the famous Droidekas in their image.

The old Mon Calamari beside them looked decidedly out of place. He was a director from Mon Cala Shipyards.

The CEO of Arakyid Industries, one of the major manufacturers of heavy combat vehicles, droids, and warships left in the galaxy, as well as one of the oldest, rounded up the small group of highly influential beings.

"Thank you for gathering here at such short notice," Tambor rattled through his translator.

It helped hide how he really felt about a bunch of aliens being in orbit of his homeworld. Even a worldly Skakoan like him found it hard to deal with it. At the same time, he was intellectually aware it was a bit much. After all, countless aliens visited his homeworld every day. They simply never left the starports where they delivered their cargo and loaded goods to sell.

That was a truth that, long ago, his people agreed to politely ignore reality and pretend no aliens were coming and going to their home all the time. It usually even worked unless you were one of the poor bastards who had to deal with them daily.

"All projections and analysis of the flow of materials from the Rim paint an unpleasant picture." Onara Kuat went straight to the point. "We have no intention of burdening you with our presence for longer than necessary, Foreman Tambor. However, we need a resolution for the ongoing crisis before we can leave."

The Skakoan activated his communications implants, linking them with the air-gaped network connected to many of the devices in the conference room. More holoprojectors came online, creating screens of solid light in front of everyone. They displayed the crisis's current impact on the Techno Union's bottom line as a whole. They projected losses for every single group with a representative in attendance. At this point, the losses for most were just a few percent.

In absolute numbers, that still meant billions of credits across the Union. Those hit hardest due to relying on imports from parts of the Rim that were now practically war zones suffered more.

"We know for sure the cause of the crisis," Tambor explained. "Unfortunately, fixing it won't be simple. Our reputation and market advantage allowed us to sign many contracts without outstanding penalty clauses as long as we could deliver the end products. We're all using such advantages to cover and mitigate the losses we already suffer from penalty clauses from contracts whose holders were wiser." He paused, waiting for his words to sink in and for everyone to understand he was aware of some of their market games. "Six to twelve months." The cyborg added.

After that point, escalating shocks on the economy and bottom lines would lead to potentially crippling losses. That would send the economic framework of the galaxy on a crash course with a black hole. Speculation, constricted supply, rising prices, and their knock-off effects would progressively escalate and enhance each other, constricting the market, and destroying profits and businesses. That would further decrease the ability of consumers to buy products, creating a vicious loop.

"Options?" The Prelate's translator spoke sharply, interpreting a series of angry clicks as a singular, laconic word.

"Sustained military intervention to restore and protect supply chains. It's going to be expensive," Tambor warned. "Doing nothing would be more expensive and dangerous."

CEOs, directors, and even Foremen might be removed and replaced for such a failure.

"Direct intervention?" The Colloid asked in a surprisingly polite and even sounding voice.

"All our existing forces are already tied up securing our interests. The same is true for the Trade Federation. Its gross failure has ignited the Rim with pirates, warlords, and malcontents, not to mention sponsored privateers setting whole sectors on fire." Tambor's translator hissed in vexation. "We can't legally increase our security forces further without a Senate resolution. Doing so would be a cost we will have to pay directly."

Tambor sent more forecasts, cost-benefit analyses, and expected results for the irritating aliens to look at.

"The cheapest way to resolve the issue, for each of us individually and collectively, would be to push for raised taxes across the board as one measure among many for emergency funding of the Judicial Forces." Tambor spelled out the analysis results. That way, the burden would be spread across the whole Republic instead of pushing down on a handful of corporations, no matter how wealthy.

The Trade Federation's current state showed that doing it in-house could be both ruinous and thankless.

"This is going to be a hard sell." The Corellian noted.

"The economy crashing hard is going to be much more expensive," Tambor called up the worst-case scenarios. "These take into account current levels of corruption, increasing speculation, and clashing priorities of different factions."

Said graphs showed in painful detail bottom lines dropping, profit margins evaporating, and upper management being replaced as penalty clauses crippled interstellar corporations.

"We need to ensure this doesn't come to pass!" Onara Kuat declared. "We need to make a statement." She pressed on now that she got everyone's attention. "This time, we won't be using a proxy, which we will quietly support behind the stages. We must act together to ensure everyone who pays attention is aware of this situation's danger!"

They discussed the situation for hours until they reached a singular, unpopular decision. Taxes had to rise. Otherwise, their respective corporations would have to pay even more to avoid a catastrophe.

More importantly, they had to ensure the tax money and emergency funding went where it was needed instead of vanishing in someone's retirement account.

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