Chapter 8
Subduing yout enemy is always a great win during a battle but preparing for their next move is detrimental to your chances in winning the war.
Jarrus' Carmoda's Office, Naboo
"This bastard!" Carmoda yelled as he threw his holopad.
"That was quite the speech he had yesterday." His Tw'lek assistant said.
"Assandra, I don't give a damn about how good his speech was." Carmoda replied in a annoyed tone.
Assandra looks through her holopad as she says "Well you should because his popular vote increased by 5.8%, which means he's leading in the popular vote and the regular vote."
"I thought I had him by his neck." Carmoda said, leaning on his desk.
"Apparently you underestimated him."
"No, he needed Manmara and the Core Faction, him turning on them wouldn't look good for him..." He paused; "Or so I thought."
"So what's your next plan Senator?" Assandra asked.
Carmoda signed; "The Core Faction was supposed to go down with Antilles as their sacrificial lamb. But he managed to escape death before I could make my next move."
"The Core Faction is still under fire by the media, so your plan wasn't a complete failure in retrospect." Assandra assured.
"Yes but I needed Antilles to go down with them to guarantee my win." Carmoda said.
Jarrus walked back to his chair, sat and leaned forward with his hands crossed; "There has to be something I can use against him." Jarrus sat still for a moment to determine his next plan, he knew he was at a disadvantage in terms of targeting Antilles himself but after a quick analysis of his options, he came up with an idea. "Assandra, look up the Republic Election Laws in the database please." Carmoda asked.
As she was told, she went through the Republic Federal Law Databank, to search for any laws relating to annual Elections. After a fifteen minute search, she came across something peculiar; "According to Section 48, Act. 212 of Republic Law; A Candidate of any species, political background or non-political background cannot change political factions once they register to run for a specific office in the Galactic Republic. Such violation will be punishable by way of the Galactic Senate and the Supreme Chancellor who resides as it's Judge."
Jarrus' eyes widened; "That's it, that's how we're going to get him."
"The question is will the Chancellor agree to a hearing?" Assandra replied.
"Of course, such a violation will require a hearing once this comes out." Jarrus confidently while reclining on his chair. "If Antilles gets convicted then it means an automatic win by forfeit."
"And If he doesn't?" Assandra questioned.
"He has to, this is Federal Law and any other ruling would make the Supreme Chancellor look ludicrous." Jarrus said, leaning onto his desk.
"What if Antilles pays him for his favor?"
"Won't happen, Valorum is too loyal to the Core Faction and The faction has no reason to protect now that he defected." Jarrus replied.
"Maybe he's unsure."
"Then we'll make sure he is." Jarrus stated simply; "Contact the Main Senate Office, it's time for me to make my move."
Corellia
The Core Faction headquarters stood tall, hovering over Coronet City. The skyscraper was specifically designed to be a noticeable attraction to it's visitors and guests. Talus Manmara, the owner of the building, sat in his office as he looks over the usual files given to him through his holopad.
As he conducts his business, an assistant droid entered his quarters; "Mister Manmara, Ruwee Naberrie Of Naboo has come to speak with you ."
"Tell him I'm occupied." Talus replied.
"He said it is urgent-"
"Tell him I'm busy!" Manmara said.
The droid nodded and as it walked out the door, Naberrie walks in swiftly to confront his superior. Talus looked up and rolled his eyes as he motioned his assistant droid to leave; "Leave us." The droid did as it was commanded, leaving the room with the door shutting behind it.
"Why have you bothered me at this hour? Senator."
"Haven't you seen the news?" Naberrie replied, putting his holopad on the table. "Antilles backed out."
"And? How is this any of my concern?" Manmara said, looking through his files.
"It's your concern, because we don't candidate this year." Naberrie insisted.
"The Rim Faction doesn't either, so that means we don't have to worry." Manmara replied.
Naberrie stood in back in disbelief; "Don't you care about this Faction's reputation?!"
"Look, I know you have invested your money into this company but it's up to people now." Manmara simply said.
"What if the people decide to burn this ship to the ground?" Naberrie replied.
Talus sighed, removed his glasses and laid back on his chair as he looked at his comrade; "Antilles' proclamation is simply...just a proclamation. He can't survive without us and once he becomes Chancellor, he'll come crawling back like nothing happened."
"How can you be sure?" Senator Naberrie asked. "He violated Republic Federal Law, he'd have to be put to trial by Senate."
"And guess who's the one that's going to make the decision?"
"Finis? do you think he will risk his reputation for him.?" Naberrie said, folding his arms.
"He has to, otherwise the Faction is finished." Manmara said.
"So you do understand."
"It's my damn Faction, Ruwee, Of course I understand." Talus said as he got up from his chair; "I worked too hard to build this political conglomerate and I'm not going to sit here and let that bottom feeder take that away from me."
"Then what's the plan?" Naberrie asked.
"If Antilles gets tried, then I'll make sure he gets off with minimal blow back." Talus said; "Carmoda will then try to slander my Faction in the media to maintain his credibility, but i'll make sure it doesn't happen."
"How?"
"I've had dinner with the President of GNN and let's just say we're good friends." Manmara said, turning toward his ally.
"Do you really think saving Antilles is going to help us?" Ruwee questioned.
"That spoiled Prince can't maintain his political career without me, I'm surprised that he managed to even conduct a speech." Talus said with conviction; "Once he becomes Chancellor, he will be so overwhelmed by the pressure, that he'll come crawling back us."
"If your confident, then I'm with you." Naberrie replied.
Talus turned towards his old friend with a cheeky grin; "Then let the games begin."
