Chapter 18: Mas Amedda

Coruscant

The Chagrian Vice Chancellor was practically giddy with the news that his rival, Wilhuff Tarkin, had been relieved of command and was locked in a cell aboard a starship. When he informed Commander Dodd Rancit in Naval Intelligence about what had happened over caf, Rancit had laughed heartily and exclaimed "Admiral Friendly Fire! Ah, remind me to send General Jazal some flowers."

Mas Amedda arrived at the Senate Office Building, chuckling to himself as he walked through the halls. "Admiral Friendly Fire indeed!"

"You sound awfully happy, Vice Chancellor!" a familiar female voice yelled from down the hall.

Mas Amedda gasped, jumping in startlement. He spun around just in time to see the approach of an Umbaran wearing a greyish white shadowcloak. The lights seemed to dim and the temperature suddenly felt 2 or 3º colder.

"I—What? How could you possibly hear—"

"That is unimportant," Sly Moore said dismissively. "I sense, however, that you are forgetting something important."

"Ah yes, the Chancellor's esteem for that tactically incompetent fool," Mas Amedda spat. "I told him that if he does not watch out, Tarkin will implode one day from his—AHHH... Ah… You can't—" Mas gasped for breath, overcome by sudden fear. He felt as if he were going to have a heart attack.

"The Chancellor finds the rivalry between you two amusing. Yet, you are at a distinct advantage as Vice Chancellor. Chancellor Palpatine expects you to play fairly against Wilhuff Tarkin. It is not acceptable to use your political power to interfere with his military operations!"

"I am playing fair!" Mas Amedda gasped. "I had nothing to do with—How could I possibly have anything to do with Murkhana?"

"Huh," Sly Moore muttered to herself, seeming to take Mas Amedda at his word.

Mas Amedda felt his terror abate. "Why didn't the Chancellor speak to me about this himself? Why… Oh… The Coronation. I had forgotten." Amidst the excitement, Mas Amedda had completely forgotten another thing. Palpatine's departure yesterday evening.

"Yes the coronation," Sly Moore scoffed. "Queen Neeyutnee has been elected to the throne. You have forgotten another thing still, this one is of far greater importance! What order was it that Tarkin invoked which sparked the incident?"

Mas Amedda wracked his brain. The Chagrian suddenly felt very bumbling and clumsy. Which order was it that Admiral Randd was questioning the legitimacy of? What was the order which seemed to make Mace Windu so upset?

"Why, it is Order 37, dear Vice Chancellor!" Sly Moore said with mock cheerfulness. Her grey eyes looked positively deathly.

That name primed a memory. More than six months ago, the Vice Chancellor had been instructed to sign a Contingency Order called Order 37, during the Banking Clan-Lurmen crisis. Then Commander Tarkin wanted the authority to take Lurmen slaves hostage in the Coruscant underworld, to encourage their compatriots to surrender. Such a poorly worded order… An illegal order. An order to take hostages—patently illegal. Who in the Galaxy would follow such an insane order anyway?

Ten year old children might… Ten year old children in adult bodies. "Oh no…" Mas Amedda said with shocked open mouthed 'o.'

"The Jedi are calling it the 'Amedda Directive,' you know," Sly Moore said with a smile. "Now isn't that just lovely?"

Tarkin imploded… But he will bring me down. "This—This we cannot—" Mas Amedda sputtered. At a loss for words, he leaned back against the wall and slunk to the floor. His billowing red robes were dragged up along the permacrete as he slid down. "The Chancellor said he would pardon me if this got out," the Chagrian finally managed.

"Ah yes," Sly Moore agreed. "But he cannot stop you from being removed from office through a formal Senate impeachment. STAND UP!"

Mas Amedda obeyed, quaking as he stood.

"The beings the Chancellor surrounds himself with!" Sly Moore hissed. "First you, then Jar Jar Binks, now Wilhuff Tarkin… It is trying to say the least. Can you follow my instructions? Can you remember things I tell you to say?"

"Of course," Mas Amedda sighed. "I am no fool."

Sly Moore hissed like a Trandoshan, narrowing her eyes.

o.o.o.o.o

Gavin Azi'skar

Botha'ahir

After his dramatic resignation as Grum of Clan Askar and his humiliating loss in the race for Galactic Senate to a 19 year old prostitute, Gavin Azi'skar thought it was over. He was done for. Finished. He would retire and have some influence over the new Grum of Clan Askar but no real political power.

But the Spacer Coalition had other ideas.

Two days after his resignation, the Spacer Coalition's War Council appointed him as a High Councillor, representing the Spacer Transaction Reports and Analysis Bureau. The greying lanky elderly dark-furred Spacer thought he would be doing something transactional. Some boring activities to do with money.

Instead, it turned out that the Botha'ahir admiralty had been impressed when he approved a turbolaser strike on a Krantian bridge.

In theory, Azi'skar's job was to be a voice of reason, representing the Spacer Transaction Reports and Analysis Bureau. In practice, it was to advise the Spacer Coalition's War Council to do risky things supported by the more feral members of the Spacer Coalition—To approve hostile actions that push the envelope.

The War Council met in an absurdly large room, at an acre in area. It was easily the size of one of the agricultural districts of Thellus. Dug out of a mountain on the surface of Botha'ahir, the walls of the room were the same dark red colour as the planet's surface, with the ceiling so high that the light illuminating the room did not reach it. Mounted onto all four walls were white durasteel panels which were occasionally reddened by the ever-present dust. A circular projector in the middle of the room had four portals, each of which would project onto one of the durasteel panels.

At his old age, Azi'skar found walking from the edge of the room to the central table tiresome. It was a longer walk than the walk from his manor to a maglev station on Thellus. The central table, below the holoprojector, was shaped like a six-sided Sabaac card. It was 22 meters tall, 15 meters wide, and sat 32 Bothans. At each of the two thinner points to the table, sat four Bothans. Along the four wider sides, sat six Bothans.

Above the table, a white light emitted from a hexagonal metal ring, suspended from hooks down from the ceiling hundreds of meters above. Positioned just three meters above the table, it illuminated the outer edges of the table with an unpleasantly hot glow, but left the centre of the table in darkness.

Today, on each of the walls, projected an image of Itoll Oc'skar's smiling face. The likeness between him and his brother Klaes, Azi'skar found uncanny.

"Ag-hita ar korn agkazeg ' Spaynet nar 1456 ' shas." ["We intercepted this Spynet communication at 1456 hours,"] growled Logashisk Lon'tannen, Director of Spacer Geospatial Intelligence.

An unfamiliar male voice spoke in basic over the intercom. "Itoll, wait a sec. We have got your back. Sey'les told us everything. About Buzz being Spynet. About you two working for the Spynet."

"She did?!" a distinctly Bothan voice growled incredulously.

The conversation continued for a minute, then Shekir Po'nel paused it. "Erz zhar thathanog, zon sju mu tona." ["The question is, what shall we do?"]

["We've all read the reports,"] a voice growled. ["Itoll Oc'skar and Lir Sey'les compromised a Spynet Deep Cover Operative, committed friendly fire."]

I haven't read it, Azi'skar thought in alarm, fur swirling with embarrassment. He quickly opened the flimsiplast black folder in front of him labelled "Хаўтиск Агкатона 'Гниk/Hawtisk Agkatona 'Gnik" ["Primary Actions Book."]

["Spynet packets to us have decreased by 65% the last six months. The Spynet is clearly hiding things from us. Why should we help them with anything?"]

["Maybe if we eliminate him ourselves, the Spynet will start to be more cooperative. Our relations with Kothlis—"]

[—Or by killing Itoll Oc'skar, the Spynet will know we know what they know, and we will all know what was known!"] a panicked yelp interrupted.

["Kriff the Spynet!"] a blue and grey furred Admiral howled furiously. ["I mean uh... respectfully, First Secretary, we should do absolutely nothing. That is our best strategy here."]

He's Klaes's brother, Azi'skar thought, scowling at this madness going on all around. I made Itoll a member of my Clan. I might not be Clan Leader anymore but... He looked around the room to the mostly variegated furred Bothans, yelping, snarling, gasping in shock.

["Why are we discussing what to do with a member of my Clan?"] he asked, flashing his shiny white teeth.

["Did you not read the report High Councilor?"] asked a Botha'ahir Marine General seated two chairs from his right.

["Of course I did,"] Azi'skar lied, snapping his folder shut. ["That is not the point. Itoll Oc'skar is a member of my Clan. Why are we sitting around a table discussing what is to be done to him? This is a Clan Askar matter. He has not actually leaked any classified material..."] he added quickly, ["all he did was say that he was surprised Lir Sey'les had leaked a Spynet operation."]

["And by doing so he committed treason!"] came an indignant snarl from Admiral Eshir Uv'tannen from across the table.

["Itoll Oc'skar is a Republic citizen,"] Azi'skar said, waving his hand dismissively. ["He cannot be held to the same standard as a Spynet Operative."] At that he winced, fearing the Council's legal attaché would disagree.

["High Council Azi'skar is correct, Admiral,"] the legal attaché stammered nervously. ["The law is quite settled on that. Multiple court rulings—"]

["—WE ARE NOT DISCUSSING THE COURTS!"] Admiral Uv'tannen snarled louder than before. ["The courts will never know about this! This is beyond the courts, beyond—"]

["—So we're just going to kill someone extrajudicially?"] Azi'skar interrupted, ["because he said he was surprised that another Bothan exposed a Spynet operation? That's absurd."]

["And it doesn't matter,"] a voice agreed with Azi'skar, then added, ["whether we do anything, the Spynet will kill Itoll Oc'skar."]

Aziskar's fur twirled unhappily. No… I will not tolerate that. ["Kriff the Spynet,"] he snarled furiously. ["We all know Vasa Ro'val was involved in the attack on Thellus. For all we know, Itoll has information on the Spynet. I say we save him."]