Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.

Time-line: Somewhere around nine months and two weeks or ten months after Naboo.

To Guest: I was unaware of the lore there. Hum... well, I'll find a song for Kit eventually. Thanks for the tip!

Chapter 5: Election Day!

Rae didn't understand how this had crept up on her. Of course the Republic held elections! It was a democracy! Though... How long were the terms?! In the movies, Palpatine had been Supreme Chancellor for thirteen years before showing himself as Darth Sidious and becoming Galactic Emperor. And she honestly had no clue how long someone could stay as a Senator in the Galactic Senate. Bail Organa was already Senator of Alderan and had likely held the title until Leia was old enough to take over for him, though that might be a stretch. Seriously, how long were the terms? Could she use that as part of her evidence against Palpatine, should he take office? A vicious shake of the head and Rae put the thoughts out of her head. Ugh, she hated election season. While she agreed that politics had a place in the world and that people should pay at least some attention to what was going on in the government, there was a reason she was just a waiter/baker/bouncer. Still... if there was a chance she could keep Palpatine from getting the Chancellor seat like he wanted... Perhaps she could change the course of history that way. Without Sidious pulling the strings from the Senate tower, maybe the Clone Wars would have either been avoided or ended sooner. At the very least, with Palpatine not being Chancellor and Supreme Commander, Order 66 likely wouldn't be implemented. Well, that meant she'd have to do some research on the other candidates. Joy.

/*/

Dex was... somewhat amused by the grumbling and muttering coming from his employee. Though, he did have to wonder what she was muttering about. What was a Sidious? "Hey Dex," Rae called, turning to her boss with a curious expression. "How long does a Supreme Chancellor serve?" Ah. So that's what she was so focused on.

"Four years," Dex answered, causing Rae to blink.

"Really?" she asked. Dex nodded.

"A Supreme Chancellor can only serve two four standard year terms before they have to step down," he said. To his surprise, Rae laughed and danced around a little.

"Ha! Ha ha! Oh, I'll be keeping an eye on the years, you'd best believe!" she said before calming herself. "Back home, it is the same for the President. Thank you, this has cleared up a number of questions I had about the government system of the Galactic Senate. Now I just need to figure out who to vote for..." Dex nodded and allowed her to carry on with her work. He smiled as she began to hum rather than mutter. That was better.

/*/

Palpatine still won. Rae growled and tossed her holo-pad onto her bed. She knew that four years was enough to cause some real damage. Just look at the Clone Wars! Still, there was roughly another four year term between the end of Palpatine's current term and the Clone War, which meant that he either took a gap term – which she considered unlikely with how he enjoyed power- or he extended his term unlawfully. She pulled out her Ipad to look at the wiki and confirm her suspicions. Yup, he used the Separatist Crisis to extend his term and then the Clone Wars hit and the Republic had bigger worries. She grinned and made a note on her calendar. This was one thing she couldn't allow herself to forget. A new thought came to her and with a sigh, she sat down on one of her Meditation Pillows and began the painstaking process of going through the wiki and making note of the significant events. Finding that a five year old Han Solo, in Legends, would be joining a pirate crew around the same time Palpatine would start his second term as Chancellor nearly made her scream. As it was, she made a note to find a way to get the child away from the scum. She wasn't sure if she was in the Canon time-line as made by Disney or the Legends time-line, which frustrated her because that impacted when Han Solo would be orphaned and or forced into a life of crime. Becoming a smuggler in his teens would be a lot different than getting pulled into an Oliver Twist. She made a note to check out Corellia about two years before the Clone Wars were set to being. As more events were entered into her calendar, she began wondering why she was doing this. Why take note of these events? It wasn't like she was going to do much about them. Her main goal was to gather information on Palpatine, Dooku, the Banking Clans, and whatever other allies they had then turn it over to the authorities while also ensuring that Anakin and Obi-Wan had someone to fall back on. Padme would need support as well, support outside the Senate. Was Rae really strong enough to be that support for all three of them? She shook her head and set her Ipad down to charge. She had time, there was no reason to rush anything.

She had time.

... Right?

(Even as she questions, she hears a martial beat pick up somewhere beyond hearing. A Song of defiance and change. It fills her with both confidence and dread for what was to come.)

/?/

A/N: And thus one of the plot-holes of Star Wars is exposed~! Well, plot hole might be a bit far but like... Seriously? Palpatine had to get elected Chancellor ten years before his big plot could even be set into motion? What did that get him aside from possibly an in with the Trade Federation? Politicians are hard enough to understand, Sith Politicians are near impossible. 'Power! Money! Power!' is kind of a given with Sith Politicians but I still can't understand why Palpatine made the moves he did. Guess I'm just too straight forward!

Also, another look at Rae's goals and plans for the future. And the issue of Canon verse Legends time-line. Answer: I'm blending them, to a degree. There's more solid information from Legends but sometimes Canon might fit what I'm going for better so... primarily Legends but with some Canon thrown in. Along with my own ideas because... let's be honest, Rae isn't half as delicate as a butterfly and that kind of thing means Changes.