Chapter 6: Prime Minister Almec
Vader and his personal aide walked past one row after another of prison cells. The prisoner they were seeking had his own cell, away from all the others. He was considered extremely dangerous, but not in the manner that most criminals were considered dangerous. This man wasn't violent but would have had the skill to unite all the prisoners in the jail and stage a breakout if given the opportunity to socialize with the others.
The empty wing of the prison where the man was held felt eerie as Vader and his aide walked through it. All the cells in this wing were out of use, save one located in a dark corner. The light coming from inside the cell served as a beacon for locating the prisoner they were looking for.
When Vader reached the cell of interest, he could see the door was completely made of glass. He walked right up to it and looked inside to see a rather large man laying out on the lone bed. Before trying to get the attention of the man, Vader took a look inside the cell. It was well furnished and decorated, so the man was living comfortably despite the solitude.
Tapping on the glass, Vader was able to get the attention of the man. For someone who couldn't have gotten a lot of visitors, he seemed completely unfazed by the sight of a rather large man dressed in a black robe and black mask coming to see him. He seemed annoyed that he had to get up and walk over to the cell door to talk.
As he came to the door, Vader took a moment to size up the man. He was roughly the same height and build as Vader himself. He had blonde hair, fair skin, and violet colored eyes. Vader could tell he was old, yet he appeared to be in great shape.
"What do you want?" the man said with a scowl.
"You really should have started out by asking who I was."
"And why is that?"
"Because then you would have found out that the man you're speaking to is Darth Vader, and he has the power to get you out of here."
The man looked dumbfounded as he was shocked by hearing the name Vader. He had wondered if he would recognize it. He couldn't remember how long the man had been a prisoner. He might not have been up to date on the most recent news of the galaxy.
"So, you recognize the name," Vader said.
"Yes, I heard about the way you saved Palpatine's life. The entire galaxy should be thanking you for the gift of stability you have given us." The man was calm and sounded calculating as he talked. He had a smile on his face, the kind con men always had to reassure their marks.
"I'm glad to hear you know a little about me. Since you do, I won't bother introducing myself. You should know I have the power to get you out of here. The only condition I ask is that you will come and work for me."
"Do I get to know what the job is."
"No."
"It appears I don't have much choice in negotiating. I accept your job offer, whatever it is."
Vader smiled to himself as he turned to signal to the aide, who was waiting at the controls of the cell doors. When Vader gave him the signal, the aide opened the door to the man's cell.
"It's my pleasure to be the first to greet you upon your release, prime minister Almec," Vader said as he held out his hand.
Almec smiled, obviously pleased by the position Vader was bestowing upon him. "It's my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Vader. And thank you for releasing me. Now, would you mind telling me why you are appointing me prime minister and what you expect me to do in the office."
Vader started walking, and Almec fell in step beside him. "If you know about the way I saved Palapatine, then you must know about the betrayal of the Jedi, and the need we had to completely eliminate them. I have been spending the past year hunting down and killing any Jedi who escaped the Purge. There are almost none left now. A couple of days ago I found out a ship full of Jedi was going to be coming here. I ambushed it when it came out of hyperspace, forcing it to crash land on the surface. I killed every Jedi aboard, save one, who escaped and made her way to the capital. I enlisted the aid of Duchess Satine in my attempt to hunt down this Jedi, only to discover she was the one hiding her. Needless to say, I had to remove her from power. Now, I need someone to take control of this planet. One, so that it doesn't slide into chaos. Two, I need to get to the bottom of Satine's relationship with the Jedi. Before I killed all the Jedi, I received information that they came here to search for the former Jedi Council member Obi-Wan Kenobi. I need to know if he was ever here. If he was, then Satine would know, and might be able to tell me where he went." The two of them had reached the end of the old wing of the prison. They passed through the door and walked into the main part of the prison.
"I can be prime minister again, but there are some conditions," Almec said. Vader admired the man for having the courage to make demands of him despite being in a poor position to do so. "Satine's government is mostly full of careerists who will follow anyone given the title of prime minister. However, there are a few people who are sworn enemies of mine that will need to be expelled and maybe arrested. The positions they filled should be occupied by some of my closest friends."
"I was expecting this. Simply give me a list of who you need purged, and I will have them arrested. Give me another list of who you want in your government, and I will have my men find them. If they need to be released from prison, that is not a problem."
"Now on to the second condition. I will be happy to lead the investigation to find out why the Jedi were coming to this planet. I ask, though, that your men carry out the investigation, but under my leadership. When it comes to the underlings of the security forces, I don't know who to trust and who not to trust. I can put the right people in charge, but they should be commanding your people."
"I will see to that. When you carry out the investigation, be sure to assign a crew whose sole purpose is to interrogate Satine. She will be a wealth of information, should we get her to crack."
"Oh, I will oversee that myself. Your investigation is in good hands with me. I will get to the bottom of everything, Lord Vader, I promise you that."
Vader shook his head over the arrogance of the man. He should not have been making promises that he might have been able to keep. "One more thing," Almec added. "I can imagine the Senate will not be pleased to hear you had to depose Satine. If there is anything you need out of me to make your case to them-"
"We don't have to worry about the Senate," Vader said with a smirk and a snarl. "They have been so neutered; they will raise no objections. In fact, Palpatine has a plan for using what occurred here to his advantage.
...
Thrawn sat in Bail's office, staring at his empty desk while waiting for him to return. Thrawn had requested this meeting under the guise he wanted to give Bail some friendly advice before he left. As he waited for him, he went over in his mind what he wanted to say, as he knew the conversation was going to be difficult. Bail would be assuming Thrawn was trying to extract information from him that would aid the emperor, but Palpatine had no need for him to do any such thing. He knew almost everything that was going on, or so he thought. Thrawn was looking to accomplish two things with this meeting; he wanted to push the man to pass the law Palpatine wanted, and he wanted to offer the man a little advice in his opposition endeavors.
"I must apologize for being so late to our appointment." Thrawn heard the voice of Bail behind him as he walked in. He stood and shook the man's hand when it was offered to him.
"As a representative of this government, it gives me great pleasure to thank you for the service you made to this Empire," Bail began. "I believe if you had never come to our part of the galaxy the war would have turned out very different. I knew from the moment I met you seven years ago you were destined for great things, and you certainly proved me to be right. I was deeply saddened to hear you are leaving us and heading home. Not having your strategic brilliance at our disposal is a tremendous loss for the Empire, but I am glad to hear you believe our region is now stable."
"Please do not be worried by the loss of my services, Senator." Thrawn sat back in his chair as Bail took the seat behind the desk. Thrawn clasped his hands together and laid them on his lap as he responded to the Senator. "I have seen the men that compose the military leadership of the Empire, and I can assure you that you are in good hands. I will admit that no one is quite up to my level, but then again, the Empire doesn't need that kind of skill. We have come a long way from having to use deception and tow ships to confuse a planetary invasion force. We have a strong military that defeated the Separatists, has only grown since then, and will continue to grow. I have looked over the most recent reports from the Defense Secretary about the plans for the growth of the military. They are quite ambitious. I was glad to see with the approval of the most recent military appropriations bill that you are giving the emperor everything he wants and building a military force the likes of which this galaxy has never seen."
When Thrawn was finished, Bail needed a moment to clear his throat and take a deep breath. "If don't mind me asking this, I was hoping I could get your unaltered thoughts on the subject you brought up. The military might of the Empire is going to be immense. All this build-up is taking place despite the fact that we have no external enemy to worry about."
"That would depend on what you consider external. The Separatist forces were immense and are still being dismantled. The military forces they amassed were substantial, showing the Empire needs a sizeable force to deter any other organizations from trying to build militaries that would allow them to challenge the government."
The expression on Bail's face indicated he was skeptical of what he was hearing. "The forces of the Separatists took over a decade to build up, and they were only able to do it because the government of the Old Republic was too powerless to put a stop to it in its infancy. The Empire is not going to need such a sizeable force for the reasons you outlined. I am surprised you are not worried that the Empire might be using its sizeable military forces to invade your region of the galaxy. The emperor is nothing if not ambitious and will not be content with simply ruling the Empire with its current borders. With no internal enemies to use the military against, he may very well look outside our borders for using it."
"Please, Senator Organa, you and I both know the emperor is going to develop internal enemies. You are, in fact, trying to make sure that happens." Bail did his best to look like he had no idea what Thrawn was talking about. Thrawn smirked as he considered what he should say next. "We are both intelligent men. There is no reason for either of us to hide our intentions. You are looking to form a resistance against Palpatine, and I am looking to aid you."
Once again, Bail looked dumbfounded, but this time, it was authentic instead of fake. He was so dumbfounded; he couldn't speak at all. "I can tell you are surprised by my bluntness," Thrawn began. "Perhaps it would be best to cut to the chase about why I am here. Have you been following the news from Mandalor?"
"Um, I'm not sure I have." Bail didn't know how to answer as he was thoroughly confused that Thrawn would change gears so suddenly.
"Darth Vader recently took out a ship of Jedi. That has been all over the holo-news. I take it you heard about that."
"Yes, I saw that."
"And what about the current news from the planet."
Bail shook his head over the fact Thrawn was mentioning something he probably should have known. "It's been very difficult for me to follow the news with everything I have going on." Bail sounded nervous and embarrassed as he spoke. "I am sure my aides included the news in their daily briefing for me this morning, but I am sad to admit I don't read those as carefully as I probably should."
"Well, the news just came through the feeds, so it wouldn't have been in your morning report. Darth Vader deposed Satine Kryze and has taken control of Mandalore. She was hiding the last Jedi survivor from the ship Vadar destroyed. He really had no choice."
Once again, Bail appeared shocked and dumbfounded. "He can't do such a thing," he said as he pounded the table. "This is an outrage that can't be allowed to stand. The Senate will never stand for it."
"You should know they will gladly stand for it." Thrawn laughed heartily as he spoke. "Palpatine has always been correct they are full of gutless politicians who only look out for themselves instead of the galaxy." Bail did not look happy by a description of people that included him. "He is actually going to be able to use this to his advantage. Right now, the Jedi are hated, and Vader's hunt for them has received a lot of support from the public. The fact he deposed Satine for harboring a fugitive Jedi is something the public is going to understand. Palpatine is going to take advantage of this. He has been looking for some time to pass a law that will allow him to create a new office, the regional governor, or Grand Moff, as he likes to call them. I have seen the list of powers they will have, and it was a long list of legalese that would take an eternity to explain. The best way to convey what these Grand Moffs will be like is to simply explain them as political Vader's. They will have all the political power he now enjoys. Palpatine is looking to use them to give him power over the planetary leaders. With Satine's actions proving that planetary leaders can't be trusted; the public will gladly accept the law."
"Thank you for telling me about Palpatine's intentions." Bail looked shaken by what he was hearing. "I am going to have my work cut out for me to stop this. The senators might be full of weaklings, but they all know an overstep when they see it, and that is what Palpatine is attempting. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to start working the comms and try to make everyone understand the enormity of what Vadar did and how the Empire cannot be allowed to do what he just did."
"I think doing that would be a mistake." Thrawn stayed seated, not intending to go anywhere. "I was sent here by Palpatine to convince you to be a sponsor to this law. With you front and center on selling and supporting it, the law should be easily passed."
"It appears Palpatine doesn't know me if he thinks I would sponsor this bill. I have no intention of even supporting it."
"Palpatine does understand you, and he knows that you are trying to put yourself at the head of any opposition to his rule." The staid look on Bail's face revealed he was not surprised by anything Thrawn was saying. "He, in fact, wants you in that position, as he believes any opposition that comes through you, he will be able to control." Bail smirked, telling Thrawn exactly what he was thinking.
"He may think that, but that is not what will transpire. If he thinks he will get this law passed, he is greatly mistaken." Bail appeared giddy as he considered the implications. "He can be defeated here. We have a perfect chance to show the public the emperor is not all powerful, the Senate still matters. The opposition to Palpatine can start here."
"No, it can't." Thrawn was angry as he answered. He leaned forward in his chair to yell at Bail. "Try and oppose him here and you will be doing nothing more than painting a target on your back. Despite what you might think, Palpatine is still too entrenched to be overthrown. The Old Republic is dead, it can't be resurrected. Time is going to be needed to build a real underground government that can take over when the emperor is deposed. You are correct in thinking he is overreaching with this law, but the overreach is something that will not be immediately felt. It will take a few years of despotic rule by the Grand Moffs. Their authoritarianism will turn people against the emperor. Without this law, opposition will grow even more slowly as people will still hold the Senate responsible for much of what happens."
Thrawn instantly grew calmer as he sat back in his chair and clasped his hands together in front of him. "Your best bet to overthrow Palpatine and take over with a stable government is to play his game for a while but do what you can to hasten his downfall. Passing this law will be an accelerationist move that will do that. While you need to be patient in your opposition, you also have to realize you do not have all the time in the world. I can't tell you why, but you are on a timetable before the emperor will be able to solidify his power in a way you cannot fathom."
Bail paid little attention to the last thing Thrawn said as all he was thinking about was that he had told him he should agree to sponsor the law. "You know, it is awfully interesting you are trying to convince me I can oppose Palpatine and overthrow him by doing exactly what he wants me to do. Is this the pitch you worked out with Palpatine before you came here. I should be offended that you would think I am so stupid. I see exactly what you are trying to do."
"Contrary to what you might think, I am trying to help out the opposition."
"And why is that?"
"Because, as you said earlier, I am deathly afraid that Palpatine will try and expand into my region of the galaxy. If he wanted to do so, he could easily do it. Right now, what you call the Unknown Regions is made up of weak and disparate nations. Palpatine could come in and conquer the nations one by one. I intend to go home and unite the nations to prevent that from happening, but it will take time for that to occur. In the meantime, I want there to be an opposition that concerns Palpatine. One that will keep him too occupied to try and expand into my region of the galaxy. The best way for this opposition to grow is for you to push the issue of his despotism by passing this law for him. I know it might seem like I am simply getting you to do what he wants, but he is truly making a mistake here that he doesn't realize."
As Thrawn took a pause, he glared hard at Bail, who obviously appeared very skeptical. Thrawn felt the need to offer more reassurance. "I know you are skeptical, but I assure you I am trying to help the opposition. I would advise you to keep your eyes and ears open. If you do so you might see that I have taken steps to aid the resistance to Palpatine behind his back. I have done things that I would not have done if I was following Palpatine's orders to create a controlled opposition."
"I will do what you suggest," Bail replied. He had talked to Thrawn enough and just wanted him out of his office. "Now, if you wouldn't mind excusing yourself, I would like to get to some work I have to do. As you may have heard, I sponsored the Refugee Resettlement legislation, and have been taking a very hands on approach with it. I wish to check in on some of my aides who are out there actually assisting the refugees themselves."
Thrawn stood and shook Bail's hand as Bail said his final good-bye. "Once again, thank you for your service. Have a safe journey. I wish you good luck upon your return home. I hope your accomplishments here will springboard you into a nice career there. May the Force be with you."
...
Padme sat with her back against the wall, trying to get a few winks of sleep. She had her legs propped up, with Leia carefully perched between them. Neither of them had slept very well on the journey. While Padme had carefully researched the transport, she had neglected to find out about the sleeping arrangements. She would assume they would provide them with clots to sleep on in the cargo hold. To her surprise, there was nothing for them. Many of the others knew the score and had brought along mats or sleeping bags, but Padme could do nothing other than try to sleep like she was now, sitting, but propped against a wall.
Leia did much better when it came to sleep. Padme kept her resting in the space between her legs during the entire journey, and she found it quite comfortable. She slept well, but not so much that she was constantly full of energy. As Padme didn't have much energy herself, she was glad her daughter didn't have much either. She wasn't sure how she would have dealt with an energetic one year old.
"Can I offer you some water, mistress Padme?" Padme was incredibly irritated, as just when she thought she was about to drift off to sleep, Threepio had to bother her and wake her up.
"I don't need any, but I think I heard someone on the other side of the cargo hold say they were parched and needed some."
Threepio stood and looked to the opposite end of the room. "I don't understand how you could have heard something like that from all the way over there."
"Trust me on this one. If you don't find this person and serve them water, everyone is going to be talking about how poor of a job you are doing."
With his reputation on the line, Threepio hurried as fast as his immobile legs would carry him. Padme watched as he walked briskly, feeling extra bad for what she had done. She still hadn't told him that he and Artoo were going to be staying on the ship, as they were now the property of the captain. Time was running out for her to do so. The ship had landed at their destination a couple hours ago, they were just waiting for the government officials to come aboard and start checking them in.
As she watched Threepio walking, she noticed that at the other end of the cargo hold, near the door, a group of officials had finally boarded. It was a much larger group than she would have suspected for this kind of work, and as she looked closely she could see that some of the members of the group were dressed in extremely regal attire. It quickly dawned on her that this group weren't clerks checking them in. They were a group of politicians and other dignitaries, coming aboard for photos and to have a story to present to others on what they did for the less fortunate.
It seemed odd to Padme that she would have the cynical view she did concerning the dignitaries' actions. During the war, she had done the same thing, it just seemed so different being on the other side, knowing a politician talking to you would make no difference. Once they left, she would be in the same position as she was before.
As she watched the group, she took notice of the woman that was at the front of it. She looked familiar to Padme, but she couldn't quite place her. The dress she was wearing seemed very distinctive, and it took Padme a moment to realize where she had seen that look before. That style of dress had been worn by one of Bail Organa's aides back on Alderaan, Sheltay Retrac. Padme remembered her from the planning summit for the Battle of Naboo. The woman was quite the beauty. It appeared to be her, and that was bad news for Padme.
She had been hoping to remain incognito until she was on Naboo. She remembered that Sheltay had a perfect memory, that was why she was one of Bail's closest aides and why she had sat in on every meeting. She could remember everything that was said by everyone. She was just as good at remembering images, from what she had said. Padme worried that despite her attempt to disguise herself, the woman with the photographic memory would still be able to recognize her.
While she thought it might be beneficial for the woman to remember her, she wasn't quite sure. She certainly didn't want the woman to do anything that would give away her identity. On the other hand, if she could get away discreetly with the woman, she could meet up with Bail, who could then help her on her quest to find Anakin.
She watched as the small group made their way around the cargo hold, speaking to one refuge after another. Sheltay really seemed to be enjoying what she was doing. Padme was beginning to think she had been too hard on her for believing that this was all being done cynically.
As the group neared her, Padme found herself hoping the woman would pay her no attention and simply pass her by. She wasn't sure what would happen if Sheltay recognized her, and she didn't want to find out. She had a plan on how to get back to Naboo, and for the moment, she was content with simply letting that play out.
When Sheltay was just six feet away, Padme sunk down, hoping the woman wouldn't even notice her, let alone recognize her. Despite having a photographic memory, it had been seven years since the woman had seen her. While her disguise was simple, she figured it would be enough to fool someone who had not seen her for so long.
Sheltay exchanged pleasantries with the old woman sitting next to Padme. Since she wasn't talking to everyone, Padme figured she would skip over her. She was wrong on that point, as the woman took just a few steps before greeting her.
"Hi there, and where do you hail from?" Padme stayed silent and kept her head low, hoping the woman would take the hint that she didn't want to talk to her. Leia had a completely different reaction, though. She wanted to see who was talking and did her best to try and look behind her. She struggled as she couldn't quite turn her head enough to see behind her. She was upset by this and started getting fussy.
"It's okay, little one," Sheltay said as she knelt down. She maneuvered around Padme's legs so Leia could get a good look at her. When the baby could finally see the woman, she smiled and cooed.
A look of sympathy came over the face of Sheltay as she reached out and ran a hand through Leia's short hair. When she spoke again, she talked to Padme. "I hope it hasn't been too difficult for you to travel like this with such a young child." Padme lifted her face up but didn't say anything in reply.
Sheltay continued to stroke the top of Leia's head as she looked at Padme's face. Padme noticed her flinch for a microsecond and realized she had been recognized. Her stomach tightened into a knot as she wondered how the woman would deal with the situation. Sheltay continued to stare at Padme as she stopped stroking Leia's head and instead pressed her hand against her forehead.
"Your baby is burning up, Miss." The look of concern on Sheltay's face seemed very real. "She could be very sick, and we should get the two of you out of here right away so she can get the medical attention she needs."
As Sheltay stood, she looked back at one of the aides with her. "Take this woman and her baby to my quarters on the ship. Make sure she is comfortable. I won't be far behind. I'll arrange a doctor for her."
"Um, yes." The aide she had been addressing stepped forward and smiled at Padme. For a moment, Padme was frozen with uncertainty.
"It's okay, Miss." Sheltay's words were soothing, and Padme turned her attention to her. "You and your baby are in good hands. Trust me." When she was done speaking, Sheltay gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head to Padme. It was further confirmation she recognized her and was sending her someplace where she could hide.
The aide held out his hand for Padme. She took it and the aide pulled her up. She maneuvered Leia so she was cradling her with both arms once she was standing.
"Follow me." As the aide walked away Padme started to follow but stopped to say one more thing to Sheltay. "Thank you for this. I've been traveling all alone and was hoping someone would help me out like you are. With everything that has happened, it's nice to see there are still some good, caring people in this galaxy."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Threepio walking towards them. Artoo was following close by on his heels, a tray of drinks attached to him. Padme said one more thing to Sheltay. "I don't know how to repay you for this other than to offer you a little advice. These two droids here are the property of the captain of this ship right now. They are both very good at their respective jobs, from what I have seen, and would be quite a deal if you could buy them off the captain."
When Sheltay looked at the droids, Padme could tell that with her photographic memory she had recognized them. "Thank you for the tip, I will try and speak with the captain about purchasing them."