Chapter 72: Corruption
The challenge of hope is to overcome corruption.
Recap: Desperate times on Mandalore! Having won neutrality for the Mandalorian system, Duchess Satine now finds herself an outsider with little aid to her people. Supplies are impossible to come by, except on the black market. As a result, the Duchess faces a world consumed by greed. Hoping to alleviate some of the tensions rising in the capital city of Sundari, Satine has called upon her friend Padmé Amidala to make a diplomatic visit.
Approaching the planet, Mandalore was a ship. Inside was Padmé, who had been called on by a friend to discuss some things. The Senator wasn't alone as she had her fashion designer with her. After being dropped off by Rainbow, Rarity was looking forward to some rest. The trip from Twilight's homeworld was a rather long and exhaustive one. So the teen arrived at her room and immediately tried to get some beauty rest. Sadly it only lasted for about an hour as there was banging on her door.
Rarity groaned as she was angry that someone was interrupting her. She marched straight to the door and was about to give the person knocking a piece of her mind. She opened the door and immediately tossed a bag as standing there was Padmé.
"Oh, no! I am not doing!" said Rarity as she could already tell what her friend meant by giving her the bag.
And so, in the end, like always, Padmé literally dragged Rarity with her as she kicked and screamed about not wanting to go. It didn't take long as their ship entered Mandalore's orbit as they headed to the capital city. Awaiting them was none other than Duchess Satine, as she wanted to welcome the Senator and Rarity to her home. The ship docked as the ramp opened, and both girls exited with some guards following behind.
"Senator," said Satine as she did a courtesy bow.
"Duchess, it's good to see you," said Padmé.
"Thank you for coming, Padmé. You as well, Rarity. Those latest outfits I requested are more splendid than I imagined." Satine said to the teen.
"Well, as Duchess, I ensured that my work exceeded your expectations. Also, thank you," smiled Rarity as she was pleased Satine enjoyed her work.
"I know our decision to stay neutral has caused distress in the Senate. But for many here, the fallout from your war has been too much," said Satine as they began to walk.
"If your government has trade concerns, we can talk. Many systems have been affected," replied Padmé. A transport pulled up as it was looking to take the three females to the palace.
"I assure you not everyone in the Republic has neglected Mandalore, and there are those of us who would still vote to give you any help you require," added Padmé as all three boarded and sat down.
"The help we need now is opening trade routes so we may get supplies more freely," responded Satine.
"We are making progress in the Senate."
"Forgive me, Padme. I did not bring you here to discuss politics. I had hoped to show you the new Mandalore."
Satine waved her hand as the transport driver made them zoom ahead. They passed through the tunnel connecting the entrance to Mandalore to the city itself.
"Not the typical Mandalorian welcome. Senator Organa teased you'd
have a royal court waiting," said Padmé as she was expecting some grand celebration, knowing she was coming.
"I just wanted to greet you myself, before the others," smiled Satine.
As if on cue, the moment the transport was near the end of the tunnel, the cheering could be heard. The transport exited, and the entire population of Mandalore was present. They were lined up as flowers were thrown, the applause was shown, and cheers roared.
"Now, this is a Mandalorian welcome," smiled Padmé as this was what she expected to happen. Meanwhile, Rarity couldn't help but wave and soak in the attention as Padmé rolled her eyes.
"We are a people of tradition," responded Satine to her friend as she waved back at her people.
At the same time, they were being showered by the people on their way to the palace; there was a ship shown flying through space. It entered Mandalore's orbit as they descended to the planet. The ship landed on the cargo docks as it parked. The doors opened, and out came the inhabitants who were inside. It was a band of Moogan smugglers as they had slender builds with long limbs, a long neck, and bright green blood.
"Hurry up. Get that stuff unloaded quickly," stated the Moogan leader as he and a few of his men looked around the docks for any officers. The henchman of the Moogans carried crates of stuff as they walked down the ramp and unloaded their cargo.
"Here comes the customs official," said the righthand of the Moogan leader.
"Nice day here on Mandalore," said the Moogan leader as he approached the official who came up to them.
"It is. Let's try not to ruin it," smiled the customs official.
"I don't get your meaning," replied the Moogan with a sly smile.
"I think you do. Your arrival isn't listed here on my schedule. So what exactly are you unloading on my dock?" asked the official.
"Must be a clerical oversight. I'm sure it won't happen again," said the Moogan as he held some credits in his hand and dropped them into the hands of the man as a bribe.
"Normally, there would be five times as many officers out here. They're off at the parade. Some big shot just arrived in Mandalore. You're lucky." said the official to the smugglers.
"Oh, luck has nothing to do with it," said the Moogan leader.
"Well, just in case, deal with me directly in the future. Got it?" replied the corrupt official as he was looking forward to doing more business transactions with the smugglers.
"As you wish," replied the Moogan as both smiled and continued their business.
In the palace, Satine had ordered a gathering of her court to discuss the situation at hand. They were all seated in front of Satine; Padmé was present, as was Rarity, as the girl was off to the side, watching the officials debate about the matter.
"Esteemed colleagues, leaders of Mandalore, friends, I'm afraid our neutrality has caused our people to suffer. The war between the
Separatists and the Republic rages across our galaxy. It has caused trade routes to be closed to Mandalore." said Prime Minister Almec. "And has forced us to turn to a black market filled with corruption."
"We know what is happening, Almec. What will be done about it?" said one of the council members.
"Mandalore should not need to pay smugglers to feed its people," said another council member.
"It's not that we want to deal with smugglers. We have no alternative. I'm sure you and the Trade Federation make a profit whether our business is legitimate or not." claimed the previous council member as he stood up and pointed at his female colleague.
"I resent that!" shouted the woman as she too stood up from her chair.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please, order. Please," said Prime Minister Almec as he grabbed both officials' arms and put them down to avoid violence.
"Prime Minister Almec seems a bit overwhelmed," whispered Padmé to Satine, standing next to the Duchess' throne.
"If you're volunteering your services as a negotiator, please, be my guest," said Satine to her friend with a smug smile.
"Perhaps they will listen to a new voice," said Padmé as she was determined. Ruling council, may I speak?"
"Senator Amidala. The floor is yours," said the Prime Minister.
"I hear your worries, your frustration, but the longer you argue, the more your people suffer. You are right. New trade routes are essential to survival, but the black market is no substitute for legitimate and legal trade."
"What would you propose, Senator?" asked Prime Minister Almec.
"The Republic can provide security," responded Padmé.
"The Republic's own dealings with the black market far surpass Mandalore's," responded one of the officials as he stood up.
"I agree," responded another council member as they got out of their chair. "It's quite hypocritical for you to come here, a member of the Republic Senate, and lecture to us about corruption."
Soon the other council members got up and began to argue with each other. Their shouts and yells could be heard as they bickered amongst themselves. Satine was watching this as she had an unhappy look.
"Silence!" stated Satine as the council members stopped and looked at the Duchess while sitting back down. "I told Senator Amidala that Mandalore was not part of the war, yet here I find a battle in my own palace. I call this meeting adjourned. We will reconvene and allow cooler heads to prevail."
With that, Satine got up from her throne and began to walk out of the room as she, too, was stressed from the bickering among her people. Down at the docks, the Moogans and their accomplices were rolling some barrels full of the stuff they brought into a warehouse.
"Come on, you worms. Get those barrels inside," stated the Moogan leader.
"What is this stuff?" asked a Mandalorian scientist.
"This stuff is slabin, a diluting agent. If we add it, we can make twice as much tea at twice the profit," said the Moogan leader.
"Isn't it toxic?" said the Mandalorian as he had a bad feeling about the idea.
"Only if the dosage is wrong, so get your mixture right," instructed the Moogan as the scientist sighed before working on this evil plan. One of the tanks was filled with water, and the slabin was added to a red mixture before it disappeared into the water.
It was nighttime on Mandalore as dinner was being prepared inside the palace. Satine, Padmé, and Rarity were in the dining hall; Rarity had decided to make some dresses from both officials to make them presentable. The fashionista showed them off as both women fell in love with what the girl was able to create. They were now all seated at the dining table as they mingled.
"Tell me, Padmé, how do you feel about the Republic's war with the Separatists?" asked Satine.
"It's so complicated. As you know, in the Senate, the chancellor says it's going very well, but my sources say otherwise," responded Padmé.
"And how does that make you feel?" replied Satine.
"There are times I wish I could follow Mandalore's lead: neutrality, and not just in the war."
"But the politics as well? The contamination of greed reaches deep and far within the Republic: corporations, trade guilds, too many senators serving their own interests."
"There are still those of us who work to overcome the corruption and believe it to be possible."
"Enough of this dreary talk. A new hospital has opened. Tomorrow you, Rarity, and I shall visit, see true good at work. It will do us good." said Satine as she wanted to get rid of the political talk and enjoy being with friends. Satine raised her glass, as did both Padmé and Rarity, so all three could clink.
The morning came as a ship was shown flying toward the hospital on Mandalore. Upon exiting the ramp, all three saw many people, some struggling to walk while others had to be carried. All of it made dread appear on Satine's face. She then noticed a pair of hospital workers carrying a stretcher with a small boy on it as she walked beside them.
"Orderly, what's going on here?"
"I have no idea, Madam. Dr. Zaz is handling the Outbreak. He's inside." said the man as he and the other worker entered the place.
All three females gave a look at each other before venturing in. The doors opened as even in the hallways, there were lines of people, mostly kids leaning against the wall clutching their stomachs in pain or on stretcher beds. They kept walking as they turned the corner, and it got worse as they went deeper into the hospital. They soon made it to where Dr. Zaz was as every bed was occupied and machines beeped.
"What is happening here?"
"Duchess, I'm sorry no one has come to speak to you. These children have been poisoned." said Dr. Zaz.
"How?" asked Rarity as they walked toward one of the beds that had a boy clutching his stomach in pain.
"We don't know. And it's not here, I'm afraid. We've gotten reports from across the planet." said Dr. Zaz.
Satine sat on the bed's edge as she placed her hand on the child's forehead. The pain on his face tugged at the Duchess' heartstrings.
"Have you identified a cause?" said Padmé.
"Well, the children here all came from the same school. We're testing their food. If we find something, perhaps we can create an antidote. But it will take some time." said Dr. Zaz.
"Which they may not have," responded Satine while looking at the child.
Sometime later, both Duchess and Senator were in Prime Minister Almec's office. They were seated before the man as Rarity stood behind them. Both had brought the issue to the official.
"What if it's not a poison? It must be Death Watch," said the Prime Minister.
"I'm not so sure. In the past, the Death Watch attacks have only been directed at myself and the administration, not the children," said Satine.
"They are terrorists. Perhaps the senator's visit has inspired them," said Prime Minister Almec.
"Terrorists? Our minds should be on the sick children that are dying in the streets. What are you going to do to save them?" stated Satine with a stern tone.
"I must speak to the ruling council about this matter," responded Prime Minister Almec as he got up and exited his office.
"I refuse to believe that Death Watch has anything to do with this," said Satine.
"I agree. His concern for the children..."
"was practically none," said Satine as she finished Padmé's sentence. "All he thinks about is politics."
"What a heartless man," said Rarity.
"Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing," said Padmé.
"My thoughts exactly," smiled Satine.
Once the trio returned to the palace, Satine had her personal guards rounded up and brought before her. The guards stood at attention as they awaited whatever their Duchess wanted to say to them.
"Thank you all for coming. I suppose you're wondering why I asked you here. As my personal guards, you are the only ones I can trust to investigate this matter. We have little time. That is why I have asked for your help." said Satine. "Padme?"
"Each of you will be getting a special comlink and datapad, means of direct communication, and location you should investigate."
"This must be a closed-loop affair," said Satine.
"Hundreds of children have been poisoned," added Padmé.
"They are our children, and they need our help.
"This is a Mandalorian matter, and we must find out who dares poison our children. Thank you. Thank you all." said Satine as she dismissed her guards.
"So, where do we start?" asked Rarity.
"The schools," replied the Duchess.
The trio made their way to the place of origin. They were hoping to talk to the school staff and superintendent to see if they could find some sort of clue as to what was going on.
"Thank you for allowing us to inspect the school, superintendent."
"My pleasure, Duchess."
"We've cleared the food here. None of it is tainted," said the school doctor as he saw them enter the school's cafe.
"What about what they ate yesterday?" asked Padmé.
"The menu of food is pretty regular here. We would've caught something with our tests."
"What about their drinks, Doctor?" asked Satine.
"No, they drink fresh water. It's impossible for it to be tainted."
"Not the water. What about the bottled drinks?" said Satine as she saw a nearby girl sipping a bottled beverage.
"Those are not part of the school's menu. They are allowed through an outside vendor."
"And have you tested them?" asked Rarity.
"Well... no," said the man.
"Then I think we have a lead," said the fashionista as a boy was about to walk past them carrying his food tray.
"Excuse me, child. I must borrow your drink," said the school doctor as he took the bottled beverage and left with the females in tow.
They arrived at one of the school's labs; the doctor hooked up the bottle to one of the machines as it began to analyze its contents. The screens were running their diagnostics as Ratiy excused herself for a moment.
"How could this have happened?" said Satine off to the side.
"It's not your fault," stated Padmé as she tried to reassure her friend that she wasn't to blame.
"I appreciate that. However, for an outbreak of this size to occur, I'm afraid it's a sign of a much, much deeper seeded corruption than I had imagined."
"Duchess, we found something," said the school doctor as the scans showed something. "This tea contains a high level of slabin."
"I didn't know slabin was lethal," replied Satine.
"Did you say lethal?!" called out Rarity as she returned.
The fashionista wanted something to drink, so she noticed a nearby vendor containing the bottles and purchased one. She had just made it back to her friends and was about to drink the bottle when she heard that. The girl had the bottle mere inches from her mouth as she froze.
"It usually isn't but mixed with the tea, and at this concentration. I'm certain it's the cause of the children's illness," answered the doctor.
"I see," said Rarity. The teen then uncorked the bottle and poured out the contents to avoid getting sick.
"The school must have an import log, correct?" asked Padmé.
"Uh, yes. I believe so," answered the superintendent hesitantly.
"So we should be able to find out where the tea came from," said Padmé to Satine.
"Well, then, let's get to the docks."
They all soon arrived at the docks as they approached the import log.
"Everything's here, Satine," said Padmé as she was able to pull them up.
Everything except the records for the tea shipments." replied the Duchess.
"It looks like the school's import log has been erased. There's no record of an outside vendor," stated the Senator as, at that moment, the superintendent began to run off.
"Where are you going?" shouted Rarity as that got everybody to look in her direction and see the superintendent enter the open hanger next to them.
"Superintendent," said Satine as they saw him enter the hanger near a transport. "Hold it right there!"
"I'm actually on my way to the hospital. I have to go," said the superintendent as he quickly got on and fired up the transport, hoping to escape.
"Stop him!" shouted the Duchess.
The guards on the transport that escorted them heard the command. They pushed the level to make their vehicle go forward as they got in the way of the superintendent as his transport crashed into their side, and he was flung. He landed on the edge of the ledge as the guards grabbed him and brought him before the Duchess.
"Tell me what's going on here, or else my guards will not be as conversational as I am!"
"Satine..."
"Padme, please," said the Duchess as she knew what she was doing. "Where did you get the tea?"
"Please, I never meant to harm anyone. I just- I needed to cut costs. The school's budget was too low." stammered the superintendent.
"The school has received sufficient government funding," replied Satine as she didn't by the superintendent's BS.
"Look, they offered me a great deal. I could keep some money for myself too, but I didn't know that the drinks were poison," said the superintendent as he confessed his true motives.
"All this because you were greedy?" stated Padmé with a scowl.
"I am not the only one making money off this operation. There are others more guilty than I am," said the superintendent as he was hoping this would save his hind if he confessed what he knew.
"Was Death Watch involved?" asked Satine.
"Death Watch? I don't know. I... I dealt with a middleman, an importer. His name's Siddiq. He works for a shipping company not too far from here." said the superintendent.
"Tell us where," scowled Satine.
"Sure, I bribed the school official. What's the problem?" said the importer named Siddiq in a laid-back tone. The females had managed to find the location of the man given to them by the superintendent as they were in his office.
"What you've done is illegal," said Padmé.
"Beyond these stars, there's a war going on. As long as my company imports goods, most people turn a blind eye to anything else," said the man leaning back with his hands behind his head and feet on his desk.
"We are not most people, Mr. Siddiq."
"My corporate contracts protect me, Duchess, So I'll play your little game. Look, I'm sorry there are sick children. I truly am. But I'm just a messenger." replied Siddiq.
"Where do you get the tea?" asked Rarity.
"From Mooga. The Commerce Guild controls it. Here, I have nothing to hide." said Siddiq as he got on his laptop and pulled up the shipping routes and schedules for the three to see. "Here we are. Shipping schedules from Mooga. Right there, the highlighted ones."
"And a customs official reports these to the government?" said Padmé.
"As far as I know," answered Siddiq.
"Are these all for the ones bringing in the tea?" asked Satine.
"No, I'd have to narrow that down," replied Siddiq.
"Well, then..." said Rarity as she rolled her hand.
"Okay, okay. No problem," said Siddiq as the women gave him dirty looks to filter through his logs. "There you go. Look, they're actually bringing in a shipment tonight."
All three saw it as they looked at one another.
"You want to know which dock?" chimed in Siddiq.
"Obliviously!" shouted Rarity as it seemed he couldn't tell based on the looks that Padmé and Satine had.
It was now nighttime, and some figures were shown by the docks. They were sneaking and crouching around corners as it was a Mandalorian guard, and behind him were Satine, Padmé, and Rarity.
"Honestly, I have no idea why you dragged me to go with you, Padmé. I need my beauty sleep," complained the fashionista as she didn't want to go on a scouting mission that could potentially go south and put her in harm's way.
"Didn't you just say you came back from fighting an evil sorceress?" countered Padmé with a raised eyebrow.
"That was different. I had a magical necklace to protect me. Plus, I wasn't alone. I had my friends with me."
"Well, you have me," snickered Padmé.
"Oh, that's not good," responded Rarity as she knew the Senator had a knack for getting into trouble.
The small group kept sneaking about as they made their way to the docks where the shipment was about to arrive.
"I must say when I came to visit, I hadn't pictured us in such an informal setting," said Padmé to the Duchess.
"Funny, 'cause I did," rebutted Rarity as Padmé just smiled at her drama queen friend.
"Yes, well, from what Master Kenobi tells me, during your tenure as queen, you became quite familiar with such excursions," said Satine.
"One can only survive the rigors of courtly formalities for so long."
"We are of the same mind," smiled Satine to Padmé.
"Duchess, there's a shipment arriving," said the Mandalorian guard as they saw a ship just dock.
The doors opened as the Moogans were shown directing their accomplices as they carried the crates of slabin down the ramp.
"The smugglers," answered Satine.
"We'll soon find out," said Padmé.
"Shall I call in more security?" asked the guard.
"No, let's wait and see what transpires. Look, a customs official," said Satine as she pointed to a man walking toward the smugglers.
"Welcome back, gentlemen. I'm here for my...inspection," said the customs official as he had extra meaning behind the last word.
"Certainly. We would expect nothing less," replied the Moogan leader as he dropped some credits into the official's hand.
With the bribery, the customs official turned and was on his way as the smugglers continued their unloading. From the shadows, our group saw what went down as they were shocked to see such corruption was starting to spread even deeper into the society of Mandalore. Even to the point where you couldn't tell who was working for who.
"How can they operate with such impunity? I need to find out how far up the chain of command this corruption goes," said Satine.
It was morning as Satine was sitting on her throne in her palace. Next to her were Rarity and Padmé. In front of her were some guards as they had the police captain.
"I'm sorry, duchess, but what you're saying, It's impossible."
"Impossible? We witnessed it with our own eyes," said Rarity.
"Bribery of a customs official at the shipping docks? I'm afraid not. The docks are a highly secure area, free of dangerous criminals." said the police captain.
"But not free of corruption. The most dangerous weapon in the galaxy is money, Captain," said Satine as she spoke some truth.
"Smuggling does not take place on my watch!" said the police captain.
"And what about when you're not watching?" asked Padmé.
"I'm always watching, Senator," said the police captain as he felt disrespected and insulted by what Padmé said.
"And were you watching as children were dying? Who was watching then?" demanded Satine.
"Duchess, with all due respect..."
"No, Captain. If you want my respect, you will arrest these criminals and stop stalling!" shouted Satine.
"Stalling?" said the police captain as he was taken aback by what the Duchess said.
"Why else would you not be down there, with a patrol unit making arrests, unless you're involved?" said Satine.
"All right. We'll see what's going on," said the police captain as they all began to head down to the docks.
A few police transports raced through Mandalore as they pulled up to the docks. They got out as Rarity noticed some nearby guards in front of a warehouse.
"Satine, what are those guards doing here?
"Did you order them here?" asked Satine to the police captain.
"Duchess, I've been with you the whole time," said the man as he knew there was no way he could have done this. "Guards, let us into this warehouse."
"We're under strict orders not to let anyone in," said one of them.
"Do you know who this is?" said the police captain as he gestured to the Duchess.
"I command you, open these doors," stated Satine.
"Uh..." said one of the guards as he looked at his buddy standing next to him.
He immediately went for a swing on the Duchess, but he was stopped by the police captain, who grabbed the weapon and punched the guard. He then took out the other guard as both were unconscious.
"Arrest them!" shouted the police captain to the Duchess' personal guards.
He then went to the lock as he put his hand on it, and it recognized his signature. The doors opened as he and the rest of the group walked in. They revealed what was inside as it was the smugglers and their accomplices as they were currently working on another batch.
"Hold it right there," said the police captain.
The smugglers then pulled out their blasters and began to fire. Satine's personal guards did their duty as they grabbed the females and pulled them to the right side of the building as the police captain and a few more of Satine's guards were with him on the left. As they prepared, the smugglers started to walk back and get behind the cover.
The police captain gave a hand signal to the guards on the other side. They understood it as two of them raced into the warehouse as they had their shields up. The smugglers popped out and began to fire as the two guards dropped to a knee and had their shields in front of them to protect them from enemy fire. The police captain was behind one of them as he had his blaster and began to fire at them. He took several out before rolling behind the other guard with his shield and firing again.
One of the smugglers managed to hit the police captain as he was shot in the arm and fell back. His weapon landed near the entrance as Padmé saw it. The guards then began to fall back as one of them covered the one who managed to successfully drag the police captain out of the warehouse. Rarity then turned to Satine and some guards as she gestured with her hands.
Some guards then got up and pushed a small metal barricade they were leaning on into the warehouse's entrance. While getting it into position, Padme managed to grab the police captain's blaster. She then grabbed Rarity as she handed the fashionista her trusty blaster.
"No!" said Rarity.
"Yes, you are!" shouted Padmé as she had enough of Rarity not wanting to get physical and use a firearm. "If you don't want to die, move and shoot."
Padmé gave the signal as the guards began to push the metal barricade into the warehouse as she and Rarity were behind. The smugglers saw the barricade moving forward as they began to shoot at it. Padmé popped out as she began to fire and took out some of them. Satine then gestured for the rest of her guards to follow behind and take care of the foes they passed by. The guards did that as they raced through, took out the foes that Padmé didn't shoot, and knocked them down.
"Rarity!" shouted Padmé as she fired.
"No!" yelled the girl as she didn't want to pop out.
She then saw one of the smugglers aim their blaster at her as she screamed and just pulled the trigger of the gun. The blast got the smuggler in the arm as he fell and grabbed it. The girl acted on instincts to defend herself as she was lifted up by her collar due to Padmé and forced to shoot. Eventually, one of the guards jumped on the barricade as he swung his staff to deflect the shot and then knocked out the remaining smugglers. The only ones left were the scientists as they put their hands up.
"Impressive shooting for a senator. And a teenager girl," said the police captain as he got up and held his shoulder.
"I nearly got killed!" shouted Rarity to Padmé as she quickly tossed the blaster to her friend to get rid of it.
"Again, you defeated an evil witch?" replied the Senator.
"I had a magic necklace!" Rarity shouted as she was angry at her friend.
The royal guards put the smugglers and their accomplices in custody as they led them to the police transports.
"Captain, I want you to burn down this warehouse."
"Excuse me?" said the police captain at what Satine said, "But there's evidence-"
"Burn it down, or I'll consider you a part of this conspiracy, Captain!" shouted Satine as she had enough of people not willing to comply with what she said.
"You heard her, men. Burn the warehouse," said the police captain. Two Mandalorian guards approached one of their transports as they pulled out some flamethrowers. They then ventured inside as they began to burn everything down.
"It wasn't Death Watch, Prime Minister. It was a group of black market smugglers. They were diluting the drink with slabin. What they didn't count on was the process would make the drinks poisonous." said Padmé as she and Satine were seated in the Prime Minister's office.
"And what about the sick children?"
"I ordered shipments of the antidote for all the schools and hospitals," said Satine.
"Oh, I'm glad this is over," said Prime Minister Almec as he started to get up.
"No, I'm afraid it's not over. The corruption we witnessed is intolerable. Payoffs, police unwilling to comply, my government fooled... How does this happen?" said Satine as she stood up and stopped the Prime Minister as she vented out and slammed her hands on his desk.
"I'm sorry. I'm setting up a committee to look into it," responded the Prime Minister to the Duchess.
"Children nearly died because our government cannot be counted on," stated Satine, as it seemed like he was reluctant to acknowledge the corruption inside their own government.
"I assure you this will not go unpunished."
"I'm counting on you, Almec," said Satine as he nodded.
The next day, Padmé and Rarity were set to leave. They were all at the entrance docks of the city as Satine was seeing her friends off.
"I'm troubled, Padmé."
"You heard Prime Minister Almec say he'll investigate."
"His heart is in the right place, but this corruption..."
"You must have hope, Satine," said Padmé as she placed her hands on top of hers.
"Hope will only go so far," replied the Duchess as she dropped her hands. "The very people conducting this investigation might be corrupt. Perhaps a Jedi working undercover at the academy could be of service to us in more ways than one, for if we lose our young, Mandalore will indeed be lost."
"I will speak with Master Yoda," said Padmé as she was going to try to get Satine's idea approved. "Don't lose hope, my friend."
"Senator."
"Duchess."
Both women said goodbye as Padmé began to board.
"Take care, Satine," said Rarity.
"You as well, Rarity. And thank you for all the new outfits," said Satine as she had one of her guards hand Rarity her pay, with a little extra.
"No trouble at all. I could use this to buy new material," said the fashionista as she smiled and walked up the ramp.
The door closed behind as their ship took off. Satine turned as she began to walk back, knowing that the corruption she discovered would only worsen.
Author's Note: We're back to fighting in the war and it seems like things are heating up. Corruption is something that nearly all forms of government and society has dealt with. Bureaucratic incompetence, trade disputes, black market, etc. Not to mention talking about who is involved with these kind of issues and how far it goes. I'm sure you guys can think about examples in history that this episode depicts. Anyways, leave a review expressing your comments and thoughts about this chapter.