Chapter 81: Pursuit of Peace
Truth can strike down the spectre of fear.
Recap: Peace shattered. Once-promising negotiations between the Republic and the Separatists are now in shambles following a droid suicide bomb on the capitol city-planet of Coruscant. As fear and anger prevail, the Senate overwhelmingly passes a bill to deregulate the banks, opening the gateway to additional troops and an increase in fighting.
The entire city of Coruscant was still in disarray as they were trying to recover from the terrorist attacks that happened the previous night. However, the attacks didn't stop working as the senators of the Republic were back to fighting and arguing as they debated.
"Members of the Senate, please, please!" said the Chancellor as he tried his best to get everyone quiet.
"How dare they?" shouted a senator.
"They attack, and now they want peace?" yelled another senator.
"Chancellor Palpatine, may I remind the senators that the peace proposal was made prior to their assault!" stated Padmé to everyone.
"That only highlights its insincerity!" shouted a senator as he wasn't buying what Padmé was saying.
"Chancellor Palpatine, in light of this unprovoked attack on Coruscant and the vulnerabilities it raises, I propose the Republic purchase an additional 5 million clone troopers," said the Kamino senator as she was only caring about herself.
"The Republic is already operating in deep debt. How do you propose we pay for these additional troops?" countered Senator Organa as he could see the true intent behind the proposal.
"My people are drafting an emergency appropriations bill that would raise funds," said the Kamino representative.
"From the banking clan?" asked Organa with a scowl.
"Yes, of course. Do you have an alternate means of paying?" asked the Kamino.
"One alternative might be to stop the war, not escalate it!" stated Padmé.
"Traitor! Traitor!" shouted many of the senators toward Padme.
"Whoever attacked the power grid wants us to continue to fight. It's a calculated attempt to destroy the peace process. Not everyone in the Confederacy wants this. I know this for a fact."
"You have Separatists friends, Senator?" said someone.
"Whose side are you on?" shouted a senator as soon everybody was starting to turn on Padmé; she could do nothing but be labeled as a target.
"Please, the young senator from Naboo makes a point. There is no need to..." said Palpatine as he tried to calm everyone down before Mas Amedda whispered something to him. "We have just received a message from our opponent, Count Dooku."
The holographic image of the Sith Lord appeared for all to see.
"Your Republic forces have carried out a barbaric attack on our people, and among the deaths was the very sponsor of the peace accord, Senator Mina Bonteri."
"What? No!" said Padmé as she couldn't believe what Dooku was saying about her friend.
"With her needless death, I must formally withdraw the proposal for peace offered by our Senate," said the Sith Lord as the message ended.
"We must not show weakness!" shouted a senator.
The entire room was yelling at the top of their lungs, some even directing their anger at Padmé, who simply had a sorrowful look on her face. Palpatine saw all the arguing around him as he cracked a small smile.
Once the meeting was dismissed, Padmé was shown walking the halls as she had a small tablet in her hand while reading some info.
"Thank you, Teckla," said the Senator as she was stressed out.
"Yes, my lady," said the handmaiden as she left.
"I can't believe it. I just can't believe the Republic would target Senator Bonteri. She was the only one willing to stand up for peace." said Padmé to Organa and Senator Farr as they walked to her office.
"You shouldn't believe it. The Republic spies are reporting that Senator Bonteri was murdered by Dooku's thugs. That message to the Senate was a ploy to disguise his true actions." said Organa as he backed up his friend.
It seemed that not only was the peace plan that Padmé wanted now in jeopardy but to find out that her friend who she had seen not that long ago was now killed and she was the cause of it. Coupled with the supposed terrorist attacks that were believed to be the Separatists, safe to say, shit hit the fan pretty fast, and it wasn't stopping anytime soon.
"I am so sorry, Padme," said Senator Farr to the woman who was a family friend to him.
"If your friend met with a violent end because of her politics, let's ensure her courageous effort wasn't in vain," stated Organa as he still wanted to go with Padme's plan for peace.
"What can we do?" asked Padmé.
"For one, defeat this bill," pointed out Organa.
"Can we really win this war with the troops that we have?" asked Padmé.
"Let's hope we don't have to. I'll start lining up support, but I'll need ammunition," stated Organa.
"We can't afford ammunition, remember?" said Senator Farr to the pair as he tried to lighten the mood. Organa simply made a face at the senator from Rodia for choosing to make a joke at this time. "I joke.".
"Go to the Banking Clan and see how much interest they're going to charge for the loan. The more I know about what the exact cost of this bill will be, the better I can make my case to defeat it. I'll also see if I can convince others to join our cause before then. I might need to ask Fluttershy for help, though I doubt she'll like it," said Organa, as he didn't want to use the girl he considered a niece to sway people due to her cuteness, but these were desperate times.
"Right, let's go, uncle. You know these banking clan people. Plus, you owe me for telling such a bad joke." said Padmé.
"Tee ta poo shan aka," said Senator Farr.
Padmé and Farr both made their way to the office of the Banking Clan as the representative was none other than Nix Card, an ally of Dooku, as they began to discuss business.
"We will lend the Republic at our standard interest rate of... 25%," said Nix Card.
"What?" said Padmé.
"25%. That's outright theft," said Senator Farr.
"Your previous arrangement with the Republic was 10%!" stated Padmé.
"Please, please, that was before deregulation. The same rules don't apply, my dear. The Separatists don't seem to mind a rate hike. In fact, they just secured a loan to fund an additional 3 million battle droids." smiled Nix Card.
"They would wipe us out," said Farr to Padme.
"You would let Dooku do that? You live on Coruscant too," said Padmé.
"We have no stake in this war, senator. You know that war is... distasteful to all of us," said Nix Card as he smiled when he said that.
It was nighttime on Coruscant as Padmé was with Organa. She was informing him of what was discussed as Rarity was present this time.
"25% interest. That's a lot of credits," said Organa as he looked at the tablet in his hands as it had a chart.
"The interest alone could completely bankrupt the Republic. As it is, social services have suffered because of this war, education, infrastructure, and health care. If we go deeper into debt, the basic needs of our people will evaporate." stated Padmé as she looked out of the window. The war was definitely taking a toll on the Republic both on the front lines and in the political room.
"This is good," said Organa.
"It is?" said Rarity as she was confused by what the man meant.
"Clearly, taking out a loan on such obscene terms would essentially destroy the Republic, regardless of the outcome of the war. We only need to sway another handful of senators, as long as they don't buckle to the threats." replied the Senator to both females.
"What threats?" said Padmé to her friend.
"Some members have received messages warning them not to vote against the bill. Considering what's happened to your friend Bonteri, they're frightened. I'm thankful Fluttershy hasn't been threatened, but I fear for her safety. Even she feels a bit guilty having to persuade others merely based on her cuteness." said Organa.
"Normally, at times like these, we would rely on a Jedi to bail us out. But I don't think we're going to get that this time," said Rarity as it seemed the senators were on their own as not even a Jedi could help their situation.
At that same time, Senator Farr was taking a walk when suddenly he was jumped and beaten down by two thugs. In reality, they hired contacts as their next target was him.
Morning came, as both Padmé and Organa were talking with some other senators hoping to sway them to their side.
"Can't you all see this bill is short-sighted? Millions of clones won't win this war. The only winner will be the Banking Clan. They want to pass this bill so badly that they're using scare tactics to sway votes." said Padmé as she pleaded her point.
"I am not intimidated, Senator Amidala," replied a senator.
"Then why are you voting for additional troops?" asked Padmé.
"I happen to believe more clones are precisely what we need, and my caucus agrees with me," said the senator as he looked at the other senators. "I'm sorry."
They all disbursed as they each clutched the body part that was either bandaged or ached in pain. At that moment, Padmé saw Senator Farr as he had his arm in a sling.
"Uncle Ono, what happened?" asked Padmé.
"Two thugs jumped me, but I am fine."
"This is outrageous. Something has to be done," replied Padmé.
"This will not change my mind. No matter what, I will vote against the bill," said Senator Farr, as despite being injured, he would stick with Padmé.
Things were getting worst and worst by the minute. Meanwhile, in the slums of Coruscant, inside of a bar, there was a meeting being held. Music and dancers were in the background as the two thugs that jumped Ono were shown. One was one of the bounty hunters who were a part of the Senate hostage a while ago as it was Robonino; the other was a male Selkath named Chata Hyoki. They were contacted by their informant who hired them as it was none other than Dooku.
"I see Senator Amidala hasn't given up her crusade," replied Dooku.
"She doesn't have the votes, my lord," replied Robonino as he took a shot.
"We've taken care of 20 senators," chuckled Hyoki.
"It may be time to send her a message as well," said the Sith Lord.
"You want us to have a talk with her?" suggested Robonino as he drank the last of his bottle.
"No. I think something special is called for in Senator Amidala's case," said Dooku as he knew how troublesome the senator from Naboo was.
"We're all ears, boss," replied the male Patrolian bounty hunter.
"Take her out of the game," emphasized Dooku.
Nighttime was again upon Courscant as Padmé, Rarity, and Organa were in Padme's office.
"As long as senators are being threatened and attacked, I'm afraid we don't stand a chance," said Padmé to her friends.
"Intimidation won't work on everyone. Senator Farr is proof of that," said Organa.
"Even so, we're still at least six votes short of a majority, and you saw how effective my plea was today," said Padmé as she put her hand to her forehead as the stress was getting to her.
"Some minds can't be altered no matter what they hear," replied Organa.
"From my experience, it depends a great deal on who's sending the message," said Padmé as she looked at Organa.
"And what are you thinking?" asked the man.
"Bail, you're the finest public speaker I know. If anyone can convince the Senate that voting for this bill will bankrupt the Republic both financially and spiritually, it's you," stated Padmé.
"It will be dangerous," replied Organa as he could see what his friend was trying to do.
"I urge you to speak before the full Senate," pleaded Padmé.
"I'll need some time to prepare," responded Organa.
"Good. In the meantime, I'll pay another visit to those still undecided. Come on, Rarity." said Padmé as the fashionista followed her friend.
The pair soon met with Ono as they all got into speeders and flew toward some of the senator's homes.
"I'll be parked just over there, my lady," said the pilot to Padmé.
"Thank you. This way, uncle."
They all entered the apartment of Senator Christo as they were looking to convince him to join their side.
"What does ideology matter at this point? Is it worth being beaten to death? Look at what they did to you." said the senator as he looked at Ono.
"These wounds will heal, but what about the millions who are dying in this war?" replied Senator Farr.
"Who? The clones? We created them for just that purpose." said Senator Christo, as he didn't think of the clones as individuals but rather as expendables.
"They are people," stated Padmé as she saw the clones as more than just soldiers.
"The people I care about are my constituents, the ones who put me in office," said Senator Christo, as that was all he cared about.
"And when was the last time you ever spoke to your people?" stated Ono.
"Probably the same time you did, or you, Senator," countered Senator Christo as he had a point about Padmé and Ono.
"Senator Christo, please, is there anything we can do to get you to change your mind?" pleaded Padmé.
"Where does Senator Organa stand on all this? Why isn't he here?"
"Senator Organa is preparing to speak before the full Senate," answered Padmé.
"Senator Organa? I'll listen to what he has to say," said Senator Christo as, knowing the man from Alderaan would be vouching, it got his interest.
"So you are open to voting with us?" asked Rarity.
"I said I'll listen to what he has to say," said Senator Christo as he reiterated his statement.
Outside, a speeder was shown as it arrived by the apartment of the Senator and saw Padmé's speeder. The figure on the speeder was Robonino; he got the pilot's attention as he revved up his speeder and took off. That distraction was enough for Hyoki to sneak up as he took the pilot out. At the same time, the trio emerged from the apartment.
"Well, I=tt's better than a no, and I'm sure when Christo and the others hear what Bail has to say, they will vote our way," said Padmé.
"Can I give you a ride?" asked Ono to Padmé as his speeder was parked outside the apartment.
"My driver's only a block away. I think I'd like to walk," replied the Senator.
"But, Padme," said Rarity.
"Don't worry, Uncle Ono, Rarity. I can take care of myself. Plus, I can use the fresh air." said Padmé.
"Just be careful," said Senator Farr.
"Well, I'm not taking any chances," said Rarity as she decided to hop into Ono's speeder as the Senator was going to drop off the girl at her apartment.
The pair took off as Padmé was walking to where her speeder was located. She was starting to walk as she looked at her surroundings. Soon Padmé heard the sound of footsteps pattering as they weren't hers, and they seemed to be coming from behind. She began to pick up the pace and quickly ducked into an alley; she put her back to the wall and let out some deep breaths.
A shadow was shown as Padmé pulled out her blaster. Soon the shadow moved as it belonged to a couple passing by. Padmé let out a sigh as it looked to be clear of danger. Just then, the bounty hunters appeared, and one of them jumped on her back. Padmé was struggling as she let out a scream that was picked up by some nearby police droids who ran toward the source. Padmé was ramming the bounty hunter on her back into the wall as she avoided the charge by the other with her blaster knocked from her hands.
She went to grab it before she was tripped by one of them and then jumped on her with a knife pressed to her throat.
"Put your hands up!" said one of the police droids as they arrived.
"Arrest these bounty hunters," stated Padmé as she pushed the one on top of her off and began to walk toward the droids.
"We'll take care of this, miss. Drop your weapon and come with us quietly!" instructed the droids.
"Quietly?" cackled Robonino before both began to shoot at the droids.
Padmé was now running as she arrived at where her speeder was, but it wasn't there.
"Where's my driver? Where's my..." said Padmé before seeing another speeder in the distance.
She began to run as Hyoki began to chase after her. Padmé got to the speeder as it belonged to the couple she had seen earlier.
"Hey, my ride!" shouted the man as he saw Padmé get on and take off.
The bounty hunter aimed his arm as he fired a cable line attached to the speeder and hung on. Robonino had finished taking care of the police droid as he got on his speeder and began to chase after Padmé. The chase was on as Padmé looked behind to see the bounty hunter hanging on. She then began to take some evasive actions as Hyoki pushed a button, and the line began to retract as it reeled him in and inched closer to Padmé.
The senator began to evade her foes as she twirled and made the speeder move about. She turned the corner as she made sure to have the bounty hunter hanging on and collided with the obstacles along the path in hopes of letting them go. Robonino had managed to catch up as he appeared near Padmé's side and rammed into her. Padmé did the same as he rammed her speeder into his.
As they bashed against one another, Hyoki fully retracted his line as he was now on the back of Padmé's vehicle. He extended his hand and was about to grab the senator. Padmé quickly grabbed the stick on one of the speeder's boosts as it let loose some oil.
"My eyes!" shouted the bounty hunter as he was blinded temporarily by the liquid.
The chase continued as they all zoomed by police droids on patrol. The siren was turned on as they began to chase after the speeders. Padmé was still trying to get away from her foes as she managed to raise the speeder into the air just as Hyoki stood up. He slammed into a poster as he faceplanted and was off the speeder as Padmé smiled. Robonino was able to have his speeder be under the poster as Hyoki let go and onto the back of the vehicle as they continued to go after the senator.
Padmé saw them and turned the corner, and headed down the street. Just then, emerging from the end were police transports as they soon surrounded the senator.
"Land the vehicle. That is a stolen vehicle!" said the police droid over the megaphone.
"Ahh! Those bounty hunters were trying to kill me!" shouted Padmé as she pointed upwards. "I am a senator. I demand that you arrest them."
Above the senator were the bounty hunters as they saw Padmé being surrounded by police. Seeing this, they turned around and escaped to avoid being captured.
"Get your hands in the air!" demanded the police droid over the megaphone.
It was now later as Padmé had finally been let go by the police. The senator was back in her quarters as it seemed Rarity learned what happened to her friend once she split from them. She and Padmé's handmaiden were now patching up their friend as she got bruises from when the bounty hunters jumped her.
"Ouch!" said Padmé, as a cloth was pressed to her cheek, showing a nasty mark.
"Don't you think you should report this to the Jedi Council?" asked Teckla.
"There's nothing they can do. I know who did it," said Padmé as she got up from lying down. "They were bounty hunters, paid to stop me from voting against the troop increase. What has happened to democracy?"
The fashionista and handmaiden looked at one another as they could see the stress that Padmé was under. The senator was out on her balcony as she was overlooking the city.
"And why doesn't anyone seem to care?" said Padmé.
"That's not true, Padmé."
"Rarity is right. You do. Forgive me, my lady. Um, you're not like most politicians."
"If only that were enough, Teckla," responded the senator.
"Well, you actually talk to the people, people like me," said the handmaiden as it got Padmé to look at her with a face. "Good night, my lady," said the handmaiden as she felt like she had stepped out of line and was looking to leave.
"Teckla, tell me, how is your family?" asked Padmé to her handmaiden.
"They are fine," responded the girl truthfully.
"How is the war affecting them?" asked Padmé as she put her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Well, it hasn't been easy, and it's only getting worse," responded the handmaiden with a sigh.
"How?" asked Rarity as she and Padmé let her to the couch.
"Please, tell me. Tell me how it's getting worse," asked Padmé as she and Rarity were willing to listen to Teckla's story.
In the morning, Organa was shown with Fluttershy as they had gone over the last bit of the man's speech that he would give to the Senate. Organa pushed the remote on his controller as he opened the doors to his apartment hangar and started up his speeder. Just as they were about to hop in, two speeders came in as they were Robonino and Hyoki, looking to stop the senator from getting to the Senate building. They surrounded the pair as Fluttershy was scared, as Organa stood in front of the girl to protect her.
"You're not gonna get away like your lady friend, Senator!" declared Hyoki to Organa as Fluttershy secretly pushed the button on the remote that Organa had.
As the bounty hunters began to move, the elevator to the hangar opened up.
"Senator!" shouted some guards as also coming in through the hangar were police droids as they had heard Padmé's testimony from last night and were looking for the two suspects.
Organ quickly shoved Fluttershy toward the guards as he then uppercut Hyoki in the face. One of the guards grabbed Fluttershy and began to lead her away as blaster shots began to open fire from both sides. Organa was looking to get into his speeder to get to the Senate building. Robonino was looking to escape when a police transport stopped his route, and he crashed into them, flying over them and landing on the ground.
Organa got his speeder up and took off. The other bounty hunter saw him trying to leave as he began to fire in his direction. He hit the back of the speeder as it veered off course, hit the wall, and knocked the senator unconscious, with Fluttershy letting out a gasp. The guards managed to get the bounty hunter at gunpoint as he put his hands up.
"Medic!" shouted one of the guards as Fluttershy had worry on her face.
In the Senate building, Ono had managed to locate Rarity as she emerged from her quarters alongside Rarity. The fashionista had decided to spend the night with her friend to keep her company.
"Padme."
"What is it?" said the senator to Ono.
"You must come quickly. You need to see something."
The three ran to Padmé's office as a transmission awaited them. They turned it on as the hologram image of Senator Organa being held by one of the guards and Fluttershy was shown.
"Bail, what happened?" asked Padmé as seeing her friend hurt.
"Padme..."
"Senator, you need to lie down," said the guard as he was badly hurt.
"My speech, my speech... The Senate is expecting me," replied the senator.
"Is there any way?" asked Padmé to the guard.
"I'm sorry. He's in no condition to even stand. We need to take him to the hospital." said the guard.
Of course. Take him at once," said Ono.
"The speech... Padmé, you must address the senate. Only you can do this," said Organa as he fainted.
"Fluttershy, are you hurt, darling?" asked the fashionista.
"I'm fine, Rarity. But I'm worried," said the girl.
"I'm on my way to the hospital," said Rarity as she was going to be there for her friend as the transmission ended.
"Forgive me, Padmé. But I need to be there for Fluttershy."
"I understand, Rarity. Go on," said the senator as Rarity grabbed her purse and rushed toward a transport to take her to the medical facility.
And if things couldn't get any worse, the Senate was starting.
"Perhaps we should get the vote started," said the Kamino representative.
"I told Senator Organa I'd allow him to speak," said Mas Amedda to everyone.
"We have waited long enough!"
"I agree with Senator Orn Free Taa," said another senator. "Let's vote."
"You must give the speech in his place," said Ono to Padmé.
"But they're expecting to hear from the great Bail Organa. He carries a certain weight. He's seen as a voice of reason." said Padmé as she knew the power a man like Bail had compared to her.
"You are very respected," stated Ono.
"As a partisan. I've been against this bill from day one. If they didn't listen to me before, why would they listen now?" stated Padmé to her friend.
"Because you do listen. You understand what the people are going through," said Teckla as she appeared to give her lady support. In her hands was the outfit Rarity had asked that she give Padmé to present her speech. "Please. Your people are waiting for you."
Both females looked at each other with a smile.
"Let us now vote on Senator Burtoni's bill to fund 5 million additional clones," said Mas Amedda.
"The opposition to this bill must be allowed to speak first!" said a representative.
"Unfortunately, Senator Organa is nowhere to be found," replied another representative.
"I will speak on his behalf," said Padmé as she appeared before everyone.
"Senator Amidala will be permitted to speak," said Mas Amedda as Padmé moved to the middle of the room to address everyone.
"Teckla Minnau," said Padmé as everyone was confused by what she said as murmurs picked up.
Padmé began to give her address as it was being projected for all to see and hear across Coruscant.
"Teckla is one of my aides. Like so many of the people that we tell ourselves we're here to serve, Teckla lives in a district that rarely has electricity and running water as a result of the war. Her children can now only bathe every two weeks, and they have no light in which to read or study at night. The Republic has always funded these basic services, but now, there are those who would divert the money to the war, with no thought for what the people need to survive.
If not for people like Teckla and her children, who are we fighting for? My people, your people, all of our people. This war is meant to save them from suffering, not increase it. I support our brave soldiers, whether they come from the clone factories or from any of the thousands of systems loyal to the Republic, but if we continue to impoverish our people, it is not on the battlefield where Dooku will defeat us but in our own homes. Therefore, it is our duty and our responsibility to preserve the lives of those around us by defeating this bill!"
In the hospital, Rarity and Fluttershy watched a broadcast of Padmé giving her speech as they smiled. Soon everyone all over Coruscant, especially the other senators in the room, smiled. The first to stand up was Senator Christo as he gave applause to Padmé. Others soon joined him as they began to applaud the speech that Padmé gave as it touched their hearts.
"Well done, Padme," said Ono as he shed a few tears at how moving her speech was.
Even those who favored having more clones also clapped to show their respect for the speech Padmé gave. All around, the senator was taking in the applause as it warmed her heart to see so many people rallying behind her cause. She looked at Teckla as she nodded, which Padmé returned.
Later, in the Chancellor's office, Palpatine was shown looking out of the window before turning in his chair.
"Isn't it remarkable that one can have all the power in the galaxy, and yet the words of a single senator can sway the thoughts of millions?" said Palpatine to his Vice-Chair.
"What do you plan to do about this?" asked Mas Amedda.
"For now, we must adhere to the principles of our democracy. We must let the wheels of the senate turn," stated Palpatine as he angrily mused at his Vice-Chair before turning to look out of his window.
For the first time in a long time, the Chancellor gave a small hint to reveal his true face and simply waited for things to swing back into his favor.
Author's Note: Talk about shit hitting the fan and all at once following the previous chapter. Just when things couldn't get any worse, more things happen. But it seems things have at least somewhat stable and it goes to show how powerful a voice can be if they're determined and how you can gain respect from others if you get them to feel what you're feeling. As always leave a review expressing your thoughts.