[17 BBY]
[Parliament of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Senate Building, Raxus Secundus, Tion Hegemony Sector, Outer Rim]
Mina Bonteri, Senator for Onderon, and now Head of the Separatist Council was…frustrated by her colleagues as they sat in conference once again. Indeed, even the fact she was 'Head of the Separatist Council' rather than Head of State as Dooku had been, was just confirmation of those frustrations as they…bickered of late, even on removing the rather dated name of the Council. Which made meetings such as this, when more practical and necessary matters were being discussed, the long hours of debating nonsense before actual matters was somewhat grating to the Senator from Onderon.
"My fellow sentients" she began with as much icy calm as she could muster "We have other matters to discuss, such the situation on Kashyyk and our agreement to resolving it"
"Yes" the representative of the Trade Federation, Viceroy Sentepeth Findos complained with his tone "This supposed treaty does not go near far enough in meeting our demands! Why, I don't even see the need. We will soon take Kashyyk by military forces on site…"
"We've been on the verge of taking Kashyyk for over a year now Findos, yet we are no closer to actually taking more than a few inches every now and then…" Gume Saam replied condescendingly, representing the Techno Union motioning with a hand dramatically "Then it's a dozen Jedi charging at our forces and then we haven't gained anything. You and the Trade Federation are not getting control over wroshyr trees, nor are you getting Tradoshan hunting rights neither. Stop. Bringing. It. Up"
"I have brought up no such things as yet!" the Neimodian snarled back "And I am fighting for our rights! After all that we invested into these operations it is only right and proper that we be allowed to recoup our losses in an equitable manner!"
"We've all suffered losses. It's a war" the Techno Union Senator sneered back, the relationship between the two normally strong allies having continued to deteriorate as mutual interests of late had become mutual disagreement between members rights "One, in this particular situation, we need to bring to an end, because, as you've just noted, it is costing us dramatically with each passing day!"
"We have an offer on the table" the Muun, Lo Vapeet, of the InterGalactic Banking Clan interrupted "The IGBC believes it should be accepted"
"Of course, you do!" Findos huffed in agitation "You helped negotiate it and get all the benefits!"
"That is an unfair characterisation" Nank Tun, representing the Hyper-Communications Cartel disagreed in a quiet manner "Kashyyk being neutralised allows us to achieve this with minimal further costs, and enables the serious delays and hyper-comm disruptions through the that hyperlane to be ended"
Mina watched the representative from the Commerce Guild give that unpleasant smile of his. Personally, Mina loathed Iaco Stark, the man who'd started and then lost the Stark Hyperspace War, both for his personal politics, and for the worst aspects of the Commerce Guild he represented "Yes. Which can be more profitably by simply eliminating the Wookie and Jedi problem. If you haven't all noticed…we are winning this war. So let's just win it, and take what we need instead of this…"
The disgusting old man, a human like Mina, waved his hand condescendingly "Pansying around! We need to show them whose boss! However are we going to restore order to the outer rim if they think they can get away after us giving away so many concessions to the big furry kri…wookies"
He backed down at Mina's glare, along with that of several other members of the Council. Though not from their newest member, here by holographic avatar, and, for now, non-voting, the Bothan Borsk Orou'cya, the First Secretary of the Bothan Council "An interesting view my friend, and quite the factor to note as the advance against the Eriadu Authority Republic remnant I imagine. Though, here and now, I would suggest, as a currently non-voting member, that accept would be advisable to free up military forces as our colleague Findos so wisely noted a moment ago. After all, we Bothans are very eager to be properly and publicly granted our due on this august Council"
"Thank you First Secretary Orou'cya" Mina said politely, though her personally opinions were more mixed. The Bothans were no committed Separatists, even tolerable ones like the Trade Federation and the other groups that had come over at the start. No, the Bothans had switched sides as the Confederate Navy appeared on their borders, after fiercely resisting them, already after changing sides on the Republic factional chaos as seemed to benefit them best. Her military had backed up the welcoming them into the CIS wholeheartedly, and the Bothan Spynet had been a major help, but she could already see the tensions and troubles they brought as well. But she continued on to attempt to keep things moving, highlighting the draft text before everyone.
"As you see, we have a draft treaty between ourselves and the Kingdom of Kashyyk, formalising its independence from the Galactic Republic…" what was left of it "…and a peace treat with the Confederacy under the following conditions. Most beneficially for ourselves the right to conduct trade uninterrupted through Wookie space, access for our military forces to transit unimpeded through the hyperlanes, and restriction of all Jedi on Kashyyk to Kashyyk for the rest of their natural lives"
"I disagree with this Jedi business in the treaty greatly, they are war criminals" Iaco Stark stated bluntly, getting a nod of approval from Gume Saam, despite been an unhappy one, and slowly given "Yes, lock them up there, but this talk of rebuilding a temple there…of giving them Count Dooku's property!"
"Property that's driven several researchers insane and sent a half-dozen droids doing similar into berserk rages or simply having them breakdown" Sentepeth Findos offered, trying to be conciliatory now that the tide at the table was clearly against their position. Though, in part, Mina suspected it was the same unease she had about those things that she had "Better it's locked away on a backwater driving the wookies and Jedi insane, with the Jedi imprisoned down there…I'm fine with that if we can't just wipe them out. At the very least we can build them a very nice prison to stay in"
"And monitor too perhaps if the construction is managed correctly" the Bothan offered politely "Though I do see here that there is warning to be given prior to fleet movements through the system"
Mina nodded "One daily solar cycle of Kashyyk around its star. It's an acceptable delay period according to our military commanders. It also provide us a means to get quite a number of Republic prisoners off our hands, though I shall not put it as crudely as Admiral Toth did"
"It still sets a bad example" Stark muttered "The Commerce Guild votes against, but I can already see we are outvoted. So, fine, dump the clones and Jedi and other riff-raff on the wookies and let them suck up the costs of feeding and controlling them. Though I expect that similar considerations will be given in relation to our proposals with the Mon Calamari alliance!"
"It will be, as this Council has already agreed upon" Mina told him frostily, though in her opinion the situation there was radically different. But there were less to gain there, and the new Jedi-Sith-whatever group the Mon Calamari had found to lead their forces had managed to unite even the Quarren to their side now, away from the Confederacy's. Shorn of the Dac Independence Front…the cost of the war in those sectors was increasingly not worth the cost. Mina did not trust them though, but, like with Kashyyk, peace needed to be made for the survival of the Confederacy. Findos was correct that they were winning the war, had won it in truth, but now they badly needed to win the peace as they'd nearly done over a year ago now.
"But on the motion" she continued "I call for a vote to put it before Parliament"
"All in favour?" Only the hands of the Trade Federation and Commerce Guild did not rise, the holographic Bothan merely quietly nodding.
"All against?" and then it was reversed, so Mina gave a nod.
"Motion passes. It shall be brought before the Parliament for ratification at first opportunity and we shall confirm this to High Chief Tarfful and Grand Master Yoda of our provisional agreement through our negotiations"
"As long as the little monster and his band of terrorists stay on that world forever, I will be content" Gume Saam huffed "They have been nothing but a blight about decent sentients for my lifetime"
'No, they are good people….just gone wrong' Mina wanted to argue, having met many good Jedi, her son having even wanted to court one such Togruta Jedi padawan, and Mina's dear friend Padme had married one by all reports. But…such things had to be carefully set after all the massacres, the false surrenders, the attacks on Confederate leaders, and even the lunatics that had attacked Parliament itself. So, Mina said what she could say at least "It is a situation that will have to be dealt with, largely as Force User are things that appear naturally as Count Dooku showed. We shall have to establish some sort of system based on his efforts to ensure….ah, ensure that the next generation do not turn as mentally imbalanced, corrupt, or dishonourable as the Jedi became along with the Republic"
There were quiet nods of agreement at that from the table, even from Findos and Stark, and efforts were being made with a few Force Sensitive children, and two very young padawans, based on what little available to the Confederacy based on County Dooku's 'youth' teachings, and what was recorded publicly with his, now dead, Acolytes. In another crime of the dying Galactic Republic the Confederacy had been stripped of its best and brightest hopes in that particular field of expertise. Something that was sorely missed as the imploding Jedi Order caused chaos everywhere as their members went on mini-crusades, or established themselves was warlords. Like with this Shaak Ti and Lord Kallig on Dac, Yoda on Kashykk, Kenobi the fabled Negotiator and his band on Corellia, as well as the merciless so-called 'Moffs' Stormcrow and Kota in service to Tarkinist Republic. So many gone power mad…
'Let alone the Mandaloran problem' she thought, where dozens of Jedi had allied with the scum of the galaxy to continue bothering civilized sentients. All she could hope was that they could smash them up enough to force to peace despite their alliance with the rump military-controlled Republic on Coruscant, or, better yet, crush their forces and finally re-educate the Mandolarians into proper galactic citizens 'That is proving incredibly difficult to deal with. But once we force the other Republic remnants out of the war…'
"With that agreed…" came the interruption of the Bothan "…I would like to see the matter put forward by the Hutt Council for consideration? With that dealt with we can then get to my people's glorious ascension into the ranks of the freedom loving peoples of the Confederacy of Independent Systems"
--