Sereine spent the very last of the night sending messages to all the rest of her Senatorial clients, asking them what they thought of the Dooku testimony. She called for a quick huddle the next morning in the Alderaan pod, prior to the morning session of Congress.
Mothma, Iblis, Organa, and Palpatine all crowded in. Sereine sat, paging though the responses her current and former clients had written her.
Palpatine leaned over her shoulder, dark in a black velvet frock coat today. "What is all that?" he asked. Of course, the question was simply for show; she had conceived the idea curled up in his bed and he had watched her type the missives. Behind them, a muffled cacophony of whines, whirrs, and bangs accompanied construction that was taking place in the Alderaan holding office just beyond the pod gate.
Bail shook his head. "Don't know if this was the greatest place for this," he said. "I apologize to everyone for the noise. I left orders that this be postponed, and yet, here they are."
Tomal hurried in and sat next to Sereine. "I'm late," he said. "Sorry."
"Five minutes," Sereine said. "You didn't miss much. But, not a good day to be late, Tomal."
Across the chamber, Amedda and Valorum stood at the top of the Chancellor's podium, shuffling though some pre-session prep of their own. Valorum kept casting looks their way, and then the podium headed down again, disappearing through the giant metal whorl in the floor.
Sereine said, "I wondered what the flutter of disapproval we all felt was yesterday, so I just messaged every Senatorial client I've worked with and took an opinion poll."
"Interesting," said Bel Iblis. "And?"
At that moment, a flutter at the gate announced the sudden arrival of Finis Valorum, who let himself in and glanced around, evaluating the number of beings who might be about the chamber to notice his quick strategy session with his Gang of Four.
"Chancellor, good morning." Bail Organa gave him a short bow. "Sereine's just taken an informal opinion poll on our efforts yesterday. Specifically, those relating to Master Dooku."
"What my clients are saying," said Sereine, "is they're concerned for the image of the Jedi Order after what Master Dooku has done. They think this will do a lot of damage to the Order in the eyes of the public, that they won't be trusted nearly as well as they have been. And these are Senators who work with Jedi at least somewhat closely, and think they'll be more tarnished than they deserve."
She looked up and saw Palpatine, still leaning over her shoulder, smiling oddly, as if he were amused and trying to hold his smile back. She frowned at him.
"Not exactly what I intended," said Valorum, and Sereine remembered that he lunched with Master Yoda every week. Well, this week's lunch was sure to be … interesting.
Valorum glanced about at his four Senators. "Do we think this will sway the vote in any way we didn't intend?"
"If you look at the news coverage for the lay public, it's very anti-slavery and much on our side," said Mothma. "Although—" and she cast a disapproving eye on Palpatine. "I know you didn't plan the ending of your speech yesterday—at least, it didn't appear that you did—but the focus on that could get counterproductive."
Sereine stepped to her Palpatine's defense. "Mon, we didn't plan that. We did talk it over with Finis, and we knew there'd be a fine, but we didn't expect Amedda to talk over Sheev that way."
"It was unprofessional of me, and I apologize," said Palpatine. "In fact, I need to express that to Amedda in person sometime today. I didn't intend things to get that colorful. I was annoyed, I just … And it could work against us, but it could also work for us. I'll simply have to rely on my consultant here to show me how good she is."
He smiled down at Sereine, and she smiled back. "I've got it, Mon Ane," she said, turning to meet Mothma's gaze. "Don't worry."
"My question is, do I or do I not call Master Jinn?" said Bail. "Is it going to hurt us or help us?"
"Maybe if we're careful how we tilt it," said Sereine.
"Yes," said Valorum. "Depending on what you ask him and in what order, he could provide a balancing hand. 'Yes, the Jedi are honorable and trustworthy beings, but in this instance, they've been following our lead, which we now intend to correct.'"
Bail Organa narrowed his eyes. "I see," he said. "Sort of like …" he whipped out his datapad and typed out a series of questions, then passed them about to everyone.
"Yes," said Valorum. "Exactly what I was thinking."
"I like these," said Mothma.
"Should satisfy both sides of the equation," said Bel Iblis.
"I couldn't come up with better," said Sereine.
Palpatine glanced at the pad, frowned, then nodded.
"Then it's settled," said Bail. He checked the time, then said, "We start in forty-five minutes. I need to comm him and let him know." A particularly loud whine from a drill blared over his words and he added, "It shouldn't be here."
He walked out with his datapad, comming Master Jinn, Sereine suspected, from the hallway. Palpatine sat down on Sereine's free side, and a moment later, Bail was back. He seated himself on Palpatine's other side, turned to him, and said, "I wonder if you would like to close today."
Palpatine was genuinely surprised; Sereine felt him start as if Bail had stuck him with a pin. "I'm sorry, what?" he said.
Bail glanced around at all assembled. "I wondered if you would like to close," he said. Sereine turned and glanced at all the faces. Mon Ane frowned, but Bel Iblis wore a pleased expression and Valorum nodded.
"I—but everyone else has had a sizable part," said Palpatine. "It's your turn." Again, Sereine was proud of him. Two years ago, he would have arrogantly accepted and put off everyone in the pod.
Bail's forehead creased in thought and he glanced at Sereine, and she realized he was thinking of the difficulties Palpatine had had with the speech that she had told him about yesterday. She gave Bail a little headshake in the negative.
"But your oration yesterday was so far over the level we usually see here," said Bail. "We need every edge. And after last night, you're the face of this bill. I think we need to put our best speaker on it, and that's you. You've earned it."
Palpatine stared down into his lap. He'd read the speech she'd written for Bail; they all had. "Sheev," Sereine murmured. "Don't do it if you haven't got it."
Palpatine turned ice blue eyes her way. "Oh, I've got it," he said.
A tall shadow darkened the gate, and Master Qui-Gon Jinn let himself into the Alderaan pod. Bail got up. "Master Jinn," he said. "I sketched out a series of topics I wanted to show you before the session begins." Then he looked down at Palpatine, and glanced around at everyone else. "Are we settled, then?"
"I think we are." Valorum looked down at Palpatine. "Senator Palpatine?"
Palpatine nodded once. "Yes."
"All right," said Valorum. "I need to get our day started. Godspeed, everyone."
A chorus of, "Chancellor," arose, and Valorum, Mothma, and Bel Iblis filed out of the pod.
Sereine queued up her closing speech for Bail on her datapad and stood up. "Tomal, we need the white speaking robe, the yellow stole, and the silver and gold braid, and I know those are in Palpatine's office, but I don't know where the boots are. I also don't know how long Master Jinn will speak. I know Padawan Secura won't take that long. I definitely don't want him speaking in this black. And bring me my prep case, I left that behind in the office, too. Bring all that to the Naboo holding area and we'll meet you there."
Tomal got up, and Sereine said, "You'd better run."
Tomal sprinted. She handed her datapad to Palpatine, and he looked up at her and said, "Quick run-through?" He got up, and they walked through the pod gate into a din of construction noise and a flurry of maintenance droids. A look of consternation crossed Palpatine's face.
Sereine pointed. "Hallway," she said.
They walked out into a space that was much quieter and cooler, and Palpatine scrolled through the speech and tried a few phrases. He scrolled some more and stopped. "I remember the one you wrote me was more dynamic than this. Less … flat." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you still have it?" He handed her back her datapad.
"I think I do," said Sereine. She paged about for a few minutes, then: "I do have it! Here it is."
"I haven't looked at this in …" Palpatine's forehead creased. "I wonder if it may need some surgery, after yesterday."
"I haven't looked at it in two weeks, either," said Sereine. "Give me one full reading, and we'll see." Excitement shot through her and her fingertips tingled. This was what she had wanted all along, and although they were getting it on very short notice, the wave of yesterday's success propelled them like the wind in sails. If anyone could nail this with maybe an hour of work, she was with the client who could do it, and the way he looked at her told her he was on his mettle.
Palpatine paced back and forth along the wall, and gave her a somewhat halting readthrough. "Sereine, here is a terrible tongue-twister. I don't need that this morning; fix it," he complained, and handed it to her. He pointed out a line, and she had to laugh at it. As she set to work, a couple of journos, a Rodian and a Twi'lek, wearing press passes, stopped at the end of the corridor.
"We've lucked out."
"There he is!"
"Oh, no," Palpatine murmured. She handed him back the datapad and he tried the line again, twice. "Much better."
The journos approached and took several holos. Sereine did not mind the holos, but she didn't want anyone hearing the speech until Palpatine gave it. He ran her a few more lines and she stopped him.
"Holos are fine, but you gentlebeings are going to have to step back now and let the master work." Palpatine smiled broadly at that. Sereine spread her arms and herded the journos back up the corridor several meters.
"Does this mean Senator Palpatine will be speaking this morning instead of Senator Organa?"
Sereine turned to him. "What do you think, Sheev?"
"I think we need some work here at the end, but yes."
Sereine smiled at the journos. "So there you have it," she said.
Palpatine resumed his pacing, trying out various readings of certain lines, and the journos got a few more holos and rushed off to report their scoop.
"I think we just guaranteed ourselves a hefty audience for Congressional Holochannel this morning," said Palpatine.
"Exactly what we needed to do," said Sereine.
Palpatine turned to face her. "All right, what?" he said.
"Well … hand gestures are out. I think we need top volume at the end, we need some big gestures and some drama."
The Naboo pod hovered in the air before the Supreme Chancellor's podium, holding steady in deference to the fines and censures levied on its occupant yesterday. Five yellow holocams focused on Palpatine, a hopeful sign, because the number of holocams in operation correlated with requests by news organizations for coverage.
"… an economy that cannot operate without the forced, uncompensated labor of others deserves to fail!" Palpatine was saying, in his sharp tremolo that snapped across the Rotunda like the crack of a whip.
"If we listen to their cries of economic woe; if we, the great Galactic Republic, allow these rapscallions to dictate policy, we will reap horrific consequences in the future. Because those who amass untold fortunes from the enforced labor and misery of others—" Palpatine raised an arm, pointing a finger to the skies— "We must understand, those who will make their fortunes as slavers will do anything." His white robe furled dramatically around him.
"Who knows to what depravity they may stoop? In the future, unthinkable consequences may occur, consequences no one—and yet, anyone—should be able to see on our horizon. It only takes one conscienceless individual to exploit this socially sanctioned deviance, and should that ever occur, who knows to what hell it may take us?"
Interesting paragraph. Palpatine had typed in something new at the last moment; this, apparently.
"Of the utmost importance is that all our people, regardless of race, creed, or station, live simply in freedom." Palpatine's voice softened abruptly after that whiplike tenor, and Sereine, checking his feed on her screen, savored the compassionate expression that touched his eyes.
No one could go to sleep listening to Palpatine; that much was sure.
"No individual should own another, and now is the time for the intolerable cruelty of slavery to be forever extinguished from the Republic." He lifted his chin, and his eyes blazed.
"We all know we should have done this centuries ago!" he shouted, with another sweeping gesture of his arm. "Esteemed colleagues … stand with me and end this injustice now!" He ended with both arms dramatically outstretched, in a pure, musical vibrato that soared across the Rotunda, commanding obedience.
Applause rose around him and Palpatine stepped back from the lectern. When he could once again be heard, he said, "Supreme Chancellor, delegates of the Senate … citizens of the Republic. I thank you for your time today, and I thank my esteemed colleagues for their support." He ended with a graceful half bow, and applause that hurt Sereine's ears.
After a long pause, he touched the controls and the Naboo pod floated backwards and docked. Palpatine sat down next to her and cast Sereine a sidelong glance and a subtle smile. "Well?" he murmured, mindful of the two holocams that had followed them.
Sereine could not scream; she couldn't leap up and hug him. Instead, she raised her chin and met his eyes, hoping hers said everything she could not say in front of the cameras.
"Zoragarria, Senator Palpatine," she said.