"So," Qui-Gon Jinn said, with a disarming smile. "Viceroy. I'd ask you to sit, but it's your table."
"Thank you," Nute Gunray said, somewhat nervously. "I… yes."
"Is something wrong?" Obi-Wan asked.
"No," Nute replied, quickly. "I wanted to… yes."
He adjusted his clothes, needlessly.
"Now, Viceroy," Qui-Gon went on. "If you'd like to state your opening position on the negotiations?"
"We object in the strongest possible terms to proposition 31-814D," Nute said, seeming to recover his aplomb slightly. "The Free Trade Zones should not be liable to taxation – that is why they are called Free Trade Zones."
"That's not actually the reason," Obi-Wan supplied. "The 'free' term refers to the fact that there are no differential tariffs applied. A five percent tax on all profits garnered within a Free Trade Zone, for example, would not violate the principle of the Free Trade Zone."
He smiled. "Otherwise, after all, the term 'free' could equally be taken to mean that all trade in the Free Trade Zones should be carried at cost – or for no charge at all."
Nute and Rune both winced.
"However," Obi-Wan went on. "It would presumably be a reasonable alternative resolution for the Free Trade Zones to be confirmed as tax-free… for all carriers. There have been alarming reports of non-Trade-Federation-affiliated trade carriers facing heavy tariffs, meaning that there is a general sense that the Free Trade Zones are only free for the Trade Federation and their corporate partners… which is what has led to the proposition, as it's seen as restoring fairness."
Obi-Wan shrugged. "I'm sure that, between these factors, we can find out a resolution fair to all parties."
"What I'm curious about, though, is why you're blockading Naboo," Qui-Gon went on, with a smile for Obi-Wan. "I'm aware that Senator Palpatine of Naboo is a prominent supporter of the legislation, but he's hardly the only one, and his constituents are hardly likely to punish him for an anti-Trade-Federation position if the Trade Federation has just ruined their name in the Chommell Sector."
Nute frowned.
"I hadn't thought of that," he admitted, then paused.
A frown creased his brow, then he put his hands on the table.
"It's too much," he said. "The only thing I can do is back down."
"From the blockade?" Obi-Wan asked, curiously.
"From the plan," Nute said. "The… the plan was to invade Naboo! To raise pressure! But – but Darth Sidious didn't warn us there would be Jedi Knights!"
His hands clenched and unclenched. "I couldn't do it with you on board, and – and to kill Jedi? Even if it could be done, it would be a disaster! The Jedi have lasted a thousand years as the guardians of peace and I know I'm not the first to think about trying to-"
He broke off, and the two Jedi exchanged glances.
"You were planning with someone called Darth Sidious?" Qui-Gon asked, carefully. "You're sure of that?"
"Yes," Nute confirmed. "He said he was a Sith…"
"We have recordings of our last few conversations," Rune added. "And his com codes… I'm fairly sure he's closely associated with the Senate, he said that by the time our private army had to be used then using it would be legal."
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon exchanged glances.
"...com codes?" Qui-Gon repeated.
"I wonder where this is going," Obi-Wan said.
Then he glanced at Nute and Rune. "Thank you both for coming forwards with this information… it's certainly going to be better for you than if you hadn't, though the exact details are going to depend on the specifics…"
Palpatine tapped his foot on the floor of the Naboo senate box as a banal debate about procedure continued, endlessly.
When was that delegation going to reach Naboo? He needed to push events to the next critical juncture – if he was going to become Chancellor, then it wasn't enough to be just one of a number of anti-Trade-Federation voices. He needed Naboo to be a martyr that would push him into the top seat.
Worse, there had been a strange feeling in the Force recently. It might just mean that Maul was already planning to kill him… the young Sith was a blunt instrument, really, but a useful one, and it would take Palpatine years to replace him.
Unless he could properly turn Dooku, that was. There was real possibility there.
His comlink chirped, and Palpatine glanced down at it.
A call from Nute. Of course.
He refused the call, then a moment later the comlink began chirping again.
"Is something wrong?" asked the Senator on the next pod over.
"Probably not, but I'd better check," Palpatine replied, making sure to set the comlink to voice only before answering.
"I am busy," he hissed.
There was a moment of silence, and Palpatine frowned at the comlink before putting it to his ear.
It sounded very faintly like someone had just said 'now'.
"THIS COMLINK BELONGS TO A SIIIIIIIIITH!" suddenly exploded out of the speaker, loud enough to echo off the far walls, instantly silencing the debate and drawing every eye. Palpatine flinched, the comlink clattering to the floor of the box, and it kept wailing. "HIS NAME'S DARTH SIDIOUS AND HE ENCOURAGED THE TRADE FEDERATION BLOCKADE! HE MIGHT BE A SENATOR OR AN AIDE BUT THE JEDI SHOULD ARREST HIM EITHER-"
Palpatine finally managed to stamp on the comlink, smashing it to pieces with a snarl on his face, then looked up.
Every single eye in the Senate was fixed on him.
"...prank call?" he tried, but even to him it didn't sound convincing.
AN:
Really the whole plan could have fallen apart in the opening minute or two of Episode One, since it relies on believing that you will get away with betraying or killing two Jedi – when the other Jedi know where they went and who they are meeting.
So.