Senate: The Corellian Problem (open to Senators, Jedi liason, and Lion)

[Senator Thareena]

"Thank you for your time, Madame Solo." Thareena inclined her head respectfully as she rejoined her aides in the anteroom of the Chief of State's suite. She'd brought three with her: two male interns and her assistant Toni Blair. A single bodyguard remained outside of the suite of offices, waiting for her entourage to exit.

Toni raised her eyebrows as she gathered the interns and joined Thareena by the ornate double doors that led to the wide passageway outside. Light from the setting sun lit up the room brilliantly, and Thareena found herself squinting in the glare. She counted herself lucky to have a window in her private office, but here in the Chief of State's anteroom one entire wall was a huge transparisteel window. Most likely many of her assistants and aides also had breathtaking panoramas visable from their offices.

Thareena silenced Toni with a look, and led her entourage out into the hallway. The ceilings were vaulted, and the passage was lined with exotic trees, but she paid them little attention as she walked towards the turbolifts.

Organa Solo, her grayish white hair done up in an exotic hairstyle as was the wont of Alderaanian women, was sitting behind her desk looking very understanding. "Please, Senator, let me against extend my condolances for the loss of life on Chandrila this past month."

Thareena refused to press her back against the inside of the 'lift, although she desperately felt like sagging against the wall. One of her interns pressed the button for their floor, and the 'lift went noiselessly downward.

Fa'un sat gracefully on the edge of the chair in the sitting area of the Chief of State's office, but realized that she would never match the smooth assurance of the older woman. "To tell you the truth, Madame Chief of State, I have been watching the Corellian system for about a year now, wondering what goes on there. We have virtually no reconnasaince data from the core of the system... and although I've investigated I've heard precious little from the beings who do travel in and out of the system. Commerce continues, but who is profiting from Corellia's assets?" Thareena rubbed her forehead with her fingertips, as though trying to rid herself of a headache.

Organa Solo shifted in her seat, adjusting her weight to rest on a different elbow. "To hear first hand from this new political leader, who I agree must be little more than a figurehead, does shed an entirely different light on the region. And to have confirmation that this Sith Order is using a core system as a base of operations... Yes, I can see why you are so concerned. Why we should all be concerned."

The 'lift doors opened, and Thareena exited, her entourage trailing along behind her. She'd taken to traveling with a bodyguard wherever she went. Some called it prudent, and others, paranoia. She wasn't worried that the Sith Order might attack her... or was she?

When she was safely esconced behind the doors of her private office, Thareena sat behind her desk, and arranged datapads for a few moments to calm her thoughts. She pressed the intercomm, and spoke to Toni at her desk. "Please arrange for me to visit with the Durosian senator sometime in the next week."

[Alexi Hesith]

The Senate is not the exclusive haunt of Senators and their staffs. Its corridors teem with lobbyists, corporate representatives, lawyers and journalists.

The journalists are tolerated because they help oil the machinery of the state. It is universally accepted that if you want to get something done it is best to find a discreet journalist to whom you can leak with impunity. In exchange for leads on stories these journalists do not attribute their information and never reveal the source. It is a nice working relationship.

One of these journalists, Verik Col'tin, was sitting in one of the bars nursing a drink. The Devorean was having a bad week. His editor had just pulled a story because its subject- a Senator sitting on the Education Committee- was an old university friend. These things were supposed to happen to other people...

[James Prent]

James Prent, Jedi Knight of the Greater Jedi Order, was sitting down to a drink at the same bar. Hers was non-alchoholic, and she did not feel quite as dejected as Verik Col'tin. She gave the Devorian a friendly smile as she retrieved her glass from the bartender and retreated to a nearby table.

She was in the Senate building because Master D'an had arranged for her to sit in a few meetings with master diplomats, working on bringing more systems into the Republic. They'd been informative, and she had taken copious amounts of notes. However, all of those thoughts were left behind when she overheard the people at the next table.

"Well, I heard that the Chief of State is very concerned about this Corellian problem. I mean, who the frack knows what's going on in there, anyway?" The man was human and non-descript. His partner at his table, sipping a foamy beer nodded enthusiastically.

"I agree one-hundred percent with her concerns. Honestly, we should have gotten a handle on these rogue Force users long ago. That guy Taro Idol -"

"Paranoia at it's best," retorted the other man.

The beer drinker nodded, but added, "Granted, the guy's a nutcase. But he's a constituent, and the Senators have to, at some point, pay attention to him. Mine sent me all over Coruscant listening to his meetings, and I'll tell you what, this guy knows his stuff. And now with this concern coming from the head office about Force users from Corellia..."

James had heard enough. She left her drink on the table, paid her tab, and left.

[Alexi Hesith]

Verik's ears, however, looked up from his drink. He had heard the words but it took a moment for his mind to register them.

Correllia?

He looked across the room at the speakers. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he recognised one of them from somewhere. An aide he sometimes saw in the corridors. He sensed a story here.

Verik stood, a familliar tingling in his body. He scooped up his glass, downing the remainder of the drink in one, and walked out.

At the table one of the men asked the other, "Is he gone?"

"Yep," replied his companion.

"Good let's report back to the Senator," they, too, rose and walked out of the bar. "Tarro Idol, nice touch but you can't be serious?" remarked the man to his beer drinking friend.

"Actually, I am..."

[Alexi Hesith]

The story appeared two days later in the quality newspad Courscant Post


The latest in a series of crises could be about to break upon the New Republic. (Writes Verik Col'tin our Principal Political Correspondent).

The recent attacks on Bestine IV and Chandrilla have proven difficult enough for the government to weather. This latest problem looks set to be just as difficult, if not worse.

More alarmingly it is related to the latter of the crises already mentioned. And according to sources this is not simply a vague connection.

"This really all ties in with the horrible events on Chandrilla," explained one senior official.

As our readers will be aware from last months coverage of the attack on Chandrilla, a man armed with a lightsaber wrecked havock killing many innocent civillians. The incident is under investigation by members of the secuirty services and, according to one source, the Jedi Order.

This investigation appears to have turned up information linking the attack on Chandrilla to a shadowy group of Force-users based in Corellian space. As has been well documented this region is believed to be under the control of individuals claiming to be the Sith Order. If the connection is indeed there, and these claims are true, it is cause for concern for all citizens.

It seems to be a concern shared by many in government, including the Chief of State herself, who has been meeting with Senators and top members of her administration regarding this very matter. She has expressed her concern to these people.

This is likely to become a major issue in the coming session of the Senate. This reporter expects it to be a contentious one.

[Senator Thareena]

Thareena threw down the newspad, and rubbed her forehead. All was going well, but her headaches were getting worse. She wasn't stressed out, exactly, but she did feel the unconscious pressure from Vide...

No, she wouldn't even think about that woman.

Fa'un had just returned to her apartment from a long day in the senate offices. Her meeting with the Durosian senator, Tik'la Ganta, had been today. The closest NR system to Corellia, Duros was indeed the ally that she'd expected to find.

What she hadn't expected was an admittance that the largest space station orbiting the ruined world of Duros had itself been subject to a Force user attack in the last month.

The translator droid spoke nearly on top of the Senator's words. "Thank the gods that there were some Jedi there to help drive off the dark ones. Some even told officials that there was one who looked like the Dark Lord himself - Darth Vader." Tik'la Ganta made a faint religious gesture in the air with one hand. "The station suffered structural damage in it's main shopping center... We've been through an intensive investigation, and the Jedi who were there have told us that they are almost positive that the ship that brought the Sith came from the Corellian system." Again the religious gesture. "Gods preserve us, the Council had the investigation halted. They assume that what we don't know may not hurt us... but if we pry too deep we will bring ruin on us all."

Thareena smiled a little as she thought about how easy it had been to assure Tik'la that the Chief of State shared her concerns about Corellia, and that Duros would surely not be alone in their opressions. With a little digging Thareena had uncovered several instances of Force users running amuck on Coruscant itself, all in the last two months.

She'd heard rumors that others had done their own research, and that there was a growing rumble against letting these powerful beings simply go wherever and do whatever they wanted. As long as Corellia was taken care of... Fa'un didn't care what else happened.

[Alexi Hesith]

"I must admit, Jocasta, I am surprised to be invited to dinner," said Alexi Hesith in Cantatii, a restraunt in the Legislative Borough.

Opposite him Jocasta Malar, Senator from Anobis, smiled into her wine glass, "Really, Alexi, have I neglected you so badly?"

"As a matter of fact you have," the grey haired Senator responded, "Especially my legislative ambitions."

"I have no idea what you mean," said Malar without a trace of acknowledgement.

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Jocasta. That proposal I brought for the Jedi..."

"Oh that, we are still discussing it," she signalled the waiter. The quadruped was of a species with which Hesith had no familiarity. "The cheque please."

"Well if you are discussing it why hasn't there been any movement?" asked Hesith bluntly.

"Because something else comes up that has higher priority. You only have thirty sponsors. We get proposals with three time that many every month."

"My seniority can give me priority you know. Don't make me fall back on it."

"Now, now," the cheque arrived and Malar signed it, "let's not be hasty."

"I am not being hasty. The Jedi are getting anxious." Hesith pulled out his wallet and threw a few credits on top of the bill as a tip. "Can't you get the chairman to do something about it?"

"Possibly," they rose and walked to the door, "but I don't think that will be necessary. Looks like public pressure will push him forward. Finding force-users seems to be a hot issue these days."

"Well make sure it gets done," said Hesith donning his coat, "After all it is taking my attention away from other business. By the way," he added in a just-to-change-the subject tone, "how is your defence force?"

"Small and under funded," she paused at the door. A deal was on the table. "I'll see what I can do about it." Done

"Good. So will I." Done!

And with that they stepped out into the night.

[Senator Thareena]

09:00, Coruscant Standard Time

Fa'un Thareena took her seat in her booth, nodding to the Rylothian delegation as they regarded her from their adjacent booth. There was... almost an electric feeling about the Chambers today.

Perhaps it was just her. Gooseflesh pimpled her skin as she thought about all that had gone on in the last two weeks. It was exhilirating. Senator Ganta from Duros had not been in contact with her since their casual meeting more than a week previously, but Thareena's office had done some delicate digging and discovered that she'd been in closed door meetings with some of the leaders of the Durosian government. Possibly convincing them that now was not the time to hide under the bed and hope that the Corellian system would simply disappear.

Fa'un pulled out her discretely small binocs, and saw that the Jedi liason's booth was still empty, and the Gall delegation had also yet to arrive.

Today would be a day that history would remember.

[Lion El' Jonson]

09:15, Coruscant Standard Time

Lion entered his booth and took a seat. Three members of his staff, Vice Admiral Inoue, Rear Admiral Aina, and Rear Admiral Kersh, followed him. Agents Cypher and Rayne, of New Republic Intelligence, came last. In the confusion of finding seats for everybody, Lion took the opportunity to look around at the assembled Senate. A small flag, bearing the New Republic Naval Crest, signified that this booth held the New Republic Fleet Command Liason. Another booth to his left held General Kitts, the New Republic Army Liason.

To be truthful, Lion had no idea why he was here. Just before he'd departed the Avatar this morning, a report had come in that the Mon Dela had collided with a passenger liner above Sif'Kreet. Probably worse, the Kroctarian Government had announced that it was no longer willing to allow the Sector Fleet to base itself above their Capital Planet, as it was "damaging their delicate Tourist trade". He'd been tempted to shrug off this meeting, but he was the Navy's Liason, and rumors had it that something big was afoot.

Lion turned to the computer screen to his left and called up a list of Senators-in-Attendence. Nearly every delegation had arrived already.

[Alexi Hesith]

The Gall delegation was amongst the last to arrive. Alexi Hesith took seriously his dual role of representing the Government and the People of Gall. As a result he had spent the last hour talking with various members of the government, including the President, to agree on the position they would take.

He entered the booth, adies and bodyguards in tow. Glancing around the Chamber he noted that almost everyone had arrived. Speaker Loorst, who would preside over the debate, was already in his place. It would not be long now.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion noticed the Gall delegation arrive, just as C-9PO returned with a tray of drinks. Lion took a glass of water and set it on the small table to his right. He turned back to the computer and, just in the interest of passing time, called up a force listing for Coruscant. He shook his head in amazement. Over 30 Mon Calamari Cruisers and their supporting vessels permanently assigned to defend the planet, there was also the entirety of Lion's 2nd Fleet, as well as 8 Golan IV's, over 300 planetary turbolasers and ion cannons, and well over 3,000,000 regular troops shacked up in barracks all over the planet. With the local police forces, that made...well, nobody would be invading Coruscant any time soon.

It was a little strange, to tell the truth, Just 50 years ago, the Rebel Alliance had maintained nothing but Corellian Corvettes and snubfighters, led by charismatic figures like Mon Mothma and General Jan Dodonna. They had been reduced to living on backwater planets, just attempting to avoid the might of the Imperial Navy. Now, the New Republic functioned with a full Senate. The New Republic Navy spanned the galaxy as the Imperial Fleet used to, although their presence was usually welcomed, not feared. Hundreds of thousands of planets had flocked to the New Republic's banner.

Lion noticed Speaker Loorst looking around the Senate Chambers. He appeared to be ready to begin the Debate. Lion nudged his staff members to get them to quiet down, blanked his computer screen, and then turned his attention back to the Speaker. Everything appeared to be in place.

[Senator Thareena]

Thareena frowned lightly as her aide leaned towards her to indicate that the Jedi still had not arrived. Perhaps they'd caught wind of Alexi's bill being brought to the surface again, and were sitting out in protest. Still, it seemed unusual.

There were a few minutes left before the session was scheduled to start, so she took a glass of water that had been offered to her, and sipped as she waited.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan hurried through the Senate corridors, garnering suprised looks from wandering general staff. His traditional Jedi robe streamed behind him.

The Jedi had attempted for a Senate landing pad, but the operators were being absolutely obstinate, and didn't care that the Z-95 Headhunter he had stuffed himself into was collectively older than everyone involved in the decision proccess. Morgan had broken sixty-three traffic laws in his airspeeder in the two kilometers between the Jedi Temple and the Senate Chambers. He was also double parked.

Figrin had gone missing as of a few weeks ago. Something important was happening, but Morgan didn't know if the two events were related. In regards to Senate relations, he came behind D'an. Behind himself, Dasquian, Morgan supposed. This was something to bring up after this mysterious Senate meeting.

The Jedi Master stretched to his full two meters as the door guards ran his identification, which took fifteen seconds instead of the prescribed thirty. Jedi Masters were behind the top military brass and in front of the Senators. Figrin and Morgan never mentioned that fact to the Senate.

With a minute left before the session started, Morgan stepped onto the platform reserved for the Jedi and waited for the hammer to drop.

[Alexi Hesith]

(OOC: Is this alright Tahreena?)

The gavel sounded as Speaker Loorst brought the Senate to order.

"The Senate is hereby called to order. Our first order of business is the report of the Welfare Committee. Senator Bas of Bimmisari is called to present the report."

The deminuitive yellow clad senator rose to address the Senate. In a sing song voice he read off the items being considered by the Committee and their progress through the Committee Stage. Then she came to the section dealing with legislation to be brought before the Chamber.

"...the Committee has voted to present the following Bills for their second reading: SM 18-423 (to allocate welfare grants), SM 18-436 (to classify eight new substances as illegal), SM 18-112 (to establish a force awareness testing programne). That concludes the Report of the Welfare Committee. Thank you Mr. Speaker."

Alexi Hesith noted with a smile the last item on the list. His bill had been brought forward, just as Malar had promised. He hmust make sure to come through on his part of the deal.

"The Clerk will allocate time to the consideration of these items in accordance with the Rules of the Senate. As there is no Old Business pending, we will move from Report to New Business." Loorst intoned in his usual business like voice.

He was determined to keep the Senate on track today. Eight items were due for discussion so he needed business to be transacted promptly. Otherwise they would have to pull an all night sitting again. He hated those.

"The first item on the agenda is the motion of Senator Ganata of Duros. Senator."

[Senator Thareena]

All eyes turned to the booth of the Durosian delegation as it floated out to the center of the room. "Thank you, Speaker Loorst." Thareena adjusted the earpiece which fed her the translation of Senator Ganta's words.

The diminutive Duros female, unusually short for her race of tall beings, spread her hands and gestured while she talked. She seemed nervous as she laid the groundwork introducing the motion and skimming across it's true purpose. It proposed an allocation of ships be diverted from the altercation in the Bestine system, and instead sent to - eyebrows raised when they looked at their copies of the motion and read Corellian System.

And now for the explaination. "This senator is sure you are all aware of the recent attacks on the planet of Chandrila, in which hundreds of people died by the hands of a self-proclaimed Sith lord. Investigations have proven that he has been sheltered by the puppet government of Corellia. This same government has been constructed and made public all for the reason of blinding the New Republic to Corellia's true nature - that of terror, and evil.

"The Sith Order calls Corellia home, and evidence points to this Order being the true government of this Core system. One standard month ago, Duros was also subjected to an attack based from Corellia. The dragon is at the very door, Senators, and we do not even have solid intelligence from the system!" Tik'la went on to describe how her motion could solve the problems in on fell swoop, and Thareena tuned out for a moment, reveling in her triumph.

She caught a glimpse of Hesith through her binocs, and amended her thought. Thanks to you, Alexi. But she didn't want Tik'la to be written off as one who was too close to the problem to be taken seriously. Time dragged on, and the Speaker opened the floor up for discussion.

An alien senator stood to speak, expressing his astonishment. "I find it horrifying that we have done so little in the past to keep track of this system, and agree with the Senator from Duros that we have left well-enough-alone for far too long already."

[Alexi Hesith]

I concur with the sentiment expressed by my honourable colleagues, chirped the translation of an avian Senator from the Mid-Rim, but surely the Imperial threat must be our first concern. Let us divert forces from elsewhere, rather than weaken our forces at that most vital of fronts at Bestine.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion's booth floated forward, and Speaker Loorst gave him the go-ahead to speak.

"Indeed, I must agree with the statement made by the previous Senator. Although the Imperial threat is indeed grave, we must not allow our attention to be devoted from Bestine. Furthermore, although we are more than capable of launching an attack upon Corellia despite the Bestine campaign, we have very little intelligence on the system. A stealth corvette obtained energy readings four days ago that indicate the presence of Centurion-class Star Destroyers, a new class of vessel that we are ill-suited to combat until the Mediator-class Battlecruisers becomes more prevalent in the fleet."

Lion paused and called up an Order of Battle for his Fleet, the 2nd, which quickly flashed up on everybody else's screens. "As you can see, my fleet alone comprises over 100 ships, and maintains several vessels of the Mediator-class, as well as one of the Viscount-class Battleships. We could easily overcome anything in orbit of Corellia, but the time period with which we could hold open a breach in the planet's defenses would be short indeed. We would need to deploy at least 4 full armies, just for the initial phase of the ground invasion...the equivalent of over 1,000,000 troops and their attendent support vehicles. Furthermore, I believe that popular opinion would be against starting a war on two fronts; it may conjure up memories of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion several years ago. Furthermore, if Corellia truly is the command center for the Sith Order, it will require a massive, coordinated deployment of the Jedi Order, New Republic Intelligence, the Inquisition, the Grey Knights, and the Sector Rangers in order to prevent the Sith from slipping through our fingers."

He sat down. "Therefore, it is my recommendation that we focus our attention on the Bestine crisis for the immediate future, and worry about Corellia when we can bring our full strength to bear against it. In the meantime, I will instruct New Republic Intelligence to coordinate with Starfighter Command about stepping up reconaissance flights and insertions into Corellian territory, to assess the feasability of an invasion in the future."

Lion nodded at Speaker Loorst, and his booth began sweeping backwards towards its recess in the wall. Somebody across the room immediately leapt up to speak.

[Alexi Hesith]

"Military considerations are all well and good," barked a rather strident female Senator from the Colonies, "but we could be dealing with Dark Jedi here! The military cannot speak to that nor deal with it."

Another Senator, a Damala, rose to address the Chamber, "This is a forum for reasoned discussion, not for fairy tales, Senator. Let us concern ourselves with facts."

This caused panadmonium of the sort that one sees only in legislative assemblies and a school yard argument. Accusations began to fly thick and fast as those who believed the the rumours about the Sith and those who did not squared up to each other.

In the Speaker's tower, Loorst clamped a hand over his eyes and reached for the audio cut off. The voices dropped to an indistinct and distant noise, and then died altogether as the delegates realised that their opponents could not hear them.

"We shall have order here!" roared the Speaker, "If the Chamber does not debate in a civilised manner I shall adjourn."

It did not matter that everyone present knew Loorst never adjourned the a session except in the event of fire or similar catastrophe. He was not going to reactivate the sound system until he had the Senators in line. And that did matter. The Senators acquiessed and sat back down.

"Senator Malar, you stand recognised. Speak please."

"Mr. Speaker, might we not ask the Jedi Liason for his opinion?"

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan stood taller than most beings present. He was physically imposing, but it was less noticable at distance. What was noticable was that he was alone. After reading the bill, he forced himself to remain composed.

"Corellia is a tightly monitored police state controlled by a group of Dark Jedi and Sith that call themselves The Sith Order. I was on Corellia for the better part of a year trying to convert one of their Dark Masters, who has since gone reclusive. As a group, they're factionalized to a degree, with some content to sit atop Corellia and others who want to extend the sphere of influence. Intelligence is extrodinarily difficult to conduct because passenger and freight manifests are scrutinized several times. Resistance is squelched with Force presience. Those who would rise against them dissapear. The Sith Order trades exclusively with Imperial states, and Corellia is self sustaining, mostly."

"Aside from personal details, I'm sure most of you have been briefed with the above."

"I'm not overly familiar with our military's state, but I think the Command should be allowed to do it's job. We don't look at the same information the way they do. Corellia is a problem. I defer to Command's judgement."

[Senator Thareena]

Thareena afforded herself a tight lipped smile at the confirmation that the Jedi master afforded her. Of course, it would have been simpler if the Jedi Order had independently confirmed this months ago, but she had been able to work with that she had. She only hoped that Vide -

No, don't think her name. She focused on the current speaker, a Barabel of great size who was basically pledging that the Barabel would vote with the Jedi Order, no matter what. Of course, the Jedi had cannily not given an opinion, Thareena swallowed hard, and signaled the Chair at the end of the Barabel's speech.

"The Chair recognizes Senator Thareena of Chandrila. Senator?"

She stood, smoothing out her white robes as she did so. "I address Jedi Master Evanar. Master Jedi, you said that Corellia is a problem. Do you agree that an exploratory mission is called for, or should we consider a full attack on the system? In your opinion, Master Jedi."

[Morgan Evanar]

All politics. Thareena was trying to pin Morgan down into a position and make him defend it. The Jedi Master blinked a few times, at first.

“My own personal information is several years out of date, and I have not had the chance to read any of Command’s intelligence reports.” There were a few murmurs of agreement. While less aware of the goings-on, it was obvious that he wasn’t the only one fully briefed. This was a dangerous place, a forced decision with next to nothing for information.

“In my opinion we should allow our armed forces to do their jobs. Without more information I can’t suggest a course of action. Without knowing our enemy we cannot truly engage them. If it isn't adventageous to move, we shouldn't move.”

[Alexi Hesith]

Hesith supressed a smirk- the new Jedi Liason was learning fast. Evanar had seen what Thareena was doing and attempted to avoid being pinned down. He had given an answer that could be interpretted either way.

The Senator knew which way he wished to interpret the answer and he was much better at politics. He got to his feet and adressed the Chamber in his most paternal tone.

"Mr. Speaker, Master Evanar is right to point to the deficiency in our information. We need all the information avaliable in order for us to make a reasoned decision. A brief recess could be granted to allow military intelligence and the Jedi Order to collate their information. If what is presented to us after the recess does not satisfy our need for information, we will know which course to follow."

There were favourable murmurs from around the Chamber.

"It is pleasing that my fellow delegates see the need for more information. I move for an hour's recess in which the information can be collated."

"Is their a second?" asked Loorst from his vantage point atop the Speaker's Tower.

"I second the motion," chirped an unidentified Senator across the Chamber.

"Are there any objections?"

Silence reigned.

"Very well, the Senate stands in recess for one hour," barked Loorst before continuing in a plaintive tone, "And please try to keep it to less than an hour and a half." With that he rapped the gavel sharply on his desk.

[Senator Thareena]

11:17, Coruscant Standard Time

Non-plussed, Fa'un retreated from her booth to the large outer hall that surrounded the Chamber. Each level had their own hall, and all were connected by an array of secure turbolifts. She was trailed by one of her bodyguards, and he nodded to the ornately dressed Senate guards that stood in pairs by each of the 'lifts. Thareena ignored them, making her way towards Hesith's level.

Stepping out of the turbolift, she found the distinguished senator surrounded by a small group of their peers. Not surprisingly, they weren't talking about the proposal on the docket, but about SM 18-112.

"... marvelous idea, really, with all the flack we've been getting lately. Here on Coruscant the Watch is getting paticularly vocal in their support of the idea, and other law enforcement agencies are joining them." A human senator from Kuat was beaming his approval.

Thareena waited patiently to talk to Alexi, making sure he saw her on the outside of his circle.

[Tiberius Anar]

Hesith caught sight of Thareena over the shoulder of Senator Bo'Bas. He made his excuses with a calculated smile designed to ingratiate its target.

"Forgive me, but I must make sure of another matter before we can proceed."

"Of course," said Bo'Bas with a small bow, "I shall have my staff arrange a meeting on this at the earliest possible moment."

The Ho'Din and his friends withdrew, leaving Alexi to deal with the young woman who he had taken under his wing as a protegee of sorts.

"Fa'un..." he began, but got no further.

[Senator Thareena]

She interrupted him. Rude, but necessary. "Senator, what exactly are you doing? The Chamber was heading in exactly the direction we intended. With this break - some may re-think their positions."

[Alexi Hesith]

Clearly bluntness was the order of the moment. Hesith could do that, unaccustomed though he was to plain talk.

"I am sorry, Fa'un, but I had no choice. I have been ordered to prevent the passage of this motion."