Corellia, Corellian Diktat space, the Empire.




For too long have I toiled as a simple bit in the grand machinations of the Imperial beaurocracy...

Lupercus unconciously smashed his gloved fist down onto the massive oaken table that sat before him. Those sitting on the other end of the table instantly stopped, inquisitive fear apparent in their eyes as they looked upon the Diktator.

The Hapans eyes opened.

"This discussion bores me."

The same hand which had released the furious attack was suddenly lax, waving flippantly in the air in a dismissal his sissy brother would be quite proud of Lupercus was sure.

The group nodded and hastily gathered their things and wits both, fleeing the rage of their nightmares.

As they cleared out Lupercus relaxed slightly, his eyes sweeping over the docuements before him.

To the Office of the Diktator.
Completion of orders acknowledgement.
Colonel Jadda Sukhoi

As you requested the clone production at Outpost 315 has been stepped up. The Khommite people have been more than maleable since your 'rescuing' of the people following the Wraith outbreak scare.

12 more sections have been fully reconstructed with 6 allocated to cloning material seconded to us from former ORS sources and another two towards the production of new Spartans under order of High Command. The rest have returned to usual trooper production.

Additionally we can expect another 2 dozen cylanders coming online within...

Already bored the Sith could read no more. Something different had to happen, and it could be nothing like what he was already enduring.

Suddenly another distinguished presence was noticed, this one of far greater import than a faceless beaurocrat.

The doors to his chambers reopened.

"Welcome back my appentice..."

Silus appeared immediately, bowing quickly on bended knee before rising to meet his Master. Lupercus' pride in his apprentices abilities seemed boundless, but he also knew the inherent danger in both that pride and the assassins abilities.

"... have you succeded?"

He was quick to nod, grim satisfaction apparent in his features.

"Excellent, perhaps the Jedi will be foolish enough to risk accepting."

"How could they not Master? Turning Corellia to the lightside once again is too good of an opportunity to waste..."

Lupercus smirked in acknowledgement.

"True, but i think this planet is much too far gone for even the Skywalkers to have any impact..."

Senate High Council Chambers

Deep in the Royal Palace<st1 =""></st1>

Theed, Naboo



“As senior chairman I declare that the first official meeting of the High Council of the Senate, term 6332, has now come to order!”

A heavyset man in his mid 30’s seated himself at the head of a large rectangular conference table, and smiled as his new colleagues took their respective places as well.

Altogether, there were five of them: At the head of the table, Terry Lokhar… the heavyset senior chairman of the council, was well known for a wise ness beyond his years and a superior understanding of the workings of the governmental system of Naboo. To his left was Luka Garand, an ambitious, somewhat naïve blonde haired man in his mid twenties with a muscular build (also the local loudmouth). Seated next to Garand was Jayde Fremar, a man of about 30 who could most often be found backing Garand’s newest idealistic cause. Across the table from Garand and Jayde on Lokhar’s right were Adora Grainer and Frank Ruuman, who were essentially the conservative voice of the council.

Each senator was an educated and model citizen, elected by the people of their respective regions of Naboo to represent their fellow citizens in the Planetary Senate. Having proven themselves down on the floors of the Senate chambers, their fellow members of the Planetary Senate had then elected them into the High Council of the senate – a small body of senators whose responsibility was to work closely alongside the Queen.

Together, the High Council and the Queen made the majority of the decisions concerning both the internal and external affairs of Naboo...

“I think first congratulations are in order to all of you, for your successful campaigns. Especially you, Garand… such a bright young prospect to have among us. I am sure you all know that our work here will have a great impact on the future of Naboo. From my standpoint, the future looks very promising for us all.”

There was a small chorus of cheers from the four senators. Lokhar held up a hand, and the room quickly fell silent again.

“Unfortunately our docket for the day is quite full, and we must get straight to business.”

Lokhar’s gaze wandered between Council members, assuring that each was ready to begin the day’s work before he started.

“And so with no further adieu, our first official order of business… is this.”

Lokhar pulled a single piece of duraplast from his organizer, and placed it in front of him on the table for all to see.

“This letter arrived in the Palace’s incoming mail sometime early this morning. As you can clearly see, it’s from the government of Corellia…”

No sooner had the name Corellia escaped Lokhar’s lips, than everyone save Adora Grainer eagerly leaned forward to get a closer look at the letter. She scoffed as her colleagues squinted at the paper, and turned her attention to Lokhar.

“What business does an Imperial aligned world have with a peaceful, non-aligned, Jedi harboring world such as us?”

Lokhar smiled in response, and snatched the paper up.

“Well, let me read it so you can hear for yourself…

‘To the Government of Naboo, yadda yadda yadda… we hereby propose that our two respectable planets open peaceful negotiations, in hopes of achieving a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship between our two worlds in these hard times.’

They then go on to provide us with a date, time, and place, as well as contact names and an encrypted packet containing clearance codes to give us diplomatic immunity to any imperial forces in the area.”

Grainer shook her head in response. “I don’t like it. Knowing the Imperials, it’s probably some sort of trap. Has the Queen been informed of this?”

Lokhar waved a hand dismissively. “This is our jurisdiction; the Queen can be consulted later today when it is time to make a final decision.”

Unable to contain himself any longer, Garand sprung to his feet.

“Do you know what this means? A peace treaty, maybe even an alliance with the Imperial aligned world of Corellia? If we could make a peace treaty with them, or… or… even convince them to defect to our side, think about what great strides we would be making in external relations!

Grainer was quick to rise and counter Garand’s argument with her own.

“We have no one with enough skill, experience, and stature to properly handle the situation if sent to deal with it! Never mind that this is probably just some ornate trap to capture one of our higher standing political figures.

But just to humor you for a moment, let’s pretend that this was really a feasible possibility to explore. Face it; nobody here has the qualifications necessary for such an endeavor!

“There is one person who does.”


It was Garand whom had spoken, his words capturing the attention of the other four senators in the room and effectively silencing them. Garand paused dramatically, drawing dubious stares from his colleagues.

“Leia Organa Solo….”

<o =""></o>The next evening...


It was an upscale restaurant, usually frequented only by high standing politicians and the wealthier population of Theed. As Leia passed through the glamorous entrance of the restaurant, she noted the carefully polished crystal sign above the door that bore the restaurant’s name: Crystal Bay.

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Though not a stranger to the most extravagant of settings in the least, Leia couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. Senator Garand, who had recently been elected into the High Council of the Senate from what she had heard, had mysteriously summoned her to meet him here. The armed guards standing at attention on either side of the entrance indicated that he was most likely already inside and waiting for her…
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Leia had never met Garand before, and was in fact rather curious to know what business he might have with her. Though she maintained a very powerful presence on Naboo and lived in the capital city of the planet, she rarely had anything to do with the planetary government... if she could help it.
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A waiter in a crisp looking tuxedo approached her. “Ah, Ms. Solo. The good Senator has been expecting you…”
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Leia straightened the skirt of the flowing white gown she was wearing, and then followed the waiter into the dining area, slowly taking in the elaborate décor of the restaurant as they went.
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This small dinner meeting was probably costing the government a small fortune…
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Not that she would have expected any less. As of late, it seemed the government’s favorite hobby was inventing new, innovative ways to fritter the people’s hard earned tax money away.
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After the Sith attack on Naboo had leveled Theed, the city had undergone much reconstruction, and not just physically… several sweeping changes in the structure of the government had taken place as well, and the entire chain of command and many of those who were in it had changed. The concept of a ruling high council had been turned into a reality, the Queen’s influence in the government had been nerfed, the election districts and the way elections were conducted had changed… all in the name of promoting a freer, more democratic society.
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It wasn’t that Leia didn’t like the new system, in theory it was supposed to be a fair and effective democratic organization. The system wasn’t exactly ‘new’ anymore anyways, it had been in effect for a considerably long time now… Naboo was getting along well enough under it. Yet still, there was just something about it that made her want to keep a weary distance, and she had never been able to put a finger on it.
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The waiter led her into a small private room in the back of the restaurant, apparently reserved for such functions as the one she was attending. When she entered the room a young man who couldn’t have been older than 25 rose with all of the poise of a well versed diplomat to greet her… as he took her hand and lead her to her chair as a gentleman would she noted his bright blonde hair, and the way his finely tailored suit managed to somehow compliment his muscled frame.
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She’d met plenty of his type before. Young pretty boy who had everything going for him…
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“Ms Organa Solo? It is a pleasure to finally meet you, after hearing so much about what you’ve done both for Naboo and the galaxy. I am honored to be in the presence of your greatness. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Luka Garand… recently appointed to the High Council of the Senate. I speak on their behalf this evening.”
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He was gallant, confident. Everything the masses wanted to see in their public figureheads. He was also trying to butter her up… but why?
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He wanted something. That had to be why she had been summoned to meet him here… For a man with as little experience as him, he was doing an admirable job of hiding it. He certainly had talent as a politician, she would give him that much. But Leia had been reading through the fake visages of politicians and diplomats since she was but a child, and her eye for such things was too sharp to miss it.
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Leia settled into her chair, and clasped her hands in her lap. If Garand was like every other politician in the galaxy, he would open with the usual polite small talk while they sipped their drinks and waited on their food. Then they would be too busy eating to talk business… they wouldn’t actually get to why they were there in the first place until much later, over a cup of caf. It was a way of controlling the pace of the meeting, giving a slight edge to the hosting politician. Leia however had no intention of playing the usual games of custom… she had better things to do than play political games just for the sake of following ‘customs’. She leaned forward to address the Senator. “So what is the occasion, Senator?”
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The look on Garand’s face told Leia that he had been hoping to put their serious discussion off for awhile.
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“You certainly have made yourself scarce around the government ever since the…. invasion. Some people are beginning to think you don’t like us anymore…”
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Leia shrugged.
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“I’ve had my own issues to deal with. The government has been doing an admirable job of administrating the planet; neither I nor the Jedi have a place interfering in a body made to serve the interests of the people. We all have our places, and mine is not in the government buildings of Theed.”
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Garand raised a questioning eyebrow.
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“Aren’t the Jedi supposed to serve and protect? It seems to me that by working in tandem with the government, you would be able to do so more effectively.”
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Now where was he going with this? A high ranking member of the senate wouldn’t go to the trouble to set up a meeting with her just to discuss old arguments.
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Leia sighed. “Alright, what do you want from me?”
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Garand blinked innocently. “You think I requested your presence here only to demand something of you…?”
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“I doubt my presence here was requested merely for the benefit of my company” Leia answered bluntly.
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Garand paused for a long moment, obviously carefully wording what he intended to say next.
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To Leia’s surprise, he replied by motioning for his bodyguard to leave the room. When all four had exited the room and the door had shut firmly behind them, Garand leaned across the table. He seemed slightly taken aback…
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“Very well Princess, I see you are not in the mood for small talk tonight. I’ll get right to business…”
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Garand pulled a piece of folded durplast from the inside breast pocket of his jacket and handed it to Leia, then leaned back in his chair and watched her expectantly.
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Leia unfolded the paper apprehensively, as if at any second a monster with sharp teeth would jump out of it and latch onto one of her fingers. It seemed to be a formal letter of sorts, from… Corellia?
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To the Government of Naboo, blah blah blah useless formal nonsense… we hereby propose that our two respectable planets open peaceful negotiations, in hopes of achieving a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship between our two worlds in these hard times.
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An Imperial aligned world, seeking open peace talks with Naboo!?
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“uhh…” was the only reaction Leia could muster at first. She looked up to Garand, her eyes demanding to know the answers to all of the questions that her mouth seemed unable to voice. The young senator nodded to the letter in her hands.
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“We were surprised as well. You know as well as anyone else how incredible the prospect of an Imperial world… Corellia, no less! Seeking to open peaceful negotiations with a Jedi harboring planet like Naboo is…”
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Leia shook her head.
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“I don’t like it; it’s got to be a trap.”
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Garand had an unreadable expression on his face. She didn’t like that either, she decided…
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“And that is why you are the perfect choice to see this thing through.”
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Leia blinked blankly.
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”What!?
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Garand smiled grandly.
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“Jedi Master Leia Organa Solo, the High Council of the Senate hereby requests that you accept this mission and travel to Corellia to meet with the planetary officials there in search of peace.”
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Leia glared hotly at Garand.
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“You must be more naïve than I thought, if you think I am going to agree to blindly run off following a bunch of specific directions the Imperials wrote on a little note, promising peace love and happiness if we do respond accordingly. Just how stupid do you think I am!?”
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Garand frowned.

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“If anyone is right for such a mission, it’s you. You’re a Jedi, you can elude danger, and put up a bigger fight if attacked than any contingent of soldiers from the Naboo army. You’ve got prestige and respectability; your presence would affect them more. You are a highly skilled diplomat: no matter what obstacle in negotiations might arise, you’d be the one to overcome it the easiest. You have the most experience with the Imperials; you understand them better than anyone else we could consider sending…”
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“Yeah, and I bet I’ve also got the biggest price on my head too. I’m not doing this, it’s a death wish! If you are really interested in pursuing the matter, try contacting Corellia and suggesting a meeting place in a neutral space zone, where everyone is on equal grounds. And don’t ask me to attend… I hold no official rank in any government anymore, and I’m not that keen on changing that fact.”


Garand wore a scrutinizing expression now. “So your final answer is a no…”
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Leia did not reply, and Garand sighed and leaned back in his chair. He pulled a comlink out of his pocket, and double clicked it. Immediately the door opened and his four bodyguards filed into the room.
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“…Sir?”
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Garand rose from his chair and stretched. Leia chose to remain seated and watched as he began to pace the small confines of the room.
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“Seems we have a small hitch in our plan, Captain. I think its nap time…”


It happened so fast that Leia had no real chance to react. Not only was it the last thing she ever would have expected, but she was also unarmed. There simply was no time even for a Jedi Master such as herself to react as the Captain swiftly pulled his gun from its holster, aimed at her, and fired.
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There was suddenly a sharp pain in Leia’s right arm, and she looked down to find a dart stuck in her bicep. It had obviously unloaded a serum of sorts into her arm upon impact…
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Stunned, Leia gaped at Garand with a pure look of bewilderment.
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“You…. shot…”
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The tranquilizer took full effect and Leia never finished her sentence, instead collapsing to the floor. She was out cold.
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Garand gazed down at the fallen Jedi Master, stone faced.
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“Hurry and get her wrapped up, even though we’re going out the back door we can’t risk anyone recognizing her.”
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“Yes sir” the Captain replied with a snappy salute, and the four stealth ops soldiers in disguise swathed Leia in blankets. Two of them each took an arm and hoisted her up between them.
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“Remember, my date grew seriously ill and we thought it best to get her home without any hassle… let’s go.”
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One of the guards chuckled as they carried Leia out.
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“And Joe bet me fifty credits we couldn’t take a fully alert Jedi Master down with a single dart. Ah well, he better pay up real quick when we get back; I’ve got some sabacc debts to pay off from last night’s game…”
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And that was how Leia found herself on a mid sized ex-Republic transport, headed for Corellia whether she liked it or not…<o ="">
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