This is TriNebulon News at 7. Tonight, an exclusive interview with Chancellor Adhira Chandra about the ongoing struggle against the Sith Empire.
Adhira shifted awkwardly in her chair as the journalist enunciated carefully down the lens of a holorecorder that hovered nearby. Immediately following the brief announcement, the reporter sank back into his chair and stared aimlessly at the terminal in his lap, murmuring occasionally into the earpiece. Adhira meanwhile sat stark still as a team of makeup artists began to powder and color her face with thick layers of makeup. The old woman took all she could of the ridiculous young humans - then one of the brushes drifted to her nose and she inhaled an unbelievable amount of fine dusky powder. She nearly sneezed, swatting at the makeup brushes until the stylists retreated in fear. "Enough! Feth! I'm old, not dead, this isn't a damn wake!" She hissed, daring them with her eyes to approach again.
The Chancellor was just about to question when the interview would begin when a sudden flourish of brass instruments - startling as they were - alerted her that the interview was being introduced live on air. Then, like clockwork, the interviewer across from her sat up and plastered a sickly synthetic grin on his smug little face. She smiled warmly in return. The holorecorder hovered around them as the young man her opposite introduced her. "It is my pleasure, Halifax, always wonderful to speak with you," she lied.
"Chancellor, you're too kind, you're too kind-"
'You have no idea...' she thought.
"As I am sure all our viewers know... UNLESS THEY'VE BEEN LIVING IN A SARLAC PIT..." the man held for laughs which struck her as intensely bizarre, "the Galactic Alliance, under your leadership, recently resumed their conflict with the Sith Empire." Adhira nodded and cleared her through, making clear that it was her turn to speak now. "Yes, while the war with the Sith has never ceased, this is the first major engagement we have seen for some time - far too long, in my opinion. As Chancellor, my priority has been the safety and security of our galaxy and her people... these things cannot truly exist while the Sith continue, unchecked, now seemingly emboldened by their treaty agreements."
"And how is that going?"
"As a matter of Alliance Security, I cannot divulge confidential or strategic information regarding our military excursion, but what I will say to our people is that we have made significant progress against the Sith in the preceding days and weeks. Alliance High Command is confident of our position at present," she made to continue speaking, but the journalist put his hand to his ear dramatically like he was receiving top-secret intel.
"You say that your top concern is the security of the galaxy. What would your response be to the Exarch of the Confederacy's recent interview in which he called your commitment to defeating the Bryn'adul into question?" Adhira stared at him intensely for a moment, her dark eyes narrowing almost imperceptively. Behind those eyes was hidden a vast network of electric charges firing in all directions as she attempted to piece together what the man was referring to. Nothing came.
"Forgive me, who?'
"Adron Malvern, ma'am, the Ex-"
"Who the f- is that?" The reporter's eyes went wide with alarm as the word spilled from the Chancellor's mouth. It would be muted by the censor bots, but most everyone watching would be able to tell what was said. Off-camera, a political aide scribbled a note and held it aloft, explaining in shorthand what the so-called Exarch of the Confederacy was. She furrowed her brow and smiled - the reporter was explaining it too. "Oh, him... sorry, I dont spent much time with the B-Team," she said through a chuckle, referring to the Exarch's lesser status in diplomatic situations. The journalist and the Chancellor shared a polite laugh. "Look, Halifax, this is all just posturing, some half-baked playboy tuning second fiddle to the true power in the Confederacy, said something controversial for the cameras. Whatever his opinion, it is irrelevant, I'd sooner get into a pissing match with a bantha than let some off the cuff remark tilt the Alliance headlong into a diplomatic crisis."
"I have more serious things to concern myself with, frankly, like defeating the Sith and the Bryn'adul for that matter. If you have the chance to speak with him, ask the Ex Arc, or whatever he calls himself when the last time was that the Confederacy of Independent Systems waged war on the Bryn'adul... he may not know the answer, but I certainly do. The Alliance, meanwhile, has been at the fore of every major engagement with the Bryn'adul for quite some time, and we didn't need to throw our lot in with the Sith to do it." Adhira smiled sympathetically at the awestruck reporter and stood. "Rest assured, the Bryn'adul will be dealt with in due time, and I hope our friends in purple will join us in that endeavor... but, as I said, I am quite preoccupied at the moment, if you will excuse me."
"Of course, Madam Chancellor," the man called Halifax inclined his head respectfully as she swept past him and out of the office. She could hear him wrapping up the interview as several political aides closed in around her with updates on the war. She could not help but smile.
