Private Solid Foundations

[Adhira Chandra]

Coruscant // Alliance Executive Building // Chancellor's Office
//
Emmen Tagge Mina Praji Maou Sssar Taszzn

It had been nearly a week since the Senate gathered to debate the fate of the clones discovered on Lialic. Since then, the decision of the Infrastructure Committee to suggest giving clones jobs on their construction projects had laid heavily on Adhira's mind. In the antechamber outside of the Chancellor's Office, the dusky Senator rotated the large onyx ring on her finger as she waited, lost in thought. Somewhere nearby she knew that Senator Kyoshi... such as he was and the holographic projection of Senator Taszzn lingered, but she paid them no attention, gazing instead out one of the large panoramic windows overlooking Galactic City.​

​

The committee was scheduled to meet with Emmen to present their proposal for a massive appropriations bill that would jumpstart thousands of construction and restoration projects throughout Alliance territory. It was an ambitious plan and one that would provide jobs for billions of unemployed Alliance citizens, perhaps including the various clones scattered across their member planets. The plan also happened to be the cornerstone of Adhira's agenda. She was determined to see the bill passed.​

​

"It's a shame you couldn't be here in person Sssar, but I understand your circumstances," she said, finally turning to acknowledge the other Senators. She was still spinning the ring on her finger. "Kaito, perhaps you would like to take the lead... if you feel up to it?"​

​

The Senators hadn't been there long, but she was beginning to get anxious at just how long Mina seemed to be stalling them. She was no doubt whispering in Emmen's ear before she would allow them inside. Of course, no sooner had Adhira said that she heard the doors open behind her and turned to see the severe-looking blonde smiling out at them. The Balmorran glanced at the others cautiously. She didn't like it when she wasn't the only severe-looking old lady in the room.​

 

[Mina Praji]

Coruscant ll Galactic City ll Alliance Executive Building
~ Chancellor's Office Suite ~

Spoiler: Tags

Emmen Tagge Adhira Chandra Maou Sssar Taszzn

"Apologies for the intrusion Chancellor, but the Committee for Galactic Infrastructure has arrived," Mina said after clearing her through to get Emmen's attention. She was clutching a large datapad in her hand which projected the specifics of proposal onto the screen. After a beat, she crossed the large office to the Chancellor's desk and sat down the datapad in front of him. "I suppose I should say most of them have arrived," Mina smirked.

"Senator Taszzn is holoprojecting in and Senator Kiyoshi... well..." she waved her hand without further explanation, "and uh... Chandra. If you're ready I'll go ahead and show them in."

Mina pushed a lock of blond hair back behind her ear as she turned and headed back toward the doors of the office. She pushed open the large ornate doors and smiled in greeting. "Senators, the Chancellor is ready for you now, if you'll follow me," the Staff Aide gestured into the suite and led the three to the Chancellor's dais where three chairs were arranged in a crescent in front of his desk. In hindsight, they probably did not need to much seating.

Praji positioned herself a few feet away from the Chancellor's desk and produced another datapad to keep notes.

 

[Maou]

Kaito's form materialized from one of the holoprojectors in the room. A hood cast a shadow over his masked face, an unnerving but common look from the Corellian senator. His voice came over raspy and with great effort. He'd shown up on Coruscant for several Senate hearings, but also frequently returned to Corellia for treatment.

"Thank you for meeting with us today Chancellor...I'm sure you're...busy with the war," a fit of labored coughing reverberated around the room. He looked in Chandra's direction and nodded. "Good to see you as well Senator."

Adhira Chandra Sssar Taszzn Emmen Tagge

 

[Emmen Tagge]

Senate District // Executive Building // Chancellor's Suite
Adhira Chandra | Maou | Sssar Taszzn

This was not a conversation the Chancellor was looking forward to.

The matter of Clone Rights had been met with concerning push back. Slowly, as the Alliance grew, the agendas of those around him were becoming more clear. While most were innocent and only mildly self-serving, some worried the old Tepasi. Democracy was a fragile thing. The Core Regions turbulent history meant autocrats walked among them in the Senate District. Politicians who'd gladly see the Senate absolved into appointed councils so that the federal government may take the reigns, or planets who's sole intention was to leech from the benefits brought by their Alliance without any care for the principles it was built upon.

It all troubled the old Tepasi greatly.

Mina's announcement is met with a nod. It was rare for committees to request a direct audience in the Office of the Chancellor, so he wasn't quite sure what to expect from the small group.

Standing, Emmen gestures forward to the three chairs built into the floor on the opposite side of his desk.

"Senators, welcome," a tired smile reveals itself then fades.

He nods to Kaito, "Quite busy, yes. Between the Imperial Civil War, the BQZ and now the rising thread on the Concordian border," he sighs, "well, let's just say the Minister of Defense has completely given up utilizing the proper communication channels for the Office. But, I've directed my lines to the Vice Chair for the duration of our meeting so, unless it's urgent, you have my undivided attention."

Taking a seat, Emmen looks between the three, "What can I do for your committee, Senators?"

 

[Adhira Chandra]

Coruscant // Alliance Executive Building // Chancellor's Office
//
Emmen Tagge Mina Praji Maou Sssar Taszzn

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, Emmen," Adhira closed the distance between them and gave the Chancellor a polite little embrace, placing both hands firmly on the man's shoulders. Before she had been thrust into the limelight of Senate politics, the woman was notorious within the spheres of influence of the Alliance as one of their shrewdest negotiators. Though Emmen and Adhira were friendly colleagues, the Balmorran had just made a fairly obvious power move with her gesture and she hoped it was effective enough to give her greater control over the tone of the meeting.​

​

The Senator took a moment to exchange a quick smile before accepting the Chancellor's invitation to sit. She took the middle chair. There was a pronounced silence in the room - not a long one - but enough time for Adhira's dark eyes to shift toward Mina as if expecting her to depart. When the Staff Aide showed no inclination of leaving, however, Senator Chandra cleared her through and proceeded. "Hm," she made a quiet noise as she arranged the dataslate on her lap.​

​

"As I am sure you're aware, the Committee of Galactic Infrastructure - at the direction of the Senate and in coordination with your administration - was charged with the arduous task of developing one of the most ambitious infrastructural and revitalization plans in the history of the Core," Adhira tapped a few buttons on her slate and a projection of the Alliance territory filled the space between the committee and Chancellor's desk. On the projection was the new hyperlane project and several plants which were all highlighted in red.​

​

"The committee and our staff have identified hundreds of crucial infrastructure projects to boost the economy, provide millions of jobs, and reassure our people - and the galaxy - that the Alliance is a force to be reckoned with in protecting its people. I have secured an investment bank to cover to the cost and I believe the Commerce Ministry will be able to use job recruitment to hire our citizens to perform most of the tasks... however..."​

​

She glanced at Kaito briefly. "Another potential source of labor... PAID labor has also been identified if we found that our own citizens simply were not interested or qualified for these job assignments... Maou ?" She turned again to the other member of the committee to give him leave to speak.​

 

[Maou]

For the obvious reason of Kaito being both a hologram and already sitting, the Corellian Senator didn't so much as shift when Tagge asked them to sit. It was really just Adhira. He glowered from behind his mask as she moved to embrace the man. How blatant could one be? He cut off that line of thinking immediately. He was letting the pain get to him again and it was making him angry. He had been more irritable as of late and it was starting to concern him.

After another fit of coughing Kaito was shifted in his power chair by someone just out of view of the holocam, though a slender hand draped in what looked to be a traditional Atrisian kimono could be seen behind his shoulder for the briefest of moments. He took a deep, nasally breath before he spoke.

"While Corellia did abstain from the vote on Clone Rights, it is our, and this committee's belief that a Clone labor force, specifically those already serving long prison sentences in GA military prisons and those still awaiting trial and judgement, can be offered a chance to not only prove their loyalty to the Alliance, but also pave a way to freedom." His voice came out modulated, as if he was speaking through a nebula storm. It came out in tired gasps, interspersed with a strange gurgling sound. He paused and looked like he was about to start coughing again, but the man choked it down with a grunt and continued. "It is as you said, we cannot treat them as slaves, even though hard labor is indeed a prison sentence. We wished to propose this to you directly before taking it to the senate. We believe that you want a path to citizenship for the clones and at least in this way, those that have been pushed through rushed group trials despite fighting a war they did not sign up for a path to freedom. They will learn skills necessary to the survival of the Alliance, trades other than war, that they will be able to utilize far after their time of penance is over and their pay processed."

Emmen Tagge Adhira Chandra Sssar Taszzn

 

[Mina Praji]

Coruscant ll Galactic City ll Alliance Executive Building
~ Chancellor's Office Suite ~
Emmen Tagge ; Maou ; Sssar Taszzn ; Adhira Chandra

Mina hovered to Emmen's right like a protective bird of prey, the datapad grasped tightly in her golden, metallic talons. Her cold blue eyes followed the Balmorran Senator as she moved to embrace Emmen. The chilly gaze shifted briefly between the woman and the Chancellor as her lips dropped slightly in disapproval. She was deeply suspicious of Adhira, a woman who supposedly spurned the trappings of elected office yet seemed to spend most of her time consolidating a tremendous amount of authority within the Senate and the Alliance as a whole.

As the projection of the proposed infrastructure projects appeared she studied the highlighted planets for inconsistencies with the administration's priorities. It was encouraging that the committee had still managed to make the trade route a priority at least. Mina pursed her lips, glancing down at her datapad as the Senators began to awkwardly segue into what she was sure was a discussion on the use of clones. Right on cue, Adhira punted to the Corellian Senator who began to expound on the virtues of utilizing this untapped workforce.

Mina cleared her throat.

"Forgive me, Senator," she cooed, stepping a bit closer to the edge of Emmen's desk, "but if I understand correctly, the committee is proposing we use prison labor to accommodate lapses in the workforce in exchange for a... commutation of the sentence?" It was clear that Mina knew exactly what was being proposed and her question was simply being asked to underscore the problems the Chancellor's Office might have making that sell to the public. Putting the clones to work was something the people might actually agree with, but they would likely need to frame the amnesty part differently.