Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 143, Section 145 - Ambition
Coruscant, the Coruscant Galaxy.

Korusa Sector.

The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic stood behind his desk in front of a huge transparent steel window, gazing solemnly at the intricate and bustling air traffic in the urban landscape of Coruscant.

Hearing the soft footsteps on the velvet carpet, he turned around, a serious smile on his face.

"One person can wield power over the entire galaxy... Yet, a few words from a senator can change the minds of trillions of people. Isn't that astonishing?"

“Speaker, this isn’t just any member of parliament, it’s Padme Amidala,” Armand Issaad, the head of the Republic’s intelligence agency, said the name as if it were a curse. “We have to take action against her.”

Armand Issaad... an ambitious man.

Palpatine likes ambitious people.

Ambitious people are easy to see through, easy to be fooled, and easy to control.

Such people only think of themselves and cannot trust others.

However, if you can convince them that your goals are roughly the same as theirs... then they will become very 'loyal'.

Trust is not required; all that is needed is for each other to feel that there is something to gain.

This is a kind of "you help me, and I help you" relationship.

The most crucial first step is to figure out what they want.

This step is also the easiest.

Armand Issaad was simple, just like the other fools in the Republic's army who were all dreaming of climbing the ranks.

Like everyone else, he schemed and plotted to climb to the top, resorting to lying, betrayal, and even murder to achieve his goal.

He only gets to briefly experience the feeling of having the entire galaxy at his feet and the fate of millions in his hands... until the next ambitious man grabs him by the ankle, pulls him down, and takes his place.

But what sets him apart from others is his ability to produce results.

So Palpatine selected him a long time ago, when Palpatine was just an ordinary senator on Naboo.

Palpatine promised to help him achieve his wish by disguising himself as another ambitious senator, but being cunning enough not to reveal his ambition.

Armand Issaad knew a secret.

This made him feel different from others, as if he had participated in something extraordinary, and thus he himself had become extraordinary.

Today, Senator Palpatine has become the Supreme Speaker of the Republic, while Inspector Isad has become the Director of the Republic's Intelligence Bureau.

This is a very profitable relationship.

As long as Isaad continues to produce results, this relationship can be maintained... Unfortunately, the Republic's intelligence agency has been performing poorly lately.

“Amidala is no oddball, Chief,” Deputy Speaker Mas Ameda said dryly. “So, should we also take ‘action’ against Agana and Mosma?”

“Amidala is different from Organa and Mosma, Deputy Director,” Issaad paced in his office. “Their years of political experience have worn away their idealism and made them more pragmatic. They are negotiable. But what about Amidala? From the first day she stepped into the Senate chamber… especially under the tutelage of her mentor, Senator Mina Bontri, her resolve has only grown stronger.”

Palpatine slowly sat down in the chair, his fingers interlaced.

Representative Mina Bontry...

He had heard of her.

Although her home planet, Ondron, is located in the inner ring, she is a fervent supporter of the outer ring faction.

Logically speaking, she shouldn't have much influence in either the inner or outer factions, because Weng Delun himself isn't that important...

It was her strong personal charm that made up for the lack of influence from her home planet.

Even among her human colleagues, Mina Bontri stands out.

She exuded a dignity in every gesture, a dignity that could only be seen in women raised in a wild environment like that of Nawundren.

You'd naturally be very cooperative if the person you're talking to could crush your knuckles while shaking hands.

Although Amidala lacked the unique qualities of the Ondron people, she learned pride and individuality from her mentor.

“If your department hadn’t been so seriously negligent, Amidala wouldn’t have had the influence he has now in the first place,” Ameda pointed out sharply. “How could a separatist’s superweapon have escaped the eyes of the Republic’s intelligence agency?”

“They didn’t escape our notice, Ameda,” Isad retorted. “Every report we received indicated that these ‘superweapons’ did not exist before the campaign and disappeared without a trace after it ended.”

"Who do you think would believe that?" the Chaglia deputy councilor scoffed. "How could dozens of warships equipped with Devastation-class mass drives be assembled and disassembled in just a few hours?"

Isaad raised his hands and uttered words the head of the Republic's intelligence agency should never have said: "I don't know, but that's the truth. Our only evidence regarding these 'superweapons' is asteroid debris and abandoned cargo ships... Our agents are investigating this, and based on the energy readings of the surviving warships, our current hypothesis is that the separatists created a weapon based on a composite traction field..."

“Never mind that for now, Director,” Palpatine interrupted their conversation, gesturing for him to sit down. “What about the separatists’ ‘dreadnoughts’? They must really exist, right?”

“This…is an intelligence failure,” Isard admitted, plopping down on the sofa. “We know the Free Dako Engineering Corps is building some kind of large-scale equipment on Parmant, but Parmant has always been difficult for us to infiltrate. All the records we have indicate that a large amount of vital resources were designated for building a new fleet. We now understand how the Separatists covered up the construction of these ‘Conqueror-class’ heavy cruisers. Next time we find similar clues, we won’t make the same mistake again.”

“It won’t work next time!” Ameda slammed the Speaker’s scepter heavily on the ground. “Where are those ‘heavy cruisers’ now? I expect you to provide an answer, Director.”

“One is in the Leanna system, the other in the Seranon system… but that doesn’t matter!” the director insisted. “The war is about to end as we’re talking, and we must do something immediately!”

Armand al-Isad craves power.

He wanted to secure more funding for the intelligence agency and gain greater influence in other parts of the government.

Armand Issaad believed that Palpatine wanted to preserve his government by proving that the Emergency Powers Act needed to be extended, thus prolonging his term which had already exceeded the normal term limit.

At this moment, the Senate faction led by Mon Mosma is already debating whether the Speaker should step down.

What are the ways to fulfill these two wishes?
The idea is to keep the war going until their position is so secure that no one can challenge it.

By then, what the Milky Way will ultimately look like will be irrelevant. "Alright," Mas Ameda broke the Speaker's silence, "what are your suggestions?"

“Our biggest problem is Amidala’s influence over the entire Galactic News Network. Currently, she is the darling of the Republic,” Isad said, his cold blue eyes unwavering when he mentioned her. “But if something happens to her during the Peace Summit and she becomes a martyr of the Republic… I can arrange for a ‘militaristic extremist’ to do it. Her death would be one of the few things that could reverse public perception of peace efforts and resolve existing and potential problems at the same time.”

“A controllable political opponent is valuable, Director,” Ameda said through gritted teeth, “especially in the Senate. I don’t expect you to understand why.”

“There are hundreds of other members of parliament who can play this role,” Issaad leaned forward, looking expectantly at the speaker. “Ogana, Brem, Mosma, Church, Phoenix… Amidala’s fall will be a blow, but it could also be the fuse that reignites the war in the Republic.”

The two stopped and waited for the speaker to speak.

Palpatine placed his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers.

Padme Amidala's death... would be very useful if it could convince people that it was the work of separatists...

This would enrage the young Skywalker.

Anger towards the separatists, anger towards Count Dooku.

The dark side will hold him even tighter... especially if Skywalker convinces himself that her death was his fault.

But it's too early to take action now.

Palpatine's war on democracy is not over yet.

As long as he needs to pretend to be a passionate advocate of democracy, he cannot act rashly.

Maintaining a balance on this delicate line is not easy; one must also convince the entire galaxy that he always “regretfully accepts the necessity of further expanding his executive power.”

The establishment of the new order, the destruction of the Jedi Order, and the fall of the Chosen One must be perfectly aligned.

Otherwise, if one link in the chain goes wrong, it will interfere with or even prevent the achievement of other goals.

“Amidala still has her uses,” Palpatine gestured to Ameda, indicating his agreement. “Her outspoken opposition in the Senate is an important cover for maintaining the appearance of this administration.”

“The deaths of Organa and Brem will not have the same effect,” Isad warned. “Unless the office gains complete control over all the media in the Republic, their stance cannot be changed unless… Amidala is attacked by separatists.”

“Control all media in the Republic…” Palpatine muttered to himself, “The entire galaxy is watching Ondron right now.”

Armand Isad squinted. "You mean?"

"What is the status of our fleet in the core star system?"

Even though the director was surprised, he did not show it. "The troop losses are severe, and the Republic Navy is undergoing a complete restructuring to make up for the losses in the Battle of Kolumex. Our fleet is very busy. If you allow, Speaker, I will explain in detail."

"Go ahead."

Issaad stood up somewhat stiffly and began operating the data transmission device and holographic projector on the Speaker's desk.

A detailed star map of the core star region was then displayed.

The jagged red lines divide the airways and star sectors into the jurisdictions of the respective theater army commands.

The star map is covered with twinkling dots of light, attached to galaxy markers, and moving along hyperspace routes.

A few parsecs south of Coruscant, a barely noticeable, easily overlooked spot of light is gently swaying.

“Supreme Command wants to avoid our front lines being breached by the ‘Serbon Plan’,” the director explained, pointing to a cluster of lights near the outer ring border of Centares. “Therefore, the strategy is to retreat but not collapse. To do this, we need to redeploy reinforcements from the core star system command to the outer ring system. As you can imagine, the governors of the core star system are very unhappy about this.”

“The emergency amendment to the Army Building Act passed by the Senate allows the Supreme Command to take all measures to minimize losses,” Mas Ameda said gruffly. “The governors can protest, but they can’t stop anything.”

“Absolutely right,” Issaad agreed. “They have determined that the main reason for our repeated setbacks lies in the inherent lack of cooperation within the sector command structure itself.”

This is the Fleet Reorganization Order, which was recently passed by an overwhelming majority in the Strategic Planning Council.

Command of all existing fleets will be centralized under the unified jurisdiction of the Republic's Navy.

In effect, this expanded the military's role from legal authority to de facto authority, meaning governors could no longer treat sector fleets as their private playthings.

The director placed his data board on the table, the screen densely covered with the lengthy clauses of the "Reorganization Order".

Knowing that no one would look closely, he quickly put away the data panel and continued operating the holographic projection.

"In order to rectify the dire situation of the 'Azure Spear' fleet, which is now the 12th Frontline Fleet, the Naval Command has mobilized the First Core Reserve Fleet and the Sixth Reserve Fleet to replenish its forces." As he spoke, the markers representing the fleets on the hologram moved along the Peremian trade route and the Hydian route, resulting in a gap in the naval forces of the core world.

“The governors of Weblin and Trahta would never agree to such a thing,” Issaad said, “but now they have no say.”

They have no voice anymore.

The words echoed in Palpatine's mind, repeating themselves like a whisper from the Force.

With the fleet returned to the command of the various governors and placed under the unified command of the Republic's Naval Command, the bureaucratic obstacles that had hindered the Republic's military objectives were finally removed.

And because the Speaker's Military Advisory Committee has almost absolute influence over the central military institutions... the "Reorganization Order" has effectively placed the entire Republic Navy under his control.

I'm one step closer to my new order.

There wasn't a single dissenting voice in the entire Senate.

“All the new ‘Tectors’ frigates have been assigned to the front lines,” Isard’s fingers danced across the data panel, the projected image zoomed in, showing the entire galaxy, with three regions highlighted. “These are our three main battlefronts: the Eighth Northern Fleet’s operations in Munirinst, the Eighteenth Seswinner Fleet’s operations in Salust, and finally the Twelfth Fleet’s operations in Peremia.”

"Since the war has reached a stalemate, is it really necessary for the front lines to be in such urgent need of new warships?"

"The Republic Intelligence Agency has detected that the new Supreme Commander of the Separatists is also reorganizing their forces. Severn Tann has been pushing the Militia Act in the Parliament and has received strong support. The Act would require the Separatist planets to provide more military power and bring all their existing fleets under unified command... Speaker, if the war continues, the situation will become even more difficult."

Severn Tann is not dead?

(End of this chapter)