Adhira Chandra had spent most of her life trying to save the Alliance - and its many predecessors - from the horrors of war. It had been a careful, intricate dance: a waltz of compromise and diplomacy in 3/4 time; an uptempo fox-trot of flattery and favor; and yes, the occasional bravado of an aubade swing with grand shows of strength. She was a master dancer. Yet her skills were constantly put to the test by the heavy, flat stomping of men. So it came as no surprise when she learned that
Julius Loghain
had sauntered inelegantly onto the dance floor with all of the grace and subtlety of flatulence at the ballet.
A rare emergency closed session of the Senate had been convened to discuss the future of the Alliance's relations with their southerly neighbors in the Confederacy. The CIS and the Alliance had never been close friends, particularly with the advent of their exclusionary trade policies and she had been a frequent vocal opponent of their policies, but the old Balmorran had not quite lost hope in their ability to reconcile. Now, it seemed a small congress of populist and corporatist shills in the Senate were eager to fling the Alliance into an all-out war. This was something she would not abide.
She emerged from the small antechamber that separated the Senate corridors from Balmorra's seat in the chamber - unaccompanied by her usual entourage of Representatives and aides. In keeping with the seriousness of the debate, Adhira was dressed mostly in black silk that cascaded like a waterfall down her shapely form. A wrap of deep maroon accented the gown and fastened tightly around her neck was a stiff ebony collar set with diamonds.
Once she had a clear understanding of the direction the debate was going, Adhira stood directed her pod to sail into the middle of the vast hall. "Your Excellency, if I may, the delegation of Balmorra seeks recognition..." she gave a cool smile in
Emmen Tagge
's direction as he nodded to communicate his consent to her request.
"My honorable colleagues... friends," she spoke carefully as the deep timbre of her voice reverberated through the cavernous coliseum, "we have been summoned from across the Alliance to consider what is perhaps the most pivotal question this body has faced since the formation of this democracy. It is a question that our forebears often struggled with and fumbled spectacularly to the detriment of our people - of the Core."
"That question, of course, is whether to go to war." Again, Adhira paused to give weight to her words. As the last echos of 'war' died away, she inhaled deeply and began anew. "And make no mistake, my friends, that is the question being asked today. How we answer it will determine the fate of this little experiment of ours."
"I will concede to my honorable colleague from Kuat that the Confederacy of Independent Systems threatened to gravely undermine our economic stability when they closed off our access to vital trade routes through their territory. Threatened to, yes, but ultimately did not. Instead, we endeavored to find solutions and together with our allies undertook one of the greatest infrastructural projects of our age - and we succeeded. Not through violence, not through bloodshed, but through ingenuity, diplomacy, and perseverance."
"Since then, the Confederacy's feeble attempt at isolationism has all but collapsed under its own weight. Confederacy First is now nothing more than a handful of empty gestures and hollow words. Several of their initial policy positions have already been reversed and it is a matter of time before they relent altogether. I saw this firsthand when I represented our interests on Naboo not but a few weeks ago."
"Chairman Tambor is correct in his assessment that the Confederacy is weak. They have grown fat and complacent, their military power is waning and we have eclipsed their economic strength with the various industrial worlds in our territory, Balmorra included," she gave a withering look in Loghain's direction as Kuat had also been a large contributor to the Alliance's economy. Her expression cooled, though as she turned back to the rest of the senate.
"Many have fought and died in our effort to reclaim our rightful home, to reunite the Core... Atrisia is a no less important part of those efforts than any of the planets we, the assembled, represent. To the rest of the galaxy, I have no doubt that our vengeful reclamation of our sister planet would be seen as justified," a sadness tinged her voice and Adhira sighed, "but how many of our people are we willing to send reeling into another war? 1 million? 1 billion?"
Here on Coruscant, it was easy for the most powerful people in the galaxy to forget the value of life. The grand palaces, towering luxury apartments, even the halls of the Senate could make one lose sight of the people they each represented back on their own planets. Adhira was not willing to lose another Balmorran life to an avoidable conflict.
"We must choose peace."
"I concur with my honorable friends of Alderaan and Balosar that it is time to open a channel of dialogue with the Confederacy... to negotiate the return of Atrisia and other Core Worlds to our Alliance. Further, Chancellor Tagge," she turned again to the leader of the Alliance, "it would be my honor to help facilitate these talks." Adhira's forty years of service in the diplomatic corp had done more than prepare her for speechmaking. She had also aqcuired a number of close contacts throughout the galaxy and racked up a number of favors. As her pod returned to its place, she jammed the button that turned off her microphone and returned to her seat.
Adhira Chandra
. Some day he would put them all in their place.
