hope.

NATALIE PORTMAN  //  have you met PADMÉ AMIDALA yet?  SHE is now TWENTY-NINE years old CIS WOMAN HUMAN, originally from NABOO but typically reside on NABOO /  ONDERON.  after everything she’s gone through, she now shows loyalty to THE NEW REPUBLIC.  she is best known for being a SENATOR, & i hear she’s grown pretty COMPASSIONATE yet also RECKLESS at times; i hope she survives the galactic war. (APRIL, 24, EST, THEY/SHE)

Luke felt his eyes droop as his head rested in the palm of his hand as he slowly sipped on the drink he had before him. He had sat in this place for what felt like days, though he supposed it was a few hours at most. He had been told that someone would meet him here with information about the ancient Jedi texts. But he was getting quite tired, and truly wished his contact would arrive soon. 

He felt someone approach him before he heard the stool scratch against the floor. He perked up slightly, looking at the person, before speaking up.

“I suppose traffic must have been bad?”

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senate meetings seemed to run the constant threat of driving padmé insane. the tensions were different than what it had been like at the clone wars –– at least for now, it seemed like their greatest enemy truly was on the outside. the yuuzhan vong. but they were still a great unknown in many ways. what was mot prominent was their capacity for destruction, and apparent lack of being sensed in the force.

Jaster nodded in agreement “We do. And that will never change, no matter the government in charge. I do believe the New Mandalorian’s proved that well unfortunately.” He said with a sigh “I simply wanted to moderate it.” He murmured “Hopefully Jango will have a better chance in achieving that in this era than either of us did in the past.”

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   “I have to agree, thankfully, and this is a small thank to have but, it would seem all of our contemporaries are also at a severe lack of knowledge, meaning they are not working with these invaders. Had they made alliances then the entire New Republic would be in grave danger.” Mon let out a soft sigh, it seemed anytime things were actually starting to get better, they were hit with a massive setback that put them five steps in reverse. Nodding her head as Padmé further explained the use of their possible asset. 

“Very well, I shall support any decision you make. I am here for anything you may need on that front. As for Rae Sloane, no I have not actually met her, but I have read enough about her to hope that she is the best leader we could wish for the Empire. From what I understand, she at least has honor, and is a dignified leader. She won’t try and pull any tricks, not when working together would save more lives.” 

it was a shared vulnerability, one that was hard to have any gratitude for. perhaps it was good that the empire or first order was not directly working with these named vong, but even if they had –– surely there could have been an advantage there, some kind of spy work, or something... but they were all sitting in the dark. “we will count what few blessings we have,” padmé agreed with a small nod of her head, offering a polite smile that did not meet her eyes.

“Oh I knew it, I suppose I just didn’t expect it to come from one of my own men.” Jaster said, frowning a little as he recalled Montross turning his back on him as Vizsla shot him down and Jango explaining his second’s betrayal. “There are far too many willing to kill for those reasons. You’d think that not wanting to the return of the Mandalorian Empire was an insult to the Ka’ra themselves with how Death Watch reacted.” he snorted.

“they are. i’m honestly quite proud of how well the order has begun to pull things together. it’s … a very challenging thing to come back from.” she didn’t like to think about order 66, but it was impossible to avoid it. she could run it over in her mind as much as she liked, & it didn’t become any easier to grapple with it. “thank you, padmé. & the same in return, of course. i would — appreciate it if you would let me know if you hear anything about mace. long odds, i know, but i am trying for some optimism.” that was far more like him than her.

wry smile twists bitter lips upwards , quirking into a painted semblance of amusement. “ well , that's not quite true. ” they study the senator for a moment , sharp blue eyes piercing and dividing , as if dissecting , analyzing , targeting with view alone. “ the people celebrated your coronation and mourned your death , did they not ? ” the duchess hesitates , as if choosing her words , although it shines in her features that is a falsehood. “ or are you suggesting you are the exception to this rule ? ”

Jaster sighed and nodded "You're right." he said in agreement, glancing down at the Senator "Violence for the sake of violence was one of the main reasons I created the reforms in the Codex." he said before laughing quietly, rubbing a hand over his chest "Who knew wanting less violence would lead to my death?"

@0fchandrila​

Sabe played with the ends of her hair, the end of her braid which reached to her rib cage, mid back and she smiled at her longtime friend, one of her best.  It had been a long while since they had seen each other and she was more than happy to be bak aout of the Rim.  He smile grew as she got closer to Padme and hugged her tight.  She could only imagine what she was dealing with in the current status o things lately.  But it was really good to see the smile on her face.  “Oh you should hmm?  I suppose since it’s you I might even listen,” she replied in a teasing manner.  

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   He grinned, “Oh yes, yes it is.” Senator Amidala was good at this, he would have loved to see her down on the main floors of Canto Bight, she would have had an exquisite poker face. She could probably rob half their patrons blind if she really wanted. Vantir chuckled at the next statement, knowing all too well what she meant. “Oh normally it would yes, quite a bit, however, with these marked down prices, and with my plans to meet with quite a few more of your colleagues, we could really cut that deliberation time down to next to nothing. The ExO, and the Direx Board, think democracy, and cooperation are such vital elements to survival. That is why they would like for the Corporate Sector Authority to be allowed a representative in your Galactic Senate, not a voting member obviously, they would never presume so much power, but rather someone ideally, since I know all the Senators so well, me to just be allowed to give our input on legislation that passes through the senate.” 

Vantir was sure that she was going to hate this idea, but he also knew that right now the New Republic was in a tight position, and that position could be exploited. He also for other senators had a little promise of increased campaign contributions, but Vantir knew such a promise would never work on Senator Amidala. “Obviously, we all want to work together to get these comms up and running, and the CSA would be more than happy to dedicate a good number of our best and brightest at helping with this endeavor.” 

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vantir was well aware of how to make a sales pitch, but that would have no effect on padmé’s morals which were still firmly established despite the change in time and scenery that the emperor’s rift had dragged her threw. while she did not know all who served in the new republic’s senate on a truly personal level, to be able to see what their own real priorities were, she held onto the hope that there were more now who were like-minded to herself after the empire’s rule than there had been in her own time. there was still a divide between those who wanted larger and smaller military size, but the attack of the vong made it a clear necessity for now. it would bring people together out of terror. but how an offer like this would shake things up? for now, that was quite difficult to tell.

❛   then   at   least   one   of   us   did.   ❜   they   had   been   so   good   all   night,   they   really   had.   kept   their   head   down   and   avoided   starting   shit   with   the   politicians,   looked   nice   and   pretty   on   leia’s   arm.   coulda   been   the   PERFECT   night   –   and   then   he   got   separated   from   leia   before   midnight   and   stabbed   through   the   goddamn   side   when   he   reached   out   to   help   a   guard.   they   figured   at   this   point   he   had   a   pretty   strong   argument   for   UNLUCKIEST   MAN   IN   THE   GALAXY,   maybe.   ❛   yeah,   there   was   some   …   guy.   didn’t   catch   his   name.   think   ‘ve   seen   him   before,   though.   kind   of   a   dick,   but   it   worked   out   good   enough.   ❜

“I don’t know. I can’t know for sure. But I wasn’t recruited by the scientists. I was recruited by someone named Tyranus. Apparently he was a Sith.” Jango muttered, scowling a little. He hated the idea that his mind might have been tampered with. “Some of the things I allowed to happen to the clones are things that I would never agree to in my right mind.” 

“in all honesty, senator, these vong are quite unlike any other species i’ve studied.” that didn’t mean that she couldn’t work something out, but — she didn’t want to get the senator’s hopes up, give her any idea that anthropology might hold the ultimate key. the vong were an interesting people. she & the rest of the department had been having an interesting time trying to puzzle them out from the limited information that they had so far.