No Names, No Titles, Chapter 2 - Youβve Got Mail AU Mon/Orson
Chapter 2, or Orson Callan Krennic is pioneering space take-someone-elseβs-kid-to-your-Senate-testimony day and it goesβ¦ exactly as youβd expectβ¦ π€
Coruscant, 4 BBY
Mon doesnβt know whether her anonymous correspondent has ever set foot in the Senate, but his βsentients in love with the sound of their own voicesβ may be one of the most apt descriptions for the institution. In all likelihood, he had something else entirely in mind. There is no shortage of ministries, corporations, consortiums, or research societies that couldβve inspired the remark β Coruscant is a magnet for vanity. Still, the moment she read it, she could think of no other place.
Itβs the ocean of sound, every voice insisting on being heard above the rest. Ideas are swept into the current of coalitions and compromises. Bills emerge from back rooms and committees with every sharp edge rounded by the tide. And truth, more often than not, never makes it back to the surface. Itβs easy to drown here β stars know, Mon almost did back at sixteen. Scrabbled for votes and smiled and kept her head above the proverbial water until she has learned to navigate the currents. Every now and then, however, Palpatine kindly reminds her that the tide was never hers to command.
Today, the ocean ripples with the usual ebb and flow of budget appropriations. Her amendment on humanitarian relief gets attached to new Imperial outposts in the Outer Rim; legacy planetsβ heritage protections are traded for increased funding for Palpatineβs strategic infrastructure projects elsewhere, and so on and so forth. If sheβs lucky, the day will leave only the usual dull tension in her temples and a mildly nauseating aftertaste.
Her private comlink softly chimes with a message. Luck, apparently, has chosen someone elseβs side tonight: Davo Sculdun kindly reminds her about a charity gala heβs hosting next week.
A perfect opportunity for two young minds to get to know each other better as the arrangements take their due course.
One future weighed against billions. The Senator who has spent three decades making impossible choices is baffled that she still hesitates. The daughter who once promised herself that the chain would end with her is appalled that she is considering the bargain at all.
Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately for the person sending it - her official inbox chooses that precise moment to announce another message.
***
From: Office of Director Orson Krennic
To: Senator Mon Mothma
Subject: Committee Appearance
Senator,
Regrettably, a prior personal commitment will prevent me from appearing before your Committee next week, as I have already promised my time to a rather inquisitive audience upon my return to Coruscant. Rest assured, however, that I will remain subject to rigorous questioning. While it may sound like a novel concept, I am also hopeful that this audience will be willing to actually listen to the answers.
Iβm sure there is no shortage of infrastructure projects that would benefit from your Committeeβs undivided attention, so I respectfully request that my testimony be postponed until a mutually convenient date.
Director Orson C. Krennic
***
Mon catches the involuntary lift of her eyebrows a moment too late, then quickly schools her face into a neutral expression befitting a Senator.
The gall of him.
Krennicβs remarkably active private life is a permanent fixture in the gossip columns - something Perrin, for reasons known only to Perrin, takes particular care to keep her informed about - but she has never expected him to invoke it quite so brazenly as grounds for avoiding a Committee hearing.
***
From: Senator Mon Mothma
To: Office of Director Orson Krennic
Subject: Re: Committee Appearance
Director,
Since you seem to be in the mood for entertaining novel concepts, let me remind you that public accountability takes precedence over personal commitments. Your appearance remains scheduled for 13:00 CCT. Failure to comply will compel the Committee to consider contempt proceedings and a formal motion of censure.
I am hopeful that even the unrelenting demands of your private life can be accommodated outside Senate hours, where they may be more appropriately entertained.
Best regards,
Senator Mon Mothma
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PS. the chapter has pulled on Barbieheimer on me. Itβs still a romcom, I swear, but juggling 3 canons is not for the faint of heartβ¦
