LEILANI SERENNO bridged the past and the present, born into a family of cruelty and then groomed to fulfil a role in the grand scheme of things. She was a puppet manipulated by her brother, ensnared in a larger narrative orchestrated by the Force. Y...
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Staying on Coruscant for more than a day felt eerie to Leilani; the ghosts of her past popping up their heads one by one as she walked through the temple corridors or their old apartment. The first of her destinations was the temple garden after the chaos in the Senate winded down; reminiscing the moments with Dooku and Qui-Gon; then wandering around, all the memories came back haunting. She had the time to think, for once, and no distraction meant a swirling sonic tsunami of thoughts in her head. Her return back to Tython wasn't scheduled for half a week, and not she could've gone right away, but she simply decided to stay. So, as soon as the melancholic memory-chasing was starting to get worse, she jumped up; getting back right into the Senate chamber to aid Padmé, for once.
"Our Generals inform us that the troops in the field continue to perform valiantly," raised his voice Bail Organa, leaning forward in his Senate pod. "What we cannot afford is to be irresponsible. The Republic is near bankruptcy due to the cost of this war."
Several of the Senators cheered following his words.
"Bankruptcy is not necessary my friends," Senator Lott Dod manoeuvred his pod upwards, gesturing lightly. "If we pass Senator Saam's bill to open new lines of credit, we will gain access to the needed funds."
Mon Mothma spoke up against him, "Won't this bill essentially deregulate the banks?"
"A small price to pay to finance the war, is it not?"
"We must get the war going—"
"Get the bill on the table!"
"Members of the Senate," Padmé said, activating her pod; gesturing for Captain Typho and Leilani to sit down as she neared Bail Organa's position. "Do you hear yourselves? More money, more clones, more war— say nothing of fiscal responsibility, what about moral responsibility? Hasn't this war gone on long enough?"
Senator Saam narrowed his eyes at her. "Senator Amidala, are you suggesting we surrender to the Separatists?
"Of course not," she protested quickly. "But negotiation might be a better course of action."
"You can't negotiate with those animals!"
"Keep the war going!"
"Vote, now!"
And perhaps if it hadn't been for Bail Organa to stop the vote, disaster would have come already. These were complicated debates, many perspectives and each only favouring only their own. The real wars of pride and ego were fought from the elite's comfortable homes— while men died on the battlefield, and the numbers of the Jedi dwindled down. Padmé, Bail Organa and Mon Mothma were rational, and always have been; yet they have had a powerful opposite in the forms of the Banking Clan and Trade Federation, power seekers, only motivated by the size of the pocketbooks and amounts of credit. Mindless assets to take control of the galaxy.
