Star Wars || Shadows Rising

CHAPTER III

Lux had been in the company of the members of the Ruling Council of Onderon for all of ten minutes, and already the situation was looking bleak.

The rich traders and businesspeople who held sway in Onderon's personal commerce guilds had already grabbed their valuables and left to seek out remote hidey-holes in the far reaches of the Arrowhead Mountains or in the caves along the shores of the Inland Sea, leaving the task of saving their world to others. Lux knew that so long as their profits were in danger, they would be staying well out of the line of fire. Chalking them up as allies would be a mistake.

The Onderonians were not a greedy people by nature, nor were they fickle; but when they gave, they gave with the expectation of an eventual return. And if that return was threatened...

They're like rats on a sinking ship, Lux thought to himself, all so desperate to push one another out of the way and get to safety that they stumble and fall over their own grimy paws.

He couldn't bring himself to blame them, however – at least, not as much as he would have any other day. The fleet of warships hunkering just beyond the horizon like a pride of gundarks waiting to move in for the kill was more than enough to sow panic in the brave and the faint of heart alike.

The politicians on the Ruling Council, on the other hand, were shouting so loudly in an effort to drown out any and all points of view opposing their own Lux wondered if any of them were even able to hear their thoughts clearly enough to process them before they spoke – much less agree on anything.

Some called to rally the military; others objected. One person called for the Onderonian monarchy to reach out to its most powerful friends and seek to renew the terms of their alliances in case the Trade Federation was planning more than just a blockade. Another insisted that reacting out of mere paranoia was foolish, and that they needed not depend on any one ruling government apart from their own.

It was all the same questions and answers over and over again, but no one seemed to see that. Part of Lux wanted to fling himself into the rabble without a care for the consequences and yell for them all to quiet down and listen to one another, but he held back. It was not his place to disrupt the debates of the Ruling Council, no matter how heated; only to look on them with a cool eye and interject when matters involving the Senate and Onderon's dealings with the outside galaxy came into play.

"Silence."

Lux turned his head fractionally as Lady Avahla spoke, giving her his attention without completely disregarding the scene unfolding before them. Before long, he realized that he was the only one who had heard her speak, most likely due to the fact that, as per custom, he was standing to the immediate left of her throne. The royal heir had received no reaction from the other squabbling delegates, and she was less than pleased.

Deciding to throw diplomacy to the wind, Lux stepped forward to call the assembly to order. But Lady Avahla beat him to it.

"Silence!"

Lux started, surprised that such a phenomenal roar could come from such a small woman. But the bellow had its desired effect: everyone in the room froze, and, under the force of Lady Avahla's cold, hard stare, they slowly regained their seats.

"Thank you," Lady Avahla continued, turning to meet the eyes each of the thirty delegates in turn. With her hands folded in her lap just so and her expression as demure as ever, it was almost as though she had never raised her voice in the first place. "Now that I have your attention, I invite you all to bring your points to the table. There is something valid in what each and every one of you has to say, and I will not make a decision without taking everything into consideration."