Kingly Adventures

Chapter 73: Planetary Trade Organization Act (Part 2)

Alexander watched as few unimportant matters were discussed by the senators. These 'unimportant matters' only affected the lives of only a few tens of millions of people so they were neglected by the Senate which was formed to serve the people of the galaxy. Alexander watched as the main show started and the aid of the Senator of Kuat moved his pod to the center of the Senate. The Senator of Kuat oozed arrogance and an aura of superiority which grated on others nerves. This act was an idea of Alexander but it was brought into existence by the efforts of the Senators under his command.

The original act was full of so many loopholes and offered so many avenues of exploitation that Alexander was astonished that the Republic managed to exist for so many years. Alexander watched as the Senator of Kuat spoke up in an arrogant and holier than thou voice which seriously grated on his nerves. Alexander didn't listen to his speech and turned to the Senator of Dual, a human called Gase'he and said, " Senator!! If this act doesn't pass because of this arrogant man, I will hold all those responsible who agreed to let this man represent my idea to this corrupt Senate, and, believe me, you won't like my anger." The Senator sweated and pressed a button for private call. Soon, the image of Senator of Corellia appeared on the screen. The Senator turned serious as he knew who was sitting with Senator of Daul.

Gase'he, " He is not happy with that arrogant pounce from Kuat. He is saying that he will hold us responsible if the act fails to pass in the Senate and we will face his wrath. It's my personal request to stop the pounce from ruining this historical moment."

Senator Dekero paled in fright and quickly moved his pod next to the Senator of Kuat. Everyone stopped to pay attention to the new development. The Senator of Kuat also turned towards the unexpected arrival with confused expression. Senator Dekero bowed towards the Supreme Chancellor and said, " I deeply apologise for this rude interruption in the proceeding of the Senate but I and others believe that Senator of Kuat is not capable enough to highlight the advantages and reasons behind the act, we are placing before the Senate for consideration."

The face of Senator of Kuat reddened in anger but before he could speak, Senator Dekero leaned towards him and spoke in a very low voice while hiding his lips from view so that no one reads his lips, only Alexander and probably the Jedi present in the Senate were able to hear Senator Dekero. Senator Dekero said to Senator of Kuat, " Senator of Kuat!!!  The various Galactical powers backing this act feel that you are incapable of presenting this act. Your arrogance has turned many senators against us, if this act doesn't pass because of this, we will attack Kuat and it's noble families in every was possible and as for you, you will not leave this planet alive. So please, if you love being alive then, kindly return to your place and sit there without uttering a word."

The Senator of Kuat nodded frantically and turned to Supreme Chancellor and said, " My apologises to Supreme Chancellor and The Senate!!! My friend from Corellia has convinced me of my folly of being too excited in introducing this act to the Senate which made me forget my manners. I will carry this shame to my grave. I deeply apologise if my previously uttered words had made anyone dissatisfied. I hope that you give some serious thought to the usefulness of this act." The Senator of Kuat bowed towards the Supreme Chancellor and the Senate and moved his pod back to the wall.

Senator Dekero spoke up, " I am man of few words so I will keep my speech short. The Planetary Trade Organization Act is an act which will enable the Senate and Senators to sell the planets present under their jurisdiction which are not inhabitated by anyone but are capable of supporting a population. In no way, this act supports the moving of already present natives to another planet in order to sell the planets and prescribes hard punishments for such acts. The Planetary Trade Organization is the organization which will oversee the trade of planets, only the planets which are sold and brought through the organization, would be considered as legal transactions and the rest will be deemed illegal and appropriate measures will be taken against such illegal dealings....." 

A blue light flashed from the one of the pods and an weird alien said something which was translated to galactic basic. Alexander was told by the Senator of Dual that the alien was asking about the benefits of selling and buying of planets.

Senator Dekero, " As my fellow colleague has asked, the benefits of this act are immense. There are many habitable planets in numerous systems which are not being developed because of lack of funds and population. This will help in development of planets and economy of the neighbouring systems will also improve. This will also help the poor and unfortunate people of the galaxy which are forced to live in less than stellar conditions. The new planets would be pollution free and the space available to construct homes and infrastructure facilities will be immense...."

Senator Dekero was once again interruppted by by another senator, a middle aged human male spoke up, " Senator Dekero, I wanted to ask a few questions. What measures you plan to take in order to avoid the exploitation of people moving to these planets? Who will have control over this planets, the rich who will buy these planets or the native  government?"

Senator Dekero smiled and said, " My friend from Naboo raises valid concerns. When we were framing this act, we were also presented with similar questions from our colleagues who are concerned for the good of the galaxy. We were perplexed on how to solve the problem of monitoring the new planets but in that dark time, we found our ray of light, the impartial Jedi Order. We approached the Jedi and they agreed to help us in the endeavour to monitor these newly acquired planets. As for the matter of control, the people who buy the planets would have full control over their planets if they don't plan to build any settlements over there and use the planets as personal leisure spots. But, if they are planning to build any form of settlements on their newly acquired planets or conduct any form of trade then they would have to give tax to the native government which is set to be 10 percent of the total earnings. Also, they would be held responsible for any crimes committed against the people living on their planets to the native government and The Honourable Senate itself. More than three valid complains would see the ownership of planet be returned back to the native government or the Planetary Trade Organization in absence of a native government. Moreover, the owners would be strictly prohibited from blocking the communications from the wider galaxy."

The Senator of Naboo said, " No Offence to the Honourable Jedi, but we all know that the Jedi are very less in number in comparison to the wider galaxy so how do you expect them to monitor the new planets?"

Senator Dekero showed a sad expression on his face and said in a sorrowful voice, " Yes.... The last war against the Sith for saving the Republic costed the Jedi, many of their brave and Noble companions, from which they have not recovered fully till now.... BUT, we have decided to help the Jedi by adding a fundamental clause in our act which states that, all the children below the age of 4 years living on the newly acquired planets would be tested for their midichlorian count and the data would be given to the Jedi so that they could select their Jedi younglings.... This clause is a test run for a new act which we are planning to introduce in the Senate in a few years, The Midichlorian Count Act which would impement this clause in the whole galaxy and help the Jedi in recruiting younglings from all over the galaxy and reduce the sentiment that Jedi only care about the well-being of the core worlds..."

Alexander could see that the Jedi representative was shocked after hearing the announcement of the new act which would help the Jedi but the representative quickly composed himself. This time Senator Organa interrupted Senator Dekero and asked, " This does not answer the question of Senator Pamaelo."

Senator Dekero smiled and said, " I was getting there, Senator Organa. When the Jedi would go to collect the younglings, they will use anonymous starships and check the condition of the planets. Those who are not upto standards due to negligence of owners would be given a warning and after three warnings, the planet would return to the original owner. Also, falsifying the data about the midichlorian count would see all those involved in prison. To prevent the falsification of data, specialized medical droids will be made to send the data to the Jedi Temple immediately after the test. How all this will be achieved is written in the act, the copy of which will send to you in a short while so that you can pursue it at your convenience. That's all I want to say." Senator Dekero bowed towards the Supreme Chancellor and Senate and returned his pod back to his place.

After 3 hours of arguments and counter arguments, the voting was done and the act was passed with a landslide. Alexander smiled and started the preparations of executing the next step of his plan.

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For advance chapters go to P A T R E O . C O M/novicewriter