* ✩ ▲ act one, chapter five▲ ✩ * The Opening of the Opposition
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The afternoon passes with little incident. Master Yoda arrives to stand guard for the night and they discuss the option of her appearing through hologram. They agree to inform nobody and to do it in a room that can be easily defended. She sits at her desk for most of the night, working on her revised speech in order to give the most reassuring message she possibly can.
She manages a few hours of sleep, interrupted frequently by both her own overactive brain and sounds from the streets of Coruscant. Eventually, the sun rises and she deems it an acceptable time to shower and get dressed. As always, she dresses professionally but not traditionally. That's still Padme's job.
When she emerges, Master Yoda is handing back over to Obi-Wan and Anakin. She sends them a smile, her tiredness covered both by makeup and the mug of coffee that is practically calling her name. She turns on the machine and waits, flicking through the cards that hold her speech.
"Senator, if we are to make the meeting, we must leave now," Obi-Wan says, watching her pour coffee into her mug. She picks it up, taking it with her as the two Jedi escort her towards one of the training rooms with Holocall abilities They draw the blinds, turn on the lights and stand guard by the door. She flicks through the cards one more time and waits for her cue. She presses the button and the entire Senate becomes visible to her.
"Fellow Senators, I apologise for the interruption yesterday. I would like to emphasise that the attempts on my life are not to do with the Nubian stance on the Military Creation Act. I am cooperating with the Jedi in order to protect myself and those around me and we will get to the bottom of this threat.
"The Military Creation Act is something that both I and Senator Amidala feel very strongly about. The Queen and her Council all agree that the creation of a Republic Army will only aggravate the situation and antagonise the Separatists. To grow an army is to provoke a war that the Republic is not ready, nor should be willing, to fight. To fight is to yield our democracy and to lose faith in delegation and peaceful negotiations, the foundations of this Republic. We must work on the side of democracy or else we fail in our duty and our service to our people and our planetary systems.
"I, for one, know where my vote will lie and l only hope that you will stand with me and fight for the peace and prosperity that our people do not just deserve, but are entitled to. Thank you."
She steps back from the holocall, letting out a relieved breath. When the transmission ends, she is relying on Bail and his staff to take relevant notes of other speakers and their arguments, comments and questions. Despite standing on different sides of the debate, she knows that he will be fair in his transcription.
