This is where the different Senators of the galaxy come to meet with regards to political issues.

Security is very high and only those of political stature are allowed to enter. This encludes Royalty and Imperial Officials

Ayanna looked upon the vast Senate Building, she was stunned by the size and beauty it held. It was a long walk before she was finally inside the mushroom shaped wonder.

Luckily for her, with her hood raised she passed easily as one of the many handmaidens and assistants that marched everywhere. She walked over to one of the guards who stood firm.

"Are you allowed to talk?" She half joked.

"Yes, M'Lady." He said staying perfectly still with his chin held high.

"I'm just starting with my assistant position, I have no idea what I'm doing!" She laughed innocently.

The guard didn't look at her but continued looking ahead as he had always done.

"I'm supposed to deliver this Datapad to the Senator of Naboo, but I have no idea the name I should be looking for..... You wouldn't happen to know would you?"

"Of course M,Lady, the Senator of Naboo is Pooja Naberrie"

She smiled like a grateful child.

"Thank you so much, have a nice day"

She turned and left, she knew now she would be able to find this Senator without any difficulty. She smiled in amusement at her act, believing completely that she was the sneakiest person walking on Coruscant. However as she walked into the crowd, the guard turned his head and watched her leave. He nodded his head to his right, and as he did, 3 stormtroopers appeared and the guard whispered to them. They had seen her and clearly recognised her description that was given by Kalin.

"Well done"

The Commander opened a holo-transmitter to send a message to Kalin:

"THE GIRL HAS JUST RETURNED FROM TATOOINE. ALL SOURCES SAY SHE VISITED A JUNKSHOP AND LANDED IN THE DUNE SEA FOR A SHORT WHILE, JUST OUT OF MOS EISLEY, CONTACT THEN WAS LOST SIR, APOLOGISES. SHE HAS NOW BEEN SIGHTED LEAVING THE SENATE BUILDING. ASKING FOR INFORMATION ON THE SENATOR OF NABOO. WE SUSPECT HER NEXT DESTINATION IS THE RESIDENCE OF THE SENATOR."

Jin-ho took another deep breath, constantly reminding herself to keep her look ahead and not trail off to the downright massive interior of the Imperial Senate. For what must have been the hundreth time since waking up, she went through Alderaan policy, both hoping and fearing she might actually have to answer a question.

Self-assurance was the key, she knew from what the notes had told her. Following the self defense lessons her cousin had given her, she emptied her mind of all thoughts, allowing her body to go 'on autopilot' as she walked through the corridor, looking as though she had done the same thing a thousand times before. She was glad for the amount of pacing she had done on the Tantive IV, however, since it had gotten her used to wearing the shoes ^^;

- "Father? What will the meeting be about, again? I seem to have misplaced my agenda."

It took relatively little effort to call Bail Organa 'father', given that she had called her own 'dad'. Because of the small change of title, it made her feel more comfortable about it.

He smiled after greeting her with a hug.

"It's concerning a new proposition concerning the..... Purpose of the Senate..... Some out there are proposing to dismantle the Senate, and hand over all power to the regional governors..... It is merely talk and speculation at this moment, but we fear that this could soon come a reality.... Then, my daughter, your diplomatic immunity, and your place as Senator will be lost.... As will the illusional threads of what liberty is left in the galaxy....."

He spoke very bluntly with her, and revealed more of his opinion than he would to a stranger usually. They continued to walk through the grand halls lined with dark pillars and red carpets.

"I will support you, if any questions are presented to you.... Do not be afraid, young one...." She smiled assuringly.

Jin-ho squeaked softly due to the unexpected hug, but managed to recover in time, greeting the Lord of Alderaan like a childhood friend, or a close relative in this case. Upon hearing what the meeting was going to be about though, she frowned, stating her thoughts on the matter.

- "Wait... But if the Senate's dismantled, a large number of worlds will end up being thrown back into being ruled by feudal Warlords... Right?" :huh:

"Yes.... This is true.... However, we have to remain neutral on the subject as much as possible to avoid suspicion and further observation from the Imperial Forces...."

They entered the Senate chamber, and into their own pod for Alderaan. There were countless thousands of voices to ne heard as all waited for the Senate session to begin.

"Don't worry, you will not have to witness the presence of Emperor Palpatine..... He has been distancing himself from this place since the Old Republic was swept away...."

Jin-ho nodded regardless of never having seen the Emperor before. There had been broadcasts with him in it on the Holo-news, but she generally listened to music anyway, usually being caught up in something too much to listen to more than just the audio feed.

- "Odd... The Imperials actually support this then? Losing stability in the Outer Rim means the Mandalorians would become that much more influential as a faction..."

She entered the Senate chamber, sitting down in one of the chairs in 'her' pod. She couldn't help but wonder how everyone could manage to voice their opinion without the Senate turning into the political equivalent of an auction room, but didn't ask about it, realising she'd find out soon enough.

"The regional governors would keep all of the systems in line.... They would use bribery and force to keep everything within the Empire's reach..... Or so they think....."

The session began in the Senate, with an Imperial representative sitting in for Palpatine.

"Order.... The chamber recognises the honorable delegate of Onderon...."

One of the pod's zoomed forward as a man began to speak, "Senators, many of you must have heard the rumours of removing this political body from the service of the Empire.... I call on you all to speak and ask the Emperor and his officials what reason they have of such a policy...."

This seemed to raise much dispute throughout the chamber as it roared with questions and accusations.

Bail Organa stood next to Jin-Ho, saying nothing and remaining straight faced.

"Order! Order! The Senate is not at libery to discuss such matters..... May we remind the Senator of Onderon that these are not official plans that have been laid out here...."

Another pod came into play,

"The representatives of Malastare support the Senator of Onderon..... These claims have spread too fast and hold too much truth to be a simple scam...."

Bail Organa spoke quietly to Jin-Ho, "To word your opinion in this place is a dangerous thing..... Even in the days of the Old Republic, it was a risk to be taken.... That even I took... But now.... More than your reputation would be at risk here..... These Senators are playing with fire, and no matter what they do... They will get burnt from it..... Keep your eyes on the holonet.... It would not surprise me if these two bold Senators either have accidents or mysteriously disappear..... Thus is the will of the Empire......"

Jin-ho silently mouthed part of Bail Organa's reply, incredulous of what she had been hearing. If it had been anyone but the man currently sitting next to her, she'd write it off as a bad joke. Hell, she was still doubting it, herself. Onderon sounded strangely familiar though...

- "Onderon... Saiya! Will she be allright? Should we send her a few guards posing as guests, to be safe?" :unsure:

It was an effort to keep her voice hushed to a loud whisper. From what she heard, speaking up now would potentially place her in danger... Yet, things would not be limited to just her: People believed her to be Leia here... Casting the wrong kind of attention down on herself meant endangering the Princess as well as her father.

She wanted to speak up though, she wanted to so badly to increase public support for Onderon -- and Saiya... Alderaan was influential. If the power block was large enough, if it would be solid enough to sway a couple more votes their way...

- "...I know i'll be walking on fire here, but would it be okay if i spoke up now? I want to, but i don't want people to be in danger because of... who i am."

"We can do nothing now.... But there will be a time.... The best thing is to remain silent.... neither pro or against the matter.... Merely learn from it...... You will be able to help with this matter.... Once this mission is complete..... I know you do not dream of spending your days as a loyal handmaiden..... But perhaps you would find yourself of use for..... The Alliance...." He said quietly.

"Saiya, yes I remember her, she will be alright.... She knows the situation as well as all of us, she will be cautious..... We still have contact with her, she has been a great help to us....."

The Senate meeting lasted over an hour on the issue of the dismantling, but then drifted off into other galactic issues. But Bail Organa remained silent and continued to observe, only watching.

After the session was over, Bail Organa escorted Jin-Ho through the hallways.

"I'm sorry that it took so long.... Lucky for us it was not as long as some have been known to.... What are your thoughts?..."

Despite the dress fitting perfectly, Jin-ho had a feeling as if she'd ran out of breath. Sure, there had been rumors in the Palace she heard after becoming a Handmaiden, but they were... well, rumors. To hear it from Bail Organa's own mouth however... The feeling it gave her dwarfed the shock she had felt listening to the Imperial proposal.

- "I'll... have to think about that for a bit. Would that be okay?" :ph43r:

The meeting trailed off into other matters, but Jin-ho barely followed them. Before today, the Alliance existed merely in rumor and hearsay, a simple band of pirates and similar lawbreakers -- an image reinforced by the Imperial controlled Galactic News Network. Judging from what she had heard today -- both from the Empire's rumored change of policy as well as the comments of some of the other Senators supporting the Empire -- there would be much to think about.

"Well, you have plenty of time to think about it.... Either way, you are up for promotion my child.... You have two choices....... One.... You can continue on your path in security..... Queen Kylantha of Naboo is in need of a decoy..... It would be a fantastic opportunity for you...... Or.... You can remain, on the surface, a handmaiden for the Alderaan Courts and work as a spy...... It would take you to many places throughout the galaxy I admit.... And it could be dangerous.... More so than that of a decoy..... But, I present the choices for you.... It is up to you Jin-Ho....."

He stood at the foot of the Tantive IV as two air taxi's arrived.

"I have matters to attend to.... You are welcome to stay here on the planet for as long as you wish.... You can stay at mine and my wife's apartment here on Coruscant.... My security will make sure you are safe...... Is there anything else I can help you with before I leave?...."

Jin-ho winced a bit, looking around her as she spotted the air taxis. There were no people in the area that could overhear, but she decided to play it safe anyway. Walking closer to Bail Organa, she spoke softly, taking care not to appear doing anything out of the ordinary.

- "Umm... Father, if it's all the same, couldn't i just go back to Alderaan instead?"

She emphasized Father, hoping to get the message across that with everyone still believing her to be Leia, she couldn't really do anything. And with everything she had heard today, it would take considerable effort not to reach for a Holoscreen and potentially blow her cover. Now close enough, she embraced him in what appeared to be a normal farewell hug, all the while whispering what her heart truly wanted most.

- "I appreciate the offer, but there's just too much i've found out today... And i really, really need to talk to my cousin about it..."

She looked up to the man, stepping away a few paces. The air-taxis were almost there now, and she fidgeted slightly with a corner of the dress as she bit her lip. She needed to talk to Amyante badly, but needed to do that in person to not endanger both her cover on Coruscant, and Leia's on Dantooine.

"As you wish..... Be safe.... Leia.... Enjoy your time here on Coruscant..... I will call for you when we are to return home...." He turned and boarded his air taxi that ascended into the skies and flew off quickly.

With the security now at her side, Jin-Ho had the opportunity to explore the Capital planet of the Galaxy.

With Bail Organa gone now, Jin-ho felt truly exposed, despite the security around her. She tried to remember what she had learned from Leia's notes, but the images kept fading into those of Senators, of the Emperor and of hidden spies and assassins. Suddenly feeling as if the whole planet was staring at her, she turned to the security with all the confidence she could still muster.

- "Let's get back to my parents' apartment here, i have some things i need to take care of."

That was a blatant lie, of course. She was fully intending to lock herself in there up until they'd be ready to leave again, fearing to be talked to, or even slipping up in her walk without Bail Organa nearby to correct things, and for her to morally support on.

As she boarded the diplomatic transport that would take her to the apartment, she sighed. Until departure, she'd be in the apartment, disactivate the Holocom and basically pace up and down waiting for the signal to leave.

[Residence of Queen Breha of Alderaan]

The taxi took to the skies and headed for the Palace District.

Bail Organa and Queen Breha's Apartment

The Queen and her company had now arrived and were seated in their pod, overlooking the whole of the Senate chamber which was by now almost completely full. The Senate dome was full of voices as each planetary leader discussed the business that was going on. Everyone was eager to see who would be representing Palpatine this day. It had been many months since he had last shown his face.

"Now we play the waiting game..... Once one of Palpatine's advisers arrives, the Senate session will begin, we must keep absolutely quiet..... Even the Queen will have to watch how she acts in this place...... We are now in a predator's den, and all eyes are watching us......." Asané spoke to Amelia.

"Don't worry," Amelia whispered in reply. "I might not agree with everything that is going to be said, but believe me, I've no intention of making a scene - whether by talking, making some sort of gesture or otherwise...you can count on that."

The two sat in silence and waited, Amelia's eyes continually darting between Asané and the Queen, noting every detail of them both - How they were handling the situation, what they were doing while they waited and so on.

To everyone's surprise it was Emperor Palpatine himself who opened the session, which was a rare event in these days of the war. He didn't speak much when it came to discussions of the war or other political matters. He was here for another reason. To strike fear in the senator's hearts was one of the tools he was known for. He was very good at it. Then the time came when finally he spoke to the people in the Senate.

"Senators, I have come to inform you of our progress to track down the remaining Jedi to punish them for their treason!"

Everybody knew what he meant with "punish". It meant that they would be executed which was very odd. It has been 17 years since the Jedi 'betrayed' the Republic and the only person who still really cared about this event was the Emperor himself. After the Republic was destroyed, opinions were divided about the Jedi. Little still felt hatred towards them. Most didn't care what happened to them. Some doubted of the true reasons that the Jedi tried to assassinate the emperor. Did they see this event coming? Did they know Palpatine would turn his Empire into a dictatorship?

"To inform you about the current status, I present to you, my most loyal friend, Lord Vader, who is assigned to hunt the remaining Jedi down and recently found a secret hide-out on Nar Shaddaa! Whether the government of Nar Shaddaa knew of this is yet to be determined."

A Senate pod flew down with a dark tall appearance. It was non other than Darth Vader who stepped walked over from his pod to the platform, Palpatine was standing on. Due to the large echo his heavy breathing could be heard all over the dome of the Senate.

Though he was there to speak, he was not fond to inform these snake creatures....these senators which he looked down upon. They were not proud warriors such as himself. He hated politics and didn't want to be involved in any case of event. But this time Palpatine insisted for him to come forward to the Senate.

"Our spy network was able to detect one Jedi on the higher levels of Nar Shaddaa. We had to be sure this information was valid, so I went to Nar Shaddaa myself to track him down. After some research I found a large nest of Jedi who were hiding in the refugee sector. I led the 501st Legion into battle and they were all exterminated with only minor losses at our side..."

With hesitation one senator started to clap to applaud Vader for his 'courage' and 'success' in this matter. Other senators followed his example and everybody started to applaud Vader, but only a few really applauded for these reasons, most just did out of fear. Vader did not like this, as this was all just a lie.

It was not him who led the campaign, it was Kalin who did the dirty work. Not that he never accomplished something like this, he has done far more killing than Kalin ever would do, but this time it was not his doing so he thought he did not deserve the credit. But this was all part of Palpatine's plan. He wanted Vader to earn a darker reputation than anybody would ever have, so he could later move to a military position where both his allies and his enemies would fear him.

Palpatine wanted him to bluff even harder by claiming he killed the Jedi all by himself without aid of the 501st Legion, but Vader just felt he could not do this. Dark Lord of the Sith or not...he still had his pride and honour and his success in the Jedi Purge was already highly exaggerated. After all the matters around the Jedi were discussed they moved to another subject.

Amelia sat silently, watching the towering black monster as he addressed the Senate. All those rumours that she'd heard about him...she was beginning to think now that they were a bit of an understatement.

True, she'd heard his breathing long before she'd seen him, and yes it had certainly sent a shiver down her spine, but that fear lasted as long as it took for Vader to take his place upon the podium, and then that fear turned to horror and she sat paralysed, afraid to move even the slightest muscle for fear that it would attract this monster's attention.

How could this thing be human? It looked more machine than man...how could anyone willingly do that to themselves? Or perhaps he hadn't chosen to...perhaps he'd been forced to...by the Emperor maybe?

Another shiver ran down her spine.

After a long Senate sessions, Palpatine finally left accompanied by his Royal Guards. Once this had happened, everyone present in the dome was able to leave. The queen was first to leave the pod and into the hallways outside. Everyone was busy, discussing what had just happened. After all this time, countless years since the end of the Republic, Palpatine was still devoted to wiping out the Jedi at all costs.

The visit to Coruscant was almost over for the Queen and her entourage. Together with Pooja Naberrie, the Queen spoke in hushed tones as they continued to leave through the vast halls, lined with red carpets.

"Well that's that...... Not the post interesting of occupations is it?" Asané laughed a little to Amelia.

"Oh it's certainly been an interesting visit for me," Amelia replied with a grin. "I mean, I've travelled in space, spoken to the Queen, spoken to Senator Naberrie, been assured a place as one of the Queen's handmaidens, visited a new planet and seen both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader in the flesh! Ok, loads of people can probably say they've done the same, but hey, it's a first for me."

She laughed at this and finally felt herself relax now that they were moving further and further away from the Senate room and its monstrous occupants, and back towards familiar surroundings.

"I think we will stay until tomorrow, then we shall return to Naboo..... I know it seems pointless to travel all this way just to hear the Emperor speak as he did, but if we hadn't come the results upon the Queen would be disastrous..... The Emperor wants to ensure that all are at his command and will obey...... Sad but true....... Once we get back to the Queen's residence, we will be able to talk further..... Is there anything you would like to do before we leave this planet?" Asané asked with curiosity.

Amelia thought for a moment. Then she shook her head.

"There is nothing I would like to do here...I can save my exploring for another time...but when we get back to Naboo, I think I would like to visit my home in the Lake Country if possible, see if my brother has returned home, or left anything for me...I do worry about him." She sighed sadly. "I haven't seen of heard from him in three years."

Then she shook these sad thoughts from her mind and forced a smile again. "What will you do tonight? Go anywhere nice or just have a quiet night in?"

"Give me a moment......" Asané walked further ahead until she was just behind the Queen. Both the Queen and the Senator seemed to be in discussion, finally Asane retreated back until she was at Amelia's side.

"It is settled, we shall go to the Galaxies Opera House tonight! It is wonderful there, the most spectacular shows to be seen anywhere! Tonight they are playing Squid Lake, a classic!" Asané was extremely excited at this news, it had been so long since they had been involved in anything this exciting in a while.

OOC: Just so you know, Squid Lake is the show that you see in Episode III when Palpatine and Anakin were talking ;)

OOC: Ah I see!

IC:

Amelia could feel the excitement building up inside her already, and she hadn't even a clue what Squid Lake was about. When she asked Asané, her friend just laughed and for some reason Amelia found herself laughing too. She couldn't help it. For once in her life things were going right and she was going to make the most of these wonderful moments while she still could!

"We will return to her majesty's residence to prepare ourselves, we will need to change into other gowns, first we will help the Queen with her attire, then we will dress in accordance with hers...... It's going to be an exciting night....... There will be countless people there, all of great importance, so we have to be on our best bahaviour and represent the Queen accordingly......." Asané smiled.

OOC: You can reply back at the apartment of the Queen :)

Another session in the Senate had finished for the day as Ayanna strutted out of the Kuat booth and through the red carpet halls. At least her and her alter ego agreed that the Senate hearings were boring and pointless, but she had to attend them nonetheless. She often wondered where Kalin was, what he was doing as she had not heard anything back from him in so long. She was fitting more and more into the routine of Finn Sundara and less into her old lifestyle, it was quite a difficult thing for her to balance.

As she continued through the halls, awaiting to leave for her apartment, she was stopped by a rather strange looking fellow, but she recognized him as the senator of Malastare.

"Finn Sundara correct?" He grinned to her, trying to take her hand in order to have a proper greeting.

"Busy, goodbye...." She dismissed him as though she had no idea of who he was or what he wanted.

"No no wait!" He laughed, "I'm Janlo Qurt."

She stopped, pretending that this was the moment she had put two and two together, "Hello, well I'm still busy so what is it?"

He could not help but laugh at her manner, "I'm here to give you an invitation."

"Oh? And to what exactly? A tea party? Sorry but I don't do those prissy socialite kind of things, unlike some, I actually work when I'm not in the Senate. So ta-ta." She said as she continued onwards.

"You misunderstand me. Please wait, just hear me out." He said courteous and insistent.

She sighed as though annoyed, "You've got two minutes."

"Thank you, I want to invite you to a sorority club." He said as he handed her a card which looked expensive and showed a certain class, "We only invite a select few, that is why you should feel privileged that I am approaching you in this way."

"Hmmm..." She said as she glanced at the card before looking back to him, "And what pray tell does this club have to do with me? Why invite me I mean? I'm a relatively new fish..."

"We've heard about you, your business dealings, your methods, we think you would be handy." He said honestly.

"This sounds like more than just a place to have a few drinks and some fun...." She said suspiciously, but still she smiled.

He did not say anything but returned the smile to her, "I won't say anything further. You have been invited. Be at that address at that time specified, otherwise the invitation will be null and void. This is a one time only offer and it is not subject to negotiation."

She nodded, "I'll see if I have time...."

"Oh, and the password is 'Fanand Ruins'...." He said finally before turning and leaving.

"How the hell am I meant to remember that?" She called out after him with a laugh, but he was already gone, and she was not being serious anyway. She found this all rather odd but interesting. She had been invited to what seemed to be a secret organization, or a secret meeting place at least. She just wondered whether to trust it all.

She placed the card in one of her pockets and made her way for the exit.