Star Wars_ Cloak of Deception - James Luceno [37]
His own sense of urgency took him by surprise; the buzz in the rotunda was that infectious. But just as he had done at the opera, Valorum delayed his arrival. By the time the Supreme Chancellor finally showed himself, the atmosphere was agitated.
Valorum’s perch was a thirty-meter-tall dais that rose from the center of the floor like the stalk of a flower. Conveyed to the bud of the flower by turbolift, Valorum stood alone, with the senate’s sergeant-at-arms, parlimentarian, journal clerk, and official reporter seated below him in a round dish that cradled the bud. Echoing the predominant color scheme of the amphitheater, he wore a lavender brocade cloak, with voluminous sleeves and matching cummerbund.
It occurred to Palpatine as he applauded that the Supreme Chancellor’s lofty position made him as much a center of attention as target of opportunity.
When the clapping and the occasional verbal accolades had gone on long enough, Valorum held up his hands in a gesture that begged silence. His first words brought a faint smile to Palpatine’s lips.
“Delegates of the Galactic Senate, we find ourselves beset by a confluence of sobering challenges. Frayed at its far-flung borders by internecine skirmishes and hollowed at its very heart by corruption, the Republic is in grave danger of unraveling. Recent events in the Mid and Outer Rim demand that we stem the rising tide of strife by restoring order and balance. So dire is our plight, that even extreme measures should not be dismissed out of hand.”
Valorum paused briefly to allow his words to sink in.
“The free trade zones were originally created to foster exchange between the Core Worlds and the outlying systems of the Mid and Outer Rims. At the time, it was thought that free and open trade would prove a benefit to all concerned. But those zones have since become a haven not only for smugglers and pirates, but also for shipping and trading cartels that have availed themselves of the liberties we ensured, by setting themselves up as entities of political and military leverage.”
Murmurs of concurrence and discord stirred the already impassioned air.
“The Trade Federation comes before us with a request that we do something to safeguard commerce in the outlying sectors. They are within their rights to request this, and we are obliged by our covenant to respond. But in a very real sense it is the questionable practices of the Trade Federation that have made it a target for thieves and terrorists.”
Valorum raised his voice to be heard over hundreds of separate conversations, in as many tongues.
“In the same way, we must accept some of the blame for this, since it was this body that granted the Trade Federation such latitude, and it is this body that has chosen to turn a deaf ear time and again to what transpires in the outlying systems. This practice cannot be allowed to continue. The Trade Federation has become a bloated creature, ingesting lesser concerns and refusing to do business with worlds that seek to ship with its few remaining competitors. It would not be overstatement to say that these trade zones are no longer free.
“And yet the Trade Federation comes before us to solicit our help in putting an end to the disorder it has fashioned.
“The Federation asks for protection—as if this body can blithely deploy a military force against the pirates and terrorists who prey on the Federation’s freighters. As if this body could provide starfighters and Dreadnaughts and, in so doing, turn the free trade zones into contested space—a battleground.
“There is, however, a solution to all this. If the Trade Federation wants us to ensure that the outlying systems be made safe for commerce—a task that will require action from this body, as well as from the many