Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 04_ Backlash - Aaron Allston [29]
“Ah.” Lecersen withheld comment. This woman, though speaking the beliefs of millions of traditional Imperials, was beginning to sound more and more like an advertisement for antipsychotic drugs.
“Anyway, Daala has done something useful for us. In the wake of the Second Galactic Civil War, she promoted, and the Senate enacted, the most recent Emergency Powers Act.”
“Which gives the Chief of State enormous temporary executive powers that she can use unilaterally … but the Senate can, if it disagrees with her, choose to freeze government spending and lock her down tight.”
“Not quite.” Treen’s smile became knowing, confidential. “First, a clause that I made sure was included in the final form of the act states that the Chief of State cannot suspend the Senate. Second, it is not the Senate itself that can tie her hands by freezing the budget, it is the Appropriations and Disbursements Committee. When the act is invoked, control of the existing budget goes to them, and they continue to control financial acquisitions and spending.”
Lecersen frowned. He was, at last, beginning to sense the shape of Treen’s plan. “Wait a moment. You’d need …”
“We’d need a majority of the Senators on Appropriations and Disbursements. We’d need the Chiefs of the Armed Forces, who also receive special powers if the act is invoked, and could see to it that the entire budget of the Galactic Alliance went where it needed to … so that order was imposed. And we’d need a Chief of State who could be trusted to do the right thing.
“Now, imagine this course of events. Imperial Head of State Fel disappears, or dies, or is deposed. It may take nothing more than catching him in the right circumstances with that Jedi lover of his. Perhaps he’s bought her a moon or something. Moff Lecersen becomes the new Head of State, perhaps only temporarily.”
Lecersen nodded. “Go on.”
“A crisis erupts. Somewhere. I’m working on some useful potential crises. Perhaps you can, too. Advisers placed close to Chief of State Daala recommend invocation of the Emergency Powers Act. Enough pressure, enough anxiety, and she will invoke it. But the situation gets worse and worse, public approval for Daala plummets—I’m working on that, too, and she’s giving me all the help she can with this Jedi situation—and ultimately she must resign. A new Chief of State must be appointed, even temporarily. And some of the biggest power blocks in the Galactic Alliance, including Kuat, her allies, and the newly returned Empire, have a candidate in mind.”
“Haydnat Treen.”
“Chief of State Treen, if you please.”
“But there’s rather a large hole in your plan. Appropriations and Disbursements. And the Chiefs of the Armed Forces.”
“A hole? Ahem.” She cleared her throat, as loud and obvious as if she were performing on stage.
One of the wall holodisplays, floor-to-ceiling in height, slid aside, revealing a chamber beyond. In the new doorway stood a man.
He was tall and impossibly old. His hair was thin and white, his skin like flimsi stretched tight over bones. He wore a well-tailored suit that did little to conceal the cadaverousness of his build. He walked forward at the slow, deliberate pace of a man who did not care that he might be making others wait, and who did care that a misstep might cause a bone-shattering fall.
Reaching Treen and Lecersen, he extended a frail hand to the latter. “Moff Lecersen.” His voice was whispery and thin.
“Senator Bramsin.” Carefully, Lecersen took the older man’s hand and shook it.
Fost Bramsin was the Senator from Coruscant and had been, off and on, for decades. His most recent interruption in service had been during the years Coruscant was undergoing Vongforming during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Since the return of the New Republic to power, he had resumed his Senatorial post, diligently seeing to the orderly and efficient distribution of tax funds throughout