A Medical Emergency: The Manaan Dependency

[Moor Todan]

Moor had addressed the Senate many times since his election as Junior Senator of Nubia. Many had praised his eloquence and he expected his intervention today to be no different. He had long questioned the Republic's dependency to Manaan's kolto reserves, but his intuition told him that there had been more going on the ocean planet in the last few weeks than met the eyes.

To address the assembly, Moor had donned one of his fashionable long-coats over a simple black shirt. His trusty robotic acolytes, B-5OP and R0-0K, stood on either side of him. While the former exchanged a few last-minute pieces of advice before Moor delivered the speech they had had to prepare in a haste, the latter seemed to be rather enjoying himself, emitting a series of low beeping sounds that would be inaudible for anyone located beyond the limits of the Nubian's personal pod.

When the President of the Senate indicated that it was time for his intervention, Moor's platform moved forward to take position a short distance away from the Supreme Chancellor's podium, at the center of the chamber, and its voice-amplifying microphones, translators, and hovercams were all activated.

"My esteemed colleagues, I would like to request a moment of your time to express concerns over the lack of interest we have so far demonstrated in regards the change in leadership on Manaan," he began solemnly. "As you are all aware, the aquatic planet is the only known source of kolto in the galaxy. The medicinal applications of that substance are of capital importance for the lives of the trillions of inhabitants the Republic is sworn to protect." This enunciation of facts resounded throughout the rotunda.

"Many of our most brilliant scientists have attempted to synthesize kolto, but their efforts have so far been in vain, and our dependency to Manaan remains to this day." That comment was bound to irritate the more conservative senators of the Core worlds who believed that the Republic, and especially the planets they represented, did not require anything from the lesser worlds of the Inner Rim.

"As the largest economy in the galaxy, the Republic has enjoyed good relations with the government of Manaan, who despite the repeated attempts of our best diplomats has maintained its commitment to absolute neutrality, refusing to become a member world of this Republic." His premise concluded, Moor was now free to present his request to his colleague.

"News has surfaced recently indicating some movement in the highest levels of the Manaan government. As a courtesy, I would like to be invested by the authority of this assembly to lead a delegation to Manaan and emphasize the many benefits that have been reaped by both parties in our dealings in the Pyrshak system."

Moor would now await the judgment of his peers. He hoped that some of them – like Numenius Pax – would be able to disregard the personal opinions they had about him and that they would see the merit of his proposal. At worse, he would only be wasting his time.

OOC: Senators only. No PvP; no shenninigans.

 

[Anthony Price]

Anton listened to Senator Todan's remarks, and thereafter pondered the situation briefly. He had mixed opinions on Todan, but with recent events being as they are, he needed a strong ally in the Senate - and Todan was a reputable member. He rose from his seat and said: "Corellia seconds your motion, and I would like to personally volunteer to join the delegation."

 

[Vollen Shai]

Ever since the vote on the Alderaan Investigation Vollen had remained on Coruscant at the behest of the Council, keeping himself busy meeting with Senators and indeed taking time to understand Coruscant more, reflect a little. Reflect a lot, actually. He had much deep thinking to do now, he was refocusing himself his efforts, becoming someone new. He could feel it even now, that how he imagined himself as one of the Jedi was not how he was, nor growing to be.

Such was the way of time. But he would keep going, keep on moving, as he always had. There was nothing to be gained otherwise.

But there was much to be gained listening to the senate it seemed, keeping abreast of Republic affairs was something worth doing and he had learned a great deal about what these men and women did here, what the Republic worried about, feared, hoped for in their discussions. And listening now to Senator Todan, and his friend Senator Price chime in with support brought a smile to his face. Good to know there were people doing good work here still. He had grown much more sympathetic to the Republic recently, at the very least certain members of it. This diplomatic mission to Manaan made sense, though he worried of what they might find there. A trio of Jedi had been lost there not so long ago now, mysterious it was.

But for now Vollen would continue to watch the proceedings from a viewing box to the side of the Senate hall, simply taking it all in, the stumblings and successes of this Republic experiment.

 

[Darwin Mortenson Antilles]

As Senator Todan made his opening statement, there was no doubt in Senator Antilles mind that he was every bit the statesman that his public record had shown him to be. From the vantage point of his pod, Darwin looked on as the various other speakers shuffled in to take their seats - attempting (in vain it would seem) to jostle for some sot of better position than their pods cohabitants. Darwin, ever blessed with the best of company, did not need to engage in such political chess, for all the fellow 'pod-mates' here either worked for him, or understood themselves to be his guests.

"My esteemed colleagues..." Moor began his speech, drawing the Senates attention - as the order paper dictated - the the matter of Manaan, an obscure world upon which much of the Republics supply of the miracle known as 'Kolto' depended. The Nubian Senator began his speech with commanding authority, laying a base of facts upon which his argument would be built - it was a tried and tested method in political circles, and Moor put it to good use today. His mild deviation from the affairs of the rim visibly irritated some of Darwins colleagues, but personally, he chose to allow any irritation to not show.

Senator Todan did little to veil his own opinion of Manaans neutrality policy, before diving into a plea for the Republic to make yet more diplomatic overtures to the distant, and insular world. For the time being, Darwin elected to hold his silence, as Senator Price (who was making something of a name for himself so he had heard) immediately seconded the motion, as if with little thought to the minutiae of its details, and then naturally offered to join any such delegation himself.

Darwin cast a cursory eye about the rotunda, spotting - once again - the Jedi Vollen Shai who seemed to linger in the Senate like a bad smell - and signalling his desire to speak to the Chair. His request was granted, and his pod moved into the speaking position, whatever pre-programmed wizardry permitting it to be so. "Chair," he offered a bow to the president of the session "...fellow Senators," he looked up to the Jedi watching as he spoke again "...esteemed guests, the motion put to us by my honorable colleague, the Senator for Nubia is an interesting one, and certainly worthy of the attention and debate of this house."

He began by commending the motion and its speaker, if nothing else but to attempt to enable his next words to pass with greater ease. Ever the contrarian, Darwin committed himself, gripped the sides of his pod, and began his speech "However, as commendable as the decisiveness of my honorable colleague, the Senator for Corellia, may be - I feel that leaping to approve this motion before it passed the passage of due course, and reasoned debate, is hasty to say the least. I would beg my honorable friends leave and patience," Darwin offered a small nod to Senator Price, to whom he referred "...as I ask he allow a proper examination of the proposal before us."

Senator Antilles did not wait for permission, indeed - by virtue of him holding the floor, he had leave to speak, and thus he continued "Manaan and its Leaders have always been a neutral nation, one that has directly and deliberately kept itself out of Galactic Affairs, and profited greatly from such an arrangement. As such, I find the motion before this house to be all to vague to be passed in its current form - for we risk committing to a course that is directionless. As it stands, this House is being asked to invest the authority of the Republic into a small team, to head to a neutral planet, and talk about how much we have helped them in the past. Perhaps I am being naive," Darwin said, with obvious sarcasm "...but should we not actually decide what the desired outcome of such diplomatic overtures ought to be, before investing any of our number with the delegated authority to speak on behalf of this entire body?"

The Senator left his question hanging for a few seconds, his microphone still active, indicating his wish to continue speaking, before finally "Fellow Senators, the ambiguity of the motion - specifically pertaining to the objectives of this endeavor - and the haste at which my colleague, the Senator for Correllia - seemed willing to associate himself with it, has me greatly unsettled. So I ask, Senator Todan," he smiled warmly at the Senator for Nubia, no malice evident in his voice at all "...please, be so good as to ease my unrest, and provide the House, in less ambiguous terms, the key points you wish to achieve in this undertaking?"

His question asked, Senator Antilles yeilded the floor for the proposers responce.

 

[Octadar Kithar]

Octadar would nod with approval. Good. Someone else is taking the initiative. Manaan was a key planet to say the very least and this would be critical. He stood up
“The people of Fondor also second this proposal. Or third this proposal. I would also like to volunteer to join this delegation to Manaan.”

 

[Moor Todan]

The support of the representatives of Corellia and Fondor was greatly appreciated, and while the intervention of the Junior Senator of Bestine was legitimate, it was no less exasperating. Perhaps the galaxy was simply moving too quickly for the old politician.

"With all due respect Senator Antilles, to say that the government of Manaan has kept itself out of galactic affairs would be entirely inaccurate, for neutrality and nonintervention are two totally different concepts. As the sole provider of kolto, Manaan's resources are in high demand. Either consciously or unconsciously, the fluctuation of the price of kolto has influenced the tides of history, perhaps more so than the Republic would be willing to admit." This correction was necessary. It was not the first time his elder had interchanged the two notions.

"Furthermore, might I remind this Senate of the last time it decided to ignore a sudden change in leadership on a planet the Republic has enjoyed strong relations with?" To bring up the Civil War on Alderaan would surely rally some of his more hard line colleagues. "Now, I don't think that this change is the fruit of corruption, but with the rise in activity of the Hutt Cartel whose close proximity with Manaan makes it a prime target for expansion, I believe certain precautions should be observed." The Republic could not afford to take risks.

"The diplomatic delegation I am suggesting would only be empowered to visit the new leader of the Manaan government, present our best wishes and reiterate the Republic's commitment to maintaining good trade relations between their nation and our galactic union. No decisions would be taken before first being put to a vote before this assembly." Moor did not understand why this was proving so difficult for the Senator of Bestine to understand. He could have very well visited Manaan in his capacities as Senator of Nubia, and that's what he intended to if his motion was not supported, but the might of the Senate afforded him certain protections.

"This is not some conspiracy and I don't have a hidden agenda, but since you don't seem to have much faith in my goodwill, you are welcomed to join me, Senator Antilles."

 

[Moor Todan]

Silence followed Moor's response. He had expected other queries and more vivacious reactions. Perhaps this was a good sign, and his enterprise was simply too reasonable to be approved by his fellow members of the Senate, or maybe they thought such a trivial matter was not worthy of much discussion.

Untroubled, Moor addressed the Vice Chancellor and asked for a vote. As the motion had already been seconded by the senators of Corellia and Fondor, his request was granted without delay.

Thorough the rotunda, the pods' personal computer all ignited at the same time. A question was underlined by two similarily shaped boxes; the first one indicated support for the proposal, and the second, opposition. "Should Senator Moor Todan of Nubia be allowed to lead a diplomatic mission to Manaan on behalf of the Republic Senate?" Moor clicked on the 'yay' option; he would, of course, be supporting his own proposal.

 

[Octadar Kithar]

I mean, it was pretty obvious what way Octadar was going. He had voiced his support. Now he was going to vote that way too. With little delay he voted
“Aye” and waited for the results to come in. He hoped the results would recognise a more proactive choice, and not just the pacifistic attitude the Senate sometimes had, lying down and waiting for something to happen

 

[Trenton Kaizer]

Trenton had been silent during the hearing, instead just listening to how the other Senators interacted with each other over such a mundane, though important, request. The ability for the Republic to quickly heal it's citizens and soldiers was important, so any threat to that ability should be something considered very serious. It seemed, though, that some believed there were some ulterior motives to Senator Todan's proposal while some seemed just ready to vote for it's approval before a vote had even begun. Trenton would note all of these things down for later, as he got a handle on his colleagues. As for his own views? Everyone had an ulterior motive, it was true of any politician. Some of them here may have good hearts, like he did, yet they all had different ideals and values at the end of the day. That would always skew whatever intentions they were trying to put forth, usually on a subconscious level. What became important, then, was if those skewed values went along as close as they could to what the individual voting would want.

In this case, Trenton couldn't see a reason why not to vote Aye to the motion. Senator Todan's history and known political views didn't suggest he would do anything to endanger the agreement with Manaan for the Kolto and if he perhaps did come to some sort of deal where perhaps his planet of representation got a bit extra off the top? It meant more people would be getting healing. The transfer and change of rates of money for this were immaterial in his mind. People would find a way to get rich off of anything, though if that increase of cost was felt only by those that needed the treatment then that would be a problem. One that being along for the trip or even voting now would be incredibly hard to detect. He made a mental note to make sure to keep an eye on the amounts of how Kolto treatments were being charged coming up, in case someone was inflating the price to take advantage of any potential boost in product. Having voted, he looked around at his colleagues again as they voted. He wondered if anyone else was trying to look at this from multiple angles or if they were just going along with the proposal at face value.

 

[Anthony Price]

It was likely not a surprise how Anton would vote. Securing a steady stream of Kolto was key to the Republic, even during times of peace. Unequivicolly, he pressed the Yay button on his console, and leaned back as he awaited for others to do the same. If this passed, this would be the first time he would work with Moor Todan. Hopefully it wouldn't be his last.

 

[Primula Peyvand]

Primula listened as the proceeding of the Senate took place. She was actually happy that the older senator had spoken up to clarify the issue as it had only stretched her original opinion on the matter. She pressed the "Yay" button on her datapad before setting it down and awaiting the rest of the votes to come in.

 

[Pyotr]

Pyotr loathed voting for anything that might start or continue a war, but in this scenario his hands were tied. He would not vote against an option to secure kolto for the good of the republic and the protection of innocents. He voted Yay.

 

[Moor Todan]

The vote concluded, and the support of Moor's proposal was proclaimed. He would lead a diplomatic delegation to Manaan and meet with its leaders to represent the interests of the Republic. Preparations were already underway.

The assembly was adjourned, and pods filed back in order, returning to their dormant state. Moor signaled to his protocol droid to initiate phase two of his plan. He had secured a meeting with the providers of kolto, but his security would not be guaranteed. Inconspicuous, B-5OP abided by his master's command, got off the now immobile platform and disappeared from sight.

Numerous senators came to congratulate the Nubian and express their wish to join his envoy–no doubt for political gains–as he was leaving the rotunda. Moor politely declined their offer assuring them that this was far too trivial a matter for so many representatives of their stature to get involved. Nevertheless, it became apparent that his visit to Manaan would be highly publicized.

***​

B-5OP had hastened through the corridors of the Senate buildings. A common 5OP unit protocol droid did not attract much attention in those halls. It located his objective as he was leaving the Senate chambers: Jedi Master Vollen Shai (@Nightfall096).

[color= whitesmoke]"Master Jedi! Master Jedi!"[/color] B-5OP shouted hurrying to meet him. Its nervousness was evident, despite its mechanical voice.

Per Moor's instructions, it would guide him to an isolated location, safe from potential eavesdroppers, before delivering its message. [color= whitesmoke]"My master, Senator Todan, regrets that he cannot be present to relay this request in person, but he believes that he is being closely observed and that much more insidious forces are at play on Manaan than meet the eyes. He must leave for Ahto City without delays, and he will voice his suspicions to the Grand Army's Director of Intelligence, but should he not return, will you let the Jedi know of concerns."[/color]

Before giving a chance to his interlocutor to respond, he would hurry back to the door. [color= whitesmoke]"I must leave you, now. If I remain away from my master for too long, my absence will be noticed."[/color]

B-5OP would then exit the room and vanish into the crowds, satisfied to have fulfilled its mission.

 

[Vollen Shai]

A general agreement seemed to fall like a wave across the room. Senator Todan was right, such stores of kolto not only to the republic but all beings in the galaxy. That the republic would want to be sure of Manaans continuing neutrality in such dire times was the only sensible option. The Jedi themselves already had their suspicions, too many lives gone to that planet for everything to be as simple as it seemed. But, for now that was not for Vollen to decide, he remained on Coruscant for the time being, in study and counsel.

However, he would not remain alone however.

A droid approached with surprising concern to him, announcing itself as the representative of Senator Todan. That Moor could not make it in person did not surprise Vollen, there was much work to be done on his own end. But the confirmation by B-50P that the Senator was equally concerned by the actions of darkness on Manaan was good to know, a common enemy perhaps, depending on the route this went, and another way to sure up the bonds between the Jedi and the Republic that had waned since the Darkness. That the Senator approached him at all was a promising sign, and Vollen had to smile,

"You can rest assured I shall let the Council know immediately, we'll keep an eye on Moor I promise. We've our own interests in Manaan anyhow" and with that he'd see the droid off, a quiet laugh to himself.

This was news, he would let the Council know as soon as he was able. The Republic would not be alone on Manaan.


@Aberforth