Star Wars The Last Epitaph

The Last

The Last Class

The Last War

The Last Game

“We gather here today to welcome a new student. Whilst most of you have been at school for a year, as you know we do not enforce any age restriction and only run one class at a time, for the four-years we ascribe as necessary, for no more than five students.”

That would trigger murmurs. The course was supposed to be inaccessible for those four years, so it was hardly an everyday occurrence that someone had managed to wangle their way into the more exclusive school, onto the most exclusive programs, into the great Professor’s classroom. In this room sat the galaxies future leaders. The children of political magnates, corporate deities, power brokers and ancient, ancient nobility.

Who was this new class member? A sixth member was unheard of in the… well, in the very long history of the Program.

The Professor nodded, and the ginger haired boy strode into the room, his chin jutting upright in pride.

“Allow me to introduce the eldest son of House Palpatine.”

His sixteen-year-old smile widened.

And so the sixth student joined the class.

---

”Welcome to the Great Dwartii Exchange Program.

So named for the great philosophers whose beliefs shaped the Republic, it gathers young minds from the length and breadth of the Republic. Out of trillions of beings, five attend this program at time, and the school is very exclusive for it. Only the richest and wealthiest send their children here, of all species, and indeed all ages, though by their nature the species sent here are usually in their formative years or their later, attending for the novelty.

The Professor, his features carefully modified so that his identify were not apparent, ran the class. Such precautions as to the identity of the Professor was tradition in the program, the teacher was always drawn from somewhere else, selected by the school to run the next class. The Professors were replaced as often as the Republic elected the Chancellor – four-year terms, which could not exceed two terms at a time, save for in the case of emergencies, of course. There had even been dark rumours that when a Chancellor was killed by war – inevitably a Sith War, but not since the Battle of Ruusan, of course – that the Professor would be killed too.

Why anyone would synchronize the turnover of the teacher to the political rise and fall of Chancellors of the Republic was anyone’s idea. We have had crazier, quirky systems, after all.

Oh. I forgot.

I am sorry.”

Unknown.​

---
The Sheet, as ever. For the last time. For all time.

Name:
Age:
Species: Keep in mind the Republic’s borders in 66 BBY, which is when the game is set.
Gender:
Personal Effects:
Personal Ship: No larger than a yacht, though it may sit in port for the game’s length as gallivanting off-world is not your teacher’s intention as a rule.
Bio:

---
Rules: Legends or existing characters in the Epitaph continuity are preferable, but new creations work too.

 

Name: Palpatine
Age: 16
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Personal effects: Nothing of note. Honest.
Personal ship: None. My father did not leave me one.
Appearance:



Bio: The eldest son of House Palpatine of Naboo. Whispers of scandal follow the young man even now, but this is long before his dark and monstrous fate - even before he meets Hego Damask - Darth Plagueis. Yet, here he is - forced on the course in an unprecedented moment in the Dwartii exchange program.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

GM- APPROVED!

Name: Tarkin
Age: 30
Species: Human
Gender: Male

Personal Effects: Ring with the Tarkin family crest demonstrating status as heir to the House, pair of DH-17 Blasters, knives, grey/black military cut, but civilian wear, outfits with matching boots.

Personal Ship: Modified Consular class cruiser, A6 Interceptor in the hangar of the cruiser

Appearance: https://images.app.goo.gl/dYVwZ78HtLf51Uz66

Bio: A Tarkin of the Tarkins. Growing up he underwent the same trials every young male of the Tarkin family did, shaping his military mindset, his ideas on politics and war. After the trials he went on to serve the family's military interests for years, in the Outland Security Forces.

As it is anticipated that he will eventually become the head of the house he has come to the Dwartii Exchange Program to round out his education and his political side. He knows he is older than many of the other candidates but will not allow that to hold him back. In fact, his age and experience should stand him in good stead in the program.

Authors Note OOC: This is not Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, but rather his father.

 

Name: Tarsus Valorum
Age: 37
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Personal effects: An etched notebook bequeathed by his father, keyed to his retina.
Personal ship: A modified Corellian Consular-class cruiser, so heavily modified as to require a single pilot, making use of the most advance slave-circuits.
Appearance:

Bio: The eldest son of House Valorum of Eriadu, and of course the firstborn of the present Chancellor, Eixes Valorum, he was named for the most famous of the Valorum’s, Tarsus, who was the first Chancellor after the Battle of Ruusan - the first in four centuries not to have been the Jedi Grand Master. Trading in on his style, Tarsus has adopted many of the clothes and mannerisms of his long gone ancestor, but what with his father being a media darling he gets plenty of attention. If anything; too much.

It is oft-whispered that his father packed him up to Nouane because of how he was stealing his father’s limelight, but he is in good standing with his father and seeks only to set a good example for his younger brother, Finis, who in his view is becoming warped by all the attention and media frenzy, not two years into his father’s term as Chancellor.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Name: "The Professer"
Age: Indeterminate
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Personal Effects: A ring, nothing more. Otherwise he adopts the appearance of a kindly if not relatively attractive scholar, because who else would he be?

Spoiler

Personal Ship: Not relevant.
Appearance: Surgery has modified his face, even his eye colour, as is tradition here. The Professor needs to be completed unimpeded by present day politics and his teachings must be unassailable. The format of the lessons has not changed since the birth of the Republic and the system was set up by - oh, wait, I am going on. Here's what he looks like. Perhaps he'll show you a glossary of the prior Professors one day.



Bio: He's the Professor. Only thing you can really say about the Professor, is that he is always human, and is always male. Really not much else to say. Nouane itself may have been instrumental in shaping the Republic's constitution and founding, but the two hundred and twelve systems it has long commanded did not ally with the Republic until the Mandalorians threatened them, four millennia ago. As was the tradition then, a Moff acted as the intercessor between Nouane and the Republic, and that title is ceremonially held by the Professor, as a rule. Unless there is a war on, it's quite a moot consideration.

Professor OOC: My apologies, that was one of my prior faces. I do get carried away. Lots to remember, after all.

 

The Last Class of the Dwartii Exchange Program…

IC: The Professor
Nouane, Nine hundred and thirty-four years since the Battle of Ruusan

Today it was history.

Thus, the Professor emphasizing the date. “The Battle of Ruusan was the end of the New Sith Wars. Twenty thousand Sith stood against ten thousand Jedi. The Brotherhood of Darkness and the Army of Light. For two years they fought, as the Sith’s empire was reclaimed by the Republic. By the end of the battle, the Sith were undone. While factions and separatists professing loyalty to the Sith needed to be dealt with, the dark side Force users were long gone.”

He had his hands tucked behind his back as he strode around the front of the amphitheater. The chairs were green that they had, many more than were needed for the always small classes, but plenty of space for them to spread out. Palpatine sat at the back of the room, legs crossed as he doodled notes on his pad, resting on his knee. It was only yesterday that he had joined the class, and it was already plenty of content.

They’d likely move closer to the present day as the lessons went on, but they would provide context. He nodded to himself as he made another note or two. He eyed his classmates – near-humans all. There were three humans in the room; himself and the Professor, whose face was so obviously artificial. They hadn’t even tried to pretend that the Professor looked nothing like he should. Tarkin, for he had abandoned his first name, sat whatever was the furthest distance from Tarsus Valorum, but there were no surprises there; Eriadu was constantly swapped between the two families. That left Roan Lath, and Adasca, and of course Temyr. Palpatine was curious about the Nagai, because you did not see many of them in the galaxy. Meanwhile was completely unreadable to Palpatine, which he already found frustrating.

He tuned back into what the Professor was saying.

“I’m obligated to point out that there is something like… six thousand years of history before the Battle of Ruusan between the Jedi and the Sith. With a handful of devastatingly common themes, of course.” The Professor held out a hand; Palpatine realized it was gloved, in black – a distinct contrast to his tawdry clothes. “Does anyone know why, by and large, the Sith lost to the Jedi whenever they were on the cusp of victory?”

Palpatine was hardly going to answer that.

The Professor crooked a finger. “And not Valorum, please.” The man was about to speak; his lips were already parted, but he took the scolding with a good-natured grin. Palpatine knew that he was a celebrity, but now he knew that he was a braggart as well. His eyes narrowed, and he waited for someone to chime in.

TAG: @greyjedi125, @Mitth_Fisto, @The Vanguard, @darthbernael

 

IC: Tarkin
The Amphitheater

Tarkin sat, ramrod straight, in his seat as the Professor began the lecture. The new addition, Palpatine, sat in the back, youngest of the group. When he had entered, he’d already noticed how several of the others had placed themselves, and he saw that damned Valorum had placed himself near the entrance, ‘Needs an easy exit to fix his hair, I’m sure.’ he had thought as he strode across the lower level, before mounting the stairs, and taking a seat as far from the other as possible.

Galactic History today, a subject that as near and dear to his heart, much strategy to be learned from the ancient battles. 'Battle of Ruusan, the end of the Sith, quite a turning point' To emphasize the thought, he added it to his datapad, in the fringes of the course data he was reading while listening to the Professor.

“The Battle of Ruusan was the end of the New Sith Wars. Twenty thousand Sith stood against ten thousand Jedi. The Brotherhood of Darkness and the Army of Light. For two years they fought, as the Sith’s empire was reclaimed by the Republic. By the end of the battle, the Sith were undone. While factions and separatists professing loyalty to the Sith needed to be dealt with, the dark side Force users were long gone.”

“I’m obligated to point out that there is something like… six thousand years of history before the Battle of Ruusan between the Jedi and the Sith. With a handful of devastatingly common themes, of course.” The Professor, as was his style, paced in short steps as he spoke. “I’m obligated to point out that there is something like… six thousand years of history before the Battle of Ruusan between the Jedi and the Sith. With a handful of devastatingly common themes, of course.”

“And not Valorum, please.” A thin line of a smile tugged at the left side of Tarkin’s mouth at that, then just as swiftly disappeared.

As much as their families were at odds, there was a mind under that foppish exterior, no matter how he tried to hide it. However, his answers tended to be more sarcastic and intended to make Tarkin frustrated with their, just wrong enough, falsity.

As he pondered the question, another student, the Nagai, Vy’ndall spoke up.

“Too many Masters.” he began, his voice even, light and clear.

“A House divided cannot stand.”

His knowledge of Nagai was not as deep as it should be, which frustrated him, anyone could be an ally or a foe, therefore the more known the better. However, the answer was interesting, some truth to it, but there must be more.

Looking at the other three he could see easily, Aurrene, Roan, and yes Valorum, he waited to see if any would answer before he did. None forthcoming yet, he cleared his throat, a low sound but one the others would know heralded him responding to something.

“Interesting take, Vy’ndall. The second half being more what I believe was a symptom of the Sith that led to their failures at the last. Yes they had many Masters, but they, unlike our stalwart Force defenders,” this being said with another tight grin, “were quite individualistic in their approach.”

He sat back for a moment in his seat before continuing. “They had a hierarchy, but it was more designed to promote competition and infighting than it was to cement their Empire together. Thus, when one went to war, the end would come when one or another lesser Lords decided it was their time to rule, or lead their own faction, and would either break off or attack the others, leading to fracturing of command, and defeat. Even at Ruusan, where the Brotherhood of Darkness were all ‘equals’ the battle was not won for them because betrayal spelled their doom.”

Turning his gaze from Vy’ndall to the Professor, “Of course, that is history that I’ve been taught, but I doubt it is all, or this course would not be necessary.”

TAGS: @Sinrebirth, @Mitth_Fisto, @The Vanguard, @greyjedi125

 

IC: Palpatine

The others had a brief discussion about it, but then there seemed to be a degree of quiet. Valorum looked like he was about to burst, and Palpatine was inclined to wait him out, but the Professor quirked a manicured eyebrow and lifted his chin to Palpatine. With an internal sigh, vexed that he was being singled out, he stood, collecting his things and coming down the steps of the amphitheater.

As he did, he spoke, gesturing with his free hand. "Tremyr, was it? He speaks the truth - a house divided against itself will fall," another fluid gesture to Tarkin. "But, there is base treason is an issue no matter the organisation, be it an Order or a family. Tarkin makes mention of a 'unified' Brotherhood that was nonetheless undone by treachery, but Loan," Palpatine did not quite deliberately state the half-blood's name incorrectly, but it nonetheless happened. "he speaks a mantra, as if that solves the equation of the Sith."

"I also find Aurrenna's reply unsatisfactory, because it renders moot the equation, but yet, appealing, because it fundamentally begs the question; why do the Sith matter, now, a millennium-odd since their defeat and demise." He placed his stationary on the small desk in front of his new seat, which was beside Aurrenna, for she interested him the most, and then he raised both his hands for emphasis, shrugging. "If you intend to use it as a underlying explanation of the inequalities the Republic now curries, which acts as the majority of the political and economic discussion points the Senate and indeed the Jedi fail to resolve, then I would simply point out that even Corellia has at times expressed its independence with Sith allegiances, and that has little to do with the Core-Rim divide."

The Professor tapped his chest innocently. "Do I intend to ask that question?"

Palpatine adopted an apologetic facade. "Not you, Professor, but 'you' in the rhetorical sense, sir." He was concise and polite. "Whilst I appreciate that we need to learn the lessons of the past, I wish to address matters of the future."

"In a history lesson?" Valorum quipped.

"The Sith will not dictate the future. They were evil, we have been told, and it is Evil that we are the hedge against. Us each, in this room. The indolence and corruption that plagues our society is the threat we now face, and I wish to get that business as soon as possible." Palpatine sat, being sure not to fold his arms, but releasing a breath.

The Professor paused, gauging the reactions of the class to the outburst, or, perhaps, confession, would be the more appropriate description.

A force for change, is that one.

But the Professor was always open to the class self-regulating itself, and him purely being the guide, providing a single opening question, and maintaining the rules of debate decorum. He was not their Master - they were their own masters. Whether that would remain, of course, was down to them.

TAG: @darthbernael, @greyjedi125, @Mitth_Fisto, @The Vanguard

 

Tarkin heard the footsteps but ignored the young man as he descended, save listening to his response to the question posed. He doubted the answer given would be much in line with those already stated, but even what he heard gave him pause. ‘A politician’s son, raised in that atmosphere of only the future matters’ he sneered in his mind.


He shifted slightly in his seat, looking up toward the Professor. There was no real gesture suggesting he, or the others, should comment on the newcomer’s reply but it was self evident that the Professor would bring up the topic and then allow the class to go as far as he thought it should before interjecting once more. ‘So be it’ he thought.


“Both of you, but since you expressed more than a vague generality I will direct this toward you Palpatine, remind me of a statement I’m sure was already spoken within a pair years of Creation, that those who forget or ignore the past are doomed to repeat it. Yes those evil beings were ‘gone’, and yes I would put quotes around that word, after the Battle of Ruusan, but were those they led also gone? The Professor even states they were not.” He said with a straight palm gesture toward the aforementioned Professor.


Pausing for a sip from the canister of water at his seat, Tarkin surveyed the class before he continued, seeing all apparently annoyed, even the older Valorum, at the ‘old man’ of the class seeming to talk down to them.


“You said that if we take this as an analogy of current events and that we are learning here to be the front line against the corruption and deceit today, how can we do so if we deny the past. Which is where I go back to the thought the Sith are gone. What I know of the Force, admittedly little, it would be extremely difficult, in my estimation, for every member of one side of the Force to be completely gone. Although that may be a soldier’s perspective, as you never count your enemy completely destroyed, some remnant always remains, even if it evolves. If we try to deny that possibility then what does our attempting to be that front line mean if our calculations for doing so are incorrect?”


Again he paused, knowing he was expounding too much, but listening to politicians, or even their children, try to change the reality of the cosmos irritated him. He had lost too many troops to politicians refusing to take off their rose colored glasses.


Taking a deep breath, he straightened in his seat, and made one last comment before he waited for the backlash he knew his words would bring, not that he had not heard them before.


“So yes, we study the past, even if it was learned by some at finishing schools before coming here, because we must understand and not underestimate what happened in the past so that the future can be what it needs to be.”


He gave a brief nod to the Professor by way of an apology for not entirely staying on subject, before he turned to face his classmates, a straight line smile on his face, waiting.

TAGS: @Sinrebirth, @Mitth_Fisto, @The Vanguard, @greyjedi125

 

IC: Tarsus Valorum
Classroom, Nouane

For a brief moment, Tarsus felt the need to roll his eyes, but he could not do that loudly, so he opted not to. The Professor had not interjected, so it was clearly a debate lesson, but undoubtedly the teacher was seeking to tease out the new dichotomy between the students now young Palpatine had joined the class. Tarsus felt no need to pretend that anything had changed, at very least for him, and, undoubtedly his polar opposite in Tarkin would not have changed terribly.

But one did not put oneself out there without a degree of criticism, as he had often warned his younger sibling, to which his father had dourly replied with, "Of course there is a point where you're essentially antagonising everyone, Tarsus."

Piffle.

Standing, much as Palpatine had, even if the youth had only done so to draw attention to himself on the basis that he was 'moving seats' - a naive ploy that Tarsus did not believe, he turned a hand to Adasca. "And if you devolve into minutiae you won't achieve anything, will you? A strong vision is necessary, even if it is beguiled." Another hand to Roan. "Even merely mitigating evil is admitting defeat before you start, and do we not have elections to find your Master, Tremyr?" Tarsus had the temerity to hold up a hand to forestall a response.

"But it is my fellow Eriaduan's comments that I find the most reprehensible, today. The Force is not our purview." Tarsus stressed the words. "The Sith only obtained their power by appealing to those disaffected with the Republic, and by taking advantage of the chaos that deregulated companies caused in the Outer Rim. A century before 'Darth Ruin' came to be, the Outer Rim was awash with separatism, and all it took was one nutter with fifty fanatics besides him to convalesce around a madman. And what did that beget?"

He drew his outstretched hand into a fist and slammed it into his palm for emphasis. "A millennium of civil war, genocide, plague and devastation - so it is hardly as if the Sith way was better, really. The issues the Republic had were simply expressed by warships, blasters and lightsabers within the Sith Empire, if you can call a hundred competing factions any form of government. The past teaches us, indeed, but it does not teach us anything we could not by the simplest of overview of the galaxy as it is today - let alone at any year in the past. Taken in isolation it will only reveal an infinite multitude of reasons which we cannot possibly attempt to overcome... recorded history is, what, thirty thousand years, before we lose track of our narrative during the Twilight Wars against the Rakata - but we all know tales that extend further back."

"Let us dispense with the past and settle on our principles, and apply them to each and every world in the Republic - the past is purely an excuse for the poor behaviour of the Republic and its member states, gaps in our cultural identity that our foes, real, imagined and extinct, can take advantage of!"

He stayed standing, taking a deep breath, but daring any to disagree with him.

TAG: @darthbernael, @Mitth_Fisto, @greyjedi125, @The Vanguard

 

IC: Tarkin
In his seat

Tarkin sat, never calmly, always at an almost position of attention, as he listened to the conversation continue in the wake of his rebuttal. Roan, one of relatively few words, made a good point, evil was just as endemic as good, so mitigating it was sometimes all that one, a world, or even a Republic, could do against it. The young lady that Palpatine had chosen to sit next to her to her somewhat apparent enjoyment, Aurrenna, expounded next. Focused on the now without any plans for how to ensure what you are fighting doesn’t crop up again quickly was also a wise outlook, and shoehorned well with that of Roan.


And then the fop stood up. Internalizing a sigh, Tarkin tuned in as he knew that Valorum could not, would not, go through his diatribe without focusing some of his words at Tarkin himself, it was just his nature, new student be damned. And, true to form, most of his words were a not subtle at all rebuke to almost everything Tarkin had said. There was a moment of silence and Vy'ndall looked like he was about to give his own rebuttal before deciding to wait on the others, probably Tarkin himself, to speak first.


As the silence drew out, a sound interrupted it, a slow, measured clapping. The eyes of the class, and those of the Professor, would be drawn to Tarkin, at which point the clap subsided. “Sit down, you windbag. And yes I mean that most sincerely, no one desires to hear you speak for it’s own sake.” In the midst of speaking, Tarkin’s datapad chimed. He looked down, a smile touched the edge of the right side of his mouth. “I ran your words, those directed first at me, then the remainder, through a program I downloaded. Unsurprisingly, once they were all processed, there was nothing of substance or actual meaning in them.”


“Yes, the Force is not our purview, however to ignore those who are able to utilize it, whether the side of Light, or that of the Dark, is to..” a sigh escaped his lips, “...again, not give all elements to the equation to keep peace in the galaxy. Otherwise the Professor would ignore both the Jedi and the Sith when discussing history or politics.”


Looking down at his datapad, and the notes he had scribed while the others spoke, he thought for a moment before continuing. “We do not have the Sith presence in the galaxy that there was in that time, but that does not mean evil does not exist, and Roan is correct, sometimes mitigating evil, whether it is the best solution or not, is all that can be done. Aurenna too is correct, that even if you defeat or mitigate the evil you must have a plan to combat it or keep it from cropping up after your victory over it. However, Valorum,” the name could almost be heard twisting with the flat tone it was delivered, such lack of care for the being it referred to apparent in its use.


“However, history is long, no denying that, but to say that every aspect of it that has occurred you can see in the last year, or ten, is to deny the many other aspects of it, that we can learn from and make changes that can benefit today's society is analogous to sticking your head in the sand and hiding from the deeper issues that affect society. Darkness does exist, whether the Sith ‘control’ it or not, but those that serve the Light also do not seem the best caretakers of the needs of society. We learn from these lessons of history what we, those who will strive to keep society functioning without such powers, can do to not allow history to become a never ending cycle of war or strife.”


“Seeing that the Professor has allowed this discussion to head in a variety of directions, I believe that was his point, it brings us back to wondering what of his intention that we have touched upon, and what of the lesson we have all missed that he may make clear to us.”


As he finished responding to Valorum, and mentioned the Professor, he gestured again with a straight, flat, hand at the instructor, seeing a touch of humor on the modified face of the Professor, as he saw whenever he and Valorum continued their, never ending, debate.


TAG: @Sinrebirth , @The Vanguard, @Mitth_Fisto, @greyjedi125

 

IC: The Professor
Watching the grand debate

With a smirk, the Professor raised a hand to cut off whatever Roan was about to say, and conscious that Adasca's expression was a response. A cool smile and an expectation that Valorum and Tarkin would put up a good show. But this was not the first time they had done such a thing in his presence, and Palpatine had unknowingly, or, perhaps, on purpose, leaned on an old issue in the class. As verbose as the Nagai was, which itself was a quality not often found in the sharp-tongued species, Tremyr's attempt to settle matters and move on would fail.

But, it served the Professor's purposes for the fault-lines in the class to be exposed. It was hardly as if the Professor could read much else about Adasca, and he was grateful for the expression. He raised his second hand too, drawing attention to himself. "Let's not tarry on this point much longer. Let us be fair, there are just as many historic points that I could have picked - the Sages of Dwartii; the fall of the Rakatan Empire; the Alsakan Conflicts; the Pius Dea Crusades... they as much feed into the Sith Wars as anything else, and they just as much shape matters."

He counted. "The Sages gave the Republic the underpinning of philosophy that shaped its government; the overthrow of the Rakata spurred the unification of the Core earlier than it might have, but in opposition to anyone else; the Alsakan Conflicts created three distinct cultures within the Republic that lasted for fourteen millennia; the Pius Dea pushed the pendulum far away from the idea of a central constitutional monarchy or theocracy, let alone the absolute definition they provided to Core-Rim relations, which we know is an issue which plagues worlds even today." He quickly moved on, lest Valorum or Tarkin, from the Mid Rim, spoke at length about their world being a Core World in the Rim. "But the Sith provide a decent historical cut-off point."

The Professors hands took in Palpatine. "Our young newcomer strikes a chord however - it is in breaking those cycles that we seek to become something more than just powerful. Anyone could take advantage of the issues that plague the Republic, whichever root cause you select. To raise above them and break the cycle of the twin deities of economics and polity is and always has been the goal of this class. It could be said that we have succeeded, on more than one occasion." He took a step forward, grandstanding, as was his want.

"It is in this very room that the decision to Excise the Mandalorians was made to prevent further instability in the northern quadrant. It was here that students debated the pros and cons of undoing the Outer Expansion Zone. It was during a recess that it was decided to found the Trade Federation. That is not even acknowledging that as little as sixty years ago the class mooted extending of voting rights to said companies as functional constituencies, language that found its way into the very bill the Senate settled on."

He allowed his statement to hang.

"We have that power, it is to be said - thus we have that responsibility to think outside the box."

He lowered his hands and absently fingered the ring on his hand in thought. "I think that is a good place to stop. Palpatine, we don't have a room prepared for you - though we have plenty spare, not to worry. So, you shall come to my chambers and use the en suite." Palpatine frowned, but promptly dismissed it to nod.

"I expect you have to have thought of one issue close to your heart that you want us to discuss in the next few weeks, be it the corruption in the Senate, to the bi-partisanship between the Core and Rim factions, and whatever issue tickles your fancy. Think wide - Wild Space concerns, Deep Core exploration, satellite galaxy investigations... but I don't want to hear about militancy by the Republic to deal with Delmaasi pirates," he said, glancing at Tarkin and Valorum, even Palpatine, for Naboo was a relative stellar neighbour to Eriadu, "nor lifting sanctions against Arkanian gene-splicing, okay?" At that he was referring to Adasca.

The Professor nodded. "I will pick one topic at random and we will debate it for a week, at minimum. We usually have an odd number of students to prevent deadlock, but if required I shall act as the dividing vote, and of course moderator," he said with a shrug.

"Any other questions? No? Good." He didn't actually give them a chance to speak up; the lesson had dragged on enough, past the ordinary time for their evening break; Palpatine had arrived midway through the day, to add to the disruption.

Valorum stood immediately and stormed from the room, his cape flowing. He promptly headed to Tremyr's room, positioning himself so he would speak to the man before he entered, intending to have a discussion with him. The Professor turned to leave the room with some swiftness, and Palpatine, who didn't actually know where the Professors chambers were, rushed to collect his things and go.

A piece of paper slid from his collection, drifting beneath a chair.

That left four students behind, of course, and as much as they did not need to discuss Valorum, they might wish to discuss Palpatine, or, indeed, wonder why the newcomer had arrived so late in the day, why no preparations had been made, and so forth.

Control of the class, of course, could result in many great things happening; the Professor had mentioned some in the last millennium even now. So as much as Valorum and Tarkin were eminently opposed, one was related to the Chancellor, and one was related to a sector governor, regardless of how much of a darling of the Core Faction Ranulph Tarkin was. Of course, they all had their own plans...

TAG: @greyjedi125, @darthbernael, @Mitth_Fisto, @The Vanguard