Saga - PT Demarche

Title: Demarche

Author: devilinthedetails

Genre: Politics; General; Friendship

Timeline: Set between TPM and AOTC.

Characters: Padme Amidala; Chancellor Palpatine; Captain Typho; Corde; Verse.

Summary: Padme is dispatched by Chancellor Palpatine to negotiate peace between two cities.

Note: Written for the 48 hour Mod Challenge. My TV Trope was Silly Reason for War. My weather forecast was cloudy with a chance of meatballs. My random word was demarche, which means a course of action; a diplomatic or political maneuver. My recycled quote was "You look absolutely perfect to me." My picture prompt was an invisible women on a park bench with peeling blue paint.

Demarche

“A fine vintage of emerald wine, Chancellor,” Padme complimented the refined taste of her host as she sat on a sofa in his office, admiring the bright red paint of his walls and waiting for him to explain why he had summoned her suddenly when the Senate would now be in recess for several weeks. She swirled her flute of wine, inhaling the rich scent that reminded her of the vineyards of emerald grapes in Naboo’s verdant countryside. It was a reminder of her homeworld on faraway Coruscant. A homeworld she was eager to visit while the Senate was in recess. She had parents to hug, nieces to spoil, a sister to tease, a queen to update on her progress in the Senate, and citizens of Naboo to see going about their daily business as a reminder of the people she forever aimed to serve.

“A hundred year old bottle from Naboo.” Chancellor Palpatine lifted his glass in salute. “A tribute to your homeworld, Senator, and to mine, of course.”

“To Naboo.” Padme clinked her flute against his in a toast, and they sipped at the same time.

Silence fell between them and Padme let it linger until Chancellor Palpatine remarked, “I imagine you must be eager to return to Naboo.” At her nod, he emitted a regretful sigh and head shake. “I’m afraid duty may require you to travel elsewhere during this recess.”

“Is that so?” Padme arched an eyebrow.

“I have a diplomatic mission for you I would entrust to nobody else.” Chancellor’s Palpatine’s penetrating eyes fixed on hers. “Have you heard of the planet Zegarb?”

“No.” A faint frown appeared in Padme’s forehead at her ignorance of galactic geography. “I’m afraid I haven’t.”

“A small planet with a limited water supply populated by humanoids who are capable of making themselves invisible to humans and other members of their species.” Chancellor Palpatine took a delicate sip of his wine. “It might be an adaptation of the civil wars that occur regularly between the two cities that contain a bulk of their population and constantly compete for water access. For the past three decades, the civil wars there have been so frequent and bloody that Zegarb has been unable to elect a representative to send to the Senate. Recently there has been a temporary truce between the two factions who have appealed to me to dispatch an official ambassador from the Senate to preside over negotiations on fair water use for their two cities.”

“They could agree on a demarche then,” Padme mused, studying how her emerald wine reflected and refracted the lights in Chancellor Palpatine’s office. “Perhaps there is hope for a more permanent detente.”

“I knew you would see such hope.” The lines of Chancellor Palpatine’s face cracked into a slight smile. “That’s why I wish to appoint you to serve as ambassador to Zegarb on my behalf should you be brave enough to accept this mission. You were, after all, so successful at forging an alliance with the Gungans of Naboo.”

“I will be brave enough to accept, and I will succeed.” Padme set her flute of wine on a table, prepared to stand and leave immediately. Her luggage should have been packed by her handmaidens and stowed aboard her starship. Only the starship’s destination would have to change from Naboo to Zegrab.

“Both parties have guaranteed your safety on Zegrab throughout the negotiations.” Chancellor Palpatine wore a vaguely troubled expression as if worried that she was being too impulsive. “I spoke of bravery, but you mustn’t be foolhardy, Senator. If you ever have cause to doubt your safety on Zegarb, you must leave at once.”

“I assure you I will not risk my life needlessly, Chancellor.” Padme resisted the urge to bristle at his almost condescending concern. Forcing a pleasant tone, she offered her formal farewell to the Chancellor and left for the landing pad where her starship awaited her.

Captain Typho was disgruntled to learn of the change in plan as her pilot entered Zegarb’s coordinates into the navcomputer and sought clearance for departure from Coruscant’s planetary security.

“The Chancellor wishes to send you into a war zone.” He scowled as Padme explained their destination and diplomatic mission. “He doesn’t value your life as I do.”

“It’s not an active war zone.” Padme laid a soothing palm on the arm of the man who headed her security detail. “There’s a truce between the two sides that might become permanent if I can broker a lasting treaty.”

“A truce might seem guaranteed from a distance.” Captain Typho snorted. “On the surface, reality might be very different.”

“The Chancellor has given me permission to leave Zegarb at once if I ever have cause to doubt my safety on the planet.” Padme hoped this would appease her chief of security.

“How very kind of the Chancellor.” Captain Typho’s grunt suggested he didn’t think the offer was so generous or that Padme would take advantage of it if the need arose. On the latter count, he was most likely correct, Padme mentally conceded. She wasn’t about to flee from her duty to promote peace on any world in Republic space. It was her duty as a Senator to promote peace wherever necessary.

In the comfort of the lounge, her handmaidens Corde and Verse were in their own ways as dismissive of the prospect of peace on Zegarb.

“The two cities of Zegarb have been waging civil wars against each other on and off for centuries.” Corde’s dubious face was lit by the blue glow of her datapad as she contemplated an article on Zegarb’s tumultuous history. “What makes the Chancellor believe that a lasting peace can be negotiated this time?”

“Nobody believed an alliance was possible between the Gungans and the Naboo either.” Padme glanced up from her own research into the politics of Zegarb. “Yet Boss Nass and I negotiated one.”

“That only happened because our world would’ve been destroyed if we didn’t unite to fight the Trade Federation,” Verse pointed out as if she had been present when Padme had negotiated an alliance with Boss Nass even though she hadn’t entered Padme’s service until Padme was elected Senator.

“Zegarb could be destroyed in its own way if the two sides can’t reach a settlement.” Padme pressed a button on her datapad to project a map of Zegarb’s surface—blighted by centuries of civil war—so that it filled the lounge where they sat. “Their endless conflicts ruin the very infrastructure, the dams and the pipes, they need to use the little water they have.”

“That’s why the reason for war is so silly.” Corde’s eyes rolled. “They fight over their limited water supply without realizing they’re destroying the infrastructure they need to harness the water for their use.”

“Our rift with the Gungans would have seemed ludicrous to an outsider.” Padme shook her head in reproach of Corde’s lack of diplomatic perspective. “We must understand rather than judge those on Zegarb if we are to negotiate peace between the two factions.”

“Yes, my lady.” Corde bowed her head, accepting the mild reprimand.

As the cruiser cut through the durasteel gray clouds of Zegarb, Padme swept an appraising gaze over her veda robes. “Do I look presentable enough to meet the delegates from the two cities?”

“You look absolutely perfect to me.” Verse straightened a final wrinkle in Padme’s robes.

“It’s cloudy,” Padme murmured to her handmaidens as the boarding ramp lowered and she stepped down from the cruiser, her handmaidens and Captain Typho’s security guards flanking her. “I hope that’s not a poor omen for our negotiations.”

As the delegates of the two cities strode across the landing pad to greet her with deep bows, Padme mentally updated this forecast to cloudy with a side of Zegarbian meatballs for as the delegates rose from their bows, they each extended steaming plates of the traditional welcoming dish of Zegarbian meatballs to her.

Recalling from her reading on the customs of Zegarb that to refuse these meatballs was to insult her hosts by rebuffing their hospitality, Padme accepted a meatball from each platter. The meatballs made from ground nerf and bantha meat were dipped in sauce flavored with spices native to Zegarb. It was remarkable, she thought, that two cultures who couldn’t agree on fair water use would create the same welcoming dishes.

“I thank you for your warm welcome and delicious meatballs.” Padme inclined her head, hoping that they would cross over to the speeder she could see on the far end of the landing platform before rain fell from the ominous clouds darkening Zegarb’s sky.

“I’m the mayor of this city of Croa.” One of the delegates seemed eager to advance the arguments of his city as he guided her toward the speeder with a hand on her elbow. “This city is upstream of the city of Reav that claims to have as much right to the water as we do.”

“Being upstream of Reav doesn’t give Croa the right to claim all the water and leave none for the citizens of Reav,” retorted the second delegate as he grabbed Padme’s other elbow, helping her into the speeder along with the delegate from his rival city. “Besides much of the infrastructure in terms of dams that are needed to harness the water have been built by the citizens of Reav rather than the citizens of Croa. The citizens of Reav deserve compensation for their efforts.”

The speeder took off as Padme allowed both sides to lodge their complaints against each other so that she could understand the position of each faction and hopefully arrange a settlement between the two fighting cities. While her ears focused on the conversation in the speeder, her eyes drank in the city of Croa as she flew through it.

Her gaze was drawn to a park bench with peeling blue paint. The grass around it wasn’t green but rust-colored as if it had been subjected to drought. On the bench, sat an eerie sight: a black-and-white plaid skirt, black gloves, a black coat, and a white scarf. The humanoid who must have been wearing them had made herself invisible as if she was prepared for war to break out again on Zegarb—as if the negotiations had already failed.

In her heart, Padme made a promise to this invisible woman on the park bench that she would not fail her: that the negotiations would not collapse and a lasting peace would be achieved between the two cities of Zegarb. She wouldn’t leave Zegarb until she had accomplished that for the woman on the park bench regardless of what she had promised Palpatine and Captain Typho about ensuring her own safety. Following her ideals was more important to her than guaranteeing her safety. That was why she had become a queen and then a Senator. Not to be safe but to make a difference in the galaxy—to advocate for others who couldn’t advocate for themselves and to bring peace where there was conflict.

 

Great work transforming these prompts—some difficult ones—into quite a nice little story! Padmé is the perfect woman for this job; no one knows better than she does about reconciling conflicting fashions, and she does have notable experience in that area in the alliance she formed with Boss Nass and the Gungans. She takes time to hear out both sides, even if the reason for their conflict is kind of a silly, trumped-up one (though in a way it's not, too, because water's hella important! ).

I too am very impressed with how you worked in "cloudy with a chance of meatballs"! Not only that, it even plays into the theme of realizing commonalities, since the two cities share that time-honored custom even in the midst of their conflict. Wonderful use of the invisible woman picture prompt, too (show us that image, please! ). I love the way the nameless, invisible woman on the bench becomes a reminder to Padmé of why she's here, what she's trying to accomplish by brokering peace between the representatives of Croa and Reav. (And just thought of something: Croa, Zegarb... like Zagreb, Croatia? ). The woman on the bench kind of becomes the basis for Padmé's demarche, her diplomatic plan of action. Lovely touch there, and wonderful job with a tough group of prompts!

 

@divapilot, thanks so much for commenting! I'm so glad that you thought this was a great little story and that you felt I had a good handle on Padme's character. She's one of my favorite Star Wars characters, so I really wanted to do her justice here when I made her the center of attention.

The invisible woman prompt was one I struggled to work in at first until I realized that she could be exactly what you said: a reminder to Padme of the population that will disappear if the war isn't stopped. Then I knew I had to put that invisible woman at the end of the piece and give her some attention despite her invisibility.

I always loved how Padme showed how important a politician's work can be when that politician has principles and tries to stay true to them and is committed to trying to serve people as well as she can. Padme is an example to me of the ethics that are sadly too often missing from many politicians.

The "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" prompt was the hardest prompt I received in all my challenges, I think, and I really struggled to find a way to include it that wouldn't feel totally forced, so it means so much to me that you thought it fit the context of this story so well. Of all the challenge stories I wrote, I think this one stumped me the most, but in some ways that made it the most rewarding when I finished it.

@Findswoman, as always, thank you so much for commenting! There were definitely some difficult prompts that I struggled to include in this challenge, so it makes me super proud that you thought I was able to pull them together into a nice story here. I agree that Padme is the perfect woman for this job what with her history of negotiating an alliance with Boss Nass and the Gungans during the Naboo Invasion. One thing I loved most about Padme especially in TPM was how she was given a chance to shine as a diplomat. I really admire her ability to listen to different sides and wanted to showcase that here, so it makes me so happy that shone through here.

The "cloudy with the chance of meatballs" prompt was one that I really scratched my head over how to include but then I realized that it could be a dish both sides served and become exactly what you described: a way of showing that despite their differences these two groups of beings have some commonalties that can bind them together and give a hope for establishing peace between them.

The invisible woman was another tough prompt for me, for sure, so I'm so pleased to hear that you felt she functioned well as a reminder to Padme of the importance of her being able to successfully broker a peace between the two sides. You're right. I should have included a link to the invisible woman picture. Silly me.

Oh, yes, and Zagreb, Croatia was on my mind since my sister went there as part of her honeymoon (her husband is Croatian). I was wondering if anyone would spot that. Congrats for your sharp eyes, noticing all the little details!

 

@AzureAngel2, aww, thanks so much for your sweet comment! I'm so happy to hear you thought the way I wove the prompts into this story fit perfectly since some of these prompts were definitely very challenging, but I felt very rewarded by being able to write a Padme story at the end, since I do love Padme as a character and found it nice to give her some attention.

 

You did such a fantastic job with a really difficult few prompts here! Wow!!

I loved this little bit of characterization for Padmé. Her family and planet are so important to her, and her strong sense of justice and desire to serve defines her. She has a whole rich inner tapestry beyond being Anakin's love interest and the mother of Luke and Leia, and you showed that perfectly with this vignette!.

Nice! Again, I am so impressed by how much world-building you were able to come up with on the spot - especially with, again, more than a few difficult prompts.

Excellent use of 'demarche'!

Eugh - and Palpatine can't help but show his skeevy self here. It's sad that far from being the political mentor and confidant he initially was, Padmé is at a point where she's starting to see cracks in Palpatine's seemingly genuine 'Grandpa Naboo' act. She has an inkling that his service to the greater good of the Republic isn't all it really is, and she's questioning things.

Personally, I am with Cordé here. It is indeed a silly reason for war!

But Padmé has to maintain a diplomatic perspective on things as both a senator and Chancellor Palpatine's envoy. Just like she said, unfortunately, most wars have very silly reasons for their waging down at the core, and an unbiased outlook is needed to help make their cease-fire permanent.

Nice use of the quote.

And wow! I love how you took another difficult prompt and wove it into the fabric of the story! The people of Zegarb have just as much in common as they do which sets them apart - and something tells me that Padmé will highlight that truth in her time here to see about successful negotiations for all.

I had chills reading this part. Again, I am impressed by how you took a difficult prompt and made it such an integral part of the story. This invisible woman is a reminder to Padmé of everything at stake, and only steels her determination to do her best for the people of Zegarb. Really beautiful work!


Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic vignette, and participating in the challenge, again!

 

@Mira_Jade Thank you so much for commenting! I'm so flattered that you thought I did a fantastic job with this piece. For me, this was the hardest of the challenges I had to write since as you said, there were a couple of difficult prompts, and it took me awhile to come up with a story that would integrate them all, so it's awesome to hear that you felt I was able to pull that off.

I'm so glad that you loved that little bit of Padme characterization since one of the most exciting aspects of writing this story for me was being able to explore all the facets of Padme beyond being Anakin's wife. Anakin is important to her, but so to are her planet, her political service to others, and her strong sense of justice as you mention. I appreciated how this story gave me a chance to shine light on some of those other parts of Padme that define her beyond her feelings for Anakin.

It means a lot to know you loved the world building. The great thing about that world-building is that it was very much inspired by the prompts. I don't think I could've come up with a world of beings who could become invisible at will without the prompts I received, so in that way, the prompts were really awesome for my creativity.

Demarche was a word I learned thanks to this challenge, so I'm so happy to hear that you thought it was used well.

I did want to show that skeevy side to Palpatine here. The older I get the more I see Palpatine's comments to Padme about the assassination attempts on her life as being really condescending and generally icky, so I like to imagine that Padme is starting to see beyond Palpatine's surface act to some of his internal rot. So I'm so glad that section of skeevy Palpatine worked for you.

I think Corde is right to point out that it's a silly reason for war, but I'm also glad that there are people like Padme who will try to resolve the silly reasons for war in a diplomatic way. I wouldn't have the patience for it, but it's nice that Padme does.

So happy to hear you liked the use of the quote.

I was really stumped out how to include "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" into the story. Then I was so proud of myself when I realized meatballs could be a common cultural dish to hint at the similarities between the two sides despite their conflict, so it makes me very pleased that it worked so well for you I definitely do think Padme will emphasize these similiarities to hopefully bring peace to this world.

Wow, there could be no greater compliment than to have a line give you chills. And all that would never have happened without these prompts to spark my creativity, which is why these challenges were awesome and fun for me to participate in

 

As always, thanks so much for commenting on my work! It was interesting for me to be able to develop the political details of the conflict between the cities, so I'm happy to hear you found the details excellent. I agree with you that Corde and Verse certainly have a point about the conflict being a silly reason for war since they are destroying the very infrastructure both cities need with their fighting. Hopefully Padme will be able to help them come to a reasonable solution.

I'm so glad that you appreciated my characterization of Padme. How much she wants to make a difference and how willing she is to sacrifice her own safety to do her duty and serve others are some of the traits I admire most about her, so it was great to have a chance to showcase them in this story!

 

@Briannakin Thanks so much for your kind comments, and apologies for my delayed response! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this story. The prompts definitely encouraged me to be creative and come up with story ideas I never would've without them, so I'm extremely grateful for the challenge and the prompts.

I had so much fun exploring different facets of Padme's personality such as her desires and her political goals and ambitions in this story so it makes me so happy that you enjoyed that aspect as well.

Typho doesn't get that much attention in fanfic (I have to admit that this is the first and so far only time I've written about him...) but he is a great character in the time he appears in the PT so it was cool for me to be able to sort of shine a spotlight on how he manages to balance his deep caring for Padme with a respectful professionalism. That can't be easy to do but Typho accomplishes it. And it was nice to be able to give him some wise words.

It was a bit of a struggle for me to find a way to incorporate a silly prompt into a serious toned story so I was proud of myself when I found a way and it's great to know it worked well for you!

As to the ending, I did want to give Padme's personality and beliefs a final chance to shine through, so it pleases me so much that you felt I achieved that. Thank you again for the kind comment and another apology for the delayed response!