And finally we let the Powderkeg explode!(1)

Coruscant

The Senate was a cacophony of dissonance and indecision, Wilhuff Tarkin noted as a grim sigh left his mouth.

It was quite displeasing that whom he had believed to be a good man with the right mindset had turned out to be one of the worst scumbags in the galaxy, Palpatine having acted around his ambitions and playing with them to use him where he wanted a loyal pawn.

He looked at his hands and blinked. His role as Governor had been mostly backed by the former Supreme Chancellor as a favour from having helped in bringing down Valorum not so long ago.

But now the castle of cards was falling and the Tarkin had to take a drastic decision. He had been called much earlier to Coruscant to speak with some influential members of the Trade Faction within the Senate, one of the major groups and the very ones that could have possibly orchestrated Palpatine's fall from grace.

Nice manners and a delicious tea did quite the opposite of what they had expected as Wilhuff knew of the dangers of politics, even through most of his experience came from the military service.

The proposal that was advanced had sounded quite ridiculous, insane even but the mere idea of becoming the Supreme Chancellor sounded like a dream becoming true for him. He had dreams, dreams about repelling some of the more ugly aspects of the Ruusan Reforms, to offer once more the chance to have a standing army that could help the Republic against any possible danger to it.

He had heard of the Tatooine Revolution, one that was starting to spread like a plague.

Ryloth and other planets that had been exploited by the Hutts were now joining arms in a single banner to destroy the criminal empire that had for so long been a thorn to the Galactic Republic.

As a militarman, Tarkin didn't hide his interest in knowing the identity of the newest leader of the desert planet, to learn more about the mind that had planned such precise and quick strike with so little equipment.

Having served in the very ill-equipped Outland Regions Security Force, the Governor had been the first one to face the issue of the space raiders with the scarce resources he had and meeting someone that had dealt with something similar to his own experience... felt like a good idea in his head.

Plus it would be a good idea to side with the rebels than creating an unpopular second front and join unofficially on the Hutts' side.

That is why he knew he would win if he accepted the idea of becoming the newest Supreme Chancellor. He would have the Trade Faction, the Military Faction and the public opinion to form a strong majority for his mandates.

The issue came about the reasons why he was chosen as the right candidate. The emissaries had been quite nervous at the question and had played their words cautiously around it without properly addressing it.

Tarkin groaned as once more Senator Amidala of Naboo spoke about the Tatooine's argument.

He could understand her concerned tone and he knew that she was playing egregiously the political game.. but he could also see that she was failing to grasp the real subject of this sitting.

Generally during a sitting meant to discuss internal matters it isn't advised to speak about non-related issues and the woman was slowly making her standing there minor than it was few moments earlier.

After several minutes of interventions from various senators, Mas Amedda called for order, the Changrian having once more resumed the role of Steward of the Senate.

The candidates' names were exposed and Wilhuff had to bit down a chagrin when his name was revealed. Backing down would be a major blow for his career, may it be civilian or military, as he would be seen as a man without a clear determination in action.

His attention slowly slipped away from the central spot and to his communication device, the machine buzzing loudly until the human pressed its main button.

Strangely enough no hologram of the caller was shown but someone spoke nonetheless. "Am I speaking with Wilhuff Tarkin?"

The man paused and sighed. "Indeed and I suppose you are one of those emissaries from the Trade Faction."

The voice on the other side hummed quietly, then replied. "The answer is a yes and no." Tarkin frowned at the response but the voice was far from over. "I am affiliated with them but in no shape or form I work under them."

"Then if you would please go right to the point. The first candidate has just finished his discussion and-"

"I was the one that proposed you as our candidate."

The interruption was pardoned almost instantly as the human was pleased to know that he was discussing with someone that had the answers to his question.

"Then please explain why you decided to push for my name..."

"Shinihachi, but you might know me better as the new Governor-General of Tatooine."

"You are the one that killed the Hutt leader?" This was so sudden! How could he have expected this kind of situation so early on and so unpredictably?

"That is correct!" The voice let a pleased note influence his words. "But I think we were discussing about you and not dead worms."

Tarkin blinked and nodded as the following explanation was surely going to have the decisive impact on his decision on the candidacy.

"I chose you.. because I know you would do the job perfectly." This time the hologram worked but it was showing a file with several informations about him. "You have both an administrative and military education, have a strong backbone even under pressure and you are loyal to the Republic."

"But then why would you chose me if I am loyal to the very government you decided to not ally with-"

"Because it is currently impossible."

...What?

"The current state of laws regarding Pro-Republic administrations limit the formation of defensive groups, I think you know about Ruusan and his blasted reforms."

"Oh trust me, I do know about them.." But while his words were dipped in venom at the mentioned reforms, the Governor's lips twitched in a smile as he caught on the hidden meaning. "You wish to remove those before joining?"

"That is the first thing.. but I think you can guess why I am so 'nervous' from actually approaching the current political system."

"Too much bureaucracy and too many pacifists in our folds, this political body is more a corpse than else."

"That is good to hear! I hope I have satisfied your curiousity and made you a little more eager of this opportunity."

"You did, Shinihachi!" The human was now grinning with a predatorial glint in his eyes. "But I hope we will enjoy a meeting to confirm some of our mutual objectives."

"That is going to be possible but I hope you are going to be ready for some funny surprise."

The call ended and Tarkin let loose a small sigh as he noticed that someone was knocking by the door. "Yes?"

"Governor, it is your turn to speak." Wilhuff smiled at this and nodded at his decision.

"Understood." He stood up and walked closer to the microphone.

The silence of the entire political room was... deafening and the human had to sigh again before starting.

"Senators of the Galactic Republic. While I can assume that my sudden partecipation might have surprised most of you as I have been quite a silent figure since my first major role in the Eriadu Trade Summit, I can assure you all this request of mine is not out of justice or passion."

He paused for a moment and his smile accentuated when he noticed he had fully ensnared their full attention onto him.

"It was duty. Duty to the Republic, duty to the Republic's people and.. duty to those who never got the chance to be called sons and daughters of this democracy. This isn't just a mere reference to the recent revolts in Tatooine and Ryloth, this is a reference to the past inactivity protracted by my predecessors over the Hutts and other organisation administering lands lawfully considered of the Republic."

"And how do you wish to bring this to fruition, Governor Tarkin?" Mas Amedda asked in a simple tone, drawing even more attention on the candidate.

"I wish to bring back to attention one of the oldest reformations of our glorious Republic that has been left untouched even in those times of darkness. I wish to examine the possibility to alter the limits of the Galactic Army and-"

"You wish to bring war in the Galaxy!"

Tarkin turned his eyes to look at the upstart that had interrupted his explanation, glaring at the Senator from Naboo.

"Of course not, Senator Amidala, that would be impossible for me to do so."

The cryptic sentence managed in its intention to surprise the woman as Tarkin explained what he meant with his candid but concise tone.

"I cannot bring war when there is one currently within our borders. One against the Republic."

"So you recognise that Tatooine-"

"Was lost to the Hutts centuries ago and we had nothing to send and take it back." His tone strengthened as his annoyance was growing towards the impudent senator.

"We had been at war with the Hutts, with the raiders, with the slavers, with everyone that went against the Republic and its laws but we never considered to truly fight back. We left the people of the Republic to rot in those painful lives, to march aimlessly forward with a single question in their mind." He drew a breath before continuing. "Why nobody cares?"

Wilhuff blinked and stared around the Senate, surprised that he had managed to silence the entire political body with his own line of thoughts, with his genuine plans, with what he felt was needed to be said to everyone.

A clap, then two, then ten and soon it became a standing ovation from the entire room. Tarkin let just a small smile regally reply to the positive reaction from the politicians, gleeful at the support he was going to receive.

But by the end of the day, the means mattered little. The Republic needed new life and Tarkin was willing to die for the government to return to be a beacon of freedom and democracy!

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Surprisingly enough Tarkin was quite the masterful politician, that is why Palpatine had him assigned the farthest possible from Coruscant, fearing for a possible betrayal from him. Plus he is quite lively because his son is still alive and well.

Sadly not much from our nutty bot this chapter, but I promise you quite the chapter with some galactic conquering next time!