Onri barely noticed the Queen’s speech.
Something about Naboo, something about the Trade Federation, something about people suffering.
Stars, weren’t they all?
She had been up most of the night before listening to droning speeches and committee meetings.
She laid her head on her desk, trying her best to ignore the broadcast constantly running in the background of the office.
Someone would let her know if they needed something.
She could only be thankful she wasn’t on a front desk assignment, smiling sweetly at whichever corrupt lobbyist or awed civilian needed a message or three run somewhere.
Onri had fallen asleep there once, she was lucky one of the other aides caught her before Senator Palpatine had come in.
She didn’t like him much.
Granted, she didn’t like most Senators much.
Her illusions had been quite effectively tempered by the experience of rushing flimsi messages and datapads and caf to entitled and out of touch Senators.
She was in the middle of facing the very upsetting prospect of graduating from a prestigious university with a highly sought after degree and a competitive job history in a field she despised.
Karking teenagers and their dreams of ‘justice’ and ‘equality’ and ‘improving the Republic.’
As if.
A person only suffered being stuck in a turbolift halfway through a twelve hour shift nodding politely to some Senior Senator’s incredibly unsubtle and pointed rant about how nobody wanted to put in the work anymore once before making some adjustments to their conceptions of the galaxy.
One of her fellow aides offered her some snacks, halfway through whatever impassioned plea the queen was making.
She wondered absently how old the queen was. She’d heard somewhere that Naboo liked its young leaders, not beaten down by the inevitability of life yet.
Oh, to be young again.
She hadn’t had time to pack a proper meal before the emergency session. If it went on much longer she was going to regret that terribly.
She focused on partaking in her coworker’s generosity and put any thoughts of teenage queens from her mind.
Someone piped up.
“Oh, ya hear that? Don’t see that everyday!”
“What?” She glared at the screen, as if it would tell her what she’d clearly missed.
“The Queen just called for a Vote of No Confidence, haven’t you been paying attention?”
“I stopped paying attention after two months here and you know it.” She couldn’t stand the snipes and barbs thrown everywhere. It made her skin crawl, it was better not to listen.
Better not to get her hopes up over basic reforms and bills that would inevitably be crushed in the grinding cogs of their glorious Senate.
“I thought Valorum was a big supporter of Naboo?”
“Ah, it’s all politics, who knows how much of it’s real.”
“Bets! Bets! Who bets on Palpatine?”
“Palpatine?”
“Yeah, look at the man, he’s got the pity vote for sure. It’s his planet.”
“I put 10 credits on Palpatine.”
“I’m not betting.”
“20 on Antilles, he’s got a pretty good record and Alderaan’s got the influence.”
“5 on Valorum making it.”
“Really?”
“What can I say? I love an underdog.” He shrugged casually.
“That’s some underdog you’ve got there, if he’s an underdog call me a Hutt.”
“Stars, can you imagine? Even losing an election like that is farther than we’ll ever make it. If I ever make Senator’s aide it’ll be a dream come true.”
Onri shrugged.
“My Senators have been from the same three families for over a hundred years now, we’re not even in the same galaxy as them.”
“True enough, still…”
They were interrupted by the girl currently staffing the front desk peeking her head through the door.
“The Senator from Ryloth’s cousin is coming over again.” She hissed, lekku twitching nervously. “Please, help me!”
Ugh, Onri really didn’t want to deal with him. He was always yammering about some nonsense and making eyes at her coworker. There were only so many polite deflections a person could make. One of the other aides sighed, straightened her skirt and walked over.
“I’ve got it.”
“You’re a lifesaver, thank you! Next time you’re up for a late hearing I’ll take it! I swear!”
Onri rested her chin in her hand and watched idly as a recess was called to prepare for the vote.
They watched the votes come in, crowning their new Chancellor.
There was a certain inevitability to it.
Maybe Onri should have cared.
About Naboo, about the new Chancellor.
There were people suffering, after all.
Maybe she should have mustered up the energy to be angry.
She could fight for something, like she did back when she was so wide-eyed and certain that things could change.
She could take the lofty ideals that got her here and do something with them.
She won’t and she doesn’t.
Instead, content to watch.
Content to watch the new Chancellor accept his position with that awful smile of his.
Content to half watch the news over her lunch break days later and learn the situation has resolved itself.
Onri moved on, cursing rude Senators in her heart and smiling politely. She pretended not to see her fellow aide struggling through interactions with the Rylothi Senator’s creepy cousin. She pretended not to see the poor being removed and shoved back down into the lower levels during her morning commute. She put her head down and focused on her future. She doesn’t give the Naboo crisis a second thought.
After all, it’s not like it affects her.
There was a certain inevitability to it.
The crisis and its resolution.
She never bothers to consider whether this is true.
She never bothers to fight for something better.
She’s promoted to Senior Aide to the Vice-Chancellor three weeks after the Republic falls.
It’s a good gig, nice pay. No one's quite sure if they should change the sign outside his office to an imperial title.
She still hates them. Those fake, corrupt Senators who’ve never spared a thought for the common people. Always so happy to do what it takes to get ahead. Always so content to sit back and do nothing.
She never bothers to wonder if she’s one of them.