Mas Amedda looked at the senators, large beads of cold sweat appearing on his temples.
There was no need to think to know that something had gone wrong among these people. But the problem was, what if they suddenly went mad? He was under their control—what if they killed him?
At that thought, Mas Amedda began to tremble all over.
He was no longer young enough to dream of manipulating the newly appointed Chancellor of the Republic, Sheev Palpatine. Under Palpatine's tyranny, all his sharp edges had long been worn away. He had become obedient and cautious.
In a trembling voice, he said, "Well... how about... a temporary recess? All the senators are here. We can rest for an hour...?"
At that moment, the senators and Core Worlds aristocratic representatives parted down the middle, and an enormous hologram was projected.
The man appeared to be around sixty. His beautiful silver hair was neatly combed back, and he wore a dark red robe. He had an imposing bearing and a gentle expression.
Mas Amedda froze when he saw him. "Cassius Alcott... Senator... sir. Why... are you...?"
This man was a powerful figure in the Core Worlds, patriarch of the Alcott family, and the joint representative for several sectors, including Sanbra, Hook N, and Juris. He was also an influential senator in the Imperial Senate.
But what surprised Mas Amedda was that Cassius Alcott had always been a moderate. He advocated controlling the Mid Rim and Outer Rim Territories through trade and economic means, and had even written a report—Imperial Economic Symbiosis Theory—expounding on the creation of an economic system centered on the Empire, using economic blockades to completely marginalize, or even starve to death, the Kingdom of Dawn and rebel forces everywhere.
His report had even attracted Emperor Palpatine's interest. At