Locke it down.

]

Locke Fluzhi shifted in his plush seat as the gravity in the shuttle shifted. They had left the grip of Cantonica and the artificial pull was noticeably less forgiving, and he almost spilled his cocktail. “To new beginnings.” Locke mumbled under his breath.

“Did you need something sir?” A chrome protocol droid came into view.

“No.” Locke’s tone was of obvious disappointment. To him droids didn’t make for good conversation, especially since in governmental service all non-basic information was wiped on a weekly basis. Still, he had time to kill, and perhaps this could be a better distraction than his own thoughts. “Well, on second thought, give me a run-down of my new duties.”

“I do not have that information.” The over formality the droid put in its words was almost too much to take.

“What information do you have?”

“I am the quartermaster and bar keep of this vessel. I can tell you where your room is and I can make your favorite drink.”

“Okay, let’s do both, might as well get some sleep.”

][

Locke had ordered the droid to wake him when they were approaching Coruscant. The droid cost many many credits might as well make it act like an alarm clock too. Locke then bullied his way into the cockpit, and took a back seat behind the pilot and copilot. He promised not to speak or interfere in any way, but he wanted to see for himself, not on a vid screen, or side view, he wanted to see this place on approach with his own eyes.

If he had been melancholy before about the assignment this sight was downright depressing. The planet was entirely covered in buildings. Grotesque glass, steel, and plascrete structures spread out as far as the eye could see, no nature, nothing natural. Endless dots of light steamed across the vast metropolis, mechanical proof of life. It was so unnatural that Locke involuntarily moaned slightly.

“Yeah, it’s something, Senator.” The co-pilot mistook Locke’s outburst for joy.The co-pilot could go home. Locke could not.

]|[

“And that concludes the tour of the State Housing.” A gold plated droid finally stopped talking. Locke had stopped listening about three words in, and walked at his own pace around the ornate building. In Coruscant the higher above the ground surface the higher in status. Cantonica’s housing was among the highest of the commercial buildings in the finest of districts. Wealth was displayed by space and that which filled it, especially if filled with trivial things. Still, no matter how many tapestries or sculptures, a prison is a prison.

“Droid”

“My name is C42”

“I don’t care.” Locke didn’t need insolence from servants. “When do I go to …work?” The last word took effort to form and utter. He had never needed to work a day in his life. He was far too old to start now. But his choices were limited, so it was this or poverty. He’d rather die than be poor..

“Tomorrow, you have a meeting with the Archduchess Lori Halcyon.” The droid handed over a datapad. “This will tell you everything you need to know, as well as allow you to input your personal codes and set encryption.”

“According to this I have over twenty hours before this meeting begins. Let’s go find a bar.”

“I cannot leave the premises sir.”

“Well, I can, to an extent. And there’s no way I’m spending one minute sober in this nightmare planet than necessary. Goodbye Droid.”

“My name is C42” the droid said to an empty room.

]\/

From behind her desk, Archduchess Lori Halcyon took five long silent seconds to regard the new Senator. In those five seconds she surmised a great deal about the man and confirmed all she had expected of someone punished to accept this role. Halcyon was an imposing figure and most people, if given the choice between meeting her or a wild rancor would probably have a hard time deciding.

“I will only say this once.”

“You don’t have to say it that many times, at least not so loudly.” Locke rubbed his head that was pounding relentlessly. The hangover was one of his best, or worst in memory. Say what you will about this planet, it had good booze.

“Your role here is to be seen and not heard. No one wants to hear your thoughts. IF someone approaches you with a matter of any significance, tell them to message your office. It will be dealt with from there. You will be in session when your schedule dictates. The voting will already be in your datapad, just follow the program. Otherwise how you spend the hours out of session are up to you, just don’t do anything stupid.”

“I majored in stupid in my schooling, just so we’re on the same page…”

“Don’t do anything to get unwanted attention…or mine.” the Archduchess turned around in her chair, now facing away from Locke, “We’re done. Go.”

Locke was glad for the dismissal, and decided to add to his to-do-list never return to this office again if he could help it.