Hello all! Welcome to my second Star Wars fiction.

Now, I'm going say a few things first before you start reading. First, I'm not extremely deep in the SW-fiction world. I don't read the extra novels, so I don't know every other little detail that has gone on between movies and all that. I'm referring to the Wookipedia site for help whenever I need it.

Second, this is going to be a somewhat OC/Palpatine fic. It's not a heavy romance-type thing, but there are going to be relations between them. A warning in advance. Don't like it, don't read it. There are several other relationships to be explored too, but slightly more canon. Those would be Padme/Anakin, Obi-Wan/Siri Tachi (though very briefly), and then some OC/various other OCs.

That being said, and you're still sticking around, I hope you enjoy! I haven't done a SW fic seriously yet, and I want to do it justice. Helpful comments, reviews, and anything else are always appreciated. I always love hearing back from readers! Much love!

Also, these first few chapters will do a few time jumps just to establish some background. I'll let you know when the actual 'present day' of the story starts.

Eilwen Bancouhr hated most things about flying. She hated the sensation of taking off, the way the shuttle rocked back and forth during the flight, and the horrible jerking feeling when it came to a stop on the ground. In large transport ships, this was seldom a problem, if ever. However, the small private vessel that she found herself on proved to be more of a problem. Taking a deep breath, she had to forcefully remind herself that it would be worth it in the end. How many members of the Legislative Youth Program actually got to leave Naboo to see a senate hearing in action? None… She and her companions would be the first.

Her green eyes traveled around the small room. There were eight of them leaving the planet, and all eight of them were highly competitive individuals. Naturally, no one else would have voluntarily gone into politics if they were not. Six males, two females, all human and under the age of sixteen. Eilwen, a blond, tall girl from the city of Moenia, was the second oldest of the whole group. There were none present younger than seven and at the grand age of thirteen, she had a confidence about her that she felt was justified. After all, she hailed from aristocracy. The girl happened to be one of the brightest in her studies, and was currently at the top of the list to go into further political activities when she finished with her mandatory time in the youth program. There were maybe two others in her group that were set up for the same path, but she had hoped to outshine them when the time was right.

It wasn't as though the girl did not like her companions. In fact, most of them were her good friends. They had all gone through the same schooling together, and now they were in the same branch of their youth program, intent on serving the public in any way necessary. However, Eilwen knew what happened to the majority of the people in the youth programs once they were finished. Jobs were given to them on Naboo, they worked hard there, and settled down to a rather dull existence on the planet where they had always lived. She had never wanted that for herself. After her eldest brother was taken away by the Jedi when he was six, and she only four, Eilwen knew there was more to life than what Naboo had to offer.

Now, she loved her planet. She could not have gotten into a public service position if she did not feel it in her soul that she ought to help the people around her. Perhaps it ran in the family. Her father was a university professor who lived to teach, and her mother was a healer. She only had one other sibling, and he had been training in the Jedi temple on Coruscant for many years now. He had come back to visit occasionally, and she had met his master once. While he was still her brother, he had gone on to a better life now. It was different and more satisfying than anything she could ever achieve on Naboo, and they both knew it. Perhaps it was jealousy, and perhaps it was her love for competition, but Eilwen sought a way to help more people than he ever could dream of. She wanted to make real galactic altering decisions that would affect the galaxy, not just her district's legislature.

Now, in order to do that, she knew there was only one thing to do; endure her hatred for flying long enough to get to Coruscant and find someone that might help her on her political path to glory. Well, not glory, but something that would give her a jumpstart in the political arena. If she wanted to make big changes, she needed to be a big player, and that had to start now. After all, there were rumours that a girl her age was going to run for queen of Naboo once Veruna retired/abdicated/whatever kings did when it was time to call it quits. If someone her age could rule a planet, she had no reason to slack off when it came to her political career.

"Back in your seats," came the voice of their group's leader, Batu, as she swept into the room and ushered some of the younger ones back to their assigned seats near the windows. "We will be approaching the planet's atmosphere momentarily. Please be sure you are buckled in."

Eilwen tightened her belt across her hips, which had never loosened for the entire trip. She then prodded her companion, Olig, awake with a poke. The younger boy, her partner for the trip, jerked awake and sat up, black eyes wide with fright. She smirked as his cheeks flushed a dull crimson, and then pointed out their small window, "We're close to the planet… Make sure your seatbelt is done properly."

"I wasn't talking in my sleep, was I?" the dark-haired boy inquired as he did up the buckle noisily. She shook her head, and he let out a sigh of relief, "Good."

"Do you frequently talk in your sleep?" she asked, her tone riddled with the air of superiority from both age and birthright. Olig shifted, no doubt sensing her arrogance, and then shrugged. He was never one that was good with his vocabulary. Without another word, she turned to gaze out the window. Coruscant looked nothing like Naboo from the outside. Naboo looked like the countryside, with bright swirls of clouds, greens and blues, while Coruscant was dark, but vibrant, like the inner core of any good city. The very appearance of it gave her chills, and as the small ship broke through the atmosphere – somewhat violently, mind you – Eilwen felt at home. Two ships pulled up on either side of theirs, and her professor explained they were security, there to transport them safely to the Senatorial Sector of the planet. The very name made her grin, and she nearly had her face pressed against the glass to take in every detail of the city as they approached.

Skyscrapers as far as the eye could see. Insane traffic navigating around the buildings. What sort of mysteries lay in the planet's dark allies? It was so different from Naboo that it made her head spin. No streets lined with trees, or glorious blue waters with idyllic bridges over them. No, this was where change happened. This was where people were gritty, dangerous, but intelligent and thoughtful at the same time. This was exactly the kind of place Eilwen wanted to be, and she knew that she needed to do whatever it took to be here. Her brother was so lucky to live here on a full-time basis.

She spotted the landing platform before the pilot announced it through the intercom system, and the small girl braced for a rough landing. However, the pilot skilfully manoeuvred the sleek ship down so that there was barely a disturbance in the flow of the flight. Pleased, Eilwen released the breath she had been holding, and then unbuckled her seatbelt. Now that they were there, she wanted to get off this hunk of steel and gears and start exploring the actual senate. She had been waiting for this for months –years, it seemed – and she didn't want to waste a single second more of it on this blasted ship. The girl nearly toppled over Olig on her way toward the door, barely listening as the aged voice of their keeper told them the rules of this field trip. Do not wander off. Do not be rude to the senators. Do not stare; people will look different here. Speak when spoken to, unless it is the specified question and answer period with Naboo's senator, Palpatine. Do not get in the way of security issues. Blah, blah, blah. It was all pretty standard, and it was the exact same thing they had all been told before they left Naboo.

Eilwen nodded anxiously, her eyes darting back over the children who were taking their damn time to gather their cloaks and things from the seat. Honestly, didn't they want to be out there as much as she did? Batu counted everyone once, and then ordered them to get into their partner pairs, which were coincidentally going to be the people they had been seated with for the flight. Eilwen looked through the crowd, her height an advantage over the shorter pupils, and then spotted Olig at the back. She beckoned him forward, but he seemed hesitant. The boy never liked to be up front for anything. He hated all eyes on him, and had previously expressed a fear – not to her, but to another boy in their group – about Batu calling on him to answer a question in front of everyone. Weakness. How could anyone in the political group fear public speaking?

Her eyes narrowed at him and she waved him forward irritably, but he shook his head. Sighing, Eilwen relinquished her spot at the front to join her predetermined partner at the back of the crowd. She towered over him, her arms crossed as she shot him a glare. His cheeks tinted.

"Sorry," he muttered, "but I just know she's going to call on me today."

Eilwen arched an eyebrow as she eyed Batu. The woman was in her late forties, greying hair already. She had sharp, quick eyes that seemed to spot anything out of place, and her voice could crack like a whip across a room of noisy children. Both frightening and professional, Eilwen had a great deal of respect for someone who dedicated their life to training hopeful youths for their future careers. Olig, unfortunately, couldn't see past her ability to make children melt into a quivering mess whenever she scolded them. Ah well, it was his loss, really.

"I think she's given up on you, actually," Eilwen commented, a hint of disgust in her tone. "So you're probably going to be fine from now on."

"I…" he started, and then frowned dejectedly. "Oh."

"Quiet," Batu snapped, causing Olig to flush once again. "Stay with your partners and be respectful of our tour guides. However, don't be afraid to ask questions when it's appropriate."

Ha. Appropriate, eh? Eilwen planned to ask as many questions as possible whenever she could. Unlike some people here, she wasn't going to waste this opportunity. She rubbed her hands together eagerly, and then pulled Olig along as the group departed out the main flight centre, and then down the exit ramp. Eilwen took a deep breath, savouring her first scent of Coruscant air. It smelled like fuel and smoke, and the humidity made her feel like she was literally walking into a wall. Perhaps humidity was too strong a word, but the air was incredibly thick here compared to her countryside home in Naboo. While the country was undoubtedly the perfect vacation spot, Eilwen found herself drawn further into Coruscant with every deep breath she took.

A small group of people were waiting for them on the landing platform, two of which were aliens. She wrinkled her nose at them; anything other than humanoids tended to make her just a little bit uncomfortable, no doubt from the failed dealings between Naboo humans and the native Gungans. Regardless, for today, she was going to put her discomfort aside. After all, they were the ones who could be her gateway into the politic world, if she played her cards right. There were five of them there, three humans and two aliens, but none of them were Senator Palpatine. She had only seen Naboo's senator a few times at public events, but she was sure that the pair of elderly women and young, aristocratic male were not Palpatine. From what she remembered, the man was lean, average height, human, with sandy-red hair and kind eyes. He was always smiling in the promotional pictures, and seemed very pleasant whenever he did public speaking from the capitol. They were going to meet him at some point, but she had hoped he would have been on the platform to greet them.

She listened with rapt attention as the group welcomed them to the planet. They were all, apparently, very pleased that the youth group had made the trek from Naboo for the tour, and it was going to be an exciting day filled with lots to see. They did an introductory speech to the Senate district, pointed out the main buildings they would be exploring, and introduced themselves individually. They were all elected officials from the Chommelsystem, which consisted of various other planets aside from Naboo. None, however, were senators. One was an assistant, two were governors, and the remaining two worked in the administration of various departments. Eilwen frowned. She had really been hoping to meet a senator from the start of this, but perhaps she was just too impatient.

Despite Olig's murmured protests, Eilwen grasped his hand and dragged him through the small group to a position closer to the front once they were on the move. She wasn't about to let his shyness ruin the day she had been looking forward to for months. As they made their way toward a circular set of double doors, she took one last look at the Galactic City's bright lights. Advertisements screamed at her from their shifting hologram posts, and various speeders whizzed around in traffic. How they all knew where to fly without roadways or lines was completely beyond her, but she was sure once she lived here, she would understand the pulse of the city. The sun would set soon, though it hardly seemed to matter. The clouds were so thick for as far as Eilwen could see that she didn't really believe that the sun had any effect on a planet that was, really, one giant industrial city.

Batu had shifted to the back of the group, much to Olig's displeasure, and let the senatorial tour guides lead the group into the first building. It was full of offices and chambers, and they were using it to demonstrate what politicians of all ranks did, and where they worked, while employed on Coruscant. Despite the fact that most of the offices of the lower level workers looked the same, Eilwen made sure she took in each one with careful detail. After all, these were the types of places she would begin her career in, and there shouldn't be any surprises. From there, the group got to see some conference rooms, the cafeteria, the main security lounge, and even chat with a pair of passing senators from the Outer Rim on their way to a meeting. Eilwen listened intently the entire time, though she would occasionally find herself irritated with the way that Olig went beet red when a senator looked at him, or how uncouth he was with his shuffling feet and cracking knuckles.

Honestly, even when she was his age she wasn't that embarrassing. At least the rest of the people in their youth group were a bit better. They had insightful questions, and chatted contently with one another as they walked from place to place. It wasn't as though Eilwen wasn't friends with any of them; she just had her mind on more important matters. They could talk on the ride home. That, however, was another three or four hours away.

From there, the group stopped for a quick bite to eat on the main streets between some of the buildings, and were then on their way to have a tour of the senate building itself. When Eilwen was inside, it was like walking on hallowed ground. One day she would be there, and she was sure there would be little girls like her clamouring after her for advice and further words of wisdom, but she had yet to decide whether she would give it or not. The building itself was just lovely. High ceilings, fountains, paintings, columns… It was all just perfect. There was a hearing in session, and Chancellor Valorum had, apparently, not given the children permission to sit in for very long. However, they were granted a very quick look in to see the hundreds of pods that lined the domed room, some with senators, some empty. It clearly wasn't a very important hearing if there were so many people missing, Eilwen had assumed as they were ushered away.

It was a lot of walking before the group found themselves being led toward the main entrance hall of the large building. From what Eilwen understood, they only had one or two sights left to see before they did a general tour of the main districts via shuttle, and then it was back to Naboo. It all seemed to fly by so quickly, which was a saddening thought.

"Ah," came the voice of one of their tour guides, pulling Eilwen from her acute funk, "just the man we were hoping to see. Senator Palpatine!"

Eilwen's eyes darted in the direction that the younger human senator waved at, and she felt herself smile excitedly. Here was the sage. Here was the man with the relatable wisdom to guide her toward her future career in politics.

"Senator Antilles," Palpatine greeted when he approached the group, a pile of folders tucked under his left arm as he shook the man's hand, "I promise I hadn't forgotten. I became tied up with some Federation agents in my office, unfortunately."

"I never doubted your commitment, my friend," the senator stated, a smile on his face. "Our work is never finished, it seems."

"Not even for a moment," Palpatine remarked in return. Eilwen looked him up and down quickly. Garbed in traditional dress of the Naboo elite, the man, no doubt in his late forties, looked every bit as pleasant as he appeared to be during rallies and public events back home.

"Sadly, it remains unfinished," the man continued as he looked all the pupils over once, "and I cannot devote as much time as I would have liked to my country folk today."

"We understand, Senator," Batu insisted, her hand on Olig's shoulder suddenly. The boy flinched, but kept his eyes on the ground. "We might only ask for a moment of your time, as it is so precious."

"Naturally," Palpatine agreed with a nod, a smile on his face as he addressed the group. "Welcome to Coruscant. I hope everything that you have seen today will entice you into a life of politics. Though it is never-ending, I believe it is some of the most rewarding work you will ever do. Work hard, get exceptional marks in your studies, and do as much public service as you can. You serve the people, but the people must know you before you can serve."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Senator Antilles admitted cheerfully. "Thank you for your time. We don't wish to keep you from your business."

"The pleasure was mine," Palpatine said curtly, and he gave the group a slight bow. "I wish you all the best of luck with your future endeavours, and hope to see you in the halls of the senate in the near future."

Eilwen watched as the tour guides bid their farewell to the Senator, just as Batu did, and then as quickly as it all started, the man was gone. She stared at his retreating figure blankly; that was it? All this waiting, and he said the same things all her teachers had been telling her for years… ever since she expressed an interest in politics. It was like they all had a script to read off of for hopeful youngsters. Did no one else realize this was so incredibly disappointing? She glanced around the group, but they all seemed content to follow the tour guides as they turned the group around, and carried on toward the exit. She remained still, and only looked up when Olig tugged at the sleeve of her robe.

"Come on," he urged quietly as he nodded toward the group. Instead, she shook her head and walked in the opposite direction as quickly as she could, following in the wake of Palpatine. Batu didn't seem to notice, and Eilwen got quite a ways down the hall before she felt a pull at her arm again.

"What do you want?" she snapped at Olig, her eyes narrowing at his as she continued to walk.

"We aren't supposed to lose our partners," he explained half-heartedly. "What are you doing?"

"That can't be all he has to say," she explained hurriedly as the pair jogged up a staircase, his eyes still on Palpatine's figure. "We came all this way…"

She picked up her pace when she saw the man go round a corner, and when she realized they were alone in the small corridor, she called out his name. Much to her surprise, he stopped and turned around, a look of confusion on his face for a moment.

"We came all the way from Naboo to talk to you," Eilwen rambled as she hurried closer to him. "That can't be all the advice you have. It was so… generic."

She could feel Olig's eyes on her, and she knew she was overstepping her boundaries just a little being so bold with a renowned senator. However, she felt like her inquisition was just.

The senator studied her for a moment, and then smirked, "I am sorry my speech was not uplifting enough for you, but I save my real advice for people who will actually one day become politicians."

Her jaw dropped, "I beg your pardon? I fully intend on becoming a senator one day!"

"Do you now?" he inquired gently, her eyes matching his defiantly. "What is your name?"

"Eilwen Bancouhr," she replied. "I'm from Moenia-"

"Daughter of Professor Kryog and Belladonna Bancouhr?" Palpatine asked, an eyebrow arching. She nodded, and he took a step toward her. "Then you come from nobility. You shouldn't despair… Life will not be boring for you, but I don't see you becoming a senator."

"But you don't even know me!" she argued.

"There are dozens of people in your youth program," he explained smoothly. "How many of them serve with me in the senate?"

She swallowed thickly and racked her brain to think of any recent graduates who had moved on to bigger things on Coruscant. However, Olig reached the conclusion before she did, "None."

"Right you are, my boy," Palpatine chuckled. "Your program prepares you well for a life of political service, but not the kind you want. Because your line is noble, I suspect you will end up working in the palace under the next king or queen-"

"I would never be a chambermaid," Eilwen snapped indignantly. "This is where I belong!"

"You can argue like a senator, but I will break the harsh reality to you now… You'll never be able to use that tongue of yours here. An older, more suited candidate will be chosen should my administration wish to take on someone now. And if not, when I retire, a younger, fresh-faced student will be waiting in the wings, while you will be entrenched in some gratifying career on Naboo. Do not fret, I'm sure it will be… rewarding."

Before she could muster up a response, both children heard their names being called, and they turned back to see Batu storming toward them, clearly upset.

"I told you both not to wander from the group," she snapped, her eyes flashing as she grabbed them both by the material of their robes at the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Senator. You know how inquisitive children can be."

"Not a problem," Palpatine insisted with a wave of his hand. "I always enjoy giving people an insight to their future careers… Some need help getting pointed in the right direction."

"Of course," Batu remarked absently. "We don't wish to keep you."

She gave him a slight bow, and then dragged the pair down the hallway, admonishing them verbally as they went. Eilwen cast a look over her shoulder one last time to glare at Palpatine; she'd show him. She'd show all of them that this was exactly where she belonged.