[right][h3]Towler – Offices of Senator Towler[/h3][/right][hr]

It was a slow day. 

Until they had word about the Outworlds Resources amendment, there wasn’t much to be done. The last few other amendments had already been forwarded to the drafting team and were in the process of being incorporated at that moment. Towler found himself with little to do in the meantime and occupied himself with meaningless tasks. He reread the morning issues of the Star-Herald and the Galactic Times. After that, he checked in on the Avenue Journal and Y’Toub Post. He went through the various media channels from Loronar, Byblos, and Hosnian Prime as well, and when nothing caught his eye he moved on to his holomessages. Then his personal messages. 

Then, as a last resort, to the legislative proposals docket.   

He rarely bothered reading them. Thousands of bills were proposed every year, but if a bill was worth voting for, you’d hear about it. If a bill crossed Towler’s desk without an endorsement or an interesting headlining sponsor, it remained unread until someone gave him a reason to look at it. 

He was just in the middle of reviewing an exceedingly ill-conceived proposal outlining a payment of several billion credits to the Sith Empire for the repurchase of several annexed border worlds when the light about his office door lit up, signaling a visitor. 

“Come in,” Towler said, setting down his datapad. 

The door slid open, and Roker stepped in. “I just got off the phone with Teft. The amendment’s passed. I’ve already sent it to the drafting team,” the chief of staff reported.

“Excellent to hear. Let the undersecretary know we’ll have it to her by the end of the day,” Towler said. “Looks like our Pantoran friends came through.”

“Senator Pharliis wasn’t at the meeting, actually.”

“Oh? Why’s that?” Towler asked, disinterestedly. 

“I’m not sure. There are rumors going around, though. I heard her chief of staff was found, ah, passed away this morning,” Roker said. “But I haven’t gotten a confirmation on that.” 

“Hm,” Towler said. That was something. When he’d visited the Pantoran senator’s office he had been keenly aware of the relative age difference between his staff and hers. It almost seemed that Pantora was being represented by a group of children. It certainly didn’t seem likely that any of them were looking at death by natural causes in the near future. “Well, if you get confirmation of that, send over flowers. Same florist as usual, and make sure they’re nice.”

“Of course, sir,” Roker answered. Towler noticed a flashing indicator on his datapad’s screen. “Anything else I can do for you, sir?” The indicator was a bright, pulsing white, of a tone and size reserved only for the most important people in the galaxy (and Mrs. Towler). 

“No, Paul, I think that’ll be all,” Towler answered, opening the notification with a swipe of the holographic projection. Roker nodded and stepped out, the doors sliding shut behind him, while Towler considered the holomessage he’d just received from the President of Hosnian Prime. 

[i]FT:

Congress looking to deploy joint PDF/SDF TF against F Cor in conj w/ GRN. SC coalition possible? 
	Pres. BC[/i]

Towler was rarely surprised, but he found himself reading and rereading the message to make sure he understood it properly. This was partially due to the President's apparent reluctance to write out her words in full. Once he'd convinced himself, he reached for his desk holocomm and dialed the Secretary-General of Loronar.