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Senate Rotunda

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this was the name of the squat, round building used to house the Galactic Senate, during the last millennium of the Old Republic. Large enough to hold 1,024 delegates, their entourages, and living quarters for Senators and their assistants, the Rotunda plunged deep into the cityscape of Coruscant. Each Senator had a repulsor-equipped dais that allowed them to approach the Supreme Chancellor from their own offices. The docking station for each dais could generate a privacy screen, which allowed the Senators to discuss matters with their advisors. Neighboring privacy screens could be overlapped if two or more Senators wanted to converse. The Chancellor, as befitting his position, presided over the Senate from a tall spire located in the exact center of the Rotunda. The building's architect boasted that the Rotunda was indestructible, and that any weapon that could destroy it would crack Coruscant in half. During the Clone Wars, Chancellor Palpatine disabled the privacy screens, ostensibly to allow for more open dialogue on the war. In reality, this allowed his security hovercams to move about among the Senators, recording conversations that might be considered rebellious. The Rotunda endured the early stages of the Gaalctic Civil War, but suffered damaged when the Empire retook the planet five years after the Battle of Endor. It suffered more damage when the New Republic reclaimed Coruscant, but its internal structure remained intact. The Grand Convocation Chamber of the New Republic was built upon its remains, providing a stable base.