Heath Valhoun stood in the honorary seat of The Elysium Council. On either side of him, the 21 Council Members sat. In a few moments they would all take turns speaking to the massive Senate of The Elysium Empire, giving their official position on the issue at hand. Today it was a vote to remove the council seat for "Others" and replace it with a Mandalorian seat.
The Amendment:
On The 21st Council Seat-
1) From here on out, the Council Seat for for Other Factions is invalid.
2) The 21st seat is now reserved for Mandalore. A single Mandalorian will represent the clans of Mandalore in lawmaking from here on.
The 21 council members would each take a moment to represent their group, and then the senate would vote. A majority vote was required to pass the amendment. Up until this point the council, and Senate, had been quite unified.....Though the senate was constantly proposing pointless or poorly constructed laws, which were almost immediately struck down by the council.
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Farmers-
No longer was the old man on the council. He had passed away a month ago. Now it was a young man with orange hair and pale skin. He was dressed as well as he could afford, prepared to represent farmers across the galaxy. He spoke clearly, with pride, "The farmers of The Empire have no objection to this amendment." Then he sat down.
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Active Military-
Then, the farmer sat down. Next was a well-decorated man with dark skin and a buzz cut. He was muscular and wore the Blue military garb of The Elysium Empire. He said but one word, "Abstained.", Then sat down.
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Veterans-
In his place, a woman rose. She was even more decorated than the man was, having served in the military for many years, before The Elysium Empire even existed. She spoke, "I have fought with Mandalorians. I have fought against them. I assure you, it's best to be with them. This amendment is crucial to securing a lasting friendship with them."
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Factory Workers-
A man stood up, he had short black hair and a short black beard. He was middle-aged. He said one word: "Abstained.". Another Abstention. Heath couldn't blame him, most people didn't care about this particular amendment. It was more symbolic than anything, and everyone already knew The Empire was allied with The Children of The Protectors....
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Big Business Owners-
Next up, Big Business would be represented. No longer did The Large man with the White Suit represent Big Business. He had died months ago from a heart attack, and his business had collapsed. Now a member of The Dobson family stood up. He was a young man, with slick Black hair and a black suit, and Blue tie. He spoke with authority and an Imperial Accent, "This is a necessary and welcome amendment. Mandalore is an excellent trade partner for businesses such as ours."
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Small Business Owners-
Now, an older gentleman stood. He wore a red shirt with a collar, and had been on the council for a while. He represented small businesses, owning his own business on Naboo that made pictures. He spoke, "Why not? It hardly affects small businesses." Heath sighed, the man should have simply abstained. He shrugged mentally as the man sat down again.
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Crafters-
A woman stood up. She was beautiful, with long, flowing brown hair, and green eyes. Heath remembered her from The Bryn hearing, she had been so nervous, but this time she spoke plainly, "Abstained"
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Scientists-
A young man stood up, he had a red cybernetic eye and a metal arm. He was from Veinstein labs and innovations. He spoke very loudly, "Go for it, The Mandalorians are better friends than anyone else."
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Droids-
There was no droid representative. Therefore the seat was skipped.
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Traders-
A man with tanned skin and long, dark hair stood up next. He was a merchant, his ship was part of the fleet. He was the one that brought the resources from Veinstein Labs to the fleet. A respected member, he spoke up, "We support this amendment. Trade with Mandalore has been booming, and traders would prefer to keep it that way."
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Force Sensitives-
An Ithorian stood. He wore robes, and had dedicated his life to be a jedi, leving the order when he found that they were corrupt and weak. Heath had immense respect for the Ithorian, who spoke with a translator, "Abstained."
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Bounty Hunters-
Speaking for Bounty Hunters and mercenaries, a human male with a military cut stood up. He was ripped, and had Mandalorian blood. He said in a hoarse voice: "This is only natural. A large amount of citizens in The Empire are Mandalorian, myself included." Heath nodded, though he wished the man had truly represented his group, not just his personal beliefs
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Mercenaries- No representative.
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Engineers-
A zebrack female rose. She had a bionic arm, and was an engineer, she'd fixed several ships in the fleet before, and was the lead engineer of the Empire. She said "We support this amendment."
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Justice Officials-
A female stood, wearing blue robes. She was the sole judge on the fleet. She said "Speaking for all justice officials in the galaxy that support The Elysium Empire, I am against this amendment. There is too much fighting in Mandalore, between Mandalorians. A Mandalorian council seat will pull our Empire in many directions." Heath sighed again.
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Law Enforcement-
A Duros male stood up. He wore a white shirt, blue vest, and khaki cargo pants. He spoke fluent basic "We support this amendment."
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Emergency Services-
A wookie stood up, speaking his language "Abstained."
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Non-Emergency Doctors-N/A
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Aliens-
Another Ithorian rose. Translated by the droid, she said "We support this amendment."
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Humans-
The Final Council member rose. It was an older man, representing all humans in The Elysium Empire. He had the strongest position, as far as representing a group. Humans made up about 50% of The Elysium Empire's followers. He spoke as the voice of reason and neutrality in almost every council meeting. He was old, and wise, a true representative. He rose, slowly, and then spoke slowly, giving his wisdom to the senate, council, and king. "I see no issue with this. Foreign nations can simply send diplomats, there is no need for a foreign council seat, but there are many Mandalorians in The Empire. They deserve a seat."
Heath Valhoun had listened to the whole meeting. He knew the outcome would be the passing of the amendment, and sure enough it was. the Senate had voted 80% in favor of the amendment. From now on, Mandalorians would have a seat on The Council.
