The Decline and Fall of the Republic

[Quorl]

Quorl, the wisen old Owl walked up to the senate building, and then the Jedi Temple itself. He took a deep breath and looked on with keep eyesight. The doors were large and once were of comfort to him but now he felt only longing at the gates that once sheltered him. There was nothing left for him here, indeed there was becoming far too few good people in the galaxy. As he approached the door he held the gravity hammer high in his hands and slammed the metal nail into it. The force from the blow caused a loud echo like a bell ringing.

The owl turned and walked away, a saddened expression

“To the people of the Republic and the Jedi who have sworn to protect them,

The republic is no longer a force for good. The government and leadership of the Republic through incompetence, neglect, and savagery have committed a number of crimes. No one has ever been held accountable. To the Jedi I encourage you to move on to greener pastures,or if given a desire to support the citizens no longer participate in the militaristic expansion of the Republic. To the people, I say that you still have a voice. Vote better leaders. The morally bankrupt republic can no longer be allowed to terrorize the citizenry of the galaxy.

When the Republic goes to war they claim to protect the people, and yet the people continuously suffer at the hands of this oppressive regime. Although Genevieve Lasedri and her cursed despotic rule may be over instances of violence towards civilian populations continue. Of note is the recent engagement against innocent protestors. #CloneLivesMatter was peacefully demonstrating when republic troopers were ordered to suppress the citizenry. Even our right to gather peacefully has been infringed upon.

Democracy is dead and the dream of a reunited and peaceful galaxy has died with it.

Let us reflect upon the Crimes of the Republic;

The Republic has made no fewer than four clone armies, fielding brainwashed soldiers below the age of majority, and has disposed of them in an inhumane way after their convenience was exhausted.

The Republic backed a terrorist insurgency on Contruum. The Republic provided weapons to organizations which used those weapons against civilians in terror operations. The Republic then abandoned the insurgency after it had served its purpose, and most of the abandoned operatives were jailed or executed by the government of Contruum.

At the Holocron Auction incident on Contruum, the Republic responded with violence firing first, deploying military regiments in a populated city and instigating armed conflict against several autonomous governments. Civilian casualties were high.

On Nar Shaddaa, the Republic destroyed civilian areas in an attempt to deny them to Black Sun. Civilian casualties were high.

At the Battle of Metalorn, the Sith released a legion of drugged prisoners, including POWs and political prisoners from the Republic. The Republic and the Jedi used lethal force to subdue them, resulting in thousands of civilian and Republic military deaths. One token war crimes trial was demanded by the Jedi Council and no further investigation resulted.

At the First Battle of Manaan, Republic forces sank half of Ahto City in an attempt to destroy a Sith army. No warning was given, and civilian casualties were high. At the Second Battle of Manaan, Republic forces detonated explosives in the Ahto City kolto centres to deny them to the Sith. No warning was given, and civilian casualties were deemed acceptable. The Republic’s Supreme Commander publicly forced Manaan’s leaders to join the Republic under threat of violence.

At the Battle of Sabarene, the Republic committed deliberate genocide against the Graug species with a Base Delta Zero orbital bombardment that took at least four million lives.

At the Second Battle of Roche, Republic forces under the Supreme Commander’s direct authority used explosive decompression tactics at all Nickel One hangar bays. No warning was given, and civilian casualties were high. Republic allies deliberately released biological weapons in Nickel One. Republic allies destroyed a crippled vessel for marginal tactical convenience, killing over one hundred and twenty civilians. The Supreme Commander was found innocent of war crimes by a Republic judge in a cursory manner.

To the people of the Republic and the Galaxy at large I beseech you to appeal to the better angels of our nature and to rise up against the petty and needless violence perpetrated by this despotic government and to peacefully fight against tyranny in all forms it takes.”

Quorl nailed the letter to do the door and left, silently taking to flight on his wings.

 

[Fen]

Ryan wept.

 

[Velok the Younger]

Out front, the protesters were still there; they'd been there for a while. One of them, a white-haired, petite woman, peered up at the front doors and watched the owl with the gravity hammer. Her eyesight sharpened impossibly for a moment, and she got the gist of the document. Her eyes widened, and her CLONE LIVES MATTER placard descended to rest against the ground.

"Oh, kark."

 

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

Lionel forgot he was a senator, but still enjoyed the salaries awarded to him nonetheless.

Perhaps this is why the government failed? Should've hired an accountant.

 

[Hopeman12]

Jordun walked through the shadows with his head down. His dream girl was gone and both the order and the republic were in shambles. The dark times have arrived.

 

[Darth Kentarch]

You too for the price of $2,425, can own Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Galactic Republic. With this special tv offer, order now and receive a commemorative bobble head clone trooper absolutely free! Shipping and handling, taxes, and other fees may apply.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Somewhere out in the black, Julius drifted. [member="Kayleigh Tyven"] had told him explicitly not to touch the controls. So, of course, as soon as she fell asleep, he was attempting to sneak past her, now sleeping in the pilots chair, to attempt to take a selfie of himself touching the yoke of the craft. Just to print out, put on her cabin door, and have a laugh over.

He neither knew, felt, or cared about the Republic really. He would have agreed with [member="Quorl"] most definitely, but for him the Republic had fallen years and years ago. But just like some rotting corpse on a popular Holovid show everyone loved to watch (that he cared about as much for as he did the Republic, coincidentally) it had shambled on, mumbling and moaning about things no one cared to know of but itself, somehow propelled by a momentum that was at once grossly fascinating and repellent to those outside of its' sway.. Until it finally began to collapse, to the mutterings of fervent denial from loyalists. From the crew quarters in the ship, a disc changer whirred as it cycled through the music selections of Julius and began playing.

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jDvEbT0hb8

 

[RC 212]

On Mandalore.

News was breaking on the holonet as Jack sat on his couch, feet kicked up. He was three Old Fashioned whiskeys deep and counting, trying to forget about Roche and the Republic Devil Cloudburner.

As the news of the document nailed to the door broke the feed he began to laugh maniacally spilling drink all over himself. At last the tears came and his gut hurt.

"Kark you can say that again."

Then he flipped the channel. Oh look, a show about teen Twi'lek moms! Sixteen and Pregnant, Ryloth eddition! This should be good...

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Ceto - 0300 Hours , Local Standard Time



Dimly, there was an annoying chime going off in the distance. Mind trying to shut it out, it continued despite the will of forcing the annoying sound to the back of his mind, as if it was some dream. It was dragging him from slumber and his body was fighting every single step of the way.


Hand reached out, brushing the bare back of [member="Thessa Kai"], trailing along the fine patches of scales that disappeared under their pale sheets. His arm came and pulled her closer, his warm breath soon trailing on the back of her neck as he tried to drown ignore the noise, thinking it would go away.


Yet it wasn't.


Grumbling against her spine, he rolled over, picking up the personal comm and silencing the constant notifications. Ocean-blue eyes squinted in the brightness of the comm as he struggled to read. Coherence and three in the morning didn't quite go hand-in-hand.


Republic? Letter? Calling for a uprising? What did this have to do with him?


Sitting up, hand ran through his thick curls, glancing back at his wife. She already seemed to have drifted back off to sleep. Stumbling out of bed, he searched for the discarded pajama pants and slid them on, taking his comm with him.


Bare feet padded silently down the hall, into his office. He moved behind the desk and turned on CNN,keeping the volume low so he wouldn't disturb his sleeping family.


"....developing story out of the Galactic Republic. It appears someone has nailed a letter to the Senate Building, calling for a uprising against the government body. It urges Jedi to move elsewhere and for citizens not to participate in aggressive military expansion. Sources won't confirm if this is a #CloneLivesMatter movement issue or another underground citizens group that as developed. So far, the Senate has been quiet in their response...."


Giving a grunt of dissent when the Senate was mentioned, Judah turned back to his comm. Notifications were streaming in from the higher-ups of Salacia Consolidated. It seemed the time may come to expand quietly into the Republic. Some were calling for the creation of mining-type towns....Corporate cities where Salacia would control and act as the government.


A debate had broken out in the group messaging system about if this was the best way to gain raw materials at a fair cost.


He had been woken up by something that could have very well been discussed at the morning meeting. Annoyed, Judah turned off his comm and the datapad streaming CNN. He would also have to contact Arceneau Trade and [member="Danger Arceneau"] , leave a message if the woman was on her honeymoon still. Perhaps it was time for both companies to work on quietly gathering raw materials under the Republic's nose.

Spoiler

This was for you, [member="Cira"] .

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray was going through some news as he sat around. The last piece was about the paper hammered onto the door of the senate. He didn't like this at all. He wasn't a fan of the Republic, especially right now after the mess on Roche, but this could potentially be bad for his friend [member="Salete Kel"] who was also currently an acting senator. He was her bodyguard at times, and he was sure she was going to need him right now if people got violent. He might have been Mandalorian and you would think he would just walk away from the whole mess, but he couldn't do that. The Republic might walk away from its duty or forget their honor to their allies, but a Mandalorian never did. He would see his duty to his friend through to the end.

 

[Nick Sept]

Nick Sept walked to the Senate building. He had neither a fancy hammer nor a well written, elegant note. He had....a can of aerosol paint. And a tarp. He walked up and began spraying. Focusing. Sighing. Anger did not guide him, neither did the Force. No, the universe was not so fortunate. He sigh finishing his littel piece.


"We're Working on it, thanks. Please Stand by.--The Senator from Cartao."


Sometimes, long-winded essays and fancy rhetoric weren't enough. Some times actions were what needed to happen. He was one senator. One senator from a world only known for being a mediocre weapons depot--and he was near the top list of its munitions. The world of cloning facilities and questionable deals. That's what Cartao was. He walked away, watching as the press gathered around him, clamoring for a statement.



"Senator-elect Sept, do you agree with the sentiments expressed by that individual?"
"Senator Sept, do you wish to state your platform as one of reform for the entire Republic?"
"Mr. Sept, do you feel that the republic has some responsibility to clones such as yourself?
"Senator--"

Nick raise up a hand, as if to wait for his turn. Slowly, the question died down and people remained silent. "That bird, if I'm not mistaken, was a Jedi. I've got no position on him, or his duties. But, he's got a point of sorts. I intend to help the Republic clean its house after I'm sworn in. I intend to help us fight for what ought to be a better, stronger Republic. And those involved, those who have that same vision, should get off their backsides. One senator won't be enough, and and neither will one supreme chancellor. The Republic must save itself. Vote. Run. Get off your backsides and get it done. The laziness of kind souls will let the worst among us prevail. No truly great evil has ever lacked for ambition," he said, staring dully at the sky, and then nodding. "No further comments. Schedule an interview."

 

[Seris Vant]

On Nar Shaddaa, the Republic destroyed civilian areas in an attempt to deny them to Black Sun. Civilian casualties were high.

Rayl was enjoying a nice caf and some Aggro O's brand cereal with real Rage Flakes when he saw the news on the Holo. A simple piece of paper nailed to the Senate door. A scathing remark of the current Republic and its deeds of the last decade. One of the lines detailing their failings referred to the Battle of Nar Shaddaa. That battle was over eight years ago but Rayl remembered it all to well. For he was Black Sun's battle commander in that fight. When [member="Domino"] fled and their planetary defense chief slipped away too. He was the one who took up the banner. Rayl had barely been in Black Sun for a month when that mess went down. From his flagship The Defias he rallied Black Sun from an immediate rout. [member="Selena Halcyon"] brought a gigantic Republic a fleet to siege the moon. Saboteurs destroyed the defense shield that would have proved the deciding factor of the battle. If it had remained intact they could have held out long enough for all of Black Sun's ships to assemble and drive them back to the Core. Coupled with the unwillingness of the a Sith Lord and his own small flotilla to help them after they arrived things were rather doomed. Rayl hailed the Jedi commander and sued for peace.

After negotiation's ended. The Smugglers Moon was handed over to the Republic. Black Sun was given time to evacuate their people and equipment to Nal Hutta, the moon's planet. Their shared local space remained a great strain between the two nations until Black Sun's dissolution.

Now the reason for the war wasn't some good guys vs. the bad criminals. Seeking justice or something. No, it was far closer to a loose pretense for invasion for one persons goals. A handful of Padawan's were sent as a delegation to Black Sun. On the Moon they met with Domino, the leader of Black Sun. They demanded with the threat of reprisal, for the Sun's to stay out of their affairs with the Sith Empire. As at the time tensions were building to the breaking point between the Galaxy's two super powers. With which the Sun's were allies of the Empire. Domino attacked them for daring to bring such terms before her. The Republic delegation escaped from Domino's Palace into the slums and iron mazes of the ecumenopolis. They were not perused further, and were left to return to the Republic on their own accord. This did not happen though. They relayed a message back to their masters and told them what happened. What was said is only known to a few Jedi and politicians. But whatever it was the invasion was practically a go.

Halcyon, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order at the time; rallied the Chancellor to her cause of 'saving' the Padawan's. Though they were under no more threat and could have easily made their way off world. It was a farce, and Rayl still doesn't know the full truth why it happened. Not that it matters now. But history will know the overview. The Republic launched a full invasion of a world populated with billions of civilians. Many of whom were the citizens of other nations. Knowingly putting all those lives at risk. All to save the lives of the few. The few who then aided the invasion by destroying the shield generator. It was a conspiracy in all likelihood. Those Padawan's were free to assault heavily defended positions and best them, but needed an entire invasion to free them. Laughable if it wasn't so dark.

The Republic had always been scoundrels to their own self serving interests. They attacked Nar Shaddaa to knock Black Sun out from aiding the Sith Empire. Starting a slow but great decline for the criminal empire they have never recovered from. That story though is for another time.

Rayl clinked his spoon against the bottom of the bowl. He looked down to see only a few puddles of milk. It had been a long time since he finished the meal. Surfing those old memories he hated so much to recall. It was his greatest achievement, and his greatest failure. The Pirate who saved Billions. No one calls him that. The Republic won so they got to write the history books. Now he was with the Galactic Alliance. A bloody offshoot of the very Republic that humiliated him. His quest for revenge against the Sith Lords of the One Sith for their betrayal to Black Sun. Rayl set the spoon down. He'd been a fool. Blindly stumbling the last seven years of his life. It was time to change that. To put a knife in hand and take back what had been lost. Forged back from ash he would bring the Black Sun to shining glory once more. To see their flag flying once again over their strongholds. He was Sun, through and through. Only until now too blind to see it. Kark the One Sith. To hell with the Alliance. The same old guard fighting the same wars they have for thousands of years. They can burn each other out all on their own. Dying stars to feed the new.

 

[Commander Lusk]

Location: Chazwa Clone Barracks Common Area

Lusk was tuned into the TV watching the "breaking report" of some Jedi he had never heard or cared to know about. Lusk had listened to every single word and syllable of what the man had to say and honestly what Lusk thought of him wasn't very high, he was a coward. Plain and simple, a coward.

Rather than taking responsibility to try and help build a better republic he wanted to cast blame and point fingers. He wanted to tell people how evil the republic was and how the Jedi should move on to better places, how instead of making an effort to change. But what burned in Lusk's mind the most was the single question of what world did this man live in? What land of delusion was he so far gone into that he couldn't face reality.

The Galactic Republic was the oldest nation to rise from the ashes of the Gulag Plague, the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order had saved billions of lives over the years. But there was one thing to note, people made mistakes, and a lot of the time people paid for those mistakes with innocent lives. It didn't make it right at all, nothing could ever make it right to lose a loved one to someone's incompetence. But to simply say better pack up and leave was a sure fire way to make sure that mistake was repeated again. It was cowardice.

No one deserves to die for being caught in the middle of something bigger than them, but it happens. Lusk wished to the deepest parts of his being that it didn't, but it happens. But rather than making some public statement in an attempt to make things worse, Lusk actually did something about it. He had teamed up with senators to ensure the clone army would be given rights and respect, they had the ability to take civilian assimilation classes, they had the right to walk away and return home. But the clones chose to stay, not to make up for past sins, but to build a better republic and defend it against all who sought to see its end.

"What are you watching Lusk?" An Isard clone known as Fox said to the man.

"Just some garbage." Lusk responded with a click of a button to power down the TV.

Lusk looked over to the other clones in the common area and smiled at them, he was happy to be in the republic, and he was happy to serve next to his family. The clones knew who they were, they knew what they were made for, and they accepted it, but most importantly they chose to stand here.

 

[Cloudburner]

"If they only knew the power of the Republic!"

The Ranger now was sitting in a Republic Ship, hoping the media would come to it's senses.

"They will join us or die!"

He stood up and realised what he had to do. He would have to destroy those who opposed the Republic.

 

[Velok the Younger]

Nick Sept walked to the Senate building. He had neither a fancy hammer nor a well written, elegant note. He had....a can of aerosol paint. And a tarp. He walked up and began spraying. Focusing. Sighing. Anger did not guide him, neither did the Force. No, the universe was not so fortunate. He sigh finishing his littel piece. "We're Working on it, thanks. Please Stand by.--The Senator from Cartao."

Down in the crowd, Rave had a good if incredulous chuckle at that. "Well played," she said to herself, then procured a can of paint from one of the protesters. Stiff with age, artificial arm and leg clicking away, she limped up to the fresh graffiti. And beneath it she inscribed a maxim popularly ascribed to [member="Sarge Potteiger"]. As a government's epitaph, it would serve well enough.

YOU'RE TRYING TO FIX STUPID
STOP TRYING TO FIX STUPID

She limped back into the crowd.

 

[Darth Libertas]

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After browsing the 'net via hoogle a bit, Sumiko immediately ordered this book. She had heard good things about this Gibbon fellow, so he would undoubtedly present the facts. It would be a good supplement to 'The Rise and Fall of the Omega Protectorate' by William Shirer.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Protestantism.

Now that was a nice label. Kaili wouldn't know a thing about these religious matters, but she could definitely see a whole bunch of Protestant Jedi that were so fed up with the corruption and the holier-than-thou attitude that officials in 'The Jedi Order' had come to be associated with that they simply started their own church of Jedi. In protest. Thus protestantism.

What would that make it, like the fifth Jedi Schism or so?

Kaili shook her head for a second and turned off the holoprojector.

"I am a protestant now." She announced to nobody. Her room was empty after all.

 

[Sek Kali]

The outer rim was host to a lot of different reactions, disgust, happiness, uncaring or simply the dead. To collect data on each individual would have taken years, just like how long it would take for Sek to truly comprehend the problem with the Republic's supposed "degradation". The room had a dim lighting to it, she could smell the remains of a just-fired blaster pistol, as well as alcohol and something else unpleasant, the wind nothing more than a slight breeze from the door, the interior of the building was filled with heat and humidity while the sun shined through the shutters. All of this was against the contrast of the clean metal that the interior was made out of, the bar shining after recently being wiped down by a cloth. It was late night on this side of the planet, and barely anyone was out except for a certain type, and Sek. Unlike the majority inside, she was wide awake and sober while listening to the hum of a subspace radio in the distance, the music adding a satisfying noise to the rather quiet establishment. Little was happening this night, the distant world itself seeming quiet.

"You know the reporters have a point." One of the mercenaries Sek travelled in with stated. He looked over to a compatriot, whom nodded with a smile. "May make a new opening for jobs in the market, a lot of unsatisfied individuals." Sek slowly opened her eyes, looking over to them without even moving her head an inch while sitting in the chair near the counter, but she never spoke- only listened to the noises that went through the building. "Whats happening? Did the Republic finally turn in on itself?" The subspace radio was getting a crowd around it near the counter as the mercenaries explained what was going on, then the next person would do the same by another individual intrigued at the news. It was getting something this establishment lacked for awhile- energy, and it was hard to ignore. "Sounds like we're in a time of death rows right now, especially with the Republic falling, the Alliance has little left to lean on." One of the individuals said swirling his cup around with a smirk, the bartender glaring over at him, a soldier once belonging to the Galactic Alliance who instead of continuing the fight, merely took his honor and left to make a life on the outer rim.

"I wouldn't be sure of anything right now."

Sek didn't even rotate her head, she simply sat there, speaking as she broke the discussions happening near her. "Its just someone nailing a few words to a door, not a revolution." She added. The room got tense for a moment, speaking out against all the excitement and killing the energy of a bar was a dangerous game on this world, the culture not excepting to much opposition. At first, it looked as if a fight was to break out, the most well armed individual getting out of his chair and looking over disgruntled, but instead of calling out on her words, he simply told his friend to get up as well and they both left- Sek continued to star ahead at all the bottles lined up while the door opened and closed, the sound of vehicles echoing into the quiet establishment. "Sorry to kill your fun of theorizing." She finally moved her head to the small crowd of both drunkards and sober people whom were barely around the subspace radio. Some sighed, others remained quiet, and they all moved back to their seats or left, leaving the bar to as it was, how Sek liked it, rather quiet. Closing her eyes again, she went back into thought.

"All of those better remain theories." Breathing easy, she kept listening to the reports as they came in. The galaxy was such a recent thing to her, having left Nar Shadda thanks to some human pilot. Letting out a sigh, her thoughts eased on the past, and instead looked towards the future- hoping that if the Republic was truly on it's last legs, it wouldn't just give in to the One Sith. But the Trandoshan wouldn't fight it, letting politics happen was her way of dealing with these bigger picture things, instead, all she hoped for was to get paid. And that would happen in the future, hopefully.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

R O O N
The Obsidian Citadel

For one hundred years, he'd served the Republic.

So it pained him that he was now part of the Techno Union. That circumstances had changed such that yesterday's villains were suddenly the only pockets of sanity in a space full of so-called democracies or coalitions that spoke benevolently and then hide behind clone armies. Committed crimes against humanity, against sentience. Of course clones like [member="Commander Lusk"] thought that they believed in the Republic or what they were doing. They were programmed to be that way.

It was still the manufacture of child soldiers. Growing people who would not have lives, but merely be fodder for the battleground.

As the Corellian teen stood on the spartan, monastic room he kept within the Obsidian Citadel, he watched the holofeed of the developing protest on Chazwa with a melancholy that bordered on a bitter anger. Where had his Republic gone? He was glad that Grand Master Tyvokka had not lived to see such dark days as this.

A chime echoed from overhead. Glancing to his right, the boy nodded to a VC modular probe droid as it hovered in the air. The head of an analysis droid flickered into being, as the probe projected the holographic communique. "Savant, the Security Council has just informed us that there is a situation developing on Tatooine."

With a sigh, the boy wondered if there ever wasn't a moment in this galaxy where some emergency was shaping up. But, at least this ought to take his mind off the Republic troubles. "What's the nature of the disturbance?" the boy inquired simply.

"Initial reports indicate that a unit of the Republic Army has invaded Techno Union space at Tatooine, and appears to have fired upon the civilian populace."

The Anzat was dumbstruck. His jaw fell slack, hanging open as he looked at the hologram at a complete, utter loss of words. He wanted the droid to repeat that. He couldn't have heard that correctly.

The Republic was already fighting a war with its own people. With the Sith. With the Mandalorians. Were they so desperate to turn the entire galaxy against them? No, it couldn't be real. "Do..." the boy began, halting for a moment as he wasn't sure he wanted to ask this question. "Do we have any security feeds near there?"

"Partial recordings, sir. Bringing those up now."

As she attacked him, the whole bar rampaged upon the Republic soldiers.

"This is it, 405th, kill them all!"

He then attempted to reach into her pockets again. This time, he pointed his blaster at the pirate.

"Give us the plans and survive or die and have the plans taken from your cold, dead hands."

Clutching a hand to his breast, the boy staggered as he suddenly felt short of breath.

Republic soldiers. Firing on people whose only crime was sitting at a bar on Tatooine. The boy felt himself fall to his knees as he began to cry. And he wept for what had become of the Grand Republic, when he'd once sang All Stars Burn As One.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay sighed as she turned off the holonews. It was all the same rabble rousers causing the same trouble and sending stuff off to the tabloids. For some reason these people are bored and with not a whole lot going on, the Republic was the target as they were going through transition.

Only one good thing would come of this garbage. It weeded out those that believed such filth and should go elsewhere, from those that want to help rebuild the Republic for the better. Coup's were destructive things. Yet Kay was stubborn. She still believed and knew that others did too.

The Republic was the flavour of the day when it came to who to bash and slam. Some day it would be another's turn.

"Let the haters hate. That's their problem if they can't deal with their anger issues. Best to not give them the attention that they so desperately crave. Otherwise it never ends." Kay didn't speak to anyone in particular as there was hardly ever anyone in her office with her. But sometimes she had moments like that, the same as pretty much everyone else where she just thought out loud.