The Decline and Fall of the Republic

[Minna Balin]

Senator Taff sat in his room, watching a riot rage outside of his home on Caamas. His people, his friends, his family were all out there, calling for change. Auru didn't know what to do. A news broadcast was just issued that outraged many, and in a way, Taff agreed with his people, and the Jedi order. The Republic has been overstepping it's bounds for far too long unchecked. Turning to his Chief advisor, a Caamasi with a ridiculously large hat, he bowed. "Alic, I can't just sit here and do nothing as the Republic commits these atrocities. Bad things are brewing in this government some call a democracy."

Alic bowed back, letting his hat droop with him. "Indeed, Senator. If I may be so bold, what is it you plan on doing?"

Auru sighed, brushing his fur into place. "For now, I will address this crowd. Assure them that I will bring justice to those that deserve it. Then... I go in front of the Senate." Opening his front door, he began to calm the riot.

 

[Aurelia Saelari]

Somewhere, somehow, the shade of Aurelia Saelari shook her head.
"In my day..."

And then she was gone, back to the netherworld.

 

[Freanne]

Freanne was dressed in black, she was at funeral on tattoine. She and most of other people where upset, and where pondering about doing a revenge attack on the republic. It was know quite obvious to them know, and possibly the rest of galaxy. To the republic, only their civilian lives mattered, everyone else can go to the neather world as they did not care. She had heard some reports of battle of roache, where the republic spaced civilians as well. Here they came to caintina and killed everyone in it, just for one woman. In total they killed thirty two people, well thirty three if you included Billy Bob girl friend Shirane, as she was two months into her pregnancy. The couple planned to get married in the winter, as then you could go outside all day without heat getting to you.

As they lowered all coffins into the graves at one, her troops began giving a twenty one gun salute. She saw vengeance on 405th republic rangers, or she liked to call them cold blooded murders. They where not soldiers, they where republic sanctioned murders. She would be ready to shoot them in the head, even if they put up a white flag, they broke the code, they don`t get the protection of the code. Her and te rest of men have sworn a blood oat to that, to avenge Mos Eisley.

She seen a report going to the republic, demanding tis man be turned over to them, but she recons it would just fall on death ears.

 

[Aleidis Zrgaat]

Riots. Protests in the streets. Ugly business happened when angry, disillusioned people went public and organized - good things, bad things could happen, but also ugly things. There was a point where Aleidis would have wandered the crowd, calming as many people as possible, not because she disagreed with them, but for their own safety and the safety of those around them. There had been a time where, regardless of how she felt about the senate, she would have stood by the Republic's ideal of democracy and egalitarianism even if it was failing to function and had been for a long time. She'd been a Jedi knight, after all, and a Jedi was obligated to spread peace and calm wherever she could.

But she wasn't a Jedi anymore, and had't been for a long time. Thank Ben Watts for that. Luckily, a Supreme Chancellor seven years in exile could find a crowd to preach to, in such chaotic times. Soap boxes were cheap.

"Is this the nation you want to live in? Where short-sighted bureaucrats can seize whatever they wish without punishment?" Aleidis asked the people gathered with her at a makeshift rally/protest/riot, voice aflame with infection passion. After all, if the former Jedi had a single talent, it was her ability to sway people. "We have entrusted the Republic leadership with the wellfare of our friends, our families, and our homes. And they have proven, time and again, that they are incapable of leading the common people of the Republic to prosperity! They have proven, time and again, that they have no respect for life, for democracy, or for how their atrocities reflect on the common people!"

Aleidis threw her arm to the side in a dramatic fashion. "When the Mandolorians come roaring out of the skies to get revenge for the thousands of civilians vented into space at Roche, will it be the sons of the Senate who defend you? Or will it be forsaken clone soldiers and your children who pay the ultimate price for that short-sighted bloodlust?!" She demanded, albeit in a rhetoric manner.

"If the Techno Union seeks blood for the regiment of Republic Soldiers allowed to slaughter a bar of civilians on Tatooine, how many of your children will have to die for the Senate's inability to control the psychopaths they've let loose on the Galaxy?" Aleidis asked, passion in her eyes.

"We've allowed the Republic's leadership to run rampant! They've launched a campaign of war and bloodshed across the Galaxy, they've forcibly bred and conditioned men and women for the singular reason of fanatically dying in combat, with loyalty enforced by hardware embedded in their heads!" Aleidis brought her hand down on a pulpit to communicate her displeasure, her hair flying wild as she whipped the crowd into a righteous frenzy. "They have been allowed to wage constant, short-sighted war in our names, good people, and they have taken that to mean that they can commit any atrocity, any disgusting crime they wish without accountability! At what point do we tell these monsters that they will no longer be allowed to drive the lives of the common people - of you and I - into the ground to accomplish their foul aims?!"

"The Senate no longer represents you, good people! The Jedi are not peacekeepers, they are shock troopers fulfilling the will of a corrupt and bloodthirty government! Look at how they hemorrhage members, fleeing to places where the peaceful ways of the Jedi are still respected!" Aleidis accused, gesturing behind her towards the senate building's direction. "There is a time for talk, for peaceful deliberation, and it is over!"

"Rise up, and take the Republic back from these monsters! Rise up, for the good our sons and daughters!"

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

Behind and beside [member="Aleidis Zrgaat"], Mara gauged the crowd's swelling response. Indignation and inspiration filled her empathic senses. For her part, she felt resigned to the inevitable.

-They're listening, Master-

 

[Kenrath]

A figured made it's way towards the front of the crowd. He features largely hidden under a hood and behind a cloth mask. Cole had went native after Republic Troops had attack Carida and tried to murder the Princess and Moff. There when time when he needed to just be Cole and not an Imperial Colonel. He stepped within a few feet of [member="Aleidis Zrgaat"] looking her directly in the eyes the only part of his face visible.

"Solving blood shed with more blood shed." "Sounds familiar............let's stop chaos and murder by causing more chaos and committing more murder."

Cole paused letting his words sink in before he spoke again.

"Where were you when Republic troops invaded my home." "Where were you when Republic Troops murdered my friends.........tried to murder my family?"

Cole paced in front of the crowd addressing them

"The Senate has never represented the people........when is the last time your so called represented actually spoke to you.......asked you what you needed.........what you wanted."

He paused turning to look a brief moment at Aleidis before turning back to the crowd.

"Jedi..................peacekeepers." "When have Jedi ever done anything but turn our homes into war zones preaching about the force and the evils of the dark side." "How has their private war against the Sith ever benefited anyone but them?"

Only then did Cole turn and again address Aleidis.

"Why now do YOU care...............what do you get out of perpetuating the violence that destroy's our homes?"

Cole glanced [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] standing beside and behind Aleidis.

"What do you get out of it." "The people suffer and you preach more violence."

Cole turned back to the crowd.

"When what we need is stability.............what we need is order................what we need is Justice."

Cole turned back to the two women as it waiting for answers.

 

[Aleidis Zrgaat]

It was a little difficult to hear a single man complaining amidst a crowd of near-revolutionary civilians, but Aleidis was helped slightly in that the guy demanding personal accountability from her was lobbing slow pitches right over the plate for her to knock out of the park. She even turned her microphone towards him to let his questions carry to the mob, because to be honest? He was asking things she wanted to answer. Then it was her turn to speak.

"My friends, most of you know me." Aleidis explained, cooling her hot-blooded evangelizing a fair bit, if only so she could build it back up. "Under my service to you as Supreme Chancellor eight years ago, the Galactic Republic entered an era of peace and non-military growth unprecedented in hundreds of years. We made peace with the Sith Empire, took real steps towards abolishing crimes like slavery and sentient trafficking through the Galaxy, and we were not weak for our love of peace." She added, leaning over her podium with her brow furrowed. "The Jedi were not soldiers, but advisers and cloistered wise men, neither eager nor asked to launch themselves into combat to commit war crimes, and that did not make us weak."

"And when evil rose in the form of Velok, the ancient dark lord who destroyed Rommamool and Osarian, it was not weakness that put his darkness to rest for eternity, but strength. Patience." Aleidis promised, straightening her back and staring into the crowd. "The common people of the Republic are not weak for their patience and goodwill - they are strong. You, are strong!" Aleidis swore, her voice rising into a fever pitch once again. "Like a slumbering dragon, you have let the small and mean forces of the Galaxy walk over your back - and like that fearsome and good creature, let them tremble with fear at the thought that the good people of the Republic might one day rise up and throw them off!"

Aleidis met the eyes of the man in the front row, who she was pretty sure was trying to make her look bad in some convoluted way. "When I was a child, a Padawan in the Jedi Order, I worked for the good of the people - some of you may know of the humanitarian efforts coming to fruition on Trevel'ka. And as a young woman, I was asked to set aside my lightsaber and the Jedi Code to lead the Republic - I was happy to do so." Aleidis promised, covering her heart. "Because I love democracy, and I love the ideals that the Republic stands for, and serving those ideals has ever been my life's calling. But those ideals have been twisted and corrupted by the Senate, by the military leadership of the republic, and by false Jedi who claim to follow the Code but are Sith in all but name!"

"I do not seek re-election. I'm not looking for command, or power." Aleidis promised the crowd passionately. "What I want, is to inspire you, the common people of the Republic, the backbone that makes this interstellar nation great, to RISE UP! Take back power from the corrupt and bloodthirsty! No longer should you fear the wrath of the small and mean bureaucrats who only seek to line their own pockets and protect their own interests!" She pointed forward into the distance to emphasize her point. "Peace is what we all desire, but so long as we remain under the lash of bloodthirsty tyrants and false Jedi, the Republic will always find itself at war!"

"Wars where young men like this one-" Aleidis gestured to [member="Cole Dagos"]. "Will be left to wonder why their friends and family had to die for interests that serve nobody but the wealthy and the warhungry. Wars where men like this are left to question why the 'Jedi' are so quick to throw themselves into combat!"

"The Senate exists at our pleasure, good people of the Republic - and for our service." Aleidis reminded the mob, intent on driving this message home. "The Jedi are granted housing and food as guests of the Republic - they are not the law, and they are not generals. They are not soldiers." She pointed out, her voice dropping to relay the gravity of the situation. Now that the tension was high, it was time to drive it home.

"As this young man said, we all deserve stability! We all crave order! And in order to do that, we must obtain justice!" Aleidis preached passionately. "Remind the Senate that they should serve you, or leave! Remind the Jedi that they are guests, and not an authority! Take back our Republic from the tyrants!

 

[Krenis Skirata]

Krenis folded his hands and rested his chin on his hand as he surveyed the reports. So many of them, in fact. It was chaos and madness, especially one recent switch from the Mando'ade to the Republic. Vhan Fett. Now known as Cloudburner. He and his men, according to demands from the Techno Union that he had... procured, massacred an entire cantina. Thirty some people. He marked it as priority and sent it up the command chain and sent a notice to the ARC program.

Apprehend the so-called "Cloudburner" and his unit. He wrote up a draft for, of all things, war crimes. Like they had had enough of this lately. Last thing they needed was another one running around. The fact that this one was a Mandalorian made things difficult and certainly interesting. He could work with that. Leverage support from multiple governments. He sent out the bulletin before studying the copy of the letter posted by the Jedi.

What exactly was he proposing? There didn't seem to be any clear proposals. At least one of the charges was false as well. Krenis had investigated the shooting at the protest. No order had been given and he had dug deep for that, pressing up against intelligence and the more... delicate operations departments. Based on the reports, a Sith infiltrator was implicated but no suspect was procured or tried. Given how shaky things had become lately, he had to concede the fact the culprit escaped was probably sincere.

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Cole Dagos"][member="Aleidis Zrgaat"]

Mara stayed silent, focusing instead on empathic monitoring and modulation. It would be a cold day in Hell before one of the most effective Supreme Chancellors in Republic history needed her help with something like this. She sensed the crowd, by and large, agreed.

 

[Kenrath]

Coel laughed out loud...........laughing hard enough his whole body shook at the response [member="Aleidis Zrgaat"] gave. It was amusing to him. He even made his way towards the podium getting closer to the microphone on it as he spoke.

"A jedi calling Jedi evil...............a Politician calling other Politicians weak and corrupt." "Now I have heard it all." "Tell me what makes you so different from those you condemn?"

He laughed out loud.

"Democracy........peace with murders and thieves." "The destabilization of the very people who can keep you safe." "Wealthy politician from wealthy families that buy their way into office." "The very things that created the very monsters that stole everything from you.............this is what you want to bring back?"

He turned looking at the woman.

"And who will look after the will of the people?" "When the Senate leaves and goes home who will lead the Republic from the darkness?" "You?"

Cole turned and looked at [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] addressing her.

"You."

Cole turned back to the crowd.

"The senate who should be preventing such matters by ensuring no one person held all the power failed you." "Would you turn around and give that power back to a single person............would you let these people dissolve all forms of stability to hand the reigns over to another Prime Minister or Supreme Chancellor selected by corrupt politicians from among corrupt politicians?"

His voice rose higher.

"Order and stability are not born from chaos...........deception............greed..............or corruption." "Order and stability are not born from revolution." "Order and stability is not born from handicapping the men and women who sacrificed everything..............even their very lives to protect and keep you safe." "Would you let the One Sith continue to bulldoze through every Republic world for Democracy.......for freedom." "What will the One Sith do when people like these........................"

He paused motion towards the two women.

"........destabilize the Republic past the point of being able to even fight back at all?" "With the Senate gone, the Jedi gone, the Military shackled...........who will halt the tide of genocide?"

 

[Cassus Akovin]

It was unbelievable.

Unthinkable.

So much had happened that Triam Akovin had been caught in the unawares of. A coup of the Republic. A clone army. Selectivist control. Corporate warfare... and worst of all... psychopaths murdering under the name of democracy and the Republic. Now with the protests, the people were on the cusp of revolution, a second coup.

All the while, the galaxy turned to make enemies with her home nation.

Her father would weep and turn in his grave as the last Akovin listened in horror to what she was being caught up to... the Republic he served as a general so long ago, was not the Republic she was being greeted to now... and it certainly wasn't the Republic she had abandoned.

It was people like her that had allowed this to happen. She could have been a soldier. A patriot. She could have served country and family.

Yet she left it behind and look how far it had fallen, look how far she had fallen. But imagine if she had stayed, how much farther fallen would she be now? Say we replaced the name Cloudburner with Akovin... Resentment and utter disappointment characterized the attitude Triam had for the Republic, it made her so sick she actually put herself to sleep with medication. Crol attempted to console her but she cut him off and abandoned him for her quarters.

Someday, Triam would try and fix this.

For now, she declared a War on her Grief for the depravity of her home and country within her dreams...

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Cole Dagos"] [member="Aleidis Zrgaat"]

Aleidis was that most physically fragile of races, a Ghostling, so when the angry, masked man moved toward her and tried to take prime position near the microphone, Mara stepped into his path to prevent it. She met his eyes -- as well as she could; he was wearing a mask -- and shook her head fractionally.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] | [member="Cole Dagos"] | [member="Aleidis Zrgaat"]

There were a variety of things the young Jedi Knight could have responded to the meaningless bloviation of the soldier. Things like... who are you? But he wasn't a proud Lord. Things like... where's that high horse you rode in on? There was plenty to say, but at the end of the day Zrgaat had everything in order, Mara was there to cut off his path too. So the Corellian kept quiet, until one of the younger attendees waggled over to him.

She could not have been more than six or seven years old, her eyes were big as she stared over the proceedings. A slightly embarrassed man followed in her wake, same eyes, same lines, clearly the father then.

"Master Jedi, thousand times forgiveness for the intrusion." Dad reached out sheepishly towards his daughter. Trying to pull her back, but stopped once Cole waved it off.

"I am no Master, sir."

"Maaaaaster Jeeeediii." the daughter didn't seem to hear his objection, her eyes were still attached to Dagos.

"We-hy is the angr-ey man shouting sooo hard?"

Cole looked over to the shouting match, before grimacing and giving a shrug.

"Anger born out of resentment, festered and fostered by self-proclaimed moral high ground, m'dear." the Knight responded without thinking, before looking down and seeing the confusion blooming up on her face. Those eyes had grown a fraction more as Mara cut a path between Dagos and Aleidis.

"It means that he's confused and lashes out, letting his heart do the talking, instead of his brain."

The girl thought about that for a moment. "That does not seeeeeeem very smawt."

That got a chuckle out of him, a soft one.

"No, it isn't, m'dear. No, it isn't."

The Jedi Knight looked back at the proceedings and missed the thankful nod given to him by the father, a moment after the kid and the dad were gone. Moving back into the crowd and onto bigger and brighter things... like buying the girl a stuffed plushy animal, perhaps.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Sitting way atop his High Horse on Mount Morality, Vulkan dozed lazily, the warm light from the nearby star shining down on him and his companion as they lay on the artificial beach of his artificial planet. He probably caused at least some of the strife and struggle of the Republic, but he couldn't possibly care less. Whatever shadow of the former great Republic that was left, bleeding out and dying, crying about how great they used to be didn't effect him in the least. The two weeks after the Battle of Roche had left him without the ability to give a crap about them or their righteousness.

"Today was a good day."

 

[Long Gone]

And suddenly a coconut flew out of nowhere, attempting to strike [member="Darth Vulkan"] in the head!

A ghost from the Netherworld is angry!

 

[Asher]

“Is that not what’s already happening?!” An outraged voice called out from behind [member="Cole Dagos"] as the form of Aton Gyndar-Rekali forced his way through the crowd. “Aren’t people already getting murdered to a degree that would count as a form of genocide to you?”

The kid had taken a detour through his delivery run, landed on Chazwa to spit on the steps in front of the Senate that had decided to stand by the woman that had murdered his mother, [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]. The last few days, perhaps weeks even, had been tumultuous to say the least as the ever shifting balance between vengeance and keeping oneself from becoming the enemy was a fight that proved more and more arduous for each day that passed.

In this regard his grandfather, [member="Ember Rekali"], was already lost for reasons that the young one could truly understand.

“Immeasurable amounts of people die every day for the sake of this government and their wars. Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. Loved ones separated by the void all thanks to this insane group of people who has lost all track of what their people want.” Aton shouted. First to the man in white before turning towards the crowd. “Dac, Kashyyyk, Korriban, Manaan, Coruscant, Nar Shaddaa, Ord Mirit, Ossus, even Prakith!”

“We have tossed good people at the swords of our enemies for long enough.” The young Rekali looked back to [member="Cole Dagos"]. “It's at the point where rather than asking what the government is doing for you, you should ask what you are doing for your government.”

“This is not about destroying ourselves. This is a call for peace through the only means known to our ‘chosen’ leaders.”

He turned back around to the unknown faces of [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] and [member="Aleidis Zrgaat"].

"You say the word and I will throw the first brick myself. All we need is that spark."

 

[Nick Sept]

[member="Cole Dagos"] [member="Aleidis Zrgaat"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Aton Gyndar"]


There was a slow, stifled clap from the mob. A man, in black slacks and a matching shirt, rolled up to is sleeves. Green tie. Glowing, red eyes. "How cute," he said, staring down the one-armed woman on a pulpit. "You've come out of retirement, then? Or are you just hoping inciting a riot will magically make everything better?" He said dramatically, waving towards the others in crowd.



"I feel I should introduce myself, Aleidis," he said, still cheerful as ever. He honestly seemed to enjoy angry mobs at fiery pulpits. Maybe it reminded him of training. He smiled. "I'm one of those Senators from which you're demanding answers. I'm also one of those clones that is, as you put it, 'designed to die fanatically,' if I'm hearing correctly."


He sighed. "I get why the streets are angry. More than you'll likely know. I've seen brothers, sisters, fellow men and women, even lovers, die to the constant love affair of war and madness in this forsaken galaxy. I care little about the Jedi or the Sith. And yes, former Chancellor," he said, practically waving to the air, not usurping the high ground from this woman, "I get it. Unfortunately, generals cannot end wars. Commanders cannot ends wars. Terrorists and criminals cannot end wars. Protests and riots do not end wars. Jedi and Sith do not end wars. The only thing that ends wars, Madame Aleidis, is leadership and governance aimed towards peace. Now, if you want to riot, I won't stop you. You want to vandalize the Senate building to make yourselves feel better, I won't do a thing. But if one innocent person in that building--contrary to popular belief, some of them are good folks--is hurt because you felt the need to break stuff instead of getting off that soapbox and working, then screw you. May whatever pain your pettiness decides to visit upon this world be magnified a hundred times, and may you never know rest until you've atoned."



"Now, I'm going to talk to you, with the brick threat," he said, nodding to him. He walked over, setting a blaster pistol on a stool nearby. Trooper pilot sidearm. Standard issue. A basic black pistol, with no particularly unique design. It was heavy, made of standard durasteel and the fancy plastic that made the capacitors in a blaster work. "Kid, you want to blame somebody, do it. I'm right here. I'm one of the clones that was ordered to wreck lives and kill people. I'm trying to be one of the senators that doesn't. You want it back, by force? Make your decision--and use my old pistol. Shoot the cyborg trooper who hasn't turned twenty yet in the chest or the back, whatever suits you, and feel proud of it. Own it. I wonder if your eyes will look the same as Lasedri's by the time you're done."


He looked to the other Echani. "Quit being vague. You say she's corrupt, you say we're corrupt, you blame the senate and chancellor and the jedi, but then you want this group to do what? Follow you? Honestly, I'm not really certain what the solution is. But as it stands, I'm working for my constituents. I'm fighting for my people. I can't speak for all the Senate, but I feel like most of them are trying to resolve this. But, I'll be the first to admit, being told to wait from people you barely trust isn't a great endorsement of things to come. So, if we're so untrustworthy you want to destroy it, that's fine. But first, tell us your plan for what comes after. That's my demand. I'm a soldier too, I understand. But sadly, not every problem is fixed by punching the right person in the face. Sometimes, you have to build, sometimes you have to break."


He addressed the crowd. He didn't wait for the man to shoot him, but he wasn't defending himself. He didn't even keep bring any senate guardsmen with him, despite being told not to. "That goes to any of you as well. If you can shoot an unarmed man, in good faith, then fine, take it back by force. If not, then I suggest you go home, and figure out what you can do to help. The Senate, the Chancellor, the commander, they are no more parts of the republic than you are. But if none of you have what it takes to kill a Senator capable of giving you a chance, the senator who is trying to work change from within, then you're not ready to embrace the chaos your little riot will cause. And you should definitely think that through."


He looked to the crowd, hoping to a see a reaction, waiting for it. "If you want to say you've given up on any hope of the Senate, if you are truly demanding the whole thing dismantled, then pick up the gun and shoot me. Otherwise, get involved through proper channels, and help us actually do the damn job. Frankly, we've got a lot of work to do in order to restore the republic, for its soldiers and its citizens. I await your rebuttal, violent or otherwise."


He stood, waiting. Anarchy wasn't the only gameplan a man could have, after all. Maybe, just maybe, he could convince these people that rioting would only get worse. Maybe he could prevent another shootout form occurring on Chazwa. If that meant letting dangerous people point guns at his head, so be it. Frankly, if things got violent, around half the people in this street were likely to die as the riots broke out. Mostly innocent civilians. The Senate guard and the local security forces would contain it, and the casualties would be mostly civilian. Few would live. So yeah, screw it. These people wanted blood, he might as well donate up front.

 

[Aleidis Zrgaat]

[member="Cole Dagos"] [member="Nick Sept"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Aton Gyndar"]

There were a few skeptics in the crowd, and that was fine. Aside from the masked man who...... insisted...... on ridiculous......... pauses getting close to her podium, Aleidis wasn't too threatened. Mostly, she was aware of how she'd let her passion get in the way of the message she should have been preaching, the one she came up here to preach. And with Mara stepping in to maintain her physical protection, Aleidis could focus on addressing those concerns. It was a good thing she stayed fairly up to date with modern politics, because that made this whole thing a bit more straightforward.

"Senator Nick Sept, of Cartao." Aleidis greeted the man with a polite smile, finishing the introduction he hadn't bothered to do properly, for the benefit of the crowd. "There's no need to martyr yourself so literally - when I say that the senate is corrupt and in need of dismantling, I say so because the senators are no longer serving the will of the people as they should." She pointed out, her tone almost conversational. "Leadership and governance are, I agree, the route to peace. But our leadership and our government are no longer interested in peace. They are no longer interested in common decency. They are interested in land grabs, seizing private assets under flimsy pretense, and venting enemy combatants into space during a war of aggression they've started. Our leadership, our governance, have stained the collective flags of the Republic with the blood of innocents!"

Aleidis leaned over her pulpit the slightest bit, focusing her full attention on Senator Sept. "Perhaps the fault lay with the Supreme Chancellor and their cabinet, but is it not the Senate's job to correct such things? To ensure that the amount of power in that position does not run rampant?" She asked with a thin eyebrow. "I understand, Senator Sept, that you have not held your position for very long."

"Furthermore, I understand if you are too busy to stand for the principles of the Republic - principles that include egalitarianism, peace, and a steady hand - as the very clones I've mentioned were produced on your planet, Cartao." Aleidis pointed out sternly. "Tell me, Senator, did you receive financial compensation to ignore the atrocities committed on Cartao to strengthen the Republic's war machine, or were you merely complacent while men and women were implanted with behavior controlling chips at birth and sent off to die in war?" The Ghostling demanded in a flat tone, looking down her nose at the senator. "If you'd like to take the easy way out of a loaded question, Senator, go ahead and blame the previous administration, claim that there was nothing a Senator could do on his own planet. Perhaps my 'pettiness' will visit pain upon this establishment, but if responding to the abuse of power and horrific treatment of sentient life is petty, then petty I will be! It's well and good for you to challenge me to get off of my soapbox and tell me to get to work, but I challenge you to do your job. Of all people, you at least should consider clones to be people, should you not?"

"Or, you could sarcastically clap at somebody expressing displeasure with the administration and use demeaning language like 'cute'." Aleidis added, her tone scathing. "I worked from the inside and had results within weeks, at a younger age than you are now. What's your excuse? That nobody's shot you enough to get you to do the right thing, even on Cartao? Put your gun away."

Her attention turned back to the crowd. "Do any among you doubt that the Senate has failed to enforce the beliefs and values of their constituents?" She asked loudly, spreading her arm to the side. "How many more crimes will the leadership of the Republic be able to visit upon the Galaxy before the next election season? When will enough war be enough for them?!" Aleidis demanded. "The proper channels have been followed. The proper channels have failed. Make no mistake, people of the Republic - we are not a lynch mob, and this should not end with blood, but we need to send a clear and decisive message to the failed bureaucracy that should be working in our interest!"

"Gather the like-minded, gather signs, and protest loudly! Let our collective dissatisfaction carry into the hallowed halls where the fat and wealthy send our siblings and children off to wars they'll never lose sleep over! Wars that they're all too happy to breed soldiers for! Wars that they believe justify the use of sentient life as a living weapon!" Aleidis protested. "We must call for the resignations of the complacent, we must organize and frighten proper action into a morally bankrupt system! Why should our taxes fund an eternally hungry war machine?! Why should we allow senators who do nothing to pretend to represent the interests of the common people!? Good citizens of the Republic, the unhappy, disenfranchised and dissatisfied people of this great coalition must take to the streets as one, and fill the air with our shouts of 'NO MORE!'" The final note ended with a shout from the Ghostling, who raised her single fist into the air to add emphasis. "NO MORE will we allow the government to drive the Republic into the ground! NO MORE will we support war-hungry lunatics with no sense of responsibility! NO MORE excuses, NO MORE fearmongering! NO MORE war crimes! NO MORE EXCUSES!"

Her voice was getting a little hoarse, and the crowd was about ready for action over talking. Time to wrap things up. Rather than literally dropping the mic, Aleidis gestured agressively towards the Senate building and shouted something that likely couldn't be heard over the mob, the reporters, or other skeptics. It was time to lead her almost-riot into a hopefully-peaceful but very unhappy march towards the Senate building. Anybody that absolutely had to have more words with her could find her at the front of the column making it's way towards the center of Republic government to wave flags and signs.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Jack Sparrow walked up to the nearest podium and leaned into the microphone.

"Vote Jack Sparrow for Supreme Chancellor," he intoned calmly. "Then let's set things to right."

He walked away, fielding no questions. The people needed to vent their justified frustration, and he for one was glad to let them.

 

[Nick Sept]

For all her cruelty, and her complete lack of understanding about Cartao, she had a point. He sighed. "Keep the gun. If we are lucky, nobody's gonna need it. Ever," he said, as he walked, faster than the mob. An infantryman's march. He pulled out a comm. "Poet, get Tigress and Laughingstock on the line, there is work to be done. A lot of it."


He flipped through his comm channels multiple times, and began typing up a letter. It'd be at least a day before he'd even know where to send it, but the text was simple:


"Glad you actually seem interested in doing something instead of just posturing. Contact me in a day or two via this comm line. Sorry if I got testy, but I don't like new, emergent leaders pretending they understand the struggle--we've been led astray enough. If you're actually up to helping me achieve solutions, arrange a time and location without an audience, and we'll talk. To each other, as opposed to at each other. Good luck with the protest. I've every intention of using it to make a point--people are ready to stir the pot if reform doesn't happen now. You've actually made my job easier, our imagined conflict aside.--Sept"


He tappede out the message and walked back into the building, not closing the door behind them and looking towards the guards. "You stay non-lethal, I don't care what these protestors pull. We cannot afford to shed any more blood. Period."



He walked to his office. Time to make a series a calls.



[member="Aleidis Zrgaat"]