Faction The Equal Rights Act | GA Senate

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio had been patiently awaiting Kha'la Daaray 's answer to his question. If not this, then how would she solve the unrest of her people? But she didn't need to answer, did she?

The Senate had come to her aid.

Alicio felt Sycorax's eyes on him. He turned to her, his jaw tightened, his eyes... cold. She was being proven right. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Yes, he could talk on and on, hope his words would give the opposition doubts, but it wouldn't. Because they had already made up their minds, more worried about Hapes' stability and a slippery slope than the unalienable rights of the entire Alliance. And because Corrine de Montaigne masterfully intoned his own thoughts of the subject entirely. And if she couldn't change the minds of the holdouts, his parroted lines wouldn't, either. Nothing else need be said.

But he tried regardless.

"It will be a cold day in all the Alliance, tomorrow, if it's citizenry must wake up to headlines of the Senate shooting down gender indiscrimination on the floor." Alicio's tone was considerably more scornful, seemingly having stolen Sycorax's bite. "Pay parity. Equal legal representation. The right to own a home. These should not be up for debate."

Alicio pressed a button on his pod, cutting off his own voice, his hands clasped loosely behind his back.

- Sycorax Laveaux - Phoenix Kasari - Casteban Mecetti - Auteme - Lodd Grimmin - Lehvi Vass - Rens Ahim - Val Aranda - Atos Vodus - Dassid Hydia - Balthus Larr - Natasi Fortan -

 

[Rens Ahim]

Seeing that his proposal for a commission to speak with the people about this legislation was being completely and utterly ignored, Rens' anger began to build up at the opposition. His eyes narrowed and his mouth formed an expression of disgust. Some claim they support the spirit of the bill and claim they want stronger legislation for it yet they are not offering any effective alternatives.

Ten years extension?! Is that supposed to be some kind of cruel sick joke?!

The Hapan Queen wasn't even speaking up. Perhaps she believed answering questions from senators was beneath her 'dignity'. Maybe it was mostly because men were asking said questions that brought her silence. It gave him the impression that she was prejudiced against men(whether it is true or not). How much more worse is it for the Hapan males he wondered.

The anger grew and grew and he even visibly shook. It took all of Rens' discipline earned from years in the courtroom from lashing out. He kept his mouth shut or else he would shout out Mon Calamari curses. Taking a deep breath, Rens slowly released it.

"In light of this assembly's unwillingness to even consider a commission to hear from the people that will be most affected by this bill I declare again Bestine's approval for the ERA. Many of you claim to support the spirit of the bill and wish it to be more effective yet you are not showing any willingness to find the means to do so."

Pausing briefly to collect himself he went on.

"Mark my words, this issue is not settled. No matter the outcome of today's session."

He would not waste another word in this mockery. Having kept to the original vote Rens Ahim landed the pod back to its original post. Gesturing for his staff and the representative and they got up and he stormed out. He had plans to make.

If most of the senate is unwilling to go for a commission through their Alliance but prefers to stay on comfortable Coruscant and look the other way from this injustice he will do it himself. Walking down the hall he considered who could actually be willing join him in this effort.

 

[Casteban Mecetti]

​

"Obulette observes," Casteban announced from his pod.

"Colleagues, giddy on their power and sense of righteous indignation.

They have forgotten the purpose of this Alliance. They have forgotten even what the word Alliance means.

This body was formed to provide a means of mutual defense, to settle matters of trade, and to manage mutual space. Things necessary for a group to live in peace.

This body was never intended to meddle in the private affairs of member worlds. That goes beyond the mandate of any Galactic Alliance. What you are forming today is a Galactic Empire, where each member world will be squeezed until they conform to your views of righteousness.

Well, the Tapani noble houses do not wish to be squeezed. We are not interested in being sued. We do not want Jedi engaging in self-righteous hunts, scouring our worlds for some imagined injustices. We do not desire other worlds to be dictating our rites of succession, which comprise an essential tradition dating back to before the formation of this Alliance.

It does not matter what color hat a tyrannical body chooses to wear. Presidents and Emperors can be the same men using different aliases. Democracy ceases to be Just when it becomes a mob demanding justice inside the walls of my House. It does not matter what excuse you use to justify your intrusions. You are not welcome to rearrange my furniture.

The Galactic Alliance does not exist for you people to meddle with each other's internal governance.

Our body was formed for a pragmatic and practical reason. We live in a galaxy of piracy, and warlords, and cultists who raise undead armies. If you turn your righteous ire away from such things and towards your own membership, then your membership will no longer be there when you need them.

If you persist in this, you will soon discover that your Alliance is not, in fact, an Empire.

It is a coalition of the willing.

And there are people here unwilling to be interfered with by You."

Unlike some, he did not storm out of the chamber. He waited for a final tally, and for the future intentions of the Alliance to be declared.

---

Sycorax Laveaux - Phoenix Kasari - Casteban Mecetti - Auteme - Lodd Grimmin - Lehvi Vass - Rens Ahim - Val Aranda - Atos Vodus - Dassid Hydia - Balthus Larr - Natasi Fortan - Alicio Organa

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi clasped her hands behind her back and leaned into her microphone once more. "On my homeworld of Galidraan, in my youth, I was something of an outlier. My father, then the Earl of Herevan, chose to educate me in a way that was unlike that of my peers. In those days, you understand, women of my class were not expected to have a profession and therefore the extent of an aristocratic woman's education was in gentility and learning to run a household, needlework, and music. My father -- partially because he had married a woman who had no patience for the hidebound Galidraani norms that had bound my family for generations and partially because, at the risk of sounding immodest, he saw potential in me -- gave me an education very like my brother's: a real education. Day school, boarding school, university, the whole works. And yet, his expectations for me did not change. He expected that I would follow the footsteps of his mother and her mother before her. Marry -- advantageously, if possible -- and get out of the way."

The Senator for Aegis flexed her fingers. "There are moments when I wonder how life would have been different if that had been my path. Certainly I wouldn't be here, in the Senate, would never have become leader of the Renascent Republic nor the First Order before that. An argument in favor of hidebound, gendered traditions, you might say."

Natasi turned her head, cleared her throat subtly, before continuing. "This is all in a roundabout way of saying that I believe -- strongly -- in equal pay for equal work. I believe that women -- or men, or those of genders for which my cultural background does not provide a ready term -- ought not to be prevented from doing that which they are capable of doing, mentally and physically. And yet I hesitate to jump in here with both feet. Though I appreciate every day my father's position on my education, I hate to think of an organization, however well-intentioned, coming to Galidraan and uprooting its societal norms in on fell swoop. And -- before any of you point out the blindingly obvious, yes, I am aware of the irony inherent in this statement."

A brief hesitation, and the Senator looked over her colleagues. "Male-line primogeniture -- in Galidraan's case, to pick just one example -- may be considered backwards and archaic. It may be considered sexist and unfair. Likewise for female-line primogeniture in the case of the Hapans. But I would suggest that it is an altogether other matter from equal pay and anti-discrimination -- matters of law rather than of culture. The culture of Galidraan goes back hundreds of years, extending into the Plague Years and beyond. Our Hapan friends' customs go back many millenia. Kuat's ancient culture rests upon the system of Telbun. What business is it of ours to unilaterally impose on these cultures with a heavy hand, particularly when there are much less heavy-handed measures, more closely tailored to the agreed-upon goals that we could employ to achieve them."

Natasi paused and flexed her fingers once more. "Therefore, I move to refer the bill to the relevant committee for analysis and, if appropriate, revision."

 

[Mara Voss]

For much of the session, the newly appointed Senator for the Metellos system had thought it best to stay quiet. Proper introductions could be made behind closed doors, at committee hearings, or galas. Inserting herself into a contentious debate? The quickest possible way to make enemies.

But she rose nonetheless to address her new colleagues. "Rien n'est plus puissant qu'une idée dont le temps est venu," she began, her eyes sweeping across the assembly. "Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come."

"Equality is a principle that transcends time and space," Senator Voss continued. "It is a beacon of light that guides us toward a future where every being, regardless of their race, gender, or background, is given the same opportunities and rights as their fellow citizens."

“You cannot have freedom, or liberty, or justice without equality and contrary to the beliefs of some,” Her eyes bore into the skull of the Senator for Obulette. “The Galactic Alliance exists to secure these inalienable rights for all. With that being said…” She paused. At this point, it was very clear that the momentum had turned against the ERA. Coming out in favor of the bill, which she was inclined to do, would be more of a symbolic move than anything. It was very clear that if the bill came to a vote on the floor, it would die.

Her eyes drifted to meet the gaze of the enigmatic Senator who had proposed the bill, Sycorax Laveaux . She winced. “Metellos supports the motion of the Senator for Aegis. The Equal Rights Act should be referred to committee so that certain obverse elements can be worked out.”

Sycorax Laveaux | Phoenix Kasari | Casteban Mecetti | Auteme | Lodd Grimmin | Lehvi Vass | Rens Ahim | Val Aranda | Atos Vodus | Dassid Hydia | Balthus Larr | Natasi Fortan | Alicio Organa ​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Obulette observes colleagues, giddy on their power and sense of righteous indignation.

Don't say anything, don't say anything...

It was days like these that Alicio understood why Kahlil Noble had no patience for the Senate. It was literally their job, to always appear right, to appear in control. That caused some members to say things that sounded reasonable, but lacked in substance. Alicio was certainly guilty of it, at times. It took all his power to not step up to Casteban Mecetti , see if his viewpoint would hold up to a challenge.

But he didn't. Instead, he took a deep breath, and let it pass.

He found himself listening intently as Natasi Fortan spoke, feeling his righteous indignation drain a little. She was perhaps the only part of the opposition that he could truly agree with. Despite all outward appearances, the Alderaanian Senator didn't want to see cultures turned upside-down and uprooted. But he needed to see wrongs righted. And it seemed she did, too.

A new face in Mara Voss was quick to give the Senator for Obulette a metaphorical thump on the head, and second Senator Fortan's motion. Alicio spoke up, for one last time. "I don't believe in half measures. Not when it comes to the ideals of our government. But compromise is an important part of being a democratic union." He turned slate grey eyes to Natasi, supplying her a little nod. "Alderaan supports this motion."

He cared less for lines of succession for the elite, and more for the rights of the citizenry. Incremental change was far more palatable than an ineffective senate.

- Senators -

 

[Corrine de Montaigne]

"I fail to see why succession is one of the lines of opposition when any noble house is free to select their own heir at their own discretion. Should you choose to continue your own succession based on agnatic primogeniture then so be it. Should you want to have cognatic ultimageniture, then let it be. Just understand that your succession is not threatened by placing people equally before the unblinking scrutiny of law. If your feeling are hurt by people being made equal before the law because you dont't get to feel as special by virtue of the family you were born to then that is your own problem and not mine, nor the Alliance's problem." Corrine spat, beginning to get annoyed with how uppity other aristocrats were about their nobility.

 

[Suhara Villow]

---

---

Part of Suhara Villow wished that she had somehow smuggled in a blaster rifle as she glared from the gallery above the senate chamber at the walking husk of dust that was Casteban Mecetti .

The name Mecetti had become infamous among the people of Chantemer as they suffered under the Poutine Regime's boot, with the name of House Mecetti Nationalized Industries being one of the many corporations emboldened in gold on its sole. Farmers cursed that name as they were driven off their ancestral lands to make way for massive weapon factories, whose infernal products were tested on their countryside rendering once verdant land to polluted wastelands, where nothing could thrive but the grief of those who had lost everything. Leaky pipelines bearing their emblem poisoned entire villages and turned entire generations infertile. Protestors hoping for a semblance of a better life were crushed under hover tanks.

All the while the ruling vanguard party of Chantemer under Olivier Poutine looked the other way so long as they got their next star yacht.

Suhara had never experienced herself the plague that was Mecetti for she had been born into the Vanguard Party and could recall her father meeting with their many representatives to discuss what other aspect of Chantemer's natural wealth they could loot. She had never experienced the grief of a wailing mother holding her child's crushed corpse as Mecetti tractors demolished their home; never experienced the despair of the worker who returned home with raw hands after a 14-hour shift with only a few credits to show for it; never experienced the rumbling stomach of a hungry girl looking longly at the grand buffets that the corporate delightfully gorged themselves on.

Yet she still experienced the same desire as all of them to tear apart this man in front of her to bloody chunks.

"Why are we even approaching these bastards?" said the man to her right, adjusting his wire glasses. His rapidly receding hairline and wiry complexion only served to deepen the wrinkles starting to crawl over his face. He could easily be mistaken for Suhara's father as the two of them stood at the railing, given that even with her brimmed hat she barely reached his shoulders.

"Who else, Pierre? The Dark Empire? Not only is it impossible for them to support us in any meaningful capacity, we'd just be trading one master for another. The Rimward Trade League is far too distant and embroiled in wars to spare any resources. The Mandalorians wouldn't even bother to hear us out. They don't care about democracy, just who has the biggest club. At the very least with the Galactic Alliance, there's hope, there's elements that understand that the purpose of the state is to serve the people, not the other way around." Suhara sighed, "I don't like it as much as you do but for all of their faults, they're the last real beacon of democracy among these twisted stars. Even if they let human swine like Mecetti into their ranks."

Pierre nodded, "Apologies ma'am."

"No need for that," she leaned against the railing. "And... please don't call me ma'am. It's weird enough that just last week you were my superior. I still don't know why the crew chose me over you. Who in the Seven Hels decided I was a good idea?" her grip tightened over the railing until her knuckles were white.

"The crew did. I won't say they were right. It's impossible to tell now. What I can tell is that even if the mantle was unwillingly placed on your head, you were the one to light the fire. You should have seen that from the very start. Now it's your duty to turn that spark, into an inferno."

"That doesn't make me feel better."

"It wasn't supposed to."

Pierre stepped forward to Suhara's side as the pair of them watched the proceedings down come to a hair's breadth of senators throwing fists. "Though I do feel sorry for you to navigate this mess..."

 

[Sycorax Laveaux]

Sycorax had a few choice words for Senator Fortan, but before she could utter them the conversation moved rapidly. Perhaps for the best.

“Senator de Montaigne is correct. When I responded to Senator Mecetti earlier, I did so under the assumption that he was referring to noble houses who are the political leaders of their planets and systems, rather than simply families with inherited titles, lands and wealth. The ERA will not affect or alter current laws of inheritance. What it will affect is if planetary law dictates that the Senator or King or Supreme Chancellor of your world must be the son or daughter of so-and-so, with actual power being transmitted on the basis of sex.”

She heaved a sigh. “Referring a bill to a committee in this Senate, while ostensibly allowing for revision, is a little like sweeping it under the rug to be abandoned and forgotten. If you want to compromise, want to finagle your way through yet more loopholes, do so here on the debate floor, where everyone can see you. Otherwise, I request that this bill be put to a vote.”

Alicio Organa Kha'la Daaray Phoenix Kasari Casteban Mecetti Auteme Lodd Grimmin Lehvi Vass Rens Ahim Corrine de Montaigne Val Aranda Atos Vodus Phoenix Kasari Dassid Hydia Balthus Larr Natasi Fortan​

 

[Casteban Mecetti]

​

Being specifically addressed, Casteban could not resist speaking out of turn. A violation of etiquette and procedure.

"The Tapani Noble Houses are the ruling Houses of the Tapani sector. We control the worlds of our domain. And until now, our internal leadership has been inviolable.

Succession is not just a personal family matter.

If you will interfere with succession, there is no barrier to what you will impose upon the noble families.

Soon enough, you will try to dispense with our traditions of noble leadership entirely. No. The line is drawn here.

This impacts more than just Obulette, or House Mecetti. This is a strike against the entire Tapani Sector. This is a strike against noble leadership entire, on any world where it is practiced. The Alliance must not interfere with internal leadership principles.

You have your vote, dear colleague. You could have had my support by merely withholding your hand from planetary leadership principles. But you are the very embodiment of the Perfect being the enemy of the Good. My vote is Nay."

The effort of speaking again so soon seemed to sap some strength from the elder Mecetti, and he coughed dryly for several moments after making his declaration. Individuals close to him encroached out of concern he might collapse, but no such luck.

He soon recovered and resumed his upright and rigid seated position.

---

Sycorax Laveaux - Phoenix Kasari - Casteban Mecetti - Auteme - Lodd Grimmin - Lehvi Vass - Rens Ahim - Val Aranda - Atos Vodus - Dassid Hydia - Balthus Larr - Natasi Fortan - Alicio Organa

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Ritual sacrifice was once of great cultural significance to the Epicanthix. It was a quite the occasion. Stringing up people, skinning them, setting them ablaze. Oh but if we stopped that, you'd be stomping on my people's rights. Who cares that it y'know, involves ritual murder and the disregard for the rights of others." Kahlil let out a heavy sigh as he pinched his brow.

"It baffles me that you people are so willing to enforce that someone has to be treated second rate just because someone forever ago set up some arbitrary rule. If a planet will continue to be ruled by sexist, racist, whateverist they think they've the power to allow themselves to be, then are their people truly in agreement? I don't remember the Galactic Alliance being an alliance of whoever greedy bastards sit on their thrones and think themselves lords. The Alliance is of the people. All people. That is the Alliance that the Jedi support."

 

[Auteme]

Sycorax Laveaux Phoenix Kasari Casteban Mecetti Lodd Grimmin Lehvi Vass Rens Ahim Val Aranda Atos Vodus Dassid Hydia Balthus Larr Natasi Fortan Alicio Organa
​

Auteme, unfortunately, found herself thinking.

By that point the debate was moving so fast that she was neither in control nor fully listening. It was heated enough that, for all her oratory powers, she likely would have remained another point to be responded to in a monologue. But with the lull it what followed, and the apparent lean towards compromise, she decided to stack the deck.

"Thank you for this lively session, Senators. I'd like to clarify just one point that seems to have many of us worried, and perhaps understandably so -- that of precedent. That this is the beginning of some slippery slope of planetary interference.

"I understand that many of you, like me, would have been children when this bill passed, but one of the first major issues tackled by the Senate was that of cloning. Equally, I'm sure many of you could recall that Arkania, one of our most esteemed members, was renowned for its cloning industry and one of the Alliance's earliest worlds. Their facilities had, for some time before the rise of the Alliance, been significantly expanded and under the control of the Core Imperial Confederation.

"When the Confederation collapsed, the Alliance had an influx of what had previously been slave soldiers, the clones created by the Imperials. At the sight of this the Alliance decided that such a moral crime could not stand and banned it. This was to the detriment of Arkania, for a time -- but it has recovered. I do not mind disrupting the "culture" of a world, if that culture is based in evil. This is why we fight the Sith -- if we were so afraid of their "culture" that we stood aside, then we would be complicit in their crimes.

"This bill is a reasonable step towards equality for all people. It is a reinforcement of our principles of equality, of justice, of freedom. If you believe this will somehow lead to tyranny, I suggest you learn why the 'slippery slope fallacy' is, indeed, a fallacy. And quickly, before your people take your seat.

"That being said, I see the... persuasive... points of the opposition. While this should not wait long, revision is never unwelcome.

"I call this bill to a vote. Yays, for the current version of the bill; nay, and it will be sent to committee for revision and presentation at the beginning of our next session."

 

[Kalen]

Chancellor Auteme called for a vote. The Se'n Dorrin holed up in Reef Fortress waited for what seemed like hours to see the results. Some paced the floors of the Fortress, too restless to stay in one place. Others retreated to their own private corners. A few cried or raged. Kalen saw one man sit down and begin composing his last will and testament with an eerie calmness, though his lawyer's hands shook as he typed out the words.

Then, the final hour of voting drew near. The odds quickly began to look favorable, but only when the last vote was called and the ERA passed did Kalen dare to take his eyes off the hologram. All around him, his comrades cheered and howled and whooped for joy, embracing one another. But their leader turned his attention to Master Oukranos Cthylla, still kneeling on the floor.

"The bill has passed," he said. When Oukranos did not respond, he added, "You've fulfilled your end of the deal, Master Jedi."

Slowly, Oukranos opened his eyes. His gaze was unfocused, distracted. "...We won?"

"Yes. And what a glorious victory it is!" Kalen reached down and hauled the exhausted Jedi to his feet. "You ought to get going now. I'm sure your loved ones are eager to see you again."

"I—Yes." Oukranos steadied himself as well as he could. "I should go home. But what about you?"

"Now we must escape this place alive."

"I'll help you."

"No." Kalen clasped the Jedi's shoulders as if to physically restrain him. He didn't need to—the man was barely able to stand. "We must part ways now. We are going somewhere you cannot follow."

Oukranos' face fell, and the Hapan was struck by the almost childlike idealism of this particular Jedi, who had gone from being their prisoner to going out of his way to try and protect them. He had heard tales of spies who switched sides, but this one seemed unusually conflict-adverse. Perhaps it was cowardice, or something else he could not fathom.

"Will you face consequences for helping us upon your return?" Kalen asked out of curiosity.

The Jedi shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. But I don't regret being here." He stood a little taller, some hidden reservoir of strength flowing into his limbs. "I'll go."

"Thank you for all your help." Kalen released him, laying a hand over his heart in a gesture of gratitude. To his men he said, "Ensure the Master Jedi leaves the Fortress safely. And start the evacuation."

It was time for the Se'n Dorrin to abandon Reef Fortress. Let the Consortium have their pretty toy castle back. But Kalen would stay behind, fighting to the last, ensuring the rest were able to escape the swift and harsh retribution that was bound to follow. Perhaps his name would be remembered, or perhaps not. It did not matter to him. He had done what he set out to do. The men of Hapes, and all other men and women across the Alliance, were finally free.