Chapter 2
The more news matriculated from Republic Defense Command and the Order, the better things looked for finally ending the horrible forced co-habitation imposed on them by the Empire's devious sneak attack twenty years ago. Woanosa knew why the interim Chancellor Paran Am-Ris had signed the accords. But what she didn't understand is why the successive Chancellors, beginning with Janarius, had gone to such lengths, endured such degredations, to perpetuate it. Even after the numerous exoduses of citizens fleeing the Empire arrived with horrific tales of oppression, including the Belsavis Massacre, when refugee ships carrying over ten thousand souls were destroyed within a light year of a Republic picket, the Republic seemed to do everything in its power to maintain this disastrous status-quo.
She put the final touches on her open floor speech before handing the datapad to Cetus to give it his fine tuned inspection. She steeped her hands under her chin and looked out at the passing skylanes of traffic. It was mid-morning and the lanes weren't as congested as they had been when she first sat down at sunrise to finish her speech. She loved Coruscant. It's penchant for grandeur never ceased to amaze her. She might've loved Alderaan even more, with its nearly pristine landscape and citizen's commitment to peace and the arts. Corellia, Anaxes, Esseles, she truly did love the Core. But that love never stopped her from marveling at its general aloofness, and often willful ignorance of anything taking place outside its well-manicured borders. She would often watch the traffic from here and wonder how many of these beings truly spared a thought for their fellow citizens trapped under Imperial rule. She knew she was being unfair; almost half of her political coalition was made up of Core or Colonies senators. And despite their commitment to freedom for all Republic citizens, she knew they would not be standing beside her today if it wasn't politically feasible for them to do so. Which meant at least a sizeable plurality of their own citizens also care about the plight of people like Cetus, who popped his boyish face into the room and flashed her an approving smile.
Woanosa sat on the plush couch of Hyporia's rostrum, aides on either side of her. She looked above her at the domed vaulted ceiling, with its oculus in the center letting in a shaft of daylight that settled on the Supreme Chancellor's dais. She took a moment to wonder how high that expandable dome would one day rise? How many systems would this Republic one day encompass? Really she was thinking of anyway she could take her mind off of the Jedi-hating, Imperial apologia, that was currently spewing forth out of the mouth of Fondorian junior Senator, Pyxus Medwito. She was on the extreme wing of an extremist faction, and at this moment Woanosa silently thanked the Force for her system's relatively recent admission to the Republic, which kept her high in the Senate's rafters and far away from that self-flagellating nonsense below. Thankfully, after three hours of listening to others speak, Woanosa would get her chance to rally this august body next.
"That is why we must authorize a diplomatic mission to return the body of the diplomat-"
"-spy!" one of Woanosa's allies corrected out of order.
"-the diplomat, the Jedi murdered in cold blood as an initial gesture in repairing our relationship with our Imperial partners!" she bellowed gripping the front of her rostrum to cheers and jeers in almost equal measure.
The Duros Sergeant-at-arms stood and banged his ceremonial staff on the floor of the Chancellor's dais. "Thank you Senator Medwito", he said as the young female senator inclined her head, and her circular hover-rostrum returned to its bay, almost directly behind where it had been.
"The Chair recognizes the senior Senator from Hypori".
Woanosa stood as their circular pod detached and glided down to in front of the dais.
"Thank you Chancellor" she said clearly as she pulled up her speech notes on her rostrum's in-built datapad. She never liked to use her verbatim speech. She liked an outline which gave her a little freedom to improvise.
She tucked some loose strands of her raven black hair behind her ear and looked out across the senate chamber. "Senators", then to the yellow cam droid hovering in front of her she added, "citizens", she paused, looking down for a long moment. Senators began to whisper. "I apologize. It's just that the word has never held such a superficial meaning then it does now."
She held up an old style durasheet tome. "Shares defines citizen as not only a being with legal member status in the Republic, but a being who acts in a way that benefits the whole of society. One who feels compelled to act in the best interests of his or her fellow citizens."
She put the book back down, and looked back into the camera. "I would say that by this definition, none of us have the right to call ourselves that."
The spy watched the senator's speech with a consuming interest. To attack the character of the voters was bold, and usually political suicide, but judging by the ovation this was going to be anything but. This was going to create problems. That, the spy knew for sure.