Man of the People
Objective 1: Changing of the Guard
Location: CORUSCANT
The floodgates were open now. Dracken Pryce was back in his pod from Corellia, bringing an odd freshness with his old blood. Lodd Grimmin spoke again, not wasting an opportunity to remind the Senate that the Trade Federation cared more about their bottom line than the wellbeing of the people who comprised their client base. Kel rolled his eyes at the pretentious 13.3687% imposition, but paid it little mind for now; if the Dark Empire scorched the Core, Lodd and the rest of his friends would be just as screwed as the rest of the Alliance.
Senator Mecetti’s grim visage was the next to glide into the heart of the rotunda. He looked surprisingly well considering how close to death the man had appeared in recent months. Kel’s thoughts betrayed him for a moment as one of his wiry eyebrows quirked up. “I’ve never trusted that man,” the Bothan said quietly to his droid. She tilted her head slightly, humming her wordless agreement. He listened intently, though, despite his personal qualms with Casteban Mecetti and his questionable person. Then Alicio Organa joined the fray, voicing his support of Obulette’s concerns. One thing rubbed Kel the wrong way, however.
“It isn’t a lack of confidence in the Defense Force that’s prompted this relocation, Senator Organa,” he said. “It was at the behest of Command and the SIA that the move be made in the first place. Our military and intelligence offices are the ones who feel a shift in our physical housing is in order, and I’m inclined to vote in such a way that honors and respects what our strategists believe is right.”
He pushed his spectacles back up the bridge of his nose from where it slid down, eyeing the hologram of Senator Organa with a smugness that wasn’t quite like the old Bothan.
“Besides,” he said, “the fact that you’re approaching the chambers from the comforts of another worlds speaks volumes of our situation; Coruscant is no longer a safe refuge for our nation’s leaders. A diversion of our representatives, generals, and strategists could be the one thing that saves us. If the Dark Empire slaughters the Alliance’s leadership in one fell swoop, it won’t matter who lacks confidence in whom - we’ll all be dead or forced to capitulate to the enemy.”
Others agreed with him, too. The Hapan Queen Kha'la Daaray and Rens Ahim seemed likeminded in the need to relocate the Alliance’s headquarters, the latter even agreeing that Fondor was the best option. Including Pryce, Grimmin, and possibly Arcadius Balthazar that brought the vote to five in favor of Fondor. Kel was eager to see where others lay. He scanned the chamber, looking for others he’d worked alongside in the past. Lila Doneeta and Sonya Provost came to mind. Xasha Callisto too.
What came next for he and the rest of the Senate depended on those in attendance. Kel hoped, for all their sakes, cooler heads than Mecetti would prevail.