Rally of Resolve [The Republic]

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Geneviève did not like making an appearance exposed to the outdoors. There were too many possibilities--however unlikely--for some sort attempt to be carried out that might conclude with her head cleaved and smashed on the pavement. She had always been somewhat paranoid, but now she was Chief of the Galactic Republic Senate. There were countless people who suddenly would want her deader than dead. But she was Chief of the Galactic Republic Senate, and one of the three most powerful people ordained by the law. The people needed to see her.

So, with great reluctance, Chief Lasedri made her first ceremonial speech in the public square of Anaxes. The patriotic banners were raised around the perimeter of the square, their folds rippling in a warm afternoon breeze. A sort of fanfare was trumpeted in suit, to Lasedri's private annoyance.

The Chandrilan woman stepped up to the ray-shielded podium, scores of Senatorial Guards forming a protective barrier to all sides of her and the select government officials gathered with her, except between them and the crowds before them. Her all-white outfit--draping and skirted and topped off by what was becoming her signature sunhat--gleamed in the sunlight as she took her position at the forefront of everyone's attention.

Cams... They were everywhere. She bit her lip, sucking air deeply through her nose to placate herself. I guess this is the path I have accepted. A tight-lipped smile arose on her face, brown eyes softening slightly as she did her best to conjure an appealing image to the crowd. She was not the prettiest face to grace the Senate, but she looked a lot more pleasant these days than she had in quite some time. In time, there was no doubt such an appearance would fade. But, for now, looks might be considered important.

Gazing across the people assembled, Geneviève Lasedri addressed the worlds of the Republic. "People of the Republic," she greeted. Immediately, her eyes narrowed and tenacity erupted in her tone as she raised her right arm in the air and shouted, "Do you want to win?"

 

[The Upright Man]

[Theme]

Cafe's just weren't his cup of tea, he thought to himself as he sipped at a cup of tea in a cafe. Downtown was nice and everything, but the archaic streets of Nar Shaddaa or the neon city lights of Antecedent held a certain kind of beauty that couldn't be described. He continued to draw from his deathstick, or take a sip from his tea in-between the slits of his helmet that allowed for such, all the while he remained tuned to a display that was occurring not two city blocks down. In fact, he could hear it both on the screen in the cafe and outside.

"People of the Republic," he murmured silently to himself, watching the procession. The crowd was intense, but even so would Upright have attempted to kill her. Sure, her senate guard were many, and whilst a ray shield was active, that didn't defend her from solid objects. Such as a massive slug thrown from Lily's anti-materiel rifle, a rifle that was known to penetrate tanks, and during the Invasion of Alderaan, caused the tank to explode from its sheer impact. The Chief of Senate would turn into jelly if he asked Lily to shoot her, and Lily never misses.

He couldn't kill her like that, he mused. No, it had to be more private, more personal. He wanted her to see his face when he pulled the trigger. To gaze upon him and know true fear. He wanted to strip her of everything that brought love and life to her existence. As they said, give me an ambitious murderer over a fanatic. The first will only kill you for your position, the second will destroy everything and everyone you love. Upright was without a doubt, a fanatic. "I want to win."

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I was assigned to protect the Chief of Senate but in all honesty this was a chance to improve my diplomatic skills. I personally asked the counsel for this mission though if I knew better I would guess that things could turn ugly fast. I was not on stage with Chief [member="Geneviève Lasedri"] herself but rather in the crowd listening to what she had to say like the others that waited in anticipation.

The way that she talked with much confidence made me smile a little before the speech began but it dissipated as I felt a disturbance in the force. I looked around calmly in search of the disturbance but I could not see anything out of the ordinary. I knew one thing though, if the assassin wanted to kill her it had to show itself eventually.

I waited for that quietly for that moment but in the meantime I would listen to her declaration.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Fixx stood against a pillar in the right of the square; stood below some on the stairs above him, stood above others below and stood amongst more to either side. Some cheering, some clapping, some shaking their heads. Politics was beyond him – an agent of the Republic. He was here for one purpose; to ensure the Chief of the Galactic Republic Senate was safe.

After losing Coruscant to the Sith, and his home, Fixx had seen the result of the war up close. Not just affecting Factions, but also people he cared for, namely Kayleigh Tyven. He had left Kayleigh again, not that he wanted to, but duty called him here away from Tython. Taking this assignment was a way to help show the galaxy, and Kayleigh, that the Republic would not cower from tyranny and not hide away in the shadows.

Wearing a casual attire of khaki combat trousers and black polo shirt, his wrist-com was fixed to his left arm and his blaster tucked into his rear belt, under the top. Wearing dark sunglasses, he simply stood and observed the square. Sure, there were visible guards and even Jedi warriors around, but as they would probably deal with any large threat, Fixx could help the Chief of Senate get out of harm’s way and be one to ensure she was safe, and also that the Jedi didn’t lose any of their warriors who were so valued and respected.

He smiled gently at the Chief’s rousing speech that was getting the crowed fired up. She could certainly deliver the right words, but then that was the job; to motivate, to inspire and to lead. A perfect target for the enemy to take out and remove another heart beat from the Republic’s already fragile lifeline.


[member="Geneviève Lasedri"] [member="The Upright Man"] [member="Caleb Brolen"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera had landed on Anaxes a short time before the scheduled address to the Republic, and thought it wise to meld herself in with the rest of the gathered crowd, though slightly closer to the podium, in the event of something terrible going awry. The new capital of the Republic being so close to the now defunct Coruscant was concerning at best. The Jedi was uncertain how many others may be around, but she could feel the presence of at least one other that she was vaguely familiar with, [member="Caleb Brolen"].

Catching the eye of [member="Geneviève Lasedri"], she nodded, concentrated for a brief moment, and sent a short telepathic message despite knowing that the woman hadn't the ability to respond. You have protective eyes in the crowd, my lady. Fear not.

The Twi'lek ensured that her sabers were well hidden, aside from that, she looked as much an ordinary civilian as anyone else, and clapped in unison with the others as their spirits were bolstered.

[member="Fixx Kearney"] | [member="The Upright Man"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Somewhere out in the crowd was the blonde haired vagabond that had newly joined the Republic. She was more than busy being a little worker bee these days. The Republic cyber warfare division was woefully lacking to the point it almost made her cry from all the work she was having to do to try and get them up to snuff! Seriously, it was dreadful. A few people had the good sense to try and do something about their communications at least. That was more than most had. She still had to get their infrastructure up to date, though.

She busily typed away on her datapad, hacking into nearby cameras so that she could use them to scan the crowd and keep an eye on things. Of course she was humming to herself while she worked, and made sure to situate herself in a spot where no one could really see what it was she was doing. If she had more time on her hands she'd get her tech more up to speed, but that was going to take more time.

"Ahh, got it."

Now that she had control of various automated cameras around the area, she started surfing the crowd to look for any signs of agitation, or anyone that seemed abnormally calm. She'd learned that the really calm ones were often the worst. They were just waiting for the right time to explode, sometimes literally. So far she hadn't spotted anything out of the ordinary, but the speech had only begun, which meant that there was still a lot of time left for something to go wrong. She tapped her comms twice, on the Rebel frequency, to indicate that she was there. Her fellows would get the message.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] [member="Fixx Kearney"] [member="Caleb Brolen"] [member="The Upright Man"] [member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

Solan watched from the nearby landing that he stood on, his eyebrow raising at the choice of words from his friend. And even with the numerous guards and the ray shield, he didn't trust any jedi to protect his friend so sometimes she knew he shadowed her, and sometimes she didn't. This was one of those sometimes he didn't things as he looked around the place that he stood upon. After Makeb and the assault on his own life Solan had gotten paranoid for his and his friends safety, she had been directly responsible for the now five million credit bounty on her head and he himself a one hundred thousand bounty. He had no intention of either of thse happening.

So instead she just watched and when she said do you want to win he shouted with the crowd, whether his friend saw him or not didn't matter. Right now he looked like an average old citizen.

[member="Caaithiel Deschart"] [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] [member="Fixx Kearney"] [member="Caleb Brolen"] [member="The Upright Man"] [member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

In one of the nearby buildings was Haytham Kaze. He sat in one of those cafe's that had multiple floors. Haytham didn't usually attend these things, but until [member="Kiskla Grayson"] was located, then he'd make sure to go to these public announcements, or mass gatherings to keep the Jedi Grandmaster filled in when she made her reappearance to the Jedi Order and the Galaxy.

Clenching his fists momentarily, Haytham looked out the window to his side and watched [member="Geneviève Lasedri"].

Because losing is quite enjoyable.

How long will it take to win?

He sent a hand over his face and crossed his legs, he replaced the datapad that he had been inserting information in. I'll probably return to the Jedi Order here and learn some stuff. He shrugged to himself, preparing to make his leave of the area.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

It seemed like such an abrupt but emotional start had worked, as the crowd appeared to have accepted her and shout along. The Republic was desperate for some hope, and Geneviève hoped she could provide just that. Everyone needed hope--including herself.

"I'm going to take that as a 'yes'," she continued after the noise had died down a bit and she had lowered her fist, a smirk creeping across the edge of her mouth. Humor was not her strong point, but she could try--on occasion. "As you may know by now, I hail from Chandrila--a border world in this conflict if ever there was a border world. My home is under threat every second of every day while the Sith rage and monger fear few lightyears away. Because of this, you can rest assured that I have every intention of defending this Republic and slaying the beast in the process!

"We are fighting for our homes. And I know we can and will win! But the warriors on the frontlines are incapable of fighting this war alone. They are the best this galaxy has to offer, but they are nothing without this unity's infrastructure to support them." A political hologram was projected, boldly commanding to Keep them fighting!

"I know everyone is not physically able, or maybe your personal situation is dire and you can't pick yourself up and carry a weapon. But you can help," the Chief promised. "It is time that we engage in a war at home--people working together to produce food and weapons for our soldiers; companies that will be nested with the Republic to make this happen; everyone provided a job that they may one day boast to their children that they saved the Republic!" A couple of audio taps sounded off in her tiny earpiece, signaling that she had people indeed watching out for her physical welfare in the crowds. This brought consolation to Lasedri's inner nervousness, and her resolute smile became the slightest bit more genuine as she tried her best to rally the people.

[member="The Upright Man"], [member="Caleb Brolen"], [member="Fixx Kearney"], [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"], [member="Caaithiel Deschart"], [member="Solan Charr"], [member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Fixx casually looked left, to the majority of the crowd. Slowly scanning faces as he turned his head, nothing jumped out. Disgruntled people; supportive people. Confused people; excited people. The usual mix at a rally. Turning right towards the Chief of Senate, she was in full swing and her words resonated.

Looking down and responding to the Republic frequency on his wrist com, he noted others on the signal which meant others were around the area. That was good and fine. Just as it should be.

Folding his arms again, he shuffled his position to turn inwards to the pillar and keeping his view on the Chief, but with more scope over the crowd on both levels, ground floor and above, for trouble. It wasn’t guaranteed, but you could never be sure in the state of the galaxy at present.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"] [member="The Upright Man"] [member="Caleb Brolen"] [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] [member="Caaithiel Deschart"] [member="Solan Charr"] [member="Haytham Kaze"]