if they're watching anyways
“Good morning, my friends.
“We come together today to remember – to mourn, to celebrate. Five years ago today, the Brotherhood of the Maw came to Coruscant. Galactic City, set ablaze; the very heart of our nation, burning. It seemed impossible. A man I and the Alliance had put so much trust in transformed in an instant into the Dark Lord of the Sith, and with him he brought fleets to this world to lay it low.
“I know I don’t need to go into detail. I know. I know your loss, your pain, your suffering. I saw the Jedi Temple sacked, the Senate Dome split open. I saw the fires burning across this brilliant world. I saw the injured, the dead, the lost. This Alliance has known no greater day of pain in all its history.
“The-” she stopped, realizing her voice had begun to waver, and tears had begun to well up in her eyes. Surprised, she wiped them away, and took a moment to steady herself.
“The first time I entered the Chancellor’s office – it was before I myself was elected, before I was a Senator, or even a representative. I was still young, and had been given the enormous privilege to meet our first Chancellor, Emmen Tagge. I found him looking out the vast window that overlooks this very Plaza. He described to me the horrors of the past. Sith-Imperial Star Destroyers, hanging above where we stand today; every building of our skyline razed twice over. He described the terrible men who must have stood in the Chancellor’s office, overlooking the destruction they’d wrought.
“Yet, at the same time, he marveled at it. This beautiful city, this beating heart of the Alliance, of the galaxy. How many times has it been rebuilt? How many invaders have been driven out? How vast a resolve must these people have, time and time again, to face hardship and horror and tragedy and terror, and still take up the mantle of freedom?
“In the days after the attack, I felt the very same, as that young girl standing and looking out at this city. Awe. In a vast current I was swept up by such enormous strength and resolve, more than even the most powerful people in the galaxy; that was the strength of this Alliance. To think this city has been built up once more, strong as ever, even with tragedy so recent; I am filled with an indescribable faith and hope.
“Every time a tyrant took to the Chancellor’s office, a trillion voices rose in unison to tell them no. Every time a Sith came to strike this world down, a trillion hands joined to push them back. Every time Coruscant has been set ablaze, it turned the fires of tragedy into the bright beacon of hope.
“That is a power beyond anything in the galaxy. Every time I look out onto Coruscant, I am humbled and awed by that strength.
“On days like these – in times like these – it is easy to be lost in despair. When I remember those I’ve lost, my heart breaks in a way that cannot be mended. But today is a day for remembering other things. Today we remember the love for those we have lost. Today we remember the fear, the horror, the pain we have suffered. Then, today, we remember the strength that brought us out of those times.
“It is a strength we have never lost – but we must always remember to use it. Together.”
Her hands reached out, gesturing to the vast number of metal and concrete statues that were now scattered across the Plaza – and all of Coruscant itself. Made from excess materials salvaged from the ruins of the attack, each statue depicted a humanoid (or, occasionally, another more alien body) with blank features, standing tall, one arm outstretched to the sky, raised hand curled into a fist. Many of them have already been painted or modified – members of the public are invited to decorate these statues in any way they see fit, save outright desecration.
“I find no more fitting way to remind us than the monuments unveiled today. Each of these statues represents our lost loved ones and the strength they have left behind. Though we have lost, we will never forget; this tragedy must only bring us closer together. Community, unity, there lies our strength. Without each other we are lost, weak; together we can build back from any wound, face any foe, and push forward to a better Alliance.
“Thank you.”
Auteme stepped down from the podium and joined her small security escort, and soon began wandering the field of statues. For the rest of the Alliance, the day was deemed a national holiday; time to reflect, mourn, and renew one’s strength.
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