Open Coruscant A Vote of No Confidence

[Jin Vaisra]

Senate Building, Coruscant​

Open to Senators of the New Republic​

Jin Vaisra had long waited for this moment. Since he arrived in the Senate as a freshman politician five years ago, he had found the Chancellor’s leadership distasteful, to say the least. Under his bureaucracy, the New Republic had met multiple galaxy-shaking crises with inaction, indifference, and painstaking silence. It was an embarrassment, but until recently, there was no one who was suitable to replace him. That was no longer the case.

Now, today, Jin could finally carry the man he’d long despised to the threshold of the Senate Building and kick him through to unemployment. Now, he could finally make his move.

“Honorable delegates of the Senate,” Jin said, once he was recognized by the Speaker, “We in the New Republic find ourselves in a gross crisis of leadership. Or, shall I say, a lack thereof. Under Supreme Chancellor Owusaan, our great Republic has hibernated as the galaxy around it burns. The Sith invade worlds on the edges of Alliance space, and he does nothing. A virus that threatens all sentient life rages like a wildfire, and the Chancellor’s response is no less than a casual shrug.”

“Our good friends in the Independent Systems Consortium have responded to these crises. Just look how they build up their defenses and expand their borders! We should be doing the same! Perhaps their proactiveness is the reason their currency now eclipses ours on the galactic market. The Republic credit—another casualty of the Owusaan administration.” Here, he artfully paused to let his accusations and the practiced pain in his voice sink in.

“My friends, we cannot continue to allow this rampant inaction to stand. That is why I called this emergency session. Our Republic needs leadership—real leadership. And we will not get it from Chancellor Owusaan.” Jin leaned against his pod, his next words taking on a somber note. “I thereby move for a vote-of-no confidence, one to be taken up immediately so that we may begin the long work of getting our Republic back on track.”

 

[Emil Ro]

Emil had known this day was coming for some time. Back on Indupar, he and Jin had expressed the need for new leadership in the Republic, and that need had grown even more in the short time between then and now. This was the moment they finally saw their ambitions come to life. Supreme Chancellor Owusaan’s political lifespan had been long speculated before now, but now that speculation could be put to bed, and the New Republic would finally have a leader willing to guide it into a new era.

When Jin was done delivering his harsh critique of the Chancellor’s term, Emil rose in his Senate pod and tapped a button that would make him audible to the entire chamber. “Balmorra rises to concur with the Honorable Senator from Fondor,” he boomed. “Supreme Chancellor Owusaan’s leadership has been disastrous for our economy and for the morale of my constituents. I hereby second Senator Vaisra’s motion for a vote-of no-confidence in his leadership.”

@Feng Mian

 

[Sibyl Lassiter]

When she received a message announcing an emergency meeting, Sibyl rushed to the Senate building as fast as she could while wondering what this would be about, hopefully not a warning of an outbreak of AMS in one of the Core Worlds.

Seated in the pod designed for the Brentaalan delegation, while wearing an open back beaded dark blue dress, she paid close attention to the speech of Senator Vaisra about casting a vote-of-no-confidence over Supreme Chancellor Owusaan. Sibyl could say that she was surprised, but that would not be true. From what she knew about Jin and his opinions about the Chancellor, it was a matter of time until something like that happened.

"Well, it was unexpected," said Dongwa, her C4T-Series Droid, after the Senator of Fondor finished his speech. Soon Senator Emil Ro rose up and started his own speech in support of the vote "It seems that Senator Ro of Balmorra also supports the vote-of-no-confidence. I wonder if they planned it together." the droid said. This was possible, after all these two senators seem to have some sort of friendship.

"This is madness!" her aide, Tristodd, started to say his opinion "A vote-of-no-confidence against the Chancellor can cause instability to the Republic! Senator, are you going to support that?" he looked at her with an astonished face, which made the Senator think that if his family wasn't so influential in Brentaal, she would already have dispatched the annoying Tristodd back to their planet. Sibyl did not answer him, Eder Owusaan as Chancellor did nothing to stop the spreading of the AMS or against the Sith's expansion. Even more important, Owusaan did nothing to help the Republic credit stand against the ISC currency, which was causing problems in the economy of several planets, including Brentaal. He needed to be removed.

After Senator Emil Ro finished his speech, the Brentaalan Senator rose up from her seat and activated the pod's microphone "I must agree with my colleagues, the Senators of Fondor and Balmorra. Supreme Chancellor Eder Owusaan watches passively while the Republic's economy suffers and the AMS ravages several planets, killing billions!" She stopped briefly, watching the reaction of the other Senators "His inaction also allowed the Sith to expand their borders. Will he only act when the AMS kills half of the sentient life of the Galaxy? Or when the Sith's fleet appears over the sky of Coruscant, prepared to subjugate the Republic with their tyranny? Is desiring to prevent such terribles scenarios that I as representative of Brentaal give my support to Senator Vaisra’s motion for a vote-of-no-confidence in Chancellor Owusaan's leadership.”

@Feng Mian

 

[Eder Owusaan]

There had been a sentiment growing amongst his fellow representatives within the New Republic senate that he should be replaced. A small part of his mind wondered if he wouldn't feel just the tiniest bit of relief if he were to be removed from the position of Chancellor. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed entirely by all of the unyielding rage he felt about how ungrateful the treacherous scum were being.

To attempt to vote him out of office?

These people wouldn't even have offices to hold if it hadn't been for him, keeping the lumbering beast of the New Republic going through sheer force of will. Where was all this enthusiasm for literally anything else? Where was all this ambition when they needed to pull the New Republic up by it's bootstraps and outshine the FWA and the other upstarts?

Of course they had none. No, far easier to simply hang back, avoid committing to any course of action and then blame him for the success of others with the support of their officials. Eder didn't outwardly show any of his rage, merely waiting for them to get to the actual point. They wanted the spectacle and they could have it but he refused to show them his anger and he refused to give the media any hint of blood in the water.

He affected a very effective mask of calculated boredom as the senator from Fondor droned on about his alleged missteps. That the senators from Balmorra and Brentaal also backed him was... irritating but not unexpected. Vaisra would not have dared to bring such a vote to the senate without first having formed a voting bloc. If it had been entirely surprising then no one would have seconded the motion out of sheer surprise.

No, this was planned.

He stepped forward to his microphone.

"The senate will, of course, hold the vote of no confidence as it has been called for, seconded and verified a third time." he declared firmly, "But before you cast your votes, my fellow delegates, I would speak. Though the senators from Fondor, Balmorra and Brentaal have spared little in the way of vitriol to make their case, I reserve the right to respond."

Chancellor Owusaan turned his gaze to the rebellious senators.

"You claim my leadership has thrown the Republic into chaos - but you would see our great Republic headless at a time when we need leadership most. A temporary Chancellor would be a sign of weakness on a Galactic scale that none of you seem capable of comprehending. It is to be expected, none of you can claim the experience I can." he continued, doing his best to appear humble as he raked them over the same coals they used on him, "I'm certain that the esteemed senators believe that one of them will rise to the occasion, that the Galaxy will allow them a reprieve from the harsh realities of politics in order for them to get their feet wet."

His eyes narrowed.

"And I'm certain that the three senators calling for my resignation only call attention to the lack of total war against the Sith out of concern for our morals and values... and certainly I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that a shift to a war economy would facilitate a rapid recovery of Fondor, with it's famous shipyards, Balmorra with it's passable collection of weapons factories and Brentaal with it's close trade links to them both." he sneered at the end as he turned to the other senators, "They call for an increase in aggression, in war, because it will line their own pockets. Because it will shift credits from the hands of your planets, your citizens, to their own coffers. They do not call for me to stand down out of concern for the Republic - they call for me to stand down because I will not enable them to push for rampant favoritism of their planets!"

Eder slammed his hand on his pod.

"And nor shall I ever! As Chancellor of this Grand New Republic I will be the steady, experienced, hand that will guide us out of this slump as a whole, as a collective - as a Republic rather than as a collection of war-profiteers looking to sacrifice the lives of your young sentients to feed their own, flagging, economies." he took half a step back from the microphone, "Senators of the New Republic, you must vote as your conscience and your people demand of you. And you must understand the consequences of honeyed words of war and a miraculous recovery from both AMS and our current economic slump... if only you trade away your sovereignty to a Consortium of morally bankrupt iron mongers."

He stepped back fully from the microphone, prepared for the vote. It would be a vote - not a debate. They had said their piece and he had argued his own. All he could do was let the Senate decide.

 

[Emil Ro]

"It's funny you speak of shifting credits after what your administration has done to the value of the Republic credit, Chancellor," Emil said, standing. Already, he was slipping into the carefully crafted mask all good politicians wore. "This vote represents not a beheading of New Republic leadership, but a reclamation of that leadership by the governed."

He punched a switch on his Senate pod, the first to vote after the Chancellor opened the measure to be decided upon. "Let the record show that Balmorra votes in favor of removing the Chancellor and electing a new one."

 

[Sibyl Lassiter]

After the pitiful speech made by Chancellor Eder Owusaan and Senator Emil Ro casting the first vote in favor of Owusaan's removal, Sibyl rose from her seat and walked with elegance to where the microphone stayed, activating it "It's interesting, My Lord, that you accuse us of beheading the New Republic, when during your leadership it seems that it never had a head." she said, her voice full of irony. "Your impetus to defend yourself is admirable, but were was it when the AMS started to ravage the Galaxy? You are fast in accusing us of wanting a war against the Sith, but seems to forget that was your apathy that allowed them to become a threat to the democracy."

She pressed a switch on her Senate pod "I, as the representative of Brentaal, vote in favor of removing Eder Owusaan from the office of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and in support of the election of a new one."

 

[Jin Vaisra]

The die was cast. Chancellor Owusaan had failed to stop the vote-of-no confidence as well as the first several tallies in removing him. He would also fail to stop the third, as Jin rose in support of his own motion. He could have simply pressed the button indicating his support for Owusaan’s removal, but Jin being who he was, couldn’t resist getting in a final jab.

“You’re right, Chancellor,” he said. “We do need leadership at this time, which is precisely the reason you must go. Unsurprisingly, Fondor lends its vote to unseat the Chancellor and elect a new one in his place.”

Jin would have liked to say a few words about his straw man argument. The baseless accusations. Nobody had said anything of war, only militarization. After all, a strong military was the Republic’s highest guarantee of peace, a buffer to force the Sith to think twice about invading too deep into allied space.

As for the Chancellor’s allegations that this vote was meant to strengthen Fondor’s shipyards and Balmorra’s weapons factories, he wasn’t wrong—but he was about their intentions. Every world had the opportunity to benefit from this shift toward mobilization. Kuat would have significantly more to gain than Fondor, and Carida could again see fresh bodies in their naval academies and docking facilities. Owusaan was just one man clinging desperately onto power he didn’t deserve to wield.

So, with his piece said, Jin slumped back into the vinyl seating of his pod and awaited the results of the vote. He had one last part to play in all this, and he sensed that moment was coming sooner than later.

 

[Eder Owusaan]

The tallying of the votes occurred without further comment from the Chancellor himself - unlike his political opponents, he had said his piece and cut himself off as he had said he would. That they could not let the sting from his words go unanswered spoke poorly of their emotional control as far as he was concerned. Eder himself merely sat back within the seat afforded to him as the representative of his world and waited.

He cared not for their protestations that they were not motivation by their own ambitions and their warmongering. That they had loftier intentions did not disguise them because seeking flowers while wading through shit didn't remove the stink. And these people? They were up to their eyeballs in their own shit.

One of the aides of the Chancellor - the office of the Chancellor and not his own, personal, aides - moved to the front of the podium and addressed the senate of the New Republic.

"The votes for those senators who have deemed this vote worthy of their attention..." - a not so subtle dig at the number of senators who had simply not arrived for the session or refrained from voting there - "... are in. By a comfortable majority, Chancellor Eder Owusaan is requested by this senate to forswear the position of Chancellor of the New Republic. Eder Owusaan; do you so swear?"

A formality.

A holdover to make sure that the risk of a "Palpatine" situation was always brought to the forefront of the collective mind of the senate. Eder nodded once before standing to make his final address.

"Before I was Chancellor, I did my duty by my people and by the senate of the New Republic. Though I do not agree with those who shall now prepare to vote on the new Chancellor of the New Republic - I respect their right to do so and would die to defend it. I will return to my private estates now but remember that I have served." he bowed his head, "I will be of service."

Stepping away, Eder would leave the pod as the aide of the office of the Chancellor called out once more.

"We shall now begin the voting of a new Chancellor. You may not nominate yourself; there shall be a brief, ten minute, recess for you to make your case to your fellow Senators in an informal setting. The Senate is hereby dismissed for the duration of said recess."

@Feng Mian @LouJoVi @Mockingjay

 

[Jin Vaisra]

As the recess was called and the Senate descended into furious squabbling, Jin quietly departed from his pod and made his way toward Senator Lassiter in the outside hall. It didn't take very long to find her, dressed in a sparkling blue dress encrusted with silver jewels. Knowing he had very little time to spare, he offered a short bow, ignoring pleasantries and diving right into business.

“I was pleasantly surprised to find your support, Senator Lassiter, in ousting the Chancellor from office. Without you, I’m not quite sure we could have pushed the motion through.” Jin flashed a warm smile. “Of course, we’re not finished yet. Now that Owusaan is out of the picture, I intend to paint a new one. For the sake of the galaxy, and for Brentaal, I pray you will do right by supporting my nomination.”

It was a plea, a request—an undercurrent of a threat. Jin had been planning for this day longer than anyone could imagine, hoping to secure the future of Fondor and the Vaisra family. He had no intentions of leaving the Senate chamber without succeeding in what he’d set out to do five years ago.

---​

Once the Senate was called to order, Jin was the first to rise. Chin lifted to the light, he spoke to the array of senators before him, his voice resonant and clear through the chamber. “With the removal of former Chancellor Eder Owusaan, my trust in this Republic is restored, and my faith made whole again.”

“Today, I chose not to be an idle spectator to a failing government, but an active participant in its glorious future. With the road cleared, we have an opportunity to drive into a new era of discovery and mutual prosperity. However, it is strongly in my belief that there is only one man fit for the job. One senator who can bring this Republic out of the dark.”

Jin nodded, as if his words were more fact than opinion. “For the position of Chancellor, I nominate Senator Ro, of Balmorra.”

His little play at theatrics over, he fell back into his seat. Others may have thought Jin would be the one to seize office, given his own ambitions and the fact he'd called this session in the first place, but that wasn't the case here. Even if Senator Ro hadn't expected the nomination, Jin truly believed that repugnant, walking mop handle would be this Republic's future.

And as he locked eyes with him from across the Senate chamber, he could only smile. Surprise, asshole.

@LouJoVi @Wit @Mockingjay

 

[Emil Ro]

Emil had no more than slumped down into his pod, fresh from the Senate lavatories, when Jin Vaisra of Fondor dropped six words that brought his whole world to a standstill.

I nominate Senator Ro, of Balmorra.

There was no way he could have prepared for this. Even Joost was looking at him, wide-eyed and pale. It wasn't the potential that shocked him—becoming the Supreme Chancellor had always been the goal of Emil's political career. But he had never expected to hear the nomination uttered from the mouth of the Senator from Fondor. If anything, he expected the two of them to duel for the position in some future election. That no longer appeared destined to happen. For it was Emil who was named, and Jin Vaisra who supported him.

"Say something," Joost hissed, snapping Emil back to reality.

Emil rose, and though his shock must have been written on his face for all of a second, he quickly pulled on the practiced politician's mask that had won him so many elections on Balmorra. He stepped up to his podium, triggered the mic, and let his voice sing across the Senate chamber.

"Honorable representatives of the Senate," he began. "I must confess my shock at the unexpectedness of this nomination. The good senator from Fondor does me a great honor in supporting my candidacy to the Chancellory." Just saying those words made Emil want to vomit. He would pay Vaisra back for them, every cent. "The challenges that face us are many. My colleagues and I have enumerated but a few today, but make no mistake they are not all that face our grand Republic. As a Balmorran, I am no stranger to hardship and challenges. That is why, with great humility, I accept the Honorable Senator's nomination to this most-important-of-all positions. And, if elected, I will make our Republic strong again!"

He finished, stepping away after quieting his mic, and sank down next to Joost, feeling every nerve in his body tingle. For an off-the-cuff speech, it had been the best he could give. Now, his fate was in the hands of his fellow senators. @Feng Mian @LouJoVi @Wit

 

[Sibyl Lassiter]

After the recess was called, Sibyl exited her pod and walked in the direction of the Senate hall, being followed by Dongwa and Tristodd. Before she could reach it, the Brentaalan Senator was intercepted by Senator Jin Vaisra, who greeted her with a short bow before starting to talk. The last part of his speech made Sibyl raise an eyebrow. Was Jin Vaisra threatening her?

“Senator Vaisra, I was only doing my duty as representative of the people of Brentaal. Eder Owusaan’s administration, or rather the lack of it, was a problem that needed to be dealt with. Supporting your motion was the only right thing to do” she smiled at him “As for supporting the nomination that you will make, before saying anything I would like to hear how you're going to present and defend it to the Senate. After all, this is how democracy works.” Sibyl smirked at him and started to walk away. Of course she would give her support, they discussed it previously. However, for now she would leave him with doubts. A small punishment, for his veiled threat.

~~~~​

After the recess ended, the Fondorian Senator was the first to speak and announced the nomination of Senator Emil Ro of Balmorra. Sibyl noticed Tristodd open his mouth in surprise. “I didn’t expect Senator Vaisra to nominate Senator Ro. They always seemed to dislike each other.” before he could continue, Ro rose from his seat and made a speech accepting his nomination to the Chancellery.

After he returned to his seat, Sibyl rose from her seat and activated the microphone “Honorable colleagues of the Senate. Now we are in a crucial moment for the future of the Republic. We need to elect someone that will not watch passively while our democracy face threatens by all sides. We need someone that will act!” she made a pause, watching the reaction of the other senators “And I believe that Senator Emil Ro is the man of action that we need at this moment. Due to that, I vote in support of him as the next Supreme Chancellor” she pressed a button in the pod, this way casting her vote.

While returning to her seat, Sibyl smiled while thinking how ironic and comic this situation was. A man who claims to be a descendant from the Nihils, a group that was a thorn in side of the Republic of old, is now being voted as the possible next Chancellor. Lina Soh must be turning in the grave!

@Feng Mian @Mockingjay @Wit

 

[Caliban Drast]

Caliban had quietly voted in favor of the motion of no confidence, having opted to not speak up on the matter. It was not his place, and given the rumors about the more bizarre proposals being brought up in the Galactic Senate, it was probably best for him to not bring unwanted attention to this matter. This was something that needed to happen, and his voice was not one that needed to be involved in the conversation. Not speaking was the way to avoid unwanted controversy and support what was right.

This second vote though was a different matter, he knew the significance of the planet he represented, and he would not deprive Senator Ro of that support. Where Coruscant went many Core worlds followed, and Ro would have their full backing. "Coruscant votes in favor of Senator Ro's nomination." He stood for all but a few seconds, but he caught they eyes of a few other Senators around him, some allies, some just opportunists aligning themselves with Coruscant. Either way, they too would vote with him.

@Feng Mian @Mockingjay @LouJoVi

 

[The Gatekeeper]

The senate was recalled from the agreed upon recess and order was rather quickly restored. This was a meeting of the New Republic senate that clearly had no time for grandstanding or massive political rallies for individual senators; they were united behind the purpose of ensuring they elected a new Chancellor as soon as possible.

As much as Eder had been reviled by certain parts of the senate, the man had raised a good point that a leaderless New Republic was far weaker than it should be. Thankfully, for the New Republic at large, it seemed that this was a concern note, shared and accounted for by many of the senators in attendance, with none of them being surprised that they were asked to almost immediately elect a new Chancellor.

It seemed that the time had been used wisely to put aside typical political differences and a candidate had been put forward - quickly accepting the nomination and the wash of positive votes that came along with it. The aides of the office of the Chancellor tallied the votes raised both by those who had spoken and those who had cast their votes silently via their datapads.

The numbers agreed.

"Honorable Senator Emil Ro; a majority of the Senate of the New Republic has voted to elect you to the position of Chancellor of that same Republic." the aide announced, the sound booming out as every other microphone was silenced save for Emil's own so that he might respond, "Senator Ro, do you accept the responsibility, the burden and the honor of becoming Chancellor of this Republic?"

 

[Emil Ro]

I won.

The words were his, but in his daze, they sounded far away, foreign, as if they belonged to another. But they were his—he had won. Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic. He shuffled forward, taking his mic by muscle memory, and leaning on his dais as if it were the only solid object in the whole fucking galaxy. He composed himself quickly. He had no speech prepared for this moment, but a good politician always found the words they needed to suit them in the moment.

"I love democracy," he said sheepishly, as though the burden of his new position were already upon him. "I love the Republic. It is indeed a great burden and a great honor to assume the mantle of Supreme Chancellor. A burden and honor I do not accept lightly. But I do accept them. The power you have all vested in me, I shall use to make our Republic strong again. That is my promise to each of you who voted for me, and even those who voted against me, as well as the trillions of beings watching from across the Republic."

"Centuries ago, my ancestor, Marchion Ro, led the Nihil raiders against the Old Republic. The catastrophes he wrought are written with shame in our history books. But look now! A scion of the Nihil has risen to the highest office of the scion of that old Republic. That is the transformative power of our great democracy, and I will fight to my last breath to ensure that democracy and its power to heal and transform are preserved for generations to come!"

He paused, a practiced maneuver, meant to give his words some weight. He surveyed the room, his eyes landing on Jin in his distant pod. Emil's eyes twinkled. I see you, douchebag, he thought. This skirmish of ours is far from over.

"We have work to do, my friends, so I will not keep you any longer. Let us go from this historic moment as one Republic, united against the growing dark!" @Feng Mian @Wit @LouJo