Chapter 114: Time to Speechify!
Warning! Chapters 111-114 were all posted back-to-back! Make sure you start in the right place!
Chapter 114: Time to Speechify!
- Tyche Central – 330 Days into the Hutt Crusade-
Izuku braced himself as he stepped out into the middle of the large chamber. Despite not wanting to ape the Republic Senate, there were only so many ways to set up an arena for a large legislative body. Still wanting to put their own spin on things, the designers of the new meeting hall for the Council of Free Worlds had accepted that the near-standard ‘horseshoe’ arrangement for such places was inevitable, yet leaned into some of the unique technology available in the League to help differentiate it. Instead of the hovering platforms of the Republic Senate, they’d settled on hard-light platforms that extended out from entrances labeled for each world represented. All with the ability to be programmed with emblems, flags, or other symbols that represented each world.
Admittedly, the result was both impressive looking…and would likely result in a few panic attacks from less courageous politicos who were forced to step out onto a Hard Light disk over empty air to address the chamber. The entire chamber was rigged to allow the combining of such disks, or the creation of pathways and platforms so that one could literally pace in mid-air as you gave a speech, or approach the Sovereign’s Throne (so named despite his own protests) via an air-bridge. The result was just as visually impressive as the designers had hoped, but would likely make more than a few politicians nervous to use the system, despite the many safeties built into the entire thing. Izuku personally suspected anyone with a fear of heights or falling was going to be quickly disqualified from office by inability to attend sessions without a panic attack.
He was extremely glad he’d never suffered that particular fear himself, as he walked the only physical path in the entire chamber. One that led directly to the ‘throne’ which he wasn’t all that pleased with the existence of. Someday, he hoped to completely separate the legislative branch from the executive arm the Sovereign was in charge of, replicating the democratic systems he was most familiar with from Earth. That, unfortunately, was still a hope for the far future, as there were still only one hundred worlds represented here today. Precious few of the former Hutt worlds had enough government to them for proper representation just yet, and some of the previously unaligned border worlds were barely better. There were far more with stable governments among the formerly independent or Republic worlds acquired during their political tour, yet they were being very careful about potentially unbalancing things by introducing too many of those too fast. It would be far too easy for the former Hutt worlds to end up as poorly represented within the Council as the Outer Rim was within the Republic Senate.
The result, at least for now, was that thirty-three of the worlds with representation were formerly Hutt worlds, the same amount were former independent worlds, and the final major block of thirty-three were former Republic worlds. The final world was, of course, Tythe itself. Which was, while technically represented by the same sized contingent as the others, pretty definitively first among equals. No perfect solution truly existed to granting utterly fair voting power, at least not that Izuku had ever heard of, but the League had decided on a Tier system. Tier 1 worlds had only a single vote at the table, and were defined by low population and limited economic output, but with a fully functioning government. Tier 2 worlds got an extra vote, achieving their tier by contributing in a major way to either the Economy, Military, or Core Industries.
Contribution could be in many forms, so even an agriworld could contribute to the Military or Core Industries in particular by helping supply needed food for said military, or to support the League via Core Industry exports. Aka, selling a certain quantity of output to either other League worlds that needed it, or to established League trade partners at pre-defined rates. Any world could go up to a maximum of Tier 4, gaining an additional vote per tier, by supplying contributions to all three categories in addition to its base vote. Currently, Tythe was the only Tier 4 world in the League, but there were already several Tier 2s and two Tier 3 worlds.
Imperfect, but still a lot fairer than the Republic had become. Particularly as your world’s Tier did not affect how the laws applied to your world or how well your world was defended. It only granted greater say in overall League policy. Something which, as the League was more of a Federation than anything, with a lot of local autonomy in how worlds ran themselves, was an adequate carrot for the time being. The Council would, after all, be setting things like general trade rules, required education standards, expected minimum legal protections that carried across all League worlds, and so on. All things that any sane world would want to have a say in if they could. Most such measures would be temporary for now, of course, since only a fraction of the League had proper representation. That only made for a stronger imperative for most worlds to get themselves sorted out before things became to set in stone, though. So that was fine.
Pushing all of that aside as he came to a stop in front of the Sovereign’s Throne, Izuku didn’t sit. Instead, he turned to face the few hundred people and cameras present. Every representative was present, most of them with the two aides they were allowed each, and a few observers boxes were full as well. Some with official persons, such as Padmé, others with press or potential future representatives from worlds still working on straightening out a government or finalizing their agreements to join. Pitching his voice to perfectly carry with the microphone and speaker setup, drawing on orator skills that he’d copied from others to cover for his own lack of talent in that area, Izuku spoke.
“Welcome, gentlebeings all, to the inaugural meeting of the Council of Free Worlds. While I would usually prefer to get right into a working session, given the weight of this occasion, a few words are perhaps appropriate.”
Pausing to let the anticipation build for a few heartbeats, he did his best not to show how much he hated speeches as he continued on.
“Our goal, as a people, is to seek freedom for the oppressed, and to protect those who seek shelter under our aegis from any who would seek to oppress them again. This Council is not the first step, nor is it the last. Just as this Council is taking over from the Liberty Council that began the Hutt Crusade, bringing more complete and fair representation to the worlds of the League of Free Stars, so too will our own actions here spawn still more apparatuses. A full judiciary, a fully realized treasury, a war office, and more. To build a new power in the galaxy is not an undertaking to be begun lightly, but all of those here today are in agreement with the need to do so.”
Another brief pause, to let what he’d said so far settle in and allow various translators to catch up.
“Our people are, almost to the last being, made up of the underrepresented and disenfranchised. The disillusioned, the cynical, and the formerly oppressed. Yet, for all their cynicism and all the horrors many of your worlds have endured, you remain. You remain, unbroken and now unfettered. The chains of your pasts have been shattered, a hope for a better future kindled in the hearts of men, women, and others alike.”
One final pause, and a very mild push with the Force to help the import of his next words settle firmly. Not to influence, but to enhance. He wanted this moment to live sharply in the minds of all those present for the rest of their lives, however long or short they might be.
“On this day, we take not the first, but certainly an important step forward in living up to our name. We are the Council of Free Worlds, representing the League of Free Stars, and it is into our charge that is placed the fate of untold billions. Both those living now, and those who are yet to come. Go forward with pride, surety, and a thirst for wisdom, knowing that your actions from today onward will shape the very galaxy through which trillions trod. May the Force be with you all, and may a righteous light forever shine forth to guide your steps.”
One last sweeping gaze around the chamber, and Izuku turned with deliberation to settle into the Throne. Saying just one more thing as he settled into his role as, primarily, an observer here. Hopefully.
“Speaker Rotsino, the chamber floor is yours.”
Esa Rotsino nodded to him and, with a firm step, took her own place at the largest disk that resided dead center in the chamber, just below the Sovereign’s Throne. By practical need, she was the First Speaker, who would guide the session. Though her very first task would be to start the process of replacing herself, as she was first and foremost meant to be their ambassador to the rest of the galaxy, not the head of their legislative branch. That would take time, given they needed to define the process of such selection before it could even begin. But that was alright, the important thing was that the ball was rolling now. Soon enough, there would be a proper government that he could offload oodles of his paperwork onto.
He was very much looking forward to that, thank you very much…
… … …
- Coruscant – Mid 24 BBY -
– 1 Year to the day from the start of the Hutt Crusade -
A decade ago, Esa Rotsino hadn’t had any inkling that she would one day be addressing the Republic Senate. Given her own political skills and who her cousin was, she might have believed you if you’d said she’d someday stand in the Abrion Sector’s Senate platform. Perhaps as an aide, or even just as a favor to see what the Senate was like for herself while visiting her cousin for a vacation. Abrion Major, even the entire Abrion Sector, had never been a mover or shaker, the sector being home mostly to agriworlds and quite unimportant in galactic politics. So the idea Esu would let her little cousin into a session, where she was unlikely to even speak, would have been at least believable.
The last few years, since Abrion Major and other worlds in their sector had first come into contact with the force of nature that was Izuku Midoriya, had changed things in ways that younger version of her could never have imagined.
For that matter, she didn’t think Esu had understood what a saber cat she’d let loose on their poor, unsuspecting sector, when she’d first enthusiastically accepted Izuku’s offers to help build up the industry of several of their worlds. That industry, focused on allowing them to cut out the Core World and Trade Federation influences and properly process their agricultural exports locally, had massively improved life for the entire sector. The worlds of Abrion Major, Gibad, Tieos, and Ukio were all major agriworlds which, added to a dozen minor ones in the sector, actually provided the breadbasket for several thousand worlds Coreward of them.
Yet, they’d all been relatively poor despite that, as the same worlds they’d fed had made a concerted effort to make trade between the Abrion Sector worlds and the Core hideously unequal. They were up charged massively for all the materials they needed to keep their massive agricultural works running, refused any chance to build up their own home-grown industry to offset that, then screwed over a third and fourth time by deliberately suppressive taxes and high costs for transport of their goods. Izuku had cut through the entire ‘Gordan knot of bullshit,’ his words not theirs, by bringing in both the industry and shipping concerns they needed to take the teeth out of the efforts to keep them suppressed.
He hadn’t even tried to force a monopoly, actively aiding Abrion Major in particular with the construction of a modest shipyard that could produce home-grown freighters. He’d even gone a step still farther by helping finance a number of locally-owned shipping concerns that meant they could slowly grow out of the need to lean on him and his businesses. These days, nearly a third of the sector’s product actually shipped in freighters owned at least fifty-one percent locally. Freighters that could, in turn, buy and ship much of what they still needed from the Core back to the sector for reasonable prices.
The changes this had wrought for the sector as a whole were almost difficult for everyone in it to wrap their heads around.
Even now, the sector wasn’t wealthy by Core World standards, of course. For that matter, it might never be. Yet, by Mid Rim standards, they’d gone from ‘scraping by’ to ‘actually influential.’ They were experiencing a boom economy and thoroughly enjoying sticking it to many of the Core Worlds that had screwed them over in the past. The fact that they now also had plenty of other markets they could reach meant that, even if those worlds tried to threaten them by just not buying, it would barely be a temporary blip for Abrion’s growing economy. They still might not be truly important, by galactic standards, but people at least now had to listen to them when they spoke.
That alone would have been enough of a rapid, whirlwind change of fortunes to cause whiplash in the population of the sector.
Then, Esu and her fellows had learned just how badly they’d underestimated the saber cat they’d thought was a prized bantha.
Esa remembered her thoroughly drunk cousin calling in the middle of the night, rambling about a ‘stupidly important but very crazy’ job that she’d wanted Esa to drop everything and take. Esa hadn’t seen her cousin drink enough to be impaired by it since her university days, and had been equally concerned and baffled. Doubly so when, despite being three sheets to the wind, her cousin had still somehow had the wherewithal to be tight-lipped over the comm.
The visit she’d made the next day had nearly driven Esa into the same bottle her cousin had temporarily climbed into.
After all, it wasn’t every day that you were let in on a plan to start a war with the Hutts…and shown proof that the people planning it had the firepower to make a serious go at it.
Her life had become one kriff of a wild ride after she’d recovered enough from her shock to decide that she wanted in. Sometimes a thrilling ride, sometimes a terrifying one, with ups and downs that beggared belief and might have given her grey hair early, if not for access to beyond-bleeding-edge medical care that had come right along with everything else.
A year ago today, her work, along with the work of tens of thousands of others, had come to fruition when the newly revealed League of Free Stars had taken Nal Hutta in a lightning raid no one had seen coming. An assault that had cut the head off the Hutt’s government, kicking off a campaign that now had them in control of 90 percent of former Hutt Space. Even the Hutt’s throne worlds were now under slow but steady assault, with very little chance any of them would manage to hold the League off in the end.
All of which culminated in the fact she was about to address the Republic Senate in full session. A session that was virtually certain to be heavily attended and reported, given that the League of Free Stars now represented a legitimate foreign power large enough to actually pay attention to. Something that hadn’t happened since the final battle of Ruusan and reformation of the Republic into its current form.
Yes, the Hutts had technically been a large enough power to be so treated…but they’d never bothered playing the game. That would have, quite frankly, required them to have some measure of actual respect for the Republic. Which they manifestly had not possessed. Such had been their wealth and power that occasional individual cartels had made deals with the Senate, but very rarely had the Grand Hutt Council bothered to communicate in more than holocalls to subcommittees. Never had a representative bothered to come and speak before the Republic Senate itself.
Well, no pressure Esa.
You’re only about to make history and set a new galactic precedent…
… … …
-Republic Senate Chambers-
“…and now, gentlebeings all, we have another small matter to deal with. I invite Ambassador Esa Rotsino, representing the newly established Council of Free Worlds and the League of Free Stars, to address the Senate.”
Leaning hard on the meditative exercises taught to her by her Sovereign and his lady, Esa signaled the ‘guest’ platform to the center of the Senate Chambers. Turning first to the Supreme Chancellor, who had just ceded the floor to her, she spoke clearly, precisely, and most of all politely. It was her job today to set the best possible impression of the League in the minds of the senators now watching her. Well, some of them anyway. Others were supposed to get a very different take away from her speech.
“Thank you, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, from granting me the opportunity to address the Republic Senate. It is an honor to be here, and I hope this is the start of a fantastic relationship between the League and the Republic.”
The stately older man nodded politely at the political filler. With polite, politic, obligations fulfilled, Esa didn’t hesitate to turn to the rest of the Senate and push her voice for a slightly more theatric effect. A very specific impression was intended to be made today, and it was her job to deliver it in just the right way.
“Gentlebeings of the Senate! As many of you may know, with victory in our Crusade against the evil of the Hutt Cartels rapidly becoming a foregone conclusion, the focus of the League of Free Stars has turned to building a full and proper government that will support the very freedoms we fought for! The first 100 League worlds have formed into the Council of Worlds, with more waves of additional voting planets already planned to be added, as their system governments organize sufficiently to take part.”
A pause for effect, but not long enough to let someone try to disrupt her flow.
“It is under this new Council that we have formed our official constitution, underlining our policies, a firm stance against any form of slavery in the galaxy being foremost among said policies. We of the League are hopeful that, in the Galactic Republic, we will find the allies needed to stamp such foul trade out for good! The League will not rest until the last slaver or slave owner has been reformed, imprisoned, or executed.”
The stick. There were quite a few, hundreds a minimum, beings in this very chamber who owned slaves. The Republic’s bullshit stance that it was illegal to buy and sell them, but not to own them, was always going to be a hot button issue for the League’s own people. Better to own that now and control the narrative with a firm declaration, as their huge ex-slave population would never abide by anything but a direct and uncompromising stance on the issue anyway.
“In light of our view that the Republic, which has long outlawed slavery and many times attempted to exterminate it, is a potential ally in this matter, I also bring to the table many bits of good news. The Judicial Interpol suggested by your own Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and made to work by the dedicated efforts of Senator and Ambassador Padmé Amidala, has produced rapid results. Over seventy five percent of Republic-owned businesses that were operating in Hutt Space have now been processed, those guilty of breaking your own laws punished, and those innocent freed to continue doing business in what is now League Space. At the same time, new agreements to continue Hypercomm Access and maintain the Hypercomm arrays in our space have been reached and formalized. Indeed, the League is now actively expanding coverage, believing in Freedom of Communication just as we do in the freedom of people.”
Carrots were needed now, with the most basic being in the form of assurances. The return of commerce and the continuation of access to the Hypercomm being big ticket items there. The League of Free Stars, having seized the vast majority of Hutt assets, was now just as outrageously wealthy as the Hutts had been. Despite pouring vast quantities of that money into building new infrastructure and expanding their armed forces, they still had money to burn and everyone would want a piece of that. The Hutts had been hoarders, not spenders, sitting on the bulk of their wealth despite their lavish lifestyles. Making it clear the purse strings were now open and there was a lot of profit to be made as a result? That was one major carrot.
The Hypercomm was another. In a lot of ways, the Hypercomm was the reason for the Republic, at least in this era of peace where little worry was put into banding together against outside foes the way the early Republic had needed to do. The enormous relay stations required to connect a million worlds and hundreds of trillions of sentients were far too expensive for any one world to build. Even for the Republic, a significant amount of the galactic budget went towards maintaining that network. Actually expanding it was the sort of thing that came up for major debate whenever it was proposed in the Senate. It was just that expensive. So the idea not only that access to the existing and important stations within The Slice that the Hutts had controlled would continue, but that the League was working on expansion on their own credits? A powerful carrot indeed.
“In addition, our Sovereign’s recent political tour through your Grand Republic has generated numerous new trade agreements and fantastic new connections. Likewise, now that we have properly established ourselves, we feel it is time to begin formalizing boundaries between the Republic and the League, instead of relying on old agreements inherited from the Hutts. It is for this reason that I will remain here on Coruscant, to begin the process of reworking those agreements to the satisfaction of all.”
A reminder of the advantages of not being belligerent with the League, while also ceding the need to deal with the one thing that had many in the Republic Senate most up in arms. While 60 star systems was a piddling quantity against the vast bulk of the Republic, the current secession debate that was raging more and more hotly within the halls of power here made so many systems successfully leaving a hot button topic all on its own. By being the ones to start the process of renegotiating the soft-border clauses that allowed such a thing to happen at all, the League was signaling a willingness to resolve the issue. Of course, the Senate was slow and she had every intention of deliberately dragging the process out, without being obvious about it. Her analysts’ best guess was that the Senate wouldn’t be able to agree on new terms for at least another year, during which the soft-border clauses would remain in effect.
“The League of Free Stars looks forward to a positive and profitable exchange with the Republic, with all of us gaining from the exchange. The oppressed will yet be free, and strong ties will undoubtably be forged! Thank you all for your time today!”
Not wanting to drone on in what was, frankly, really only an opening volley, Esa cut it there. She’d given the Senate plenty to chew on, and needn’t deal with them as a whole at this time. Padmé was already moving behind the scenes to create a committee that would handle the minutia of negotiations with the League, and her own staff were on the ball with a charm offensive toward various power blocs. Gifts of useful tech, bribes of valuable art from many worlds recovered from Hutt vaults, and far more. They were in the Big Leagues and swimming with the sharks now, and Esa was intent on doing right by her new home…
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A/N 1: Hopefully I did a reasonable job with the speeches. I'm usually fairly good with those, but these were political speeches, which is a somewhat different kettle of fish from speeches for troops or lectures. I think I captured them fairly decently, though...
A/N 2: You probably know this bit by now, but I need to say it anyway ;-)! Once per release, I point out that I have a Page with Early Access content. In example, I just released chapters 115-117 of Displaced Hero there, adding just shy of another 15,000 words which will remain in Early Access until next month. Similarly, there are at least a few Early Access chapters there for ALL of my stories, though NONE of them are ever permanently paywalled. All fanfiction content I make ends up here (or on Fanfiction.net and Questionable Questing) eventually, as new content for each story is released. Typically, there are 75,000+ words of additional early access content for patrons at any one time, all for just a dollar a month! As well as chances to vote in polls that influence which stories are updated, pairings, and other such things.