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| - Belying the importance of the proceedings that took place within, the Ruling Council's meeting chamber was a plain one. An immense table was arranged in a semi-arc with its opening towards the entrance of the room, the chairs of the council members arranged so that they could look at one another and any who would be speaking before them. At the heart of the table stood, or rather sat Leia, the Chief of State occupying the position of honour and with it the privilege of chairing the day's meeting. The woman wore her work uniform, a sharp business outfit, by Alderaanian standards, which in this case meant flowing robes of a dark grey for the outer edges and a lighter grey at the centre of it. A thin golden chain ran across her forehead, but beyond that there was nothing ostentatious about how she presented herself. "This meeting of the Ruling Council will come to order. The Chair recognizes Senator Tokoga of Mon Calamari and bids him to speak on his recent fact-finding mission to Corellia." The hushed conversations between the members of the Council, chairs of all of the Senate's important committees, came to a slow halt. Although Krall Dar, chair of the Security and Intelligence council, made a point of not ending his conversation immediately, a neutral expression offered Tokoga when finally he does silence himself. "Thank you, Madame President." Tokoga stands from his seat and bows his head slightly in Leia's direction. He starts his presentation by motioning for the lights to be dimmed and the holoprojector in the center of the room brought up. It shows a representation of Corellia, as well as several side-by-side videos of recent events on the planet's surface: the explosion at Nebula plaza, reports of shots fired in the CorSec headquarters and the like. "This planet, as you well know, is one of the Empire's most important holdings in the Core. The last two months have been some of the most intense in its recent history; citizen activism and protest, violent outbursts against the Imperial establishment, and a general feeling of resentment are a common denominator of many Corellian's lives. Make no mistake, this is an opportunity for us, and the Empire has recognized it as such. They know, as well as we do, that Corellia's loss would be a heavy blow to their strategic capabilities." The meeting was to be one between equals even if Tokoga had come here as a supplicant of sorts, but it was also one behind closed-doors and as such there was no politicking for the cameras. "Yes, Senator, we are all aware of the situation on Corellia. What I would like to know is why you didn't wait for a delegation from the Security and Intelligence to be assembled. With respect, fact-finding missions of this sort are within the domain of the Intelligence committee." Krall's feathers were ruffled, but the man also had something of a point, and he did not hesitate to make it. "Was it to improve your political standing?" Myiari says, "Wouldn't mind watching. :P" Myiari has arrived. "Uhh...yes, Senator, of all the things I could do to make myself look good, I chose to go undercover on a secret mission that hardly anyone knows about to an Imperial planet in the core," he answers without restraing, pausing a few moments afterward to let the statement sink in. "I would say the question should be why you weren't there before I was, but that's neither here nor there. If I may continue?" Krall snickers, "Senator, there are proper proceedings for these types of missions, I do not go off gallivanting and I do not put myself in a position where I can be captured and forced to give over the secrets I know. There is responsibility and there is seeking personal..." The two men's verbal sparring is interrupted by Leia, the Chief of State speaking up firmly. "Enough, we will deal with personal recriminations and the like later. For now, I believe that Senator Tokoga has not finished his presentation. Please continue on." And once more, the Mon Calamari has a captive audience as the members of the Ruling COuncil go back to watch him quietly, some, including the Chair of the Justice Council, an elderly Caamasi, watching the holo-projections. Though he's tempted to, Tokoga chooses not to point out that precisely that happened while he was here on Ord Mantell of all places, but he lets it go for Leia's and his presentations' sake. "As I was saying...projections from prominent naval figures have informed me that a series of distractions in other systems, enough time could be bought to make a decisive strike against Corellia, secure and liberate the system." The holodisplay zooms out to show the galaxy at large, as well as a detailed illustration of the plans presented by Rasi to him earlier on the Rapier. "Why Corellia to start out with, wouldn't it be wiser to better conserve what resources we do have and go after a system the Imperials won't put such a fight about?", this question was by the Caamasi, his barritone voice slow and without rush as was common among his people, what remained of his people anyway. The alien only now drew his eyes away from the holo and towards the Mon CAlamari, looking him over through eyes that show just how aged he is, weighing him it could almost be said. "I understand that the recent battle of Gyndine was a relative success, why not there?" "With limited resources, we must certainly be careful to conserve them." Tokoga nods. "But that also means we have to use them to their maximum effect. The alliance understood and applied this principle regularly, regularly engaging in heavily one-sided conflicts with limited forces not because it was the most expedient or convenient, but because it is the only way to effectively combat a militarily superior opponent." To answer the rest of the Senator's question, he switches to a display of Gyndine, including the crippled battlestation. "In a way, we have. One operation does not presuppose another. The engagement at Gyndine has seen a weakening of Imperial forces in the sector. A weakening we can exploit if we act quickly." The Caamasi settles back in his seat, his brows drooping and a hand run over his scalp, but it is Leia that speaks next. "You accept that we have small resources, but you do not seem to accept what it imposes on us. Yes, we fought lopsided battles, but we did so judiciously and when the Empire would be surprised. Do you believe that the Empire would be surprised by an attack on Corellia given what is happening there?" The CoS' words draw more than one surprised look, Leia rumoured to be sympathetic to the Mon Calamari's plan. "And ultimately, is it not easy for the Empire to dismiss Gyndine as a ruse?" "No Imperial commander alive wants to admit they lost a battle that was just a _ruse_. I'm sure as much will be made of the affair as possible. If you ask that the Empire would be surprised by an attack on Corellia following, I would actually be inclined to say yes. They no doubt expected _some_ manner of opportunistic action from us nefarious rebels to come of this, and for all they know, Gyndine could be it. I would conclude that action in the Corellia system would now come as more a surprise than before." "And what if we fail?", Krall asks, his hostility barely contained although he has enough sense to tip his hand and let his venom fly. The man, for he was a man, was known to be a particularly detestable one but aside from his personal vendettas, he was at least committed to the Republic and so afforded the benefit of the doubt. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at his colleagues to make certain that he had their attention proceeding. "A battle for Corellia, as you seem to support, will take massive amounts of supplies, ships and above all personnel. What if it fails, what then? Do you accept that a failure on Gyndine would be much less of a critical blow than one at Corellia?" "Of course I do," Tokoga answers, turning off the holodisplay and undimming the lights. "That's why we musn't strike until we're reasonably certain of success. Hence the plan in your military briefing there that you probably had your assistant summarize for you. Like it or not, Senator, we've been fighting a losing war with the Empire ever since the Imperial Blitzkrieg. This is the first chance we've had for proactive movements against them in quite some time." "I have heard the case for Corellia, but can you agree that military logic dictates that Gyndine is the easier target? Symbolic victories aren't important, but Gyndine would a coup even if it isn't one on the scale as Corellia. It is closer to the border, it has shipyards and it is a lot less defended than Corellia would be. ", the Caamasi takes up the slack for Krall once Tokoga has answered the earlier question, although there lacks the malice in his words found in the human's. "Symbolic victories are more important than you think. For example, statistics have shown that one of, if not the best predictor of military success in the galaxy in the past 40 years or so lies in whether or not one's flag has been on Coruscant," he points out. It may be difficult to gauge the consequences of what we do or don't do now, but you should begin by thinking beyond the raw numbers of who lost what and gained what. What do their losses mean to them, to their people, and by extension what their people do? This, " he emphasizes his words by pointing at his copy of the brief in front of him, "is very well COMPNOR's worst nightmare. People _will_ be talking." The Caamasi nods, though whether it is in agreement with his colleague or just a polite gesture, he does not make clear. "Why not a compromise between the two sides of this issue? We will start with shipments of weapons to the rebel cells on Corellia we can work with, we will also develop a campaign to undermine Gyndine's Imperial government. At the same time, the military can begin preparing contigency plans that deal with a liberation of either planets depending on how the situation develops?" He turns to Krall a few seats down from him, his long ears twitchingever so slightly as a way of seeking the man's input. "I can agree to that, it is a balanced plan.", his smile, though, would make it seem more a victory for him. Warning: Trying to send a very long command line. Perhaps a recursive alias definition? "As always, I defer to the Council's judgement," Tokoga says, his tone making it obvious that he has more to say, however. "But bear in mind that many of the secessionist cells have already or are already in the process of being supplied with the most superficially feasible weaponry for the means. Unless you're talking about raining down suits of power armor and multi-barrel heavy lasers for the masses, there isn't much more that could be done." "Furthermore, a point you're all ignoring is a humanitarian obligation that we share to help like-minded freedom-desiring people liberate themselves from authoritarian fascist regimes. An obligation felt once, I think, in the heat of collective need and left to simmer and cool with time once that need was no longer. An obligation that resulted in the liberation of several of several of your worlds in a time where people worried more about other people than about reports and ratios." This part is delivered with a particularly scathing look to Krall. He goes on for a while along the same line of discussion for a few minutes. Eventually, he reaches his conclusion. "Corellia stands at a dangerous peak, and large-scale retribution from the Empire is a looming possibility. If you can ignore that, and what I've just said, fine. But I can't. I'll just have to go back and see how much trouble I have to stir up to get the attention of you fine ladies and gentlemen." he says simply, with a shrug--but for anyone who knows the Senator, they would know he isn't joking. There is nothing more that could be said after Tokoga's final appeal, and Krall does not rise to the occasion instead simply turning to the chair of the meeting. "Madam Chief of State, let's move to a vote why don't we, anything more won't be productive." A few nods are offered at the suggestion, particularly from the Caamasi, the avian's ears twitching unconsciously as he is absorbed deep in some internal debate. "On the motion to offer conditional aid to the rebel groups on Corellia and undermine Gyndine's Imperial establishment at the same time. Who is in support?", Krall's hand was the first to rise and it was soon joined by that of his colleague in the Ministry COuncil and the Commerce COuncil. Three votes. "On the motion to offer unconditional aid to the rebel groups on Corellia and have the Republic Military prepare for an operation to remove Imperial assets in the system by force." Tokoga's replacement as Defence Council Chair, for this meeting anyway, was the first do so. After a moment, the Caamasi's followed, resolutely thtust high into the air with a nod to his Mon Calamari colleague, and lastly there was the Science and Technology Chair, the man voting regularly with the CAamasi. It was a tie, but in cases such as these, the Chief of State had the deciding vote, and she decided in this particular case to not exercise it right away. "Very well, it seems that I must decide things. I believe that at the moment, Gyndine is the safer choice, but if we followed safety, the Empire would never have fallen and Palpatine would still rule with an iron fist. Ultimately, if we do nothing, there will be a humanitarian disaster on Corellia and many will die and many more punished. I support the motion to liberate Corellia." "Thank you, Madame president." The Mon Calamari inclines his head in the Chief of State's direction, more a formality than a personal message of thanks. "The people of Corellia will look back with gratitude at what we've started here today," he says in conclusion, looking back to Leia's chair to say anything else she needed to say or to close the council's session.
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