The Galactic Senate

[Rhyssua]

Sceptarys gave a slow smile, then pressed the AYE button. Currently, the Hegemony had to pay for mercenaries to protect any inter-state convoys, and often had to spread their police force to cover everyone. The Grand Council, and Sceptarys, reasoned that a Republic-wide force would be cheaper for the Hegemony as a whole, and help increase trade between the Hegemony and more isolated worlds. Plus, the stocks for all major shipbuilders and weapons manufacturers were already on the rise, even before the bill was put to vote. This would mean a lot more money in everyone's pockets.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Being the being who proposed the initiative, Vaitil simply pressed the AYE button with no further comment.

[Aureumterra]

As the presenter of the bill, Rkavya voted “Aye”

[Novas Arcanum]

Mmote-Shoki spoke to his colleagues telepathically. Sha Katar could use more defense in the fight against pirates still other's hated the idea of a galactic police force. The Katari enjoyed their isolation from the rest of the galaxy and a strong arm police force encroaching on their territory could disturb that isolation. Still, some agreed with the merits of the plan. Cargo ships holding precious kyroban gas were constantly attacked en route to the markets by pirates.No way a poor backwater like Sha Katar could afford a police force.Thus the choice was obvious if Sha Katar was to grow wealthier on the galactic stage, it needed the aid of the Republic

Mmote-Shoki willed his slimy tentacle to press the "Aye" button on the holo-screen.

[United Auroran Empire]

Roxlany laid back into his chair, watching as the counter tipped ever slowly in his favour, already casted his vote for it. However, he was deep in thought. Thought on his carelessness. His bravado and sense of superiority got the better of him in his departure of Senator Cael. He may have flipped his hand by complete accident. His pride would be the death of him and he swore under his breath. He could NOT afford a loss, especially one like that. No he had to cover his tracks... make sure no one knew it was him. He called upon his Attendant once more. "Leah, send a message to our captain friend to erase all data of our talks. Financial, poltical, everything. I want no connections, just in case she has any. Further more, erase everything from my records. Even my private ones, the physical copies. You know the combination already. Finally," he handed her an address somewhere in the city,"go to here and burn it to the ground. Its a big city, buildings burn often. Now go."

Leah left the Senator, and put his hands to his temples. One mistake. One mistake would throw this whole plan to the dogs. He cannot have any proof, he could not.
But his old foolish mind might finally have gotten the best of him.

[Sarderistan]

Valerius Cael

---

The face of Rear Admiral Mara Kaan flared up in his HoloNet, slightly and small for other Senators not to notice. "Rear Admiral, I am in a session right now. You can-" the woman cut him off. "Senator, you must be briefed. A freighter, Axial in look, has approached the Citadel. We have sent to the President regarding this matter."

Cael did not believe what he just heard. The Rear Admiral interrupting him in the middle of a Senate session just to inform that some junk of a freighter entered the Citadel. "My thanks, Rear Admiral, but I'm afraid I fail to see the vital point," he answered. "It is just a freighter." The woman did not look pleased.

"By the looks of it, Senator, this freighter seemingly wants to put harm in our shipyards and drive our constuction plans back years," the Rear Admiral said. "I am informing you so that you might take better care of your acquintance there." She paused a little. "You were in the Republican Navy once." Cael sighed, he took a small glance at Senator Roxlany, still in his pod.

"Were. I will see to it. My gratitude for informing." The HoloNet flared off. Cael gestured for his AI secretary to come. "Orbit, status report on my accounts." The secretary gave him full report on all his credit savings, including the discreet ones he created to deal with pirates and smugglers. "Return to my chambers, and appoint several of my savings in the Outer Rim. There are at least three pirate fleets that can be bought. My corporation has shipyards - albeit anonymously - to produce vessels at Graveel, thar desert world. Those won't look Chorian in origin, though. Have them to the pirates, if you will..."

"Affirmative, Senator Cael. Orders for target, sir?" his secretary asked. "We would save the details for another time," he smiled. "For now, pay them first. They would certainly be grateful, and be reminded who sent them help. And make your contacts through proxy channels in the Outer Rim. I will have nothing traced back here."

[Ormata]

Senator Kina Au Kana
Ukete First Union Representative

He’d watched and said nothing. There was nothing really to say, not to these Senators, not to these groups; their minds were already made up, their actions already in motion, and to attempt to convince one of them was to attempt to convince a nation to change the course of its foreign policy in total. To do so was folly. To do so was incorrect. To do so was, in Kana’s opinion, a vast waste of time. Besides the fact, a good few Senators and a good few nations were against the proposal on various basis. Some wished to have their own space to themselves. Some wish to not have prying eyes into their own affairs, think they can handle themselves and didn’t want to waste the credits on another man’s issue. Some didn’t have those very credits and others didn’t want to have to pay extra to fund the security for the poor.

There were various reasons to it.

Ukete had several reasons to be against such a thing. Attacks against Ukete vessels were rare, few and far between, a coupling of a lack of vessels and a vast method to strike back against such impudent insults. One did not simply attack a Ukete freighter and expect no retaliation; it was likely you would die within the week if not sooner. But, in other areas, the Ukete had funded some very few organizations to guide and help neighbors into the Rim Confederacy and, as such, an anti-pirate organization would harm this.

Senator Kana pushed the ‘nay’ and within him sixteen others pushed the same.

[Novas Arcanum]

End of the 752nd Galactic Senate

Senator Ghix Belgros sighed for he himself had voted against the proposal, but that did not matter. He summoned his holographic image once more to address the Senate."Senators of the 752nd Galactic Senate, the Galactic Law Enforcement Establishment Act has officially passed and is set in motion, thank you, senators, for your service to democracy and freedom, I wish you farewell and good luck"

With that the 752nd Galactic Senate was concluded.

[Aureumterra]

Rkavya’s pod moved back to its compartment, where he promptly exited. He made a quick note to his secretary while he got on his private ship, he was traveling back to Igreturn for a while.

[Novas Arcanum]

THE 753rd GALACTIC SENATE

The Galactic Senate was now in session. Today history would be made has the next President of the Senate would be voted into office. Media companies swarmed the Senate Hall, as candidates such as Sceptarys and Vaitil would debate each seeing who was worthy to be the leader of the entire Galactic Senate. The position was perhaps the most prestigious of the entire galaxy. The Speaker set the course the Senate would take, and served as the ideological ruler of the entire Galactic Senate. Thus whoever one would gain a huge boost in their prestige and influence and chart the course the Galactic Republic would take for the next six years.

[Rhyssua]

Sceptarys entered his pod, then detached it from the main Senate floor so it could float freely. He wasn't ostentatious enough to direct the pod to the top of the building, so he kept it more or less level with the Speaker's chair, which was situated on a podium in the center of the chamber.

"Greetings Senators," he said, giving a wave to everyone else in the chamber. "I won't bore you to death with a long-winded speech; in fact, I'll try to keep it brief. National Sovereignty, national culture. Free markets, economic development. These are the building blocks of my platform. These, are the building blocks of a prosperous, happy Republic."

When he returned his pod to the main floor, he received a transmission from the Free Enterprise. It had just left the system. Time would tell if Axial and Choria followed suit.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Vaitil raised his seat pod higher than that of Sceptarys, high enough so that he would be addressing the entire Seante.

"The galaxy is on the brink of a new era. Terrorist threats bring chaos and bloodshed. Nations are beginning to leave the Republic. This must stop! We require a capable, strong-willed president, and I believe I am the candidate for this. We need to centralise the Republic and build a unified galaxy. One galaxy, one flag and one leader! If a guile beast such as Sceptarys were to come to power, this would most likely mean the dissolution of the Republic! There is no peace without rule. No freedom without unity. No strength without central authority. No Republic without justice. The GLEA is only the first step in the grand plan of unification. All nations must unite under one banner, lest we all fall into darkness. The Cybernetic Wars are a memory of what had occured before a true Galactic Republic. The galaxy was crippled and civilisation in ruins.

Let me tell you a story. Upon the anniversary of the Cybernetic Wars, of the Great Galactic War as I like to call it, there were memorials in the streets for all the war dead. A young child and his father had trekked all through the galaxy to reach a great memorial. The casualties of war were strewn around, in mass graves, marked one by one. The child and his father made their way to where the child's uncle had been buried, and they had put a black rose there to symbolise his memory. The child asked the father: "Why do we come here?". The father said in turn, "Lest we forget."

Lest we forget those that had died. There can be no peace until all nations of the galaxy are put under one banner. I shall not sit idly by as trouble brews in the galaxy. No matter all the backroom deals you have made, I ask you all to remember those that died in the Cybernetic Wars. Iconoclasts such as Sceptarys want to tear down the Republic! They want the days of the Cybernetic Wars back! Sceptarys and all his allies want to burn the Republic down! Up for the republic!

If you don't want to vote for me because of my policies, then vote for me for peace. After all, there is no peace without rule. No freedom without unity. And no strength without central authority."

[United Auroran Empire]

Armistay arrived at the end of Vaitil's speech, and it was if she walked into an atmosphere consisting of a taunt string. How words could create tension this hard was beyond herself. She takes her seat and to the immediate right of her seat in the pod ,sitting in her previous spot as assistant, was a very young woman whom she had never met. "Who.. who are you?" Armistay asked, taking a look at the woman. She was very small, glasses, a clipboard with a stack of paper already on it. Her hair was cut at her chin and brought up in a bun. And, she was completely fake. " Hello Senator, I am an Axial Android Personal Assistant. You may call me Aapa. I am here to help you in your senatorial duties." The android handed the Senator the clipboard. "Here is the paperwork for the new Senators to fill out upon their first session. Ive done all I could before needing your biosignature."
Armistay took the clipboard, still eyeing the assistant. It was all filled out, in a handwriting style that looked like typed word. Leah's hands ached just remembering all the work she had to do for Roxlany. Her joy of not doing this again far overtook her fear of robots.
She smiled.
"Thank you Aapa. What did I miss in the debates so far?" Leah started filling out the paperwork, holding a pen.
"Senator Vaitil just called Senator Sceptarys a guile beast."
Leah stopped writing , stood up, and walked into the back of the pod so no one could see her. She pulled out her flask and took a swig. Sighing, she came back.
"This is going to be a long session."

[Rhyssua]

Sceptarys sighed to himself. He really didn't want to get into this; Vaitil spoke far too loudly for his taste. It was starting to hurt his ears. Nonetheless, Sceptarys detached his pod from the main Senate floor and hovered directly above the Speaker's platform, although he was still slightly below Vaitil.

"Classic, Vaitil, classic," Sceptarys said, allowing hints of a fake laugh to escape. His teeth, however, were barred like a shark's. He turned to address the rest of the Senate.

"What we have here is a phenomenon I like to call the "Crisis Man"," he said. "An ambitious, power hungry person, under the guise of populism and security, either engineers a crisis or references a past one. Using fear of this crisis, this person seats themselves into power as a despot, all in the name of security."

Sceptarys eyed Vaitil sidelong, then continued speaking.

"Now, this guile beast would like to point out a few things my dear friend just told you:

Terrorist threats? What terrorist threats? The only potential threat I see is that of Senator Cael, an outlaw from both the Chorian government and all Republic worlds. He is no threat. The GLE has been stamping out piracy across the Republic. Our space-lanes are more secure than ever."

"And who's leaving the Republic?" he asked, surveying the Senators. "Please, do me a favor and raise your hand if anyone's planning on leaving; nobody's said anything about it at any rate. I wonder why my good friend Senator Vaitil would say things that are completely untrue? He brings up the Cybernetic Wars, which occurred more than five centuries ago. While it's all well and good to remember the past, to do so at the expense of the future is suicide."

Sceptarys then turned and looked up at Vaitil. He then raised the pod until it was a few inches higher than Vaitil, giving Sceptarys about a foot-tall height advantage.

"How dare you call me an iconoclast, Vaitil," he said, his voice as venomous as it was going to get. "When you're the one who wants to destroy dozens of cultures in the face of imagined threats. You seek to erode and then destroy everything that makes the Republic great: a fusion of cultures, working together in harmony and in good relations, both economically and politically. You seek to turn the Republic into a unitary government that rules as a dictatorship; I seek to promote the aspects of the Republic that makes it great: diversity, free markets, and the due process of law. If anything, you're the iconoclast."

With his confrontation finished, Sceptarys returned his pod to the floor for the remainder of his rebuttal.

"As we grow bigger, we must limit ourselves," he said. "Can't you see? While GLEA had the right idea, it set a dangerous precedent for interfering in national business, in addition to putting considerable financial strain on the Republic. While these are issues that need to be resolved, they're hardly the 'crises' that Vaitil claims they are. He says to vote for him 'not for his policies, but for peace.' Of course he'd say that: I haven't heard him talk about one single policy throughout his campaign. With Vaitil, you'd get no peace, except that of a tyrant. Voting for me would allow the Republic to continue forward, towards economic developments, towards free and open markets, towards equal status for all member nations. You're faced with two options here: either vote for a man stuck in the past, or one looking into the future. I hope, for all our sakes, you make the right choice."

Sceptarys left his pod where it was, smirking up at Vaitil. Let's see him top that.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

"You are indeed right, Sceptarys. It has put significant financial strain on the Republic. But why is this? It is because of people like you, who constantly resist the march of progress. If you want the future, then get out of our way! Get out of the way of progress!" Vaitil began to yell, his voice projecting across the entire hall. His (few) allies also began joining him in chanting against Sceptarys. Vaitil put down a book on economics and started to wave it around.

"Maybe you should read this book, Sceptarys. You support violent economic policies which will bring us all to ruin! My economic policy is as simple as one thing: state capitalism! The government must control the flow of capitalism, rather than your laissez-faire policies which cause a run on the economy worse than that dysentery coming out of your mouth! Unregulated markets have led to nothing but slavery. Look at the industrial and mining worlds of the middle and outer rims, full of slums and ghettos. Perhaps, Sceptarys, you do not have the basic empathy nor a cursory understanding of the current economic situation to regulate that virtile bile coming out of your foul mouth."

The debate had been thrown back into insults, but Vaitil decided to bring it back to the original style.

"My friend, I do not imagine threats. These are present and future threats, that require Republic-wide cooperation. All this talk about pretending threats don't exist and your extreme, petty defensiveness of your culture makes me think that you're a chauvinist - nay, a fascist! You are a flagrant nationalist in every sense of the word, one that doesn't belong here. If you are under the illusion that all this is over, it isn't.

Turn a blind eye, and you shall only be left with one."

[Rhyssua]

Sceptarys detached his pod once more to hover just above the main Senate floor, enough so that they could all see and hear him but so he wouldn't tower over the,.

"Perhaps you should take a look at who wrote that book of yours," he said. "A Sarvolyan wrote the foremost book on economics in the modern era, Survival and Future of the Galactic Economy. Yulyus Suurac, if that's the fourth edition you're holdling. At any rate, I think the only fascist in the room is you. A fascist boasts of racial superiority and inferiority: I have held throughout this campaign that all member nations are equal partners in the Republic. You, on the other hand, have regularly mocked and insulted those you've deemed to be threats to your campaign. And now, to top it off, you've just insulted one hundred billion people, who happen to excel at consumer protection, price regulation, and maintaining fair business practices. And you know how we've done it? Without a damn thing from the government."

"And just before I finish with you," Sceptarys said, his voice so low that the microphone almost didn't pick up his voice. "I have one request. Name one of these dire threats you speak of so much. Name. One."

Sceptarys now redirected his attention at the Senators. He wasn't going to speak to that vile little dictator any longer.

"Senators, I'm no stranger to the Outer Rim. The Cybernetic Wars have left the area bereft of resources and development. I plan to put an end to this. Not through seizing the means of production and ruling through an iron fist, which is what Vaitil means when he talks about supporting state capitalism. No, I plan to provide economic incentive for companies and governments to invest in and do business with the Outer Rim. This incentive, along with the funding needed to cover the GLE, will be provided by tariffs on from nations outside the Republic. Considering the Republic's own vast markets, these tariffs will affect only a few, while benefitting many. Certainly, some taxation is necessary, but I intend to only tax non-essentials, with a focus on items subject to excise taxes. Now I like my booze as much as the next Senator."

There was a fair bit of laughter. Sceptarys gave a smile, then continued.

"But the money's gotta come from somewhere. And it won't come from seizing all private industry. The Republic's free market is one of the things that keeps member nations in, with plentiful opportunities for any who work hard enough. Converting to Communism; I know some intellectuals may cry 'But Senator, state capitalism isn't communism', but it is. Converting to Communism has never once in all of galactic history increased living standards, workers' rights, or GDPs. Not. Once. Free markets, diversity, national sovereignty; that is what I stand for. What does the other guy stand for, you may ask? I have absolutely no idea. And neither does he."

[Sarderistan]

Rhomann Valinos

---

This debate is not going anywhere, Rhomann can plainly see it by the way things are unfolding. Sceptarys insulted Vaitil and Vaitil responded with another argument that blocked Sceptarys' point, all over and over unit he's sure this session could last months. Rhomann took his senatorial pod upwards, amd then flared his microphone so that others can hear the reason he interrupted.

"Senators, please calm down. Forgive me for the interruption, but as you see, we're discussing the fate of our Galaxy here," he started. "Let me start this with one: I second Senator Nuusan's point. Senator Aramais, while your ideals and noble goals might be right, your stress for state-controlled capitalism, unregulated markets, and all those matters; for me, state-controlled economy is no better than plain Communism." Rhomann could hear the Senate chamber gasped and murmuring, some even shouted their agreement with him. "Economy, if state-controlled, in essence woulf destroy whatever remains of creative industry that private owners hold advantage of. Imagine you're behind the steer of a freighter, and you need it to turn, but the steer had been pre-set only to achieve its destination. And Senator Aramais, this is a Galaxy. You heard me. Trillions upon trillions of stars and star systems dependent on their own authority. You want to manage it?" He opened his arms, as if to ask Vaitil directly. "Start by putting all your clever ideas at your homeworld first. If your economy doesn't collapse, I salute you. I may even gamble on all my stock holdings at Choria's shipyard facilities." The sound of laugh and agreement can be heard.

"Why do you think our founders bulid this Galactic Republic in the first place?" He asked loudly. "We could stay each separated, of course. But that is the past. What matters is we bulit this cooperation, this union," he paused, "on the principles of freedom, of sovereignty, of a right to rule our own systems, preserve our own cultures, our own traditions and laws. Not for some ranked bureaucrat sitting lazily in Cosmopolis, their feet on our heads, ordering us about how to manage our economy and tell us about imaginary threats!" A loud sound of agreement followed him. "Am I right, Senators?" He asked openly.

"And you had the nerve to call us fascist."

[Aureumterra]

Senator Rkavya detached his pod, while moving towards the center. “If I may interject, we do not need a centralized leadership at all. Such a radical notion threatens the sovereignty of the states within this republic. Furthermore, private enterprises have been booming in the galaxy lately, and I see no reason to stop such economic growth, and honestly, I don’t understand why you would oppose this, Senator Vaitil.”

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Vaitil decided to talk a walk to calm himself down, and recollect his thoughts...

[Novas Arcanum]

Vaitil would never survive the swamps of Sha Katar Mmote-Shoki thought has the debate was drawing to an end. At first his vote was split evenly but it was obvious who was better orator, and because of that Sha Katar would lend it's support to Sceptarys.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Mörz stood up and proclaimed: "This isn't over yet, Sceptarys. You think you've won, but yet you haven't. Let me tell you the one flaw of your economic methodology, right here, right now.

The galaxy is effectively infinite.

There are enough non-sentient planets to feed the sentient ones for trillions of years. Free trade is a failed system now, as we could all live in prosperity under a post-scarcity world. Why must worlds such as ours suffer under the yoke of your so-called free market? Why must it? Why can we not have post-scarcity?

I know why. Because you are all greedy and selfish. You have no heart nor soul. You have all pursued power for its own sake, not for any noble good nor end. Because you are avaricious and have no regard for life!" Mörz's voice began to boom, much louder than even Vaitil.

"You are pests which must be rid of for the future of the galaxy. Look at what you have done. The devastation you have brought. You were born from a family of stockbrokers, effectively thieves who became rich through glorified gambling. You did nothing to earn your status, and you ought to be revoked of it! You do not deserve Senator, let alone President! I ask you once, and only once: SIT DOWN IN THE NAME OF ALL FREE BEINGS! SIT DOWN, FOR YOU SHALL BRING NOTHING BUT RUIN!" Mörz's voice truly reached an extremely loud peak then and there, and then it began to calm.

"Sit down...because you deserve none of this."

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

There was a few minutes of shocked silence, as Mörz continued...

"I do not give you a single bit of respect. Nothing. Because you have not made yourself worthy of it. You are feeble and you are a pile of nothing but ashes. It pains me to call you my equal, let alone my friend. I refuse to honour those that would continue the exploitation of trillions across the galaxy, who would turn a blind eye to the death that happens in these far-off mines.

Give us post-scarcity, or give us death. Machines can power all society, from factories to government. All beings should get the right to live a life of pure luxury: of unlimited opulence and of unlimited fortune. I believe that all beings are born with the right to life right from their birth to the end of their lives. Capitalism is nothing now but the remains of an archaic system kept by feudal lords who do not care about the right to life. Who do not care about anything but their own desire and their own naked profit. They are evil and ought to be deprived of all their wealth and power. They exist as parasites, sucking off the weakest until they die. They suck blood and life out of every single worker on this godforsaken galaxy, and you do nothing!

Tell me, Sceptarys, do you wanted to be counted as one of those men? In fact, do any of you wanted to be counted as one of those leeches; those parasites?"

[Russkiya Svyachena]

Senator Won quickly added to what Rkavya said, “And before I get the excuse of income inequality, let me point out that it is possible to pull yourself up in the galaxy. Our own founder is a prime example, she came from a poor outer rim upbringing, and due to her innovative ideas, she is now the richest person in the galaxy and she just recently turned 40.”

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Mörz continued his speech further, as he often paused for either reaction or comment, with nobody responding.

"The clear fact is that the Republic has no more need for free trade or for companies, and that we should automate everything, to create a world of infinite luxury. Surely none should be opposed to this, correct? I mean, imagine what you could do - what we could all do - if we no longer had to work? If we delegated everything that we all didn't want to do to machines, we could create a world of infinite prosperity! We already have sentient (although not superintelligent) AI, which is able to calculate things at a similar level to us. We could genetically modify ourselves to become stronger, to become better! For millenia, we have restricted ourselves to our biological prisons, but no more! If you elect me President, I shall make all species greater, and lead the Republic into a golden age of technology! It was once only a dream written about in books, but now it is here! HURRAH! HURRAH!" Mörz and his more numerous allies began to chant with him, as many became enthralled by his speeches.

"In terms of domestic policy, we must unify the galaxy under one government. I do not intend upon destroying the great cultures which have inhabited this wonderful land thousands of years, but rather promote it. Without work being necessary, we can fund the film industry, theatre, music and the arts! We can make a bright and brave new world, once where creativity lives in the minds of all people! Let us express our bright and vibrant colours through culture and art, through the most profound literature and through the most enlightened sculptures. We can build a better world if we tried!

And what happens if you don't elect me and elect the drunken and imbecilic Sceptarys? It shall be a future of great ruin. The foundations of the Republic shall lay in ruins, and men like those who shot Senator Vaitil will be hailed as heroes under his rule. He will bring a so-called free future where all but a small proportion are slaves. Trillions will be ruled under by the yoke of rich oligarchs. There shall be no nations, only corporate holdings. Feudalism will become the order of the day again, as government is destroyed in the name of the free market.

There are only two choices here. A calm, reasoned post-scarcity future of utopian ideals, or a destructive hell where the anarchy rules and the Republic is relegated to the history books. I hope you pick the right one, Senators. After all, hundreds of trillions are counting on you."

[Novas Arcanum]

Mmote-Shoki waved his tentacles in disapproval. He adjusted his communication chip for he could not believe what he was hearing."Senator while your ideas and propositions are admirable they are but a dream, the truth is that while the galaxy is massive is it is only host to a finite amount of resources, free trade and capitalism ensure that these resources are allocated in the most efficient and least violent manner possible."

"For example, kyroban gas is the only fuel available for warp drives, and it is extremely rare, in ages hundreds of thousands of years in the past empires would wage wars, and enslave entire civilizations for this precious fuel. The Katari themselves where enslaved many times so that their conquerors could gain access to our precious gas."

It is because of the free trade network that is the Republic that an age of unparalleled peace has graced this galaxy".

"It is your ideas that will lead to the ruin of our Republic, and return us to an age of infamy and barbarism."