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"Changes in estate also issue from this, for if, to one who governs himself with caution and patience, times and affairs converge in such a way that his administration is successful, his fortune is made; but if times and affairs change, he is ruined if he does not change his course of action. But a man is not often found sufficiently circumspect to know how to accommodate himself to the change, both because he cannot deviate from what nature inclines him to, and also because, having always prospered by acting in one way, he cannot be persuaded that it is well to leave it; and, therefore, the cautious man, when it is time to turn adventurous, does not know how to do it, hence he is ruined; but had he changed his conduct with the times fortune would not have changed."
Nicolo Machiavelli - The Prince
Aren Bryne was not a cultivated Cerean. He did not come from money nor did he live a life of ease. Those few possessions he held dear were hard bought from his own sweat, blood and tears. The legacy of an honest person. The legacy of the normal.
The planet was beautiful, boasting some of the grandest winter sights in all the Coalition. The "sliver cities", as tourists called the grand needle-like, silver structures that were scattered here an there over the lush expanse, could be seen dotting the landscape were one to look at the surface of the world as it faced their sun.
A peaceful world for a peaceful man.
And yet...
Tale of his friend, Arillium, recently from Anoat seemed to be coming to pass. Arillium. A man haunted by the loss of a wife, having died at childbirth, was instantly accepted into Aren's circle of friends. It was not like the man had asked for the attention. In fact, he went out of his way not to be a bother, quietly going about his business as a recluse until, one day, Aren took his family over and slowly drew the man out of his shell.
It was a strange shell, for Aren could not quite breach the layers of mental scarring it seemed that his friend's mind seemed entrenched in. An aura of sadness seemed to shroud the man and it was Aren's duty to rid the man of his personal demons and breathe in the light.
At least, that was what Aren thought. Lately, however, it seemed it was Arillium's steady hand on Aren's shoulder reigning in his temper.
Democracy was hard work and Aren loved nothing more than hard work and to rejoice with the fruitage. But Cerea was one world out of many. A binding hand in hand with a large collection, a large Coalition of worlds like minded in their desire to remain free of oppression and become that beacon of hope.
Oppression, though, took many forms, Aren thought wryly as his friend's counsel once more returned to the surface of his thoughts. Sometimes it seemed that what one considered oppression, another thought prudence.
It was always a game of semantics. But one could never reject their core values. The morality they grew up with and were taught from infancy.
It was that core that allowed Aren Bryne to become City Speaker, or what a Coalition official might designate 'Mayor', with Arillium being his Second. It was their partnership that allowed them to weather storms of conscience, storms of debate and ulitmately, storms of perception as each used their own individual life story as the template for their aiding of others.
Their world was not Coruscant. Their world was not Mon Calamari nor was it even Azguardia. They were Cerea. A world of artists and a world of hope.
Aren faced challenges before and he had survived them all. From the devestating Wrath virus epidemic to the war fought against the Empire, he stood firmly entrenched in the ideals of the Coalition.
Even as their government worked their way out of the spanning depression and near economic collapse of the war's aftermath, the single mindedness of the Coalition leaders to work to better their situation and regain their footing did much to solidify his support of the system of representation that the Coalition rested upon.
Like any similar system of government, actually for any system of government for that matter, there were it's naysayers. People who looked for hidden conspiracies and secret agendas. People Arillium seemed to hold in contempt most of the time but even his friend was silent.
Aren looked over at his friend realizing that his personality ran deeper than he, at first, suspected. There was an untapped depth there. Perhaps a true devotion to their way of life. A way of life many took for granted.
But not Aren and not Arillium. Both had lost family in the war with the Empire and the sacrifices made would not be forgotten.
But conversely, as the transmission ended, were the lessons of the war forgotten so soon?
"Replay it again." he stated and Arillium looked up from his distracted gaze as if to ask, you think the message will be different?
"It is going to happen all over again, Aren." Arillium sighed. "The wardrums are going to start beating once more but the question is, will the population bow it's heads and blindly follow? Have we learned nothing?"
Aren smiled at his friend's diplomatic answer. "The real question we need to be asking is, have the Azguards learned nothing?"
"Dammit, Aren!" Arillium barked out in annoyance. "I am not one of those 'sky is fallng' fools who think the Azguards have an agenda to control the Coalition! But our system is split along party lines. We have an Admiral out in god-knows-where building his own empire; we have the "Returners" who want nothing more than to burn Corellia to cinders as they were denied the first time, the Isolationists who want nothing more than to bury their heads in the sand and several other self interest groups who want nothing more than to keep our newly put-together economy as is to rake in the money!"
Arillium sat back and exhaled forcefully. "I am not against taking the Empire out, you know this, Aren. But it means our election is not going to be about the issues we wanted it to be about. Cerea will take a backseat and everyone will be clamoring for the limelight this Address brings."
Aren smiled grimly and shook his head. "Yes. Analysts and experts will come out of the woodwork selling their particular opinion. War may be the deciding factor of our entire campaign unless cooler heads prevail."
Arillium looked at his friend slightly confused. "What do you mean?"
"If war comes, we go to war. There is hardly dispensation for that but what we will need to focus on is having measures in place to help Cerea should things grow tight. Should things get bad."
"Are you talking about the arming of Cerea?" Arillium was alarmed.
"No!" Aren almost shouted. "Coalition Military will take care of their own. I am talking about the civilians. I am talking about civil breakdown should the worst happen."
Arillium widened his eyes in sudden understanding. "Anoat." he whispered.
"I am sorry to bring up a painful memory, my friend. I could not help but remember what you said happened as the war turned against us. Breakdown of social order.."
"We have a crack police and intelligence units there, now. But let me tell you, before they came it was hell. You should have seen the utter trash that.."
"And that," Aren interrupted, "is exactly what I do not want to happen to us. If we begin to come under blockade by former trading allies because of our threat.."
Arillium stared at nothing, deep in thought. "Did we really just threaten everyone?"
Aren's teeth ground together. "Let's watch it again."
This was indeed going to be a tough election!
