Victoria had barely escaped the disaster of a senate session before the bombardment of messages began flooding her personal communicator. Constituents from all walks of life, finding it necessary to find creative ways of misspelling her name and or including expletives, were sharing negative commentary on social media and tagging her official account. Calls for her resignation or reversal of policy were fine and she'd cope with those, but it didn't escape her notice that a handful included a number of hurtful hashtags, #IStanJasnah, #Victoria_Wintergoaway, #Jedno.
It seemed there wasn't as much support on Gannaria for her very public position as she had hoped, and while she could rely on some groups within the capital that likewise supported the Jedi, the vast majority seemed apprehensive to risk war with the Empire. It wasn't even a competition if the Empire chose to invade, the planet's best defence was its remoteness and relatively agrarian economy. The little fleet and armed forces on hand were barely enough to maintain order and police the planet beforehand, now it was in danger of falling apart.
The little industry on the planet was mostly in service to keep the spaceports running and maintain facilities to tender to the FWA vessels that would berth. Victoria had hoped to improve this over time and perhaps even house a small production of local defence, but even that seemed so very distant now.
No sooner did she arrive back home than was she confronted with an endless supply of complaints and problems to deal with, her usual workload not withstanding. All the little problematic groups that she could normally keep at bay with cool words, were now stirring and causing trouble all across the planet. Her aide Doug Yrgrav didn't stop with the bad news, her opponent in the last election was publicly calling for her resignation in this wake, wondering how she could protect the citizens against the empire when she couldn't even manage to keep the planet itself safe from their own troublemakers.
It was all a little bit too much for the small town girl, Victoria bolted into her office and slammed the door shut in a panicked state. Hyperventilating and completely in over her head, what the heck had she done that for?! It was beginning to dawn upon her the reality of what had occurred and how much she'd screwed things up. It wasn't just that she'd painted a large target on her back, she'd find a way to cope with that, but more that she had felt so self-confident going into the senate only to leave doubting her own resolve.
The blinds were closed as she sat in the dark corner of the office, quietly sobbing into her elbow, lest the others outside hear. She couldn't claim to represent Gannaria if she didn't have their support, resigning and running away seemed the logical and sound option at this low point. But in the back of her mind, she could hear the voice of her father, encouraging her to be brave and stand up for what was right no matter what. His words at the time were meant to help her overcome a youthful challenge, and yet here they were so many years later, pulling her back from the brink.
Victoria sniffed and rubbed her sweater against her puffy face to dry the tears. There was so much to do and not that much time to do it, but she owed it to herself to at least try. Now sitting up, she slipped the communicator into her palms and began typing up some messages. It was a long shot, but maybe, she considered, the embassy on Ailon could send a Jedi her way. Her people were fearful of the empire's retaliation and although reluctant to admit it, the FWA wasn't likely going to be enough to save them. Better yet, if they could see the Jedi Order the way she did, perhaps they'd come around to supporting her position too.
She'd stuck her neck out publicly backing the Jedi and maybe, just, maybe that wouldn't be all for nothing.
It seemed there wasn't as much support on Gannaria for her very public position as she had hoped, and while she could rely on some groups within the capital that likewise supported the Jedi, the vast majority seemed apprehensive to risk war with the Empire. It wasn't even a competition if the Empire chose to invade, the planet's best defence was its remoteness and relatively agrarian economy. The little fleet and armed forces on hand were barely enough to maintain order and police the planet beforehand, now it was in danger of falling apart.
The little industry on the planet was mostly in service to keep the spaceports running and maintain facilities to tender to the FWA vessels that would berth. Victoria had hoped to improve this over time and perhaps even house a small production of local defence, but even that seemed so very distant now.
No sooner did she arrive back home than was she confronted with an endless supply of complaints and problems to deal with, her usual workload not withstanding. All the little problematic groups that she could normally keep at bay with cool words, were now stirring and causing trouble all across the planet. Her aide Doug Yrgrav didn't stop with the bad news, her opponent in the last election was publicly calling for her resignation in this wake, wondering how she could protect the citizens against the empire when she couldn't even manage to keep the planet itself safe from their own troublemakers.
It was all a little bit too much for the small town girl, Victoria bolted into her office and slammed the door shut in a panicked state. Hyperventilating and completely in over her head, what the heck had she done that for?! It was beginning to dawn upon her the reality of what had occurred and how much she'd screwed things up. It wasn't just that she'd painted a large target on her back, she'd find a way to cope with that, but more that she had felt so self-confident going into the senate only to leave doubting her own resolve.
The blinds were closed as she sat in the dark corner of the office, quietly sobbing into her elbow, lest the others outside hear. She couldn't claim to represent Gannaria if she didn't have their support, resigning and running away seemed the logical and sound option at this low point. But in the back of her mind, she could hear the voice of her father, encouraging her to be brave and stand up for what was right no matter what. His words at the time were meant to help her overcome a youthful challenge, and yet here they were so many years later, pulling her back from the brink.
Victoria sniffed and rubbed her sweater against her puffy face to dry the tears. There was so much to do and not that much time to do it, but she owed it to herself to at least try. Now sitting up, she slipped the communicator into her palms and began typing up some messages. It was a long shot, but maybe, she considered, the embassy on Ailon could send a Jedi her way. Her people were fearful of the empire's retaliation and although reluctant to admit it, the FWA wasn't likely going to be enough to save them. Better yet, if they could see the Jedi Order the way she did, perhaps they'd come around to supporting her position too.
She'd stuck her neck out publicly backing the Jedi and maybe, just, maybe that wouldn't be all for nothing.
@Sreeya