Night on Coruscant.
The Office of the Supreme Chancellor had a weight to it now that Emil Ro had not felt when he first claimed it. He returned to the familiar chamber with the wide view of Coruscant's sky lanes and the Jedi Temple after almost forty-eight standard hours of around the clock monitoring of the situations on Denon and Firrerre. Senator Jin Vaisra was heading the New Republic's relief efforts on the latter world, while the fleet maintained the Iron Blockade above Denon undisturbed. And yet the cold he had felt the day he initiated it had not left him. If anything, it had grown even stronger.
Coruscant was balmy at this point in the planet's cycle. So Emil knew the chill he felt didn't come from the weather, he hadn't felt a breeze in over a month that had chilled him. Joost had suggested it was guilt — "It's normal," he had said. "Everyone in your position would feel guilt over the loss of civilian lives, even if the action was necessary." — but Emil knew it wasn't that. It was his anger. Somehow he knew it.
He had a lot to be angry at. The Sith had forced the New Republic's hand. Firrerre could not be met with no response. So, he responded and in a way that would ensure the New Republic was not subject to immediate invasion. First, the press attacked him for his inaction, then they attacked him for his action. And to make matters worse, the whole bloody Galactic Senate was involved now. He had expected a harsh response. Such was the nature of politics, after all. Then why was he so angry?
A light on his desk beeped. Communication from one his aids downstairs. He stormed over to it and punched the button with a jab of his finger. "Sir, Jedi Master Voran to see you. She's quite insistent."
Yes—she'd be insistent for two days. Two days Emil had refused to reply to her request for a meeting. After all, he had a situation to oversee. But now he found he could not keep away from her any longer. Besides, he had as many questions for her as she had for him. "Send her in," Emil barked.
There was a click as the aid closed the line. Emil clenched his fist and immediately the surrounding furniture slid away from him as if repelled by a powerful magnet. For a moment, he gawked at what he'd done. Then, suddenly, he was glad the Jedi Master was coming. Glad for the first time in days. @Valen Pelora