The holocameras focus in on the speaking platform normally used by the Chancellor of the Senate, but tonight occupied by the Chief of State Elayne Kavos. There is a chime that quiets the hall and then she begins to speak.
“Fellow beings of the New Republic a new year is upon us.” she begins, her eyes slowly moving through the crowd. “My first year as Chief of State started so quietly, strengthening ties with our allies, getting to tour or shipyards and watch them launching our New Class ships at a dizzying pace to replace our 30,40 even 50 year old starships, seeing new technologies for our troops in development, its all kind of discerning but at the same time very exciting. I also had the chance to visit new construction sites and watch as our economy continues to grow, although its true that it has significantly slowed in the last year we are still in a strong period of growth. We still aim to meet the same level of production as the Old Republic during its height and golden age. Even in the Outer Rim where the economy has slowed much more we still see some growth, and currently our senate is in talks on ways to boost that grown some more.”
“Unfortunately things never seem to be quiet or peaceful for long. The Goa'uld attack on our Federation allies resulted in a combined effort that saw the Goa'uld pushed off of New Archer, but our own station at Tanos was severely damaged, and continues to limit our ability to patrol the area for a couple more months. After that came the return of Ace Kaelton. Insane after years of burning desire for revenge of his lost homeworld, Kaelton had lost sight of his battles and simply tried to rain destruction down on innocent lives. Again a coalition of forces stopped him, with light to moderate losses of our forces, though some were hit harder. I think Kaelton should be remembered at the end of this year as a tragic lesson for many people in the Republic, or even the galaxy. His actions were quite evil in the end, but they stemmed from years that lead back to desires that many in our own rebellion had, revenge for Alderaan, a desire to see an end to the empire. Some might wonder that Kaelton might have been a hero of the Republic had he not fallen so far.”

“But now we will look forward into the future. The promise of new friends, strengthening the bonds with the ones that we already have. A new gate that will allow us closer relations with the Federation, a still growing economy, shrinking unemployment, poverty and homelessness. 23 years after the battle of Yavin we have continued with our goals, and at the Cusp of 24 ABY I hope the rest of the Republic will stand with me and look forwards to the future.”

Clapping starts as the cameras fade out followed by the sounds.


Edited 9:14pm, December 31, 2009 by NRHNN, author.