as written by Tiko
Tables had been set out at the base of the podium with photos erected to display the faces of those who had died in the Lakeside District Massacre one year ago. Candles and flowers littered the ground around the memorial as people paid their respects to the dead.
Two photos in particular stood out from the rest, and they had been placed upon the centermost table. They were those of Caroline and Viktor, ages seven and ten. Both had been shot in the back of the head along with the rest of the families of those who had resisted against the Aschen rounding up of mutants and psionics. A cleansing they had called it.
Seventeen civilians had lost their lives on that night. Seventeen dead. It seemed like such a small number in the wake of the Gilihi Massacre of one-hundred and forty-three civilians during a protest turned violent, but it was here in Illumene that it had all started. Many even said that the Lakeside District Massacre was the birthplace of the Isirian resistance movements. They said that as long as the faces of those who died here one year ago were never forgotten, then there was hope yet for liberation.
It wasn't thoughts of liberation or rebellion though that had brought people to the Lakeside District today. For most this was simply a day of remembrance. A day to mourn the dead.
As President McConley took to the podium the din of the crowd began to quell and a silence began to settle over those gathered within the plaza. For a long time McConley didn't say a word as he looked out over the crowd to all of those expectant eyes. He was serving his third and final term as the president of Isiria, with only another two years left. But it might as well have been fifty.
It had been just over a year since the Aschen ships had appeared in their skies, and just over a year since he had signed their surrender. One had only to look across the plaza to see Imperial propaganda plastered upon walls, billboards, and holographic signs. Posters of the Emperor could be found through-out the city, and Aschen influence had seeped its way into their schools and military.
For many Isirians these changes had brought a new era of prosperity, but it had divided Isiria. Many of the outer systems sheltered Isirian rebels and insurgencies, save for Cryo who had thrown its lot in with the Aschen Empire. The central planets, like Arastel, were more divided on the matter. The rich and the privileged favored tolerance so long as their coffers remained full, while the working middle class was left to suffer the pinch of their imperialist overlords the most. Deportations of Arastel citizens to the outer planets was on the rise as discontent turned to violence.
It was these people who stood now looking to McConley for answers. Answers as to why their sons and daughters, wives and husbands had been dragged from their homes in the dead of night one year ago. Answers as to why their government had done nothing to protect them. Answers to bring some sense of understanding and justification to their grief, even as more of their people where all but exiled to the outer planets for speaking out.
He looked down at the cards in his hands where he had prepared his speech and the truth of it was there in his eyes. He didn't have the answers.
It was with a heavy sigh that he looked up and began to speak.
Tables had been set out at the base of the podium with photos erected to display the faces of those who had died in the Lakeside District Massacre one year ago. Candles and flowers littered the ground around the memorial as people paid their respects to the dead.
Two photos in particular stood out from the rest, and they had been placed upon the centermost table. They were those of Caroline and Viktor, ages seven and ten. Both had been shot in the back of the head along with the rest of the families of those who had resisted against the Aschen rounding up of mutants and psionics. A cleansing they had called it.
Seventeen civilians had lost their lives on that night. Seventeen dead. It seemed like such a small number in the wake of the Gilihi Massacre of one-hundred and forty-three civilians during a protest turned violent, but it was here in Illumene that it had all started. Many even said that the Lakeside District Massacre was the birthplace of the Isirian resistance movements. They said that as long as the faces of those who died here one year ago were never forgotten, then there was hope yet for liberation.
It wasn't thoughts of liberation or rebellion though that had brought people to the Lakeside District today. For most this was simply a day of remembrance. A day to mourn the dead.
As President McConley took to the podium the din of the crowd began to quell and a silence began to settle over those gathered within the plaza. For a long time McConley didn't say a word as he looked out over the crowd to all of those expectant eyes. He was serving his third and final term as the president of Isiria, with only another two years left. But it might as well have been fifty.
It had been just over a year since the Aschen ships had appeared in their skies, and just over a year since he had signed their surrender. One had only to look across the plaza to see Imperial propaganda plastered upon walls, billboards, and holographic signs. Posters of the Emperor could be found through-out the city, and Aschen influence had seeped its way into their schools and military.
For many Isirians these changes had brought a new era of prosperity, but it had divided Isiria. Many of the outer systems sheltered Isirian rebels and insurgencies, save for Cryo who had thrown its lot in with the Aschen Empire. The central planets, like Arastel, were more divided on the matter. The rich and the privileged favored tolerance so long as their coffers remained full, while the working middle class was left to suffer the pinch of their imperialist overlords the most. Deportations of Arastel citizens to the outer planets was on the rise as discontent turned to violence.
It was these people who stood now looking to McConley for answers. Answers as to why their sons and daughters, wives and husbands had been dragged from their homes in the dead of night one year ago. Answers as to why their government had done nothing to protect them. Answers to bring some sense of understanding and justification to their grief, even as more of their people where all but exiled to the outer planets for speaking out.
He looked down at the cards in his hands where he had prepared his speech and the truth of it was there in his eyes. He didn't have the answers.
It was with a heavy sigh that he looked up and began to speak.
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