"Alright, alright," called Thire, trying to settle the rowdy group of troopers in the barracks. "We're down to a handful of candidates. The floor is now open for any final statements and the polls will close at midnight Coruscant time. Rys, you're up."

Thire hopped down from the DIY podium some of the men had crafted from bedframes and lumpy pillows. 

Did he think this was ridiculous? Yes. Was he having a grand old time with it? Absolutely. Had this unsanctioned election gotten out of hand? Maybe.

As Rys took a stand in front of the assembled troopers, he held up a holo of Halle Burtoni. "Hear me out-"

He couldn't get more than a few syllables out before the entire room erupted in boos and hisses. 

Rys gave an impish grin, continuing to say his piece before Jek forcefully shoved him from the podium to speak. He unfurled the torn cover of a magazine that sported Senator Bail Organa. It was obviously an edited photo because it would be most unbelievable if the tabloids managed to catch him shirtless and posing like.

"Now actually hear me out!" proclaimed Jek, to which the crowd responded with uproarious cheers. 

From his spot toward the back of the room near the door, Stone rolled his eyes to high heavens, knowing the game those two were playing at. He had to silently applaud the strategy. By suggesting an absolutely horrendous candidate first, that made Jek's choice all the more appealing. 

Election season meant tensions ran high for the Senators as they scrambled around, giving grandiose speeches and performing gracious acts in order to convince their constituents to let them cling to their power for another term. Then, among the citizens, tempers flared as their differing opinions morphed into acts of violence to prove their points. And if the Senators and citizens were running around quarrelsomely, then that meant the Coruscant Guard was working themselves ragged trying to keep some semblance of peace. Not to mention, there was always the one or two assassinations and all the investigating and paperwork that those messes entailed.

This spontaneous election had been an entertaining diversion from the normal stresses of the election season. Its original intent had been to lightly mock the senatorial candidates, but to also give the boys a taste of democracy. It was only fair that they had this faux election if they weren't permitted to vote on the real policies that affected the galaxy that they lived in and the war that they currently fought in. 

Stone would swear up and down that this idea had started innocently enough as an educational opportunity for the boys. Clearly, something had gone awry somewhere down the line as the election for "fake chancellor and senate seats" had devolved into a vote for the "hottest person in the Senate." 

Stone blamed Thire for the degeneracy, but Thire blamed Stone for them all getting caught.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" thundered a voice from the doorway. 

The rowdy, heated debates that were on the verge of all out shouting matches ground to an abrupt halt. Every trooper in the room snapped to attention, nervous sweat breaking out on their foreheads. As fortune would have it, and it never seemed to favor the clones, Commander Fox had deemed to do a surprise inspection of the barracks at the most inopportune moment. Fox's scathing gaze swept the room, taking in every detail. 

From the corner of his eye because he didn't dare look at the fuming Commander directly, Stone caught the exact moment he caught sight of Kosmos who was frozen on the spot in their pretend podium with a poster of Riyo Chuchi hanging from his hand.

Oh fate, was certainly spurning that poor shiny. It wasn't like the poster was overtly graphic or vulgar but it was about as close as you could get to being a pinup poster without actually being a pinup poster. But considering Fox's fierce protectiveness for the Pantoran Senator, Kosmos might as well have been waving a scandalous holo of her stark naked.

Fox's jaw was clenched so hard his teeth cracked and the vein in his forehead bulged out. It was clear that he was struggling to find the appropriate words to match his fury. His men were bracing themselves for the inevitable eruption of his anger.

In the dead silence, none other than Riyo Chuchi, the not-so-secret girlfriend of their terrifying Commander, came sauntering into the barracks behind Fox while nursing a steaming cup of caf. She was devoid of any glamorous jewelry and fine linens of her station and was instead clad in a baggy sweatshirt and leggings.

She looked a bit worn. The election season obviously had taken a bit of a toll on her wellbeing. Still, amicable smile adorned her face as she entered the barracks. Though the cheery expression quickly vanished and whatever kind word she most likely would've greeted them with died away when she took in the scene before her.

"Wow, that is... quite the liberal artistic depiction of Senator Amidala," observed Riyo haltingly. Her gaze shifted slightly to the left to the podium and her eyes widened further. "Oh, me too." Her expression said that she couldn't quite decide upon whether she was feeling vaguely flattered or completely scandalized. 

Fox was outraged on her behalf. 

Her presence seemed to finally spur the men from their stunned states. 

Kosmos dropped the poster as if it had burned his hand while Fox's ability to speak returned tenfold. He roared orders at the troopers as they scrambled to place the barracks back in order. Once the room was made spotless in record time and they were lined up in painfully straight lines, Fox continued to give his men the ultimate dressing-down.

While he didn't lay a hand on his troopers, he made his point plenty clear by driving his fist into one of the bunk frames and making a sizable dent in the durasteel. Next trooper talking about any Senator in such a depraved manner would have their head meet with his fist. Kosmos' knees felt particularly weak when Fox's sharp gaze leveled at him as he berated them all about proper respect for the elite officials of the galaxy. He got a few mental head scratches when he accidentally swerved his tirade into a rant about how wonderful and gracious Riyo's character was.

In the end, the Commander made every trooper in the room turn and give Riyo a heartfelt apology for what they had made her bear witness to.

"I accept your apologies. I will say that your propaganda is at least kinder than what they say about me in the smear campaigns," noted Riyo, trying to make a lighthearted remark. 

It fell flat as Fox among with every other Corrie Guard bristled at the thought of anyone speaking ill of the Senator. She supposed it was nice to be held in high regard.

"It is rather disappointing to me how you twisted your election into something of an unsavory joke," chided Riyo.

The men wilted under her gentle reproach. Somehow, her disappointment in them was more crushing than Fox's rage. At that point, they'd rather take Fox's fist to their face than have the kind Senator upset with them. 

"However, it also makes me happy to see you take interest in the activities of democracy." 

Fox could immediately tell from the spark in Riyo's eyes that she saw the chance to spread her knowledge about her area of expertise and was seizing it. Thus, he was wholly unsurprised when she offered to give the men an impromptu workshop on politics and government structuring. Additionally, knowing his men, he was unsurprised when they exuberantly accepted.

As much as she privately complained to him about the daily stupidity of those in the Senate, he knew she wouldn't change her position for anything in the galaxy. Just as he had been created for war, she had been born for politics despite the unsavory aspects that came with positions of power. 

No one could miss the proud gleam in his eye as he was content to stand back and listen to her educate his men. From her animated manner of speech, he could tell that this was a good diversion from the common woes of elections that were currently weighing heavy on her shoulders. 

Riyo allowed them to hold a different election, but only after they promised to do their homework and vote based on the person's ideologies and their involvement in various bills that were passed. She also warned them against taking the easy way out and voting for just her. She expected them to have a full and reasonable explanation as to who they had chosen and why they would vote for them. 

With her piece said, she allowed the troopers to ponder her spur-of-the-moment workshop in peace. Fox followed after her, but not before leveling a stern glare at his men that warned them to behave themselves. 

~~~~~~~

"I didn't mean to scare them from their original election," remarked Fox as he walked her back to her office.

"Really?" Riyo lifted an eyebrow. Fox's original explosion at his men certainly hadn't given that impression. Truthfully, she was slightly afraid in the moment for all the troopers making it out of the room in one piece. Although, his tangential piece at the end had made her wonder. 

"At least they settled on something wholesome, and they got a lesson on executive law and policies," she noted. 

"I wanted you to win," pouted Fox as he opened the door and they both stepped inside her office.

"Fox, you're biased," said Riyo plainly.

The Commander threw up his hands. "So? Everyone in politics is biased. At least, I'm right."

Riyo rolled her eyes but was unable to stop an amused grin from forming on her face. "I will admit. Corrie politics is far more interesting than what the old farts usually drone on about in the Senate, if a bit less consequential."

"Eh, if given the chance, they'd probably come up with some stupid bill, like there must always be pudding as a dessert option in the mess hall," groused Fox. 

"I think they're smarter than that," defended Riyo.

Fox gave her a deadpan look as a way to remind her about the mess they had walked in on an hour before.

"Well," she carefully considered her next words, "you never know until they are given a real chance."

"We probably won't ever be given that chance," remarked Fox pessimistically, causing Riyo to draw her lips into a thin, unhappy line.

Their outlooks on the future drastically differed from the other. 

She stood on her tiptoes to press a reassuring peck to his cheek. There was a fire in her golden stare as she said, "Then I hope to stay in office to ensure you get that chance."