The Jedi From Earth: A Star Wars Story #Wattys2023

Part 192

**********, Indianapolis suburbs

    Johnson stepped off of Marine One near the disaster relief center set up outside the recently evacuated capital of Indiana. "Evelyn, I don't think this is a good idea to leave the bunker so often" Sharpson said while Johnson read over some of her notes. "Well Donald, I just want to make sure everyone is doing alright is all" Johnson calmly said while heading toward the disaster center, though it was merely the city airport and its hangers that were the center. Though it couldn't be long, for the Alliance had recently informed Johnson that the Imperial forces under their new commander Vice Admiral Rae Sloane were heading for Indianapolis, on both the ground and air. Several F-18 fighter jets flew by overhead where explosions sounded from the north. Johnson had wanted this to be a surprise visit and so had only sent word to the local National Guard and city authorities in secret that she and Sharpson would be coming.

     The director of the center approached them and shook Johnson's hand, she was a woman in her mid forties with slightly dark skin and very brown hair. "Madam President, Mr. Vice President thank you so much for coming" the director said. "I'm Judy Padilla, this way please" she said. "Nice to meet you Judy" Johnson replied with a smile, then she looked at the sky once more before heading into the hanger. With the very large doors shut and the four thousand or more people sitting or standing inside the hanger made it clamor with voices.

     Seeing all the people, with many of them having to leave a majority of their belongings behind and forced out of their homes made Johnson's heart hurt. Though as soon as people noticed she and Sharpson were there it became quiet in the immediate vicinity, a good number of people in the area then stood up with one man removing his hat as he stood up. "Hello" Johnson said politely with a smile, "hello" Sharpson said as smiled too. Johnson walked forward and shook some people's hands, "thank you so much for coming" one man said with much enthusiasm at one point while many others gathered to see them. All the while Johnson could see but also feel somehow the emotions that many had, joy at seeing her but also worry about when the Empire would be here.

   At one point she walked up to one mother and teenaged daughter who were charging their phones on a solar generator recently brought back inside. "Hello" Johnson said with a smile and the mother jumped a little, "oh geez, you're really here" the mother said while laughing. The daughter did not seemed to interested and almost standoffish, Johnson felt the daughters anxiety about something. "You ok sweetie?" She asked sympathetically. "Yea just- I'm just really anxious, it's been bothering me for the past year" the daughter said. Johnson decided to reveal something from her past just then, something not even Sophia knew. "Well I'll tell you this, I had really bad anxiety when I was your age" she said in a quiet yet confident tone. The daughter seemed interested now, "yeah?" She said.

    "Yeah, and when I went off to my first semester of college I enlisted in the Marines and put my anxiety into my training" Johnson explained, "it went away for a long time until my husband passed away then it came back a little". "But I put myself into doing what I like best, I raised a daughter while going to law school, then ran for Congress and the rest is history", "the point is that you shouldn't let anxiety anchor you down somewhere you're not happy". The daughter seemed both slightly optimistic and pessimistic now, "that's great and all... but I wish I could be as strong as you..I just can't be" she said. Johnson put her hand on the girls shoulder, "you can be, you can be" she said consolingly before walking away.

Sharpson then spoke up, "never knew about that or suspected it" he said quietly. "I just don't let something from my past control my future, Donald" Johnson replied, "that's what sets me apart from Riosovsky, he'll always be out for revenge because of his wife's killing, I made peace with that gloomy time in my life a long time ago", " when all this is over and we win it'll be awful but at least we'll be free" She then finished with.