AN: Feedback time. What do you think about the rough summary of the political situation in the Jedi Council? How do you think these people will react to the Veils and what they might suggest about not just Naboo but slavery in Hutt Space in particular and the Outer Rim in general?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Star Wars movies, TV series, books, comics or games. They all belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners. I make no money from this story. It's not for sale or rent.
Chapter 3: Into the twilight
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Part 3
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The Temptress
Bridge
Low orbit
Coruscant
At a first glance, Coruscant still was the gleaming jewel I remembered. It was still surrounded by defensive stations, though any military ships that might be on station to protect the capital were lost in the virtual armada of arriving and leaving vessels that streamed up and down towards the thousands of spaceports dotting the surface. Huge freighters came in carrying food and consumer goods, while others left with the products of Coruscant's vast industrial zones.
Countless light shone brightly painting intricate patterns and even after all these years I could recognize some. The main cargo spaceport on that hemisphere was a gleaming tower of light with streams moving stars forming an fine web stretching in all directions.
The Jedi Temple and Senate were easy to see too. They were surrounded by shining beacons stabbing in the sky and keeping the night away as their part of Coruscant slid beyond the edge of daylight. As we descended the city-planet's skyline become more and more distinct. It was both familiar and strange. Some buildings were clearly recognizable to the Jedi packed in behind the Captain, even if they were further built up and taller than they remembered. Others were gone, replaced or hidden by newer and taller construction.
"I though Coruscant would have changed more." Kira whispered.
"It probably did, just in less obvious ways."
"You haven't been here lately?" The Captain, a human in his late fifties, asked.
"It feels like its been ages." Delkatar muttered.
"Dare I ask what work do you have with the Jedi?" The Captain fished for information.
"We're coming home after a very long sabbatical."
"Huh. I didn't peg you as Jedi. You give the vibe of a married couple."
"That we are." Kira smiled fondly.
"Wasn't that forbidden? We don't hear much about your kind besides wild rumours and even more distorted stories."
"We didn't let that stop us."
When they came closer, it became clear that the Jedi Temple hadn't really changed, at least in appearance, from what they remembered. It took them a few minutes to get clearance and then the Captain guided them into one of the hangars. Delkatar paused to pay the man, while the rest of the passengers disembarked. He hooked a hand around Kira's waiting arm and they descended the ramp.
A pair of Temple guards wearing ceremonial garb met them in the otherwise empty hangar.
The shorter of the two greeted in an easy going voice."Good evening, I'm Jedi Knight Pern. I'm glad you arrived safely. After we heard about the invasion..." He shrugged. "A Jedi Knight is on the way to guide you to meet the Council, Masters. Queen Amidala, we're relieved to receive you safely. We'll contact Senator Palpatine shortly to inform him of your arrival. I believe that the two of you will need to talk. There have been some startling development since you were forced to flee Naboo."
"We thank you for your consideration, Master Jedi Pern. Do you know what is happening to our home?" The Queen asked in a worried voice.
"The whole system has been dark for days now." The Temple Guard shook his head. "The Senate ordered investigation and forming a commission to carry it out, the Trade Federation Senator appeared to be supportive of such measures but that's..." Pern paused. "It might be better to hear it from your Senator, my lady. As I said, the situation with the Senate is complicated right now."
"We see. Then if it won't be an imposition, please take us somewhere where we can speak with Senator Palpatine. We are eager to learn what he has done for Naboo in our absence."
"By all means. This way, please follow me, my lady." Pern gave Amidala's double a respectful bow and headed towards the single door leading deeper into the Temple.
Meanwhile, the ancient Jedi simply observed the conversation and felt the building and its occupants through the Force. The Temple felt peaceful; it was a soothing beacon of light to their senses, the opposite of what they experienced on Tatooine. Standing there in the hangar, it made their experiences on that world feel distant, a tiny bit less important.
Before the Queen's party could leave, the door opened and a middle-aged man strode in. He had shoulder length greying brown hair tied in a ponytail. His relatively thing moustache and beard were more grey than anything, but despite the quite visible proof of his advancing age, the man looked very energetic and downright cheerful.
"You must be Jedi Masters Kira and Delkatar Veil! I'm Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn. Let me be among the first to welcome you back to the Jedi Temple!" The man's gaze moved from the married couple to the Skywalkers and HK-47 who stood beside them. "I don't believe we were introduced."
"These are Anakin and Shmi Skywalker, former slaves from Tatooine who we freed. And that's HK-47." Delkatar supplied.
Qui-Gon's expression perked up ever further at the news. "That's excellent. It's always good to hear someone managed to free a few unfortunate souls from slavery. Please follow me." Ginn made a shooing motion. "Perhaps the Skywalkers would like to go to the dinning hall for a bite to eat? I believe that your meeting with the Council might be a long one. Unless..." He glanced thoughtfully at Anakin.
"That might be for the best." Kira temporized.
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High Council Chamber
Jedi Temple
Coruscant
Eleven of the Twelve Jedi Masters making up the High Council sat in their traditional meeting place discussing current events. Only their newest member, the Togruta Shaak Ti, wasn't present due to a mission that took her to the Outer Rim.
At the place of honour facing the exit sat the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order – Yoda, who to most outsiders was the nominal leader of the Council. However, that was a misinterpretation of his position. While he was the oldest and supposedly the wisest among his peers, that merely meant that he held the ancient position of High Master, which was more commonly known as Grandmaster and explained the confusion. In practice, Yoda held a ceremonial post, though due his wisdom, experience and the high respect he held among his peers they usually not only listened to his advice but followed it.
The real leader of the Council, or as close a position as they actually had, was held by Mace Windu. The tall dark skinned human, was the latest Master of the Order, and as tradition dictated, he was elected to the post.
It was a position that Yoda held multiple times in the past and that was one of the primary reasons why to the most outsiders he was the de-facto leader of the Jedi.
To the Grandmaster's left sat the Chief Librarian of the Order, the oldest human Jedi currently alive bar none. She was the keeper of knowledge and one of the strongest adherents of order and tradition in the Temple.
Beside her sat two friends – the Jedi Masters Plo Koon and Ki-Adi-Mundi. They were among the more progressive and easy-going among the Council and often argued for more proactive and open policies. Plo Koon was a Kel Dorn male, whose breath-mask gave him a sinister appearance that often led people to get the wrong impression of him, for that Jedi Master was one of the kindest among the Order.
Master Mundi was an oddity. He was among a handful of Jedi allowed to marry, because of the very low numbers of his species. Because of the close relationship with his wives, he could be often seen defending various controversial stances. That along with his personality put him firmly in the faction arguing for a gradual change of how the Order as a whole conducted itself.
The tallest being in the room sat next to the two friends. His name was Yaref Poof and thanks to his Quermian origins he towered far above everyone else. He was another member of the reformists as they were sometimes called. As the most compassionate member of the Council that wasn't a surprise for anyone who knew him. Master Poof never failed to help innocents in need he met during his missions even if that was at the expense of his assignments.
While no one doubted the Quermian's devotion to the Jedi Order or the Republic, some Jedi were wary of him. Poof was commonly known to be too fond of harmless pranks often using his affinity in the mind arts to pull them off. He was perceived as a contradiction, because he never failed to make the point that affecting people's perceptions either through the Force or other means could have severe consequences, perhaps even death. Only Jedi in complete control of their abilities should ever try it, he often claimed. At the same time, his jokes often had another point – to remind his newest object of interest that things seldom were as they appeared and should that was something that a Jedi should always keep in mind.
Many of his peers saw his little pranks as a conduct unbecoming of a Jedi, much less a Master. More often than not, that perception tended to make them dig in their heels when he took a stance they disagreed with.
The last Jedi Master sitting at that side of the room was Coleman Trebor – a good natured Vurk who was an adept diplomat so good with his silver tongue that the occasions he had to resolve disputes with lightsaber instead of words could still be counted on the fingers of a single hand. He was in the uncommon position to disagree with his closest allies on the Council. Trebor was convinced that the Naboo crisis had a diplomatic solution and that it was just a matter of time before it was achieved. That was a stark contrast with Master Poof's own stance, considering that the Quermian was the staunchest believer in the Republic's inherent goodness.
In an unintentional divide, the other side of the Chamber held the more conservative numbers of the Council divided by Master Yaddle who usually took a neutral stance on most issues. She was the only other member of Yoda's species currently a Jedi and only second to him in wisdom and amount of respect received by their peers. She was a quiet and kind being, who strictly speaking had more in common with the reformists than the conservative Jedi she often sat with.
Master Yaddle was surrounded by Masters Ereth Koth and Saesse Tiin, the leaders of the conservatives. To her right sat the imposing and demonic figure of the male Iktotchi Tiin. His red skin, huge horns framing his face and pointed teeth gave an impression of a monster who crawled from below a child's bed instead of a respected Jedi Master. Saesse was a hard-headed stubborn man who reviled anyone who even thought about learning about the Dark Side of the Force. The only people he felt stronger about were outright Darksiders and the rare few who betrayed the Order.
Tiin was another contradiction. He had such a strong devotion to the Order that many saw it as outright obsession. Master Saesse felt that the only way to avoid the pitfalls of the Dark Side was to adhere as closely as possible to the conservative understanding of the Jedi Code. While he saw nothing wrong with Maser Mundi being married in order to help repopulate his endangered species, he was one of those who were most opposed to the man's close connection with his wives and children seeing it as a betrayal of what a Jedi Master must be. Occasionally he even admitted that his strong emotions concerning what he believed to be wrong with the Order were a personal failing of his he always strove to correct.
Master Ereth Koth sat between Masters Yaddle and Nu. The Zabrak was renowned for raising his kinds renowned mental discipline to new heights. He was an unusual addition of the Order – one of the Jedi who began their training at the unheard age of four after being found scrapping a living on Nar Shaddaa. He knew the darkness in the heart of the average person and considered the Jedi Order his salvation. Master Koth had close and strong bonds with most of his peers and believed that separating the affairs of the Jedi from those of the galaxy at large was the right call. As far as he was concerned, interfering in the affairs of the Republic unless the Senate called for it with a good reason could lead only to folly.
The last person in the conservative camp was another contradiction that made some of her allies uneasy. Jedi Master Depa Billaba was a human woman who was among the first Padawans Mace Windu took. Currently she was the only other wielder of his infamous Vaapad style and that meant that she was only the second Jedi in the Order with a reasonable understanding of the Dark Side – a reason she and Windu often clashed with their ally Tiin.
Many in the Order considered Master Billaba as one of the most enlightened and forward thinking Jedi of their age and as often as not she proved it by taking stands that ran contrary to her allies in the conservative camp. The primary reason why she usually supported a more conservative future for the Order, was her view that it wasn't the Jedi's place to lead the Republic, nor should they unnecessary meddle in its affairs. Instead, she claimed that for the foreseeable future they should be nothing more than guides and advisers. After all, for the past thousand years, the Jedi did their best to separate themselves from the levels of power in the Republic and she believed it was done for the right reasons.
It was this colourful group that debated over what they should do about the situation on Naboo. Masters Mundi, Koon and Poof argued that the Jedi had to step in and openly oppose the invasion, with actions and not just words.
In this particular case, they faced distension in the ranks, though Trebor's own stance wasn't unexpected. Nor was that of their occasional ally – Billaba's beliefs were well known, though the three reformists hoped to sway her to their side for this particular cause.
It was no big surprise that those believing most strongly in the spirit as well the letter of the reformation that shaped today's Order were opposed to any action without receiving a sanction from the Senate, something that looked more and more like a pipe dream. Perhaps if Senator Palpatine got elected as the next Chancellor he could force the Senate to act but until that happened the Republic wouldn't be able to offer more than a token aid.
To Master Yoda, the situation in the Council Chamber was a mirror image of what he saw not long ago in the Senate. His comrades were divided, though not as badly as the Senators themselves. It was still enough to lock the Council in debates about the right course of action... but what did that even mean? Morally the invasion of Naboo by another Republic member was abhorrent, there was no question about it. It was the morality of the Jedi's own response that was in question as well as the consequences. Yoda was raised with the tales of the New Sith Wars. He remembered Jedi Masters, some of whom were his teachers, who used to be Jedi Lords ruling as feudal lords. They told him cautionary tales of the decisions they had to make every day, of how insidious and corrupting the game of politics played in the Senate and between local governments could be.
The reason why they agreed to the reformation that stripped their power away was simple – they were afraid that the power they wielded was slowly corrupting them and in the long run would turn them as bad as the Sith they fought to defeat. With the Sith gone, the Jedi simply had to step away from political power or risk everything. It wasn't their role to rule the Republic. They were mediators, diplomats, silent guardians who stood outside the usual dirty games played on Coruscant and beyond.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Even four thousand years later, Revan's tale was a cautionary one. One of the best and brightest Jedi went to war against the will of the Council and led many of his peers astray. He did stop the Mandalorian Wars and saved many lives, that much was true. It was also true that during that conflict he fell and brought down his peers only for them to vanish and return a few years alter as Sith hell-bent on conquering the Republic.
The Order couldn't be hasty. They had to consider all options, all threats and dangers or whatever was currently happening on Naboo might become a mere footnote in history making the beginning of something so much worse.
The Council couldn't afford to make a mistake. Too many was happened over the past few decades. Too many Jedi were lost, either to death or to the madness of the Dark Side.
Yoda listened how Masters Mundi and Tiin argued their points. Both were good and he agreed with some arguments each of them made. From a certain point of view, they were both right too. Not helping Naboo would be a betrayal, a failure. Going to war to liberate it without the Senate's blessings and backing? That would be wrong too, it would betray all the Order stood for over Yoda's whole life and in the end might cause more harm than good. The Jedi weren't an army. Fighting a war wasn't their purpose. The Sith were gone.
Perhaps the ancient Jedi could bring another perspective? They should be arriving soon.
