WPRT CH. 20
Silence Is Golden: Duct Tape Is Silver
Jo:
After Padmé told her parents (who introduced themselves as Ruwee and Jobal) and sister (who introduced herself as Sola) about the wedding, they still asked us to stay for dinner. We sat at a large round table, and Padmé's brother-in-law, Darred, and nieces, Ryoo and Pooja, were also sitting with us. It almost looked like an odd version of the Knights of the Round Table
The tension was thick, and dinner was mostly consumed in silence.
"Water," Bossk said timidly.
"What?!" Ruwee barked.
"I just asked for some more water," Bossk said.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
Ruwee signaled one of his staff, and they refilled everyone's water glasses.
I picked at the spinach-like plant and occasionally took a sip of water, but I was too afraid to commit to eating, but someone had to say something.
"So, uh, Ruwee, Jobal, how did you two meet?" I asked.
"Our mothers were close friends, and so we grew up together. They were the most surprised we fell in love, I think. We immediately left home and helped establish this village," Ruwee answered.
Jobal nodded, taking a sip of wine.
"Padmé, sweetheart, why didn't you tell us you were falling for this boy? Just a few days ago, you said you weren't."
We outsiders were shocked, and Barriss looked as if she were going to go into a fit. I put a hand on her leg.
"And Dad, that was true a few days ago, but we almost died, and that showed me that denying my feelings could only make the situation worse. Pretending that I didn't love Anakin was just going to make me miserable in the long run."
"You and Anakin got married?!" the two little girls squealed.
"Girls, this discussion does not leave this group. If anyone found out, it could get Anakin and Padmé into a lot of trouble. Understand?" Sola said sternly.
"Yes, Mama," both girls said quietly.
The stillness came again, and we could hear C-3PO and R2-D2 chit chatting elsewhere.
We had all been given a chance to clean up and be presentable to the Naberrie family, and Aaron and I took the opportunity to wear the clothes we wore for our presentation to Count Dooku. Boba put on a clean outfit, and Bossk was wearing regular clothes. We had assumed he didn't have any, but he surprised us. Barris was wearing something Padmé had shown her and helped her pin. It was a lovely purple dress that exposed some shoulder and a very small portion of skin around her midriff. Her hair was pulled into a simple knot. Aaron glanced at her a few times.
I went back to picking at the food, and hoped someone would break the silence.
"Ruwee, I promise to take good care of her. She is a special lady, and I've known that for years. If I had any inkling this was going to happen, I would have gone through the proper channels and asked for her hand from you first, but as it is, we are short on time, and if any action were going to be taken, it needed to happen when it did. We must leave in the morning to go back to Coruscant. We are expected to be there in light of the events on Geonosis."
"You really think this...skirmish will lead to war?" Darred asked.
Padmé nodded.
Jobal and Sola gasped.
The girls were too young to understand, and asked to be excused.
Sola reminded them of their promise and let them leave the table.
The girls' happy laughter mingled with the beeps and whistles of R2, and C-3PO scolded them for playing so loudly. His scolding was louder than the children's playing.
I excused myself and found the droid.
"Look buster, you are being louder than the kids. Let them play."
"But-."
I held up my hand.
"Silence is golden; duct tape is silver. I have some in my pack, and I'll use it, so help me."
The protocol droid nodded and I went back to the table.
Conversation had begun, and the marriage discussion was all but entirely forgotten.
"Will they be calling for galactic enlistment?" Ruwee asked.
"No. Someone ordered a clone army behind the Republic's back. They saved us back there. I see now that I was foolish and too confident in politics. I was going to vote 'No' on the Military Creation Act," Padmé said guiltily, with her face in her hands.
"You didn't know. You couldn't have known that this was in the works," Sola said.
"All governments need a military to protect what is theirs," Aaron said. "The trick is to not use that military to conquer others to create an empire."
"Why would we need an empire?" Anakin asked.
"You don't. But absolute power corrupts absolutely," I said.
"That's why we have avoided creating a military, and Cordé died so I could cast my vote against it. I was willing to die for it," Padmé said.
"It is not your fault. You weren't the only one to oppose it. We have an army now, and I suppose that is what counts. The Senate and Jedi will probably work together to appoint military leaders and how to handle it. The Senate guards will receive more special training to make sure that you and your colleagues will be safe," Anakin said. "The Jedi will not back away just because they are keepers of peace. We are just as committed to defending the galaxy and the Republic as the Senate."
"The Separatists as you refer to them, wanted to stir the pot- or were at least willing to, and I doubt Dooku is at the helm. Someone else is pulling the strings," Aaron said.
"I can't think of anyone else who would be so happy to see something like this happen," Padmé said while shaking her head.
"That is a mystery for another day. For now, the main focus on the Senate will be 'war were declared,'" I said gently. "There will be no choice but to proceed, and you can't be going into this all willy-nilly. The Senate and military leaders will have to be just as cold and calculating as the enemy, and they have robots. They aren't alive. If the Republic uses the clones, they will be throwing warm bodies, lives. It isn't pleasant, but unless you want them to win, you will have to at the very least defend what is yours and keep your people from being lured away by the otherside."
"She isn't wrong, honey," Ruwee said to his daughter.
"Not only does the Senate need to be on board, but the planets themselves. You'll have to rally the citizens of the Republic just as much. Aaron told Boba earlier about two of the nastiest wars on our planet, and our entire country got involved. Buying war bonds, pushing war bonds, rationing groceries, collecting nylons, planting Victory Gardens...just because the Senate says it's so, doesn't mean the people will back it. Involve them. It's not just 'he that has the best toys wins.' Morale is just as much a commodity of war as supplies and bodies. Technology does play a role, but without the citizens backing you, you get what our country would refer to as another Vietnam," I said.
"Before she goes off on a tangent, the short version of Vietnam is we really didn't have any business going in especially for as long as we did. There is a lot more and another war we are ignoring for the sake of keeping this short, but part of it was lack of national support," Aaron said.
"I hadn't really thought about this. I suppose the Senate will have to vote on an official declaration of war, but that could cause another split. Chancellor Palpatine can't just call a war or an army creation. Now, from what Obi-Wan said, a dead jedi ordered the army, but did not inform anyone else," Anakin said.
"Will the Jedi investigate?" Aaron asked.
"We will have to, because this is all too fishy. Someone is orchestrating this, and we would love to find out who," Anakin said.
"Not to be the 'Debbie Downer' here, but how do you propose that happens, Skywalker? I mean, you'd have to investigate everyone who has contact with the Republic from the bottom to the top. Even private citizens could have helped fuel this in some way," I said.
Anakin scowled.
"Jo, you get on my nerves."
"I get on everyone's nerves," I said. "I even know a song that gets on everybody's nerves. Would you like to know how it goes?"
"Enough you two. She's right, Anakin. If an investigation is run, every citizen is a suspect. Even Palpatine cannot be excluded," Padmé said.
Anakin scoffed.
"Palpatine wouldn't do this. He loves the Republic."
"I agree that it is doubtful, he is still suspect to speculation," Padmé said.
"I suppose that's true."
It was silent for a few moments, and we could hear the children tittering out on the lawn. I turned and saw them playing catch.
Oh, to be that young and ignorant of the world…
I was suddenly overcome with the desire to go home again. We hadn't even been away from home for a week.
I didn't realize how much could change in 24 hours let alone less than five days.
Barriss also turned to watch the children play, and she looked like she wished she could have played as a child, too. My mind flashed to some wonderful times I had playing with my friend Morgan. We played house under the willow trees that surrounded a pond at her apartment complex. We would also play in the complex office, upstairs, where we weren't supposed to go. Sometimes when there were deep puddles, we would use a stick for a stirrer and make potions with various things laying around, like leaves, crabapples, and pebbles. Morgan moved away a little over a year after we met, but those were still some of the most fun memories of being around that age. Just normal kids stuff, but it was so much fun, and it hurt to think that maybe Barriss hadn't experienced childhood.
Though what is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.
"Jo, what do you think?" Ruwee asked.
I whipped back around.
"Pardon?"
"Your planet has seen many wars it seems like you would all have died by now. Why haven't you?"
"While our planet is just humans, not every nation is in conflict at the same time. For example, the United States of America (or just the United States, US, or America), was divided in half back around 158 years ago. We were blessed no other nations got involved, or that would have been worse than it was. Sometimes countries have Civil Wars. Sometimes it is just between two countries. Sometimes it is more than that. But only on two occasions was the fighting to the global scale that I explained earlier. And you think that's bad? You'll have a galaxy full of this."
It was silent for quite a while.
"Look how dark it is getting," Anakin said.
"Oh, my, yes. Well, we had best be getting back to the lake house," Padmé agreed with a stretch.
"I know we were shocked, but I promise that we will take this to the grave if we must," Ruwee said.
The rest of the family nodded their agreement.
"I will remind the girls," Sola said.
Padmé hugged her sister, mother, and father, and we shook hands with everyone before we left.
"I'll go round up the droids," Anakin said as he motioned for Padmé to continue onto the transport.
"I'll go with Anakin," Aaron said.
The rest of us loaded up.
The second she was out of sight, Barriss undid her hair and let it fall down.
"That's better."
Her raven locks shone in the light of the transport, and was in soft waves after being in the bun for so long and so tightly.
I wonder…
"Hey Barriss. Anakin has a braid showing that he is a Padawan. What do the women do to show they are a Padawan?"
"Depends. Even with the men...some species don't have hair. I have a braid, but it is covered by a hood, as you saw. It is traditional for Mirialan females to cover their heads. I allowed this tonight, because sometimes, it is nice to switch, and since this whole trip has turned out to be abnormal…"
"I understand."
She moved most of her hair to one side to reveal a braid thicker than Anakins, but still relatively thin to the rest of her hair. Hers was also decorated with silver beads (which I had been unable to see from my position at the Naberrie table).
"That's quite pretty," I said.
"It isn't for beauty, but thank you."
Aaron and Anakin walked up the ramp just before Barriss pulled her hood over her hair, and Aaron blinked hard at it.
"I thought you were bald," he said. "You know when we first met, because I couldn't see your hair."
Barriss blushed, but said forcefully, "No. The hood makes it look that way."
"Rude, bro," I said through a belly laugh.
"Shut-up," he hissed as he shoved his way past me, clearly embarrassed.
END CH. 20