Entry Thirty-Five – Days after Geonosis One Hundred Ninety-Nine
Due to prolonged fighting on Ryloth – some seventy days with no end in sight – there has been a significant disruption in the galaxy's ryll supply. The Pykes and their allies have turned to alternatives in order to meet demand. Mostly they have exercised caution, with checks from the Mutarataks and others, but someone in the chain got greedy of late. They increased the concentration of hematectic ore in one of their variants in an attempt to undercut the market while failing to realize that while this substance is harmless to Pykes, it induces coagulation in most other mammalian humanoids. Humans and Twi'leks are only mildly discomforted, but species with a naturally higher blood pressure are at severe risk for dangerous blood clots. Now we have medcenters full of Elomins, Theelins, Zygerrians, and others, with numerous fatalities.
There is no scientific puzzle here. The medical principles are long-established and straightforward, it is purely a case of criminals elevating greed above sound judgment. Nevertheless I have found myself involved. Specifically, the Underworld Police want a pound of flesh from the Pyke Syndicate in recompense for this disaster, and I am expected to utilize my contacts in order to support this retributive action.
Politically, I consider my support fully behind the police in this matter. There will not be proper justice, of course, that is not how matters work in the underworld. High-ranking syndicate members simply do not appear before courts. Nevertheless the appearance of consequences, the public presentation of a chastened Pyke Syndicate, is still of great importance. Those impacts do matter, they filter through the networks of information and power here. The criminal organizations may be able to apportion responsibility – ultimately meaning deaths – internally rather than in the sight of the law as would be proper, but that is better than no responsibility at all.
It is strangely uncomfortable to write these words, to look upon them and recognize how this world below has changed my perceptions and beliefs, but I cannot challenge their truth. To charge through the underworld with lightsaber bare hunting down the mid-level distributor responsible for this decision is beyond me. That has always been true. What has changed is that I now see that act as one of minimal utility. Would it change anything to find this specific person and drag them out to face the charges of which they are guilty? I doubt it greatly. The nefarious tendrils of the spice trade are deep-rooted. Hacking away a few outer branches will accomplish little. They will grow back soon enough.
The means necessary to truly eradicate the spice trade, to purge the galaxy of that many-faceted scourge, is beyond me. I cannot even imagine the steps necessary. I shall have to settle for one disease at a time, a problem I understand how to solve. Unfortunately, at this juncture I cannot avoid weighing in, nor can I pretend that my words are weightless any longer. Truthfully, I am uncertain I even desire to stand aside.
Imperator Marg Krim knows who I am. He could give me names to pass to Prefect Xeril. I have no doubt his authority extends far enough to command a suitable sacrifice. Do I dare make the request?
There would be a price, of course, even if Krim asks nothing openly. I suspect I am already paying it by merely thinking about this. At the least, my stomach is sending messages to that effect.
None of this is medicine; all of it is politics. Jedi are not supposed to enter that arena, we are supposed to serve the Republic, not influence it, but from this perspective far below looking up I can see the illusion that cloaks all such statements for what it is. Our very nature is political, one only heightened by the Order's declining numbers. Once, perhaps, the underworld hosted many Jedi, dedicated to the pursuit of many tasks. Now there is only me.
I do not feel secure speaking on behalf of the Order, but perhaps there is a compromise. I am a doctor, and somehow I have become a noteworthy one in the Bucket. A statement in that capacity sent to Imperator Krim should not be completely weightless. It may not be the best path, but at least it is my own.