Chapter 36 - The Assembly

Takodana

The Jedi Temple

Though about ten minutes late into the broadcast of the government assembly taking place on the New Republic's capital world of Chandrila, Rey, Finn and Poe knew they didn't miss much as they entered Common Hall. At the moment, the broadcast was focused on the fair form of Senator Poojah Nabrie of Naboo, who looked as though someone had just insulted her mother.

"Senator Lyndon, I find your accusations to be nothing short of disturbing!"

"Do you wish to know what I find even more disturbing, Senator Nabrie?" the Senator of Coruscant drew himself up to his fully impressive bulk and height, his pockmarked face drawing into a snarl, "That you tarnish the memory of your aunt, the late Senator Amidala, by brandishing your warmongering politics!"

"How dare you!" Nabrie shouted back, "I stand on the position that the New Republic should not be so free to bow to the whims of the First Order! How is that even remotely warmongering?"

"Because your propositions would lead to escalation, which would lead to a war no one wants over allegations you have no proof of! This is a nation governed by laws, not emotional responses!"

"I disagree with that assertion, sir," the camera suddenly switched Fenn Shysa, Senator of Mandalore, who replied with a cool confidence, "first, Senator Nabrie is not talking about escalations. She is presenting the fact that an investigation into the deliberate attack against the Jedi has not been carried out. That is not the same as declaring war."

"The Jedi are no longer under our jurisdiction, therefore they are not entitled to an investigation for the problems they find themselves in!"

"Except the damn attack happened in our territory, so therefore it is our jurisdiction, sir! The only reason why it has not been deliberated is because of the-"

"If you dare accuse me of harboring sentiments against the Jedi, I will throw this chair at you!" Lyndon shouted down at him, "Need I remind you that Coruscant suffered just as much as anyone else under Palpatine's rule, who was a Sith? Why would I hold a grudge against the forces that helped free my world?"

"Did I say I was accusing you of such thoughts, Mr. Lyndon? Before you so rudely interrupted me, I was about to accuse this entire room, not just particularly you."

"You've got a lot of guts saying that, Shysa!" a Muun senator shouted across from him.

Shysa just shook his head. "Don't mean it false."

"Senator Shysa," Nabrie interrupted, "I don't believe you were done with your original statements."

"That I was not, my dear. Senator Lyndon, if I may?"

"Go ahead," he grumbled.

"Thank you. Second, you are discussing the idea of keepin' the peace as it were, with folks who have no desire for peace with us. And do not say we have no proof, sir, we all know the truth. The united Imperial Remnant has routinely broken the statutes of the Concordance on more than one accusation."

"So have we," Lyndon grumbled, "and you don't see them declaring war on us."

"Except each and every single one of those occasions have been for sake of containing humanitarian crises, sir."

"So were the First Order's cases."

"So they say. Third, you commit the graver insult by taking Senator Amidala's actions out of context, and dare to drag the good name of her niece through that proverbial mud."

"I'm not here for a history lesson, Shysa. And as I recall, you fought for the Separatists."

"That I did, because at the time I thought their cause was the just one. What Senator Amidala recognized at the time was that there was no just cause on either side, and she sought to end that war. Perhaps if she succeeded, we wouldn't be standing here."

He turned his gaze to the rest of assembled room, adding with his trademarked sanguine smile, "What Ms. Nabrie is stating is that we have an entitlement to the truth of what happened all those years ago, and I would say that the First Order should cooperate in such an investigation, especially if they have nothing to hide!"

"Provide the proof they had something to do with it," a Senator Bron Dooku from Serenno interjected, "and a committee will be formed to investigate the matter."

"With all due respect, Bron," Nabrie countered, "isn't that the entire point of raising a committee in the first place? To actually find proof?"

"You know what I honestly think, Senators?" Lyndon grumbled, "I think that your so called peaceful worlds have been raising bountiful militaries well beyond the standard means necessary to enforce their own borders. After all, yours have routinely been deployed in other neighboring sectors in their crises, and I shall fairly say that such actions were nothing short of extreme."

"Get to the point, Lyndon," Senator Jesmine Ackbar of Mon Cala cut in.

"Alright. Senator Nabrie, Senator Shysa, I have two specific questions for you. First, are you so desperately itching for a fight that you would provoke a war at first opportunity? Second, would your questionable work history together have anything to do with your deliberation?"

While the shock might have been overblown, it was all too personal as the cameras focused on Nabrie and Shysa.

"Damn!" one of the army troopers chuckled, "He did not just go there."

"Hey, can you pass the popcorn?" Poe asked, "Something Tells me Shysa is gonna give as good as he got."

"You actually watch your senate deliberate?" Finn asked.

"Oh yes," Lu'lu said with a grin, "makes for great entertainment, especially when duels are declared."

"What?"

"If this keeps going the way I think it is, there will be a duel declared soon."

"That's legal?"

"Mmm hmm," Han smirked, "so much money is made on bets that people kept it around."

"Probably the funniest time was when two Senators from Pantora used their pods like bumper cars," Shrike smirked as he blew out a ring, "nobody made any money off of that one, I'm afraid. They fell out of their pods like schmucks and Leia had to levitate them back up."

"Huh," Finn nodded, "they certainly did not teach us this in First Order."

"Sir," they heard Shysa suddenly declare, "with all due respect, if you intend to sully my good name an' the good name of the Lady Nabrie, need I remind you that we still a dueling ring downstairs?"

A long smile passed by Lyndon's craggy face, "You challenging me to a duel, Mandie?"

"Why, yes I am you bloated cowpoke. I would dare say it'd do the lot of this glorious room quite a bit of good. You don't get slander mine and other's names and expect to get away with it!"

"Um, maybe we should calm down a bit-" Senator Dooku started but Lyndon cut him off sharply.

"Zip it, Bron! I've been waiting to teach this boy a lesson for years! I've had it up to here with your Mando osik, Shysa!"

"Good! I suggest we settle this after the conference is adjourned!"

"Deal! I'll have your head stuffed on my wall by the afternoon!"

"And just like that, a duel has been declared," Marrick chuckled.

"When do you think-" Lu'lu began only to see the text 'place your bets: the duel between Senator Lyndon and Senator Shysa goes down at 1500 hours.' "Well Lando doesn't miss a beat."

"He's a businessman and entrepreneur what do you expect?" Han asked sardonically

"ORDER!" a thunder clap suddenly shook the room as the camera turned to the back of the room, focusing on Vice-Chancellor Lanever Villecham. The Tarsunt's enlarged internal lungs and diaphragm effectively allowed him to out-shout the rest of the room as he bellowed, "WE WILL HAVE ORDER IN THIS ASSEMBLY!"

"Loudmouth," Rey muttered. Finn gave her a look and she shrugged, "what can I say? I can't stand the man, or his boss."

"Why's that?"

"They were one of those stupid peace activists back in the day. I was just a little girl back then, but I still remember when they protested us back on Yavin… before the Temple exploded."

"I see. Perhaps with that voice, he would've been better suited to be a Parade Sergeant."

"With that face?" she chuckled, "Then again, it's nothing compared to his boss."

As if on cue, the camera panned over to the man sitting next to the Vice-Chancellor. Unlike the rest of the politicians, Finn recognized this to be Chancellor Indrik Borealis of the Centrist Party. Granted, this was hardly surprising, he concluded, considering the man's bald and scarred appearance.

From what Rey just said, Finn wondered if the man had been caught in the Temple explosion or at the very least, a riot of some kind.

He rose to his feet to address the assembly before him, spreading his arms invitingly with a warm smile, "My friends, my friends, calm yourselves, will you? We are gathered here to discuss a brewing matter of controversy and infamy permanated by several years, indeed. To threaten each other, even in matters we view to be just and agreeable, are not statutes we should hold ourselves by. Converse, discord and compromise, these are the tenants we should abide by, see? For this reason, I have called to our assembly the predecessor to my position, Leia Organa Solo, to speak her thoughts to the matter. Listen to her we all should, I think."

"...what the hell is wrong with his voice?" Finn asked incredulously, "And why does he talk like that?"

"Our fault, actually," Shrike shrugged, "like Rey said, he was there when the Yavin Temple got bombed, blew half his damn face off. So in a show of good faith, we put him under the knife to fix 'em up."

"Clearly something went wrong."

"Eh, not our fault the schmuck developed a speech impediment. As for your second question, it's apparently the way his folk talk. Something called Abendane Inversion. Basically, he has a really screwed up sense of syntax. Honestly though, it's not as bad as Master Yoda's."

"I'll take your word for it," suddenly, Finn's eyes went wide, "what's the Admiral's son doing there?"

"What?" Han asked, and Finn pointed to the screen as the cameras all turned to a tall man with fiery red hair and chalk white skin packaged in an all black suit more akin to a military officer than a politician.

"Him. That's Armitage Hux, Admiral Hux's son. What's he doing there?"

"He's an ambassador?" Poe deadpanned.

"No, he's right," Rey pointed out, "why would Borealis allow him to attend a congressional assembly? Isn't that against protocol?"

"No, but it's against tradition," Shrike conceded, "let's find out why."

"Ah, the good Ambassador Hux here proves a great point of compromise. Yes, that he does. As I said, we shall hear the good words of Organa Solo. But, as is prudent and proper, we should hear the words of the opposition, as it were."

"...I take back what I said," Shrike groaned, "Yoda's nothing compared to this schmuck."

"I told you it was a bad idea to put him under the knife," Han snorted.

"How in the blazes did this guy get elected?" Rey asked, genuinely flabbergasted.

"That's the mystery we're still tryna solve," Wyatt replied, "I mean, even Fey'lya alone couldn't prod this mule into place."

"Nah, there's no mystery there," Merrick shrugged, "my best guess, the powers that be thought he'd be so ineffective he'd never get anything done. They're not wrong either. As for why people elected him? Well, people are like children. They like a good story."

"And he's a good story?" Poe shook his head, "C'mon dad."

"Think about it. Here's a guy who's stood by his beliefs that war is bad, took an explosion to the face, and keeps going. Even I admit that's a tad inspirational."

"Must have left out the part that he slipped and fell after we got him off the knife," Shrike chuckled, "still, the real reason why to all the whys is probably standing right next to him."

"Thank you, Chancellor," the camera panned to Hux, who smiled with faux humility to the assembly, "I admit that my presence here is unorthodox. However, it is due to the unorthodox nature of these various accusations against my sovereign government. I am here to address and hopefully lay them to rest.

"Nobody is making any accusations, Ambasador," Fenn retorted, "as I have spent the last ten minutes trying to explain."

"With all due respect, Senator Shysa, you are making accusations. That the First Order was involved in the disappearance of your Force-sensitive protectors."

"First off, we know it was an attack," Nabrie countered coldly, "two, we know it was done by a group of red blades. We have several eyewitnesses who confirm this. What we want to confirm is that you are not responsible for the Red blades."

"Senator Nabrie, I understand your insistence of wanting to solve this mystery. If we possessed our own army of Force-sensitives who acted as the strong arm of our intergalactic law and they were attacked, I suspect we would feel the same."

"You said 'if'," Senator Ackbar interrupted, "are you stating that you have no sanctioned Force-Sensitive organization under your government?"

"Allow me to present it this way. Why would we put our trust in a collection of red-blades, as you call them, to handle our internal and foreign affairs when Emperor Palpatine himself was a Sith? A Sith who led our government to ruin?"

"He's not lying exactly," Finn commented, "the Knights of Ren have no authority of civilian and military side of the government."

"No, but y'all answer to the same boss," Shrike retorted.

"We are not blind to the atrocities that Palpatine committed under his reign," Hux continued, "and that alone should tell you what the First Order is. We are not Palpatine's Empire."

"Then block any probes on your end?" Nabrie retorted, "If you have nothing to hide-"

"Senator, I must remind you are seeking matters of our galactic security. Would it be unreasonable for us to demand that you reveal all your secrets to the public over a matter we have have no proof that you were involved in to begin with? I would certainly say so."

"We are not asking for you to compromise your galactic security, Ambassador. What we are asking is that you turn over relative information and assist in an investigation."

"To be blunt, Senator, that is not at all what you are asking."

"What the hell does that mean?" Senator Lyndon growled.

"I shall make it very simple for this assembly. Approximately a week ago, your New Republic broke the charters of the Concordance by sending an officer of the New Republic Navy into the Neutral Zone on an unsanctioned operation."

There was a general murmur of shock and surprise in the assembly.

"I'm assuming you have proof of the matter?" Lyndon replied.

"Yes, I do actually. Chancellor, if I may?" Suddenly, holo images appeared in air, "as you can see, this is a standard T-70 X-Wing whose registrations match up to one Commander Poe Dameron," suddenly a mugshot of Poe himself appeared, "who we detained on the world of Jakku after he fired upon and killed First Order personnel."

"Oh hey, I'm on the galactic holonet," Poe chuckled.

"Son, that's probably not important right now," the older Dameron chided him.

"He brought it up. Besides someone has got to point out the First Order's own violation of the charter right next to mine."

As it turns out, that was Shysa next question in particular, "Sir, what were First Order personnel doin' in the Neutral Zone to begin with?"

"Looking for this man," Hux replied, and the image of Lor San Tekka appeared, "as I have addressed previously, Lor San Tekka and the Antarian Rangers have been operating without oversight in the Neutral Zone and have repeatedly crossed the border into First Order space to interfere in our own local affairs."

"So you admit to breaking the charters of the Concordance?" Shysa asked.

"Not at all, Senator Shysa. As is outlined under Article 1, sub-section 3, the First Order is within its rights to pursue criminals and fugitives who cross into our space and flee into the Neutral Zone. Commander Poe Dameron met with Tekka and his Rangers after one of these incursions and just prior to our efforts to apprehend these men. Dameron engaged in unlawful military action against these efforts. For this reason, we arrested him."

"Is he within your custody now?"

"No. Dameron escaped our custody thanks to the efforts of a deserter, both whom committed tremendous property damage and killed a number of First Order personnel during said escape and during our attempts to apprehend them. Currently, both men are still at large."

"Ambassador, you're not assuming that we sanctioned Commander Dameron's actions, are you?" The Chancellor asked with apparent surprise.

"As I said, we believe Dameron's actions were unsanctioned in an official capacity, but were instead given by parties unknown. Senator Shysa, Senator Nabrie, you came before this Assembly to request that an investigation be made into the matter of the Jedi's disappearance. Likewise, I request that the New Republic place a warrant for the arrest of Dameron and the deserter accompanying him, and that an investigation be committed to uncover who authorized his illegal mission."

The clamor of unsure voices and assistants being called over quickly filled the room as the Chancellor beckoned over the Vice-Chancellor, Sergeant-at-Arms and the Secretary of the Senate. For a minute, the four convened in a silent conversation.

After a moment, he nodded and addressed the assembly, "We will convene to a special council for this matter after this current session is adjourned. Yes, that we will."

"Thank you, Chancellor. Now-"

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask," Borsk Fey'lya suddenly interrupted, much to everybody's surprise, "Lor San Tekka was a respected Archeologist, Scholar and member of the Jedi Council. Hell, I even had the man as a dinner guest once. You say that your forces entered the Neutral Zone to arrest him and some Rangers with him?"

"Yes, I did."

"Where is he, then? You have yet to provide that answer."

"Unfortunately, Lor San and the Rangers accompanying him resisted arrest with lethal force. I do in fact believe that Lor San himself used a Lightsaber to kill 4 Troopers personally. As you can imagine, all efforts to take the man alive were, well, taken."

"Get to the point, Hux. What did you do to him?"

Hux appeared to be a bit vexed how to say the next bit, but he shook his head, "Lor San Tekka and his cohorts resisted arrest to the last, and we were unfortunately forced to use lethal force."

"So, we have no means to corroborate or contradict your side of the story, then?" Lyndon grinned wolfishly, "I find that rather convenient."

"We will have another side to the story, Senator Lyndon, as soon as Commander Dameron and those who commanded his illegal actions are brought to justice."

"Actually, we do have another side to the story."

The camera panned as a pod belonging to Lando Calrissian entered the frame.

"The Chair recognizes the Senator of Anoat Sector. Senator Calrissian, do you have something to add to the matter?"

"Not I personally, Vice-Chancellor," Lando replied coolly as he beckoned his arm, "but I am sure former Chancellor Leia Organa-Solo would."

Now all the eyes of the galaxy lay on the crowning moment everyone had been waiting for. Leia Organa-Solo, one of the founders of the New Republic, had chosen this very moment to return to the political limelight. The question on everyone's mind was why.

Slowly, the regal form of Leia rose and took the forefront of the pod, smiling in the way in that all-knowing way only she could, "Thank you, Senator Calrissian. Chancellor, if I may?"

"That you may indeed, Counselor."

Leia nodded and turned to face Hux, her eyes steely resolute, "Ambassador, you have approached this Senate requesting that an investigation be made into who sent Commander Dameron to the Neutral Zone. I will answer that question for you. I sent him."

"So you admit to breaking the charters."

"Spare me your legal posturing, Hux," Leia replied coolly, "this assembly is well aware of your own breaches of the Concordance, and your established excuses for such instances. Besides, I have broken nothing. I am no longer part of the New Republic government, and Commander Poe Dameron was on leave. He was not sent to Jakku in military fashion, but as a personal favor to speak with a friend about a new discovery."

"Regardless of his military standing or not, he is still wanted for crimes committed against First Order personnel. If you are harboring him-"

"I am not. I honestly haven't the foggiest of where he is, Ambassador. Regardless, as Senator Lyndon was so kind as to point out, we are governed by law and not by emotional responses. If you claim Lor San Tekka and Commander Dameron committed crimes against the First Order, then a neutral, intergalactic court should be established to ascertain measure of guilt. After all, by the articles of the Bastion Convention, Dameron would be allowed such a trial."

"I do not disagree, Counselor Organa-Solo," Hux shook his head, "and I am sure that my superiors would agree to such a trial. However, I must reaffirm my request that a warrant be placed on him, and the deserter accompanying him."

"Before, as I said, Ambassador Hux," Chancellor Borealis replied, "I stated that such a matter would be attended by a special counsel, did I not? So, to reaffirm what was stated, it shall be addressed once this meeting is adjourned."

"Yes, I suppose it shall be… indeed," Hux smiled softly.

"Did he just mock the Chancellor?" Rey asked.

"Yeah, I think he did," Poe replied.

"Yeah well, he's weak sauce," Han snorted, "he ain't gonna do anything about it."

"Counselor Organa," the camera suddenly turned to Borsk Fey'lya, Senator of Bothawui, who had been strangely silent during the entire affair, "you said earlier that this Poe Dameron was sent to speak to a friend about a new discovery. May I ask for the assembly what that discovery was?"

"Certainly, Senator. Sella, if you may. Are any of you familiar with the Rakatan Empire and our war with the Sith faction led by Darth Revan?"

As she said this, Leia's assistant imputed a command into the holo-projection and a series of holographic projections were brought to the forefront. These included the terrifying species of conquerors and devourers that had enslaved the galaxy thousands of years ago before the days of the Old Republic, and the third Sith Lord that had nearly brought civilization to its knees.

The assembly's reaction was all that Leia needed, "I thought so. In the days just prior to the Jedi's destruction, Lor San Tekka made an astounding discovery. During the age of the Rakatan, six Star Forges, the automated war foundries that ensured their dominance, were created. Four were destroyed during their fall, the fifth was used and destroyed during the war with Revan. But the sixth? Well, that all but disappeared until Lor San discovered references to it on Jakku."

This created an uproar almost immediately. "So you're saying that the sixth Star Forge is still out there?" Fey'lya demanded.

"Yes, as Lor San believed. Commander Dameron was sent to retrieve the evidence of its location."

"And you refused to share your discovery with the rest of the galaxy?" Hux asked with an air of indignation.

"Ambassador, I only received word that Lor San had discovered said evidence a few days ago. Besides, I believe you already knew about it."

"Another baseless accusation?"

"More like an obvious observation. I doubt that any transmission sent from the Neutral Zone wouldn't be monitored by the intelligence services of any government. After all, you yourself admitted that troops were sent to Jakku to apprehend Lor San Tekka."

"That is preposterous, Counselor. We had no knowledge of what Lor San discovered, and our arrival was a mere coincidence."

"Oh, I am sure. Perhaps when Commander Dameron and this deserter you keep speaking of do come forward, we will know the truth then?"

"Regardless," Senator Lyndon retorted, "the enormity of such a discovery should not have been kept from this assembly, Leia."

"She didn't keep it from the assembly, Lyndon," Lando countered, "she is telling you now, after the man she sent to get the proof was imprisoned by the First Order."

More uproar followed, and the Vice-Chancellor once again had to bellow for order.

"Regardless," Hux countered, "if the Star Forge does exist, then it would logically lie in the Unknown Regions as it hasn't been discovered by anyone else yet. That brings the obvious matter of who it would belong to into question."

"And you're saying it belongs to you?" Nabrie asked with the edging of an icy accusation.

"I cannot answer that, Senator, I am merely just an ambassador. However, if it does lie within our territory-"

"And what if it lies elsewhere, Ambassador?" Fey'lya questioned, "Say in the territory of the Chiss Empire, or perhaps in the Neutral Zone itself? What then?"

"No one power should have complete autonomy over the Forge!" Lyndon bellowed, "We all know its capabilities! This is the thing to knock down this precarious house of cards we sit on! It should be moved to neutral ground with representatives to-"

"What? Have all nations get access to it?" Lando shook his head, "Would you like Zhan's Confederation or the Hutts getting a piece of it? Have we all forgotten how Zhan tried to steal the Eclipse Dreadnought for his own ends?"

"Why shouldn't they?" a Kuatian Senator challenged, "If no one government should have complete control, then all should regardless of their disposition."

"Honestly?" Shysa countered, "I propose the Forge be destroyed the moment it is found. As Lyndon pointed out, it is too dangerous for anybody to have."

"You would destroy a piece of technology that could revolutionize the galaxy?" Hux asked with hurtful surprise, "Imagine what this could do for the poorer sectors of the galaxy. This could eliminate resource shortages-"

"Or be used for war," Leia countered, "regardless, Lyndon is correct. The Forge is far too dangerous to be in the hands of any one nation."

"Counselor, I must ask though," Hux put in, "if the Forge is discovered and it does lie in our territory or at least close to it, would you attempt to seize it from us by force?"

"Do we need a reason to, Ambassador? If the Forge is found, then it should be handed over."

"With all due respect, Counselor, how do we know we can trust the New Republic when its own former Chancellors sends military personnel into the Neutral Zone to seize evidence of this super weapon? Let me ask you this: had everything gone according to your plan and you had found the Forge first, would you have shared it with the rest of the galaxy?"

"I guess we won't know now, will we?" Leia replied sardonically, "Regardless, we should-"

Leia suddenly stopped, her eyes becoming incredulous and shocked for a perilous moment like she was in a trance.

"Counselor?" Hux asked, "Are you alright?"

She didn't say anything, she just continued to stare out into space even as Lando and Sella tried to shake her out of it.

"Leia," Han whispered, his face becoming pale, "what are you seeing?"

The camera focused on her face, her expression unchanged and unmoving. Then she whispered something so silently that even the droids advanced sensor couldn't pick it up. To Han Solo, however, he didn't have to hear what she said. He read it in her lips, and it was something that made his heart skip.

Cale?

Suddenly, her face became frantic. She became a blur of movement as she grabbed Lando and Sella, and drove them down into the pod. A moment later, the camera shook as a thundering roar echoed through the room. The camera turned just in time to see an explosion rip through the roof of the Senate building.

Screams filled the air as debris start falling enmass. Then there was a second explosion and third, and the droid was engulfed in fire before the feed went dead.

"Oh stars," Rey gasped, "what just… did that just…?"

Finn's face grew hard, "They've made their first move."

Omake

"Chancellor Borealis, if I may ask the applicability of our laws regarding Ambassador Hux?"

"Apply, they do… but why do you ask-"

"I challenge Hux to a duel!"

"Fine, but I choose the weapons."

"Deal!"

"I choose flame-projectors!"

"Now wait just a second. I challenge you to a fair duel, not a suicide match!"

"This is a fair duel, we'll both have flame-projectors!"

"...I withdraw my demand for a duel."

"Good!"