Chapter 7: Talks
March 20, 2227.
"The so-called 'Commune' is nothing but a band of rogues and anarchists. If we let them fester, our society will be tear apart, and whoever says that coexistence is possible, is a fool."
The words of the Turian politician making his proclaim at the public debate airing on the ANN couldn't be clearer. Ezra and Jaral looked with preoccupation. They didn't understand exactly the whole politics of the Milky Way, but they knew that that guy was one of the two favorites for winning the upcoming elections, and he promised to wage war against the Commune rather than continuing the war against the Empire.
Luckily for them, they were about to meet with someone who had first-hand information about all this.
"We better get going." Jaral said as she rushed to take the capsule with Samira in it. "Ok, where is the bag with the toys and change?" she asked.
"I got it." Ezra said confidently as he had the small bag hanging from his right hand.
Jaral sighed nervously, knelt down and spoke to her daughter. "All right, Sammy. It's your first travel off-world, you ready?"
Samira mumbled something and gestured happily. Then the siblings left the house and headed for the landing pad, where soon enough they were supposed to meet their pickup. There they found Cal with his Padawan Kubari; Dhara and Zare; Ahsoka, Han, Chewie, Luke and Leia; Sabine and Tristan; Din and Grogu. All of them part of the delegation for the Jedi and their Mandalorian associates.
"Hey, you sure it's safe to bring the kids with us?" Din asked with a slightly worried tone as he looked at Grogu staying in his own capsule.
"Grogu is destined to be the bridge of our two groups, in the future. Better if he starts getting used to politics." Jaral explained, then looked at Samira. "And there is no way I'm leaving Samira more alone than necessary."
"Yeah, besides, it's just a diplomatic mission. Everything will be fine." Han said with a relaxed attitude.
"You might be surprised at how quickly things like this can go south." Leia admonished. "But the route to Lianna should be safe."
"And if anything happens, we will just deal with the problem." Luke said confidently.
"Sure. But I still hope it will go light and breezy, for once." Cal commented.
It took twenty-two minutes before their first transport arrived: a civilian luxury shuttle of the Milky Way. The ramp opened and came out an Asari of the Diplomatic Corps of the Citadel.
"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen." she said while making a short bow. "I hope you haven't been waiting too long."
"Not at all." Ezra replied cordially. "We are just looking forward to this meeting."
"Then let us be on our way." the alien replied with a smile and invited them in.
The delegation entered and took place on the various seats aboard. The shuttle left shortly after and headed for the orbit, where the group quickly noticed a civilian liner escorted by a Turian cruiser and three Human frigates. The shuttle landed into a hangar situated on the belly of the liner and the group was made to dismount.
As they walked outside, Ezra and Jaral found two rows of Imperial Guards presenting their arms as a yellow carpet laid between them, leaving the stage only to Anastasia. The princess was waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp, dressed in her usual business suit and skirt that left her tanned legs in sight.
The siblings reached her first, with the capsule hovering behind Jaral.
"Bridgers, it's a pleasure to see you again." the Princess said with genuine gentleness.
"And an honor for us, Your Highness." Jaral. "I hope you don't mind that I brought my daughter." she added as she turned toward the shell.
Anastasia smiled widely and bent a little to look Samira in the face. "Hi, there."
Samira chuckled and waved her hands toward the royalty, who approached a finger. The baby grabbed it with her tiny hand, making all the adults around smile.
"She's adorable." Anastasia complimented before standing back up and greet the other guests, specifically the Leonis. "You must be Dhara Leonis. It is an honor to meet you." she said gently.
Dhara instinctively made a quick bow. "The honor is mine, Your Highness."
After doing that, she led them into the hallway that would lead to the main lounge.
"Your Highness, I would be very grateful if you could explain us the situation of the upcoming elections." Jaral politely asked.
"Of course. What do you want to know?" the Princess replied eagerly.
"Pretty much everything." Ezra said a bit embarrassed. "Right before we left we saw an old Turian reeling the audience against the Commune of the Terminus. We're honestly worried."
Anastasia grimaced, but replied with no negative emotions. "This will be a long discussion. So, please, let's get comfortable, first."
Thus, she brought them into the main lounge. The room was certainly luxurious, but not ostentatious. There were three waiters and a barman behind the main counter, plus the kitchen was in the nearby room and it had its team of four cooks. In the lounge there were also two more guards and another small group of four diplomats, which added to the Asari they had seen before.
After Anastasia ordered a glass of champagne for everybody, the group sat around on the sofas, forming a semi-circle where they could listen to the Princess.
"Well, then. Allow me to give you a quick overview over our representative system." she started. "Are you already familiar with our main institutions, and the fact that this elections are to decide the composition of the Imperial Parliament?"
Most of them nodded. Han didn't seem much interested as he was slumping on the sofa and enjoying the champagne.
"Good. Now, you must know that pretty much every planet in the Federation has a multitude of political parties that represent their interest. They vary in ideology, methods and sizes, but the real issue is that, since each of them represent a tiny fraction of the population, none of them has a presence large enough to create a single block in the IP. The only one that has enough numbers to form a block of its own is the Monarchist Party, which has members in every planet of the Federation."
"But it's still not the majority, I guess?" Leia asked, definitely being the one who understood politics the most.
"Of course not. Individually, it's the Party with the bigger representation, but it usually stands around 20%. The real powerhouses stand into what are commonly called 'Factions'. They are currents that come and go in short spans of time. They are coalitions of parties or singular parliamentarians that are close by ideology or simply share a common goal.
"Currently, there are two major factions that are taking the lead in this election, and the Turian you saw is the leader of the 'Security and Business Bloc'."
"Who is he?" Ezra asked.
"Urcinus Richerius. Former Turian general and, until recently, he sat in the Executive Board of the Elanus Risk Control, one of the major security corporations in the Milky Way."
"Oh...I see where this is going." Tristan said with resignation before taking a sip.
"Precisely. He advocates total war with the Commune, which sits good with the militarists and for the corporations, who see the new state as a threat. If they win the election, I don't know for how long my brother would be able to delay their calls for war."
"I heard that your youngest brother, Federico, is leading the Commune?" Jaral asked. "Are you really okay in going to war against them?"
"Of course we are not!" Anastasia replied firmly. "Those people have the right to choose their destiny, and the last thing we need is a war on our border when we are already struggling against the Empire. Ah, and Federico is not their leader, just a figure they respect a lot."
"And who is the other candidate?" Leia asked.
Anastasia turned toward the Asari that had welcomed the group before, who was now sitting next to her. The Princess leaned back and put an arm around her in a friendly manner.
"Here she is. Allow me to present you gentlemen Roxa T'Quri. Current leader of the 'Movement for Equality and Justice'."
The Jedi and their allies clearly didn't expect that, but after a moment of confusion, Jaral snapped out and replied. "Nice to meet you, madame." and went to shake her hand.
"I apologize for not telling you right away, but Her Highness can't live without some drama, from time to time." the Asari said in a collected way, yet nobody missed her half-smirk toward the Princess.
"To her defense, it was kinda cool." Cal quipped.
"So, miss T'Quri," Ezra intervened politely. "why are you here? Shouldn't you be running a campaign to be elected?"
"Oh, but I am, Master Bridger. Since I will be representing the Federation at the summit, that will give me quite the coverage." Roxa explained frankly.
"I thought the Princess would be in charge?" Zare asked confused.
"Formally, yes, but Roxa will be standing right next to me, in full view of the cameras." Anastasia replied confidently.
"So, does your presence mean that the Monarchists support the Movement?" Leia asked intrigued.
"Oh no, no, no." the Princess replied quickly, swinging a finger to reinforce the concept. "Officially, the Monarch is always neutral and the Monarchist Party runs for itself. Of course, I am not my brother, I can support whoever I like." she added with a knowing smirk.
Even the siblings got the gist: while the Emperor was to stay out of the parliamentary struggle, his party would speak for him, since the MP moved only according to the wishes of the Monarch. And with Anastasia openly supporting a candidate, the population that felt loyal to the crown would most likely vote in that direction, or the Party would perhaps end up offering an alliance for a coalition of government.
Either way, the Jedi felt reassured knowing that the Vignoli were using their influence to favor a candidate that would not seek to expand the war. And with that settled, they decided to sit down and enjoy the three-day-long cruise toward Lianna.
March 22, 2227.
Llanic was secured, and with other worlds of the Commonwealth slowly coming to accept the not-so-harsh occupation of the Empire, Iulius had managed to scrap enough regiments to build a significant garrison on the frontline planet to reinforce the 620th Division. Now, it was time for the 101st Fleet and the forces assigned to it to recover their strength on Naboo.
In just a couple of days since they had arrived on the planet, Iulius had visited Sergeant Major Mickey of the 212th Battalion, and he ensured that he was going to make a full recovery and back in action shortly.
Right now, Iulius was making one of the few things that relaxed him: discussing new tactics or reviewing the most recent battles with Captain Octis.
"The Executor certainly gives us an advantage against major defense grids and ships, but we should be careful not to become overly reliant on her." Octis was pointing out. "While it is quicker in hyperspace, it's much slower in normal space, and our enemies could use it."
"I agree." said Iulius. "She can take care of any major vessel, but the smaller ones, and the snub fighters, can reasonably hope to dodge all bolts until they're in range to release some ion or proton loads."
"Maybe you should try to convince Lord Vader to diversify the composition of Death Squadron." the Captain suggested.
"Ozzel is responsible for that, and good luck with doing it with him." Iulius said in resignation.
"Oh...right." Octis added with the same tone.
Then the door bell buzzed and Iulius noticed on the security camera that it was Yagler, so he opened it. She then stepped in and reported in. "Lord Tanis, your convoy is ready."
"Thanks, Cordelia." Iulius replied, then turned to Octis again. "Captain, would you like to join me? I'm about to go to the art gallery, where my mother is inaugurating a new collection that will no doubt be presided mostly by fossils from the Core." he said in a serious tone, but the quip was open for all to see.
"And you don't want to feel alone with all those fossils, got it. I won't say no to free snacks!" Octis replied with a sudden smile.
It was the peculiarity of Octis that Iulius had quickly grown fond of: when he was in service, the Captain was restrained, collected and incredibly efficient, leaving no room for jokes. That was because he threw them all when he was on shore leave, at which point his personality almost made a one-eighty. That made him a likable guy with whom it was a pleasure to both work with and hang out to forget the war for a while.
Yagler was not of the same advice, though, and rigidly talked to the young man. "This is not a birthday party, Captain. Director Gideon and several Ministers will be there, so I recommend you don't make a fool out of yourself or the Lord-Protector."
Octis made a witty smile, stood up and walked past her. "Hey, you heard the Lord himself: we get to loosen up sometimes, but I guess that's a concept you never hear at the ISB." he said while stopping next to her, always keeping his witty smile. "I can teach you if you want."
"I'd rather get lessons of integrity from a pirate than learning how to loosen up by the likes of you." she replied with a smirk and a soft tone as she turned her head to look at him.
"Your loss." Octis shrugged.
Iulius walked past them. "Come on, you two." he simply said, but he hid his own amused smirk. That little scene reminded him of the fact that he had just recently received a request from both Ciena and Thane.
Apparently, the two had finally decided to take their relationship to the next level and were getting married. Since they were both officers in the 101st they had the right to ask permission directly to him, as marriages inside the Armed Forces had several regulations.
It was also a matter of practicality: Those two were some of the best officers of the 101st, and while Iulius felt that they deserved a decent honeymoon, he needed to calculate the best time frame to grant them.
Still, it always warmed his heart to see how strong the cohesion of his soldiers and officers was.
The convoy brought all of them, including a squad of Death Troopers, to the Gallery of Theed. It was late afternoon and the sun was slowly disappearing behind the horizon. Just outside the entrance, below the access stairs, there were some very expensive speeders from which richly dressed men and women were dismounting. Iulius recognized a couple of famous art critiques and the symbol of the Ministry of Culture on other people.
And when he started going in, accompanied by his two collaborators, many gazes turned toward him, accompanied by admired comments or respectful bows from somebody.
The atrium was filled with rich guys, and all other doors except the refreshers were closed temporarily. Iulius didn't take long to spot his mother, who was discussing with some old couple under the war monument in the middle of the giant room.
As he approached the monument, his mother spotted him, immediately excused herself and walked to go hug him, and Iulius didn't hide his happiness in seeing her again, either.
"Welcome home, honey." Sekta whispered happily.
"Thanks for inviting me here, mother." he replied with the same tone, if just a little more restrained.
"Come here, there's someone you might want to see." Sekta invited, taking him by the hand.
She led him back to the couple she was talking with when the Lord-Protector spotted her, only that, before, the male Human was turned around. Now, Iulius clearly saw him in the face and was left astonished.
"President Cromton?!" he asked in total surprise.
The man smiled widely, made a bow and then extended his hand, which Iulius shook. "It's an honor to see you again, Lixoriom."
"And a pleasure to me, but...what are you doing so far from Carunoia?"
"Your mother has sponsored a cultural exchange. So that my people may bring something more than our soldiers to the Empire." he said quite proudly as he waved his arm toward the first articles of the exhibit.
"Oh, I see." Iulius replied.
"Allow me to present you my wife, Ganiria." Cromton said, referring to the elegantly dressed woman next to him.
"Madame." Iulius politely greeted. The woman muttered a greeting in Imirgesh and made a bow.
Iulius then headed for the exhibit, taking a quick look at the canvases and small statues. The subject and the pattern that they were distributed in was laid clear even for him: the various artists were basically expressing how grateful they were that the Empire had given them the chance to rise from the ashes and that they were looking positively at a prosperous future under the guidance of Coruscant. Iulius himself was represented on a couple of portraits as the embodiment of the Empire.
"What do you think?" Sekta asked merrily before sipping from her glass.
"These certainly put the observer in quite the good mood."
"I believe 'hope' is the word you are looking for."
Iulius had a jolt on his spine, but then his mind immediately processed that voice and he chuckled as if he had realized he had been joked upon. He turned around calmly and saw Thrawn, unusually smiling at him.
"I should have known you would have been present at an art exhibit." the Lord-Protector commented as he walked toward his mentor.
Thrawn chuckled, so much that his teeth were visible, and he stepped forward too, to shake hands with the man in front of him.
"It's always a pleasure, Iulius."
"Likewise, Thrawn. And since we are here…" Iulius turned around and pointed his arm at Octis. "I would like to present you to Captain Vinicio Octis."
Octis was looking at Thrawn with a mixture of curiosity and awe, but when he was called he immediately stepped forward with a rigid attitude.
"He has come out of the Academy's last year as Valedictorian, and he has already revolutionized our tactics. The raid of Vergesso was planned and executed entirely by him."
"Ah." Thrawn said faintly, yet his eyebrows rose with interest. "Then allow me to extend my sincerest admiration, Captain."
"You're too kind, Grand Admiral." Octis replied with a little emotion and a bow.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the two Grand Admirals managed to get two drinks and a few moments alone as they started walking in a part of the atrium where there were less persons.
"I'm glad to see you again, my friend." Iulius whispered. "But I doubt you came here just for the exhibit."
"You know me too well." Thrawn said with a point of pride, but a great sense of cold urgency. "Yes, I bring two important news that I didn't trust relaying to you if not in person."
Iulius made a small nod and then pointed at a painting that, at that moment, had nobody in front of. The two headed there and talked with their faces toward the wall.
"I managed to make contact with the Chiss leadership." the blue alien revealed right away.
Iulius' attention was stirred even more than it was.
"Unfortunately, seventeen rotations ago, the Grysks have started a full invasion of the Ascendancy."
That was extremely bad news. "I'm sorry." Iulius said at first. "Can I help you anyway?"
The Chiss shook his head slowly. "No. The resources you give me every month are already enough, my Lord. The point is another: on my behalf, both the Angara and the Humans of Carunoia have started talks with the Ascendancy for a formal alliance against the Grysks. The Ruling Families are inclined to accept, but they fear that the words of our vassals can't be backed with facts. And despite my rank, I'm still an exiled."
Thrawn had explained it thoroughly, and Iulius had caught the hint right away.
"You want me to negotiate." he stated.
The Chiss made a slow nod, accompanied by his icy expression.
Iulius took a moment to reflect. "I would need a valid excuse to move into those regions." he said.
"That brings me to my second news." Thrawn said with an even more silent whisper. He made a step closer to the Lord-Protector to the point where his mouth was basically next to the man's ear. "Admiral Daala and Doctor Kimovir have just completed the first prototype of the mechanized Dark Trooper."
Iulius felt the blood rush to his head for the excitement and the surprise. A devious smirk appeared on his face. "Then it's settled. I will finish some business here and come back to Carunoia with you. Just give me two rotations." he said as he turned his eyes toward his mentor.
Thrawn made a smirk and closed his eyes as he made a bow with his head. "At your service, Lord Tanis." and then they gently clang their glasses together before taking a sip.
Their attention was then called back to the atrium as the room had suddenly fallen into silence. Afraid that everybody might be listening, Iulius turned around, but he was relieved to see that the guests were not looking at him. They were looking at the door.
"Namedra, darling!" the Lord-Protector heard his mother say loudly and his heart started pumping. He hadn't had the time to see Namedra since he had returned, yet.
He moved a little on the side, just enough to find a hole among the crowd that allowed him to see the entrance.
And now, his blood rushed toward a completely different place.
He saw Sekta welcoming Namedra. The young woman still had her ponytail, but she was wearing a white dress that covered everything except her shoulders, arms and her ample cleavage. The form adhered perfectly, emphasizing her waist and making the head of the Grand Admiral spin as if it was on a TIE.
"Excuse me, Grand Admiral." Iulius hastily said to Thrawn without even looking his way, then he headed straight for the two women as the general attention toward Namedra started to wither away.
When they saw him, Namedra made a bow as formalities dictated.
"Lord-Protector. I'm honored to meet you again."
"Indeed." Iulius said, then offered a hand-kissing which Namedra happily conceded. Iulius leaned his lips on the back of her hand and could feel a perfume on her. "Lady Heike. Today, even the light of the sun pales in front of your beauty."
Namedra chuckled but visibly blushed. So far, Iulius had never courted her in public, but today he felt like he didn't care too much.
"I would have honestly liked a more modest attire, but Madame Tanis was so gentle that he bought me this." Namedra said happily.
At which point, Iulius' heart froze. He kept his stupid smirk for a moment, then looked at his mother, who had a wily expression on her face.
"Uh, pardon me, for a moment." he said as he gently dragged his mother away and brought her into a more secluded corner.
"What are you trying to do?!" he whispered with a certain accusation.
Sekta shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about." she feigned.
"You bought a white dress to Namedra. As my mother, you know exactly what that means!" he insisted.
"Well, since you seemed so distracted, I thought I would push things forward a bit." Sekta replied with absolute serenity.
Iulius felt a sting of pride. "I-I'm not 'distracted' at all. I just…"
But then he noticed that his mother was just right. He gave another quick look at Namedra and things were starting to become increasingly clear. He knew that he loved her, but he also felt that he wasn't giving his all to their relationship.
"Iulius...tell me." Sekta said now with a maternal tone. "When you will win this war, and you will win it...what happens next?"
Iulius didn't have an answer to that, so Sekta kept going after a few seconds of silence.
"If you finally bring order and peace, I guess life in the military would become pretty boring. Don't you want to build something more for yourself?"
The Lord-Protector looked once again at Namedra, who had now started talking with some other guests.
March 26, 2227.
The trip to Lianna had been incredibly relaxed and comfortable aboard the liner. Now it was about convincing the majority of the Senate to vote in favor of the motion, and that was anything but easy, given the fact that Mordys was once again speaking against making the Jedi an independent organization.
"If what the Jedi themselves say, there is a chance that some of them will one day become like the Sith. And what will happen then? I tell you: they will wreak havoc upon the galaxy again, or even plot to establish another Empire. The power of the Jedi is too strong to be ignored. A through supervision by the government is the only way that will guarantee the peace in the future."
Mordys then sat down back on his chair as Secretary of Defense and a little more than a half of the Senators applauded him. A small fraction clapped out of pure formality, the opposite side didn't at all, signaling that they supported the Jedi.
Still, the indecisive needed to be swayed, for right now it seemed like the Senators supporting Mordys had a slight majority.
Ezra was worried. As experience had shown him, in politics it's much easier to inspire fear rather than hope in the hearts of people. Especially in a time of war and uncertainty like the one they found themselves into.
Yet, his sister gently gripped his shoulder and murmured "Don't worry, I've got this." with great confidence as she prepared for her turn to give a speech. Ezra and the other members of the delegation were waiting. Only Leia was sitting among the Senators, as she represented her people on New Alderaan.
With a collected bearing, Jaral stepped onto the podium and put her hands on the bookrest. Contrary to Mordys, she hadn't prepared something on the datapad that she would read. No, she had consulted with Leia the evening before just for that.
Seeing her made him confident enough to smirk proudly and he adjusted the baby in his arms so she could look as well. "Look, Sammy. Your mama is about to shine."
As silence fell in the hall, Jaral finally started her speech.
"Esteemed Senators of the New Republic. The Secretary has made a point that many of you will certainly find compelling. That is: how can the Jedi Order guarantee that none of our members will one day go rogue and embrace the Dark Side like Emperor Palpatine? What insurance can we give that we will prevent another war like the one were are witnessing?
"Well, the answer is very simple: we can't."
A shocked murmur crossed the galleries, Jaral waited patiently until it ended before resuming.
"For how much we try, conflict is a natural part of the universe. There will always be someone who will try to take everything by force and will never listen to reason. As such, there is no way we can guarantee that, in the future, a member of our Order will turn on the galaxy itself.
"On the other hand, can you guarantee that some power-hungry conqueror will not come from the Republic?"
The Senators looked at each other with mixed emotions. The murmuring became louder.
"This is preposterous!" Mordys jumped on his seat.
"Sit down, Secretary!" Mon Mothma thundered in a very unusual display of firm reprimanding.
"But, Madame President...you heard her! She's insinuating that we, the New Republic, will one day follow the tracks of the Empire."
"May I remind you, mister Secretary," Jaral intervened once the voices had calmed a little, and she immediately regained the attention of the crowd. "that the Empire was once the Old Republic?"
"W-We all know that!" Mordys returned with anger.
"During the Old Republic, the Jedi were an integral part of the government. As the state became increasingly corrupted and oppressed its own citizens, the Jedi found themselves either unwilling or unable to rectify these problems. Right now, you are suggesting to recreate that same, identical situation."
Ezra looked around and saw that the Senators were left speechless. Even among those who supported Mordys, nobody could deny that simple, evident fact.
"You insist that the Order should become a part of the New Republic, while also saying that we should keep our roles as peacekeepers. Well, mister Secretary, I beg you to answer this question: how can we possibly maintain that role if we completely align ourselves to a single nation? What will the others think?" Jaral now said in a more aggressive tone.
Silence fell among the galleries. Mordys looked around, realizing in frustration that many of his supporters were being swayed by the words of the Jedi Master.
"Now, I cannot predict the future, but after stating these facts, I think you will all agree with me on this point: if you decide to assimilate the Jedi Order, you will start the countdown for the next war. I invite you to think about that before making any choice. Thank you." and she stepped down.
Ezra couldn't feel prouder of his sister as she reached the seat next to him with a composed expression. Still, this entire affair had a bitter taste to him.
All those richly dressed Senators would most likely still be hiding in the sewers or in some remote planet it the two Jedi hadn't given such a huge contribution in founding the New Republic. Had they had any kind of dignity, they would have to bow down and thank them, and listen to all their requests. Instead, Mordys and his followers only wanted to submit the Order to their will.
"Thank you, Master Bridger, for your enlightening words." Mothma proclaimed. "I think it's time to start the vote. Allow me to repeat the subject of the vote: Are you in favor of formally recognizing the Jedi Order as an independent entity?"
In the next few minutes, all the Senators tapped the terminals on their seats and the vote then became visible on the main monitor above the seats of the government.
The result was overwhelmingly 'Yes'.