Ask Coruscant Acta non verba

[Emil Ro]

Supreme Chancellor Emil Ro's official agenda said he was taking calls from constituents in the immediate hour after lunch, but that was a bit of artful misdirection, courtesy of his assistant, Joost. It wasn't like he was slacking off, using the down hour to watch a holodrama or some other useless waste of his time. No, the meeting he had chosen to fill this timeslot with was in fact very important to the vision he had for a restored Republic. He just chose not to go public with it—yet.

The Chancellor's office was empty, save for himself and a protocol droid he'd procured to serve drinks and snacks throughout the meeting. Did Jedi like such things? Emil had certainly studied the customs and traditions of the ancient Jedi Order, but this new iteration had rules he was altogether unfamiliar with.

He wore the red vestments of his station, determined to appear every bit as regal as a Chancellor of the New Republic should; but his most important garb was the careful mask he wore. There were things he wanted out of this meeting, just as he was sure there were things the Jedi wanted in return; but he had to be careful not to reveal his hand, nor to dwell on his hopes for too long. Jedi had powers that would allow them to touch the minds of the undisciplined, and the last thing he wanted was to give away the game before any pieces were played.

Joost arrived a moment later, his brow slick with sweat. It was a sweltering day in Imperial City, and not like to cool down any time soon. He felt bad for Joost, having to run around in the unair-conditioned open.

"Chancellor," Joost said, wheezing for lack of breath. "She's here."

"Send her in," Emil replied. "And Joost?"

The aide whirled back around before he could fully flee the office.

"Do pull yourself together. Stand under an air duct or something."

The glare Joost leveled at him could have razed a forest on Kashyyyk—but he still said nothing, turning back around to hurry about his duty. A smirk settled across Emil's face. One of these days, Joost would have enough of his teasing. That would be a sad day for them both. @Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

A hooded figure moved through the streets of the Imperial City. Shadows covering the face within. If a curious citizen happened to look too closely, they would find those shadows impenetrable. A face concealed by darkness. Of course, no citizen would look too closely. Oddly no one wanted to look at the hooded individual at all. It was as if their minds simply slipped over the person. The weather was hot, the figure not dressed for the heat, and not one Coruscanti onlooker found it odd. Their eyes just slipped past the robes. Their minds convinced to look elsewhere. So it was that figure made her way to the office of the Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic.

Jedi Councilor Alexandria Voran was confident she arrived at the office unnoticed. The Force shielded her face and her mind shoved away prying glances. No one would have seen her arrival. She was equally careful to park her shuttle a distance away on the lower levels with a fake transponder. She had been shunting the mind of passersby the moment she left the ship. Alex had no cause to worry over her safety on Coruscant. The Sith had not penetrated so deeply into the Core but she had other concerns. The reputation of the Jedi was improving despite the damage of the past. Their stands against the Sith buoyed public perception. Still, a stigma latched to the Order. A stigma she was uncertain the new Chancellor wished attached to his reputation. So, Alex chooses caution.

She removed the hood once she was safely within the confines of 500 Republica. She was led by a very fidgety assistant. Alex was the image of Jedi serenity. Her face was smooth, her mind calm. Her tan Jedi robes whisked softly over her boots. The Morellian had left her armor at home, opting for simple synthweave garments. She did not expect need for her armor. Alex breathed easily as she was shown into the office, her gaze settling on Supreme Chancellor Ro. At once, she knew a truth he did not. The Force swirled around the young politician. Unrefined, untrained, but present. Kriff, he was young. Alex carefully closed her mental barriers. No needed for unnecessary poking. She nodded politely as strode into the room.

“Chancellor Ro, thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I can only imagine the demands for your attention.” She stayed standing. The Force humming with potential.

 

[Emil Ro]

"My predecessor left a lot of Republic affairs out of order," Emil said, gesturing for his guest to sit across from him. "So, yes, there are a lot of messages on my machine. Local officials, bureaucrats, constituents, all thinking I can solve their problems with a stroke of my pen." He snapped his fingers for emphasis, smiling wistfully as he did. "But we both know matters aren't so simple, don't we, Master Jedi? We both are burdened with the impossible responsibility of defending and caring for trillions of beings, and yet no move we can make or will make could ever solve every problem this galaxy faces."

He scanned her face for reactions, but she was frustratingly unreadable. For Emil Ro's entire career, he had always had an intuition about people. A feeling that told him what others were thinking or how they felt. He sometimes thought he could sense disgust rolling off of a person like toxic fumes, or joy radiating out of them like the birth of a new star. But this woman was a singularity that pulled in all stray thoughts and feelings and was utterly... blank.

Were all Jedi so closed off from the world around them? Or was this yet another supernatural ability he had failed to account for?

"I'll be direct. I have not crawled out from under a rock to lead this Republic, though my newness to galactic politics might give that impression. I know what the galaxy at large thinks of your Order, and I'm hard pressed not to blame them. Every time someone with a blue lightsaber emerges, the red ones aren't so far behind. But I'm also not ignorant to the friendship the Jedi have shared with iterations of this Republic over millennia. So, it is in the spirit of that friendship that I have accepted this meeting."

Still, nothing.

He would have to ask plainly then. "What can I do for you, Master Jedi?" @Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Alex listened carefully as Emil spoke. She took a seat when it was offered, sliding smoothly into the chair. She could feel him groping for her thoughts in the Force. Inwardly, Alex smiled. He had no idea what he was doing or why he could not find purchase in her mind. She suspected the young Chancellor had always found the feelings of those around easily identifiable. He would not find that same success with her. Alex was trained and among the strongest Force users in the galaxy, few could access her mind against her will. The Morellian Councilor kept her face smooth.

The Supreme Chancellor seemed to understand her dilemma. His words rang with truth in the Force. He believed what he said. That did not mean she could trust him. She hoped she could, but she knew dangerously little about the Republic’s newest leader. The Order had been fooled in the past into trusting the wrong politicians. She would not take that same mistake. Emil asked for frankness. If Alex was anything, she was direct. The Chancellor would learn that lesson quickly.

“We share a burden few understand. I do not blame the galaxy for their hesitancy in trusting our Order.” She quirked her head to the side. “People are always surprised when I say that, but we have made mistakes…and to most, what is the difference between a red lightsaber and blue?” Alex shrugged meeting Emil’s eyes. “I’m trying to change that. The truth is the Sith are here and they will wage war until the galaxy is conquered. We can’t fight them alone and neither can you.” She raised a hand, she knew what he was thinking. “Some want a return to the Jedi Generals of the Clone Wars. That is not right and not who the Order should be. We need a partnership to defeat the Sith. Unlike any of our unions of the past.” This was their chance. A chance Yvain, Drow, and the other warmongers failed to see. The Order did not need an army. Not if the Republic stood by them. They could learn from the mistakes of the past...they could be better.

@Mockingjay

 

[Emil Ro]

It was ironic that Emil chose to stand then, having just offered the Jedi a seat. He peered out the window of his office, tracing the skylanes with gaze as he tried to wrap his head around what Master Voran was trying to say.

"The New Republic is in a precarious position," he explained. "The Independent Systems Consortium blames the Jedi for the Sith. Frankly, I don't care who is to blame. The solution is all that matters. And yet, our friendship with them is critical to any peace we attempt to forge. If the Senate openly aligns the Republic with your Order, it will invite the Consortium's ire." He turned now to face the Jedi, face as unreadable as he could make it. "I will be frank. We need a damn good reason to accept this 'partnership' you propose, Master Jedi. A reason worth the risks we will be taking."

Emil sat again and steepled his fingers. Sucking in a breath, he continued. "But before we speak more of risks and politics, it is probably best I hear you out. If the Jedi will not fight, and if it is not their desire to lead, what precisely do you propose we do? What is the nature of this alliance you want to create?" @Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

She shook her head. Her meaning was not clear enough. How to explain the complexities of a millennia old struggle in a matter of moments? How to convey the depths of the challenges they faced? It was not so simple as Jedi versus Sith. “We have made small steps in repairing our reputation.” Denon had been a disaster. They lost Max, Talak, and the faith of the people. Her datapad slipped from her pocket, coming to rest on the desk. The small holoprojector showed scenes of the liberation of Sullust, the defense of Byblos and the sacrifices of Taris. The galactic perception of the Jedi was changing. They had made no massive public missteps in some time. “We are not viewed as harshly...” She paused for a moment. Alex admitted her mistakes. It was a part of the very core of her person.

“I have poorly explained what we seek.” The images changed to the Taris security forces turning on her brothers and sisters. Allies shooting them in the back. “We are going to fight. We are fighting. We have lost too much, we have all lost people we love.” The projector showed Stolas celebrating his victory over Denon. “But we can’t fight alone. The Sith are a unified force…Darksiders and military merged into one. We fight alongside the planetary defenses of the worlds they seek to subjugate.” The images of Taris flashed again. “But they cannot always be trusted. We won’t stop fighting but something must change.”

Alex’s mind searched for the right words. “There are Jedi who wish to raise an army. A fighting force the Order controls. I suspect you and I agree that is not a path for peace.” Yvain was persistent. He pushed for militarization. He was not alone. Jedi she considered her friends pushed alongside him. Fuck. Yvain was her friend. “And I equally suspect, you do not went Jedi at the head of your armies and frankly neither do I.” She shrugged, allowing her Jedi mask to slip for a moment. “Some would be well suited but not all.” The holoprojector switched to images of Stolas wrecking havoc on Taris, Raze demolishing the Temple on Ajan Kloss. Their terrifying power on full display. “You can’t beat that with blasters and diplomacy.” The images flicked again. The Sith armies walking through city streets. “And we can’t fight that alone…so I seek a middle ground to hold back the Darkness.” The Supreme Chancellor had to know the New Republic would not be safe as long as the Sith reigned. As FWA planets fell, the safety of the Republic diminished.

@Mockingjay

 

[Emil Ro]

Emil watched the images flicker in and out of the blue hologram with careful indifference. The politician in him was already trying to work on an angle that could be used to benefit the Republic. The human side of him reeled, particularly at the images of Taris. He had received the intelligence reports about the occupation and had recently publicly condemned the action on the part of the Sith. But he knew that he could not act on that emotion. He had to act in the best interests of the New Republic.

"No," he said, and for a long moment, that was the only word hanging in the air. "I do not want a return to the Clone Wars. The Jedi are keepers of the peace," He now recalled the words of a brown robed man he had seen on a holo at the University of Sobrik, once, "not soldiers, and not generals either, though they have tried in the past. A partnership seems the most agreeable outcome for both of our parties. Shared intelligence, joint missions, brothers and sisters in arms; but not a complete union as we were in the days of the Old Republic."

Emil leaned forward and froze the frame on an image of the burning temple at Ajan Kloss: the forest world that had been the heart of the New Jedi Order since Master Skywalker first restored it from the ashes of Palpatine's genocide. And, after a moment, tore his gaze away, directing it instead out the viewport of his office, where he had a stunning view of the former Imperial Palace. No, the former Jedi Temple. And in that moment had an idea.

"Before my election, I said before the Galactic Senate that the New Republic would not sit on its hands and watch the Sith turn our galaxy into another Empire. I did not have the power to back up those words then—I do now. The Free Worlds Alliance does not have the means to defend itself, and the Consortium believes we are overselling the threat of the Sith. Only the Jedi know the ruin we face if we continue to take this matter lightly."

He leaned forward across the desk, propped up by his elbows, hands clasped in front of him. "I am willing to fight alongside you, Master Jedi. But I need to sell this deal to the Senate. What do you propose?" @Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

“Agreed” Alex’s eyes followed Emil’s out the window. She could not resist the pang in her chest from seeing the old Temple. She had never known those halls, but it was impossible to banish the meaning behind the forgotten structure. “We cannot be as intertwined as we once were. That relationship bred the conditions that allowed for the Empire. We blinded each other.” What did she actually want? What could they truly accomplish? “But apart, we have allowed all of this.” She gestured at the holo again. The complete separation had allowed the Sith to return in force with little resistance. “The extremes have never served us.” The Morellian Councilor was uncertain she trusted the Chancellor. He seemed earnest. He seemed true but one never could be sure.

Frankly, it did not matter. They needed help which meant she needed to take risks. Fighting planet by planet was no longer good enough. As Emil leaned forward, Alex’s eyes shifted back to him. His gaze was intense…purposeful. He was committed. The Force rang with a clarity she had not felt in years. “Let us come home, Chancellor.” Her eyes shifted back to the Temple. “That is a start.” She knew what else she had to do. She knew what her next steps required. “We cannot answer to the Senate…but we would accept some oversight. That may ease some concerns. In return, the Republic would have all the Order has to offer. Our healers, our scholars, our fighters...our lives. Our full commitment to pushing the Sith treat back from whence it came.”

For the first time, Alex let her serenity crack. It was purposeful but pointed. She sighed. “I once considered myself a skilled diplomat…I’ve done nothing but fight for years…even before I did not possess half your political skill.” A hard truth to admit but an important one. “How do you believe we can convince the Senate this is the only way to stop the Sith?” It was. She knew Emil agreed, she could see the truth in his eyes.

@Mockingjay

 

[Emil Ro]

Something stirred then in Emil. He frowned, uncertain of what this sensation was, but it was as if a veil had been lifted and, for the briefest flicker of a moment, he could sense her urgency. Her need. He closed his eyes and shut it out. And, in a moment, the sensation faded back into white noise.

"I am planning a venture to the Anoat sector," Emil confessed. "My intelligence suggests the planet Mataou is in the midst of an AMS outbreak that could overtake the entire system if we do not intervene. I need to send a message to the galaxy, to the Galactic Senate, that the Republic is not just a democracy for the wealthy in the Core; but can include the Rim too."

He tapped a few keys on his desk and the room dimmed to allow a display of the sector to come up for them both to observe. "This is not only an opportunity to save millions of lives, Master Jedi. It is an opportunity to remind the galaxy that the Jedi are healers and defenders of the weak. If the Jedi were to join our taskforce, not as servants of the Senate, but as friends, I believe I could convince my caucus to approve a formal friendship between your Order and my administration."

"To seal that deal," He stood now, gesturing to the planets floating around them as holograms, "I will allow your Order to select one of the worlds we liberate to establish a presence of your choosing. A training temple, a hospital, whichever the Council deems best. And, if the Senate agrees to our friendship afterwards," The lights in the room came up again, and the Jedi Temple stood behind Emil in the viewport, "Well, I think it's time for the Jedi to come home, don't you?" @Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Hope. Alexandria Voran felt hope. She smiled softly. Her stoic face betraying the beauty beneath. The Force vibrated in her mind, the unmistakable firming of future slapping together. Her feet were on the right path. Certainty ripped through her chest. This was the future towards which she had been marching. The future that allowed her to finish what Max started. In that moment, there was nothing Alex would not do to see the mountain top reached. She listened closely to Emil, nodding at his explanation.

“I’ll go myself.” The Morellian Master reached for Vahn in the Force…her mind flashing across planets. She trusted Vahn above all others. She needed him for this. “The galaxy will remember the truth of our Order.” Her smile faded for a moment. “We are not perfect, Chancellor. We will make mistakes again. The Force does not suddenly gift you infinite and unassailable wisdom.” The smile came back. “Only a few of us receive that gift.” Alex’s eyes flicked to the old Temple. She longed to walk those halls.

“But they will see we care, and we are trying. I hope that is enough.” The Councilor stood then, briefly smoothing her robes. “I should make preparations for Mataou.” Her forehead scrunched for a moment as she debated her next words. The Chancellor deserved to know. “I trust you, Emil Ro. I don’t know if I should, but it feels right.” One deep breath. “I hope you trust me.” She lowered her mental walls to reveal the breadth of her mind. Truth rang throughout. “There is a reason you found me difficult to read, a reason you find others to be such an open book. The difference between us is simply a few decades of training.” Alex turned to leave. She really did need to prepare. She had faced the infected a handful of times, preparation was the difference between life and death. “Please call me, Alex. I hope to see you soon.” And with that the Jedi Councilor was gone. The beginnings of their partnership were set. There was more work to do but these first steps had been immensely productive.

@Mockingjay

 

[Emil Ro]

The words hit Emil in the chest like a freight train. The difference between us is a few decades of training. He struggled to wrap his mind around them. She could not be implying what he thought she was implying. He couldn't be like her. Like them. He was just an ordinary man... and yet, her words would not leave him. There was a weight to them, like truth, that settled deep in his core. And there, something whispered back to him, She's right.

Emil didn't get a chance to reply to the Jedi Master. To say that he trusted her too, even if he didn't know why or how. Perhaps, it was that they needed to trust each other. The Republic needed allies, and the Jedi certainly did. But Emil somehow knew there was more to it than that. The trust that passed between them came from a different place. A deeper place. And now he was left with the truth, and the constant nagging question: What will you do with this information?

The simple answer was that he didn't know. Not yet. He needed time and space. He and Master Voran... no, Alex, would meet again. Perhaps, then, he would know the right questions to ask. Until then, the Republic needed them. Needed them both. So Emil shook his head of questions, and returned to work.

/end thread @Valen Pelora