Hearing on the Battle of Ando Prime

[Ahdam]

"We all make mistakes, Senator," Ahdam said with a reassuring smile, his words carrying a profound weight -- albeit unknown to anyone as the truth about Alcor Bac's death was not known. "We're not here to judge you for your actions either."

 

[Count Sam]

"Well master Haung with all due respect to the council but the dark Jedi raid that happened about 2 years ago proved that well....the council are not always able to test the allegiance of the person they are dealing with" Daniel said as he tried to make it clear that he was not trying to insult the council in anyway.

"If I am not mistaken the Bogan was able to walk inside the council and trick everyone in making them believe that he was a Republic general...so why can't we assume that Caed Ultor did the same thing?" Daniel asked as he waited for an answer from the Jedi master. After all, Daniel was just a normal citizen and he did not know that much about the Jedi powers.

 

[Ahdam]

Ahdam sighed. The Senator of Coruscant showed such a naivety when it came to leadership changes, as well as what leaders learned from the mistakes they had made in the past.

"You forget, Senator," Ahdam reminded him, "that there has been a major leadership change in the Jedi Order since then, and anyone who makes a large mistake will learn from it and, more often than not, won't repeat it again. We have no proof to suggest that Ultor's motives were anything but sincere, so let's not abuse the public forum for the purpose of baseless speculation."

 

[Count Sam]

"Well Senator Ahdam I did not forget anything, but when it comes to fighting Tusa and the Bogan you should always put everything in consideration" Daniel said as he looked at Ahdam.

"If we want to win this war then we need to be more cautious than this, and not trust everyone easily especially those who were with the enemy and then defected"

 

[Will]

The Coruscant senator, again, adding nothing to this. A small child, petulant, flinging abuse where he could. Huang eyed him momentarily, deigning not to answer. Their kind were never useful to these kind of hearings. His lip twisted a milimetre or so as his gaze swept over him, to senator Adham Bac. He had obviously only recently joined the hearing, but was already becoming the central figure, outshining the others.

''I chose to speak to the reporter to illuminate the Republic citizens of what had occurred on Ando. Such damage had been wrought by poor support from the Republic forces that I felt it imperative to bring such actions to light. I stand by my judgement. This act is still something that sits upon my mind. I attempt to reflect on how I may have bettered my situation. The fact that the command structure had become saturated with, frankly, incompetent staff, motivated me to act in such a way. Rarely do I speak out, Senator. It takes a lot for me to do so.''

 

[Empress]

Hisako raised her hand once more eyeing both senators. " Might I also interject that up until this event we had no indication of the Bogan as a serious threat. Previous stances noted that the Hutts, and thanks to intel, that the militant remains of Jade Galactic were the perceived threats. It was not until Ultor's comments that we even had evidence that the Bogan were actively participating in the war on the Hutts side, or any form for that matter. Granted force users had been seen in several other battles, they lacked definition as anything but radicals. "

 

[Tsar Fire]

Adara grimaced as she watched the proceedings. The flow was shifting back and forth, and still, the truth wasn't becoming clearer to her. Her failings... their failings... Mohatu's failings...

Nobody knew who to blame. She just happened to be an easy target.

She watched, quietly, as the Jedi slowly continued his discussion. The aura of arrogance and assumption of power about him was almost visible.

It would be a lie to say that she was pleased with him either. In her mind, the Jedi were perhaps more to blame than SOLAG. Certainly, they wouldn't have thought to care about the warriors of the stars, dying to buy them time.

They wouldn't have thought to warn them that they were dying for nothing.

No, truly, Adara didn't much care for Jedi. She saw the semantics, talking back and forth, and she remembered why she had joined the Republic Special Forces. In the senate, in her own clan, there was too much talking, and never enough listening.

She could only wonder what "outburst" they were talking about. had the Jedi leaked information to the public? Perhaps given out information that was meant to be secret?

 

[Green Ranger]

'Perhaps the blame lies not in one party, but in all of us,' a voice said, not quiet but hardly loud, yet still powerful enough to be heard across the chamber. Golden eyes flicked from face to face as the Secretary of Defence took to her feet. Dressed in a simple military tunic, charcoal grey and orange, adorned by nothing save her badge of rank. She had tied her golden locks back into a tight bun for the hearing, scant few wisps of hair falling loose and framing her pale delicate features and luminous eyes.

'Blame lies in high command for failing to provide Commander Adara here with sufficient intel on the operation - as far as I can see from the details of the battle, almost all possible errors on her behalf could have been avoided had we provided more information on the conflict.'

'Blame also lies with the commanding officers of our naval and ground forces for not working together. From what I can see there is no sense of comraderie between the navy and our SOLAG forces - this in itself is massively problematic. Rather than working together, it appears to me at least that both commanders believed they knew best and simply acted without considering the other half of our forces. Had this not been the case the lack of communication that caused the majority of casualties in this battle would simply not have happened.

'Finally - and with all due respect - the Jedi, though not being at fault in the actual development of the battle, did cross a diplomatic line by taking personal opinion to the media. We are in a war, and any sign of weakness between ourselves will most certainly be played upon by our enemies.

'We need to learn to respect our comrades and work together - for this battle, at least in my opinion, was largely lost simply due to pride.'

Autumn took a moment to breathe, looking at the Senators once more with quiet poise before continuing.

'However, I understand that this is a Senatorial matter, and you all have questions of your own that you need answered, so please continue.'

She sat back down quietly, her eyes flickering with flashes of energy as blood pumped through her veins with nervousness. Public speaking was still a relatively new thing to the new Secretary of Defence, but some reason had to be brought to the hearing.

 

[Ahdam]

So there was still some sense left in the Republic's government after all. Ahdam was pleased, to say the least, that the Secretary of Defense was able to rise above the petty politics of the Senate and present the first objective analysis Ahdam had heard in his brief few minutes in the chamber. The new Senator expected nothing less from a top cabinet official chosen by Hoshiko.

"I have no further questions, Mr. Chairman, Madame Chancellor," Ahdam said, addressing both of them. "And I can't think of any better note to end on than the Secretary's summary."

 

[Dmitri]

"The purpose of this hearing is two assess the Battle of Ando Prime and learn from it," said Djibril, waiting for the Secretary and Adham Bac to finish. "We need to strive away from putting in our own political agendas and biases away."

Djibril motioned to the Secretary. "As the Secretary pointed out, there is tension between the Navy and SOLAG. It's obvious they don't like playing together. However, I'd like to make out another point. The Jedi don't like to play with anyone, except with their own... kind." He avoided eye contact with Huang. "The Jedi do not play by our rules. They go with their gut feeling. They are not apart of the Republic military. They're essentially civilians. Due to this fact, they cannot be court martialed. The threat of court martial tends to keep most in place, abiding by the rules. However, the Jedi don't have to worry about that. They can do whatever they want, to an extent, without getting in trouble. This must end.

"Furthermore, it's madness that we hold the Jedi in such high regards in the military, especially when they aren't even apart of the military. They're not even soldiers! They're peacekeepers. Their pacifict view prevent them from ethically going all the way needed to win wars."

Djibril faced the Supreme Chancellor. "Supreme Chancellor Hoshiko, I would recommend the absorption of the Jedi Order, upon agreement with the Order of course, into the Republic military. They need real military training, so that they can work alongside us, instead of running off on their own, playing messiahs against the devils and pagans called the Dark Side. Discipline must be reinforced. We cannot pass blame on someone who only did her job and tried her best..." Djibril motioned to Adara and Abelle. "...while letting Jedi insult the Republic and go off on their own little missions, giving little direct aid to our own soldiers." Djibril shuffled his hands, disguising his point at Huang's direction. "Supreme Chancellor, I know I have no authority to ask this of you, but I please ask you to consider."

 

[Ahdam]

Not one to be subtle, Ahdam flopped his head and arms down onto the table in front of him, showing his dismay, disgust, and, truthfully, complete shock at the absurdity of the Senator's outburst. He'd only been in the hearing for a few minutes, and already he'd learned that these hearings were nothing more than a place for Senators to stand up on a soap box and grandstand.

Every fiber in his being told him to refute the idiocy of the Senator's demands, and he nearly did, leaning forward and backwards a few times during the spectacle as he debated whether or not he should, but he chose not to. No, that would only fuel the drama... He would make a point to speak to the Senator, in private, later on.

"Mr. Chairman, I move that we get the hell out of here," Ahdam said, still not accustomed to the Senatorial attitude that would have naturally come with a life spent in politics. "We've learned everything we can, and there's nothing more that we can do other than make displays like that."

 

[Green Ranger]

Autumn blinked, then rubbed her temples as she stood once more. She didn't even believe such a request had been uttered.

'Senator, surely you are aware of the fact that the Jedi are not within Republic jurisdiction? They are allies, not members of the Republic. We could not force them to join with our military in such a way, nor would they allow such a thing to happen. We fight side by side because we are allies with a common foe and a common goal.'

 

[Tsar Fire]

Adara, while she secretly agreed with the Senator on some levels, certainly would not have made those sorts of demands.

A faint beep came from the chrome watch on her left wrist, and she glanced at it. That late already? She had more reports due for the Admiralty board, and she hadn't even started trying to prepare her defense for the threatened court martial.

She didn't think she was going to be needed here any longer. She'd given her testimony and if the committee needed to hear anything else from her... well, they knew her number.

Quietly, she strode to the back hallway and exited the chambers. In the privacy of the waiting room, she wiped the sweat off of her brow, and carefully adjusted the uniform to alleviate the pressure on certain... sensitive regions. God above, she hated the thing.

***​

She was on the steps leading out of the building to the different speeder hangars, getting ready to get into her cab, when she felt an odd sensation on the back of her neck. Like someone was watching her.

She glanced around, and noticed a woman, in tidy business attire, with disheveled blond hair and rather poorly applied make-up was standing a few feet away, to her left.

She was staring at Adara, with the strangest expression. She was holding something in her hands, clutching it practically.

"Can I help you, miss?"

It was a simple question, but when Adara uttered it, the women seemed to lose whatever control she'd had. Her hands came up and Adara realized, belatedly, that she was clutching a gun.

It wasn't what she had been expecting, after a day like this. She'd been expecting another list of charges filed by Raleigh or Griffith.

She hadn't been expecting the first bullet that tore through her shoulder.

The world shimmered and swirled in between a hazy red and bright, saturated tones. She could hear the woman speaking, though her words were distorted, like someone calling down a subway tunnel.

"You're the one... The one the Jedi said... You got them killed... you betrayed Adam and you killed him! It's your fault! Give him back! Give him back you Bitch!"

Adara could hear more gunshots, though her body was numb. There was silence now, broken only by her too-loud heartbeat. She couldn't feel anything. She couldn't breathe.

There was just cold concrete, growing sticky with her blood, and the cold gray sky overhead.

Her last thought, as the world faded away from her consciousness, was...

...

Spoiler: ...

***​

​

 

[Sreeya]

"Are we animals that you are attempting to have chained and do your bidding?"

Laida had been silent throughout the entire meeting. She hadn't been specifically called to attend, but she had volunteered to arrive alongside her fellow Jedi and SOLAG. She had been seated the entire time, letting Huang speak on the Order's behalf. However, the senator's outburst caused her to rise to her feet. She stood beside the Jedi Master, scowling at the senator that mindlessly spewed forth absurd suggestions.

"If we did not like to play with anyone but our 'kind', we would not have extended a hand of friendship to the Republic. We would not have offered protection or deem the Republic as our allies. We would not have organized a joint mission to assault Ando Prime. As it was said, the fault lies on everyone's shoulders. When the broadcast was made, it was directly as we were fleeing from Ando Prime. All we were lead to believe was that the Supreme Commander had abandoned us. Overall there was a lack of communication with all parties involved, leading to this disaster. However, we will not stand to be insulted without ground where it is not due."

Her voice projected louder and she addressed the man directly.

"If we did not care about anyone but ourselves, we would have left all the SOLAG soldiers behind. Following this debacle, we have worked tirelessly to heal all the soldiers that had returned. We could have easily escaped with just Jedi, but we had to make a tough decision and save as many lives as we could."

Though no anger was shown outwardly, it was obvious that the senator had irked many members of the Order.

"To attempt to force us to work under the military is a laughable notion. We are governed by our own rules, yes, but they exist. We have served as peacekeepers, but we know full well how to defend and help aid in the war. We do not operate under the military, nor do we ask to be held in especially high regard within those ranks. We exist as allies, as friends, not as soldiers within the military. While our Grandmaster is pushing for more integration, forcing it onto us is not the answer and will not be tolerated. When the Republic asks for our aid, we answer. We asked for their aid, and from our perspective, they failed us. We had reasons to be unhappy with the Republic. We are working to move past this and resolve the issue, but it can't be done when outrageous demands like these are made."

She finally quieted down, her last statement laced with an icy tone.

"Your lack of knowledge on anything regarding our ways is painfully apparent, by the way, and it would be prudent to abstain from meddling in such affairs in the future."

 

[Dmitri]

"I never said to force them," snapped Djibril. Maybe he should have suggested this privately to Hoshiko. "I simply meant to suggest that it would be in the Republic's best interest to talk to the Jedi Order and try to militarize them. Like I said before, the Jedi Order would need to agree. However, we need to look at this realistically: we're entrusting the lives of countless Republic soldiers to pacificist monks who are not apart of the Republic military. They're a cult, nothing more, nothing less. And we're being manipulated by this cult. If we're to work well and efficiently with the Jedi to both sides' best, we need to eliminate the walls between the Jedi and Republic. However, we are not the Hutt Empire. We would need the Jedi to agree. All I suggest is that it be put into consideration, by both our Supreme Chancellor and Senate, and the Jedi Council." Djibril glanced at Huang. "You can do that, if we agree to do so, right?"

Djibril sighed. He stood up.

"I can see that I made a mistake coming back here," said Djibril. "It's obvious no one wishes for me to be around. Personally, I'm surprised no attempts on my life have been made yet. Unless anyone objects, I'd like to leave."

OOC: Don't die on me, Tsar! I'm coming! lol

 

[Raif]

This was getting out of hand. Korembeck decided to use what little authority he had as the 'chairman' of this hearing to end things. He let loose a loud roar to draw attention after Djibril suggested leaving.

"Enough! This is clearly getting out of hand, and the point of this meeting has been lost behind this nonsense. Senator Djibril, if you feel the need to excuse yourself, then by all means that is your prerogative. As for the rest of us, we met today to gain the facts of the battle as best we could, and I don't believe anyone can disagree with me now when saying we have gleaned everything we could."

Korembeck glanced quickly around the room. He may have been overstepping his bounds, especially given the presence of the Chancellor and the two Secretaries, but things needed to be brought back to order. The large wookiee stood from his seat and looked at the 'witnesses' that had been called before the group of Senators and government officials.

"Thank you all for coming, your insight into what occurred at Ando Prime will, I'm sure, prove to be invaluable. Now please, if you would make your exit and allow us time to deliberate in private."

Korembeck held his large paw up towards the exits. He knew he was being rude to dismiss them in this way, but especially with the suggestion for the militarization of the Jedi things had gotten onto a wild tangent. There was still work that needed to be done here.

 

[Dmitri]

"My presence will only aggrevate things," said Djibril. He nodded apologetically. "My apologies, Senator Koremback. It seems I derailed your Senate Hearing."

Djibril stood up. He faced the Jedi Grand Master. "And may I offer my apologies to you, as well. I meant no disrespect. I was only hoping to make the beautiful union between the Republic and Jedi better. I'm sorry."

Djibril turned to Hoshiko. "My deepest apologies to you, Supreme Chancellor. I promised I would do my best to redeem myself in your eyes after leaving, but I have failed. The Republic is no longer safe for me."

Djibril walked out of the rotunda. As he was leaving, he heard a noise. He followed the origins to an outside area. Laying in a pool of blood was Adara. The Senator rushed to Adara, applying pressure on the wounds and attempting to apply emergency medical treatment. He buzzed his commlink, calling for medical assistance.

"Don't you die on me, Supreme Commander Talai," said Djibril.

 

[Empress]

Hisako leaned forward in her seat, folding both hands under her jaw as she listened to the suggestions, rebuttals and what not's that poured from the mouths and hearts of others about her. She knew she could say one thing and bring this to an end, she already knew where she stood on the Jedi issue. Yet she chose to allow them, for now, to continue. They needed this time to vent. Matters had been stressed for so long, many had much pent up. The pantoran Chancellor figured, for now, that it was best to allow them to air themselves out when the reprecautions were minimal.

 

[Ahdam]

This was why Ahdam never wanted anything to do with politics. Lunatics were making absurd demands and threatening to leave the Republic, and military officers were nearly on the verge of having nervous breakdowns. Not to mention having the Jedi dragged through the mud and forcing them to rely on their own shaken abilities to contain their worse demons.

He could see why politics was such a tense environment. He thought back to his father, the way his father used to be before the Alsakan war and before he became Supreme Chancellor. He had a certain way about him for dealing with these types of situations, an ability to deflect the heated emotional tendencies of egotists, in order to calm things down. After everything Ahdam had done, perhaps there was still a way to honor his father.

"So!" Ahdam shouted, stepping up from his seat. He clapped his hands together, drawing attention towards himself, "Should we order lunch?"

 

[Empress]

There was a momentary pause at Bac's comment, then suddenly a sharp snort, and the overwhelming laughter coming from the chancellors seat. The Pantoran had turned violet three times over trying to contain herself. She was beyond this! Jokes came and went but always one kept their appearances up. It was the perfect timing, and the perfect delivery. There was little the Chancellor could do at this point but wave off the Senator with the back of her hand.

" I much agree.. if there is nothing pressing I suggest calling a recess."