Chapter 53: The Importance of the Person Speaking
The room was so quiet Rey felt as though everyone could hear her racing heartbeat. She took her seat and calmly awaited a response, her expression curious and innocent. Everyone turned to the muun a bit stiffly; the chairman of the Corporate Alliance rose awkwardly and tried to present himself confidently. “Well, there are simply too many of them to recount. The number of tragedies the galaxy has seen in recent times is countless, and each deserves its due consideration.”
The man took his seat, and Rey rose quickly, knowing her rights at this point. Having been given the chance to offer commentary or make an inquiry, she could now ask clarifying questions. Looking almost sagly with her calm and honest expression, she asked, “My apologies again, but for myself and the general public, would you more clearly define what these injustices and tragedies are.”
Admiral Adolfus spoke up at this sternly, “Master Jedi, it's best not to play dumb. These delegations deserve your utmost consideration and respect.”
Rey turned to the man and spoke honestly, “I wouldn't dream of doing anything less.” She shrugged and explained, “I may not be as accustomed to politics as some of the delegates present, but I have received a thorough education.” Turning back to the muun, she persisted, “Representative Tavuurd’s declaration was passionate, but I found it vague and unconvincing.” She remained calm and finished, “What are these injustices and tragedies. Are they deaths, financial losses, land disputes, or social grievances? If we can't even define what it is we are discussing, then how are we expected to make any progress.”
The room grew still once more as politics looked at each other, somewhat confused. Rey felt like she was doing a good job and had successfully thrown a wrench into their scheme. However, at this point, Admiral Adolfus gestured to her and asked, “Then why don't you provide us some clarity. As a Jedi Master, you must have a clear understanding of what acts deserve punishment and which deserve forgiveness. After all, you were an active participant in the so-called war on the First Order.”
Although Rey could not see through the entirety of the man's plot, she had long been prepared to deal with her involvement in the war. She rose to her feet and responded firmly, “I will be the first to confess that my wisdom is far from that of the Jedi of the time of the Galactic Republic. I will also not avoid the fact that I fought against the First Order.” She sternly looked towards the Admiral unwavering and continued, “When I joined the war, I was young and naive. I fought for a cause I believed in, that cause being a galaxy that can exist free of tyranny and oppression. To my knowledge, the extreme policies of the False Emperor have been condemned by every major political faction. The creation and use of Super Weapons, the forceful conscription of children to the military, and the destruction of the Old New Republic are all deeds we as a collective have condemned and were what put me against the First Order in the first place.” She was glad she had managed to remember most of the script that had been prepared for her and continued confidently, “The Galactic Empire was before my time, and I have no qualms with its supporters and loyalists. Yes, I have had conflicts with many of these people due to the coercion of the First Order. Now that the False Emperor is dead and the First Order no more, my grudge with the ex-imperialists is resolved, as should many of our old grievances.” In a rehearsed tone of passionate resolve, she finished her script, “It is time to leave our past conflicts in the past and move towards an era of peace and unity.”
Her speech earned her applause from her audience, and even the Corporate Alliance and Admirals had to join in as they appeared opposed to her vision. Admiral Adolfus, however, was not finished and addressed her, “You are very mature for your age. However, we still await your insight on what this conference should be discussing.”
Rey maintained her cool on the outside but was panicking on the inside. Just as she was about to try asking a clarifying question again, Emi arrived at her side and whispered in her ear, “I retrieved a copy of the Galactic War Time Registry of Conflicts as requested.”
At some point, the cyborg must have departed and returned with this item without the Jedi being the wiser. Rey knew this book by name, particularly because the cyborg had mentioned it in their classes as something she shouldn’t read because she wouldn't have the time to and wouldn't be involved in anything important enough to actually reference it. Feeling a little irritated at this, she took the large tomb from her aid that had a neat subtitle of ‘Part I: A-Ac.’ She turned back to the audience, trusting that Emi knew what she was doing. It irritated her even more that her aide was the one who knew everything, but people only cared about what she said because she had become famous. Putting these thoughts aside, she held up the book and announced, “I present the Galactic War Time Registry of Conflicts…”
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She paused and witnessed roughly 80% of the delegates become intrigued while the remaining individuals, including the Admirals and Chairman of the Corporate Alliance, bore sour expressions. The Jedi was pleased by this and executed a trick she had learned while studying under Emi. Although the book was big and likely terribly complicated, it undoubtedly had a preface that summarized its contents so that scholars might know what they're dealing with before investing several weeks into reading it. Rey opened the book and flipped a few pages before continuing, “I believe the author's words will be better than mine when it comes to explaining the significance of this text…”
The Jedi had made up this line on the spot, but her words had actually gotten the crowd to laugh a little bit. With a bit more confidence, she began to read while holding the book in the way she cradled the Sacred Jedi Texts, which Fama had called ‘very intelligent looking.’ The Jedis voice did not betray her desperation for knowing why this book was so significant and rather was forced to sound rather knowledgeable, “Galactic War Time Registry of Conflicts is a publication affirmed by the Grand Scholar Nov Grimoire and his 322 pupils and written in association with the Library of Galactic History. This Registry contains a summary of all known conflicts that transpired during the Galactic War and details all available information in regard to said conflicts, including but not limited to troop numbers, troop leadership, conflict motive, and prevalent strategies utilized.”
She read two pages that addressed the nature of the tomb and couldn't help feeling amazed that such a wonderful book would be written. The term conflict did not just include battles between armies but other acts like attacks carried out by radicals, workplace strikes, public riots, and many more events that ultimately resulted in people being in conflict with each other. Although it only contained the disputes that were publicly known about, it could at least serve as a starting point. Once she was finished reading, she looked up and addressed Admiral Adolfus, “I will not pretend to be wise enough to give a moral judgment on every conflict in the galaxy, nor is it my place to do so…” She held up the book and announced, “But if you want a definition of injustices and tragedies then it has already been prepared.” Making sure to cover her weak spots, she added, “During war, conflict is natural. I do not believe every person mentioned in this text is deserving of punishment. Rather, I believe it will be the duty of this conference to identify what constitutes illegal or immoral wartime behavior and submit this option to a hearing so that perpetrators can be properly punished.”
The room broke out into loud applause, and Rey met eyes with Admiral Adolfus, whose face showed intrigue while his pupils revealed rage. Rey took her seat and handed the book back to Emi while asking quietly, “How am I doing.”
Emi took the text and responded, “I now believe in miracles.”
Rey glared at the female cyborg for a moment before turning back to the room, regaining her calm expression. On the inside, she was rather happy since, despite her aid being a tease, her remark did imply she was doing very well. Admiral Adolfus calmed the crowd and spoke presently, “Very good; rather than linger on the significance of our purpose here today, we shall take a more aggressive approach.” Looking to Az Tavuurd, he spoke sternly, “The Corporate Alliance will again be allowed to make the first statement regarding what should constitute illegal or immoral wartime behavior.”
The Jedi felt like she had hopped out of the frying pan and into the fire as political hell descended upon her. Almost instantly, the room became full of tension that couldn’t even be cut by a knife. Delegates began to speak up one after another, addressing each other's clauses and proposing counterarguments. Many brought up rather particular examples that deliberately put specific delegates in a rather bad light. At this point, Rey was overlooked, and she was both happy and disappointed to no longer have to speak. Clearly, the Anti-Peace Faction members believed she could possibly cause trouble again and went to great lengths to avoid bringing up Jedi or bringing her into the conversation.
After an hour, it seemed like a full-on fight was ready to break out when Dukmar let out a Wookie shout, causing the room to fall silent. He let out a long series of wookie growls that captivated the crowd. Once he was done, Suket Blu surprisingly was the first to speak up and responded, “This is very true; in pursuit of identifying the morality of conflict, we ourselves nearly devolved into the very conflict we are trying to resolve.” The Chagrian then leaned forward and added, “But who is this, expert witness you wish to call.”
Dukmar let out a short yell, and the interior room suddenly went stiff as though the name of a monster had just been mentioned. Admiral Vissar spoke out and stammered a bit before controlling himself and stating, “ Representative Dukmar, Bail Organa has been dead for more than 30 years. How could he provide us with a testimony?”
Chewbacca steps forward and holds a small halo device. Rey also notices a familiar young man standing behind the two workers who had not been there at the beginning of the meeting. The courier of the halo device was Lex Primidian’s Intern, whose eyes showed excitement. Rey smiled, eager to see what words Minerva's Uncle had left for future generations.