Chapter 60: Jedi and Armies

The room was deathly still as Primidian began his rebuttal, "Representative Crockett, you have made some very bold claims. Foremost, I would like to address your claim that a Jedi's duty is to, as you said, 'destroy Death Stars' and 'kill emperors'. Although these acts have been taken out by Jedi in the past, it was only a singular one who had barely been indoctrinated into the religion for more than a few years." He eyed the man firmly and spoke the taboo name, "Luke Skywalker was a young and naïve idealist twisted by a radical faction of revolutionaries. When you truly consult the texts of the Jedi Order, one will observe his actions were all in violation of the Jedi Code itself. Why else do you think he elected exile once the conflict was concluded."

Rey shivered at the way Primidian twisted truth and assumption together; he did not lie but omitted enough information for the audience to come to a near-opposite conclusion of what had taken place. The man who had angrily called out Rey looked angry beyond the point of fear and retorted, "So what? He still did the deeds."

Primidian nodded at this and countered, "The fact Luke Skywalker performed this act is undeniable. The real question is whether or not he was a Jedi when he did so." This caused the room to become uncomfortable as the man pressed the matter, "Back in the days of the Galactic Republic, a Jedi began their training before the age of 10 and lived secluded in a temple to become detached from worldly matters. When ready, they would become a padawan and be taught the nature of the Force by a Master. Once they had matured in both their faith and understanding, they would undergo strict trials to become a Knight. And only after gaining true wisdom and proving oneself worth would one have the chance to undergo further trials to become a Master." Eyeing the man who had started the argument, he inquired, "Do tell me, exactly which of these ordeals did Luke Skywalker undergo by the time he was destroying Death Stars and killing Emperors."

Growing desperate, the man pointed to Rey and shouted, "Well, she isn't any different; she was just a junker rat from Jakku."

Rey wanted to throttle this man, but Primidian stepped in quickly, "A very fair point." He turned to Rey and asked, "Master Skywalker, can you tell me the 12 Maxims of Jedism." The Jedi didn't know what he was trying to do but trusted her Godfather and answered accordingly. He quizzed her on a range of subjects relating to Jedism until he gestured to her and inquired, "And If I may, who did you learn this knowledge from."

Rey responded to this pride in her voice, "My two teachers, Luke Skywalker and Laia Organa." For honesty, she added, "I have also consulted the Sacred Jedi Texts which Master Luke gathered."

Primidian nodded and asked, "And when did he gather these Sacred Texts."

Rey answered, "He gathered them over the course of his entire life. It took decades to find them all."

The Admiral nodded and addressed the audience, "And thus, old generations teach new ones to be wiser and better. To not make the same mistakes and to create a brighter future." He stared intensely at Representative Crockett and concluded, "I find your lack of faith concerning. I also find your lack of respect and basic insight into what you speak disgraceful. I hope you will hold your tongue behind your teeth unless you truly have something meaningful to provide this Conference."

The room fell silent, and Rey was very pleased and displeased with how the Admirals' dialogue had progressed. She doesn't argue with what he said; in fact, every word of it was true with surprising detail, yet it did cast a shadow on her Master's legacy. Still, no matter what the Admiral said, even if he was influential and powerful, Rey doubted he could truly shake the image the people of the Galaxy had of her Master in their hearts. To the imperials, he would always be evil, and to the republic, he would always be a hero. The truth would only be truly known to those who knew the man personally, and only then would they understand that, like everything, it was a confusing and chaotic mix of both.

Rey would always believe her Master was right in his actions and that the Force guided his actions in accordance with its will. She also believed the Admiral would concur with this, though he may still not approve of the man's methods. Luke Skywalker was a man who fought the evil that existed throughout the Galaxy, and although there were casualties, they had chosen their side just as he had chosen his. In the end, there was an answer to the question of whether Luck Skywalker was right or wrong in his actions, but in this political nightmare, such blatant truths were forbidden.

Primidian observed the room and went on, "I hope my words have provided some clarity on this matter." His gaze grew steely as he continued, "I will now propose my rebuttal to the squabbling I have witnessed here today." He looked across all the people gathered and, as no one objected, continued, "In the last two years, the Spearpoint Fleet under my command had captured or destroyed more than 2000 different pirate or other criminal crafts." This statistic caused the room to shiver with shock; once this had sunk in, the man continued, "As I'm sure many of you are aware, this only accounts for a small percent of the piracy and other criminal activity that currently plagues the Galaxy." He shook his head firmly as if grieved and went on, "If left unchecked, these forces will do unspeakable evil." The man's tone was very passionate at this point, though he drew his energy back in and returned to being controlled as he elaborated, "Recent surveys subject that less than 30% of inhabited systems will be able to afford defenses capable of ensuring their own security against even the most basic attacks." Glancing to the side of the room where most of the ex-Rebels lingered, he added, "Of this 30%, more than 90% of these systems exist within the Inner-Rim." The once furious group of individuals had calmed down and become rather conflicted as the Admiral continued, "While financially, it would take 9 years' worth of the Galactic Empire tax revenue to pay for the creation of fleets to defend every unguarded system." Primidian shook his head at this, "I believe everyone here today can agree with me that this would be an impractical use of any government's funds when there is so much starvation, illness, and other disasters plaguing the galaxy at the moment." The people in the room were now glancing at each other in tentative agreement, begrudging as it may be. After taking a moment to let everything sink in, the Admiral finished, "I will address this issue further during the official Hearing on this matter; however, today, I will conclude with this." He looked over the room once more and stated, "A Galactic Army poses both risks as well as merit, but in the end, this army will be made up of people. People who can choose between what is right and what is wrong. We are leaving an era of fear behind us; when people see injustice, we empower them to speak out rather than cower in silence. Rather than bickering over risks, we should be taking this time to derive countermeasures against tyranny no matter the form it takes." The Admiral nodded to the crowd at this, "For verification of my statistics, please consult the Galactic Anti-Piracy Report produced by the researchers of Alderan II. I conclude my rebuttal and thank the delegates for their time."

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Primidian sat down as the ex-imperial broke out in energetic applause, and even a few ex-rebels joined in. Rey had taken everything the man said to heart and felt even more set in her belief now. His speech was so good that the Jedi was a little startled when the mediator awkwardly called for her to continue her own narrative. She froze up for a second before calming herself and rising once more. The ex-rebels looked to her like a shield between them and the words of the Admiral. Rey sighed inwardly and began to do possibly the most dangerous thing she could at the Concord; she freelanced her rebuttal. Getting to her Godfather, she began, "I concur with much of what the Admiral has just discussed." Her faction grew deflated at this, though she then added, "Though I believe the concerns of my fellow party members must be addressed." The gray-haired man raised an eyebrow across the room, causing the Jedi to panic even more as she continued, "There are many obstacles when it comes to galactic security. I do believe a standing army is the best way to ensure public safety, though instrumental safeguards must be in place to ensure the interests of the people are not betrayed." She recalled as much about galactic history as she could to elaborate on this, "In the past, the Separatists relied on programmed droids. The Galactic Republic used Clones who were equally programmed by their training. The Galactic Empire and First Order maintained this tradition to the extreme by raising their soldiers from the time they were children." She glanced over the audience, thankful she wasn't being booed off the stage yet, and quickly moved on, "In all these cases, the individuals who made up these armies lacked the capacity to think for themself or real invested interest in the territories they protected." Rey thought this was a very smart-sounding line and decided to get out while she was ahead and finished, "As the Admiral said, armies are made of people. If we break the president of the past and fill the ranks of a new military with free-thinking individuals who share a common belief in justice, then I believe the risk of this military turning against the people will be greatly diminished." She nodded like Primidian had and finished, "I thank the delegates for their time."

In response to her words, the ex-rebels broke into eleven more exuberant applause than the ex-imperials had. No one elected to rebuttal; however, the conversation for the rest of the day was dominated by the subjects she and the Admiral had broached. The Jedi was able to sit back and watch the show happily, only adding a few pre-planned lines here and there. Once the meeting was finished, she glanced back to her Godfather's booth but found him missing from it. She was a bit disappointed at this but didn't have much time herself and turned to leave.

While exiting, she leaned into Emi and asked, "Did I mess up."

The cyborg shook her head and responded quietly, "Jedi Mind Tricks are truly amazing. You managed to convince everyone you knew what you were talking about."

Rey let out a sigh of relief but then glared at her aid, who did not seem capable of offering her a genuine compliment, and grumbled, "I'm not entirely helpless, you know."

Emi nodded at this and responded, "Of course you're not; Lady Organa and I taught you well."

The Jedi let out an irritated groan as they entered their transport and countered, "That just means I'm a good student." Her aide looked at her with the same blank expression, though Rey sensed it was really conveying mockery.

Rey grumbled to herself about the nastiness of cyborgs, though she was interrupted by a familiar voice, "Well, I, for one, think you did very well." The Jedi turned swiftly to the Primidian, rising from a seat to greet her. Her stunned mind tried to refocus as the man went on, "In fact, I believe Minerva will be using a very similar argument in the Hearing." The process of calming her mind was not made easier when the Admiral hugged her warmly, adding, "You've done an amazing job these last few days."

The Jedi's brain was scrambled as she tried to fight the warm and fuzzy sense of pride that rose up inside her. As the ship took off, she managed to get out, "Ah, Thank you."