Military Committee

Belf'ima entered the room with a small stack of datacards in her hand, making sure that the secure door behind her closed firmly. She set the datacards down on the table nearest the door, but proceeded to walk around to the head of the table, smiling warmly at the Vice Chancellor the entire time. Once there, the blue-skinned Twi'lek scooped up his right hand in both of hers.

Congratulations on your election, Vice Chancellor. Your people are most fortunate to be represented by someone so well qualified. I am pleased to be able to work alongside of you.

It had taken some time to make their way to the Military Committee's chambers. They met minimal resistance as their escort provided security clearance and when that did not work the jedi suppressed the minds of the more stalwart guards and administrators. Finally they approached the large, reinforced and secured doors Alaric and his fellow knights called upon the force one last time to put their escort and the Committee's door guards in stasis so they could not interfere.

"Do you think the Senate's military commission has gotten any smarter over the years?" Asked Kao who distinctly remembered ineptitude and superiority complexes in the Old Republic's commission.

"Not bloody likely, still, if this is what we have to do, so be it." Replied Roblio as he swept his hand across the door. There was an audible whirring as the force forced the doors to slide open. The three jedi stood upon the threshold looking in at a spartan room, several humanoids were seated around a large conference table. Had the men within looked out upon the threshold they would have seen two humans, one in red robes and a larger in blue robes and a Zabrak in matching blue robes. More disturbing was probably the sight of their security frozen in place and unable to move. Before the situation could degenerate Alaric lifted his hands.

"Please remain in your seats. We are knights of the ancient republic and we are here to pledge our knights, our crew and our lives to the Galactic Republic. We apologize for our aggressive entrance, but we have been petitioning for weeks without reply and become impatient. If you would hear us out, you will not be disappointed." Said Alaric calmly, subtly layering in a dash of force persuasion.

"Hmm, seems like the Senate got more attractive since we've been gone." Said Kao as he eyed the blue skinned twi-lek. "My name is Kao Durr, jedi guardian at your service."

"I'm Roblio Darte, Jedi Guardian and senior member of our strike group." Said the large human with dreadlocks.

Alaric sighed, shrugged his shoulders and revealed his name as well before continuing. "Again we apologize profusely." 

"We have no time for bureaucracy. We have seen only but a glimpse of the galaxy since our return and what we have seen, what we have encountered and what we have heard cannot wait. We are knights of the old republic, from the days of glory, from the days of champions and we will not sit idly by in the antechamber awaiting your convenience." Roblio stood proud and strong, the image of the prideful and powerful jedi guardians of an era long since past.

Alaric brought his hands down from their submissive position, the light caught and reflected off the chrome on his left hand. He placed his hands, clasped behind his back and walked forward a little as if he was a CEO at a board meeting. He looked at each of the council's faces as he slowly approached the table. "I wish things had happened differently, I wish many things had happened differently, however if there is anything we have learned from waking in another era is that we cannot change the past or what we have done. We can only work to atone for our failures. If this is a failure senators, then we shall atone for it through service."

"Oh bloody hell." Murmured Darte at the news. He was a brute, but that did not mean he couldn't foresee the accusations. The two jedi guardians subtely changed their stances getting ready to bolt. 

"Alaric. This might have been a mistake."

"Might have been? It was you too who got impatient and demanded this. It's too late now. This is our chance to prove ourselves."

Alaric saw the female Twi-lek's accusatory glare and raised his hands defensively. "We had nothing to do with that. However I find it disturbing that we have been hit so close to home."

"It seems you need us now more than ever." Said Kao with a smile at the Twi-lek.

Roblio added cynically "Where are Coruscant's jedi? Why is the Temple here almost empty? Where are your guardians if not here in this room before you?"

The sith lord Jud'dayus had spoken of the failures and lost vision of contemporary jedi. He had told them that if they visited the temple on Coruscant, the hoe of the old order that they would find the magnificent structure empty. Where were the jedi. Shpuldn't they be here of all places, guarding the capital of the galaxy, the heart of the Republic?

"Roblio and Kao can assist your guards with tracking down and apprehending this terrorist. I do not sense any other jedi in the vicinity. Is this true? I'm going to assume that it is. While knights loyal to the Republic hunt down those who have attacked the Republic, I shall remain here to validate our story with fine senators."
Said Alaric as diplomatically as possible. He truly wanted this to work out, an idealist at heart he, and the others, believed what they were doing was right.

Kao and Roblio turned to face the open door and with the force brought the guards and aides out of force stasis. They would be woozy for about a minute, but otherwise unharmed. Hopefully this show of good faith would not backfire horribly.

The Twi-lek had gotten considerably more attractive since she had softened her face and disposed of her glare, Alaric thought to himself. It was strange that she had so far dominated the discussion while the other senators and officials sat in silent. This was a strange one. The three jedi stood as the woman spoke, behind them senate guards began picking themselves up.

"I shall stay here under your protection as collateral. I'll relinquish my saber to you for the time being as a token of our good will." Said Alaric as he reached to his belt and unhooked his saber. He held it loosely in his right hand and turned to face Roblio and Kao. "Roblio. Kao. Work with local authorities to track down the terrorists. Use whatever means necessary to bring them to justice. Preferrably alive as they can be executed... or... imprisoned in front of the Holonet to send a clear message to the galaxy that the Republic still protects it's people."
As Gabriel said that Kao looked at the Twi-lek representative and raised his eyebrow almost as if he, with Alaric's words, were challenging the politician.


"Aye, guardians know hwo to crush criminals. Don't worry. Whoever it was will feel justice soon enough." Roblio replied with gusto, removing his large lightsaber from his belt. He began to roll his shoulders and loosen up, his muscles rippled under his blue tunic. "Little twi-lek, you have nothing to worry about. Real jedi are on Coruscant again and the darkness will fade in the coming light."

Kao reached behind his back and withdrew two short handled sabers and spun them around his wrist. "What about our title do you not understand. We are Knights of the Republic. C'mon Roblio, let's get to work." The two jedi guardians turned and walked out of the Committee room and out into the anteroom where they proceeded to bark orders at the guards and wave their sabers around. The Senate Guards looked into the Committee and after hearing no order to the contrary began to march double time after the jedi, leaving 4 of their number to guard the door.

Alaric, the last jedi remained standing, lightsaber still in hand. He looked over the assembled company and then back at the female twi-lek who had taken a seat close to him and the door. He let his saber fall from his hand, but instead of falling to the ground it hovered and then slowly moved towards the twi-lek. It dropped with a clatter in front of her on the table. "There, my lightsaber. The picture you paint is a grim one, however you are not the first to tell us this truth. I fought a Sith Lord of ancient power on Malachor V after we had been awakened. He bested me and was merciful." Said Alaric plainly, yet his eyes strayed to the chrome on his left forearm. "We had a seer in our company and in exchange for safe passage off the planet for hundreds of our crew and us, she shared a vision to the sith. He, in turn shared with us the modern era. Our story is long, however the abridged version is that we have seen what this era calls jedi and we have been unimpressed. The sith lotd Jud'dayus painted a painfully accurate picture of them. So we endeavored to come to you, the Republic and offer our crew and our swords to the preservation of peace and justice. Our initial petition was a request for a warship that we could use to conduct war against the Mandalorians. All my crew are veterans from the Mandalorian war and are quite skilled at roasting the mandos in their own armor. We have faced this threat before and prevailed. We shall do so again."

Darma, acknowledged Belf'ima's pleasant remarks with a nod of his head, and some pleasant but utterly meaningless praise of his own, before settling in to wait for the rest of the comity and dwell on the recent failure of his defense bill. That was proving to be more distressful than he had previously anticipated it would be. The horrors of war were fresh in his mind, and the willingness of others sit by defenseless, expecting others to carry the burden of their own defense astounded him. He was indeed so wrapped up that he was quite startled by the guardian's entry and froze in a bit of a panic, as his paranoid mind revealed just how vulnerable he was right now, mostly due to his own over sight too, much to Darma's shame. His shock lasted several minutes, as Bel'fima fearlessly confronted the aggressive "visitors" and informed the group of the nearby detonation of a bomb and the two guardian's subsequent exit. In response to the remaining man's last words, when he spoke of fighting the mandolorians and needing a vessel, Darma finally began to thaw out of his frozen position, and after a few deep breathes to calm his nerves he spoke in a deep regal voice, that portrayed annoyance very clearly.

If you are indeed so sure of your success, why then did you come to us for help in such a revolting fashion? I think this ploy might very well have been greeted with enthusiasm by our enemies, which prompts me to question whether or not you are indeed loyal to the republic or to the mandolorians? A mando force trained in the arts of the force, would make excellent Jedi impostors, at least for the average citizen.

You offer your blade to a warrior, but you do it in a manner that assures everyone in the room that even with out your blade, you are the most dangerous person here. And you are audacious enough to ask for our blind trust on top of this? I must agree with my associate from Ryloth, You have done more harm to your cause than good by coming here, even your "token" of good will is a mockery. To us who have trained to use the sabers of wit and words, you give a blade of violent energy, as your token of good will. To a Mando this might be an except-able gift, but to a civilian you merely accentuates your capacity to cause injury and give no real assurance that you are not indeed a well masked foe.

Still, I am not without an appropriate counter to your kind. Though it is old, it is still as efficient a killer as was in the day of its making. I tap three key code into the data-pad mounted in the table, and with a slight rumbling, a circle appears in the carpeted floor, and a fully functional and unslaved Droideka rises through the hole, near the door, and adjusts its stance to bring its weapons to bear on the intruder, though it does not open fire. Its shield is active, the transparent blue bubble shimmering around its well worn metal frame. While I dislike being forced to bring Gila out, but I'm well aware of Gila's loyalties and feel much better having a sure defense against the unknown factor you and and your companions are to us. Gila, if you please, mark target as passive-aggressive, threat rank two.

Target marked, threat rank two, Vice Chancellor. Do you know my kind Jedi?

All three of these names and descriptions are in the Jedi Archives. But that does not discount the possibility that you chose random names from the archives, nor that you are clones on another's business.

Belf'ima's tone was flat as she stated the facts, but she was angry. Droidekas, especially these older models, were notoriously inaccurate. They were designed for large crowds. As closest to the door, she was more likely to be hit than the Jedi, who could use any number of means to escape the trap. In her mind, the VC was risking her life to prove a point, as humans do.

The other human, Korr, was little better. Did he honestly just blame the attacks on the Republic? This same logic was used against her and others. She deserved to be a slave because she was pretty. Or because she was Twi'lek. Or because she was simply born to it. Or even because she could do nothing to stop it. She stood up and got a glass of water, but spoke as she poured. If nothing else, she wanted out of the line of fire. I must correct you, Admiral. There is never a reason for a person to plant a bomb in a plaza filled with tourists and children. The size of the Republic does not change that. Please save your pity for those who are capable of feeling it. Freedom always has enemies, and they are those consumed with hatred and death. I would think a man of your experience would know this.

Though she did wish to chastize Korr, however more gently than Crom'nen would, in truth she watched the alleged Jedi in the reflection of the water to guage his reaction. People tend to be more genuine when the believe no one is watching.

The Twi'lek watched Georj's pretense at clumsiness. At least, she presumed it was an act, intended to disarm people, cause them to underestimate him. She also knew that he was one of the most intelligent Senators in all the Republic. This caused her to be all the more proud of her "victory" over him in the Senate, causing him to misstep and using that to nullify his argument, however sound. This was politics, after all.

We were merely debating whether or not terrorists required some form of justification for their atrocities. Having once been owned by a series of such beings, I hold that some people are just evil, and no form of justification changes that. Senator Koronov holds a more cause-and-effect reasoning, and presumes that their must be some form of perceived slight that caused their behavior, whether valid or imagined. I assume that he believes the motivation will make it possible to discover their identity, whereas I trust more the hard scientific process.

She smiled with a somewhat shy, warm kindness.


In other words, we have been discussing nothing of consequence.