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| - “Article ten, clause seventeen,” Bail said, he looked up from the document reader at those gathered in the room. When no one spoke he continued. “The vote is split down the middle for this to remain in, yet there is no way, at least in my opinion, that this can be left out.” There was silence again, Bail examined everyone in turn yet no eye contact was made. Before him was the current draft of the new constitution, a document that had been disputed over much longer than was necessary. Fortunately the bulk had now been decided; there remained some parts that were quite contentious with certain factions in the Senate and the one that he was referring to involved the role of the Jedi. It specifically gave them the prerogative to act for the sake of democracy if the Republic went the same way as it had almost done with Palpatine. Bail was the public face for keeping it in, and he had a large amount of support and not just from the Senate. The memory Padmé Naberrie’s sacrifice was still fresh in his mind and he knew it was something he had to keep alive. Yet it was no surprise that the opposition was led by Triev Stokra of the Corporate Sector and the Varicean Committee. His main argument—and he had a lot of them—was that the Jedi would have too much power that could not be reined in by the Senate. “Do you suppose the Jedi themselves could comment on this?” asked Giddean Danu. Mon Mothma shook her head. “I thought of that myself but I have been informed by the Jedi Council that they will not make a statement publicly unless absolutely necessary.” “Theesa makes sense,” agreed Danta, “but its not reflect good on wesa.” “Yet Stokra’s contentions remain,” concluded Bail pessimistically. “And he’s not the only one, there are other worlds who specifically blame the Jedi for destruction in the Clone Wars. Our case may have moral authority, yet it’s not as nearly as solid as Stokra.” At this auspicious moment Sheltray Retrac, Organa’s aide, entered. “Excuse me Your Highness, Senators,” she said in a hushed voice, “but there may be something of interest to you all on the HoloNet.” Frowning slightly, Bail activated the holoprojector inbuilt to the low table they were all sitting around. Yet when the hologram became clear he understood why his aide had interrupted the meeting. It was Stokra. The green-skinned humanoid wore a cloak of an incandescent blue shade that flowed over his shoulders in voluminous folds. His red eyes glinted dangerously below his black hair, his mouth was set in a firm line. Out of sight, a HoloNet News reporter posed a question. “Senator Stokra, some would say that your inclination against the Jedi is very much a personal view, what would you say to them?” “Some would take that as a personal insult,” Stokra replied coolly, “but little do they know that my views represent a large proportion of views held by many citizens of the Republic, those that say that the Jedi Order has overstepped their bounds.” “Yet was not their intervention justified three years ago against Palpatine? Even you said at the time that the actions of the Jedi prevented a very different system from being implemented for the Galaxy as a whole. Why do you no longer stand by those assertions?” “Firstly, the ousting of former Chancellor Palpatine—and I will use that word, thank you,” he added as an aside, “can be said to be at the instigation of certain disgruntled senators. Clearly some of my noble colleagues are not above using the Jedi to eliminate political enemies. As for your second question…” He paused for a moment, stroking his thin moustache. “While I do not detract what I said then, we must compare the measures that Palpatine was employing during the Clone Wars against what we are facing now. During the last years of the Clone Wars, we sacrificed many freedoms for the reasons of justice and security, some may say these sacrifices were unnecessary.” “What would you tell to those who say that?” “I would ask them to recall the Naboo crisis,” Stokra replied icily, “and remember how paralysed the Senate was with debate to prevent them from acting when direct action was what was needed.” “Thank you Senator for your time, your comments are—” With barely a gesture Yoda flicked off the holoprojector, he was silent and closed his eyes as the members of the Jedi Council contemplated what had taken place. “Troubling this is,” the Jedi Master murmured, opening his eyes slowly, “yet act we dare not, tied our hands are until finished this new constitution is.” “The worst thing about Stokra is that so many believe him,” Obi-Wan remarked. “There's nothing worse than the truth out of the mouth of a liar,” Nat Sem agreed. “But there must be something we can do,” Bant Eerin protested. “We could talk to Chancellor Amedda.” “And do what?” asked Shaak Ti. “It’s not as if he can rein Stokra in, it is true that his views represent a great deal of others and not just in the Senate.” Obi-Wan was silent, it was like when they had been searching for Sidious at the end of the Clone Wars. No, Obi-Wan realised with a flash, It’s worse. Back then we knew our enemy, he may have been elusive but all we had to do was eliminate him. “Perhaps we should talk to Stokra,” he suggested finally, at loss for anything else to do. “Then we can at least say we tried to placate him.” “Hmmm,” Yoda murmured, he was not really listening. “Direct action he spoke of,” he said, his eyes caught Obi-Wan’s. “Approach him we must,” he decided, “for if restrict us he wants, understand what that means he should.” The office of Supreme Chancellor Amedda was not the same one as his predecessor. Palpatine’s office had been closed off after it was decided it was better off not to remove the remains of his last stand. There had been something…sinister…about the place that even Amedda could detect. Amedda knew that he held the position of Chancellor only temporarily and his office clearly showed he had no illusions about this. The furniture was decorative yet understated, designed for comfort yet without the remarked austerity that Palpatine’s office had had. “I know you’re worried,” Amedda said to the senators gathered before him, “I have concerns myself and Stokra is not the least of them. The problem is that most of what he says is true,” the Chagrian pointed out, “that this Varicean Committee represents a significant number of systems in the Senate.” The Chancellor’s voice sounded painfully laboured as he pronounced the words of Stokra's group and Bail Organa knew why. Stokra had formed his group midway through the war after the failed settlement at Avingnon and at the time Bail remembered thinking that it was rather odd that the committee was named after Stokra’s home planet and not after what the committee’s aims were. Perhaps this was intentional, as the aims of the Varicean Committee went hand-in-glove to the aims of Stokra himself. And what was worrying was not only the numbers, but the fact that the Varicean’s members had held a lot of sway under Palpatine and this still seemed to be the case. Not just the Corporate Sector, Kuat and Bothawui yet they were the figureheads but also Roona, Malastare, Corulag and quite a few other Mid-Rim worlds as well as some in the Outer-Rim. “We will keep on fighting for this issue,” Bail said, meeting the gaze of Mon Mothma, Danta and the other Loyalists who had immediately accompanied him to the Chancellor’s office when the HoloCast was over. And they were not the only ones, Amedda’s aide had a long waiting list of those who had requested an audience. “The Jedi have always stood beside the Republic, many gave their lives in the war. Doing anything less for them would be a disservice.” “And this will only further delay the finalisation of the new constitution,” Mon Mothma interjected. “Chancellor, we have debated on this far too long than it is worth.” “I agree,” Amedda says, “yet if I was to influence this we lose either way. I feel inclined to push this through, highlighting the need for the neutrality of the Jedi and their role must continue unhindered. Yet if I do…” He need not have finished the statement; they all knew what would happen. Stokra and his supporters would break away, as would quite a few other systems whose support of the issue was divided. And once again, Bail concluded mournfully, we would have civil war, and we’re still picking up the pieces from the last one. Yet he was not going to give up, he still had one card to play. “Perhaps we can expose just how transparent Stokra’s argument is,” Bail suggested. “If we can show exactly why the Jedi need to act, and act quickly, Stokra and his faction will have less credibility.” From Star Wars Fanon, a Wikia wiki.
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