Private Get with the Times

[Alicio Organa]

SENATE BUILDING, CORUSCANT
SENATOR OFFICES
​

Ever since his appointment to Senator of Alderaan, Alicio had been swamped by work.

Save for a few moments of blissful personal time, the Count's days were occupied by meetings with his aide, Orso, researching the Alliance's many issues, and shaking hands with elites, congratulating him for achieving such a prestigious role. It was all exhausting, but the kind of exhausting that Alicio enjoyed. The kind that left him fatigued, but fulfilled, at the end of the day.

Which is why he maintained open office hours. The Alderaanian refused to be the unreachable politician, detached from the rest of the Alliance. His door was open to anyone (properly vetted by his guards, and with proper Alliance clearance) that wanted to talk. That was how he could keep from falling out of touch with the rest of the galaxy, and forgetting who he is in the mad scramble for power some treated the Senate as.

On this particular day, Alicio sat at his desk in his office, laboring over a string of words on his datapad. A teacup, long-since empty, sat next to him, the nearby pot of tea having gone cold from neglect. His eyes, ever inquisitive, were trained on the sentence he was constructing, trying to word it just right, and not seeming to find the right vocabulary for the job.

Honestly, he could use a break.

- Shem Spinner -

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Galactic Alliance Senate
Tags: Alicio Organa ​

Oni was in the future. There was little denying that could be done about this fact any longer. The Je’daii, the Infinite Empire, Tho Yor… All of this was a distant memory to the people of the galaxy today, long forgotten history from over 37,000 years ago. Apparently, the Je’daii reformed into the Jedi Order, which devoted itself to protecting a larger, connected civilization. It seemed to change names, but they were currently calling it the Galactic Alliance. Coruscant, the world that was its capital, was simply one of hundreds, maybe thousands. By all historical accounts, it dwarfed the Infinite Empire.

But how could such a large conglomeration of planets function? Governing a planet was difficult, let alone thousands of them. The Jedi chose to remove themselves from political affairs, so he couldn’t exactly bother the masters to find an answer. He would need to ask a politician, who they called Senators. It didn’t take long for him to stumble across a certain Alicio Organa, one of the few Senators with an open door policy. Perhaps this Organa could answer the questions he had.

Oni struggled to find the office that belonged to the Senator. There were thousands of rooms just like it, and the swordsman had never been particularly good with directions to begin with. Finally, he did manage to find the correct door. Oni knocked on its frame, eagerly awaiting a response. Hopefully Senator Organa had some time in his schedule.

 

[Alicio Organa]

"'Your support is... appreciated'? No, 'continued support'. Does that even make sense?" Alicio mumbled, deleting and retyping one sentence over and over again. He knew that he was overthinking it, but even that metacognitive knowledge didn't save him from overthinking.

The distraction of someone at the door gave the Count an excuse to push the datapad away, looking up with clear grey eyes. The corner of his mouth broke into an easy half smile, relieved at the sudden distraction. "Hello. Come on in." He gestured to a seat across his desk, inviting the man to sit.

"I swear, I don't usually talk to myself." Alicio nodded respectfully at the pantoran. "Senator Alicio Organa, of Alderaan. How can I help you?"

- Shem Spinner -

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Galactic Alliance Senate
Tags: Alicio Organa ​

"Senator Alicio Organa, of Alderaan. How can I help you?"

The senator was younger than he had expected. From what he had gathered from the Holonet-thing they used in this age, the majority of these politicians seemed to be in their forties at the earliest. Alicio seemed no older than 25. Oni accepted his invitation to sit, taking the seat in front of the man’s desk.

“Thank you,” the swordsman began with a respectful bow. “My name is Oni. I’ve only recently joined the New Jedi Order.”

This wasn’t false, but Oni still wanted to be vague about the circumstances that brought him to this point in his life. The lat thing he wanted was for the senator to think he was crazy.

“Before that, I lived in relative isolation. The scale of the Galactic Alliance is unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Oni continued. “With so many worlds holding membership, I’m curious how it holds itself together in a stable way. I figured the best way to learn was to find someone with first hand experience.”

Simple, polite, and to the point. Oni wasn’t always one for conversation, but he knew how to have one. Fortunately, linguistic interaction seemed very similar to his time, save a few odd phrases. This was a good thing, as the swordsman still had much to learn about this new Galaxy. Senator Organa was just one of many he had questions for.

 

[Alicio Organa]

"It's good to meet you, Oni," Alicio responded, smiling genuinely at his reveal of being a Jedi. In the Senate, there were mixed views on the Order, as a whole, but Alicio appreciated them, quite a bit.

“With so many worlds holding membership, I’m curious how it holds itself together in a stable way. I figured the best way to learn was to find someone with first hand experience.”

"Certainly. Anything to help a Jedi." Alicio's smile turned a bit ironic. "Although the current 'stability' of the Alliance is certainly a point of debate."

"I'm joking. Mostly."

The Count stood up, scooping up his teapot, and bringing it to a burner in the corner. "Do you drink tea? I have some already prepped, but it's gone a bit cold. I can warm it up for you, if you wish."

"What do you know already about the Galactic Alliance?" The Count figured he should get a baseline first, to know just how much he needed to explain.

- Shem Spinner -

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Galactic Alliance Senate
Tags: Alicio Organa ​

The Senator seemed to speak about the stability of the GA in a joking manner, almost an ironic seeming one. It was such a large conglomerate that Oni wasn’t exactly surprised by this. Even his relatively small Je’daii had fractures amongst its members, and it was no more than a thousand people. When the senator offered Tea, Oni couldn’t turn it down, even if it needed to be reheated. It would be unguest-like of him to turn it down.

“I’d like some tea,” he nodded.

"What do you know already about the Galactic Alliance?"

“Not much,” Oni admitted. “I only found out it existed very recently. This is all very new to me.”

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio placed his kettle on the stovetop, pausing a moment to listen to Oni's answer.

“Not much. I only found out it existed very recently. This is all very new to me.”

Alicio's curious expression could be felt from across the room, his storm-grey eyes observing the pantoran. He had questions. But first, he had some answers.

"Okay... Where to start...?" The Count cradled his chin with a hand, thinking hard. "The Galactic Alliance is a federation of independent planets, ranging mostly in the Core and Mid Rim. Thousands of congressmen from those planets come together here, on Coruscant, to debate policy, decide on laws, and advance the welfare of the Alliance as a whole."

Alicio sat back at his seat, leaning forward and offering Oni his full attention. "The Alliance is led by a democratically-elected Chancellor. Who is currently Chancellor Auteme Denko-Durren. She's a former Jedi, actually." Or, maybe she was still a Jedi? He didn't exactly know, and he was, frankly, too shy to ask.

"Following along so far? Any questions?"

- Shem Spinner -

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Galactic Alliance Senate
Tags: Alicio Organa ​

"I believe I follow what you're saying," Oni nodded, scratching at his chin.

A federation made sense for how large the GA was. allowing planets to mostly govern themselves while keeping them in check with a set of base-line rules. Smart, even if such a system wasn't solid. No body as large as this would be perfectly stable. What the senator had said after that interested him far more. A former Jedi elected to the seat of power? Most unusual, given what he had learned about the Jedi Order while in the future.

"How much power does the Chancellor have?" Oni asked. "Say an individual with more harmful ideals was elected to the seat of power. Are there checks and balances in place to keep such an individual from rocking the entire boat? It seems like a lot of power to put on the shoulders of a single individual."

Oni was beginning to connect the dots on why the Jedi remained neutral already, but he still felt it important to learn. If he was going to be defending the people of the Galactic Alliance, he would need to understand it first.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio nodded appreciatively as Oni signalled his understanding. It would be a lot for anyone to take in at one time; he was glad the Jedi could keep up as well as he was. The man was an enigma; one that Alicio found himself more and more interested by.

"Well, the power of the Chancellor has changed over the years," the senator mused, finding a more comfortable position in his seat. "There are different political factions in the Senate with varying opinions on how much sway they should hold. Um... For example, Populists believe in a decentralized Alliance, with the chancellor acting as a mediator for the Assembly, while Federalists want a centralized government and a more powerful figurehead." Alicio tried to keep his voice impartial, so as not to give away his own political biases.

"But, for the most part, the chancellor has been more of a guide for discussion Politically, they're still the most powerful person in the Alliance, but they're nothing like a king, or emperor."

Alicio found a curious half-smile. "If you don't mind me asking, how did someone who knows very little about the Alliance go about joining their most stalwart defenders?"

- Shem Spinner -

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Galactic Alliance Senate
Tags: Alicio Organa ​

"If you don't mind me asking, how did someone who knows very little about the Alliance go about joining their most stalwart defenders?"

"It was a..." Oni began, thinking about how to respond. He wanted to be truthful, but in a manner that was easy for the senator to understand. "...series of unique coincidences. I ended up accidentally finding my way to Tython." The swordsman briefly paused, becoming somewhat solemn. "When the Jedi found me and offered me the chance to defend the galaxy, it was an offer I couldn't refuse... Not after what I saw there."

Of course, this wasn't even taking into consideration his Je'daii upbringing, but it was a rather straight forward response. Oni never liked to beat around the bush.

"If I may ask a question myself," the swordsman continued, "What lead you to become a Senator?"

The question was for multiple reasons. Oni was beginning to pick up that the man had some level of connection to the Force. He wondered if Senator Organa was aware of such a thing and to what extent. If anything, his answer might help Oni see from a different point of view. In a world where he knew very little, he would need lots of those.

 

[Alicio Organa]

The mention of Tython brought mixed feelings to Alicio. He'd seen the destruction the Maw had rent upon the planet. The hundreds of thousands of Tythonians, displaced and hurting, crowding into his refugee camp. Hurting, hungry, lost and anguished. So many lives taken, so many livelihoods ruined...

But he'd also met Amani there. When he thought of Tython, he thought of that quiet night, walking through the tents, sharing amid the sounds of singing insects, a kiss on the cheek... It was a selfish kind of happiness, on a planet bathed in suffering.

But even his wandering thoughts couldn't distract him from the fact that Oni was still being deflective. How fascinating.

"Tython was a call to action for... a lot of people." Alicio smiled, his mind suddenly travelling elsewhere. "My girlfriend rejoined the Jedi Order because of it, too." His bliss disappeared as soon as it arrived. "There's... evil... in this galaxy. Evil that we must stand up against, or it will trample over us all."

The Count stood up again, walking deliberately to the tea, which had finally warmed to a reasonable temperature. His voice took on a determined edge. "I became a senator because I want to help as many people as I can. I want to institute positive social change. Give a second chance to those who need it. Make the Alliance a better place." Alicio laughed quietly to himself as he poured tea. "Am I simple? Naïve? Yes, I suppose I am. But someone has to believe things can get better, or they never will."

"That's something the Jedi and I share. We both hope for a better day."

Alicio offered a cup of tea to the pantoran. "Any other questions?"

- Shem Spinner -