Politics

[Aela Talith]

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

For a few seconds Aela didn't do anything, she simply stood in place and looked at the older woman.

There were few people that Aela truly felt like it was okay to admire. Most of them were in her family, some of them were long dead. She frowned slightly, her brow furrowing as she dug deep. There was a simple answer of course, one of the three names that she had listed earlier. A great man who ahd done a great many things, but not always for the right reasons.

“Those who accomplished something.” She said finally. “Those who were not stagnant, those who pressed on and achieved their goals.”

An evasive answer, but a true one. “I admire people who get things done.”

The simple truth.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

This girl was too much of a thinker for someone her age; too much like Gen. Don't be like me. For your sake, she insisted on the inside, for Geneviève was the product of nothing anyone should desire. It only led her to assume things about Elayne's life that were comparable to her own childhood. This girl had a heart still. (Some joked that Gen had had hers removed to use as a weapon.) The best thing for her would be to get out while it was still beating.

"Your influences are a bit militant," she observed as they paused, brown eyes latching onto Elayne's orange. Isard, Pallaeon, and Skywalker... All three were known for their vigilance in war and most recognized for their military achievements in one way or another. "You believe in war?"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

“No.” Aela said simply.

She remembered war. She remembered the sights and sounds of Geonosis, the smells, she remembered what it felt like to be caught up in it. To be an innocent within the battle. Her mind was still seared with the memories, and as much as she liked to forget, she knew that she never would. Her teeth sunk into her inner lips, and for a moment she shot a glimpse around the halls.

Bright orange eyes returned to the Prime Minister.

“But...” She trailed off and looked sad. “I cannot deny it's existence.”

That was a harsh thing for a fourteen year old to say, and an incredibly adult mindset. It was born of knowledge gained from family, books, archives. War would always exist, would always happen, and sometimes...it needed to.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

There was a moment of unexpected nervousness with the girl, and Gen noticed her eyes stray and dart around the premises as if she were searching for monsters of some kind. It would not have been so odd--perhaps a little, but not too--if Elayne had not shown so much composure in the short span the Prime Minister had known her. She had been bold but silent until now. Not timid and anxious.

But the girl was fourteen, and she had shown a maturity beyond her years. Gen doubted she would appreciate her noticing, so she pretended as if nothing unusual had actually occurred. "War will forever be necessary," she corrected, though not derisively. "The very action of breathing is a war. Or a battle, if you will." No need to go on. Elayne was obviously smart enough. Lasedri had no doubts she would consider her words later on, even if to refute them.

"But what am I to tell you?" The woman smirked, softly again; trying to smile. How does one smile? "You tell me something; ask me something. You have me for the next moment. Surely there's something you'd like to know? About me? About the Republic?" She looked up towards the skylights, gauging the minute movement of the spray of sunlight.

"Or you could just tell me I'm a terrible person and that I don't know what I'm talking about when I'm in the Senate." Her lips barely parted as she glanced back down at the blonde. For a smile, it was a start.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

War a necessity?

Aela didn't like that.

She didn't like the idea of it, she didn't like the thought of it. She could certainly understand the need for war. The books, and even her father had explained it. He'd waged an entire campaign to eradicate the Yuuzhan Vong in the south of the galaxy. He had explained what he had done, why he had done it. It was horrific, but Aela understood why he had done it.

But always? Forever?

No.

That couldn't be right at all.

“Do you trust the Jedi?” It was a question that she had wondered for sometime now. The Jedi and the Republic were synonymous with each other, or at least the 'true' Order, the one that her Mother was a part of.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Now that was a question. Did she?

Geneviève's eyes cut away, accompanied by a lengthy exhalation, uncertain of which answer Elayne was looking for. It was probably a 'yes'. The Jedi were an ages-old symbol of protection for the Republic, fantasized by many and revered by most. Gen had not gotten caught up in all of that. She was too old and rebellious by the time anyone figured out her 'gift', so it was not like the Jedi would have her anyway. A group of 'special' people who were considered more valuable than the countless citizens? Lasedri had little respect for that.

Historically, the Jedi Order had been more-or-less wishy washy, if not downright dangerous. It was never stable, fracturing on the advent of a breeze and sowing some of the worst discord amidst the Republic for years. Not only that, it had proven to be the undoing of the nation because the Order of the past was apparently incompetent on screening its own masters. A power-grabbing chancellor, a secret Sith, and a cowardly traitor had all been crowned Grandmaster.

She had been ready to rid the Republic of this collective, perennial troublemaker--until she had met Corvus Raaf. While no one person could put her at ease about the Order at large, there was a faith the master Jedi had endowed in the Prime Minister. And, as long as they shared that trust, Gen would honor their status.

"I like them where they are," was her response after great deliberation. "You can trust them."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

“I trust them explicitly.” Aela said flatly, again telling the truth.

Of course that could have just been the naïve statement of a single little girl, but in truth it was far more than that. Her mother was a Jedi Master, she had met Corvus Raaf and had spoken to half a dozen Jedi Masters and Knights as well as met a few of their padawans. She trusted them all, but trust only took one so far.

“What of the Silver Jedi?” Aela asked, her lips thinning slightly. “The Sanctum?”

Both governments, or factions as it were had broken off from the Republic and the Jedi Order. Both of them were now separate entities that held their own territories and government systems. Aela knew about both of them, and had again met more than a few, including the Silver Jedi's Grandmaster.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Gen's expression shifted to something more stolid upon the mention of the Republic deserters. There were two sides to each tale, and there was probably some truth to both. The Republic was not guiltless in all things--not by a long shot--but it hardly served for the better when unity was broken. But when is anyone ever unified? "I'd say they're the result of a little arrogance; complacency." She found her words needed be more carefully spoken with each question asked.

"The moral of that story is that there is a profound issue when you base every doctrine around pandering to a specific group. A nation built on top of the Jedi? That's backwards." That was what had deteriorated the Republic. It would logically be the Silver Order's undoing in time.

But what had they done to stop this Sith, in all their good and righteous hiding away? This was not just a war against the Galactic Republic. It was a war against life. How far could she trust the two split factions? "At best, they're unreliable. At worst, they're irrelevant."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

She frowned slightly.

For a moment that was the only answer she gave.

Her eyes shot away from the Prime Minister and towards the Senate, eying some of the seats that she could see within the hall through a large doorway. For a moment she pondered, as if trying to think of a response, or perhaps another question. There was still much to learn here, much to talk about. For a second more she mulled.

“The Omega Protectorate?” Her voice was still that calm soothing tone.

Aela knew a little about the Omega Protectorate, but only because her mother had spent some time there. Kira had explained a little about the government, but hadn't really pointed out any of the huge inner workings of their alliance with the Republic.

Kira didn't like her children growing up too fast.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Now, this was becoming a strange series of questions. Could the girl not simply look up current political relations at home? She seemed to have been a very bright young kid up until this point. Gen raised an eyebrow.

It was apparent, however, that she did not appreciate the Prime Minister's view of the detached factions. But what did she expect? The leader of a government is hardly unbiased with regards to her own nation. Preservation; unification; rehabilitation--those were the present concerns of Geneviève. They were facing down a force that was unrelenting in its desire to gobble up anything in its path, especially if it was the domain of the Jedi. Did this child not just claim to be in "explicit" support of the Republic's eternal guardians?

But if all she wanted answered was about international relations, then there was no reason to refuse that. "I'm sure you can figure it out. They have been a constant," was all Lasedri said--perhaps cryptically.

Then she turned it around. "Why? Do you not have faith in the Republic?"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

For a moment she remained quiet.

Did she have faith in the Republic? She had never really considered that question before. There were a few answers to it. She knew her Mothers answer. She knew her Fathers answer. She knew her uncles and her aunts answer, she even knew her Oma's answer. A slight frown creased her lips as she thought for a few moments.

“No.” She finally answered. “I don't.”

That was harsh, but before the woman could answer she went on to speak. “Not because of you. Not because of any one individual, the Republic is far more than that. It is hundreds...no....thousands upon thousands of different individuals each one with their own ideas, their own thoughts, means and goals.”

“I lack faith because there is no single thing to have faith in. Only a thousand voices clamoring within the Senate to meet their own goals.” A harsh statement, but once again there was truth in her words. “Father said it wasn't always that way. That once the Republic did not work against itself, that they burned the Sith Empire that came before. That the Jedi and the Republic worked together to achieve such great things.”

She shrugged slightly. Perhaps the Prime Minister would just see this as the ramblings of a confused little girl. “Unity is achieved through a single purpose, a single ideal, and a single path to that ideal. I don't think the Republic has that.”

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Gen knew it to be true. Not that the Republic was doomed. No, not on her watch. But there was no unity. Even in the face of the Sith murderers, there was no unity. It was utterly nonsensical. A child knew this, and she had written on it years ago.

The sentient people are not won by conquest, but by unity in thought. This is, in essence, the definition of a nation.

She had been trying all this time and no one wanted to listen. They wanted to keep their things; their own possessions. They would rather have their stuff and let each world burn one-by-one until the Sith were knocking on their door, snatching away their freedoms and disgracing the Republic that everyone hailed until it got in their way as they scurried for more artifacts. Geneviève had had all those things once upon a time. She had left them behind, picked up a gun, and bloodied herself to oppose everything that was eating away at this galaxy--slavers, fascists, Sith. And now she was here, at the pinnacle of power, and despairing over the fact that her homeworld was on the edge of the One Sith's shadow, cowering as it saw its freedom threatened from only lightyears away.

Dammit. She grabbed Elayne gently by the shoulder. "Where were you born, Elayne? Where are you from?"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

“Borleias.” She didn't even think about lying, for some reason that seemed rather useless to her at this point. Borleias was a paradise world now, though hundreds of years ago it had been a fortress world and assault platform against Coruscant and the inner-core.

Aela knew that because she had read books about it. Yet it didn't matter what the planet was now, after all it was her homeworld.

It was where she was born, and it was where she lived now. Her parents owned a private island there, cloaked and hidden within the center of the planets massive ocean. The world had once been at the center of the Republic's territory, the reason that her Father had chosen it for a home. Yet with the fall of Coruscant and the burning of so many core worlds Borleias was now dangerously close to the One Sith and their territory.

Father seemed not to be worried about it, though she knew Mother had her concerns.

There was no need to lie. She doubted the the Prime Minister would run any sort of security or name check before she left, and there was a large enough population on Borleias that it would be difficult to verify against anyway. Not to mention her tanned skin and bright blonde hair fit the bill of the people that came from such a paradise.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

The Prime Minister nodded. Borleias was in nearly as bad of a position as Chandrila, and perhaps higher on the Sith's hitlist. It was frightening enough of a thought for Lasedri, so it could only be assumed that the concerns and fears of losing one's home would only be multiplied for a girl of Elayne's age. No wonder she was here now, on Onderon. "Are you afraid of losing your home?" Of course she was.

Children often had the simple answers. And while Elayne here had been a little deeper with the more-or-less complex questions, Gen was fairly certain she could get a straight, no-nonsense solution from the teen. It did not necessarily have to be a well-thought solution, nor did it have to be correct in most points. No, she just needed conviction. In honesty, that was all Geneviève had ever found mattered. "How much would you give up to save it?"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

She pondered for a second.

Would it matter?

Her home...her house was quite literally invisible. The island had a cloaking device that was constantly active, two of them actually, as well as sensor depressors and a thousand other things that rendered it completely and entirely undetectable. Her home would be safe. Her sisters, her brother, her parents. Aunti Amore and Uncle Cameron. They would all be safe if the One Sith took Borleias.

Then her thoughts turned to the shore. The villagers, the towns there. The fisherman she had met and all of the people that had been so kind to her when she traveled the planets surface. Her lips turned into a frown as she thought of those people under the yolk of the Sith. Father had said the One Sith treated their citizens well, but that rights were all but abolished. She didn't like the thought of those people oppressed.

“I don't know.” She said honestly. Aela was only fourteen, still young. She knew quite a bit, she had seen war, even trained for it, but was she willing to sacrifice for it?

Her face scrunched slightly, and she thought of Micah and Maleah, of Kaili. Of her family.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Inwardly, she sighed.

Her hand released its grip on the girl's shoulder and fell to her side, her lips pressed firmly together with a suppressed disappointment. There was no reason to be mad at her. She was only fourteen. These matters had never come up for Gen at that age. She had been coddled and pampered to a nearly immoral extent and thought nothing of what really mattered. Politics had been little more than a hobby to her at the time. She had been busy being someone. At least this girl gave a care.

Still, Lasedri had been hoping for some resolve in her words; something people would understand from a child and wake up, realizing just whose future was at stake. Maybe these cowardly and complacent senators could take their things and bug out to Mon Calamari and see the rest of their days on exotic floating cities, but billions and trillions and quadrillions of Republic citizens would never have that opportunity. Their kids were doomed to be under the iron fist of the One Sith if the fight was to be given up. That was not something Geneviève could live with. "Well, I promise you that I'm going to do every frakkin' thing I can to keep your home safe, Elayne."

Watch your mouth. Her eyes darted away, wondering if she would get some message from whoever her guest's mother was about desecrating her daughter's innocence and ruining her respect for the office. "Sorry. I didn't mean to use that word."

Maybe that was a sign.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

She frowned, still pondering what had been said. Was sacrifice necessary? Did people have to die? Did she have to die? What about those worlds already under Sith control? What about those worlds who had lived long under the yolk of the Fringe...of the Techno Union? Of governments who didn't care? Her head began to slightly, her eyes lulling for a second.

Her attention was caught as the woman let go of her shoulder, her bright orange eyes shifting to the hand as it moved away from her. She frowned slightly, then looked up at Miss Lasedri, her eyes glazing over as she apologized for words that Aela had not heard. “It's okay.”

Micah swore all the time, though only behind Father and Mothers back.

A silent moment passed, and Aeal looked wonderingly at the Senate chambers. Her eyes shifted back to the Prime Minister, her lips thinned. Their conversation had been an interesting one, but Aela found herself filled with thoughts that had not been there before.

“I think I should head back to the group.” Aela said quietly, not to reject the woman, but her lie had to be maintained. “They're probably wondering where I went.”

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Well, she supposed that was a consoling reaction--or, rather, lack of reaction. Elayne remained as unfazed at Gen's crass speech as she had been about nearly everything for the majority of this conversation. This girl was difficult to figure out, but, then again, the Prime Minister was not exactly normal herself. They seemed to share a sort of apathy with the 'small things'.

"I'm sure they are," Lasedri agreed, glancing about for a troupe of teens and tweens she could pass the girl off to. At the moment, it seemed as if there was none present, but it mattered little. Gen was needed in the Senate shortly. "If you would like, I'm sure the representatives from Borleias would not mind you sitting with them until your friends are here. Or you can stay here and I'll fetch a guard to accompany you." Without waiting for a reply, the Republic's political leader was on the move, slowly leading them towards the entryway leading to her platform. She had predicted that Elayne would choose to just hang with a security officer anyway.

Then she turned about after a few steps, deciding a proper goodbye was in order. A hand was extended, quivering as her body began to express the fear she knew every day. If a walk through a monitored hallway was uncomfortable for her, taking stage in front of hundreds of cameras--the galaxy's eyes--was downright frightening. She had never backed down from anything out of fear, but some days she just wanted to quit. It was best to get this over with quick and get out there before anyone noticed. When she was out there, she could disguise it.

"It was nice to meet you, Elayne. May the Force be with you--or whatever it is you prefer." Smile.

[member="Aela Talith"]