The Jedi Code on the Ballot

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Ringo Vinda. Now that she was back from a grueling campaign on Ession, where the Silver Jedi army had to assist the Dominion fend off a terrorist attack in its own capital, she could actually start hitting the campaign trail. But first, before her first public apparition as part of the "Yes" campaign for the referendum called by the Ringovindian government regarding the planet joining the Silver Jedi. To be fair, few enough among the Silver Jedi proper wanted such things as the command of an army or a fleet, much less both simultaneously, so it was only fair that, as the main face of the faction of the planet and one of the Grand Generals of the Silver Jedi Order (who, nominally, control an entire hex's worth of forces, here understood as the Wheel hex in her case), she would be on the campaign trail, wearing her Silver Jedi robes, bearing no military insignia on them. But she had no operational power over the Antarian Rangers, only the regular SJ forces. She was facing [member="Yuki"] in the campaign speeder bus:

"My name is Jessica. I chose to start your training during this referendum campaign because there are dozens of lessons for you to learn. In a referendum campaign, I feel that it is more appropriate to begin with the Jedi Code. There is no emotion, there is peace, there is no ignorance, there is knowledge, there is no emotion, there is serenity, there is no chaos, there is harmony, there is no death, there is the Force"

 

[Myra]

Yuki stares open eyed at her new mentor, the past few weeks had been such a blur of confused clamoring and traveling through space. She only three weeks ago was still the Junker on her father's flotilla, keeping the ship running, repairing what needed repairing through the several incursions through the outer rim, and making sure the crew didn't die, but then she just.. left, she got off at Voss and quickly found that she was ill-suited for the city, getting lost several times. Luckily she was found by a Jedi Knight who directed her to the Jedi Temple for further help and well, here she is a few weeks later, eager and excited to start her new life as a Padawan, and especially excited to get her light saber.. when ever that is.


This code, it intrigued her. And she understood it, repeating it to herself several times under her breath in her native tongue of Elzerish before she gives a quick nod and an excited grin "Understood!"

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Following the Code carries quite a bit of implications. Just because you can use the Force, doesn't mean you are any better than anybody else by default. The Force is limitless but one's ability to use it is not: knowing yourself well is important to avoid falling into traps, such as taking on tasks that are outside one's skillset" she told [member="Yuki"] before the campaign staff onboard the bus walk up to her.

She was then interrupted by the headquarters staffers, getting her up to speed about the happenings in this campaign. Of course, the issues are often charged, with immigration (the SJ is highly decentralized with little interference from above beyond security), trade and, of course, security being at the forefront. But most of the mudslinging has not been over any of these issues: it has mostly been on Jessica's lack of involvement and to attack Jessica on the dossier. Many of the criticisms levied vs. Jessica here pertained to her record in command (with the successes of Agamar, Irn being balanced against the failure on Dromund Kaas even though she managed to keep losses limited while in the losing end of a Pyrrhic engagement) or conflicts of interest, citing the numerous pieces of hardware that Ringovinda StarYards and its subsidiary Ringovinda Systems sold to the Silver Jedi and how she used as leverage to get these procurement deals done.

"The No camp seems to focus far too much on you over the issues. Make sure the next public apparition leaves a note about moving on to the issues at hand, and to move on from personal attacks targeted at you" one of the campaign managers told Jessica.

"It would be pointless for me to attempt addressing the problems relative to me that are unrelated to the subject matter of the referendum, and I think the population has more than enough of this poodoo-slinging" She then turns again to Yuki. "All right, Yuki, here's the thing: for some reason this referendum doesn't seem to focus on the actual issues of the referendum's subject matter and the No camp seems to be focusing on me as if a presidential campaign"

 

[Myra]

Yuki would be furiously scribbling down notes and only stops when she realizes that her master has stopped talking, her eyes looking up from the page and pen in her hands, which she feels more comfortable with than holopads, and stares at her quietly before raising a hand as if unsure if she should actually respond, but doesn't wait to be called upon "P-Perhaps.. you should point out that your apponent is only concerned with themselves instead of the actual problems of the people?" She suggests hopefully.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"You seem to also have understood that the greater good is often to be prioritized over the needs of the individuals. With that said, referendum campaigns are not the same as presidential campaigns. I'm not actually running for office here, it's just that the Yes camp saw fit to feature me in campaign materials on occasion"

Jessica knew that, in partisan democracies where the executive and legislative branches are up for election at the same time, people tended to focus on the executive even though the executive was only part of the puzzle. Which often led to some of the more obscure legislators getting elected on the basis of a strong showing of their party leadership, as was often the case in the House of Citizens on Corulag. Yet she feels that [member="Yuki"] still had quite a bit to learn on a more philosophical level: she didn't want her to become like one of those Mando Jedi that learned mechu-deru from her that were able to function but lacked wisdom, and other people among her fellow Silvers, and also in ORC, GA or FWC-land, seem to concentrate on combat training and the Force-powers most useful in a lightsaber fight. Even then the actual content of the speech has not yet been handed over to her, and she had to get dressed much more lightly than the dark-blue SJ robes, the laminanium armor or the conventional Jedi robes, due to the heat of the outdoor rally venue where she is due to make her first public appearance in the campaign, which she will appear at soon:

"Knowledge is important but be mindful of any signs of frustration in your learning. Sometimes it is best not to rush one's learning. Yes, there will be times where speed is of the essence, but speed will not always lead to success. I have seen a few who would just use Drain Knowledge on me to learn faster than they otherwise would, and then fall to the dark side in the process, even though all of them were people I had only limited interactions with"

 

[Myra]

"Drain Knowledge? Is that one of the dark-force powers?" She inquires curiously after flipping a page and scribbling down this new information and then staring at her master with wide eyes. She had little to no thoughts on the current elections, in fact, she wasn't sure what her role in them was, or would be. Right now she was eager to learn and that's all she was worried about. "I've only heard a little bit about the dark side.."

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Yes, and I have been exposed to it on a regular basis. However, there is a difference between an election and a referendum, and referendums are usually called for major decisions on divisive issues. The goal in an election is to choose people to fill a particular office, while a referendum's goal is to get a decision made. Of course, Jedi involvement in politics is often limited to diplomacy and security policy"

Jessica realized years ago that the real downside of her memory is that she was going to be used Drain Knowledge on and that people could sometimes take a lot of information out of her (while not affecting her ability to retrieve it) that way, definitely more than normal; she was even made to feel that sometimes it was as if the person using Drain Knowledge on her was using her computational power on top of her memory. But it was only fair that off-worlders like [member="Yuki"] would have little to no thoughts on the referendum: the issues are mostly localized and that's the main reason why Jedi are seldom involved in referendums.

 

[Myra]

Yuki just sat there quietly now, watching her master, taking notes, etc, being a good student basically. She seemed nervous, but not particularly so as she toyed with her hair with one hand and wrote with the other.
@Jessica Med-Beq

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"We have a little time before the event takes place. Perhaps you should learn telekinesis before we arrive"

The only time where Jedi had to intervene in electoral campaigns occur when irregularities are suspected, and that usually comes late, very late in a campaign, and often a posteriori. Most instances of that nature are usually best left to local authorities' own devices. Before the campaign bus makes its stop, [member="Yuki"] has a comlink placed in front of her that she could manipulate as a telekinesis lesson. With about 10 minutes to go before Jessica's first public appearance, she will expect the opposition to focus on the questionable nature of the Yes camp choosing her as one of its main figures. Once we get to pyro/cryo can I truly introduce her to another aspect of following the Code: how to use the Force for knowledge and defense, and what does that even mean, she thought, while the content of the speech will be given to her only upon arrival for security reasons. She had to calm down before she could go back to the task at hand.

"Telekinesis is about moving items without physically touching them. Try lifting the comlink without touching it: visualize an invisible hand manipulating it"

 

[Myra]

"Telekensis?" She inquires curiously.. she heard of it before but never had actually seen it in action. "Sh-Should I like.. put my hand out to channel the energy? O-Or..?" [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Pretty much, in which case your hand will be much like a tractor beam emitter"

Might have to resume the lesson later if Yuki doesn't get at least one or two attempts in before the bus arrives, she thought, while she imagined [member="Yuki"] having the same set of questions as nearly every padawan at that stage of training. Time is running short: there was about 7 minutes left before the bus arrives.

 

[Myra]

Yuki's eyes go wide as she stares at the comlink.. she then slowly lifts her hand towards it so her open palm is facing it, closes her eyes and tries her absolute hardest to life it.. but with no effect.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"For some reason there might be something awry: your body is a complex object, and there might be something inside your arms preventing the Force from properly flowing in it"

Upon seeing [member="Yuki"] struggle, she might have an extra attempt in before the bus arrived at the site of Jessica's first appearance. Often beginners in the use of the Force could have the flow of Force-energy blocked and much of the early stages of training new FUs was about properly attuning their body to the Force, light or dark. Intellectual training could only do so much, and she knew it; that being said, focusing on the Force is probably better at start.