"Please correct me if I'm misremembering your stated position, but I seem to recall you stating that 'The Jedi Order has no need for the derivative, sub-standard practices of heretics who cribbed everything they know from first principles they almost certainly purloined from us to begin with.'"
...
Realizing I'd gone on at such length it might appear as if I was trying to talk over the Jedi Master, I finished quickly with.
"Regarding my performance during the brief periods when Master Dark Woman chose to have elements of my training carried out within the Temple, I can only say that I felt constrained to conceal the full extent of my capabilities from my peers and Temple instructors.
At the time, I didn't think it my place to prove your assertion as to the unilateral superiority of Jedi training practices was in error."
There was an almost imperceptible tightening of the long-eared Jedi's deeply lined features, and a drawing together of his pronounced brows, before he looked to the fur-covered, long-clawed Thisspiasian coiled beside him.
Master Rancisis's deep-set dark eyes peered out at me disapprovingly from the unruly mass of hair concealing everything except a mouth that always seemed turned down into a frown.
The tips of claws as long as they were thin drumming in rippling sequence against the arm-rests of something more back-rest than chair, as he spoke up in a thoughtful and cultured voice rather at odds with his appearance.
"I accept there doesn't seem to be any reason for you to dissemble about a performance we could easily call on you to demonstrate, but my own concerns are ethical rather than practical.
The recording showed you using the Force to coerce a great many Neimoidians into facilitating your successful sabotage of the spaceport's power-grid. By my count, you employed a dozen instances of Force Persuasion, and did so under circumstances which are likely to blow back onto your unwitting confederates.
Neimoidian jurisprudence cannot be considered lenient by any stretch of the imagination, so it's quite possible the Neimoidian courts might refuse to accept that your unwitting accomplices were acting contrary to their own wills.
What would you say, Jedi Skywalker, if those you used were imprisoned or even executed for actions taken while under your sway?"
Before the attempt on Padme's life, I wouldn't have hesitated for an instant to offer a defense-of-necessity. Now, I remembered a dying young guardsman's desperate gray eyes, and had to suppress a wince before doing just that.
"I would express my regret for the necessity of my actions, Master Rancisis, then explain I was unable to find another viable alternative.
Please believe me when I say that the lethal examples of Dark Side compulsion I just witnessed, not to mention the assassin's attempt to suborn my will, has underscored for me the horrors which can be perpetrated by a trained Force-sensitive who begins tampering with free will for the sake of expedience.
I didn't, and still don't, see any other means I could have employed to engineer our successful escape from Cato Neimoidia, but if you see an equally effective option I failed to identify, I would be genuinely grateful for the instruction. As it stands, if I never have to do something like that again, it will be too soon for my peace of mind."
Tracing a complex geometric design on his right arm-rest with one claw tip, the Council's master strategist nodded thoughtfully, then replied "You consider that the most important metric of success, then? The achievement of the mission objective by whatever means necessary?"
His questions were offered in a perfectly reasonable, benign sounding tone, but I wasn't taken in for an instant. It took a great deal of effort to maintain a calm and detached in the face of the Thisspiasian's obvious preference to continue the inquisition, rather than admit he didn't see a better way forward than the one I'd utilized, but somehow I managed.
"Within the boundaries of the Code and Republic law, generally, yes." I said as calmly as if we were simply debating a point of philosophy.
Master Rancisis's reply was immediate. "You don't see the contradiction inherent to taking actions which safeguarded three lives, by endangering a dozen others, then?"
Looking him straight in the eye, I shrugged slightly, then responded "Respectfully, no, I don't. If the financing of the battle-droid foundry on Geonosis had been allowed to continue uninterrupted, the C.I.S would have been given a compelling motive to wipe out the Republic task-force presently blockading Geonosis as soon as possible.
If I did indeed endanger a dozen Neimoidians, it was with the intent of safeguarding the one hundred and thirty thousand members of the Judicial Forces aboard the five dozen cruisers in the Geonosis System, plus everyone else who would be killed once the C.I.S carried out what would undoubtedly be seen by the Republic as an act of war."
Shaking his head slightly, the Jedi Master verbally riposted "Jedi Skywalker, I'm afraid you'll find this body, and the vast majority of magistrates unmoved by retroactive justifications.
You didn't know that's what the two Senators were doing with the ruler of Geonosis while you were enlisting the involuntary aid necessary for your sabotage of the spaceport's weaponry. The relevant S.B.I reports indicated only a suspicion of treason on the Senators' parts. What if the report had turned out to be in error?"
Suppressing the first snarky comeback which came to mind concerning the High Council being willing to send Jedi Masters to kill based on nothing more than Senate reports, I replied.
"If my actions had been predicated solely by the attempt to confirm or refute the S.B.I's suspicions, I might agree with your reasoning, sir, but unlike Senator Amidala, my primary obligation was to see she survived the mission she'd undertaken on the S.B.I's behalf.
The same actions which facilitated the success of her mission were required for her and Captain Typho's continued survival."
"And I in turn might agree with your reasoning, if this had been an actual mission you'd been assigned. What gave you the right to appoint yourself Senator Amidala's guardian, when you knew the Grandmaster had ordered no Jedi be sent to Cato Neimoidia at this time?" The Thisspiasian's tone had grown extremely stern as he asked what was probably intended to be a rhetorical question.
Meeting the Thisspiasian's dark gaze, I replied in a hard tone "There's a galaxy of difference between Master Yoda ordering no Jedi be sent to accompany Senator Amidala, and the Grandmaster actually forbidding any Jedi from choosing to go.
Respectfully, it's been my experience that Master Yoda invariably says exactly what he means, and means what he says. If I'd been actually been ordered not to go, well, that would have been another matter entirely."
It would have been a matter of me defying such a stupid farking order, but I saw no compelling reason to belabor that point in the present company.
I could feel the flare of irritation in the snake-bodied Jedi Master as he opened his perpetual frown of a mouth to reply, but just then there came a couple of quiet huh-heh-huh-huu-haa's from the tiny green Jedi Master in question. The attention of everyone in the room shifted momentarily to the Grandmaster, but nothing more was forthcoming from him.
I felt his gaze measuring and weighing me, but didn't waste my time trying to speculate as to the arcane reasoning going on behind those big eyes. It was enough he'd seen fit to take some of the heat off of me.
Leaping into the sudden silence, Master Windu remarked "I for one am more concerned by this Ventress making another appearance to advance the interests of the Secessionists.
Especially saying things which could be construed to mean she was working with those elements of the IG.BC fleet which suddenly appeared in-system to take part in the effort launched to prevent your escape.
Can you tell us anything more on that front?" His eyes settled on me for a moment, and I had the sense he was urging me to ease back away from the confrontational posture I'd been on the point of adopting.
"It's not as readily apparent this time, but Ventress has had years of instruction from someone who knows enough about lightsaber combat to create a seamless fusion of Makashi and Ataru for her to study.
Master Yaddle got a very good look at Ventress's fighting style on Tynna. I'm sure she can confirm what I'm saying" I replied after a moment to consider the question. Grateful the Master of the Order had stepped in when he had.
All eyes except Piell's, Rancisis's, and Gallia's turned in the direction of the diminutive Jedi Master with the cropped ear. I could feel subtle spikes of irritation continuing to come from Piell, but Rancisis was doing a masterful job of concealing his outrage.
He seemed to simply be studying me, and Gallia was simply curious why I merited so much attention from her patron.
"A master's pupil, she is. Collared her with anguish and need, they have." Yaddle affirmed after the briefest hesitation.
While I'd been getting interrogated by my critics, I'd noticed her gaze lingering upon the one empty Council seat she'd glanced at more than once, but that could have been due to all the talk about mental coercion bringing Master Poof to mind. He was, after all, the Jedi Master who taught both the practical and ethical aspects of using Force Persuasion.
I was impressed that Yaddle had seen right to the heart of Ventress's makeup under such difficult and dangerous conditions. Which only demonstrated that I'd probably do well not to dismiss out of hand anything said by Jedi who measured their service to the Order in centuries rather than decades.
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