The Force Always Says Yes [Star Wars]

[numlore]

..... She's going to fall to the Dark in the Courtroom.

This case is going to go down in all sorts of record books.

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il laugh my damn ass of if that ends up happening lol the sith would be watching this wanting to recruit nerim on the damn spot

 

[Simonbob]

il laugh my damn ass of if that ends up happening lol the sith would be watching this wanting to recruit nerim on the damn spot

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I'm hoping that when she falls, the only one who's trying to help her back up is Nerim.

And, if he manages that, well, that'll really get things going. I'm not sure where, but it'll be fun to see!

 

[numlore]

I'm hoping that when she falls, the only one who's trying to help her back up is Nerim.

And, if he manages that, well, that'll really get things going. I'm not sure where, but it'll be fun to see!

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.,.. holy shit now i hope this happens it be so fucking great

 

[TroubleFait]

..... She's going to fall to the Dark in the Courtroom.

This case is going to go down in all sorts of record books.

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And I can't help but feel like someone is setting it up.

I mean, besides Hyenanon, the author.

 

[Hyenanon]

And I can't help but feel like someone is setting it up.

I mean, besides Hyenanon, the author.

Click to shrink...

What, who, me, what? No. I have no part in this.

And even if I did, I would be certain there's nothing sketchy going on here, nosiree.

 

[TroubleFait]

With the care given to the description of the strangely bad weather, somehow I can't help but wonder…

The last time I saw Coruscant trapped in fog, it was in the opening of Attack of the Clones, just before Padmé almost got assassinated. Right in the middle of a massive political intrigue that would eventually doom the Jedi Order.

---

I was looking through old posts and I found this gem:

Boonta is definitely not a healthy world to be on! But it's long since become safe enough that people can live on it with only a slightly existentially terrifying number of years knocked off their average lifespan. A good medical checkup after a visit wouldn't go awry, though.

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Did you already know at the time how banged up everyone would be and how much they would need a medical visit? I feel like this is some form of trolling.

 

[Hyenanon]

With the care given to the description of the strangely bad weather, somehow I can't help but wonder…

The last time I saw Coruscant trapped in fog, it was in the opening of Attack of the Clones, just before Padmé almost got assassinated. Right in the middle of a massive political intrigue that would eventually doom the Jedi Order.

Click to shrink...

Nice catch! This entire arc as a whole has a lot of Attack Of The Clones references. Bizarre that it ended up that way, given the position of this arc, but it makes sense since that's the most Coruscant-heavy movie. Many thematic similarities, too.

I was looking through old posts and I found this gem:

Did you already know at the time how banged up everyone would be and how much they would need a medical visit? I feel like this is some form of trolling.

Click to shrink...

Hah! Oh yeah, I've known more or less everything that's going to happen in the story since before then. All the major beats, at least. There's been a lot of trolling going on lol

It's really fun having already written the story and posting it chapter by chapter, seeing people's reactions. On occasion people will outright guess the entire plot with varying levels of confidence, other times people will predict things that never even occurred to me to consider. One of the things that sticks out to me for the latter is that everyone speculated quite a bit on Nerim's new lightsaber, which I always knew would be an offscreen thing that I left back on Cathar, since it'd make no sense to bring it to court. Oops! Although I can't say I never considered that one. There's actually a lot of scenes and even whole chapters that I thought for sure would be in various arcs, which never ended up making it in, because they just didn't fit the pacing of the story. I'll probably release some of them as extra vignettes

 

[wschottkey]

"Remember, the two most important things are that you can't let them connect any of us to the Sith, and you have to make Chey-Linn look like she's the Dark Jedi," Kiseti whispered

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"Any of us?"

What a weird way for Kiseti to put that...unless...

 

[Amrynel]

I am really hoping Nerim does the right thing (again).

 

[Hyenanon]

Chapter 72: All Sinking And No Power​

When Nerim entered the court room, he was struck by four realizations in rapid succession that each derailed his train of thought in sequence. First was that the Justices had all returned, and he was late. Second was that water ran down the outside of the transparasteel walls; it was raining. Third was that Pappino had somehow returned and was going through notes, despite Nerim never catching sight of him in the bathrooms.

Ya-Ban, standing in front of the Justices, placed his hands together. "Ah, there he is," he said. The fourth thing was that Ya-Ban pointed at him and said "I call to the stand Sir Nerim."

"Wha?" Nerim blinked. Most of the room seemed fairly surprised at that. He quickly moved forward and leaned down at his table next to Arwain. "Um, Master, there's something I need to—"

"Alright, listen, kid," Jethro said, pulling him down with an arm around his shoulders. "You remember what Pappino told you?"

"I...what?" Nerim was derailed for a fifth time.

"Ugh. Listen, just keep it simple, yes nos, don't engage with the bait, don't get nervous, we'll bail you out later. Smallest possible answers."

"But I was told—"

"Today would be nice!" Justice Icks called. Jethro pushed him towards the center, and Nerim awkwardly walked up to the witness booth, and swore the oath while trying to reorganize his thoughts.

"Sir Nerim," Ya-Ban began. "How did you prepare for your mission to Cathar?"

"Um, I first tried to figure out where we were going, I guess."

Ya-Ban paused at that, himself derailed. "You weren't given a location?"

"Arwain was given a location, but she never told me where we were going."

"Wh—when did you realize you were going to Cathar?"

"A few hours before we got there I managed to sneak in to the nav computer and saw it was our destination," he answered. Ya-Ban furrowed his brow. The Justices each had expressions of confusion on their faces. "It was a training, uh, thing!" He quickly clarified. "It's not uncommon!"

Arwain sat completely stone-faced. Jethro already had his face buried in his hands.

"Okay. And more precisely, when were you told your mission was to survey for Sith artifacts?"

"Um. Nobody ever told me that, exactly. I just sort of assumed at some point while I was on the flight and by the time we got there it turned out to be right."

"I—okay." Ya-Ban re-centered himself. "So it's safe to say you didn't prepare for this mission specifically?"

"Um, kind of. Not with my knowledge, at least."

Ya-Ban raised his hand and opened his mouth, thought for a moment, and then continued. "Alright. When you arrived, what did you do first?"

"First we met with Knight Haaka Mahn, Miss Sunrider, and Aesha, and then moved to the top of the City Tree. At that point Aesha broke off to do her own thing, and us Jedi sat down to meditate."

"And did your meditation go smoothly?"

He thought for a moment, comparing it to all of his other failed attempts. "Yes."

"I see. And what happened after that?"

"Master Arwain and Knight Haaka Mahn agreed that they would perform some sort of academic work to help narrow down the survey. Chey-Linn—Miss Sunrider—joined them."

"And what did you do?"

"Master Arwain gave me an objective to learn how to dance."

A seventh moment of derailment came over the room. Arwain began sweating in her seat.

"B-but I misinterpreted the order," he clarified quickly. "I thought she meant it spiritually."

An eighth. Jethro had yet to move, head still in his hands.

"I'm sorry," Chief Justice Scoralecta interrupted, her arm bending in several directions until her hand landed on the bridge of her nose. "I—uh..."

Rouhh leaned forward. "Are you telling a joke?"

"No—I—I'm telling the truth!" Nerim said. "It makes sense in context."

"And what is that context?"

"When we were meditating, she was trying to teach me how to act in concert with the Force, rather than use it like a tool, or obey it like a god. She compared it to a dance, that you have to act in rhythm with it and understand it, and engage with it on its own terms, with good intentions, and only then can you lead it by example. When she ordered me to learn how to dance, I thought she was still speaking metaphorically."

"Uh..." Rouhh raised one eyestalk.

"Where are you getting lost?" Justice Icks shrugged. "It makes sense to me."

"I...must admit, Jedi training has always seemed rather unorthodox to me," Scoralecta scratched her head.

Widdimur spoke. "The metaphor makes sense to me. It aligns with the Jedi texts I have observed. But when and why does the literal dancing come into it?"

"Arwain and Aesha taught me how to dance later that evening, in an electroglitz club. I...suppose I never asked why. It seems self-explanatory to me."

Ya-Ban spoke again. "Can you walk me through what you did from the moment of receiving that order, to next meeting up with Master Haaka Mahn and Miss Sunrider?"

"While under the impression that I was being asked to learn the metaphor, I decided the best way to start would be to familiarize myself with Cathar—the planet—and its culture. So I met up again with Aesha, and she showed me around the Tree, starting from the ground level and climbing up. We spent the morning racing and then sparring, and then ate lunch with some locals. During the afternoon she and the locals chased birds on the perch—a series of low lying branches—while I observed. After that Arwain arrived and explained my misapprehension and we went to the dance club for a few hours. Then we split up and Arwain and I went to bed. In the morning we were woken up and taken to the airspeeder hanger, where Aesha, Knight Haaka Mahn, and Miss Sunrider were."

"I see. And as a brief aside, you are not referring to either Princess Aesha or Master Mahn appropriately," Ya-Ban reminded.

"I don't say Princess Aesha much because Princess is an exonym used for the benefit of offworlders, we don't really use it on Cathar." He neglected to mention Jarroa often called his daughter that as a term of endearment. "Normally one would refer to her as Highkin if they were part of the same clan, but there is no specific honorific for her if you are not related to her. She's simply the Elder's daughter."

"I see. And Master Mahn?"

"The same reason. Master is an exonym used for the benefit of non-Jedi. There are only two uses for that term within the Jedi, either for one's personal mentor, as a sign of respect, or for someone conferred the general rank of Master as a whole. If someone's a Knight, we usually simply refer to them by their name. Sometimes with the preface of Knight, if we're trying to be polite."

"You say that as if you are a Jedi."

"I am."

The room was silent for a moment. "And you understand that you have been exiled and stripped of your rank and title?"

"Of course," Nerim nodded.

"You realize it is illegal to claim under false pretenses to be a Jedi?"

"No," he shook his head. "It's illegal to claim to be a member of the Jedi Order. I have not claimed to be a member of the Order."

"Mr. Ya-Ban," Thagrit interrupted, "How, exactly, is this relevant to the case at hand?"

"Because this is schismatic behavior," Ya-Ban answered confidently. "Behavior strongly associated with Sith activity. I would argue a crime in itself."

Thagrit raised one eyebrow skeptically. "Sith often proclaim themselves to be Jedi on Galactic holovision?"

"At first, yes," he nodded. "So did Darth Revan, Skere Kaan, and countless others. Often the birth of Sith splinter factions occurs in this way."

"So what? Every individual claiming to be a Jedi is suspect of Sithhood?" Thagrit's large red eyes narrowed. "So what about you?"

"That is one of the functions of the Jedi Order," he reasoned. "To verify each of these claims, and ensure those members in good standing are trustworthy."

Justice Rouhh readjusted in his seat. "More to the point, what argument are you making, specifically?"

"That Sir Nerim's insistence on claiming—falsely—that he is a Jedi, shows his willingness to explore, endorse, and even assist alternative Force Orders. And as I will lay out, he will not stop with just the syncretized and acceptable factions such as the Ithorian Nature Priests, but is more than willing to delve into the Dark Side. And that given all this, he is yet another source of Dark influence on Princess Aesha, and his actions on that day stem from his protectiveness towards Sith artifacts specifically."

"Okay," Scoralecta bent her arms outward and inward, threading her fingers together. "Continue."

"Sir Nerim. When you arrived at the Revanchist Temple, what did you sense in the Force?"

Nerim placed his hands together in his lap and looked up. "There was a sense of rapid motion, like a waterfall. I would agree with Master Arwain in that it was not exactly Dark. But it was powerful, and dangerous."

"And when you were inside, did you interface with the nexus held within?"

"Yes."

"Were you warned ahead of time that it was of the Dark?"

"That was claimed by Knight Haaka Mahn and Miss Sunrider, yes."

"And why did you tap into the Dark nexus?"

Nerim began to reply, but Pappino rose. "Objection, Your Honors! Leading question."

"Sustained," Widdimur quite presumptuously said before anyone could argue. "You've worded that question in such a way that Sir Nerim has no choice but to argue over whether it was Dark Sided or not, rather than answer the question. Please rephrase."

"Certainly," Ya-Ban said with an unenthusiastic frown. "Why did you tap into the nexus, despite the warnings you received?"

This time, Nerim could think a bit more about the question. He answered. "With the presence of my Master, as well as Knight Mahn and Miss Sunrider, I felt I could safely attempt to understand what the Force was attempting to tell me at the time."

Ya-Ban's frown deepened at that. He had expected a number of different answers. "You were attempting to open the door, weren't you?"

"Not really," he said. "Not at first. I began interfacing with the vergence in the Force a while before I decided to try and open the secret exit. At first I was just attempting to figure out what it wanted, I only later tried to open the door after Master Arwain asked me to."

"I see. And what was it, do you think, that the nexus was trying to tell you?"

His memories returned to him, tactile. He felt the cold stone under his skin, the carving of the unnamed Mandalorian whose faceplate Revan wore, the feeling of rushing water and electricity through his bones. The prayer he felt compelled to say. He glanced to Chey-Linn, who had mostly regained her composure, and her skepticism of his interpretation of the events. "That not all of our enemies are evil."

Thagrit spoke. "Apologies for another interruption, but you must understand that as normal Sentients, we do not intuitively understand the language you Jedi use, or what it is that you are getting at," she gestured in confusion. "How is this supposed to enlighten us?"

"Quite understandable," the Jedi Serviceman nodded. "What I am doing here is not attempting to explain the feelings of the Force, but rather I am establishing his state of mind to be knowingly participating in heretical activity. These are things all banned to Padawans in the Jedi Order. But let's move forward."

Ya-Ban continued to ask him a number of questions regarding the events that took place afterwards, never quite seeming to receive an answer he wanted. Eventually the lawyer decided to cut his losses and stand on the relatively strong showing he had with Chey-Linn, rather than look like he was floundering in this moment. But not before asking a few final questions

"Sir," Ya-Ban said, moving closer to the witness booth. "During the fight, did you attempt to kill Chey-Linn?"

"Yes," Nerim said, still unsure how to feel about it.

"Did you use the Dark Side?"

Nerim thought for a moment. Was he using it, or was it using him? How could it ever be just one or the other? And that which he felt back then—it was not self-centered, not like the Dark. It was a righteous fury, certainly not in the Light, but far from Sith. He sighed. He looked back up to Ya-Ban. "I can't really say for certain. But I was battling her because I believed she had tapped into the Dark, and whatever it was she tapped into, I also did."

He practically could hear Jethro beaming into his head the thought of 'You should have just stopped at I'm not sure,' but he had sworn an oath to tell the whole truth.

"And since you have been exiled, I've come to understand you have gotten involved in much violence. Is that true?"

"Define much."

"Well, more precisely..." Ya-Ban turned to him, his piercing blue eyes looking into Nerim's own amber ones. "How many lives have you ended?"

That made him pause. Not only did the question unsettle him, it somehow deeply excited whatever that Dark feeling was. Nerim swallowed. "Um, I...I believe...seven."

Wrong. That sadistic glee intensified.

"Not even close," Ya-Ban scowled. "Now I won't accuse you of lying. We may not be counting the same way. But I am counting everyone who died not only to your hands in person, but as a result of your actions. And that is in the tens of thousands."

The color drained from Nerim's face.

"News from Boonta is scattered and plagued with misinformation, that much is true. But it cannot be denied what has happened there. When you—under arguable at best legal justification—went on an expedition to that world and began violently meddling in its affairs, your assault on the Palace of Boonta resulted in the death of Skissa The Hutt, the sovereign of that world. The upheaval this has caused is beyond mere statistics. Violence, looting, roving gangs and power struggles—civil war. Most horrifyingly of all, the chain deaths of thousands upon thousands of slaves, whose implanted bombs were held by Skissa himself, or by people who were themselves held by Skissa. After he was subject to firing squad in his own palace, so too did their bombs explode, and the bombs of any they were responsible for."

Nerim felt it again, that sense of glass shattering. It was inside of him.

"In the face of all this death at your hands, can you not find it within yourself to look in the mirror and at least wonder, were the Jedi right about you? Was Miss Sunrider's judgment on Cathar correct?"

Chey-Linn's words repeated in his head. You were always a time bomb. He swallowed again, his throat dry.

"I need an answer," Ya-Ban prodded.

"I...It's not like I never examine my own..." Nerim couldn't find the words. They were slipping away again.

"You have interacted directly with Sith artifacts, have you not? A holocron, even. Don't you think it's possible you have already fallen to the Dark? Don't you think it could have happened a long time ago?"

Nerim could feel the blood rushing through his limbs and behind his eyes. A thousand different impulses rushed through him, from screaming back at the lawyer, to curling up and apologizing, to throwing himself out the window and escaping as fast as he could. That Darkness swirled around him and bit at him like a shark testing its target.

"You have already attempted to declare a schism, and in the process of all this madness, you even involved the Republic in armed conflict with a foreign power, by utilizing an obscure chain of procedures to involve the Saarkanian and Malastari Defense Forces in an offensive and unprovoked attack on foreign soil, and, finally, with assistance directly from Princess Aesha in the aftermath. Is this not behavior of a fallen Jedi?"

Then, he heard his Master's voice.

Don't let them bully you.

He suddenly regained his breath, and looked up, meeting Arwain's eyes. She looked at him with nothing but confidence. No. You have not fallen.

Nerim looked back at Ya-Ban, attempting to calm his hyperventilation. "You wouldn't understand. You're not a Knight."

The Serviceman's pupils shrunk slightly, and he responded a little louder than he probably intended. "That's—!" He lowered his voice. "That's non-responsive."

Nerim tried to stop his lip from trembling. "Then my answer is no, I have not fallen. I may have spent quite some time surrounded by the Dark. But that's where a Knight should be."

Ya-Ban stared at him for a moment, and then turned to the Justices. "Even in the face of all the destruction he has caused, he is unable to consider if he is fallen. This type of cognitive distortion is...is commonplace in Dark Jedi, especially after contact with powerful or persuasive Sith artifacts, and indicative of yet another source of Dark Side influence on Aesha, and her willingness to directly interact with such," he said. The wind had apparently been taken from his sails, and whatever long speech he had prepared to make did not materialize. He nodded, an expression of confusion and distraction on his face, and then signaled he was finished with his questioning. The Justices looked to the Cathar table for cross examination.

 

[TroubleFait]

I really don't know what to think right this moment. I've got my heart beating, I think the "Don't let them bully you" resonates quite well in the text.

Tens of thousands of deaths? I was not expecting that. This is absolutely horrible.


But I've got two very pointed criticism to make against Ya-Ban.

First, do those deaths count at all? After all, slaves are things, not people. If they were people, it would certainly be horrible to implant explosive devices into them, and I really wouldn't care about any "upheaval" cased by the death of the sovereign of a world condoning it. Additionally, Boonta being a Republican world, the Republic would condone those explosive devices put inside people too. So you have to choose, did Nerim cause property damage or was the Republic condoning the abuse and enslaving of tens of thousands of people?

And second, you would really spring this on Nerim and ask a question just then? Are you really expecting a reliable answer? What is this circus?


What a difficult situation.