Vesper and Zio

Vesper tidies Rogue Ronto with Zio, directing the tuxedo Bothan to those spots he knows to need the most attention. As they clean, Vesper speaks using Bothan fur language.

"So, you and Nomi AmersuNomi were crew on a ship together three years ago, right? Was that before or after you entered the service of the Jedi as an intelligence asset?"

There's no accusation or disapproval there. Just curiosity about someone's relationship - romantic, platonic, or otherwise - with his sister (for Vesper indeed regards the other three padawans as his siblings, and Nawah as a kindly aunt). Bothans are naturally curious about other people's lives and their connections to one another, and as little contact as Vesper has had with other Bothans, he is especially interested to learn more about this one.

Zio seems to interpret the question in the open spirit in which it's offered. He's sorting out a big box of nuts and bolts and other tiny metal repair parts that somehow got intermingled with each other during one scuffle or another - tedious but uncomplicated work, the exact kind of job you'd want a conversation to distract you from. He responds to Vesper in the same manner. "Yeah, give or take. When I met her it was before the spy thing started. Nar Shaddaa was my first real assignment for the Jedi. Like I said, I'm pretty new at this."

Vesper is rummaging through several bags of clothing, looking for garments that might fit him or his friends - or at least ones made with cloth or patterns that might be repurposed to that effect later. He sorts them by likely wearer - often quite accurately (such as for Nawah, Nomi, and the padawans), but occasionally quite ridiculously (especially where Vic is concerned).

"How did you get involved in the first place? I'm Force-sensitive and showed an aptitude for certain internal security functions, which are within the purview of the Jedi, so it wasn't that unusual for me to end up on that road - even as young as I am. But how do Jedi recruit outside of the Order for that sort of work? What kind of training do they offer? What kind of work did you do for the Jedi before your first real assignment?"

The Purge is still recent enough that Vesper hasn't yet started thinking of the Jedi and their recruitment practices as something in the past.

"From what I understand, they often look for likely candidates in the Jedi Service Corps - padawans who washed out, that kind of thing. The Republic sometimes sends - sent - people to them as well. That was kind of how it happened for me. When I was on Bothawui, a human at the place I worked had...loose lips. I knew he was some kind of bigwig Republic bureaucrat, so I figured the things I overheard might be worth money to someone. I sold them to the highest bidders. That was a mistake." The fur on the back of Zio's neck bristles slightly at the memory. "I thought I was dead when he traced the leak back to me. Instead, he offered me a job." Zio laughs. "It seemed like good money - better that what I'd get for mopping floors and doing laundry on Bothawui, anyway. And I had no love for the Separatists. What I didn't expect was how much of being a spy was still going to be mopping floors and doing laundry, just with slightly more mortal peril mixed in.

"Training was...weird. They sent me to Naboo and hooked me up with some old human guy who gave me all these different tasks. Some of them I could sort of understand what he was trying to get at, but others still don't make any sense. Maybe they were testing if I'd do what I was told without asking questions? Anyway. I was there for a couple of years. The guy figured out what I was best at and helped me get better at it, and taught me enough to get by and help me fill in the gaps. Sometimes he'd send me out with other operatives so I could help them out, or observe what they were doing. That only happened a few times, though, and after he could be sure I wouldn't wash out and burn any of their assets. When I got my first assignment on Nar Shaddaa, reporting to that Jedi, it felt like they kind of just...threw me in there and hoped I'd figure it out. I get the sense they don't always take as much care training their spies as they take with their padawans. Someone like me is a little more expendable. Or at least it was that way during the war."

"I think the War stretched Jedi resources pretty thin," Vesper says. "It wasn't just their intelligence apparatus. Many Jedi were forced to divert time away from their usual roles to lead in battle or support troops on the ground - not to mention how those who died in those battles depleted Jedi numbers. Testing young people for Force sensitivity? The number of younglings at the Jedi temple on the day of the Purge was a fifth of what it was when I came to Coruscant. Master Yoda used to take a personal hand in training younglings, but in the final days before the Purge, that was mostly the responsibility of padawans like me. My knowledge is a candle next to a supernova when compared to Master Yoda's, so am I really qualified for that? Before the War, Jedi focused on training their padawans in the ways of the Force as a matter of sacred duty. But during the War, padawans were often lieutenants to masters who had no time to train them, and they thrown into dangerous situations before they were ready to face those trials. Those who were no longer younglings but who had no master - whether because their master had died or because no Jedi was willing to take them on as an apprentice - had very few responsibilities at the temple, and certainly nothing challenging enough to help them grow in the Force."

Vesper trails off for a moment, thinking about Zernvik and realizing that in a way, his master had been on a war footing even before the blockade that marked the start of the Clone Wars. He had kept so much from Vesper even as he sent him on intelligence-gathering missions potentially no less dangerous than some field missions undertaken by padawans more directly involved in the War. Would he have been a more attentive mentor if not for the constant distraction of a Sith plot against the Republic?

"I didn't know any of that." Zio sits back on his heels, clearly internalizing what Vesper has just said. "I'm never sure if Jedi really understand how they look to the rest of us. Most of us never meet one of you in person, or even see one of you outside of newsreels and fake stories in corny holovids. I certainly hadn't before I came to Naboo. You all do these impossible things and make them look effortless. It's easy to think you came into the world that way. But you didn't, did you? And the Clone Wars cost you even more than they cost the rest of us."

"How did you and Nomi meet?" Vesper asks. "On one of her voyages off-world, I've gathered, but what was its purpose?"

Zio dumps out a bin of different-sized screws onto the deck with a loud clatter and starts pushing them into little matching piles, as if to take his own mind away from the subject of the Jedi. He seems relieved to be asked about Nomi instead. "We were on a Republic support ship for one of the battle groups. Those big capital ships carry most of what they need along with them, but sometimes things come up that they don't predict, and when that happens it's useful to have someone following a few parsecs behind with reinforcements, holding down a safe position to withdraw to if you need to. The ship we were on was carrying a couple battalions of clone troopers, plus materiel for a ground assault if they needed to make one - walkers and stuff I think, it never ended up being relevant. The Republic liked to farm some of that boring stuff out to defense contractors, and they were the ones who hired me as a cabin steward. In a situation like that, the clones and the officers tend to keep to themselves and the support staff ends up mingling. That was how I met Nomi."

"The twins do make friends easily," Vesper says. There is a hint of an understanding smile to the observation.

"I know you said you weren't interested in further espionage, and considering what you've been through, I can't say that I blame you. But could I ask a favor of you? Could you record your observations on Bothawui and send them to me now and again? I'm not asking you to take risks to get information. I just want the news from Bothawui without the filter of HoloNet propaganda, and if you're planning to stay there, you're my best chance for that."

"I can't stay on Bothawui." A sigh. "I probably shouldn't even leave the ship, given this new Empire's interest in eliminating the Jedi and their apprentices. As little time as I may have spent there, though (the Jedi recruited me before I learned to read), it's still the homeworld of my species, so I feel that I have something of a stake in it. I don't dare make contact with my family; it would only put them in danger, since the Empire already knows I'm connected to them. But you're a total stranger by comparison; no one would connect you to me. First you catch wind that that's no longer the case, you can break off contact. I don't want to get you in any trouble."

"I know it might still be too much to ask.You said earlier that you have no love for the Separatists, but that's not the same as being a true believer. The Republic has become the Empire - the principles it stood for cast aside in the chaos of war and autocracy. The Jedi Order is scattered, and if we survive it will still be some time before we can reconstitute ourselves. I have a tenuous connection to some Bothans who might be able to give you aid, but I'm not in a clear position to offer much of anything but my gratitude in exchange. And I seriously doubt you've developed an infatuation with me in the last 24 hours that might convince you to risk yourself on my behalf." This last is clearly meant as a good-natured joke.

"I do appreciate you helping Nomi out of the trouble she got herself in on Nar Shaddaa. As far as I'm concerned, that was a favor worth two days' passage and more. Did you lose your shoes somewhere and want me to buy you a new pair? Seriously, though, thank you."

Zio is quiet for a little while, thinking. "I can do that," he finally says. "I mean, it's just like writing a letter to a friend and telling them how things are going, isn't it? That's not very much to ask. Noticing things is the easy part. I couldn't stop doing that if I tried. The sneaking around, the lying, having to be ready to stab someone in the back if they learn the truth about you...that's what was hard. So if there's a way I can help by doing what I'm good at without having to do the rest of it, sure, I'm game."

"Letters between friends, yeah. Exactly."

"And I do still owe you all one even if you say we're even. I heard your droid talking to the guy in the suit and saying how having an extra person on the ship could cause problems, so I know you're taking a risk by giving me a ride. What's that guy's deal anyway?" With his hands, Zio mimics the shape of goggles around his eyes, making it clear he's talking about Vic.

"I don't pretend to know much about Vic," says Vesper. "I'm not even sure what he looks like under that armor - could be a midsized biped like the rest of us, could be a tiny man piloting it like power armor. I don't dare ask, and it would be rude to use the Force to see through his armor - as inappropriate as peeping on someone in the shower. But he's on the run like the rest of us, and his medical care has saved our lives several times in the last few weeks, so I'm glad to have him around."

"But shoes? Why? No, I don't need any shoes. You're really hung up on that. Is it like a religious thing for you or just a rich people thing?" Now it's becoming more apparent that Zio's perceptive nature doesn't only apply to overhearing awkward Republic secrets. "Nomi asked me if I knew you and I told her I thought I'd heard of your family before. They're important Bothans, aren't they? On the Council? Syl'tine isn't that common of a surname..."

"I, uh..." Vesper is suddenly unsure of his ability to talk about the shoes. Had he misunderstood Bela's explanation, or was it indeed something confined to the upper class or the envoy corps? "My family is about as influential as Bothans get." Vesper sounds embarrassed by this admission. "My uncle is a Senator. My grandmother is a fixture on the Bothan Council. My father is a speechwriter for Chancellor Palpatine. And then I have a sister, a mother, an aunt, and a bunch of cousins who all have their own little spheres of influence. The thing is, with the exception of one cousin, I haven't spent much time around my family since the Jedi took me at the age of 5. So their connections don't really benefit me; in fact, it makes it more likely that someone will recognize me as a padawan, which isn't a pleasant prospect with clone troopers hunting Jedi. I can't exactly go to them for help; they'd be risking everything they have - which is a lot - to give me aid, and it's not like I built up a vast supply of affection with them while I was studying the Force on Kamparas and Coruscant. That's how the Jedi maintain cohesion - by preventing us from forging friendships with anyone other than other padawans, Jedi, and a few Jedi agents. I actually came to the temple late; the Jedi would have taken me three years sooner if my mother hadn't used her connections to delay that. Then I wouldn't have remembered my parents at all."

"Oh wow, it never even occurred to me that you could use the Force to spy on people like that. Good thing you have rules saying you shouldn't do so, I guess. Kind of makes sense why the Emperor would think you were all such a threat. No offense. Though it does make me wonder why the Jedi would need somebody like me as a spy if they can look through walls and stuff. Then again, there are a lot more people like me in the galaxy than there are Jedi. Even before...you know." Zio grimaces and his fur stands up a little, as if he can tell he's treading into potentially sensitive territory. He seems grateful to have an excuse to change the subject.

"The thing with your family...that sounds like the worst of both worlds if I'm being honest. All the notoriety, none of the resources. I didn't realize the Jedi cut people off from their families so thoroughly. I always figured it was more like some of the religious orders on Bothawui, where people go and live in a monastery for their whole lives but they still get to send letters and have visitors and stuff. But I'm glad you got to remember your parents." Zio's fur ripples sadly. "The person who was in charge of raising me...I call her my mom but she didn't give birth to me. My birth mom died when I was really young. I don't remember her. So I get it, a little, why that matters."

"10,000 Jedi seems like a lot until you're responsible for keeping the peace on a million planets," says Vesper. "The Republic did most of the work because they had to. You only send a Jedi - or maybe two (even then, more often a Jedi and their apprentice) - when you can't get something important done any other way. When you need to convince a militarily superior force to back down from its blockade of a peaceful planet firmly but diplomatically, for example, or when you need to escort an important politician into a situation where an assassination is all but certain."

A brief pause as Vesper chooses his next words carefully.

"The ethics of the Force may look like a hokey ancient religion from the outside, but the Jedi way works. It helps keep us aloof from the most common worldly temptations that come with the power to see times and places beyond the reach of natural senses, to wield unnatural influence over the actions of others, and to perform otherwise impossible physical feats. We're taught those rules from an early age; it's extremely rare for a Jedi to fall to hubris. The clarity of those rules makes it easy for other Jedi to recognize when one of our number is out of line - falling to the dark side of the Force, as we call it - so that the order can either intervene to guide them back to the proper path or, if they refuse, bring them to justice."

"One of the consequences of this purge of Jedi is that the Emperor has removed that enforcement arm. Those who grew up in the temples are less likely to stray, thanks to our upbringing, but there's no longer anyone to stop those who do. And what of the next generation? How many of those sensitive to the Force, never having had Jedi ethics impressed upon them, will grow into petty despots on thousands of worlds?" Vesper shakes his head sadly.

"Whether she's a blood parent or not, she's still your mother if you see each other that way. Is she still on Bothawui, then?"

"Yeah, she's still on Bothawui. Once I land I'll head back to her place, to stay with her and my sisters while I figure things out. When I left a few years ago she said there would always be room for me in her house if I ever needed or wanted to come back. No reason I should doubt she meant it. She doesn't have much, so eventually I'll want to figure out some other way of earning my own keep, but that can wait. Things seem a little uncertain right now and I should probably figure out more about how they're going to turn out before I make up my mind about what to do next."

Zio is quiet for a while, looking down at the hardware he's sorting and not at Vesper. His fur is flat against his body, not betraying any emotion. He seems like he's chewing over what Vesper said about the Jedi, thinking through all the implications. "So what do you think should happen now?" he finally says. "If the temple is gone now, but it did important things while it existed, where does that leave people like you and Nomi's sister? I mean, not you, you had the training already obviously, but the kids who will be born after you. Let's say the Empire went away tomorrow and it was up to you to figure out what came next. What would you do? Build the Jedi back the way they used to be, or figure out some new way of doing it, or...?" He flicks a washer into a box with a soft ping. "There was this thing the guy who trained me talked about a lot, about how instability is an opportunity. It's scary while it's happening, but it gives people a chance to do things that would have been impossible otherwise. If the right person throws the right lever in the right place at the right time, everything can change. And it kind of seems like the people who did this understood that too."

"You're probably right that the ones behind this knew exactly what they were doing. As for what comes next?" Vesper shrugs. "I really have no idea. It depends on a lot of things we can't know. How many Jedi Masters are still out there? Most of them could rebuild the Order given a little time. It might look a little different than it did under Master Yoda, but they're unlikely to make sweeping changes. As I pointed out, the system had some problems, but it served its function as long as the Jedi don't have to do all the work of maintaining order in the galaxy."

Wasn't Mace Windu the leader of the Jedi Council? It's not obvious to outsiders, but a number of Jedi regarded the Council as Yoda's big project, but he didn't hold the leadership position for only three reasons: First, seeking such a temporal role in the organization would have flown in the face of his own Manichean asceticism. Second, he genuinely preferred to be seen as wise rather than "in charge." And third, his extreme longevity raised the specter of his holding the post for centuries at a time - especially among humans, who seem to assume that if they don't hold half of all important positions in every organization (excluding species-specific ones, and even those they regard as biased against them), it means that they are being excluded.

Is he wise in the ways of the Force? Undoubtedly. Wise enough to recognize certain political realities and to serve as an incredibly effective power behind the throne. The Jedi Order's philosophy almost perfectly reflects Yoda's own. That the Jedi Order has enjoyed several centuries of peace and stability under his guidance is a testament to the utility of that philosophy. If Yoda survived, surely he is already organizing the other Jedi into some form of Council in exile, albeit one nominally "led" by a figurehead - and likely a human one, at that.

None of this is the kind of thing a padawan is going to discuss with an outsider - even one who has spent some time in the service of the Jedi. That Vesper even implied this in passing was a bit of a slip, albeit not one most would pick up on.

"If the Masters didn't survive but some of the generals and other more seasoned Knights did, the new Jedi Order could look very different - but even then it probably won't be a day-to-night distinction. If it's nothing but ronin Knights and exiled padawans - or if the Empire successfully exterminates all of us - ...I don't know. It might start out as a bunch of little Orders scattered throughout the galaxy and take centuries for any kind of unified Jedi Order to arise. Or enough of those loners could fall to the Dark Side of the Force that nearly all the species of the galaxy decide that Jedi are more trouble than they're worth, and the purge could become a grassroots campaign instead of the Empire's top-down edict."

Unspoken here is what might happen if the Sith take over - exterminate the Jedi, exterminate or turn their padawans, and build a force of Sith from the Force-sensitives they find in the galaxy using a process as thorough as the Jedi's method of identifying and recruiting Force-sensitive children. That would surely make for a sweeping change in the dynamics of Force-users. That topic isn't worth broaching. Even among the Jedi, very few lent any credence to the possibility of a Sith plot against the Republic.

"In any case, I won't pretend to be old enough or wise enough to decide what a new Jedi Order should look like. "

"I don't know, maybe you shouldn't sell yourself short," Zio says. "That's another thing my trainer talked about...how there's this temptation, sometimes, to go after the most powerful person in an organization and try to turn them to your side. But really it's the people on the ground who have a better idea of what's really going on, and who can be more valuable." Zio's fur ruffles as if a breeze is blowing through it, the Bothan equivalent of a shrug. "But you're right. It's going to take a long time for anything new to grow out of this. I guess people like you and me will just have to make it through whatever happens.

"Do you think a lot of the Jedi Masters could have survived? Do you know what happened to yours?" As soon as Zio has asked the question, he seems to understand its potential sensitivity. "Sorry. I probably shouldn't have even asked that. You don't have to talk about it. Obviously."

"My master disappeared a year ago," Vesper says. "Enemy action, presumably, but with so many Jedi resources tied up in the War, no one has gone looking for him. I'm pretty sure he's alive. No body turned up, and I think I would have sensed it if he had died or was being horribly tortured or something. Finding out what happened to him is important to me, but it isn't some kind of sore point of grief. Somi and Nomi, though, are very close to Somi's master who, as I understand it, is being horribly tortured, so it's a much more sensitive subject for them. Efnir's master died the night before the Jedi temple on Coruscant fell. He sees flashes of the future all the time, and the fatalism that entails can make him hard to read, so I'm not sure what he feels on the subject."

"Ah. For whatever it's worth, I hope you find him. Maybe he'll be able to help you all if you do."

Zio sorts the last of the bolts and screws into their respective bins and lines them up neatly on the section of cargo bay shelving set aside for tools and spare parts. "I'm going to take a lunch break," he says. "It was good to talk to you, Vesper. I hope I can send you something useful eventually. And I hope you and your friends can get to the bottom of all these things you're wondering about, too."