- Location
- New Mexico, USA
- Pronouns
- He/They
[X] …in the Supreme Chancellor's office.
Going to Naboo seems pointless. Padme lacks the weight and the power to override the banking clan.
- Location
- North Carolina
Who said anything about overriding the IGBC?
Padme would probably give them the finger and take the totally-not-Agricorps-personnel on a humanitarian mission.
Spylobster
Centrist-Malenyevist
[X] …on Naboo.
What's stopping the IBC from delaying that from happening by drowning it in legalese as well? I'm confident that the IBC will have ways to interfere with humanitarian missions as well.
The IBC didn't get so big by just playing by rules imo.
- Location
- Wollongong, Australia
The ironic bit about this is that Obi-Wan's duel with Bruck actually proves the standards for Padawans; to be trained as a Knight is to require a standard of both character and talent of the Padawan that will crush them if they're not suitable or, even if they are, they can't find a suitable Master. Yes the Stigma surrounding the Service Corps is unfortunate, but most aren't actually cut out to be Knights.
- Location
- North Carolina
And Padme didn't get to be queen of a planet by being dumb or willing to back down in the face of legaleze.
As for IGBC trying to pull a legal fast one...
Remember that the blockade of Naboo (though not the invasion) was technically legal and how that ended for the Trade Federation (who is arguably just as powerful as IGBC).
- Location
- La Ballena City Raft
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] …on Naboo.
Theaxofwar
Definitely not a Bunny Cat in disguise.
- Location
- Standing right behind you
[X] …in the Supreme Chancellor's office.
Padme disdains cheap trickery and sorceries.
Her grooming powers are on a whole other level, beyond any mere Sith!
[X] …in the Supreme Chancellor's office.
- Location
- SF Bay Area
I should probably remind people at this point that Anakin has been aged up slightly in this quest so that he's only two years younger than Padmé.
[X] ...on Naboo.
WAIFU TO THE RESCUE
WAIFU TO THE RESCUE
[X] …in the Senate.
[X] …on Naboo.
[X] …on Naboo.
- Location
- Who knows?
I'd say a young teenage boy deciding to visit his hit charismatic crush over a wrinkly old bossman is incredibly IC. Okay sure Sheev has managed to frame himself as one of the cool ones in Anakins mind but come on, he ain't Padme.
[X] …on Naboo.
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[X] ...on Naboo.
Epsilon Rose
The King of Unrest
Ok. I've taken some time to think about this and I have some thoughts, but I want to start by breaking down the situation and our options, one at a time.
This is a deeply weird move, to the point where I think even Anakin should be able to see that there's something wrong with it, if he takes a moment to calm down and stop being outraged at its existence. It just doesn't make any sense.
Even if you assume the IGBC has legitimate jurisdiction over Kalee and that somehow grants them the authority to prevent aid (likely against Kalee's wishes), you have to stop and ask yourself "Why?" What do they stand to gain from preventing the Jedi from working to restore a war ravaged world that they, supposedly, have some level of responsibility for? If anything, they should be grateful, since it means they won't have to spend their own resources to do it and Kalee will start being profitable, for them, sooner. You could maybe make a case that they're hoping to restore Kalee themselves, while using their aid as an excuse to put the planet deeply into debt, but that seems legally precarious at every step of the way and likely to blow up in their faces for FAR more than they stand to gain. I mean, Grievous has already shown he's willing to go full exterminatus on the last group that tried to enslave his people and they want to try the same shtick, after publicly rebuffing the Jedi's attempts to help? That seems like an excellent way to get savaged by a warlord and then savaged again by the Senate. (It's a lot harder to play this off as Grievous's fault when the Jedi can step in and say "They actively stopped us from helping and intentionally provoked, possibly to the point of attacking, the Kaleesh. They're definitely the aggressors in this.")
That bad look is compounded by the fact that the Trade Federation just tried their stunt with Naboo and got smacked down for interfering with Jedi diplomatic missions (even if Gunray hasn't been sentenced yet, losing the war couldn't have been cheap). Why would they intentionally step into those shoes?
Of course, all of the above is assuming they legitimately have jurisdiction and that said jurisdiction lets them interfere with Jedi aid missions, which seems unlikely. If nothing else, there are not many things that can limit where the Jedi go and who they can help; being able to do it for pure greed pushes the idea into the realm of the absurd.
I can see two possibilities for what's really going on here: Either, some incompetent newbie, with far to much power, panicked and tried to preempt things or this is a Palpatine plot. Anakin probably can't see the second possibility (at least not that it would specifically be Palp), but the idea that the IGBC doesn't have enough lawyers on retainer to prevent this kind of goof up seems non-credible and I'd hope he'd start looking for some plot going on behind the scenes.
Also, does anyone else find it a bit weird that the IGBC found out about what we were doing, was able to draft a response, and then get it to us so quickly? My impression was that a lot of this is happening internally or via private communication with Grievous, and everything we've done in this chapter seemed to happen in a pretty short span of time. They may have heard of the uneasy truce Obi-Wan brokered with Grievous, but that's not the same as knowing about the Jedi mobilizing, in a way they could respond to, and it doesn't seem like any Jedi have been dispatched yet, so where are they getting their information? Do we need to go on a bug hunt?
If you still have your concerns about the Jedi council, consider this: All of the stubbornness, self importance, and hidebound world view that would normally lead them to oppose Anakin means they're going to look at this C&D like someone urinating in their cheerios. Seriously. Who are a bunch of bankers to tell the Jedi Council they can't do what they've already said they're doing?
First up, this could be a good way to raise tensions and build up the CIS before the clone wars. It helps to draw a line between some of the Outer Rim concerns and the rest of the galaxy, it can help paint Palpatine as a heroic figure that cuts through red tape to help people in need, and the IGBC can play his response up as the Senate (or even the Chancellor) overreaching and oppressing them. Going to Palpatine puts him in control of how that plays out, allowing him to maximize each of those outcomes, while going for a more populist or traditionally legal response would minimize each of them, since he wouldn't get to take 'heroic' decisive action and the IGBC would be less able to point at a single figure, or group, as "oppressing" them.
Second, it gives Palpatine a way to visibly use up political power on a very incendiary, but not serious, problem early in the process, allowing it to be unavailable, or much more costly, later on, when it would actually be necessary. More specifically, I think allowing Palpatine to deal with the C&D gives him an excuse to not deal with bringing Huk's leaders to justice—"I'm sorry my boy. I'd love to help, but it took everything I had just to get them to allow Jedi aid in. I've already used up all of my favors, but with how corrupt some senators are..."—For my money, this is probably the biggest threat posed by the C&D.
Finally, and most obviously, it's an opportunity to ingratiate himself with Anakin, while potentially jading him against other institutions, with a big and flashy display that's unlikely to actually cost him much of note. I doubt that's his sole, or even primary, motivation, but it's definitely a plus if he can do it. By the same token, it's the threat I care the least about. Sure, it's dangerous in the long term, but he's going to be constantly trying to get closer to us and we're not going to be able to avoid it forever. We can, however, substantially mitigate the risk by being a more thoughtful and aware Anakin and by building up our own connections in advance. If anything, this motivation is to our advantage, in regards to the Huk and Kalee situation, because it means any favors we don't call in now are likely to still be available in the future, when they'll be more useful; presumably Palpatine values Anakin more than a throwaway plot using the IGBC, espesially if it can help his cover with the Jedi and his own propaganda needs.
Ultimately, I don't think going to Palpatine, for this, is worth the cost. More importantly, I think we're better off keeping that particular stock of powder dry for the inevitable confrontation when we try to bring Huk's leaders to justice.
I don't think this option is all bad, but I also don't think it'll be an efficient use of our time and effort. I'm leaving my approval vote for now, but if the tally gets close, I'll drop it for just Naboo. (So, about ranked voting ...)
However, if we can get the galaxy to see this as part of a pattern of behavior, where powerful and corrupt Outer Rim organizations are willing to ravage innocent worlds in the persuit of profit, all while flouting galactic law and insulting central institutions, like the Jedi and the Senate, then we can make their position a lot more precarious. Suddenly, it becomes a lot harder for sympathetic senators to give them cover and engaging in these escapades doesn't just risk the cost of a droid army, but also their more established streams of income, as they become too toxic to do bussiness with. If they can also be painted as jeapardixing peace, and thus the status quo that other galactic power profit from, on a broader scale, then we might even be able to turn some of their nominal allies against them.
What we need is a hearts and minds campaign that ties Kalee and Naboo together, as victims of rapacious greed, defended by charasismatic and unlikely heros, in the consious of the galactic citizenry. Who better to do that then one of those heroes, espesially when we know that Padme is good at this type of thing, to the point where even Sheev Palpatine had to acknowledge her skill. If he could use Padme to help pave the way for his coup, why can't we use her to actually make the galaxy a better place.
Also, this is Anakin and a pluasible chance to hang out with Padme.
Beyond that, this post from Kirook is what really clinched it for me.
Currently, Grievous is little more than a looming threat that we need to appease, but he has the potentiall to be a lot more than that. I think it's in our best intrest to see him become both a player on the galactic stage and our ally—We both hate slavers and it's hard to beat the kind of loyalty you get from promising to help someone's people and then, against all odds, actually following through on it—Tying Kalee to the memetically civilized and "innocent" Naboo is probably one of the best ways to elevate his public image. Also, I think connecting Grievous and Padme could be good for both of them. She can help temper his more violent impulses and he can encourage her to be more proactive.
...
I know what I said.
[x] …on Naboo.
[x] …in the Senate.
Beginning With the C&D Itself
This is a deeply weird move, to the point where I think even Anakin should be able to see that there's something wrong with it, if he takes a moment to calm down and stop being outraged at its existence. It just doesn't make any sense.
Even if you assume the IGBC has legitimate jurisdiction over Kalee and that somehow grants them the authority to prevent aid (likely against Kalee's wishes), you have to stop and ask yourself "Why?" What do they stand to gain from preventing the Jedi from working to restore a war ravaged world that they, supposedly, have some level of responsibility for? If anything, they should be grateful, since it means they won't have to spend their own resources to do it and Kalee will start being profitable, for them, sooner. You could maybe make a case that they're hoping to restore Kalee themselves, while using their aid as an excuse to put the planet deeply into debt, but that seems legally precarious at every step of the way and likely to blow up in their faces for FAR more than they stand to gain. I mean, Grievous has already shown he's willing to go full exterminatus on the last group that tried to enslave his people and they want to try the same shtick, after publicly rebuffing the Jedi's attempts to help? That seems like an excellent way to get savaged by a warlord and then savaged again by the Senate. (It's a lot harder to play this off as Grievous's fault when the Jedi can step in and say "They actively stopped us from helping and intentionally provoked, possibly to the point of attacking, the Kaleesh. They're definitely the aggressors in this.")
That bad look is compounded by the fact that the Trade Federation just tried their stunt with Naboo and got smacked down for interfering with Jedi diplomatic missions (even if Gunray hasn't been sentenced yet, losing the war couldn't have been cheap). Why would they intentionally step into those shoes?
Of course, all of the above is assuming they legitimately have jurisdiction and that said jurisdiction lets them interfere with Jedi aid missions, which seems unlikely. If nothing else, there are not many things that can limit where the Jedi go and who they can help; being able to do it for pure greed pushes the idea into the realm of the absurd.
I can see two possibilities for what's really going on here: Either, some incompetent newbie, with far to much power, panicked and tried to preempt things or this is a Palpatine plot. Anakin probably can't see the second possibility (at least not that it would specifically be Palp), but the idea that the IGBC doesn't have enough lawyers on retainer to prevent this kind of goof up seems non-credible and I'd hope he'd start looking for some plot going on behind the scenes.
Also, does anyone else find it a bit weird that the IGBC found out about what we were doing, was able to draft a response, and then get it to us so quickly? My impression was that a lot of this is happening internally or via private communication with Grievous, and everything we've done in this chapter seemed to happen in a pretty short span of time. They may have heard of the uneasy truce Obi-Wan brokered with Grievous, but that's not the same as knowing about the Jedi mobilizing, in a way they could respond to, and it doesn't seem like any Jedi have been dispatched yet, so where are they getting their information? Do we need to go on a bug hunt?
What About the Jedi Council
I know there was a lot of consternation about how amenable the Jedi Council would be to helping, before the last vote, but I think they've shown that, however they might feel about Anakin, it's not going to override their desire to carry out the core Jedi mission of upholding peace in the galaxy and helping people. This C&D flies in the face of that and I suspect many of the Masters will find it both professionally and personally insulting. Let's go through the numbers:- It's a bunch of outsiders trying to tell the Council what they can and cannot do, after they've already decided on a course of action.
- It's putting the well being of an entire planet in jeopardy for what is, at best, naked greed.
- They are putting galactic peace in jeopardy, again for naked greed.
- This entire thing echos the Trade Federation's recent stunt, both in how they're treating another planet and how they're trying to stop the Jedi. That is a bad precedent to allow.
- That stunt they're echoing also resulted in the death of a prominent Jedi, which is probably going to strike at least a few nerves.
If you still have your concerns about the Jedi council, consider this: All of the stubbornness, self importance, and hidebound world view that would normally lead them to oppose Anakin means they're going to look at this C&D like someone urinating in their cheerios. Seriously. Who are a bunch of bankers to tell the Jedi Council they can't do what they've already said they're doing?
So, What About Our Options?
Trust in the Dark Side:
Realistically, this is either a Palpatine plot or random happenstance that's about to become a Palapatine plot. So, what directions could he take it and how does he stand to benefit? Currently, I can see three main angles, none of which are mutually exclusive and all of which are likely to be at least partially true.First up, this could be a good way to raise tensions and build up the CIS before the clone wars. It helps to draw a line between some of the Outer Rim concerns and the rest of the galaxy, it can help paint Palpatine as a heroic figure that cuts through red tape to help people in need, and the IGBC can play his response up as the Senate (or even the Chancellor) overreaching and oppressing them. Going to Palpatine puts him in control of how that plays out, allowing him to maximize each of those outcomes, while going for a more populist or traditionally legal response would minimize each of them, since he wouldn't get to take 'heroic' decisive action and the IGBC would be less able to point at a single figure, or group, as "oppressing" them.
Second, it gives Palpatine a way to visibly use up political power on a very incendiary, but not serious, problem early in the process, allowing it to be unavailable, or much more costly, later on, when it would actually be necessary. More specifically, I think allowing Palpatine to deal with the C&D gives him an excuse to not deal with bringing Huk's leaders to justice—"I'm sorry my boy. I'd love to help, but it took everything I had just to get them to allow Jedi aid in. I've already used up all of my favors, but with how corrupt some senators are..."—For my money, this is probably the biggest threat posed by the C&D.
Finally, and most obviously, it's an opportunity to ingratiate himself with Anakin, while potentially jading him against other institutions, with a big and flashy display that's unlikely to actually cost him much of note. I doubt that's his sole, or even primary, motivation, but it's definitely a plus if he can do it. By the same token, it's the threat I care the least about. Sure, it's dangerous in the long term, but he's going to be constantly trying to get closer to us and we're not going to be able to avoid it forever. We can, however, substantially mitigate the risk by being a more thoughtful and aware Anakin and by building up our own connections in advance. If anything, this motivation is to our advantage, in regards to the Huk and Kalee situation, because it means any favors we don't call in now are likely to still be available in the future, when they'll be more useful; presumably Palpatine values Anakin more than a throwaway plot using the IGBC, espesially if it can help his cover with the Jedi and his own propaganda needs.
Ultimately, I don't think going to Palpatine, for this, is worth the cost. More importantly, I think we're better off keeping that particular stock of powder dry for the inevitable confrontation when we try to bring Huk's leaders to justice.
And What of the Senate?
Going dirreclty to the Senate has a lot of the same problems as going to Palpatine. Namely, I don't think it's necessary, we'd likely be burning political capital in a way that prevents us from using it later, and any action they take could be used as a pretext for setting up the CIS. It also has the added disadvantages of being less likely to bare fruit and much more frustrating to deal with. The only reason I'm considering it as a secondary option is that it's not as bad as going strait to Palps and the possibility of making connections with the progressive senators seems intersting.I don't think this option is all bad, but I also don't think it'll be an efficient use of our time and effort. I'm leaving my approval vote for now, but if the tally gets close, I'll drop it for just Naboo. (So, about ranked voting ...)
So, the Princess Then?
Rather than approaching this from a legalistic standpoint, where our goal is to get the mission greenlit, I think what we really need to do is change how the galaxy sees the situation. Right now it's barbarians sqwabling in the Outer Rim and, maybe, the IGBC stepping in to exert some propperly civilizing influence. Who cares? As long as that's all the galaxy sees, then groups like the Trade Federation and the IGBC will feel emboldened to keep trying these schemes, while throwing up whatever dubious roadblocks to intervention they feel like, and our efforts to fix things will be a constant uphil struggle.However, if we can get the galaxy to see this as part of a pattern of behavior, where powerful and corrupt Outer Rim organizations are willing to ravage innocent worlds in the persuit of profit, all while flouting galactic law and insulting central institutions, like the Jedi and the Senate, then we can make their position a lot more precarious. Suddenly, it becomes a lot harder for sympathetic senators to give them cover and engaging in these escapades doesn't just risk the cost of a droid army, but also their more established streams of income, as they become too toxic to do bussiness with. If they can also be painted as jeapardixing peace, and thus the status quo that other galactic power profit from, on a broader scale, then we might even be able to turn some of their nominal allies against them.
What we need is a hearts and minds campaign that ties Kalee and Naboo together, as victims of rapacious greed, defended by charasismatic and unlikely heros, in the consious of the galactic citizenry. Who better to do that then one of those heroes, espesially when we know that Padme is good at this type of thing, to the point where even Sheev Palpatine had to acknowledge her skill. If he could use Padme to help pave the way for his coup, why can't we use her to actually make the galaxy a better place.
Also, this is Anakin and a pluasible chance to hang out with Padme.
Beyond that, this post from Kirook is what really clinched it for me.
Currently, Grievous is little more than a looming threat that we need to appease, but he has the potentiall to be a lot more than that. I think it's in our best intrest to see him become both a player on the galactic stage and our ally—We both hate slavers and it's hard to beat the kind of loyalty you get from promising to help someone's people and then, against all odds, actually following through on it—Tying Kalee to the memetically civilized and "innocent" Naboo is probably one of the best ways to elevate his public image. Also, I think connecting Grievous and Padme could be good for both of them. She can help temper his more violent impulses and he can encourage her to be more proactive.
...
I know what I said.
[x] …on Naboo.
[x] …in the Senate.
[X] …in the Supreme Chancellor's office.
- Location
- Australia
- Pronouns
- He/They
[x] …in the Supreme Chancellor's office.
I'm sure our good pal Friendpatine would love an opportunity to assert theEmpire's Republic's right to intervene in the affairs of independently-minded protectorates in the Outer Rim. The fact that it would actually be a good cause this time is unfortunate, but will help sell doing so later on. Really, us going to him is quid pro quo - we get to help the Kalee, and he gets to set a precedent.
I'm sure our good pal Friendpatine would love an opportunity to assert the
Epsilon Rose
The King of Unrest
Hmm. Now, who do we know who'd be very good at making a public spectacle of some corrupt businessmen? Who could give us some personal guidance on how to become a good diplomat?
...
Ok. Now how about someone who fits those criteria AND who you could safely leave in the presence of minors?
- Location
- SF Bay Area
It's not an extremely lengthy span but there was a non-trivial amount of time after the AgriCorps mission was authorized where you were talking to the Corps leaders and getting everything ready to go. I'm not going to confirm or deny anything at this point but I will say that no one in-universe currently has any reason to suspect that you might have a mole.