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The Slave Who Makes Free: An Anakin Skywalker Quest

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Epsilon Rose said:
With that said, I wish there was an option to go to Greivois with it. After all, if they're claiming they can block the Jedi based on their jurisdiction over Kalee, having the leader of that planet say "No, you don't have jurisdiction here and we want the Jedi's help, as members of the Galactic Republic," seems like a pretty strong counter.
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Grievous is absolutely not going to be kept out of the loop on this, but at present he doesn't really have a lot of power to alter this situation since he's basically the perfect image of a stereotypical Outer Rim barbarian and the Banking Clan is a galactically influential megacorporation. But that might change depending on how you choose to approach things.
 
Kirook said:
For the first and probably last time in your career as a Jedi, you walk out of the High Council chamber saying, "Well, that was easy."
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Well! I certainly didn't expect that to go so well it happened off screen. Also a nice reminder that yeah, the stress forecasts are entirely what Anakin thinks things are going to be like.

Kirook said:
Obi-Wan—though you'll deny having admitted this even to yourself if asked—was right. They're key to this peace you're hammering out, of course, but more than that: you know what it is to go hungry. When lean times come, slaves are not the first to be fed…especially not slaves in the desert, where every crop harvested is a minor miracle. Back home, coaxing a few extra drops of water from a plot of arid soil was life and death. For the AgriCorps, it's a slow day at work. And yet, despite the countless lives they've doubtlessly saved, they've been made to see themselves as lesser, as damaged goods, because they couldn't meet the Jedi Order's arbitrary standards of talent or behavior.

It kindles a spark of anger in your heart.
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You know I did not sign up for Anakin: champion of the AgriCorps, but I am entirely here for that. I'm certainly more than willing to have him try and prop up their self image a bit more.

Kirook said:
It is a cease and desist message for the entire AgriCorps operation you have just put together.
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And I don't know why I didn't expect this, but of course the council is so entwined with the Republic something like this can happen. And now we get to deal with the fallout.

As for a solution... I do wonder if palps might be the option to go with here. Might be able to make things happen faster, and it occurs to me we might not want to seem like we're actively avoiding him, that could lead to issues down the line. Failing that, I'm torn on alternate options.
 
[X] …on Naboo.

Clovis, eh? Padme's would-be boyfriend. Coincidence? I think... NOT!
Let's bring in Padmé herself and preemptively take out the competition
 
StormyEyed said:
And I don't know why I didn't expect this, but of course the council is so entwined with the Republic something like this can happen. And now we get to deal with the fallout.

As for a solution... I do wonder if palps might be the option to go with here. Might be able to make things happen faster, and it occurs to me we might not want to seem like we're actively avoiding him, that could lead to issues down the line. Failing that, I'm torn on alternate options.
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I really don't think the IBC's threat is terribly credible. A cease and desist is only a threat to take the Jedi to court, and while the Kalee may not have many rights or good lawyers, the Jedi surely have lots of both. I have every confidence they'd be able to stave off a preliminary injunction at least long enough to turn the case into an embarrassing public spectacle for the IBC. All the while the Jedi would simply move forward with their already agreed-upon action and dare the IBC to hinder them with force, which it won't be able to do thanks to the aforementioned publicity of the dispute.

I suspect this is why their courier chose an untrained naif to serve process on. A more savvy operator would see this at a glance and wouldn't be all that fazed. We might get spooked and make a mistake -- like not committing to a media circus as early as possible, or confiding in Sheev. So let's not.
 
... You know what?

Fuck Palps. This is probably something he orchastrated in the first place because he wants Grievous as one of his tools. He's not going to help us here. He'll find some way to poison the well. So instead, we throw down the gauntlet at the entire Senate and see if any of them have the balls to actually pick it up. I say we ask for permission to speak as one of the orchestrators of the relief effort and then shame the entire fucking lot of them with what we are. Anakin represents every failing in upholding their supposed vaunted laws that the Senate has ever engaged in.

[X] …in the Senate.
 
TempestK said:
... You know what?

Fuck Palps. This is probably something he orchastrated in the first place because he wants Grievous as one of his tools. He's not going to help us here. He'll find some way to poison the well. So instead, we throw down the gauntlet at the entire Senate and see if any of them have the balls to actually pick it up. I say we ask for permission to speak as one of the orchestrators of the relief effort and then shame the entire fucking lot of them with what we are. Anakin represents every failing in upholding their supposed vaunted laws that the Senate has ever engaged in.
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This, but my vote is different because we need to get the OG senate shamer in on the action.
[X] ...on Naboo.

Any chance we could do this as a solo mission? I feel the cause needs Obi-Wan on Coruscant keeping a spine in the Jedi Council.
 
Kirook said:
For the first and probably last time in your career as a Jedi, you walk out of the High Council chamber saying, "Well, that was easy."

And it was. The Council approved your proposed AgriCorps mission to Kalee unanimously, with hardly even a debate.

"I'm still a little concerned that you expected it to be anything but," Obi-Wan murmurs.
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Anakin doesn't have a lot of hope when it comes to the High Council.

Kirook said:
But the most confusing, and perhaps the most tragic, thing about it all is how few of them seem to realize the importance of their own work.
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They are doing importnat work but I can't blame them for not recongzing it since pretty much all of them would prefer to be Jedi.

Kirook said:
Obi-Wan—though you'll deny having admitted this even to yourself if asked—was right. They're key to this peace you're hammering out, of course, but more than that: you know what it is to go hungry. When lean times come, slaves are not the first to be fed…especially not slaves in the desert, where every crop harvested is a minor miracle. Back home, coaxing a few extra drops of water from a plot of arid soil was life and death. For the AgriCorps, it's a slow day at work. And yet, despite the countless lives they've doubtlessly saved, they've been made to see themselves as lesser, as damaged goods, because they couldn't meet the Jedi Order's arbitrary standards of talent or behavior.

It kindles a spark of anger in your heart.
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Anakin gets it and sympathizes.

Kirook said:
And there's another realization that strikes you, too: this is why the Apprentice Tournament looms so large in the minds of your peers. Success in its battles is a surefire way to avoid this fate. Failure puts one at risk of meeting it—and a serious enough failure might even guarantee it. You'd never really thought much before about the rumors that an Initiate was killed once over grudges that spawned from an apprenticeship lost in the Tournament, but now you're forced to wonder if there's more to them than you realized…
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Kirook said:
She sighs. "What I think is that Bode was right. The whole thing is a sham. We're supposed to prove ourselves to the Masters, but…I already know I'm good with a lightsaber. Everyone already knows I'm good with a lightsaber. I could go in there and beat some other poor Initiates into the ground and crush their dreams of becoming Padawans, but what would that prove? That I can hurt people until they stop doing whatever it is they're trying to do, I guess. Because that's what makes a great Jedi, right?"
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Yeah the whole thing is a sham.

Kirook said:
"I'm Rush Clovis," he says. "I'm a courier for the Intergalactic Banking Clan. I'm technically supposed to deliver this message to the Jedi High Council, but…I thought you and your Master should see it first." He hands you a datapad.

Your eyes flick over the words with the same precision with which you pick targets from a fighter cockpit. We regret to inform you…interference with worlds under IGBC jurisdiction…cancel proposed asset deployment…legal action may be necessary…

It is a cease and desist message for the entire AgriCorps operation you have just put together.
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Welp that happened, that was really ballsy of them and has pissed Anakin off.Looks like Anakin has gotten beef with Clovis early.

Kirook said:
"This is unprecedented," Obi-Wan mutters. You stop yourself from raking him over the coals for worrying about procedure at a time like this only when you realize that he's said "unprecedented" in a tone that would better fit a phrase like "completely idiotic". "Only the Trade Federation opposed the Jedi any more directly than this, and then only because they believed they could kill me and Qui-Gon and quietly cover it up. To openly try to compel the Order to forswear an entire sector of space…"

"We can't back down on this," you say before his train of thought can go any further. "You know that, right? I don't know the Banking Clan, but on Tatooine, if you let the gangs get away with extorting you once, they'd do it again and again until they were selling you on the auction block. If the whole galaxy finds out that if you're rich and powerful enough you can just stop the Jedi from going somewhere…"

"Oh, I quite agree with you," he says, stunning you into silence. "This requires a response, and believe me, the Order will respond. But our first responsibility is to our mission, not to the political difficulties unfolding around it."
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Obi-Wan is a bro like that.

Kirook said:
[ ] …in the Senate.
Is there anyone in the Republic who has power they're not willing to sell to the highest bidder?
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LOL NOPE.

[X] …in the Supreme Chancellor's office.

Papa Palps would probably use this as an example of why Anakin should trust him and how having a leader gets rid of stuff like this.
 
[X] ...on Naboo.

In the Doyleist view, we know this is 100% the only option that doesn't further the interests of Sheev. In the Watsonian view, I'd present that it's about Anakin finding his own allies and taking advantage of the friends he's made rather than gambling with the Senate or brute-forcing the issue with Sheev (and indeed we picked Niman because we want the poor kid to learn restraint).

I'm not, of course, categorically against going to Sheev but I feel like going to Naboo might be the optimal course.
 
[X] …in the Supreme Chancellor's office.

Simply ignoring every option involving Palpatine is not going to work; it's like thinking that if you don't look at a tiger then it can't eat you. We are going to have to interact with him a bit if we want Anakin to gain the experience he'll need to start to see through him as a manipulator. This option burns off some stress, and lets us observe what old Sheev is up to at the moment. It's fine.

That being said, I'd like more opportunities to see Padme as well, so I'll provisionally vote:

[X] …on Naboo.
 
[X] ...on Naboo.
Padmé, here I go

[X] …in the Supreme Chancellor's office.
I am fine with this one as well
Epsilon Rose said:
I'm going to need some more time to think about this vote though. Something feels off and I want some time to linder the possible paths. With that said, I wish there was an option to go to Grievous with it. After all, if they're claiming they can block the Jedi based on their jurisdiction over Kalee, having the leader of that planet say "No, you don't have jurisdiction here and we want the Jedi's help, as members of the Galactic Republic," seems like a pretty strong counter.
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Grievous may not be officially recognized by the senate as the legitimate ruler of Khalee.
mynameisyouQQQ said:
[X] …in the Supreme Chancellor's office.
[X] …in the Senate.
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Why did you vote for the same thing twice?
Ergosum said:
Let's bring in Padmé herself and preemptively take out the competition
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Now this is some long term thinking I wish to see
 
StormyEyed said:
As for a solution... I do wonder if palps might be the option to go with here. Might be able to make things happen faster, and it occurs to me we might not want to seem like we're actively avoiding him, that could lead to issues down the line. Failing that, I'm torn on alternate options.
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Appearing like we are avoiding Palpatine isn't a concern.
After all, in character Anakin has no real reason to be especially suspicious of Palpatine, though currently he also has no real reason to feel especially trusting of Palpatine either. Him being all buddy buddy with Sidious took time and effort in Canon.

In universe the reasons we have for why we aren't just laying this all in Palpatine's lap and giving him control over the relief bill is given here:
Kirook said:
But before you can accept his offer, Obi-Wan speaks up. "We appreciate the help, Chancellor, and we'll certainly keep it in mind. But the Jedi Order's mandate is to take the burden of galactic peacekeeping off the shoulders of the Senate, not the other way around. We'd like to explore all of our options before putting you through such difficulties."
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Kirook said:
"I meant what I said," he explains. "We should explore our options first. Perhaps it's true that he can get results from the Senate in a way that Valorum never could. But even if he can, is it really the wisest course of action to put the relief plan fully in the hands of the Senate, a body that Grievous has every reason to despise?"
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  1. The Jedi are supposed to be an independent peacekeeping org. They should thus at least attempt to handle the matter on their own first if possible. Those Agri, Edu, Medi and ExplorCorps aren't just there for show after all.
  2. Putting this all in Palpatine's lap means stepping back and letting go of control over the specifics of how it's done. At this stage Obi-Wan and the council would still like to have a hand in how things are handled.

On the other side of the chess board, Palpatine can't drive a wedge between Anakin and the Council over this specific matter anymore, since Anakin did the shocking thing and actually talked to the Council for once and got their full enthusiastic support, so they're united on the front against the Banking Clan.
But if he can covertly make the Jedi Council turn to him to solve this matter then he can set up the precedent that eventually joins the Jedi Council into the soldiers of the Republic Senate by the time of the Clone Wars.
He's also probably just setting up the dominoes for the Separatist Crisis in general.
 
C.H.A.D said:
I feel like were using our meta knowledge too much.
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Why? Anakin did spend the last little while boning up on law and legal procedure -- a half-remembered snippet could spring to mind, and he could connect the dots, if he took a breath and thought for a moment instead of panicking. Perhaps drawing on Jedi training for aid in centering himself. They're supposed to be pretty good at that.
 
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