USH'S STAR WARS GAME- CAMPAIGN II EPISODE III (JEDI)- Revelations

"Yes, but it still leaves me confused. And that is still their view on things."

"Then ask away," he says, taking you up marble steps between enormous statues.

"I would like to hear your tell on things, from the very beginning of this whole mess," Jelena says. "The Z'Har portray you as a fool without reason, and I have not had anything to say that would counter that. Why revolution on Cassilis? What sparked this?"

"What sparked this was their latest tax plan. All numbers and no humanity; typical of the Z'Har."

He takes you through some inner gateways, heading towards the heart of the Sanctuary.

"You could have made a simple petition. As far as I am concerned, Skorzeny brought only good with his tax plan, from what I know of government."

"What good would a petition do? They'd just ignore it."

"I daresay they wouldn't ignore it now. How did a simple dislike of a tax law become a revolution?"

"Well, they won't ignore it now precisely because we did rather more than petition! That is why it has become revolution. It's the only way to be heard."

Finally, he leads you inside one of the inner buildings- the central museum.

Music- The Naboo Palace

Treasures here from all of history, one of the greatest tourist spots of the Republic. Strange to see it near empty- almost eerie.

"Tell me," he says. "How does a pretty lady like yourself become a Jedi?"

(This is why I should find Jelena's profile...)

"I was found at a very young age on Ryloth by a Jedi Master who later became my mentor," Jelena explains, blushing slightly. "I had potential, and the Order saw that. I trained hard, and here I am, a Knight of the Order and the Republic."

"A shame that not everyone appreciates that. The Z'Har, with the exception of Skorzeny, did not seem to welcome our arrival. The Senator of Cassilis said we did not need to come."

"You need not tell me of the duplicity of the Z'Har," says Volun. "So... born to it, eh? That's appropriate to things right now. But it's not mandatory, is it? No-one makes you do the job. After training, why did you stick at it? Not much of a life, by many standards."

"I prefer it," Jelena says. "I've never given leaving the Order a thought. Aside from that, I fear I would probably become...well, dangerous."

"I thought fear itself was the problem? Oh well, I am no expert. But it does not surprise me that the Z'Har did not welcome you, If they truly did not call you in... well, all this," he says, gesturing around you, "is a disaster for them! The last thing they want. Their entire tactic is to keep it quiet."

You are being led slowly upwards, Jelena, and walking through a long corridor right now. Sunda nudges your arm and points out where some exhibits have been taken from the walls- from the armoury section.

I can dismiss that fear, Jelena thinks, but does not say.

Jelena nods to him in a sort of 'I see it' manner.

"That is one of the things that confuses me, Volun," Jelena says. "Why would they want to keep things quiet?"

"Cassilis is famous. This place makes it famous. Cultural centre of the Republic, statement of all that is good and true about it. And so it will last forever... so long as no-one looks too closely. I'm going to MAKE them look.

"I apologise for earlier. Negotiating with the Z'Har and that poisonous vermin of a leader of theirs has left me ill-tempered. You must understand, trying to reason with the Z'Har is like trying to destroy an iron wall with your head. Hours later, the wall is still there and all you have for your efforts is a headache. Believe me, every single type of petition and protest and letter and leaflet campaign was tried before all this started. Nothing works. Nothing else ever will.

"At first, I thought you had turned up to finish the situation, and I took to that badly. I was wrong- you are evidence that I am going to win. The Galaxy is taking notice. I knew all I had to do was wait, but it's nice to see evidence of it."

Jelena says nothing for a moment, not quite sure what to make of it.

After a moment, she speaks again.

"There is something about the Sanctuary..." Jelena says. "A premonition I had, a premonition Roan had...and Milan's response to my wishing to come here...have led me to believe that there is something here that the Z'Har wish to see disposed."

"Also curious to me, is the fact that General Anaz Kuylen brought his army so quickly to a peaceful world, and that Milan was so quick to ask."

"Then you obviously don't know much about Tasker's Crown," says Volun. "I represent their worst nightmare- people power. People with power out of their place. Having studied here and seen it all, and to be one of the senior Boyar, Anaz was simply the best one for them to ask to do it.

"As for the Z'Har, I have no doubt that the Sanctuary contains all sorts of filthy secrets about them. They needn't worry; I don't have the time to mess around with that kind of thing. I'll let things speak for themselves."

He exhales, strongly, almost a sigh.

"Politics, you see, Jedi. Not your game, I suppose, but the Z'Har live and breathe it. So do the Boyar. If you understood more about this region of space it wouldn't seem so odd. But it sure as hell showed the true colours of the Z'Har, didn't it?"

"That explains their dislike for Larios Kuylen," Jelena sighs.

"What, that the Z'Har did not wish our presence? That Skorzeny wants to end this peacefully?"

"No! How quickly they call in an army. How quickly they seek to defend the establishment by any means necessary.

"Look Jedi... sorry, may I call you Jelena?"

"Oh, right," Jelena says, "and certainly."

"Thankyou. Look, Jelena. Consider this area of space. The famed sectors of royalty, Kings, Queens and Princesses, archaic titles spanning from Alderaan in the Core to Naboo at the Outer Rim. Each world the home of an ancient Aristocracy, some modern re-makes of old times, some stretching back all the way.

"In all these places, there were haves and have-nots. The Aristocracy had the land and the power, and everyone else either served them or were peasants- virtually property of the aristocrats.

"These days, of course such times are gone- aristocratic titles are either elected or simply quaint relics of a forgotten era. And a good thing too. But even so, look at the mystique they still create. The lure of the handsome Prince or beautiful Princess. And many of the families are still rich and powerful- look at the Organas.

"Now, take Tasker's Crown. Dozens of planets all still stuck in the old ways. Only by the barest minimum does Charnel make the democratic hurdles needed to be in the Republic, and only in these last few thousand years has that been so. The Boyar still have absolute power there, and it is determined by birth. Anaz owns an entire PLANET! And all the armies that come with it. There, the Aristocratic vibe is strongest. And a vicious and violent people they are too, for all their cunning and nobility. There have been many challenges to the power of the Boyar over time- about the only thing that ever stopped them scheming amongst themselves. All bloodily crushed. Only the Boyar can rule. It;s been going on so long now that the entire of the constellation can think no other way- the common people there- very common indeed, according to the Boyar- can't understand anything different. Really... is there anything more feeble than the happy slave?

"But then take Cassillis. Ah... the odd one out. No Kings and Queens here. No Princes or Princesses. No Royals, no inherited land, no aristocracy at all. But in this area of space, that's a vacuum. Why did nothing ever fill it?

"Because the Z'Har are there instead! Right from the beginning of civilisation, where other places had Barons and Princes, here there were scholars. All the worlds that send their rich kids here to be educated- like Alderan and Charnel- are carrying on a tradition that goes back from square one. All these other aristocracies thought the Z'Har every odd, for not being based on birth. But they provided the intellectual backbone that the aristocracies needed, so relations were always very close. Eventually, it became so that the Z'Har were seen as the effective aristocracy of this place.

"To someone like Anaz, the Z'Har are the only people worth dealing with here. Everyone else is a peasant. And so that is what I am to him- a common peasant with ideas above my station. And in history, Charnel had only one way to deal witb people that questioned the power of the aristocracy."

He slams one hand into the other, by way of demonstration.

"That's why he is keen. The call of ancestors. Very strong in their blood."