He smiles.
"I'll show you," he says.
As he leads you into a large arboretum- in fact, a form of very sophisiticated biological museum, containing, it is rumoured, plantlife from every world in the Republic that supports plantlife- including several extinct worlds- you notice, beneath his angry and care-worn face, he's actually a very attractive man. And you can see why he has attracted a following; he talks easily, informatively, and without condescension.
"It will take a few minutes to get there. I suppose I should explain what the problem is first."
It suddenly strikes you how easu it would be to kill him, Jelena, with has back turned. Sabre out, strike him down, and all this would be over. One man to save so many...
You shake your head, vigorously. These future visions have you wound up. You must control your fear.
Roan will be here; where were you?
Blanking out for a moment, you come to- and find yourself looking directly at a small object on the ground that Volun has just walked past, unseeing.
Jelena has problems, it seems. 😑
She shakes herself as she runs over her vision in her head again, and has thoughts of murdering Volun in cold blood.
No, Jelena! It is not the Jedi way! Control your fear! Control yourself! Master Besh taught you discipline, hold on to it!
She shoves her fear away as she shakes herself again, and suddenly realizes she is looking at something. She takes a closer look.
Volun's moving on, and you look odd, bending down like that. It is small, black, metaliic and rod-like, but you haven't a clue what it is. Quietly picking it up with the Force, you put it in a pocket for later.
"Now," says Volun. "Here is the situation in a nutshell. They have a tax plan. I disagree with that tax plan. Because I won't take no for an answer, I suddenly turn violent, start a revolution, seize the centre of Government and force the issue, yes? Forcing the Z'Har to have to call i extreme measures to return normality in the name of justice and the law. Correct?"
Sense? No. Except it is nor organic; it is a piece of technology.
"Well," says Volun, "if that is not wrong, it is certainly unfair. You see, Jelena, it is not just the taxes. It is EVERYTHING. Every questionable decision. This was just the last straw.
"You see, the centre of this problem is so obvious that the rest of the Galaxy is oblivious to it, under their nose. It's an amazing statement of the inability of sentient life to grapple with the basic injusticies of the Galaxy, excepting the efforts of your Order.
"Cassillis? The Sanctuary? The Z'Har. That's what people think of this world. Now, do you know how many Cassillians qualify as a Z'Har? Less than 1%. Not surprisin- it is a hard test. I failed it, for a start, though being only three at the time I don't think it caught me at my best years.
"Less than 1%. Not really very many, is it? As befits an elite intellectual organisation. Trouble is, Jelena, the Z'Har are into more than just reading books.
"Who is our leader? A Z'Har. His Government? Z'Har. All their predecessors? Z'Har. Every single legal and administrative position? Z'Har. Every single official position of power on this planet? Filled by a Z'Har!
"And this a democracy? Can't you see? You can't vote for anyone who is not a Z'Har!"
"A problem? It's a crime! Take this tax issue. Now, forget the rights or wrongs that you see in it for a moment. Like all matters of policy, it is down to an opinion. But there are two bodies of opinion on this, Jelena. The Z'Har think it is right. And EVERYONE ELSE thinks it is wrong. That's 99% of the planet opposes it. But the Z'har want it, so it goes through! What are we meant to do? Ask them to change their mind? What do they care what non-Z'Har think? Vote for someone else? We'll just get another Z'har, who will front the same thing.
"Oh, they are very clever about it. There is no direct law banning non-Z'Har from standing, but the process for political approval is so complicated and convuluted that in any serious way, only Z'Har can stand. I know full well- I have tried.
"Make no mistake. The Z'Har are nothing more than a self-perpetuating dictatorship upon Cassilis, in the trappings of Democracy. And they are only interested in one thing- prolonging their own power.
"And what the hell do they deserve it for? Look at Cassilis. What makes it rich? The Sariego crop. The Z'Har reap all the benefits. Did they do the growing? The soil management, the field management, thee harvest? Of course the bloody didn't! All they do is read books, they never get their hands dirty with actual WORK. It's the poor bloody farmers that do all the damn work. And the money for the crop comes from selling it. Do the Z'Har sell it? No! It's people like ME that actually go out there and sell it- not on command, but on our own initaitve. Us farmers and traders brought Cassilis its wealth. But that wealth is taken from us by the Z'Har who feel that the only beneficiairies of all this should be them themselves! That's what their taxes are. It's not about hospitals- do you see a health crisis on Cassilis? It is about denying people like me power.
"Because we farmers and traders terrify them, you see. Cassilis is growing in power, but the power is growing from US. And so, scared by that, the Z'Har act desperately to take that power from us and keep it for themselves. And it has worked for a long time. Like Tasker's Crown, the average Cassilian is blind to the injustice of it all. It is part of their culture. Oh, they swear and moan and complain about the effete Z'Har, but it never occured to people to DO anything about it.
"I don't know what made me the odd one out. Strange gene, perhaps. Or maybe because I did so well. Because I am a damn good trader, you see. And eventually I got bored with just selling crops. With the money- that portion the Z'Har had oh-so-graciously allowed me to keep from my own work- I bought other goods and started to trade them. And more, and more, and more, until I started to become very successful indeed. I started keeping money on other worlds where they couldn't get at it. My interstellar trading license is from Corellia, where they understand the values of liberty. I travelled fro one end of this Galaxy to the other, and I saw everything there was to it...
"... and so it came to pass that I realised just how damn stupid the system on Cassilis is. I came back, and I started to tell people, and peopl;e started to listen- that's all it took. The Z'Har were very slow to realise what a threat I was. If I had any sense, I would have done this at once. But I was a fool- I tried to do it legally. I tried petitions and protests like you suggested. It didn't work. They did not care and would not listen. Ok, I thought. Then I will try and change it myself- I will stand fopr government! I had virtually every farmer on the planet behind me, after all, and this was a democracy.
"It's when I found I could not stand- and that they would go to any lengths to stop me standing- that I finally realised that there would be no other way to bring freedom to Cassilis except direct action. Direct action at the heart of their power. The Sanctuary."
You are atop the central museum npw. Thje view is fantastic- you xan see the whole city, and Kuylen's camp beyond.
"You see them?" he says, pointing at the tents. "Kuylen and his cronies? They are honest. As a trader I respect honesty. They tell their people "We are better, and so we rule you." Unfair as it is, they are not trying to pretend otherwise. The Z'Har- THEY lie. They say they are all culture and book and intellectualism. They are not. They are all power.
"I am richer than any of those from the Z'Har. I am the friend of Senators and world leaders. I am more powerful than any of the Z'Har. I have the following of more people than any of the Z'Har. So why the hell can I not represent MY OWN PEOPLE?
"You are a Jedi. You stand for peace and justice. Tell me this, Jelena. What justice on Cassilis?
"Well, they don't look so bloody smart now, do they? And now, finally, the Galaxy will notice."
Jelena simply follows him and listens. The fact that this is making sense to her is a tad worrying to her.
"How will you make them notice?" Jelena asks. "It seems that the only people off world that know much of this crisis is the Senator of Cassilis and the Jedi Order. The Order will most likely do nothing. As it stands, we are only to oversee that this goes peacefully. From what I can see, it will not be peaceful, and the violence will come."
"For now, the Jedi," he says, "though at least you can spread the word. But this is the Sanctuary, Jelena! One of the most famous places in the Galaxy! The Cassilians have tried their best to keep it all a secret, but news is going to leak out, and people will come, and the press will come, and they won't be able to stop it! The whole Galaxy will know! And I will have one hell of a story to give them.
"There won't be any violence. The Z'Har have already lost. Holding the Sanctuary gives me all the power I need. Showed up a weakness in them too, didn't I? No matter how smart you are, you are rubbish at what you have no experience at. They have no idea about fighting and tactics. Trading out in the Galaxy," he says, patting his sidearm, "forces you to learn a thing or two. I am sure you know that. Like I say, none of them saw me as the threat I am. Intelligent, but not wise, that's their problem.
"Except the Venerable Z'Har. Now, he IS clever. He saw it all right from the start, and didn't he try his damn best to get them to do more to stop me? Heard him ranting about them being cowards? He's right. If they had had the balls they could have stopped me any time they liked, but now they have given me the power to destroy them. Damn good job he failed, of course, as all those brains of his are fuelling only oppression.
"The one risk was taking the Sanctuary. If Miran had been ready to stop me... but I had to take the chance. For whatever reason, he was not in control at the time." He smiles. "Maybe the Force is with me?"
He takes you through some more corridors, Jelena- and you become very much aware that you just passed through an enormous security door.
"I am sorry you had to get caught up with all this. Risk of your job, I suppose. But be sure- everything I am doing is in the name of true liberty. When you see the people on Cassilis- you see the Happy Slave. It must change."
He takes you through a much narrower corridor, and up some steps.
He looks sullen, and a little confused.
"And I know what you are thinking- that my high-minded ideals are compromised by the morality of my actions. But it's not as it seems. I'm all bluff, that only Miran had the sense to call. This is no revolution. I gave orders to all my men that no-one was to be hurt. If they had actually shown any sign of fighting back, we would have pulled out at once. I do not want any war on Cassilis. I played a risk, and it came off- they didn't resist.
"And once it became clear that they were going to up the ante... I had to make sure that things STAYED non-violent. And here is how."
You are in a large, black room, with one display case inside, inside which is a piece of parchment.