Bring Them Home

[Geneviève Lasedri]

The Prime Minister had the full ceremony crew lined up today--governors, senators, admirals and generals, a lot of people from Onderon, and her own personal staff. They were here to celebrate the return of one person who might be considered a hero by many; a shameless murderer by others. He was known to the galaxy by the name of [member="VlPER"].

The Jedi Order sought his detainment for turning traitor to the 'Jedi Way'. While that was all well and good that they had standards and wished to keep them, the Republic was the higher power, and the Order should keep itself out of politics. The sovereignty and safety of the Republic mattered above all else, and a man who killed a woman because he had no choice deserved no punishment in the eyes of the Prime Minister.

Stepping up to her podium, Geneviève Lasedri committed to her decision without hesitation, though her words balked as she spotted a camera droid hovering about, collecting the fragments of her image and dispersing them to all who would be watching. She gripped the stand tightly, though it would not be visible to the audience. Now, to orate.

"While I understand the Jedi Order may protest my decision, I place the whole of the Republic above any unit of people. Though some may consider the act of killing a 'defenseless and unarmed' combatant in battle--to those people: I must remind that a Sith is never unarmed. Compromise would be unethical if we are to love our people--the people the Sith wish to subject to mass murder and slavery." One did not need to look too deep to discover the grisly acts committed by the One Sith's empire. From crushing hospitals to massacring civilians in the streets, there was no proof that they were capable of restraint in any form of violence.

Perhaps it was the Rebel in her coming out for this occasion, but there was yet not a tinge of doubt in her mind that this man deserved to be treated as more than a criminal or deserter, and she would stand tall for that sentiment. "A soldier of the military would not be afforded hostile reception for such a deed. Master Kelloch deserves accolade from the people, if not from his Order.

"And so, we shall not delay further in our recognition of fast loyalty," she concluded, walking forward to present the mark she had procured in its codoran casing. "For valiant, prudent, and discriminate behavior exercised in intensive and potentially compromising events, I hereby seal my pardon of Malcom Kelloch and award him the Crescent of Servicehttp://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Crescent_of_Service for his dauntless defense of the Republic and the freedom from oppression for which it stands. He is absolved of his crimes and welcomed to return--unhindered--as a lawful citizen of the Galactic Republic."

Let the controversy begin.

 

[Cecily Demici]

As one of the highest ranking officials in the Republic, of course Cecily was in attendance. Standing proudly behind and to the right of the Prime Minister, she twinkled elegantly in her aquamarine gown reserved for some of the most official public events. She had enjoyed a healthy amount of press coverage since the attempt on her life, so she was glad the spotlight was on someone else for once.

Though, as a diplomat, she bristled at the thought of such a high award being given at the expense of the Jedi Order. Cecily believed it was irresponsible of the Prime Minister to so brazenly alienate the Jedi, especially as her public approval rating had been given to extreme fluctuation (not unlike most war-time leaders.)

Then again, the Jedi had gone so far as to issue a bounty against this man, something even Cecily publicly condemned. The Jedi Order were not a police force and had no authority whatsoever to issue a warrant for his arrest. Still, had they gone through the appropriate channels, she would have personally spoken for them in the Cabinet.

"While I understand the Jedi Order may protest my decision, I place the whole of the Republic above any unit of people..."

Cecily visibly winced, something that was sure to be all over the news for weeks, but quickly tried to hide it with a prolonged blink. She felt her stomach knot up and suddenly felt very uncomfortable standing so close to such a toxic statement. 'God I hope you have a good explanation for that little gem,' Cecily thought, staring blankly ahead as she thought of ways to brutalize the Prime Minister.

It is crucial at this juncture to mention how unfailingly loyal Cecily was to the Prime Minister, but Gen tended to... as Cecily put it: screw the pooch, whenever she had to deal with the press and Cecily, the General Ministry, and the Cabinet were left to clean up after her. Something Gen took for granted. 'This will take more than a fruit basket,' she chewed the inside of her lip furiously to hide her irateness.

"A soldier of the military would not be afforded hostile reception for such a deed. Master Kelloch deserves accolade from the people, if not from his Order..."

Cecily sucked in air so quickly she nearly choked. 'By the Star and the Force that binds them, let that be the last one,' she begged internally as she struggled to hold back a coughing fit brought on by the air that had so forcefully entered her lungs just moments earlier.

Her prayers were answered as the Prime Minister finished her speech and Cecily, thanking whatever powers that be, joined the rest of those gathered in applauding the recipient of the award as he approached the podium.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Mak Manto]

Standing in one of the many open archways that opened up to the Senate rotunda, Mak stared at the prime minister as she spoke about Malcom Kelloch, the young man commonly known as VlPER. Hearing the speech, he didn't acknowledge the praise of the Knight, still being unsure of where he stood.

Mak's own feelings about the Sith were simple: they needed to be destroyed. That was what Yoda and Mak had once spoken of during one of their conversations in the Clone Wars, and it was what he still believed.

Though, it wasn't about killing the Sith that Mak was uncertain of. It was the fact that if the boy felt anger and hatred, if he was moved by darker emotions to kill, this was the real problem.

Hearing the words of what the Prime Minister said about the Jedi, Mak's eyes narrowed at the comment, visibly irritated, though from where he was and with the woman in the middle on her pod, he doubted she could see him in a sea of people.

And that is why the Jedi and the Republic will always be separate, to have our own autonomy...

Politicians... It was like them to think that they could barge their ways in the matter of Jedi affairs. Despite the fact that both the Republic and the Jedi valued freedom and democracy, fighting for justice, working with each other to fulfill this across the Galaxy, there were many who thought the Jedi were there to be used for whatever they wanted...

[member="Cecily de Demici"] [member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[VlPER]

It had been many years since that horrible fateful day. The day in which he had fought so hold to hold his ground against impossible odds, the day he tried to ensure the safety of the poor innocent people on Manaan, the day he failed to help save his master from being taken when he too was finally overrun. He has heard the accusations of his master so many times ringing through his head that it nearly drove him mad. He couldn't believe she could think so ill of him, and misjudge his motives and feelings so badly.

Still, that was a distant day now. Since then, he had endured torture under Sith hands for the force only knew how long. Torture because he was a Jedi. When he finally managed to escape, he realized the Sith who tortured him wasn't even wrong. The Jedi had indeed turned their backs on him. He had fought, and endured torture for nothing. They had even gone so far as to place a bounty on his head under the assertion that he had murdered in cold blood and while mad with anger. He snorted a disgusted laugh as he thought back to those days of his first realizing this. He'd love to see one of them try and arrest any sith who simply didn't have a lightsaber, but had an entire enemy army around themselves and see how "unarmed" that Sith really was. They had been completely duped by Sith propaganda.

It was also a moment of reflection though. If so many people thought the same thing, could he be the one wrong...? No! They were not there. They did not sense his feelings, nor the fact that his decision to kill the woman was not based in anger, but on a sad realization that if he was to live and have any success at turning back the Sith tide, it had to be done. The only information they have is what the Sith no doubt spat out all over the holonet. Even his old master was fighting a dark lord. He couldn't believe she was so focused on him to truly feel what he was feeling.

But again, it had been many years. Much had happened. He wasn't angry when he killed the Sith woman, he was angry at how he was so instantly turned on by his own brethren. But since then, he had spent much time in meditation. A smirk crossed his face as he thought even [member="Corvus Raaf"] would be proud of him for being able to sit still long enough to do it properly. In that time though, he had spent much thought on mercy, forgiveness, temperance. How could he require them to show mercy if he wasn't willing to show them mercy or forgiveness?

It was when he came to that realization, that he resolved to come back. To what he had no clue, but he hoped beyond hope that they would give him a chance to prove he was not the black hearted evil villain they seemed to think he was. Could they actually find it in their hearts to forgive one of their own and try to work with him though? Or would they throw him away and "lose" the key so he could endure the torture of humiliation from his people this time. Again, he resolved to find out.

It took a while, but eventually he was able to make his way back to the Republic. Much to his surprise and utter amazement, he was soon told that not only was he to be pardoned, but he was to receive a medal for his actions that day. Could it really be true? Had his wildest dreams actually come true? He was to be welcomed back to those he had held so dear and fought so hard for? It seemed so.

The big day had finally arrived. There was such joy in his heart that he felt as if it could not be contained for much longer. Upon receiving his cue, Viper walked out tall and proud toward the Prime Minister of the republic and her respective representatives. As he walked though, it slowly became clear that not all were so for this idea. He stood by at full attention in his crisp, clean, Jedi robes in his allocated placed and listened to the speech. However, he did so only halfheartedly. Instead he reached out with the force to sense the feelings of those around the Prime Minister.

It seemed forgiveness would not be so forthcoming by many after all. One Jedi he noticed, didn't even acknowledge the speech with applause when it was over. He snapped his focus back to the Prime Minister as he noticed he had just about missed his cue to accept the award. Viper gave a respectful bow toward those assembled in front of him. "Thank you Prime Minister. I am honored to accept this medal of service. And I look forward to serving the Republic for many more years to come."

The joy he had felt when he started walking had almost completely vanished by this point. He was happy of course, that some obviously still had faith in him. But was left dashed that many still did not. Still, his expression remained the same. He gave no outward sign of his inward sadness. Instead, he turned around to face the rest of the audience long enough for them to have gotten a look at him. When he saw the far away signal for him to march back down, he did so. He suspected as he walked, that now the real time for redemption had begun. Although he was legally free, he wondered how they would receive him.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"] - [member="Cecily de Demici"] - [member="Mak Manto"]

 

[Mak Manto]

Watching the knight walk down, Mak ran a hand through his beard, wondering what the Jedi was thinking with what had happened. While he was not privy to the Council's discussions, Mak could see that they would soon enough want to speak with [member="VlPER"] over what had happened.

It was a difficult position the young man was in, but Mak wasn't shaken or upset that the boy had killed the Sith. True, while every measure should be taken to apprehend someone and bring them to justice, Malcolm had done what he needed to do to save innocent lives.