Don't Shoot The Messenger (Lion)

[Alexi Hesith]

Two hours after the Senate had voted to couter attack at Bestine found Senator Alexi Hesih of Gall at the New Republic High Command. In the company of two bodyguards (an unfortunate necessity for Coruscant based politicians, especially now) he walked along the armature of the landing pad towards a waiting military aide.

"Good evening, Senator, if you will follow me."

The aide turned and led the threebeing party towards a door flanked by guards.

"I am afraid that your bodyguards will have to wait here," explained the aide, "Security."

The bodyguards exchanged looks. Their master knew that they were uncomfortable of leaving him unattended. Like all good security beings they distrusted everyone- except each other.

"Don't worry," Hesith said reassuringly, "The lieutenant is a sworn officer of the Army and I am sure security is especially tight right now. Stay here."

"The instinctive mistrust was matched only by their instinctive obedience. The two men stepped back and stood watching as the Senator disappeared through the door.

* * *

For what must be a very busy night at the High Command the corridors were quiet. Every now and then an orderly would pass the Senator and his escort. Occasionally they met officers of varying ranks, but mostly they met no-one. The short walk (during which the Senator had to show his identity card and use his code cylindar three times, not to mention pass through innumerable scanners- most of which he did not know about) ended in a waiting area outside a non-descript door on which was etched Lord Admiral Lion El'Jonson, Fleet Command

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion sat behind the desk in his office, reading a report on the revised security ciphers for this week. Unlike the custom-built office he had aboard the Manta, this one was a rather mundane pentagon. Instead of a giant fishtank, he had four wood-panelled walls and one massive frosted transparisteel window, with a wooden door set into it. The window faced into the hallway, where his aide sat. He would have liked an actual window, looking out into the real world, but Facilities Management had declined, on the basis that he was in danger of assassination from a sniper. He hated being in the dark, gloomy room, which explained why he spent as much time as possible aboard his flagship, or in his bedroom.

He deleted the cipher file and was about to open another when the intercom rang. Lion paused.

"Pardon the interruption, sir, but a Senator is here to speak with you." issued from the speaker.

Lion smiled. He had a feeling he knew who that Senator was. That he had found his way through the labyrinthine New Republic Fleet Command Headquarters implied that he'd found one of Lion's aides at a checkpoint. He would have reached out with the Force to confirm his suspicions, but NRFCHQ's upper levels were blanketed by Ysalamari, a measure intended to cause Sith some trouble if they ever infiltrated, but also a measure that made Lion decidedly uncomfortable in the massive tower. He hit the transmit button.

"Thank you, Major Sendac. Send him in, please."

The aide acknowledged, and a second later Lion's door opened and Senator Hesith walked inside, followed by two of Lion's Noghri Bodyguards, Habakahr and Maratahk. Lion grinned to himself; when assigned to guard somebody, the Noghri were the most suspicious race he had ever met. Lion made a quick motion with his left hand, and the two Noghri slunk back out of the room, obviously unhappy leaving their charge unattended. He stood and walked around his desk to meet the Senator. He held out his hand.

"Senator Hesith! To what do I owe the honor?" he asked, smiling.

Despite the warm greeting, Lion had a feeling this wasn't going to be all sugar and roses. Hesith had raised an objection to the Bestine Invasion during the Senate hearing earlier today, and it had been essentially been Lion's speech that had brought the Senate into voting.

[Alexi Hesith]

Hesith shook the proferred hand and managed a curt, "Admiral," by way of greeting.

Hesith settled himself into a seat facing the desk that was the dominant feature of this room. This was not exactly what the Senator had expected; he had heard of the opulance in which the Navy's senior fleet commander like to dwell. He pulled himself away from these irrelevancies and fixed his the Admiral with his steely gaze.

"I suspect that things are going to be hectic for you in the next few days so I shall take as little of your time as possible," he spoke quickly but clearly, "Let me say that, though I am not best pleased with this state of affairs and with the part you have played in creating it by that speech of yours, I shall support you and your subordinates as best I can."

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion nodded, wincing at the tone of the Senator's voice. "This is starting off well..." he thought to himself.

"Senator, I appreciate your understanding." Lion sighed, and walked back around his desk. "I'd also like to apologize about this room...I try to spend as little time in it as possible. You should accompany me to the Manta one day; I guarantee you'd like the office I have aboard my flagship." The grin slipped off of his face. "To be frank, however...I'm not even sure if we're doing the right thing."

He sat down on the edge of his desk, spinning a pen between his fingers. "Despite everything I just said in the Senate, I'm fully expecting this attack to be bloody, and maybe even suicidal. We're committing a very small force to break a well-trained, entrenched enemy. If we had any other choice, I'd take it...but I will order those men to the fight, and possibly their deaths, because they understand the risks."

Lion sensed that the Senator was about to say something, so he quickened his speech. "Look around you, sir. The New Republic has become complacent. Each year, military spending slips another notch. We're gradually allowing planets even more autonomy than they had before, which is threatening our security situation. I love the New Republic...and I would die for it...but there is a weakness now that we didn't have before. A whole entire generation is growing up without any memory of the Galactic Civil War. Anything: a bombardment, an assassination, even a grenade going off by mistake causes fear."

He left the edge of the desk and wandered around the room. "You may not know this, Senator, but I am part of the Jedi Order. Though I suspended by training to take the helm of the New Republic Navy, I still have control over my abilities. My master once told me that aggression, anger, and improperly placed emotions could lead to the dark side. It is for that reason that you cannot possibly understand how hard it is to make decisions like these. I truly believe that this is the only shot I've got at saving a lot of peoples' lives, and if others have to die, then I will consider it worth it."

He sat back down, still spinning the pen. "A very wise man once told me, Senator, that sometimes, you must destroy paradise in order to save it. I live by that philosophy, Senator. As long as I draw breath, I will work to save the New Republic."

His rant over, Lion was surprised to find glimmers of anger and annoyance within him that he hadn't felt before. Perhaps he'd merely needed somebody to take it out on. Maybe the Senator hadn't wasted his time in coming here, after all.

"Senator Hesith, I must offer my apologies for that outburst. You must know, however, that if this counterattack fails, we are in for a long, messy war. Do you think that the Republic could stand under such pressure? There are stories: The Mandalorians, the Jedi Civil War, the Sith Wars; stories of wars that almost brought about the collapse of the Old Republic. It was the Clone Wars less than a century ago that finally brought that government down. If you saw signs of the New Republic collapsing, would you do everything in your power to save it, even if that meant violating your own beliefs?"

[Alexi Hesith]

Hesith thought about that for a moment before replying. After some seconds' thought he replied, "No I would not, Admiral. When one gets down to it, our beliefs are all we have. They are what we seek to protect- it would be paradoxical for us to betray what we are protecting."

There was a pregnant pause in which the two men eyed each other across the admiral's desk.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion also thought about that for a moment. "I'd disagree, Senator. I see no point in freedoms that are not upheld, but in the long run, we sometimes need to violate these freedoms, these beliefs, for greater causes...so to speak, we must 'keep our eye on the ball'."

He paused for a second to draw a breath. "I'd also disagree that beliefs are the only things that we have. What is a belief? It is no more or less than our thoughts, our emotions, or the connection that you, and I, and all living beings have to the Force. I've sometimes wondered why it is that we die for things that we cannot grasp in our hands. The New Republic represents an ideal, certainly, but more than anything, it represents a base of power and stability. As long as there is a constant such as the New Republic in the galaxy, not faced with imminent destruction, we can expect those intangible concepts of belief and truth to be held dear. That is why I strive to protect it."