On the Illogicality of Jedi Involvement in the Clone Wars/narrative

 On the Illogicality of Jedi Involvement in the Clone Wars

Sonya Sunrunner stood in the center of the High Council chamber, absently tracing with her eyes the intricate geometric patterns that dressed the floor.

It was exactly as it had been when she had last been there, the day the Council bid her rise a Knight of the Jedi Order. The same scuff marks and tan-colored paint chips she had noted before were still there, though the Council wasn't the same.

The war had claimed many of them, in one way or another. Nearly half of the seats were empty, and those few that weren't were claimed by masters who regarded her with looks of weariness or mild irritation. Mace Windu fixed her with his trademark stare and indicated that she should speak.

"Thank you, Masters, for granting me a hearing," she began. "Often of late I have pondered the best means of broaching this topic. Rather than stand on ceremony and dance around the issue, I will simply cut to the chase. We are six months into these 'Clone Wars,' fighting campaigns on a myriad worlds, and not once has anyone addressed the gundark in the room: why exactly are we fighting in this war?"

Her question garnered only a few confused expressions. "I'm not being rhetorical," she said impatiently. "I'm truly seeking your justification for the Order's involvement."

Mace Windu began slowly. "We have grown blind of late to the workings of the dark side. Our ability to use the Force has diminished over the course of our history. Now, it seems we are even unable to detect the creation of an army commissioned by one of our own number."

"The Sith have reappeared, Count Dooku has clearly fallen to the dark side, and a civil war threatens the Republic," said Shaak Ti. "A renewed, active role is required of us if we intend to remove the shroud of the dark side and banish its fog of lies from our eyes."

"If we wish to locate and eradicate this rising Sith menace, we must join the fight and protect the Republic. The Force will lead us." Windu said. The bulk of the Council nodded in agreement.

Sonya scanned their faces silently. "Why?" she asked quietly.

Windu frowned. "Pardon?"

"Why must we defend the Republic?" she asked again. "It seems to me that many of the issues that have plagued the Order in the past have arisen because we have allowed ourselves to be enfolded into the bureaucracy of the Republic. Is not our mandate to use our powers to pursue the betterment of all beings in the galaxy, regardless of their governmental affiliation?

"Furthermore," she said, "the Republic has no shortage of talented, experienced military officers of its own. Why should we occupy the upper echelons of the Grand Army hierarchy when painfully few of us have any actual experience directing the course of a war?

Apart from a few border disputes and regional conflicts, none of us have seen a full-scale war of this caliber in our lifetimes. Military strategy can hardly be viewed as one of our competitive advantages as an organization. Perhaps Master Windu summed it up best when he said, 'Jedi are keepers of the peace, not soldiers.'"

The Council exchanged a few wary glances. "So, your solution is for us to...what? Do nothing? Sit this one out?" Windu asked.

Sonya couldn't help herself; she laughed aloud. "Master Windu, you sound exactly like another young Jedi about whom I once read. He too once stood before the High Council and pleaded his case in a time of war. But those words were his, and those words inspired an exodus that divided the Order and nearly resulted in its destruction."

She moved to one of the chamber windows, staring out at the Coruscant skyline as the sun dropped below the horizon. "An ancestor of mine followed him out of the Order. Another of my house; she who called herself 'the Jedi Apostate.' Like so many others, she saw his crusade as just, and called the Council craven for its inaction in the face of crisis."

Sonya turned back to the Council. "But the Council sensed a great looming darkness that swirled beneath the chaos of the Mandalorian Wars, hidden from sight but present nonetheless; a 'shroud of the dark side,' if you will. History proved their caution wise. Revan's blunder nearly cost the Order everything. The Sith rejoiced the day he marched forth to war."

Windu raised an eyebrow. "While I'm sure we all appreciate the history lesson, young Sunrunner, I fail to see what bearing this has on our involvement in this war. We are not headstrong children driven by the need for validation like Revan or Surik. We do not embrace war lightly."

"After Geonosis, did any of you convene and discuss whether or not involvement was a good idea?" Sonya asked. "Or did you disperse and assume control of various armies and fronts? Did none of you consider following Masters Vandar and Vrooks' examples and investigate things further before grabbing your lightsabers and running into the fray?"

"Though it can hardly be deemed your business, Sunrunner, we have discussed the matter at length," Windu said wearily. "As I have said, the dark side of the Force has clouded our vision of late. Delaying will do us no favors in unmasking the threat of the Sith in time for us to act." "You sent Master Kenobi to the Outer Rim to investigate a lead on a Senator's assassin, and he happens to uncover a vast army of clone soldiers bred from said assassin's genetic stock on the orders of the Senate and one of our own Order," Sonya said. "Rather than pause to acknowledge the warning flags that surround every aspect of this development, you instead shrug it off and assume command of this army with no questions asked. Forgive me, master, but one would need far more the shroud of the dark side to hide a plot so blaringly obvious."

The Council sat in sullen silence. Sonya threw up her hands in despair.

"Were none of you nonplussed by this? An army of soldiers commissioned by a Jedi and the Senate, emerging from the shadows at the exact instant they were needed, fully trained and grown to maturity? That's rather convenient, wouldn't you say? What if the war had started two or three years earlier? We'd be commanding an army of teenagers."

"Do you think this hasn't occurred to us, Sunrunner?" Windu asked. "We weren't born yesterday. We know the circumstances are suspicious. There are no coincidences where the Force is concerned."

"And it isn't as if we can knock on the Senate door and ask nicely for specifics on whomever may have placed the order for the Grand Army," Ki-Adi-Mundi chimed in. "The ponderous workings of the Republic political machine are hardly conducive to the processes of unbiased investigation."

"Regardless," Sonya countered, "if we have even the slightest suspicion of a trap, why must we willingly take the walk to the slaughterhouse? Would not reasoned discourse and delayed action prove better alternatives in the long run? As I've said, it's not as though the Grand Army is lacking for leadership at this time. I ask again, why are we fighting this war? Or perhaps more specifically, why must we fight it now when so many issues remain unaddressed?"

"Caution is well and good, but every day we delay, we grow weaker in the Force, and our enemies multiply. Continued inaction will display weakness at a time when the Order cannot afford to look weak," Shaak Ti said.

"Public support for the Order has waned in recent years," Kenobi admitted with a sigh. "Inaction will only exacerbate the issue."

Sonya shook her head. "You still fail to answer my question. Why are we fighting? Why are we rushing into battle with such uncharacteristic alacrity when better alternatives still exist? There are many other capacities in which we might serve that are more in line with the conventional ethos of the Order. Why not reinstitute the Mercy Corps, or dispatch Jedi to serve as medics or diplomats to neutral worlds? We would be active for the sake of public opinion, and we would be free to focus on confronting the growing menace of the dark side from a position of strength. Otherwise, fighting on the front lines will weaken our already dwindling numbers and spread us thinly across the galaxy on a thousand fronts."

A few masters shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

Sonya continued. "And if public opinion is such a pressing concern, as Master Kenobi implies, I would pose another question to the Council. Long have the Jedi stood as a force for justice and probity in the galaxy. Why have we not questioned the ethics of employing a clone army of human soldiers in a time of war, particularly when such soldiers are not even citizens of the Republic?

Slavery has been outlawed in the Republic for millennia, yet we seem to have turned a blind eye to the true status of our newest defenders of 'freedom, liberty, and the Republic way.' These are men without families, without rights, without choice in the matter of their employment. They are products made for war, and ever since we took delivery of the Grand Army, I have not heard a single word of protest against the use of a sentient slave force composed of glorified child-soldiers."

"Again, you speak as though you are the first to come to these realizations, Sunrunner." Windu said in irritation. "Of course the use of clones presents ethical dilemmas; what other brilliant insights have you brought us today?"

"None of us disagree that the use of clones is a controversial topic rife with moral implications, my dear," Plo Koon added. "But sometimes distasteful acts must be undertaken for the advancement of the greater good. War itself is a horror that would not exist in an ideal galaxy, but sometimes wars must be fought for the promotion of peace. Would you have the selfless sacrifices of fallen Jedi who perished in past wars stand for nothing, simply from an idealistic opposition to the messy nature of warfare?"

"On the contrary, I do not oppose the Order's involvement in just warfare; as you said, there are times when war is unavoidable," Sonya admitted. "Rather, I oppose our use of disenfranchised, disposable clone soldiers in a war in which they have no say. It is one thing for the Republic to employ such a force, and for us to ponder the associated moral quandaries from the sidelines, but it is another thing for us to command such soldiers ourselves, without a thought to the contrary.

Furthermore, justifying our actions in light of the supposed greater good is a slippery slope. The 'greater good' is a subjective interpretation at best, and can be used to excuse all manner of evil."

"In time, young Sunrunner, your youthful idealism may blossom into great wisdom," said Shaak Ti, not unkindly, "but at present, your criticisms raise more questions than they answer. Let us posit for a moment that we morally refuse to use such soldiers, and that we somehow convince the Chancellor and the Senate to do the same in favor of a draft.

What will become of these clones, bred from birth to do nothing but fight and kill? What skills do they possess that could be of value to the corporate sector? Where would they live? Would the Republic taxpayers pay for their relocation? How would these taxpayers, many of whom would be drafted into the war in place of the clones, react to a fully-equipped army being decommissioned for moral reasons while they are forced to fight instead? How would the clones integrate themselves into a society so markedly different from that in which they were raised? How many of them would rather do what they were trained to do from birth?

Like animals released from a lifetime of captivity, I reckon most would rather not leave the cage."

Sonya's anger got the better of her. "So, you suggest that we wring our hands in despair and say 'oh well, it's all for naught anyway'? Whether or not the clones would choose soldiers' lives if presented with the freedom to decide their fates is immaterial; they are sentient beings who deserve to be given the choice in the first place. What of all those slaves in the Outer Rim who know nothing except their menial tasks? Should we apply the same logic to their situations and say 'they would probably choose their lives again anyway, so what's the point of fighting for their emancipation'?"

She indicated Kenobi with an accusatory jab of her finger. "What of your former Padawan, Master Kenobi? He whom we name the Chosen One? He was born a slave on some backwater rock, with hardly any learning or education beyond his own natural resourcefulness. Yet he jumped at the opportunity to join the Order and eschew his past life. Surely some of the clones would act no differently if presented with a similar choice. We would be remiss to choose inaction and do nothing to improve their status, even if the vast majority rejected the offer. That's not the Jedi way."

"Ah, now look who seeks to play the part of Revan," Windu said. "Do you fancy yourself a liberator, Sunrunner? Do you intend to deliver the clones from the injustice and moral indifference of the Jedi Council? Go on then; what solution can you present us that will resolve these dilemmas? Rest assured that were there one, we would have embraced it long ago."

Sonya seethed, balling her fists by her side. "You desire a solution? I have one; remove the Order from the conflict! I realize that injustice cannot be fully eradicated in time of war. I am not so much of a blind idealist as to believe that a one-size-fits-all solution exists to resolve all controversy to every party's satisfaction. But why should we make ourselves privy to injustice by fighting in a war that isn't ours, willingly leading slave soldiers to their deaths?

Even if logistically we cannot free these men from their indentured servitude, we can at least take the moral high ground by publicly refusing to command them, if only for the purpose of making a point! The added benefit to this course of action is that we do not stumble blindly into whatever trap underlies these suspicious circumstances. If they comment upon our actions, let them say of us that 'the Jedi do not go quietly into the night!'"

Sonya finished bitterly and surveyed the room. The Council eyed her with a universal grimace of bemusement.

She exhaled and shook her head. "Masters, I have seen far too many fellow knights and clone soldiers die of late in a war I cannot support," she said quietly. "If you will not acknowledge the truth that undergirds my observations, then I can no longer serve in the capacity of a general in the Grand Army. I will not lead slaves to die in a war that is not mine."

"The choice to command is yours," Windu said. "If you feel yourself unready or unwilling to lead, we will not prevent you from resigning your commission. But do not seek to threaten us with your resignation in the hopes of forcing our hand. The complications we face in either involving or not involving ourselves in this conflict far outweigh the loss of a single Jedi Knight."

"Much anger I feel in you, young Sunrunner," Yoda said, breaking his silence for the first time since she began. "But deny the truth of your claims we cannot. Consider your words carefully we shall."

"Thank you, master," Sonya said.

"Your enemies we are not," Yoda continued. "Remember that wrath leads to the dark side. Wary you must be of misdirected righteous anger, lest into Revan's pit of self-assured arrogance you fall."

"Whatever truths may lie buried in your claims, you lessen their impact with your overly critical impertinence. Your behavior is unbefitting of a Jedi of your stature and promise," Windu said.

Sonya nodded. "You are right on that account, master, and for my manner I apologize. But as for being 'overly critical,' allow me to remind you of what Master Vrook once said to Revan; 'If you find me overly critical, perhaps it is because you do not fully understand what is at stake.' Let us pray that history does not come to regard us in the same light as Revan; well-intentioned but painfully short-sighted."

Without another word, Sonya bowed, spun on her heel, and sped from the room.