The Liberator/Part 13

Day 36 of the Liberation of Milagro

"Moving on to the matter of the elections, Prime Minister, we believe they could be held within sixty days," reported a Republic agent. "Maybe fifty if we get the supplies we're hoping for."

At the head of the table, Zemma Rufos rubbed her temple with the heel of one hand. "General Darakhan? Will we get the supplies we're hoping for?"

"Hard to say," Mali reported; he was sitting at Zemma's right but, whatever acting positions might have been appointed pending elections, in Raina's opinion clearly co-running the meeting. "The Corellian Run's a bust; we can't even get probe droids down the Run without Gasald's gravity traps pulling them out of hyperspace. Our best bet is coming the back way up the Harrin, and Commodore Kalliot's raids on Gasald's installations on the nearest worlds has cleaned out the first lines of defense.  But that might just push Gasald to test our defenses here."

Acting Prime Minister Rufos's mouth made a grim line. "Will they hold?"

"Here? Definitely," Mali answered. "She won't risk the Republic retaking Allanteen. Besides, she knows I'm here; she keeps throwing Sith Lords at the Jedi, eventually she's going to run out."

A few of the hastily-appointed Cabinet ministers laughed appreciatively, though Rufos did not and neither did Raina. In the few days it had taken to conclude the Battle of Milagro—or, as beings were calling it, "the Liberation of Milagro"—Raina had grown to appreciate Mali's skill as a commander. The joint Republic-Corellian-Duros-Tapani fleet had possessed enough combined might to overwhelm Milagro's Sith defensive fleet by sheer weight of numbers, but Mali hadn't fought that way; he had employed his assault line carefully, maximizing enemy casualties and minimizing risks, making sacrifices only when truly necessary, with the result that they had suffered fewer casualties than any Republic fleet in a serious engagement in the last fifteen years. Moreover, he was just as skilled but more daring on the ground, and what could have turned into a grinding siege of Rogeum was instead accomplished as a day-and-a-half blitz, a nonstop whirlwind of fighting that had overwhelmed the Sith defenses and forced their surrender, helped in no small part by Mali slaying Halicon Karzded and casting him down from his own government center.

Yes, Mali was a brilliant military mind, but he was not a politician. He was a man of action, and the give-and-take of politics, assuaging competing interests and gently nudging them in the direction of a mutually agreeable goal, was not his forte. Zemma Rufos was only slightly better; she had spent the last year keeping her resistance group together despite setbacks and tragedies, which spoke to great force of personality and leadership skills, but she had spent her career in Milagro's army and she had much the same mindset as Mali. The best that could be said was that the two thought so much alike that it helped them work together.

"Will the other Resistance groups and their supporters participate in the election, Madame Prime Minister?" asked Baron Obveluus. With the Republic Echani Admiral Vaskolt now commanding Milagro's defensive fleet, the distant blockade line had become unnecessary, and even Mali hadn't tried to appoint a Tapani baron to command a picket line.

Rufos looked to her left, where Nissi Enkfolo and Tago Tafen sat one beside the other. Nissi said, "My people are very supportive of your government, Zemma. We'll turn out the vote."

As well they might be expected to, Raina thought; Enkolfo was now the Acting Minister for Internal Affairs.

"Mine are already on it," pledged Tafen, the Acting Speaker of the Milagro Parliament. "For the Parliament to mean anything, it has to have representatives anyway."

"What about Pastor Jeh-Kro?" asked the acting government's Minister of Law.

While beings around the table exchanged looks, Rufos shook her head. "I don't know. He's been unresponsive to our overtures."

"And the Beethar/Sepzee coalition?"

"They'll participate," Tafen said, his Rodian snout wrinkling, "though whether that's a good thing remains to be seen."

"Apparently Beethar is spearheading a 'Free Milagro Only' party," Enkolfo explained. "Allegedly all in favor of the Prime Minister's government, but adamantly opposed to membership in the Republic."

"Such a movement could be calamitous if allowed to gain traction," Baron Obveluus mused, stroking his beard with one hand and leaning back in thought. "Perhaps a pro-Republic public awareness campaign would be beneficial—a means of explaining to the populace the benefits of membership in the Republic."

Raina sensed discomfort among some of the Milagroans. "The pro-Republic candidates who've registered so far are already using it as cornerstones of their platforms," Tafen said. "Too hard a push from the acting government could give the appearance we're no more than a puppet state for the Republic."

"Perhaps an outside perspective," the baron offered. "For example, the Tapani sector made the decision to join the Republic only a century ago. I'd be happy to speak to the manifold opportunities and benefits Republic citizenship has offered our people."

"Well, maybe appearances on behalf of candidates…"

"What is your feeling, General?" Enkfolo asked, and all eyes turned to Mali. On the way, though, Raina's found Zemma Rufos in time to see the Prime Minister give Enkolfo a slight nod. Was she in favor of Republic membership? Surely she was; she knew better than any Milagroan how far beyond Milagro's means the costs of reconstruction would be. Was she, then, just glad that someone other than her had called for Mali's opinion?

"I'm happy to talk up the Republic too," Mali said. "It's important that Milagroans see the Republic is the right choice. Allanteen couldn't put together a fleet capable of resisting Gasald, and they have their own shipyards."

Again, Raina thought, the lack of diplomacy, the wording of the right choice. She agreed, of course, but…

"Speaker Tafen mentioned 'puppet states'," Rufos said. "So let's move on to that topic. The tribunals."

The faint unease that had accompanied Mali's words vanished, replaced by a hardness Raina had come to expect with the topic. Minister Enkolfo said, "We're all agreed on the key structure? One High Tribunal for the worst collaborators and criminals, and subordinate tribunals for various other war crimes?"

There was a general murmur of agreement, and Rufos said, "We spoke last time of the three judges on the High Tribunal. Minister Enkolfo?"

"They've all agreed to participate," Enkolfo answered, "but they've raised security concerns."

"The Republic can handle that," Mali said.

Rufos nodded, then said, "I'm still not convinced three is enough—two, really, if there's a split vote."

"Well, by coincidence, I may have a solution to that," Mali said with a smile. When they all turned to him, he said, "Duro has recalled Admiral Sukaz. I convinced them not to recall the fleet along with him, but it'd probably keep 'em happy if they had some role in the Rebuilding.  Duro's a Core Founder, its society's been around for twenty-odd thousand years, I'm sure they have capable judges.  And I'm certain I can persuade the Chief Representative Officer to lend me one."

The other Steering Committee members looked at one another, then Nissi Enkolfo said, "That's a generous offer, General Darakhan, but the tribunal will be operating under Milagroan law, not Republic law."

Mali shrugged. "Duro's judges are smart people, I'm sure whoever Duro sends could learn."

"That leaves us with four, though," Prime Minister Rufos pointed out. "We can't risk a tied vote."

"You need a being capable of fairly administering justice," Baron Obveluus mused, "who can apply the law impartially and act without emotional or personal entanglements."

"Yes," Enkolfo agreed.

"Well then," the baron said, gesturing with an open hand, "why not a Jedi?"

Silence greeted this suggestion—even Mali seemed stunned—and after a moment Baron Obveluus continued. "The Jedi Order exists to ensure peace and justice in the galaxy. The current unfortunate conflict has made us soldiers in addition to warriors, but all Jedi Knights are trained to seek justice without consideration of personal gain.  Moreover, a Jedi's perceptions would enable him to perceive dishonesty or guilt in a being well-trained to conceal his emotions.  A Jedi would also bring fresh perspective to the issue, and certainly any Jedi is intelligent enough to learn the applicable law before the tribunals convene, especially a Jedi who already has experience with legal or government matters."

Put that way, Raina thought it made sense…but, she reflected, she was a Jedi herself, a Knight of the Republic who expected Jedi involvement to be taken for granted. Milagro, which had so long resisted both sides of the New Sith Wars, would not have that instinct. After a moment, Rufos asked, "Did you have a particular Jedi in mind?"

"If no other suitable being volunteers, I would be honored to lend my own services to the tribunal," the baron said. "The Tapani Jedi are trained to be well-rounded, capable of leadership, and with intensive instruction in government in all its aspects."

Rufos looked at Mali, and those Jedi senses the baron so extolled gave Raina some insight of her own—the woman's eyes had widened slightly, and her mind practically screamed Save me.

Mali sat forward. "Respectfully, Baron, I think you'd be the wrong choice. It's not just that judges have to be impartial, people also have to believe they're impartial.  You've been at the Prime Minister's side almost since the Liberation began, and you're here participating in the Steering Committee now.  You've become an integral part of the transitional leadership, and as valuable as your insights are here, they'd be a problem for the tribunal for that same reason."

As Raina rapidly reassessed her opinion of Mali Darakhan's ability to politick, Baron Obveluus nodded. "A fair point, General. I hold, however, to the belief that a Jedi would make an ideal final member of the tribunal."

A few heads turned to Mali, but he held up his hands. "If anyone here is a worse choice than Baron Obveluus, it's me."

Rufos said, "True—"

"But the idea has merit," Mali pressed, and Raina sensed he'd had a sudden notion. "An impartial Jedi who hasn't been tied to the administration, and who has the wisdom and training for something like this."

"Master," Aldayr called; like Raina, he sat against the wall among various aides taking notes. "I thought Tirien was—"

"—unavailable," Mali finished, though Raina suspected that wasn't what Aldayr would've said. "He is. Pity, come to think of it; he'd be great at this.  But I actually wasn't thinking of him.  The baron's right, a Tapani Jedi would be a great choice; we just thought of the wrong Tapani."

And before Baron Obveluus could even get a word in, Mali spun his chair around. Aldayr straightened on reflex, but Mali grinned. "I nominate Raina Kaivalt."