40 Balance

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20+ chapter ahead. ----------------------------------------------

Sitting in front of the Guardian of the Great Holocron hologram, I waited for his answer. It was far from certain that this conspirator would give something digestible, and there was no question as such, but the fact that he thought about it was encouraging.

This afternoon I once again witnessed one of the Padawans, who often trains in the common halls with the Junlings, boasting. As much as a Jedi can brag at all. In my case, the Padawans were telling their younger brethren about their lives. A kind of passing on experience. Today's young man, trying to be as unimportant as possible, was telling how he and his teacher had been searching for the killer of one of the senator's brother-in-laws, and he was interesting to listen to because he had a good tongue. Only one thing confused me - a Jedi investigating a murder on the senator's home planet, an advanced planet with several billion inhabitants.... Explain to me - don't they have police there? Or whatever it's called? Billions of law-abiding intelligent people whose crimes are investigated by others because they don't have police. They don't need one. Is that it? Okay, fuck it, no police. What about the Justice Corps? Why does it have to be a Jedi case? Don't the Order have anything else to do? All the pirates have gone quiet, the smugglers... though they're a special story, aren't diplomats needed anywhere else? He was just talking about how he and his teacher had been searching for something to do on a planet where two races were about to clash. Hundreds of conversations, seven assassination attempts on them personally, one defeated terrorist base, but they still managed to prevent a war that would have killed, at best, tens of thousands, and at worst, tens of millions. And then what? They investigated the murder of some high school kid. Who, perhaps, even deserved to die. In any case, the killer turned out to be some philistine whose girlfriend had recently died. Already suspicious. And he was officially just crazy. That's a hell of a motive!

And this Padawan is not the only one. In all the time I've been listening to these stories, I get the impression that at least a third of the Jedi's tasks... ...let's just say others could have done it. The Justice Corps, planetary law enforcement, the Senate Guard after all. Why the fuck, explain to me, a Jedi and his Padawan have to fly in at the request of the ruler of one of the Republic planets to train their spinoffs in some out-of-state academy?! Two months! During which they could bring real help to those around them. To catch a pirate or something. Ugh, even investigate a murder! How so? What is the Council looking at?

And now I was sitting in a comfortable chair, waiting to hear what the Guardian had to say. In his memory is the history of the whole Order, has it always been like this?

- The history of the relationship between the Order and the Republic goes back thousands of years," the Guardian said at last. - To answer your question, I need to know what you mean by that.

- The Order carries out the orders of the Senate. Often meaningless. Well... not pointless, but... unnecessary. Not the ones the Jedi should be doing.

- You're wrong. The order does not take orders. So far, thank the Force, no one can give us orders.

- That's even worse. If they're not orders, then the order itself... ...is taking orders from the senate.

- It's hard for me to answer that question, youngling, I just don't have the statistics on the Order's assignments. From the outside it does look unsightly, but, for example, the Jedi have always tried to make time for their children's education. So sending a knight to another academy doesn't seem surprising.

- And the help in finding the killer?

- Again, I don't know the background to this or that case. Most likely, the Council just had a free knight, so they sent him.

- There are thousands, millions of cases in the galaxy...

- That we are not enough to do in any case," the Guardian interrupted me. - And in general, it's hard to say what the Order should do. In different millennia, depending on the situation, different tasks were declared. Knowledge of the universe, the Force, protection of peace and justice, maintenance of equilibrium, protection from darkness, protection of the Republic. If you look far back in history, the Republic itself was created only as a response to the threat of the Hutt Empire.

- So we created the Republic after all?

- Mmm... not exactly. We initiated the creation of the Republic. A lot of flying, negotiating with the various states, bringing them together. We became the liaison and the guarantor. But the creation itself, working out the laws, organizing the various services, and so on, rests with the rulers of the planets and sectors.

- Guarantor means," I said quietly. - And now this guarantor has fallen to the level of a pet of the Senate.

- I doubt that very much," the hologram grinned. - Though I don't deny it, that's what the Senate has been trying to do for a thousand years.

- Then why aren't..." "We're diplomats," he said again.

- We're diplomats," the Sentinel interrupted me again. - You have to make concessions sometimes.

- Concessions," I grimaced.

- You must understand, youngling, that there is no life without it. Neither can one make concessions all the time. One day you send someone to investigate a murder that could have been handled by the local service, and tomorrow.... Just recently there was an incident on Naboo, have you heard of it? I don't think so, but come on. Anyway. In intervening in that situation, the Order did not warn anyone. And yet that story involved so many influential intelligences. So? So nothing. Everybody took it for granted. By giving in to small things, we get to deal with bigger things.

- In my opinion, the Order was wasted on the whole galaxy.

- That's debatable," the Guardian shrugged. - But you're not the first, or even the hundred thousandth, to bring it up. But the thing is, the Order HAS, as you said, been engaged, and you can't leave your wards behind. We have to wait for the Republic itself to refuse our services. Except... I'm afraid the Order won't survive such a withdrawal, we're too bound to it. If that were to happen, it would mean something quite terrible.

Yeah, like the Emperor and Order 66.

- And the fact that they're trying to bend us over, that's not a reason?

- Unling, unling," he shook his head in reply. - I know it's seven years old, but if you're asking questions like that, you should read history first. Both we and they act according to the times. Before the Ruusan Reform, in case you didn't know, the Republic was governed by the Order. And that's despite the fact that the Jedi have always shied away from politics. It's just that the situation was such that a Gifted Chancellor was the only way out. Things are calm now, and already we're trying to fight off the Senate. But for thousands of years, junling, the Order and the Republic have been inextricably linked. Believe me, if a crisis breaks out again, the Order will be back in force. But it's better, of course, to do without it.

- So all this crap is okay?

- Young man. Stop using that kind of language, it doesn't make a Jedi look good, it doesn't even make a cultured intelligent person look good. - I was embarrassed. - And yes, strangely enough, that's normal. The bad thing is that there have been too many cases like this in recent years. But don't worry, the Council, I know for a fact, is aware of the trend.

- And it's not doing anything?

- You're sure? - The Guardian raised an eyebrow. - You know so much about the business of the Order? And even if I am, all in good time, youngling. The members of the Council don't like this situation either. Just keep in mind that the Republic is not, in fact, run by the Senate. The senators are only representatives of their worlds. Ambassadors.

This conversation has gone too far, it's time to call it a day. But let's bookmark it and come back to this conversation sometime.

- Thank you for clearing up my question, Guardian. Even if not completely, but reassured.

- Take advantage," he waved. He glanced at the door and added with a chuckle: - "As long as you can.

Also interesting. It's interesting, too, that when you have someone else in the room with me, it's hard to get anything useful out of him. He becomes a scout in enemy hands. Exaggeratedly.

- What do you fear, Guardian? - I asked sharply. To which he froze.

- I was born when the galaxy ruled the balance. When the Jedi rule balance. Light and Darkness, good and evil, Ashla and Bogan. But I am only a keeper of knowledge, I cannot go against the politics of the Order.

- Are you trying to introduce me to the Darkness? - I asked cautiously, slipping into the "you" word.

- No," he laughed. - No," the Guardian laughed. Not at all. The balance, youngling. Neither Light nor Dark.

I should have left and ended this conversation, but I couldn't bring myself to.

- This won't be the Jedi Order anymore.

- It wasn't. It's just that those who have fallen to the darkness have been... too orthodox. And tenacious. Time after time, actually forcing the Order to take the other side. And proving, mind you, proving, not showing, that the Darkness is bad. So what's so surprising about the Order finally coming over to the side of the Light, changing its way of life to suit the cause? To answer your question, youngling, I'm not afraid of anything. It's just that my ways of training are quite different from the ways of modern Jedi. But I'm part of the Order, and if I'm told to "stop", "stop", there's nothing else for me to do.

- Why... - I swallowed a lump in my throat," why are you saying this to me?

- Oh-oh-oh... - stretched the Keeper. - Oh, I have my reasons. But I think you'd better go now, youngling. Come again sometime.

- You bet I will," I muttered one last time.