I woke from my ditation early when the next day arrived. Letting my senses out a little, I could taste the feelings of the people, like a tinge on the tip of my tongue. It was slightly tallic, like the tang of ionized air escaping from a repulsor lift. Still, I felt fine. Even when we entered the grand chamber, with its towering arches and polished stone floors, there were dozens of eyes and feelings. Yet to , right now, it was clear as the Force reinforced my mind, and I could separate every thought and feeling brushing up against . I could taste the slightly spicy tinge of stubborn pride and the sour, deep-seated resentnt that was only buried yesterday but not forgotten. I could feel all of it in the Force, and I didn't feel overstimulated. Which made proud... I was growing.
Keeping myself focused, I took my seat at the table, my fingers tapping idly against its surface, trying to establish a sequence within myself so I could keep my mind working and make it harder for it to falter. The rhythmic sound had a grounding effect, too, a constant anchor in the storm of emotions swirling around . Master Ben sat silently beside , his presence spreading, watching... but I knew he wouldn’t interfere. This was my test and my mont to prove I could navigate these wilder waters of diplomacy without losing myself to the currents or to my own powers. Vila’s gaze flickered as I looked at her, her arms resting on his knees as she leaned back in her chair, her expression a mix of skepticism towards the locals, but she did flash an encouraging thumbs up towards under the table. Iowi, looking to be unreadable, was a statue of calm, his face serene, but I could sense the faintest ripple of caution in the Force around him... He was focused on . Examining ... My gift.
"It is showti..." I said to myself, taking a deep, calming breath because, despite everything, a kind of stage fright was creeping up on .
The leaders of Valkyss sat across from one another, their postures rigid, their eyes looking at Ben, expecting him to speak and continue from yesterday. Probing them, I could see they were not really in the mood to listen to solutions. They were here to argue, to continue pushing bla, now instead on each other, onto this saboteur third party. No matter if they didn't even know who it was, I could feel the heat of their frustration simring just beneath the surface, already blazing, and it wouldn't be easy to calm it.
I continued to take slow breaths, closing my eyes for a heartbeat, and reached out for real this ti around, doing it in understanding. The Force was a gentle current, and I let it flow through , touching the hearts and minds in this room. Not everybody's, but those who were the most flustered, the angriest and schemiest of them all. Then, opening my eyes, I stood, and when I spoke, my voice carried not just my words but mixed multiple feelings, allowing the listeners to subconsciously be connected to each other... through .
“Before we begin,” I said, my tone calm yet firm, surprising them that it was who began and not Ben, “I want to ask you both sothing.”
"A child?" The murmuring stopped, a lone question rising.
"He speaks for ," Ben said calmly, suddenly silencing every bubbling question in their minds.
Then... their eyes returned to , wary, so of them feeling like predators sizing up a potential threat. I almost smirked. If you want, think up strange ideas. I would let them wonder what I was up to.
“Do you rember?” I continued, my voice a little softer, infused with the intangible essence of the Force, nudging at the edges of their consciousness so they actually heard and felt what I was saying. “Do you rember what it was like before?”
Silence. Of course, I didn't know much myself. But that was not the point. Through the Force, by that alone, I brought up mories within them, tales that went back far, back to the Imperial days, more than fifty years ago. It was precisely my goal. I didn't need to know this world's history; I just had to pull the mories out of them and let them be shared through the Force. Via that... I could read it like a picture book. Then, I let my words settle and let them sink in before continuing.
“I am talking about before Valkyss rose to where it is now. Before the wars left systems in ruin. Before your people could count on any prosperity. Do you rember the hunger this world experienced when the Imperium took all the food to feed its manufacturing worlds? The struggle? The nights spent wondering if tomorrow would bring ruin? Then, rember the isolation caused by the Vong? When you were cut off from the greater Galaxy and left alone, without important resources?”
The essence of the Force was now wholly seeped into my words. It was not overpowering but a type of guiding presence. The people before us didn’t speak, but I saw it in their eyes and felt it in my own mind. The flickers of mories, the angry ghosts of the past resurfacing. Catching it, I pressed further, letting the Force stir those mories more, bringing it up in their mind and then distributing it amongst everyone present to remind them how it was for them before peace returned. By now, I was also feeling the taste of stale rations, the ache of empty stomachs, and the desperation in a mother’s eyes as she tried to soothe a crying child with promises of a better tomorrow. I made sure to let them feel it, too, even if just for a mont. When I thought it was enough, I leaned forward slightly, my fingers brushing the table’s edge, a sound to make them focus back on .
“You survived that. You built sothing out of that hardship. And now, you have power! A kind of power to sustain not just yourselves but entire systems that depend on you.” My gaze flickered between them, one by one, asuring them, holding eye contact until they looked away. “And yet, instead of using that power to lead, to unite more worlds, you fight amongst yourselves, grasping for more. Worse... You forgot how it was and beca the new oppressors. There are many worlds that are still trying to rebuild. Still not whole and healthy... and you take advantage of them.”
I could feel their resistance, the instinct to deny, to push back against what I was accusing them of. So I pressed harder—not with power but with undeniable truth and clarity. I focused on their sudden feelings of guilt and made sure they were unable to silence them. I made sure they were unable to ignore their own feelings and hide behind the thought of profit or survival. Those were lies in their position.
“If you continue this path,” I expressed clearly, my voice unwavering, “you will not just be competitors. You will not just be rivals in business. You will be seen as sothing else entirely, and not by you, but by everyone you deal with.” I paused, letting the thoughts settle like a stone sinking into the water. “You are already viewed by so of them as oppressors.”
The word sent a ripple through the room without needing to push it. I saw one of the leaders stiffen, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the edge of the table. He recalled how he felt when he was just a young boy, watching her grandparents starve under Imperial rule. Another clenched his jaw, his eyes darting to the side as if avoiding an uncomfortable truth, not wanting to hear more from , yet he couldn't ignore it. Good. I won't let you keep ignoring the obvious.
“You think you are secure because you provide food because entire systems rely on you and would co to save you if sothing happens. Would they? Really?" I smiled, "You know... this type of reliance can turn into resentnt. When people are pushed far enough and made to feel like beggars at your feet, they will not bow lower—they will start to rise up.”
With a minuscule touch, I let yesterday's discovery resonate with them. Using the Force to stir their mories of the desperate tis they had once been, then extrapolating it to those who began to sabotage their businesses, was the best I could think of at that mont.
“They won’t just look for other suppliers, you know.” I continued, my voice steady as a rock. “Why should they? You are already here. Owning what they need. What they are being sucked dry for. They will seek to break you. They will look for the cracks in your armor. Maybe so of the trade deals you are losing are not because of why you think you do." I murmured, planting the idea further in their hearts. "If you give them a reason—if you show them that you care more for your own wealth than for the lives you can sustain—they will find a way to turn that against you. They will find allies between those whose experiences are similar. Then, you will remain alone. No allies, no servants... only enemies.”
Falling silent, I let that settle in them. The stillness was thick now, born from not of dismissal but of contemplation. I could feel the shift, the slow unraveling of their ideas and feelings. Then, I caught as one of the leaders exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples as if trying to dispel a headache. Another glanced at his counterpart, sothing uncertain in his gaze, but I could feel that all the anger or jealousy that was present at the start was no longer present. No, it was... but it was... subsiding. Calming down. Replaced with sothing more malleable. Sothing that can be worked with. For the first ti since this whole thing started, they were thinking beyond themselves. Which was a good change.
I waited a little longer, letting the room breathe. I was about to speak when Vila, of all people, broke the silence.
“Well,” she yawned, stretching lazily in her chair, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “That was dramatic.”
Then, a scoff. A quiet chuckle. But the tension had shifted, transford into sothing less hostile, sothing more open, as the mood was much, much calr this ti around. I felt my face get a bit redder, a sudden shyness overcoming as I redrew my Force powers. Turning to the side, Master Ben gave a look—just the faintest nod, but I could feel the approval behind it. Moving my eyes, Iowi’s lips twitched a little, but in the end, he simply nodded, too, with tangibly less frustration and aversion towards .
Thinking about it... The first steps were always the hardest, but they had heard . Truly heard .
And I think... It wasn't just them who did, but maybe Iowi too.
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