IC: Chapter I - Planet Gamorr, National Archive

Date, GRS 16:5:15
Location, Planet Gamorr - "Her Lady's Most Glorious National Gamorrean Archive"

After having spent nearly a week now in Jugsmuk Station - sitting in some sort of diplomatic limbo, it is perhaps a relief to be out in Gamorr-proper.

Master Daru had certainly kept you all busy with readings, meditations, and military lectures, but one can only take so much - especially being limited to the Holding Areas of the spaceport as you all had been... That said, the literal looming shadow of the towering planetary defense cannon - visible outside the Archive window - lessens that relief considerably.

You are all sitting in a communications room, in Her Lady's Most Glorious National Archive. The Archive is an institution of learning and governmental administration for the Gamorreans, and it sits adjacent to the Citadel which is the Gamorrean capital building and seat of power, politically and militarily (as the two are basically one here).

For now, it is just Master Daru, her two Jedi Knight "guards" - though in your experience they're really just there to serve as baby-sitters over you all - and the five of you.

You know that your reasons for being here are two-fold:

Ostensibly, you are all here for an "academic" visit/study of Carnuss Gorgull - an ancient temple-fortress that was the seat of power for certain historic Gamorrean Warlords. But this was truly just a flimsy premise the Jedi were using to get their foot in the door for diplomatic talks. And it appears to have worked...

With the exception of a handful of mercenary Tribes, the Gamorreans had remained more or less neutral in the Republic's conflicts with the Separatists. The Jedi hoped to change that. And that was the true purpose of your presence on Gamorr: to muster Gamorrean opposition of the Separatists. Or at the very least, to solidify genuine neutrality.

You all came to the Archive today, on invite from the Matriarch herself, to finalize terms of access to the temple-fortress, and for an introduction of your contingent to the Gamorrean historians who care for Carnuss.

But now Master Daru sits, listening intently to a private comm-relay, with a growing look of concern darkening her face.

Man everyone is one edge, standing up J'errel starts stretching his back and arms. Alright fine, but I would rather go ahead and find the trouble before trouble finds me. He walks up to join Juno next to the window. Definitely different than Mandalore and Courscant. he says under his breath looking about the landscape outside.

Raze chuckles and nods toward their master. "Looks like Master Daru may have already found some trouble for us..."

In your few months under her... command? tutelage? watch? (it's rather hard to classify exactly what the structure is here, as it is multi-lateral and variable) ... you have found Jedi Master Eleena Daru to be hard, focused, and fair. At times you think you might have glimpsed a less rigid girl beneath, but you can tell the realities of war have made her into someone new, perhaps even to herself. You'd guess she is in her mid to late-twenties, possibly older. And you can't think of any time you've seen her outside of her armored Jedi robes, with her guard-hilt shoto lightsaber and blaster pistol on her belt.

As her conversation goes on, too low to follow, her eyes flick occasional glances at Cas that belie a mild annoyance. Her eyes smolder with the same annoyance at J'errel's veiled complaint.

Soldiers of this lot? How can they expect me to forge a razor's edge out of stone!

Master Daru spits out a few final words of Huttese into the comm, still unintelligible. Then she pops the "pommel" of her comm on the table before her, simultaneously switching it off, and also making a sharp, metallic CRACK!! like a gavel's wrap, to draw everyone's attention.

"IF you believe you are expendable, Ms. Cas'sarin, then I suggest you do your vaping-best to prove the facts to be otherwise...", she snaps.

With barely a hesitation she continues, "Now! There has been a development.

Not trouble, really, but an opportunity as I see it...

It sounds as though significant portions of the gamorrean public has taken exception to our presence here in the Archive. There are several crowds gathering and protesting the Republic, and Gamorr's involvement with it, right now it seems at various points around this building and the Citadel.

I have offered the Mother Supreme our aid in the matter... particularly, I've offered to dispatch personnel to the freight-bay rotunda area, as that is between here and our ship... You all remember. Where we entered from?

The Archive Guard has been notified, they'll be expecting you. They are first tasked with protecting this building and the lives inside it... you all are to go down there, and aid them in this endeavor, if it comes to that. But there has been no violence yet. Under no circumstances though are you to kill a gamorrean - the repercussions would simply be out of my hands. I know that sounds to be an eminently precarious position I'm placing you in, but that's what I need of you. Because while they are not necessarily a simple species, they will respect and appreciate us standing by them as allies like this with no formal obligation to do so, even if their public does not. And we are wooing the Mother Supreme, for now, not her people.

If there is something you can do to defray the situation, do it - some of you must speak Huttese, if not gamorrean, yes? Many of their species understand some Galactic Basic these days, but it's not their strong suit... Remember, we are ostensibly here as academics. Lean on that. Otherwise, aid Her Guard. ... And stay safe yourselves.

If things escalate too far, retreat. I'd urge you not to do so before the gamorreans, it would be shameful in their eyes. But we must make the effort, and we don't want anyone killed over this."

Her eyes are hard and her jaw set, she looks across you all expectantly.

Master Daru nods to Raze's question, "The Gamorreans are very tribal, they never developed space travel on their own, they were discovered by the galactic community, and there has always been a sizable portion of their people that have always viewed themselves as having been violated by that greater Galactic-community. Bringing rapid change and knowledge that they really weren't prepared for, from a civilizational-development standpoint.

They have only been a "galactic citizen" so to speak, for around 4,000 standard years - that's how recently they were discovered. There has been a galactic governing body in some form, of course, for 25,000 years...

They've only had a unified planetary government for less than 200 years. And that is still in a near constant state of collapse, due to their millennia of history of being nothing more than a planet of warring Tribes.

And no, Cas'sarin, you are not correct. The Jedi have certainly never tried to colonize Gamorr, and have no desire to do so. And the Republic has only really done so in a technological economic-market sense. Gamorr's permanent population of some 500 million is statistically as good as 100% Gamorrean. It's one of the least diversified planets in the Galaxy.

But as I mentioned, they are a considerable fighting force, and the Republic does not want them as enemies...

Now, if there are no other concerns...?"