Wednesday, August 15, 2007

What If...



On Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 podcasting of Voice of the Republic, the guys discussed a question that asked: what if Anakin Skywalker allowed Mace Windu to kill Palpatine? It is a very good question. One that Billie Wheelz and I discussed several times. It's something he and I discuss over a few beers and a few hours.

As on Voice of the Republic (VOR), we will begin at the point where Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Saesee Tin, and Agen Kolar head out to arrest Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Master Windu commands Anakin to stay in the Jedi Council chambers. Fast forward and we find Mace Windu ready to strike Palpatine down while his fellow council members lie dead all around them. We all know what happens. This time, Master Windu kills Palpatine. Now let's assume that Anakin does nothing and walks away. What would happen?

Well, at that point Windu would fall to the dark side. Many of the Jedi, including Windu were teetering over the edge. Now he may not have fallen exactly at that point, but he would have taken the first step towards it. Remember, Yoda warned against this when Master Kidi Adi Mundi suggested ousting Palpatine during a council meeting.

Several Jedi left the order because they felt that the Jedi Council's stance on supporting a corrupt Senate was going against the tenets of the Jedi. If one read the books and comics of the EU, one will find many Jedi claiming that the dark side was now everywhere. While watching the movie, one gets the idea that things are not the same. That like Gil Scott Heron suggested, the winter is here.

In our scenario, Anakin would not need to make any moves. There will be some Jedi who would think that Master Windu's move was unforgivable and call for his removal from the Council. With three other members of the council dead, new members would be needed. This would cause a split in the Jedi Order. There will be those who will take sides with Mace Windu and those who would not.

We must keep in mind that with Palpatine dead, the Separatists would not know what to do. Their leaders all wiped out, some would consider surrender while others would continue to fight. In the Senate, there will be internal squabbling over who would become the Supreme Chancellor. It is easy to figure out who would be on which. The List of 2000, who signed the petition asking Palpatine to resign several of his executive powers, would be considered the peaceniks. They would sue for peace with the Separatists to sit at the negotiating table. There would be several Senators who would not fall for this. This would bring the Republic into further strife with new systems going to the Separatists and several doing their own thing. Now add the Jedi into the mix. There will be several of them caught up in the political confusion and end up fighting the people they were sent to defend. Now the clone troopers would become occupational forces throughout the galaxy. Mace Windu and his Jedi co-horts would have to either take over or dissolve the Senate.

Did I just mention the clones? Remember that they have pledged allegiance to the Republic and the office of the Supreme Chancellor. Palpatine represented the Republic. So in a sense, Order 66 would still be sent out. So several clones would turn against their Jedi commanders. This time however, many of the Jedi would know what happened on Coruscant so many more will survive then if Palpatine made the order. As a matter of fact, we might find that some Clone commanders will continue to follow their Jedi leaders since the Jedi Council have taken over the office of the Supreme Chancellor.

In the middle of all this, we have Anakin Skywalker. His entire goal was to save Padme Amidala and his children. Whose side would he take? Well remember, he has always said that the Senate should be dissolved. That a strong man should be in charge and if no one liked it, they should be taking to the clink (Episode II). Yet his only chance to save his wife is now dead. Where would he get this knowledge? Well, as a member of the Jedi Council he can now pillage the Jedi holocrons in their library. He would have to be made master now since there is a shortage of masters on the council. There would also be Jedi who still feel that he is the One. At this point, they will assume that he should run the council since his militant approach to problems would be ideal in this era of strife.

So in closing, Anakin would still fall to the Dark Side. It would just take longer for him to get there.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Dilemmas and Loyalties Part XIV

As Alef Ulo sped towards the Star Destroyer, he noticed several Republic fighters streaking from the capital ship. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the fleet over Boz Pity would be alerted. He continued on his course. He flew as close to the Star Destroyer as he could. It would keep some of the turbo laser batteries from firing at him.

As he crossed the centerline of the capital ship, he changed his direction and dove towards the battered Separatist Fleet. The Repuiblic fighters followed him. No batteries opened up. Ulo trusted in the Force. In that Separatist Fleet he knew he could find spacecraft with hyperspace capabilities. On his panel, he realized that the Coruscant Dawn was also in pursuit. He thought of the clone commandos on board. Everything seemed so heavy. Everything seemed clouded. Surely, the Sith were behind this.

Ulo had to get to the bottom of this all.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Dilemmas and Loyalties Part XIII

Alef Ulo's heart beat accelerated as he pulled out of the docking bay. He could not think of what to do so he allowed the force to guide him. He understood that the V Wing had no hyperdrive capabilities. The V Wing was not the fastest ship in the Republic fleet. If he was pursued, he could get caught. Yet getting to Coruscant was the key to all this. He looked at his scanners to find that Coruscant Dawn was in hot pursuit. He was already being targeted. The gunship will take him out quickly. He was still unfamiliar with the controls of the V Wing. He rarely flew his Jedi starfighter.

He decided to circle back towards the Venator class Star Destroyer. He zipped past the Coruscant Dawn. It continued to track him but did not fire. Obviously taking a shot at Ulo's V Wing could hit something else. He continued to head towards the star destroyer. He has never been this close to one. It was bigger than most capital ships he has seen.

He headed straight forward and noticed something a few kilometers away. It was a fleet of lifeless Confederate starships. That was where the Force was leading him. He continued on his trajectory and waited on his chance.

On the Dawn, Commander Len knew he was in trouble. Ulo has him in a predicament. He decided to contact the Majestic for assistance. He had to capture this Jedi. He knew that anyone else would try to kill him.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Some treats

been a minute... a big move to Ohio

On Movies

I know this is old news. It's been on several of the podcasts that are SW centered. Skymovies did a survey and learned that the most watched films by men is the Star Wars trilogy. Get this: the second most watched films by women are the SW trilogy. That blew me away. What is worse is that it was beaten by Dirty Dancing. Go figure.

What bugs me out is that despite all of this, we SW fans are still treated like geeks. Like we are some nerds who don't get any booty (you know I break that stereotype completely)

more on this later...

an old school banger:



finally check out star wars mash ups... pretty cool stuff.