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❶ "Maz' Counsel"—The Force Awakens OST

The emergency alert blared throughout the Senatorial Complex, waking everyone within it. Luke groaned and rolled off the couch. Han and Leia jumped out of bed, grabbing their clothes from the floor as the alarm clamored.

Ben cried in the nursery, and Chewie roared. He covered his sensitive ears with his large paws. Leia rushed past Luke on the sofa to the other side of the suite and grabbed Ben. She cradled him, covering his ears between her chest and elbow. "Sh, Benny. Mama's here. Hush, Baby Boy."

When he continued to wail, she yelled, "Han, can you shut that thing off?"

The siren whooped a few more cycles before while Han pulled it off the wall and yanked the wires out of the back.

"Thank—" A furious pounding on the front door interrupted her. "Now what?"

"Senator Organa! Senator Organa!"

Chewie took the baby from her, rocking him gently.

She held up her hand to Han to stay back and tied her robe before opening the hatch. "Yes?"

A young bailiff stood in front of her. "Emergency Senate meeting. All representatives are required to attend."

"Required?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She eyed the young man up and down. "Wait a minute while I change."

He shook his head. "There isn't time."

Luke stepped forward, having just pulled on his boots. "I'll join—"

The alarm stopped when an announcement came over the loudspeaker in the corridor. "Emergency session of the Senate. Base personnel to duty stations. This is a Full Alert. This is not a drill. Again, emergency session of the Senate. Base personnel to duty stations. This is a Full Alert. This is not a drill."

Leia raced through the door with Han and Luke jogging after her. Chewie loped behind them with the squealing infant in his arms.

When they arrived, a live video feed sputtered in and out. Other senators and their staff trickled into the hall as the video transitioned to a recorded loop.

"Mayday, Mayday. This is Telti. Environmental emergency—radiation poisoning. Suspected cause—factory explosion. Our population is slowly dying. Request evacuation immediately. Please!"

❶ Mon Mothma canceled the audio, allowing the video to loop with subtitles. The senators all spoke at once until the Chancellor called them to order. "Senators, please."

Zeshkar Ja, the senator from Iktotch, said, "I motion that we send out an evacuation team to rescue those people." His two facial horns waggled as he spoke.

Grattle Wexul of Paqualis seconded the motion.

Before the Chancellor could call a vote, a Jissk Bachkt of Trandosha stood. The lizard-like creature said, "How do we know what they say is true, Senators? We sent Master Skywalker and his apprentice there specifically to prevent that from happening, and we are not even sure that there was radiation or biological agents at that plant."

With his chin tentacles wiggling, Senator Ja said, "The source doesn't matter. These people are dying from radiation sickness. Whether the Empire caused it or the Jedi, have some compassion, Senators. We must act now if we are going to save them."

Senator Bachkt said, "It could be a plot. The Imperials might infiltrate sympathizers on this planet."

Senator Ja motioned to the silent vid screen and said, "Look at the video, Senators. Those are women, children, the elderly. I doubt any one of them is going to rise up against us. They need our assistance."

Chancellor Mothma turned to Luke. "Master Skywalker, what are your thoughts?"

Luke analyzed the video, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. "Our post-mission report never showed any signs of radiation leakage."

He pointed to the screen as he crinkled his nose and clenched his jaw. Something's not right, but I have no idea what. I wish I were lucid when Naluma created that dome. He sighed. "That shield should have lasted for thousands of years."

Senator Wexul pounded on his desk for attention. "Unless, one of those dark creatures you ran into took it down."

"We took care of them all," Luke said with his hands outstretched.

"Are you sure?"

Naluma entered the room and crossed to Luke, whispering in his ear. "Master, the senator is right. Even though we took care of the three we ran into, there is no way to be sure there were no more."

When Luke looked at her, he sucked in his breath. Even in the middle of the night, she took his breath away. This is not the time to be having those thoughts, Skywalker. Focus on the task.

He turned from Naluma and scrutinized the video for any clue. He only saw the people suffering. "We have a responsibility to answer this distress call, Senators. As for infiltrators, we'll have to vet the refugees the best we can. I can't guarantee we'll catch them all, but it's a risk we'll have to take to save the innocent."

"There are millions on that planet, Master Skywalker, spread across three main dwelling areas. You can't expect us to evacuate an entire planet on such short notice?" Senator Bachkt said.

"We've got to do something, Senators. We may not be able to save all, but we can save some." Now, Luke not only saw their deaths on the vid screen, but he also felt them. Hundreds at a time. He staggered against the holotable as the deaths pummeled him.

When Naluma hurried next to him and grabbed him under the arm to support him, Luke wanted to pull away. His breath came easier as soon as she touched him. She's shielding me. I don't know how, but she's shielding me from their deaths.

Mon Mothma asked, "Master Skywalker, are you well?"

After a few breaths of relief, Luke said, "Yes. But the Teltians aren't. Hundreds are dying every minute. We must do something, Senators."

As babble erupted among the senators once again, Luke thought, Piddle, diddle, and resolve. Not a single thing do they solve. 

Mon Mothma said, "Order, order. Master Skywalker is right. Now is not the time to argue and debate, but it is the time for action. Senators, I call a vote on whether we should send relief to Telti immediately."

The senators flicked their ballot lights on their desks. The vote resulted in a close spread between relief efforts and abandonment of the colony, but the resolution to send relief passed.

Admiral Ackbar took the floor. "Every ship in our system that is capable of lightspeed is to make its way to Telti. Medical personnel will be provided on every ship as well as anti-radiation meds."

On the ramp of the Falcon, Han pressed his lips to Leia's as she held Ben in her arms.

"Hurry back, Han. Stay safe."

He bent down to kiss his son on his head and then kissed his wife once more. The engines roared as Chewbacca started the pre-flight check, making it impossible to hear. Han waved once more as he headed up the ramp, followed by the medical crew with their crates of anti-radiation meds.

A few bays over, Luke primed the shuttle Elenium's fuel tanks while Naluma loaded up the anti-radiation meds. She came up to the cockpit with a hypospray in her hand. "Where do you want it, Master?"

"Back of the neck is fine," he said as he warmed up the engines and checked the controls. "How about you?"

"Already done," she said as she climbed into the co-pilot's seat and flicked the switch to close the ramp. "How many are you planning on bringing back with us?"

"As many as we can fit in here and still be able to lift off. As soon as we're in hyperspace, stow any loose items."

"Yes, Master," she said, as she punched in the coordinates for Telti.

Luke activated the hyperdrive as Naluma climbed out of her seat and stowed everything she could find. It took her a bit of time, but she soon joined him back in the cockpit.

"So, how are we supposed to vet all these refugees?"

"Still working on it," he said with a grimace. He rubbed his forehead and squinted in pain.

Naluma grabbed his arm and built her shield around him again.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. The closer we get, the worse the pressure is. I don't know how Obi-Wan managed when Alderaan blew up."

A few moments later when his breathing had regulated, he said, "I'm okay now. Thank you."

Naluma pulled her arm away from him, but she did not remove her gaze.

"So," he said, "we'll vet the refugees before they leave the planet."

"You would doom some to death by radiation because they hold a different political view than you do?"

"No, but this rescue operation isn't going to save everyone. Tough decisions will have to be made, Naluma." He leaned forward with his hands on the armrests. "You know all about triage decisions. Some will be black tagged, and we can't do anything about it. Let's leave the ones that would do us harm."

"What if we make a mistake and leave someone there who's innocent?"

"That's not the mistake I'm afraid we'll make."

Did you know ...

● "Piddle, diddle, and resolve" is a lyric from the Broadway musical 1776, sung by John Adams when he is frustrated with the Continental Convention.

● I wrote this chapter in 2016, when the Syrian refugee crisis was beginning. It made me analyze the facts of the issue and run the entire question through the filter of Jedi compassion. Before I wrote this chapter, I researched the issue for a few weeks. This research changed my original thoughts on the issue.

● Triage decisions: Green—injured but does not require immediate attention; Orange—injured, mid-priority; Red—injured, high-priority; Black—injured, but either not expected to survive or would require too much of the rescuer's attention and resources to save, reducing the number of how many they could save of the other tags (example: major disaster and someone has a heart attack—heart attack victim is black-tagged due to resources and time available).

Tell me what you think ...

● Do you think the disaster was caused by the Jedi or by the Imperials? Why?

● What do you think Naluma is thinking right now as the Senate accuses her of unleashing this menace on the populace?