The Festival of Life

The next day: PARTY! The Smashed Holocron throws open the doors at 9 am. Z's already there. Kedrihm asks about the Force ceremony at the temple. Z says meditation is gay. Dalt: "You really have a problem with the whole gay thing, don't you?" Kedrihm shoots a warning look at Dalt. That's the kind of discussion opener that can only lead to slap-fighting.

The Jedi ceremony is calm and solemn.

Oola thinks they should name the boy Kel. Everyone likes it.

On to the frickin' huge parade. Their actors have a float. Re gets into an argument with SARR. "I don't understand human emotions other than pain," he tells her at one point, and "It's a good script. They send them to me. I am your agent."

Z flies by the Primal Justice float, to enormous applause, and lands with the group. Ree comments, "Well, they were very excited. He really stirred up the crowd." Kedrihm: "So are you, now Z's drawn attention to you." And indeed, now the crowd has seen Ree, she's getting sign-waving and cheers. Dalt is disappointed there aren't any signs for him. Ree points out that he hasn't been redeemed in a movie yet, and consoles him that the redeemed villain is always the favorite. SARR tries to explain how heroes are people smart enough not to come out dead, and that people recognize that.

Han has a news interview where he discusses how he personally planned out the core strategy for defeating Thule.

They attend the gravball game after the parade. Sort of like three-dimensional anti-grav lacrosse. Ryloth Twlight vs. Corellia Scrappers. Ryloth takes it by a point. Z declares he shall drink in celebration. Ree agrees to have one-- "But we get to pick it!" Z insists. He mulls it over. Kedrihm points out the Two-fisted Farmgirl, which leaves her only mildly tipsy.

That night, Ree has a dream about a state funeral, but she can't tell whose.

The next day, the documentary, "Heroes of the Rebellion" premieres. The Jedi don't allow Luke to hide in his room, no matter how mortified he is over Han's description of his early impressions of Luke. Some highlights:
Leia's first impression of Han: "I thought he was a jackass. In fact, I still think he's a jackass sometimes. The reason the Falcon couldn't jump to hyperspace was his ego. And nothing was ever his fault."
Wedge comments on Luke's flying an X-Wing in the battle of Yavin: "We all figured Luke was gonna die."
Han recounts the tale of the awful stench of the taun-taun, after which Luke comments, "He probably already told you he stuffed me in a taun-taun."
Wedge on the battle of Hoth: "Then we cleared out the AT-ATs... And then he takes out an AT-At by himself! BY HIMSELF."
"And then I trained with Master Yoda," Luke glosses over the next bit.
"Three months!" Han exclaims. "We're inside a space slug! I finally figure it out with keen observation and my innate sense of xenobiology." Leia: "He parked us in a slug and he didn't know until he shot a mynock. He spent half his time hitting on me and half his time fixing the ship. Both of them with half his ass."

Luke: "Bespin was, ah, difficult."

Han: "Mr. Natural Predator, born and bred to hunt, knows that bears cut themselves in half and string themselves up by their back legs. It's a cunning technique known as being capture by teddy bears." "And 3PO tells me..." "It's against my nature to impersonate a deity," 3PO is spliced in. "...that he's a jackass and won't do it," completes Han.

Luke: "The Death Star... It was difficult." *stares at the interviewer for a bit, won't say more*

Ree tells Luke about her dream and asks, "Is this normal?" "Oh yes," says Luke. "Oh yes, Ree. I get them...you don't even want to know."

Next up is the closed Senate session regarding the Blueprint. All discussion stops dead when the crew walks in. Ree: "This place is a lot bigger than on the outside." Kedrihm'Val laughs in disbelief.

The Senate is leaning toward using it. A few--mainly species close to the Force--disagree. The Senate seems aware it rebuilds planets, but not much else, so Dalt steps up. "We don't know how this rebuilds planets, exactly. And not to be cruel, but none of your species can understand it." After he comments a bit more on the possible dangers, the balance tips more evenly, centering around some strong personalities. He reminds them that he isn't even really stable, and he knows this is a bad idea. Ree points out, "We don't know how to turn it off and we can't hide it once we use it." Kedrihm reminds them that they don't know whether the energies released might harm people on Dathomir or Ree's world if the device is activated, Oola explains that it isn't necessarily trustworthy because it tried to rewrite populated worlds the last time it activated, and SARR tells them that it is at least basically sentient (in his words, "Meatbags, it thinks"). Kedrihm and Oola pay close attention to who stands where on the issue.

Tomorrow's session is a day of testimony. In preparation, Oola checks the Blueprint to see what planets it tried to change, and the answer is, most of them.

In the meantime, tonight they have dinner with the Chancellor and her family. Ree compliments the documentary: "You were very much yourself." Luke arrives late. They talk about the new movies. "It's a great marketing scheme-" Han starts to point out, and then Luke cuts in, "That Han must've helped with because he's defending it a lot." It was in fact Han and Lando, it turns out. Regarding Dalt, they decide they'd like to keep him with them for a while, if he doesn't mind. Luke tells them that Senal and clone!Dalt are coming to visit for New Year's. And then they start talking about Ree's date. Ree protests that nothing was going on. In her head, Leia says, "Oh my god, it's your first date." "Really?" asks Luke, in the same fashion. Han looks around, then pushes Luke's and Leia's chair, saying, "We use the speaking hole when non-magic people are around!" Zan: "You know what you need to tell them to bring, Han? Tell them to bring pie." "What?" Han asks. Zan explains to him about the wonders of pie.

The next day, it's more Senate meetings. More people are now arguing against using the Blueprint. The breakdown is about 70/30 at the moment. But weeping Alderaanians do make quite an impact. Oola reads the datapad list of the Blueprint's desired changes, and Kedrihm points out that they only stopped it because Ree's gateway was locked. Dalt comments about the Infinity Gate being broken--he could fix it, he says, but he won't. Some Senators argue for forcing him to, which doesn't go over well with the crew, who say nothing but get sort of "We'd like to see you try" expressions on their faces. Sent implies that the Jedi should be blamed for not cleaning this stuff up earlier.

At the Padawan party later that day, Ree gives Lydia Melodee-style Jedi robes. Lydia gives her romance novels (Ree loves romance novels), including one called "Master's Council," which is about a lady Jedi Master with a dark past, and the honest and heroic young Jedi who helps her to overcome it, or some equally thinly veiled "Ree and Kyp" scenario. Lexi tells them she's being assigned a Master in a few days. Kedrihm'Val and Oola drag Dalt and kel to the opening of the Ithorian Gardens, which Kedrihm finds particularly soothing and restful after weeks of the psychic noise of Coruscant.