Sascha
08-13-2009, 04:40 PM
So, I was watching Star Wars: the Clone Wars (the movie) last night, and this badwrongfun idea hit me during the Ziro the Hutt bits: a Star Wars, as written by Raymond Chandler or James Ellroy, from the seedy underbelly of Coruscant only glimpsed at in the prequels.
Remove (most of) the adventure serial tropes, replace with hardboiled detective tropes seasoned with noir stylings. Rather than the Jedi/Sith morality play, the Galaxy shifts further away from such ethical extremities; indeed, the deeper underground you go, the more muddied things become.
The movers and shakers would be, naturally, the less-scrupulous personalities - crime lords, the Senators in their pockets, thier hatchet men, and anyone looking for a shortcut past the Republic's red tape. They succeed, even those in prominent positions, except when the law takes an interest in such dealings ...
No one, no matter how connected, goes by unscathed when the Republic's "peacekeepers", the Jedi, get involved. Rarely do they make an appearance in places this far removed from their official purposes, but high-profile cases demand results. And the Jedi always get results. *Always.*
Rather convenient, though, what with their mystical mind-powers, that very few suspects deny their crimes after the Jedi "investigations." Those that resisted always ended up ... missing. Or worse. The Republic could hardly allow the status quo to break, now could it?
But, thinking bigger, what if they aren't just following the Senate. What if the Jedi are taking orders from someone else, or even themselves. The Council is secretive, its membership largely unknown outside the Order and its deliberations largely unknow within the Order. As the Republic's state religion, as well as its executive arm, they are in a rather unique position, should something happen to disrupt the Senate. And the election of a new Supreme Chancellor is approaching ...
Remove (most of) the adventure serial tropes, replace with hardboiled detective tropes seasoned with noir stylings. Rather than the Jedi/Sith morality play, the Galaxy shifts further away from such ethical extremities; indeed, the deeper underground you go, the more muddied things become.
The movers and shakers would be, naturally, the less-scrupulous personalities - crime lords, the Senators in their pockets, thier hatchet men, and anyone looking for a shortcut past the Republic's red tape. They succeed, even those in prominent positions, except when the law takes an interest in such dealings ...
No one, no matter how connected, goes by unscathed when the Republic's "peacekeepers", the Jedi, get involved. Rarely do they make an appearance in places this far removed from their official purposes, but high-profile cases demand results. And the Jedi always get results. *Always.*
Rather convenient, though, what with their mystical mind-powers, that very few suspects deny their crimes after the Jedi "investigations." Those that resisted always ended up ... missing. Or worse. The Republic could hardly allow the status quo to break, now could it?
But, thinking bigger, what if they aren't just following the Senate. What if the Jedi are taking orders from someone else, or even themselves. The Council is secretive, its membership largely unknown outside the Order and its deliberations largely unknow within the Order. As the Republic's state religion, as well as its executive arm, they are in a rather unique position, should something happen to disrupt the Senate. And the election of a new Supreme Chancellor is approaching ...