|| Republic Commando: Hard Contact || 2004 || Book series || Military, Sci-Fi || 18+ for violence and harrowing themes ||
(uhm... so apparently quotemarks are messing up the cuts...)
I'm still thinking about exactly in what format should I write the chapters, because I don't always have the spoon to create huge posts, but when a chapter or section is also a character study, I guess I have to make an effort.
On the other hand, just a warning: If my upcoming posts seem a little different in style, it's because I type them in my own language first, instead of immediately jumping into English and looking for the closest available words in my own personal dictionary (= memory), which are at most the closest results to what I want to express. So now I type twice as much, but at least what you see here now is exactly what I want to see written down. If it makes sense.
I've already done a lengthy character analysis of Zey before, and it all started with my speculation that Karen Traviss sometimes portrays characters as soldiers who have never been near the battlefield at all, and although this theory about Etain has been disproved with my latest rereading (I mistook some signs as PTSD reactions), I am somehow still at odds with Arligan Zey regarding what exactly the author wanted to portray with him: A sergeant or a Jedi master? (fuck my life, this pun won’t get through in English)
[
In this post] I mentioned a theory that Arligan Zey, even if he has no military experience, there is a reason to believe that he does have experience in areas that go beyond diplomacy and peacekeeping. This… Or Arligan Zey trying to look like a “cool person” in front of the commandos, which is even funnier, especially since we see the whole thing from Darman’s point of view!
Let's take a look at Zey's physical attributes: they aren't particularly mentioned, but there is a section that mentions that he is quietly pacing up and down the room while they wait for the fourth commando to arrive.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
Jedi Master Arligan Zey, hands clasped behind his back, paced up and down in front of the screen, cloak flapping, breaking the holoprojection each time.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
Pacing is usually a sign of people who can't sit still, who need some kind of stimulation, or who do a job where they are constantly stimulated, so forcing them into a situation where they have to stop for a moment causes them discomfort. I don't want to get ahead of myself with the books, but considering how much Arligan hates his position as director on Coruscant later on, perhaps this theory is true: Arligan Zey must have been doing very active work within the Jedi Order before the war began.
•─────⋅☾ Pragmatism ☽⋅─────•
But I think what I really want to talk about the most is his pragmatism, which immediately appears here in this chapter. Because if Zey can be described in one word, it is this: pragmatic.
Pragmatic people are down to earth people in the sense that if they see a problem, they will solve it, and they can be very practical and realistic about it. Logic is in the center of their thought process and yet they often push intellectualism and artistic creativity into the background, even emotions too if they hinder the achievement of the desired effect. And I think it's very fitting for Zey that he just can't sit on his ass. He always has to do something: either a task to be solved, or engaging in something that requires exercise.
Pragmatism is also manifested in the way he talks about other people. In this case, about clones. Zey has a rather acerbic and sarcastic style, but we can already see that he recognizes the existence of the clones' free will - maybe intelligence too. We also see that if necessary, Arligan Zey is ready to sacrifice their mental and physical health, if it can serve the greater good, which is to win the war.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
Clone personnel have free will, even if they do follow orders. If they couldn’t think for themselves, we’d be better off with droids—and they’re a lot cheaper, too. They have to be able to respond to situations we can’t imagine. Will that change them in ways we can’t predict? Perhaps. But they have to be mentally equipped to win wars. Now thaw those men out. They have a job to do.
—Jedi Master Arligan Zey, intelligence officer
Secure briefing room, Fleet Support, Ord Mantell, three standard months after Geonosis
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
Zey paused, and Jusik filled the space. “We have a Jedi there, Master Kast Fulier, but we haven’t heard from him or his Padawan in some weeks.”
Zey picked up again. “And let me assure you that we’ve been searching diligently for them. We have a location for our targets, but no plans of the buildings.
(…)
Zey slipped his hands into his cloak, head lowered slightly. “If you happen to find Master Fulier safe, we would be relieved, but Uthan and the facility are your main priorities. Do you understand everything I have said?”
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
In this chapter, Arligan Zey instructs the Omega Squad on their mission, which will lead them to Qiilura, the same planet where Jedi Master Kast Fulier was killed and now Padawan Etain Tur Mukan is fighting for her life. And I noticed that he spoke about them with exactly the same objectivity. Just as Zey would sacrifice these four commandos for the safety of the Republic, Zey would sacrifice the lives and safety of the two Jedi to protect millions of Clones. The important military assets. Zey submits everything to the greater good.
•─────⋅☾ Addressing ☽⋅─────•
I noticed another interesting thing that was highlighted by narrative, and that is Zey apparently doesn't know how to talk to the commandos. I would really like to write about these scenes from Darman's point of view, but Zey's point of view is also very intriguing how he tries to connect with them.
Atin literally runs into the scene with his freshly scarred face, without a helmet, and while Arligan only asks him whether he's fit for duty (what else :D), Jusik can't take his eyes off of him, and you might think that Jusik is staring at Atin because he's shocked by the scar, but I'd rather attribute it to the fact that Jusik has never seen a clone without a helmet.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
The other Jedi was staring at the newcomer with an expression of barely concealed astonishment. Zey seemed to notice and nudged his colleague. “Padawan Jusik is new to clone armies, as are we all.” That was understandable: Darman had never seen Jedi before the Battle of Geonosis, and he was equally fascinated. “You’ll excuse his curiosity.”
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
Still, I am very curious about why Zey felt it was important to apologize on behalf of Jusik:
1.) Is Jusik's stare is impolite and not represents basic Jedi etiquette?
2.) Does explicitly shown curiosity means that they cross some invisible line between each other as superiors and subordinate? Jedi and clones? Human and… laboratory rat?
3.) What if it's about something much more innocent? Maybe even vanity? What if I’m right about my other theory, that Zey is VERY, VERY trying to look like professional cool guy in the eyes of the clones, someone to be taken seriously? That Zey's cold detachment - perhaps even dehumanization - is perhaps a role he took on because he thinks that is what is expected of him? Oh, Zey, if you only knew what's on Darman's mind...
And from this third assumption, I noticed how the narrative emphasises on addressing them at one point:
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
“This is your objective, gentlemen—Qiilura.”
(…)
He had referred to them as gentlemen. Maybe Zey didn’t know what to call commandos. It was still early days for all of them.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
And that's why I noticed how Zey asks these questions as well:
“Do you understand me, soldier?”
“Do you understand everything I have said?”
This is mostly just an observation, as if Zey is making a military jargon blunder. Zey tries to mimic the soldier-y speech, but instead it feels like he talks to well… aliens. Droids. Children. Mentally challenged. Oh my god he is so awkward I love him.
•─────⋅☾ Bullshitting ☽⋅─────•
So I wrote in a post earlier about
Qiilura's neutrality, and about the fact that the Republic and the Jedi had nothing to do with this planet before, because it’s not under their jurisdiction. In other words: The Republic doesn’t give a shit about Qiilura.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
Zey paused for breath as if to ensure that the last snippet of information had made its point. “Given how thinly stretched our resources are, we are unfortunately unable to justify intervening to deal with any injustice on Qiilura at this time.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
So that's why I had a good laugh, especially after Zey said that this planet is neutral, but it won't be for long, because if I want to decipher this quote into human language, it translates to something like this: We don't have any reason to officially interfere with local politics, so that's where you come in.
——
In conclusion, I want to say that Arligan Zey is a character who has a potential for character progression and WILL HAVE character progression, though it’s more subtle, given he is a minor character in the series with few scenes. But all this is a wonderful example for a jedi who will see the error of his ways regarding how detached he was from living and breathing people. I am really looking forward to dissect him more in the next books.
If you got into the end of my study, I hope you enjoyed it. :D
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