"'We won't be fighting the Sith for much longer, son. We've got them on the run now." The commander spoke with such calm assurance, Des was half tempted to believe him.
"That's not how I hear it," Des said. "Rumor is the Brotherhood of Darkness has been winning more than its share of the battles. I heard it's got more than a dozen regions under its control now."
"That was before General Hoth," one of the other soldiers chimed in.
Des had heard of Hoth on the HoloNet; he was a bona-fide hero of the Republic. Victorious in half a dozen major confrontations, he was a brilliant strategist who knew how to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Not surprising, given his background.
"Hoth?" he asked innocently, glancing down at his cards. Garbage. He folded his hand. "Isn't he a Jedi?"
"He is," the commander replied, peeking at his own cards. He pushed in a small wager. "A Jedi Master, to be more accurate. And a fine soldier, too. You couldn't ask for a better man to lead the Republic war effort."
"The Sith are more than just soldiers, you know," the drunken ensign said earnestly, his voice even louder than before. "Some of them can use the Force, just like the Jedi! You can't beat them with blasters alone."
Des had heard plenty of wild tales of Jedi performing extraordinary feats through the mystical power of the Force, but he figured they were legends and myth. Or at least exaggerations. He knew there were powers that transcended the physical world: his own premonitions were evidence of that. But the stories of what the Jedi could do were just too impossible to believe. If the Force was really such a powerful weapon, why was this war taking so long?
"The idea of answering to a Jedi Master doesn't really appeal to met," he said. "I've heard some strange things about what they believe in: no passion, no emotion. Sounds like they want to turn us all into droids."
Another round of cards was dealt out to the remaining players.
"The Jedi are guided by wisdom," the commander explained. "They don't let things like desire or anger cloud their judgment."
"Anger has its uses," Des pointed out. "It's gotten me out of some nasty spots."
"I think the trick is not to get into those spots in the first place," the lieutenant countered in her gentle voice.
The hand ended a few turns later. The young woman who had bought the ensign his drink came up on twenty, not a great hand, but not a bad one, either. She looked over at the commander as he flipped up his cards, and smiled when he had only nineteen. Her smile faded when the drunken ensign showed his twenty-one. When he scooped up the pot, she cut his laugh short with a friendly elbow to his ribs.
Everyone anted and the dealer flicked out another pair of cards to each player.
"The Jedi are the defenders of the Republic," the lieutenant went on earnestly. "Their ways can seem strange to ordinary citizens, but they're on our side. All they want is peace."
"Really?" Des said, glancing at his cards and pushing in his chips. "I thought they wanted to wipe out the Sith."
"The Sith are an illegal organization," the lieutenant explained. She folded her cards after a moment of careful deliberation. "The Senate passed a bill outlawing them nearly three thousand years ago, shortly after Revan and Malak brought destruction to the entire galaxy."
"I always heard Revan saved the Republic," he said.
The commander jumped back into the conversation. "Revan's story is complicated," he said. "But the fact remains, the Sith and their teachings were banned by the Senate. Their very existence is a violation of Republic law, and with good reason. The Jedi understand the threat the Sith represent. That's why they've joined the fleet. For the good of the galaxy, the Sith must be wiped out once and for all."
The drunken ensign won the hand again, his second in a row. Sometimes it was better to be lucky than good.
"So the Republic says the Sith must be wiped out," Des said as he anted up for the next hand. "If the Sith were the ones in charge, I bet they'd say the same thing about the Jedi."
"You wouldn't say that if you knew what the Sith were really like," one of the other soldiers said. "I've fought against them: they're bloodthirsty killers!"
Des laughed. "Yeah, how dare they try to kill you in the middle of a war? Don't they know you're busy trying to kill them? How rude!"
"You bloody Kath-mutt!" the soldier snapped, rising up from his seat.
"Sit down, deckman!" the commander barked. The soldier did as he was told, but Des could feel the tension in the air. Everyone else at the table, with the possible exception of the two officers, was glaring at him.
Good. The last thing on their minds now was cards. Angry people didn't make good sabacc players.
The commander sensed things were bad, too. He did his best to defuse the situation.
"The Sith follow the teachings of the dark side, son," he said to Des. "If you saw the kinds of things they've done during this war. and not just to other soldiers. They don't care if innocent civilians suffer."
Only half listening, Des glanced at his cards and placed a wager.
"I'm not stupid, Commander," he said then. "Whether the Republic officially acknowledges it or not, you're at war with the Brotherhood of Darkness. And bad things happen during a war, on both sides. So don't try to convince me the Sith are monsters. They're people, just like you and me."
Of all the players at the table, only the commander folded his cards. Des knew that at least a few of the soldiers were playing bad hands simply for the chance to take him down.
The commander sighed. "You're right, to a point. The ordinary troopers, who serve in the army because they don't know what the Sith Masters and the Brotherhood of Darkness are really like, are just people. But you have to look at the ideals behind this war. You have to understand what each side really stands for."
"Enlighten me, Commander." Des put just a hint of condescension in his voice and casually tossed in some more chips, knowing it would rile up the table even more. He was glad to see that nobody folded; he was playing them like a Bith musician trilling out a tune on a sabriquet.
"The Jedi seek to preserve peace," the commander reiterated. "They serve the cause of justice. Whenever possible, they use their power to aid those in need. They seek to serve, not to rule. They believe that all beings, regardless of species or gender, are created equal. Surely you can understand that."
It was more a statement than a question, but Des answered anyway. "But all beings aren't really equal, are they? I mean, some are smarter, or stronger… or better at cards."
He drew a small smile from the commander with the last comment, though everyone else at the table scowled.
"True enough, son. But isn't it the duty of the strong to help the weak?"
Des shrugged. He didn't believe much in equality. Working to make everybody equal didn't leave much chance for anyone to achieve greatness. "So what about the Brotherhood of Darkness?" he asked. "What do they believe in?"
"They follow the teachings of the dark side. The only thing they seek is power; they believe the natural order of the galaxy is for the weak to serve the strong."