Beyond - Legends The Journal of Talon Tantiss (DDC 2013 ) Updated 22 Dec 2013--Complete.

Thanks Jade_eyes, Hazel, Briannakin, earlybird-obi-wan, and EmeraldJediFire for reading and taking the time to review. If it seems like the young Jedi are partying an awful lot it is because I am basing them on young soldiers. Back when I was in the Army the legal drinking age on post was eighteen. There was even a beer machine in my dayroom. There was a lot of partying. Then I think it was in the mid-1980s governors put pressure on post commanders to raise the drinking age on post to the minimum age within the state...which was usually twenty-one. Prior to this change we saw a lot of young 18 year old recruits having their first beers at the Enlisted Club and going wild.

I know Jedi are not soldiers, but I have a hard time believing teenage Jedi are going to be stoic, sober and into clean living when Luke doesn't have the same restrictions on them as the Jedi Order of the Old Republic. Plus in my AU the legal drinking age is eighteen on Coruscant.

But that is just my opinion and what is going on in my Alternate Universe.

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Entry 38

Note: This entry was edited after the conclusion of the trial. I was able to get a copy of the transcripts, so I was able to go back and write down exactly what was said by the trial participants.
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Okay, I need to record what is going on with this trial because it is un-kriff’n-believable. First of all, they finally got a name for this guy. Once his holo was released to the public he was identified as Venku Turman, a con artist from the planet Phindar. Obviously he graduated from swindling to sexual predator. Or maybe he simply was never caught assaulting women while he lived on Phindar. At least we had a name to call him, although I didn’t mind using the nickname I had for him, Kriff'n Sleemo.

Venku Turman decided to bring forth an ingenious defense. He claims the spirit of a Sith Lord possessed him and therefore he was not in control of his mind and body during the possession. Because of this he cannot be held liable for his actions during the time he was not in command of his faculties. This would be a hilarious defense if it weren’t for the fact that he was trying to subpoena Grand Master Skywalker as an expert witness. He wants Uncle Luke to appear for a deposition to be conducted by the suspect’s attorney…who is Mr. Kriff’n Sleemo himself.

Uncle Luke was really hot under the collar about the nerve of this man. The Jedi captured him and now he wants the Grand Master to testify for the defense?!

Uncle Luke got his own lawyer who argued to the judge that, ‘Although Grand Master Luke Skywalker is the undoubtedly the foremost authority of the Force, Jedi and Sith in the known galaxy, he had no relationship with the suspect prior to his arrest and therefore has no duty to enter into an agreement to render services as an expert witness on request’.

The Sleemo countered that argument stating, ‘Coruscant law allows the defendant’s defense attorney to compel expert testimony from a professional if the defense counsel can demonstrate a compelling necessity for the expert’s testimony. The defense understands it can only ask for previously formed opinions and it cannot require the witness to engage in any out of court preparation…but since the Grand Master’s Attorney has testified before the court that Master Skywalker is the foremost authority in this matter…then it seems unlikely any research would be needed to give his opinion on Force related matters’.

Stang! Did this guy go to law school? I guess he was reading out of the law books at the time. Well, there were some arguments over this subpoena and finally the judge said this was a special circumstance.

‘Normally the defense has a multitude of possible expert witnesses to prove their case, but the Jedi is an exception,’ the Judge said. ‘The Jedi are a small order and all Jedi could theoretically be compelled by the Grand Master not to cooperate with the defense. The Jedi Order does not normally give public access to their library and since the law library database available to a defendant does not include any information on the Force or Sith this court rules that this is a special circumstance. Therefore if a volunteer expert witness cannot be found, this court orders the Jedi Order to provide the defendant some form of access to the Jedi Library materials.’

Oh kriff! This is turning out bad. Uncle Luke finally agreed to act as an expert witness. I am sure the defense will call him a hostile witness.

Ha! I know this is not funny, but the arrogance of this defendant is so unbelievable that it is almost funny.

Almost.

 

Guys got a lot of nerve. I doubt any Sith has the time to go around sexually assaulting women.. He's got better things to do.

Like galactic conquest

 

I gotta agree with Emerald here. If I was a Sith spirit, I might have the urge to do the deed once or twice, but most dead Sith have better things to do, like galactic domination.

 

Well, one thing's for sure, if he gets himself off, one of the victim's male relatives is gonna put a bounty on his head or go blast him to Kingdom Come himself He'll wish he was locked up then.

 

Sith did get little Sith maybe by asaulting women. And with his name known - if he gets free or not - he will be dead soon.

 

This guy sure has a lot of nerve! I agree with Bri and Emerald, Sith spirits have better things to do than attacking women.

 

Oh, now I want Sith chasing this fool as well for dishonoring them.

 

Maybe he is possessed by Darth Pervertus.

 

maybe by Darth Syphilis, no?

 

As for drinking in our country..well legal drinking age is 18 too, but it's useless.

 

You have to think that there is a line between just a bad guy and a Sith so it's interesting to read about a bad guy with Force powers. That can be dangerous on a whole other level.

 

From what I was reading is Sith is more of a religion...a dedication to the ancient Sith philosophy. C'baoth wasn't a Sith, he was just a crazy dark Force user.

In the Old Republic all the Force users were rounded up and put in a controlled situation. Luke and the New Jedi Order isn't doing that. Therefore it would make sense that you are going to have problems with Force Users. Humans can become dysfunctional by a million different reasons...death in the family, abandonment, sexual, physiological or physical abuse, or a psychological condition they are born with. Out of all the humans who have 'issues' there are bound to be thousands that are Force sensitive, whether it is a little or a lot.

Look at Asajj Ventress. Although she was originally a Nightsister from Dathomir she was kidnapped, brought to Rattatak and trained as a Jedi Padawan. If her master wasn't slain she probably would have been a powerful Jedi. But she was full of anger at the death of her master and she took it out on the warlords of Rattatak. She was never a Sith, just a very, very pissed off woman. If she didn't run into Dooku she probably would never had become a Dark Acolyte to the Count or would have been exposed to the Sith philosophy.

Still, when she disappeared during the clone wars I don't think she was considered Sith. Just a dark adept. I have no idea why this problem had not been discussed in the books. I would think a bunch of criminal Force users would be just as harmful to Coruscant as a bunch of Sith Sabers skulking around. I wonder how Luke would handle this problem?

 

I agree because you have to trust people to police their Jedi powers on their own, which is scary. I, too, wonder how Luke could handle a problem like that and am interested to see if you get into that here in the story.

 

Just got started reading...funny stuff!

 

Thanks BDC! Welcome to TFN and the fanfiction forum!

 

Thanks BDC, ginchy, Demendora, earlybird-obi-wan, Hazel, Briannakin, EmeraldJediFire and Jade_eyes for reading and taking the time to review. I'm actually basing this court case off a couple cases I am familiar with. One was the Colin Ferguson (not related to the Eureka actor) subway shooting case where he acted as his own lawyer. Another case was of a rapist that sued for visitation rights. So this is not a far-fetched scenario.

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Entry 39

Since I am a witness in the trial I couldn’t be in the courtroom. I was confined to the witness room until I testified. We are not supposed to talk to each other about the court case while in the room, but we were allowed to talk about other stuff. The room was packed with witnesses. There was Erek Gowen, the arresting officer and then the Jedi: Jaina, Jaden, Jysella, Ben and I. I noticed Erek likes to sit next to Jaina and flirt. Surprisingly Jaina hasn’t performed some deadly throat strike to silence him…maybe Erek has a chance after all. Sara Katarka is also in the room with us along with a couple other women (who I assume are the other victims) and two men who I didn’t know.

I moved over to Sara and sat down in an empty seat next to her. Her belly is huge and it looks like she will have the baby any day now…hopefully not during the trial.

“Hey Sara,” I said tentatively. I am not sure how she will react to my presence. The last time we saw each other was in court. I was pleasantly surprised when she smiled at me.

“I would think you would be furious with me, after all I put you through,” she said sadly and I could feel her remorse flowing through the Force.

I smiled. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t know some dirt bag Force-user would make you forget what happened. It makes sense to think I was the father. Knowing what you did then, it would be the only reasonable conclusion you could come to.”

She gave me a warm smile. “Thanks Talon.” She looked down at the floor hesitantly. “I wish you were the father. Having drunken sex with a Jedi is a much better scenario than what actually happened.”

‘Of course that would mean I’m a sleemo who takes advantage of drunken women,’ I thought, but I didn’t say anything because think I know what she meant.

She started to cry and went to give her a hug, but then stopped. I wasn’t sure how an assault victim would react to that type of contact. Fortunately Sara took the decision out of my hands when she turned and put her head against my shoulder. I wrapped an arm around her and tried to comfort her.

“It’s going to be alright, Sara.”

After a few minutes she pulled away from me apologizing for getting tears all over my Jedi robes.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They are extra absorbent.” After a long pause I ventured a question that was weighing on my mind. “Are you going to raise the baby?”

She shook her head. “No, and what happens to the baby depends on the outcome of this trial.”

I gave her a confused look. “How so?”

“My attacker says he is innocent by reason of Sith possession and therefore he's demanding his parental rights.”

I know my jaw dropped. This sleemo is trying to torment his victims beyond the crimes he did? “You’re kidding me?”

She shook her head. “No, he told my lawyer that he'd pursue custody or visitation. If he is found guilty he said he'll request the court that I bring the child to the prison for visitations.” She turned to me. “Have you ever visited a prison?”

I shook my head. “No, not as a visitor. I’ve toured a facility as part of a Jedi professional development class.”

She heaved a sigh. “My lawyer told me I have to be searched…thoroughly. The baby would be searched. It would be an awful process. Meanwhile, he is blocking my plans to give the baby up for adoption. My mom is friends with a couple who have been trying to conceive for years. They would be able to give my son a better living environment and future.” She hesitated for a moment. “I probably could raise him…but I don’t know if I could do it…I don’t know if I would harbor some resentment because of the way he was conceived.” She wiped tears from her eyes. “I know that makes me sound like an awful person.”

“No Sara…you are just being honest,” I said. “I think most people would think that way. They just wouldn’t admit it to themselves…and then they would try to raise a child while harboring those feelings. I think it’s good that he is going to have a mom and dad.”

“Maybe…” she said sadly.

I nodded. “I’m sure everything will turn out alright. The judge would have to be crazy to let this guy anywhere near the baby.”

“I hope you’re right.” She rubbed her hand over her belly. “Thanks Talon. You’re a good guy.”

I felt so bad for Sara. She is going to have to be cross-examined by her rapist and he is practically stalking her with threats of obtaining visitation rights. This shouldn’t be allowed. Why should the victims have to be re-traumatized by the perpetrator?

I’ll never understand the legal system.

 

Yeah, the legal system is screwed up.

 

The legal system in the Gffa is messed up. Coruscant, and I'm assuming other 'first world' planets, all have the death sentence, yet on earth, the death sentence in ALL first world countries (except for the US, and even there it's only a handful of states) and in many developing countries, the death sentence is illegal. It makes no sence to me.

Sorry for the rant. I hope it all works out for Sara.

 

A totally mad legal system. Don't they have a children protect program?

 

What is crazy is I am basing this on the US legal system. Fortunately, although 31 states don't prevent rapists from seeking custody or visitation of children conceived from the crime it is almost never granted and usually parental rights are terminated. The bad thing is the victim/mother has to go through the courts to ensure this happens.

We only executed 43 people last year in the USA. We were beat out by China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. China executed over a thousand people.

Was Tahiri up for the death sentence in the books for killing the Admiral? I don't remember any actual executions. Usually a Jedi accidently-on-purpose decapitates the bad guy before they can be brought to justice.

 

Reminds me of an episode of Law & Order SVU I saw. Same thing

 

Oh God! This is just absurdly! Good thing, that rapists would rather die, than get into the prison, сonsidering what will be waiting for them there. Other prisoners do not really favor those who rape women.

 

I think I saw that Law & Order episode too. The nerve of these guys ...
Great update, though!

 

I don't watch Law & Order. I think they are taking their episodes from the real life court cases I have heard about.

 

Thanks Hazel, Briannakin, Demendora, earlybird-obi-wan and EmeraldJediFire for reading. Now it is time for Talon to testify. Then after the trial I can get him back to having fun. This is not so much fun for him.

I am trying to slow myself down with this fic by writing another L/M love story, but I just got stuck. Curse you muse!!!!

So it's back to Talon.

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Entry 40

The trial started. The prosecution and defense gave their opening statements. The prosecutor said he would prove by DNA, Holovideo and witnesses that Venku Turman was the man sexually assaulting women and using the Force to hide his crimes. Turman said in his opening statement that although his body might have committed the crimes he was not in control of himself at the time of the attack, but, in fact he was possessed by the Spirit of a Sith that took away his free will…and therefore he is innocent by reason of Sith Possession.

Jaina, Jaden, Jysella, Ben and I were called to testify in court about Venku Turman’s arrest. Jaina was in and out of the courtroom quickly. She chuckled and told me Turman was scared to cross-examine her. Unfortunately, he had no such trepidation with me.

“Mister Tantiss,” the sleemo said while I was in the witness stand. “Or should I call you Jedi Tantiss?”

I leaned forward and spoke into a microphone. “I would prefer Jedi Tantiss.”

Turman smirked at me. “Jedi Tantiss are you aware of the charges filed against me?”

“I don’t know all the charges verbatim,” I admitted. “But I know the main charge of rape.”

“And are you also aware that I am accused of a sexual assault against Miss Sara Katarka?”

I wasn’t sure where he was going with this line of questioning, but I already didn’t like it. “Yes.”

“Jedi Tantiss, isn’t it true that weeks prior to my arrest you were brought to court by Miss Katarka in a paternity suit?”

“Yes, but I…”

“A yes or no will suffice,” he interrupted me. “And isn’t it true that you were one of the Jedi who assisted in my arrest?”

I leaned forward to the microphone. “Yes.”

He glared at me. “Don’t you think that is a bit of a coincidence?”

I shook my head. “No.”

He turned to the jury looking astonished. “No. The man doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that he is first accused of impregnating Miss Katarka and then he arrests me. Me, Venku Turman, who is now accused of assaulting and impregnating Miss Katarka.” He looked back at me. “Maybe it doesn’t sound like a coincidence to you because it is all part of a Jedi conspiracy to frame me!” he shouted as he pointed an accusing finger at me in a dramatic fashion.

“A conspiracy?” I muttered. “I thought you were possessed by a Sith Spirit, not framed.”

“Oh,” Venku said in an overly theatrical manner. “So you admit I was possessed by a Sith Spirit!”

“Huh,” I said confused. “No, I didn’t say you were possessed.”

His eyes narrowed. “Then you admit it was a Jedi conspiracy.”

I turned to the judge. “I object. He’s badgering the witness.” That phrase just popped into my head and out of my mouth, having heard it said many times in Police holodramas.

I guess it was the wrong thing to say because the judge bit his bottom lip and tried not to laugh. “Jedi Tantiss only the lawyers can call for an objection…not a witness.”

I blushed. “Oh, sorry.” I turned back to the sleemo to see if he had more questions for me…which he did.

“Jedi Tantiss,” Mr. Kriff’n Sleemo continued. “Isn’t it true that not only did you provided a semen sample for the paternity case, but also two other Jedi?”

“Yes,” I said reluctantly.

The defendant-turned-lawyer turned to the Jury. “What we have here is a gang of Jedi predators who were caught with their pants down, so to speak, and therefore they frame an innocent person for their crimes.” He turned to me. “Isn’t that true, Jedi Tantiss?”

“No and there’s DNA evidence to prove it.” I shouted back.

Venku’s brow furrowed like he just remembered that little detail. He turned to the audience. “Ladies and gentlebeings of the Jury. We all know about Jedi Mind Tricks. I propose that this Jedi gang of sexual predators were covering their tracks by leaving the semen of innocent men at the scene of the crimes.”

“Where would I get your semen?” I yelled out and then was admonished by the judge for speaking out of turn.

Venku turned and walked up to me giving me an accusing look. “Where indeed? I propose that your victims are not only woman, but also men. You take DNA from the men to frame them and then use a memory rub to make them forget.”

My jaw dropped. I wasn’t sure, but think he just accused me of being an equal opportunity rapist. Stang! I really don’t want to visualize what he just accused me of doing. Yuck.

“I object, Your Honor,” the prosecuting attorney finally spoke up. “Jedi Tantiss is not accused of any crime. The defense should not be allowed to cast disparaging remarks about him in open court.”

“Overruled,” the judge said. “I’ll allow it, but get to the point quickly Mr. Turman.”

The defendant gave the judge a greasy smile. “Of Course your honor. My theory is Jedi Tantiss and his two accomplices are using their Jedi powers to overcome women’s objections and have sex with them.”

“Women aren’t objecting to having sex with me,” I blurted out. Over in the public observation seating I could hear a groan and see my Uncle Luke smacking the palm of his hand to his forehead in dismay. I am pretty sure I said the wrong thing…again. I didn’t mean it that way. I was just trying to say I wasn’t going around asking women to sleep with me…therefore they have no need to object.

Venku pounced on that comment. “You never had a woman object because you are using a Force suggestion!” He looked over to the Jury. “After he takes away the woman’s will to object he has his way with her and then he uses DNA taken from his previous male victims to impregnate or contaminate the crime scene to hide his misconduct.” He then melodramatically turned and went back to the defense table. “No further questions your honor.”

The judge looked at the prosecuting attorney. “Do you have further questions for the witness?”

The lawyer stood with a sigh. “Jedi Tantiss, did you ever have sex with Miss Katarka?”

“No,” I said adamantly.

“Are you a part of a roving gang of Jedi sexual predators?”

“No!”

“If you wanted to have sex with a woman would you have to use a Jedi Mind Trick?”

“No.”

“What would you do instead?” the prosecuting attorney asked.

“I would use my classic good looks and charm I suppose,” I said jokingly. There were some chuckles from the Jury. I looked over to my father who was sitting next to my Uncle Luke as he moaned and buried his head in his hands.

“Did you ever do a Jedi mind trick on Mr. Turman to sexually seduce him in order to acquire a sample of his DNA?” the lawyer continued.

“What! NO!”

“No further questions Your Honor,” the attorney for the prosecution said and sat down at his seat.

The judge looked at the defendant. “Mr. Turman, do you have any more questions for the witness?”

“None, Your Honor,” he mercifully said and I was excused.

This is a bunch of mynok crap. It is bad enough that I get blamed for knocking up Sara, now this guy is trying to say I am sexually assaulting men and women and trying to do a cover up!?

I am glad the ysalamiri was in the room or I might have gone to the darkside and shot Force lightning at him!