clonecumber | Order 66 Chapter 9 My Beloved

Okay, I can talk about an Order 66 thing now.

I think Niner is one of the only characters in the series we see able to go toe-to-toe with Kal, and I wanted to talk about it. That’s it, that’s the post.

Here’s why:

The chapter header is from THE biggest manipulator in the Star Wars franchise, about how he does what he does. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it leads into the chapter where Kal Skirata, self-confessed manipulator extraordinaire, is forced to face actual consequences for just a few of his shittier actions. The chapter is supposed to be about Darman vs Kal Skirata, but actually the confrontation that interested me the most was the one he had with Niner.

Kal spills like 1/4 of the beans when his back is to a wall and he has absolutely no other choice, and Niner zeroes in on something he’s got a problem with.

The actual detail of Jilka’s incarceration isn’t my concern in this post, by the way. It’s not about what Niner’s arguing about, it’s about Niner arguing at all, and how he goes about it. Remember the chapter header.

Kal’s opening shot. Tact #1.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he goes for Niner like this right out of the gate. What Palpatine knows, so does Kal, and Niner’s challenged him directly, challenged an actual action he’s taken, more than Darman’s own more general statement of frustration over Kal treating them like kids (which we know is an argument Kal doesn’t take seriously since Ordo tried the same track--literally just a book ago--to no results). Niner’s the only actual “threat”, and so it’s Niner in particular he focuses on unbalancing right from the get-go.

If I had to guess a motivation for this exact wording, then it’s probable he’s trying to 1) make Niner hesitant to argue so he doesn’t play into the role Kal’s just slapped on him that Kal’s masterfully heaped with negative connotations with just one word (”Master” like...wow, Kal, likening him to the Jedi and your much-hated artistocrats huh? No, sir, no lashing out here.) 2) make Niner think Kal’s disappointed in him for past actions and hitting him with it at this exact moment as a blindsiding move in an effort to make him kneejerk want to regain Kal’s trust/approval, and 3) try to lessen Niner’s ethos with their audience and cut him off from support during the argument.

The hit clearly lands, but it’s not enough to make Niner back down, as we see later.

Tactic #2. Kal tries one of his flashy language tricks where he Pathos the fuck out of a situation to try and make his opponent feel dumb or naive or like a horrible person for even thinking about arguing. In this case, we see how it works on Darman, who, even angry as he is, is noticeably impressed and stymied by the speech.

Niner doesn’t buy it at all, though, and calls Kal back to the actual point right away.

#3. So Kal changes tactics. Here he tries to obscure the original issue by tossing a more alarming piece of information on the pile--pull attention away from the thing Niner's actually trying to ask him about, and also give the illusion of providing answers. This works on Corr, who ran with the Nulls for awhile, and who immediately wants to know more about this secret army. He locks on to the shiny Kal dangled as a distraction. Corr’s out.

Niner, though, accepts this information, and then immediately circles back around to his original concern because he can’t be distracted. He wants both pieces of information, if you’re handing them out for free like that. He can’t be manipulated into thinking it’s a one-or-the-other situation, or that one somehow supersedes the other.

At no point in this conversation does Kal actually manage to stop Niner. The situation gets derailed because this chapter is about Darman beating the shit out of Kal, not Niner backing Kal into a corner and forcing him to explain himself.

So I have to wonder what would happen if Niner were given his head when applied to some of Kal’s actually more damaging actions in regards to Niner’s brothers and the Nulls, and if there was nothing there to force Niner to back off. That’s part of the reason I’m so excited about Niner dipping into psychology, because that’s the sort of thing that could absolutely give him the grounding to figure out Kal needs a talking to. Stat. It could actually happen. It doesn’t, but. I mean. The groundwork is there.

Which is why I had to make this post, because Niner is the kind of single-minded person manipulators of Palpatine’s caliber fear the most, and I think Kal knows it. I’m perpetually torn on how purposeful some of KT’s writing for Kal actually was, but I think enough of it was intentional that I can’t help but believe Kal might be a bit scared of what he might have to face up to if someone like Niner actually managed to corner him, too.

Which means I definitely want to see it happen.