It was typical of him to be unostentatious in his travel, and, for that matter, in his dress. He wore simple slacks and a suit coat over a white dress shirt, untucked, unbuttoned about the neck, with no tie. He also had a modest beard, but whether this was deliberate or, rather, the result of the long flight to Ossus, one couldn't be sure. He brought no security guards with him; only a pilot and a reporter from RNN, both friends of his. He noticed Ben, the waiter, then squeezed Ilanah's shoulder affectionately and moved away for a drink. He could be heard for a moment asking the waiter, as usual, for coffee. Black coffee. The waiter left to retrieve him some, and Fitzgerald returned to the Senators a moment later. "Well, we all heard Skywalker," he said. "Should we begin?"

"It seems to me," he began, "that the problem with the Jedi is and always has been about trust. It works two ways, I think; 1.) the people don't feel like they can trust the Jedi and, 2.) the way I see it, a lot of the time the Jedi don't feel like they can trust the people, the government, and the law. These are related, of course, but I think they should be considered separately. I'm sure Crion probably means to arrange the summit along these lines. So, as for the first point," he shrugged in a resigned way, "I consider myself a friend of the Jedi, but even I admit there are a lot of reasons that people, even reasonable people, don't trust the Jedi—especially people, I think most people, who don't understand the nuances of Jedi teachings. But obviously, the Jedi are faster, stronger, and sharper than most citizens. They can read and influence people's minds. This alone makes most people feel uncomfortable."

"And then there are, well, 'incidents' that have happened recently. Kyp Durron hijacked an Imperial superweapon and blew up Carida, as we all remember. He did it under the influence of that Sith, what was his name, Kun. But most people don't believe that. It is hard to believe. The last I heard, only 13% believe that Palpatine was 'resurrected,' and something like 48% think that Luke, that is, Master Skywalker, isn't telling the whole truth about his fall to the Dark Side and his seeming defection to the Empire, what was it, nine years ago. And there are small, but determined demonstrations on Coruscant every single day against Councilor Organa Solo, a Jedi, being in the Senate. Hell, when Luke was married to Mara Jade a few months ago, some people were saying it was going to be a 'new Empire.'"

"I don't mention this because I support any of it," Eli said, waving a hand dismissively, "but rather to make the point that it's not only bigots who distrust the Jedi. Crion is right that this could become a serious problem in the next 5 or 10 years if it's not addressed. Luke has told me, and I'm sure he'd mention this if he was here, and Ilanah, you probably know this already, that in these last few months since the Caamas crisis he's been making an effort not to use the Force more than he has to. Especially not to read into people's thoughts, or to influence them. He's also encouraged his students not to, and I think it's important that the public knows this. There's no guarantee that a Jedi will always use the Force responsibly and ethically—there's always a Durron out there, or a Desann or a Dal Konur, etc. But if the people know that the Jedi hold themselves to high standards, the next time a Jedi goes rogue or falls to the Dark Side, hopefully the people will understand this for what it is; an exception to the norm."

"I've said a lot," he noted, somewhat sheepishly as he scooped up his cup of coffee and leaned back in his chair, "I should let someone else speak."