Recently, by the grace of God (and the WTS judges ) I was able to be a part of the winning entry for Senator Silya Shessaun for Round Five of the ever-excellent What's the Story feature where fans get to create Star Wars canon that will exist for generations to come.

To say that I was excited is an understatement of epic proportions.

My contribution to this character is comparatively small. To the best of my knowledge, Twi'LekEntertainer did the bulk of the work, laying the groundwork and creating the heart and soul of Silya while ShadowCultist, Master Starkeiller, and I got to add moments in the senator's life that shaped her fate.

First off, I wanted to just say a big thank you to everyone who had a hand in helping me into Star Wars history and, as a celebration to the final product for Senator Silya Shessaun, I wanted to take a moment to examine this new addition to the Star Wars mythos with regards to how my small contribution could have affected her.

Though she was extended an invitation to the Delegation of 2,000, she declined. She felt that undermining the Supreme Chancellor during such trying times was tantamount to a Separatist act.

With those words, I became a Star Wars "author" and Silya Shessaun's life took a dramatic turn. I think that this moment haunted her, really. Silya - based on the words of my co-collaborators - was a woman who was concerned with the "big picture" but neglected the smaller details. I think that she was sold out to democracy and the Republic, remaining loyal to the system no matter what shape it took. On the one hand, this quality is admirable (being faithful to a cause), but, at the same time, I believe Silya forgot what she believed in, specifically, and just began to lump it under "Whatever the Republic does, I support". For my part of the entry, I wanted to show a Senator who, in her heart was prime Rebel Alliance material and who, in fact, had many good friends who had already joined, yet she was unable to for very real, ethical reasons. Was she right in standing by the Republic during hard times? Could she have made a difference from within, or was rebellion utterly necessary? One of my favorite exchanges in Episode III is when Padmé is confiding in Anakin that she wonders if they're fighting on the wrong side of the Clone Wars, and Anakin tells her that she's "starting to sound like a Separatist". I thought that was a really intriguing paradox and wanted to explore that in my small portion of Silya's story. Silya was faced with a tough ethical question with no easy answer.

Also, it always struck me as a bit unfair to assume that all good, noble, just senators joined the Delegation and formed the Rebellion and all who sided with Palpatine were crooked, conniving evil senators. The focus of my entire submission for Silya was that she was good and noble but sided with Palpatine. Not because she liked the guy, but because she felt the Delegation wasn't the right way to end the war. I'm very happy that that was selected for the final entry.

Personally, I think Silya's loyalty to the Republic - as an establishment - blinded her loyalty to the ideals that she believed the Republic should be upholding and defending, such as freedom, justice, and peace. Because of her refusal to join the Delegation of the 2000, she, perhaps, saved her own life, but lost sight of her true values.

With the death of her friend Padmé, I think Silya realized that she had "missed the boat". Her friends were suffering for their beliefs and she had missed out on the opportunity to suffer with them - and to make a true difference. After learning the truth of the corruption in the Senate, she joined the Alliance, even if in a peripheral capacity, and lost everything as a result of it. Her position and reputation were seized from her, but I don't know if that was enough for Silya. I wonder if maybe she would have rather died as Bail Organa had or Fang Zar, fighting for the cause. I wonder if maybe she felt guilty for not sharing in the gruesome fate that befell many of her friends who had signed the Delegation of 2000.

I think it's significant that the other creators brought her into the life of Leia and I wonder if she saw a young Padmé Amidala in the girl. I hope that, at the end, at least, Silya realized the truth of Leia's parentage.

I also think that it's fitting that Silya died after the defeat of the Emperor. It said that she died peacefully. I believe that. I like to think that, when the Emperor was defeated and the Empire was beginning to crumble, Silya was able to let go of the one regret of her life. The Alliance had succeeded, despite her reluctance to aid it earlier. Peace had been restored. And, though she might not have been able to join the fight in its infancy, or serve the Alliance as fully as others, the faith in helping the misfortunate that had guided her throughout her life won out in the end and the galaxy was looking to be a better place despite all the tragedies that had come before.

I think anyone could die happy knowing that.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to be a part of Silya's life and I hope everyone enjoys her story for years to come

Hedec Ga