Chapter One: The Emergence of The Sith
The Doctor had called the Jedi High Council together at the request of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. From what he had told the Doctor via hologram transmission, Qui-Gon had two findings of great importance to report to the Council. All he mentioned was that his findings were of dire importance; he gave no indication of what these findings were even remotely about. This, in effect, piqued the Doctor's curiosity, making him wonder just what it was that Qui-Gon deemed so important that he had to immediately report it to the Jedi Council upon his return to Coruscant.
Nevertheless, the Doctor fulfilled Qui-Gon's request, and he now sat in the Grand Master's spot of the High Council chamber in the Jedi Temple, slightly anxious for Qui-Gon's arrival, along with his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi's. While his fellow Council members filed in one by one, he surreptitiously read their thoughts on the matter, or at least the ones who were open to having their thoughts poked at with a stick a few times by the ever-curious Doctor. He was especially intrigued to read his good friend, Mace Windu's opinions on the sudden Council meeting. Unfortunately for the Doctor's curiosity, Mace still hadn't shown up yet. So, the Doctor's mind wandered to other Jedi's thoughts, until he finally rested his mind upon Plo Koon, a Kel Dor Jedi Master who was never very vocal in meetings. The Doctor was not sure why he was reclusive like this, because he always wanted the opinions of his colleagues to weigh into his decisions.
What trouble has Master Qui-Gon gotten himself into now? The Doctor could hear Plo's deep voice inside his own head. The Doctor seems to think that this is important, so I will trust his judgement. Oh, hello, Doctor. Come to probe my mind, have you?
The Doctor was caught a bit off-guard by this. He didn't know that Master Koon had a sense of humor underneath the mask of his. The Doctor threw a subtle smirk in Master Koon's direction, while Koon himself nodded ever so slightly in Saesee Tiin's direction. Yet another Jedi who never spoke a word in these Council meetings, The Doctor had observed. Saesee Tiin was an Iktotchi who was often considered a recluse by his colleagues. That didn't stop the Doctor from appointing him to the Council, of course, for the man was strong in the Force and very wise. His opinions, however unspoken, were still valued by the Doctor.
Each of the Council members opinions the Doctor held in high esteem, despite their apparent contribution to these meetings. That was only the kind of Jedi and the kind of man the Doctor was. In all of his 900 years of training and teachings, he had never met one Padawan, one Knight, or one Master alike who was unimportant. Saesee Tiin was no exception. That being said, it didn't mean that the Doctor couldn't have a bit of fun with him. And besides, Masters Tiin and Koon were friends; Saesee would understand. The Doctor mentally nudged Master Tiin across the High Council chamber, hoping for the slightest of reactions. Tiin's facial expression didn't change at all. His face remained as stony as ever, but the Doctor did receive a slight nudge that had the air of an Iktotchi.
Ah, so you are awake, aren't you? The Doctor thought, not expecting anything else from his colleague.
Master Tiin politely requests that you leave him alone, Doctor, Plo Koon's voice echoed in his head. The Doctor shot glances at both Tiin and Koon, while thinking,
Very well. But just because this is the Jedi High Council doesn't mean that it's always serious business. You are allowed to crack a smile every now and again. The Doctor would never be sure about this, but he thought he saw the faintest of smirks cross the otherwise expressionless face of Master Saesee Tiin.
However, the Doctor knew when to get serious when the circumstances called for it. Before he could continue his banter with his fellow Council members, Master Qui-Gon and Padawan Obi-Wan came through the doors and approached the center of the Council circle. They bowed to the Doctor and the rest of the Council respectfully.
"Master Doctor, if I may speak," asked Qui-Gon.
"You may speak, Master Qui-Gon," said the Doctor, then adding with a dismissive wave of his hand, "and please, just call me Doctor."
"While on our way to Coruscant, our hyperdrive was damaged," explained Qui-Gon. "We were forced to take refuge on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine." The Doctor nodded, being familiar with the planet.
"I went out to see if I could find the parts necessary to repair the ship, and I resorted to Podracing in order to win the parts," continued Qui-Gon. "The ship was about to take off when I was attacked by an assailant in black robes."
"An assailant, you say?" asked the Doctor curiously.
"Yes, Doctor," said Qui-Gon, radiating a tinge of discomfort at not having called him 'Master Doctor.' "But this was no ordinary assailant. He carried a lightsaber with a crimson blade. He was well-trained in the Jedi arts. I have no doubt that this attacker was a Sith Lord."
The Doctor sensed the skepticism radiating from each and every one of the Council members, and he even felt a little bit of his own. A Sith Lord? Not even the Doctor, being 900, had ever encountered a Sith Lord in his time.
"Impossible!" interjected Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Cerean Jedi known for his sense of judgement. "The Sith have been extinct for a millenium!"
"I don't believe that the Sith could have returned without us knowing," said Mace Windu, the second-most powerful Jedi in the Order next to the Doctor and the youngest Council member in the Order's history. His opinion definitely weighed heavily on the Doctor's decisions.
"Then, if I may ask," Qui-Gon again requested, "who-or what-else attacked us and coincidentally was far too skilled in the Jedi arts to be ignored?"
"Anyone with sword training," offered the Doctor. "It's not that I don't believe you, Qui-Gon. It's just that there hasn't been an encounter between Jedi and Sith in a millenium. The Sith lineage was supposed to have died out with Darth Bane. Are you absolutely certain that this warrior was a Sith?"
"Yes, Mas-Doctor," Qui-Gon assured the Doctor, slightly bowing his head in apology for his slip of the tongue. The Doctor's brow furrowed in silent thought, then he shifted his increasingly intense gaze onto Qui-Gon's Padawan.
"What about you, Obi-Wan?" he asked. Obi-Wan seemed to snap out of a daze when the Doctor spoke to him, as if he wasn't expecting to be even noticed by anyone, especially the Grand Master. He looked up at his teacher, unsure of how to respond. The Doctor could sense the young man's uncertainty and even fear. The feelings of insecurity were lifted when Qui-Gon nodded to Obi-Wan, who began to speak with a bit of a shake in his voice.
"I can't be completely certain, Doctor," said Obi-Wan. "I wasn't with Master Qui-Gon when the warrior attacked him, but I could see their duel. The warrior was as well-trained as Master Qui-Gon described. Afterwards, he was left out of breath. Perhaps only a Sith could leave a Jedi in a state of exhaustion." The Doctor folded his hands, still in thought as Obi-Wan spoke. A beat or two passed when the Doctor spoke again.
"We cannot be entirely sure, but the Council will deliberate the matter. Thank you both for the information." Obi-Wan seemed to think that their time in the Council chamber was done, but Qui-Gon stayed stock still, apparently waiting for the Doctor's approval to continue.
"Master Qui-Gon," the Doctor acknowledged, "I assume you have more to say?"
"With your permission, Doctor," said Qui-Gon. "I have encountered a vergence in the Force."
"A vergence," said Mace, now almost as intrigued as the Doctor. "Located around a person?"
Qui-Gon nodded his head in affirmation before saying, "Yes. A boy. His cells have the highest midi-chlorian count I've seen in a life form. It is my belief that he was conceived by the midi-chlorians themselves." The Doctor sat back in his chair for a moment, thinking harder than ever. This was a radical notion, even for Qui-Gon. To suggest something like that...
"You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force," said the Doctor. Qui-Gon nodded in affirmation.
"You believe it's this boy?" asked Mace, incredulous.
"Yes, Master Windu," said Qui-Gon. "With your permission, I'd like to have him tested."
The Doctor understood almost immediately where he was going with this.
"You want him trained as a Jedi," he said. Qui-Gon started to defend himself, saying that he did not mean to presume anything, but the Doctor interrupted him.
"But you do wish him trained, regardless?" asked the Doctor. "That's okay with me," he turned to Mace, "but it's Master Windu's call to see if he'll even be tested." Mace, as Master of the Order, had the right to refuse the boy's test, but the Doctor could see that he was flip-flopping between his two options. At last, he shook his head in a manner that said that he was probably going to regret it.
"Bring him before us, then," said Mace. Qui-Gon radiated satisfaction as he bowed and exited the Council chamber with a confused and slightly frustrated Obi-Wan. As soon as the doors were sealed shut behind them, the Doctor leaned forward in his chair, preparing for the deliberation about this dark information the Council had just received.
"What do you all think?" he asked contemplatively. "Could there be Sith Lords hiding out in the galaxy?" He looked to all of the Council members in an effort to get them to start a conversation.
"While the Sith have been extinct for quite some time," Master Mundi began reasonably, "a millenium is indeed a decent amount of time for any army to regroup and form a strategy. And Sith are very deceptive and cunning. If anyone could figure out a way to survive for as long as a millenium without anyone, not even a Jedi, noticing, it would be the Sith."
"Good point, Master Mundi!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Anyone else have any thoughts?"
"I heard a rumor that the Sith survived under the Rule of Two: One Master, one apprentice," offered Eeth Koth, a Zabrak Jedi Master.
"The Rule of Two is just a myth," interjected Adi Gallia, a Tholothian Jedi who was the cousin of Stass Allie, a good friend to the Doctor. "A myth intended to scare children off to bed."
"The Sith are cowardly by nature, always seeking to live on, obsessed with immortality," said Quermian Jedi Master Yarael Poof. "The concept of a Sith Lord Master training an apprentice in likeness of a Jedi Master and a Padawan is simply unfeasible. They'd kill each other off over time."
"But it's not entirely out of character for the Sith," Chalactan Master Depa Billaba pointed out. "What's that mantra of theirs? Only the strongest shall rule?"
"She's right," said Lannik Master Even Piell. "It makes sense to just have a continuous line of Sith, each one besting the last, until the two current Sith have enough power to strike at the Republic."
"I still don't think it's possible," Mace Windu interrupted, somewhat frustrated. "Don't you think that anyone of the Republic, especially a High Council of Jedi, would have sensed the beginnings of the reforming of the Sith? How have any of us not sensed their return to the galactic stage?"
"Simple," said the Doctor, standing up from his chair. "They cloaked themselves in the Force, masking their presence until they were nothing, or appeared to be so, at least. Think about it. Some of us do it all the time. Master Poof, surely, understands this logic. You are a master of tricking the mind into believing something else. Surely, you've cloaked yourself in a similar fashion." Yarael Poof simply nodded his head as the Doctor continued, increasingly more excitable as he was on the verge of piecing the given pieces so far together.
"Remember, my friends, from what we have been told and studied, Sith Lords are as knowledgeable of the Force and the power it brings as Jedi are. While they use that power for evil, of course, they carry the same weapons as we all do. They can play mind tricks in likeness of us as well. We cannot underestimate what they are capable of."
"If they are even returning," Master Windu commented, still not convinced.
"You bring up a good point, Macey boy," said the Doctor. "There's still the possibility that Qui-Gon ran into any old assailant who just happened to have an old lightsaber. In that case, we can take a course of action that will draw him or her out into the open. Solve the mystery. Do a bit of wibbly-wobbly detective work-"
"Doctor," Ki-Adi-Mundi caught the Doctor's attention in the middle of his excited speech and stated, "with all due respect, you're rambling nonsense again."
"No, it's not nonsense, Master Mundi. It's a plan," said the Doctor. "Fact number one: We need evidence proving the existence of the Sith. Fact number two: Naboo is strangely under invasion by the Trade Federation as we speak." This was true. The mission that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had been sent to do was to bring the invasion to a halt. When that failed, they brought the Queen of Naboo, Queen Amidala, to Coruscant to keep her away from the fighting and to save her from signing a treaty legalizing the invasion. "If we send Jedi to Naboo in the middle of an invasion, the Sith will likely take notice and go there to try and take them out. Only when the Sith play their hand will we know if they truly have come back from the dead."
After hearing the Doctor's plan, many, if not all, of the Council members were nodding and giving their Grand Master expressions of approval. Once again, the wisdom of the Doctor had shown through his unusual quirks. Even Mace Windu was beginning to grasp the possibility of this threat coming back to life. Which conceived a new question in his mind, to which he asked the Doctor,
"And just which Jedi are we intending to send to a planet under invasion?"
"Master Jinn and his Padawan, of course," said the Doctor. "They have the most experience with this invasion and with the possible Sith Lord. Only makes sense that we send them back to Naboo to ascertain the truth. I think this meeting is adjourned now. Good chat, Councilors."
With that, the Doctor sat back down in his chair and rubbed his temples a little in frantic thought as the Council filed out of the chamber doors. After a minute, the Doctor realized that Plo Koon was standing by the door, evidently waiting for the Doctor.
"You seem so sure of the return of the Sith," said Master Koon. "What brought you to that conclusion, if I may ask?"
"It was the look in Qui-Gon's eyes when he spoke," said the Doctor. "It was a look that was often expressed during my days as a Padawan. That look of sheer terror that the older Masters got when the Sith were brought up in conversation. I saw that same sheer terror in Qui-Gon's eyes."