Chapter 2
The Light Side of the Force
The sounds of battle roared in the deep green undergrowth and along the white-sand shores of Kashyyyk. Droid armies clashed against the powerful Wookiees from the depths of the seas and from the air that had once blissfully calm.
The Wookiees fought valiantly. The clones acted as they were trained. The battle would end, as most such engagements did--in a victory for the Republic. After all, droids could never match the cunning of a living mind or the gallantry of the living heart.
Master Yoda sighed as he watched the battle unfold from the relative safety of the command center, high in a wroshyr tree. The center was primitive by Republic standards. It was, Yoda noted with a wry smile, a rather large tree house. Of course, the clone commanders had customized it with communications equipment, sensors and computers to help coordinate their attack. The system allowed for virtually instantaneous execution of the directions from General Yoda and the Group Commander. But to Yoda, these machines were an intrusion. They ruined the vista surrounding the living, breathing world. All machines did this. They were an incursion in the Force.
Necessary, this is, Yoda reminded himself. Necessary, but evil.
Yoda pondered the fate of his fellow Jedi Masters who were no doubt engaging Darth Sidious at that very moment. Yoda's leathery face creased even further into a deep, contemplative frown. The plan to arrest Sidious and take charge of the Senate seemed like a necessary evil as well. To Yoda, however, the Jedi Order was on a dark path--one that was brought about by the surest path to the dark side.
Fear.
Fear for the future of the Jedi Order gripped his fellow Masters and shaped their every action.
Yoda had been unsuccessful in his attempts to probe the future. Hours spent in solitary meditation in the Jedi Temple brought no clarity to the decisions of the Council. Gone were the days when Yoda knew. As always, the Force continued to guide him in battle--no Sith Lord could cloud the Force so much as to prevent that. But guidance for long-term strategic planning had become all but impossible.
So the diminutive Jedi Master had relied, instead, on his years of experience to guide his decisions. He knew absolute consent in the Council was out of the question. Instead, he relied on the collective wisdom of his fellow Masters to help steer his path.
But today was different.
Mace Windu was going to face the Chancellor of the Republic. This had serious political ramifications, but that was not Yoda's concern. Yoda was concerned for his friend. So closely had Mace tread the dark side of the Force in battle; so often he had faced the darkness and returned unscathed. Mace had spoken often with Yoda over the previous two years regarding his experience on Haruun Kal and the loss of Depa Billaba. Yoda was convinced of his friend's ability to defeat Darth Sidious. But he worried, as he always did when his friend went into battle, that Mace Windu might lose his soul.
Yoda leaned heavily on his gimer stick as he hobbled across the control center, observing the battle rage on. It was going well. The Confederacy had not committed a large number of troops to this siege--perhaps expecting an easy victory over the primitive inhabitants of this small planet. The powerful Wookiees and remarkable clones were teaching the Droid Army the consequence of underestimating one's opponent in war.
No intervention from me, do they need, Yoda smiled inwardly. Win this battle alone, they can.
Yoda's knees buckled.
Opening oneself to the Force is much like operating a throttle. Most Jedi have a limited maximum flow of the Force. Midi-chlorian counts were the only corollary to this phenomenon and were naturally assumed to be the cause. A Jedi spends his entire life mastering the skill of controlling that flow. Very few people risk fully opening themselves to the Force--opening the throttle all the way as it can be an overwhelming experience. Clarity is achieved on an unimaginable level as the Jedi becomes one with his surroundings. It is...to say the least...disorienting. This is why Jedi Masters must exhibit control. They become flow regulators--opening the throttle slowly to allow the Force to take control. If one does not do this, he could over-drive his senses, which would never do in battle.
For years Master Yoda had opened himself more and more to the Force. The cloud of the dark side had made it virtually impossible for Yoda to remain connected to the world around him. Yoda needed living things as much as the Force did. He needed the energy that life creates. It was all that was real to him. So Yoda had been opening his throttle valve more and more to allow the limited light side of the Force to flow into him. With the dark side growing as much as it had over the years, Yoda found himself, on this particular day, with his throttle wide open--a throttle that had a much larger maximum flow than any other Jedi alive, save one.
A deluge of energy poured into Yoda. He was on one knee with his palm barely holding up his weakened frame. Breathing heavily, he concentrated hard to slow the onslaught of knowledge and power that surged into and out of his fragile body.
"General Yoda," Clone Commander Jordy firm voice called out. "Are you all right?"
Jordy's helmet was on but Yoda could see him clearly in the Force as he looked up weakly at the clone trooper. Yoda could see him more clearly than he ever had. It was a simple thing. A trick of the Force that all Padawan learners master before the age of six--seeing a man behind a mask. It was a trick of the Force that Yoda had been unable to accomplish for over 10 years.
Yoda smiled.
"Yes, Commander." Yoda struggled to stand and casually called his gimer stick to him with the Force to aid him. "Quite all right."
The cloud of the dark side had lifted.
The Force had become again like a vast river and Yoda was swimming freely in it as he had not in over a decade.
Then he felt one current stronger than any.
An urgent pull.
He followed the current's call in the Force and found himself seeing the inside of the Chancellor's office. The dead Chancellor's body lay crumpled at the edge of a window, withered and decrepit. And there stood Mace Windu--his friend and fellow Jedi Master--standing over the body. Yoda watched in horror as Mace pulled his Amethyst blade from the Chancellor's head and smiled. Yoda's chest tightened and his heart sink as he saw Mace turn to face his point of view. The Korun Master was awash in dark energy.
Anakin Skywalker was facing Mace alone.
"Commander, ready my ship." Yoda called as he centered himself in the now. "To Coruscant, I must go."
"But General," Commander Jordy replied, "The battle is not yet won."
"Now, Commander," Yoda replied in a tone that made it clear there would be no more discussion. "In your capable hands, this battle I leave."
Yoda's frown returned to his face as he looked out across the battle space and beyond it. No matter how quickly he arrived, he would be too late. The damage was already done. He sighed deeply as he realized that he must decide how best to handle the loss of his friend to the dark side of the Force.
