Deep in the recesses of the business district of Coruscant, Ford pressed the lone button on the side of a large door that served as the entrance into a vast, abandoned warehouse. The door opened up, and Ford, Plagueis, and Five-U entered, observing the sparse, empty environment.
"This was one of the few structures on the planet to survive the seismic and volcanic activities that occurred about a year ago," Ford explained as the three of them began traveling the length of the warehouse. "As you can see, given that I own this building, I reserved it just in case you, Lord Plagueis, wanted to continue your research for immortality."
"It will do just fine for my research into controlling all of reality," Plagueis said. "A lot of space, a lot of room, no one to question any activity that would go on here. It's just perfect."
"I'm glad you think so," Ford said as he stopped and turned around to face his Master. "So, what should we do now?"
"We get started as soon as possible," Plagueis answered without hesitation.
"Of course," Ford said. "And how do you suppose we do that?"
"Well, Captain, I don't suppose you happen to know anything about physics, do you?" Plagueis retorted.
"In all my years of activity," Ford said, "I've grown quite an expansive load of knowledge of pretty much all subjects, so I would consider myself as much an expert in physics as any professor in that field."
"Excellent," Plagueis said. "So why don't we start there, with you teaching me the rudimentary material before we learn our way to the more advanced content."
"You mean," Ford said, "you would consider yourself... a student of mine?"
"In terms of physics, yes," Plagueis answered.
"Oh," Ford said, feeling flustered. "Well, in order to do that, I would need some time to set up some things..."
"What did I say about time concerning me?" Plagueis interrupted.
"Oh, yes, of course," Ford replied. "You're very patient."
.
A solemn air hung over the grounds of the Shedu Maad Jedi Academy, with the few hundred Jedi in the entire Order all gathered before the front entryway of the Temple. With them were so many non-Jedi who had familial and friendly connections with those being honored on this day. Not a word was spoken, for none needed to be said; even without the Force conveying the emotions that the Jedi shared among each other, grief permeated the souls of every individual, Force-sensitive and non-Force-sensitive alike. Their expressions couldn't convey that agony better than if they had all been deliberately synchronized in a hive mind.
A hive mind - the reason that this gathering was now taking place.
A few meters from the front of the crowd, holographic photos of those who fell from the recent crisis with the Killiks rested for all to see on this sad occasion. Among the most prominent were the Jedi Masters who died: Saba Sebatyne, Kyp Durron, Octa Ramis, Kyle Katarn, Corran Horn, and Jaina Solo Fel and her non-Force-sensitive husband Jag; Jedi Knights Ben Skywalker and Leia Organa Solo; honorary Jedi Han Solo; and last, but certainly not least, was the Order's very own Grand Master, Luke Skywalker, centered out among all the others.
Standing over the shimmering photos of the departed was a classic wooden podium that the Order's latest Grand Master, an alternate reality version of Kenth Hamner, climbed up to the top of so that he could look out among all the Jedi who were present. His expression was no more or less grief-stricken than anyone else.
He took his eyes away from the Jedi and took out a piece of folded flimsiplast that he opened up and laid on top of the podium's stand. He began reading aloud into the microphone placed on the stand.
"We, the Jedi Order, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, as well as our fellow friends and allies, are gathered here today to honor those who gave their lives in the name of those values," Hamner began. "Who perished to protect the galaxy from those seeking destruction. Who died for what they believed in. Who will be known as heroes from now 'til the end of this Order's existence. While I may not have lived long in this reality myself, I can safely say that if those who we honor here today were anything like those I knew back where I came from, then they were, indeed, heroes.
"And I have absolutely no doubt, at all, whatsoever, that they were anything but that. Some of them went down with very little time to build themselves as the noble guardians that they proved themselves to be; others lived in notoriety for what they did for the galaxy. Regardless of their accomplishments or faults, these heroes have shown that though we maybe vulnerable, even with the Force as our ally, we are still strong because of the Force as our ally. And whether or not the Order itself will last, one thing remains certain, as long as the Force is always with life itself...
"There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no death, there is the Force."
.
Allana, isolated and seated in a corner of her bedroom, used the Force to destroy the comm unit placed in her lap, which she was just using to watch the broadcast of the Jedi service on Shedu Maad. She gritted her teeth in anger before throwing the ruined unit to the other side of the room.
How dare Hamner have the gall to end that ceremony with those words, she thought bitterly. They were the biggest lies in the universe, and yet, the Jedi, purveyors of truth they were, regarded it as the very representation that their Order stood for.
Right now, emotion was all that Allana had right now. Ignorance of what to do with herself, with all that she lost, took hold of her being. Passion, the love she felt for those who were now gone, was left to writhe painfully in her being. Death...
Death. Death, Allana came to realize, was the only truth in all of existence.