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Good evening, everyone! How are you doing on this snowy night of January 18, 2018? I'm doing well, as I didn't have school today due to the inclement weather from the snow that fell yesterday morning, which gives me plenty of time to write the next chapter of my story. Fair warning, there will be no action in this chapter, but there will be a heavy amount of dialogue in it, as the Dramatis Personae have a lot to discuss about their plans. Well, let's get to it, as I have a lot to write, but so much time to do it in. Oh, before I forget, this chapter will include one of Squasher's OCs. Just a little hint of what to expect. And, even better, I saw the reveal trailer for Middle-Earth: Shadow of War: The Blade of Galadriel, and it was epic. I hope that Eltariel can redeem herself and return home, as I pity her and her endless struggle against the Nazgul. Well, time to write.
(January 19, 2018 Addendum.) Hey, guys. What's up on this cold day? I have a request for you. My mother was in a car accident a little while ago, and she's a little sore, so, if you could pray or hope, as I don't know if you're religious or not, that she recovers quickly, I would appreciate it. Well, I'd better get back to writing, as I have a little more ground to cover before I finish this chapter.
Two Hours Later
On the Second Chance
In Hyperspace
Forty Hours From Caamas
"Well, now that we're safe from Vader and Tarkin's grip, I've got a few good questions for you all. And I'm starting with who in the galaxy are you people, as you don't often see two Jedi, a former Jedi Padawan, an Iskalloni as a humane medic, an Anzati Mandalorian, a fellow human in old armor, and whatever the heck you are, lady, not to mention your personal mutant hound." Saw irritatingly said as he looked at Tau, Ventis, Ahsoka, Jarael, Akuu, Celebion, Nagme, and Butch, the latter two staring at Saw with a heated glare, which he returned with equal intensity.
"These 'people' have names, Saw." Tau said in irritation of Saw's lack of basic manners. He then continued, saying, "My friends' names are Ventis Uriel, my apprentice; Ahsoka Tano, who you already know from the Clone War; Jarael Chantique, our medic and psychologist; Akuu Seii II, a master assassin and Mandalorian mercenary; Celebion, a Dunedain Ranger of the Free Peoples of Arda; Nagme Jamaane, formerly of the Yuuzhan Vong; and Butch, my closest friend and loyal companion."
"Okay… Now I have two other questions for you: What's a 'Dunedain Ranger' and 'Yuuzhan Vong'?" Saw skeptically asked, as he had never heard of the groups or species that Celebion and Nagme belonged to, respectively.
"Trust me, Saw, we'll answer all of your questions when we have the meeting with our Senatorial allies in about two months." Tau said in order to quiet Saw's questions, as he was tired after the fight with Vader.
"Just one more question for you, Ta-" Saw began before Arnine came into view, and began to speak, surprising Saw with what the droid called Tau, and immediately pulled out his blaster in response, shouting, "You're a PALPATINE?!"
Upon hearing those three words, Saw's Partisans, as well as a few members of Kota's militia, raised their blasters in Tau's direction in shock and outrage.
Realizing that a blasterfight was about to erupt, Ahsoka and Rahm raised their lightsabers in defense of Tau, and cut Saw's blaster rifle into three pieces, reducing it into a pile of rubble.
Rahm then said to his five men, "Stand down right now, or you'll all be looking a court-martial once we reach Caamas!"
Not wanting to get on their general's bad side, Rahm's men lowered their blasters in fear of him, while five of Saw's Partisans followed suite, with the remaining ten men following their leader's lead, and keeping their blasters pointed at the cloned Jedi Knight.
"What the kriff is going on here?!" Saw said in disbelief as he failed to process this information in his mind, and continued to speak, saying, "How can any of you take orders from a Palpatine after what his father has done?!"
"Okay, first off, I am the great-great-grandson of the founder of his Empire, not his son. Second, I plan to overthrow and kill the Emperor once we build up a force capable of defeating all of the threats in this galaxy. And, third, if I were anything like my ancestor, I'd kill you for raising a blaster in me in an attempt to kill me." To drive his last point home for Saw, he pointed at the lightsaber that he had pointed at Saw's head, which made him realize that he couldn't beat this enemy through brute force, and that he needed a good plan if he was going to kill this would-be dictator.
Calling off his remaining Partisans, Saw said in consideration, "You raise a valid point. So, I take it that you'll answer all of my questions in fifty days, when the meeting between us takes place on Nar Shaddaa?"
"Actually, I was hoping that we could have the meeting on Lah'mu, where you hid Galen, Lyra, and Jyn Erso in order to slow down the Empire's arming of lightsaber crystals." Tau causally said.
This casual utterance of one of Saw's greatest secrets nearly made him try to throttle the young Jedi on the spot before he reigned in his destructive impulses, and asked as calmly as he could, "Who told you about this, and who do I need to put down before they tell the Empire?"
"No one, Saw, because I found out this knowledge over seventy years from now, and no one told the Empire about Galen's whereabouts until he was discovered by Orson Callen Krennic two years from now." Tau said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Realizing that his growing list of questions that he needed answered before he killed Tau, Saw simply said, "Then we have even more to talk about on Lah'mu. I'll tell Senator Organa about this change in the location for the meeting, and let the Ersos know to be expecting a few Jedi and their allies in fifty days."
"Thank you." Tau graciously said as his crew members went about their respective duties on the ship. Immediately afterwards, he heard a beeping sound come from his pocket. Pulling out his personal Holonet communicator, and seeing that it was from his contact in the Unknown Regions, politely asked Saw, "Listen, do you mind if I take this call? It's from another Jedi that I'm working with."
"Jedi business, I take it? Don't stop me from whatever grand conspiracy that you've got cooking. I'll be with my boys while your medic patches them up from taking on Vader and Tarkin. Stay alive, Tau because I've got a lot of questions for you in that meeting." Saw said as he went to follow Jarael to the ship's medbay, where she would be aiding the injured men and women onboard until they reached Caamas.
Once Saw was out of hearing range, Tau turned to Rahm, Ventis, Ahsoka, Butch, and A'Sharad, and said "You guys want to stick around, because I'm about to talk with a good friend of mine, who I know that Ahsoka was friends with, as she knew him from her time as a Youngling?"
Immediately realizing just who Tau was referring to, Ahsoka and Ventis quickly smiled as they sat down next to Tau, while Butch sat at Tau's feet, and the others stood up as Tau activated his Holonet communicator, and image of Viridian Mallory came into focus, revealing him to be in what Tau assumed to be a school's uniform, which confused everyone but Tau and Ventis. Tau then joyously said, "Viridian, this is a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, my friend?"
"It's good to hear from you too, Tau." Viridian said as he turned to face Ventis, and said, "You too, Ventis. I'm glad to see that you're doing well." He then saw Ahsoka, his eyes widened in shock, and he then gladly said, "Ahsoka? Ahsoka Tano!? Well, it's been a long time since we last saw each other! How goes your work as Fulcrum for Senator Organa?"
Not surprised in the slightest that her old friend knew of her secret identity, Ahsoka continued to smile as she said, "It's moving slowly, Viridian. But, now that Tau's here, we have a chance to accelerate things along exponentially."
"Good. Good. You'll need him in order to prepare for what is to come from the Yuuzhan Vong and rogue Celestials." Viridian said in complete seriousness, as he recalled the immeasurable power that he felt from Sauron during his encounter him in his fortress of Dol Guldur, and the many battles with the Yuuzhan Vong in order to drive them off of Arda. Shaking himself out of his reflection, he turned to Rahm, and respectfully said to him, "Master Kota. It's good to see you again. I take it that Senator Organa and Tau have been putting you to work?"
After Rahm chuckled at Viridian's banter with him, the grizzled Jedi Master said, "You could say that, Viridian. A better question would be why you look like a student of some preppy academy, and not like a Jedi."
"Well, Master Kota, that's a long story, one that I'll be happy to share with you once my mission on Remnant is over." Viridian evasively said as he turned to face A'Sharad, and the smile dropped from his face as he said, "So, Master Hett, did Tau tell you of what you would have become if he and his friends hadn't intervened?"
The Jedi Master sighed in sorrow as he lowered his head and said, 'Yes, Viridian. His friend Jarael showed me how I became a Sith Lord, and how his brother Edaan killed me in order to stop my Sith order from conquering the galaxy. I fully intent to avoid that path, especially now that XoXaan's holocron is out of my possession."
Viridian then said in a satisfactory manner, "Excellent. So, I take it that the holocron is going to be locked away, then?"
Tau then looked rather sheepish, which indicated that something was wrong with the situation, but, before Viridian could ask what happened, A'Sharad somberly said, "Vader has the holocron, and is delivering it to Sidious on Coruscant as we speak."
Viridian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he said, "Do you want me to come in and help you retrieve the damn thing?"
"No, Viridian. You guys have enough on your plate as it is, and Sidious will have that thing guarded better than the vaults on Aargau. Besides, I think that we can make this work to our advantage. Once Sidious knows who I am, he will be so focused on eliminating me as a threat to his rule, that he won't direct his full attention on the alliance that we're building." Tau said as he rubbed his chin in thought as he spoke to Viridian over his personal Holonet communicator.
"Alright... so how is everything else going?" Viridian hesitatingly asked, fearing the answer after learning that XoXaan's holocron would soon be in Sidious's possession.
"Well, Viridian, I can't complain. We got Senators Organa, Mothma, and Bel Iblis to join us, destroyed Tarkin's personal Star Destroyer, rescued A'Sharad Hett from his darkness, and gained a few rebel cells in the process for our Shadow Alliance. All in all, I'd call that a good few days. How are things going on your front?" Tau briefly summed up, before he remembered the task that Viridian asked him to do, and said, "Oh, and Amber is safely stowed away. So, how are things going on your front, and how's Admiral Libel doing?"
"Tau... I am going to be honest... I hate high school." Viridian said, "I mean I get it the academy is meant to teach these people how to fight the Grimm but seriously being cooped up in a class room gets very boring! Then again, I have spent the last few years fighting most of the time. But, aside from that I have yet to find the culprit that took Amber's soul fragment, I think she's waiting for the opportunity to strike, my best guess would be at the end of the year." Viridian said holding up a small marble like object the Vala known as Aule the Smith had given him during their meeting with the Vala. Remembering the last thing that Tau had said, he quickly added, "Oh, Dylan's doing great. He and the 777th are getting recruits from all of our safe havens in the Unknown Regions, and is helping then whipping them into an effective fighting force."
"Well, now I'm ever more relieved that I chose to build the Shadow Alliance in the known galaxy, as I would have hated high school, whatever that is. And besides, fighting is in my blood, literally, since my brother spent twelve years of his life fighting when he joined his Jedi Order, so I'd have gotten bored on the first day." Tau said as he chuckled in amusement at his friend's complaining.
"Well, there are some nice things about it." Viridian admitted, "I am making a lot of friends... and enemies, unfortunately. I have also been getting a lot of girls trying to how do they say it, get it on with me, fortunately Kes was there, and let's just say the showing we made will stop that from happening again. But enough about that, I think that whoever took Amber's soul is going to strike on the Vytal festival in the fall of next year at the end of the school year and end of summer, it would not only be the best time but the Symbol it represents as well."
"Well, Viridian, we'd better wish each other luck, as we're going to need very advantage that we can get to survive each off our trials that are to come. Hey, listen, we'll be heading to Tython in about two days, so I've gotta go. Give Kes and the others my regards, and may Iluvatar be with you, my friend." Tau said as he prepared to end the Holonet communication with his friend.
"Same here, next time... I'd like to speak with the others, also I will bring on Niwen and Jane, as they have some very good news to tell Celebion." Viridian said as he joyfully smiled.
Catching on to what Viridian was talking about, Tau whispered, "Is it a boy, or a girl?"
"Well, Niwen doesn't want to know until the child's born, and Jane's respecting her wishes, but, I have the unfortunate advantage of using the Force, so, between us… It's a boy." Viridian said, whispering by the end, as he did not want Celebion to find out before Niwen and Jane told him the good news. He then said in farewell, "May Iluvatar be with you, Tau." With that, both Jedi shut of their communicators, and Tau took in a deep breath in order to absorb what he had just learned, and in order to figure out just how he would keep the news from Celebion until the next time that Viridian called.
Tau's train of thought was interrupted by Rahm, who jokingly said, "So, you young Jedi are forming relationships, now? Well, at least I can sense that you guys aren't falling to the Dark Side."
Tau, playing along with Rahm's joke, amusingly replied, "Actually, in my time, the Jedi Order allows its Jedi to marry and form families, and it serves the Will of the Force over any galactic government, so I'd say that it's a step up from your Order. To be fair, we've had a few fallen Jedi, but my Order is still fighting the good fight."
"Sounds like your Order has it made, Tau." Rahm said as he rubbed his eyes in exhaustion over the chaotic day that he and his militia had. He then got serious, and said, "Bail told me about your mission to Mortis. You'll need all of the help that you can get if you're going to go to such a locus of Force energy, so count me in."
Tau stood up in appreciation, said, "Thank You, Master Kota." He then offered his hand to the older Jedi, who gladly accepted the offer, and shook his hand vigorously.
Once Tau removed his hand from Rahm's grip, he said, "Quite a handshake."
"Thank you, Tau." Rahm graciously said as he decided to inspect the ship that he was travelling for the next few days.
A'Sharad, remembering his time as a Jedi Healer on New Holstice, then left in order to assist Jarael in aiding the wounded troopers on the Second Chance, while Ventis left to help Arnine fix any damaged systems that may have sustained damage while in the Horuset System.
That left Ahsoka, Tau, and Butch alone, which allowed Ahsoka to gratefully say to Tau, "Thank you for being there for me when we faced Vader, Tau. I doubt that I could have faced him alone."
"Hey, that's what friends are for, Ahsoka." Tau said as he lopsidedly smiled at his new friend, before his expression turned serious, and said, "We'd better get some rest, because, once we finish the mission to Mortis, we need to prepare for the hunt to begin, because Sidious will be sending everything that he has to put us down before we're ready to take over his Empire."
"Yeah. As if our jobs weren't hard enough as it is." Ahsoka sarcastically said before she yawned, rose from her seat, headed to a bunk to get some much-needed sleep, and said, "Good night, Tau."
As Ahsoka walked away, Tau looked at the sway of her hips as she walked before he shook himself out of his hormone-induced thoughts, mentally rebuking himself by thinking, Get ahold of yourself, Tau! Ahsoka has no interest in me, and we have a job to do. There will be time for finding yourself a girlfriend after we've overthrown your demented ancestor.
What he didn't know, however, was that Ahsoka as going through a similar internal struggle as well, and remembered the last two boys that she developed feelings for, and how badly those relationships turned out during the Clone War.
Forty Hours Later
Above the Planet Caamas
The small but deadly rebel fleet was regrouping after their successful mission on and above Korriban, which dealt a significant blow to the Empire, but also revealed Tau's origins to the Sith before his plans could come to full fruition. The leaders of these three rebel cells were busy with recovering their men from either shuttles that ferried them to safety, or the Second Chance.
Tau was also busy with communicating with Berch Teller, who had been told of Tau's lineage through Saw Gerrera, and was especially displeased that he had not been told of this important piece of information regarding their ally.
"Berch, I understand your mistrust of me, which I completely get, but I must ask for your continued patience, as my allies and I will answer all of your questions once we meet on Lah'mu in forty-eight days."
"Well, since you asked so nicely, and since you helped us deal a good blow against Tarkin, I guess I can give you the benefit of the doubt. But, you pull one wrong move, Palaptine, and my cell and I will pull out of this Shadow Alliance of yours." Berch said with a hint of foreboding of what might come in the next two months.
"Very well. I hope that we can win you over, as we'll need your expertise and good judgment in the battles to come. Oh, before I forget, don't trust Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit, as he's just using you to advance his standing in the Empire." Tau said as he recalled Berch's informant within Imperial High Command.
"Oh, don't worry, Palpatine. I'm keeping Rancit at arms length, as I'm counting on a betrayal at some point." Berch smugly said as he ended the transmission, leaving Tau alone with his thoughts.
At that moment, Arnine rolled into the ship's cockpit, and said to Tau in Droidspeak that the Second Chance's food stores had been replenished after the extra guests on the ship severely depleted their reserves.
"So we're fully stocked again? Good. We'll need every ration for when we enter Mortis, as there's no telling how long our ship will be in the monolith." Tau said in relief as he got up from his copilot's seat, and walked to the main hall, where he saw Rahm finishing up a conversation with Bail, who nodded at the Jedi Master before ending the communication.
After Rahm stood up, he walked over to Tau, and said, "So, Ahsoka tells me that you're a clone of the original descendent of Palpatine."
"Yes. I am. But, to be more precise, I am an Iteration of Edaan Palpatine, which is basically a clone, but one with all of Edaan's memories and personality, and engineered by the One Sith in order to infiltrate the Jedi Order of my time in Edaan's place." Tau explained to Rahm, which made him raise an eyebrow in suspicion of his new ally.
"So, you basically just admitted to being cloned in order to betray the Jedi Order of your time to one of the old Order's most militant members. I don't know whether to be impressed with your bravery, or angry at your blatant honesty of a secret that could get you killed." Rahm replied.
"I know you won't General, because I'm going to help you guys take down Sidious and Vader, all the while building an army that can save the galaxy. And, it will include a lot of Clone Troopers." Tau said, which shocked Rahm, as he vividly remembered how he never trusted the Clone Troopers, even before they massacred most of the Jedi Order under Sidious's orders, even if they were forced to do it by a control chip as Ahsoka claimed.
"Why in the Nine Corellian Hells would you want to recruit the Clone Troopers?! Never mind their programming and origins, they hate the Jedi after the lies that Sidious and his cronies put into their heads, and they'd never take orders from a Jedi ever again." Rahm shouted before he slightly calmed down, and he continued to speak in a more controlled tone.
"Ah, but not every clone followed Order Sixty-Six, General." Tau countered, which further baffled the Jedi Master. Seeing a chance to make his point known, he continued, saying, "A few Clone Commandos, ARC Troopers, Clone Commanders, and even a few regular Clone Troopers defied Order Sixty-Six when the order came down, and most of them had deserted the Republic/Empire after they saved the lives of a few Jedi. Oh, and the entire 777th Clone Legion deserted the Empire right after its formation in disgust with Order Sixty-Six. If you ask me, they don't deserve your hatred, and deserve to fight alongside you as equals."
Astounded that such a large number of Clone Troopers could defy their programming and save the lives of their commanding officer, Kota then realized an important question that he needed answered, and asked, "How could they resist the Order if they had control chips placed in their brains?"
"Well, Master Kota, my best guess is that the commandos and ARC Troopers never had the chips placed in their brains, or were able to resist the command due to their greater amount of independent thought, while the regular Clone Troopers either never got the Order, or they removed their chips after Fives was murdered by that di'kut of a commander, Fox, on Sidious's orders." Tau said as he spat out a Mandalorian insult at the deceased Clone Commander, who Tau was grateful that he killed in order to avenge Fives's wrongful death, as well as his attempt to kill Ahsoka when she was framed for murder.
Catching the hatred that Tau held for the late commander of the Coruscant Honor Guard, Rahm did not press the issue, and instead said, "Well, if these clones were able to think for themselves, and save the lives of their Jedi leaders, then they deserve the benefit of the doubt on my part."
"That's good, General, because I know one clone that would be happy to see you, as his genetic source trained under you during his time as your Padawan." Tau said, grateful that Rahm was able to look past his prejudices for the bigger picture.
As Rahm immediately realized just whom it was that Tau was talking about, the pieces clicked in his brain, and he immediately snarled, "Those karking Kaminoans! I can't believe that they'd take a genetic sample from Falon while he was wounded! Oh, I hope that they suffer at the hands of the Empire."
"Well, you won't have to worry about them, Rahm because they'll slide into economic depression when we're done with them." Tau said, empathizing with Rahm's disgust of the Kaminoans and their amorality.
"Good." Rahm simply said as he walked away, and as the Second Chance made the jump into hyperspace in order to begin its three-day journey to the Tython System, where the Mortis Monolith would be located.
One Day Later
On Coruscant/Imperial Center
In the Imperial Palace
Darth Sidious was especially displeased at his two most effective servants, as they had failed in their objectives to eliminate three Rebel cells and capture the five Jedi that dared to show themselves on such a sacred world to the Sith, and lost the Exactor to Jedi sabotage.
He only hoped that the intelligence that his apprentice had promised him was worthwhile, or he would be punished severely for his failures, while Grand Moff Tarkin would meet a premature retirement for his incompetence.
As he considered how he would punish his servants for their bungling of a massive failure, he felt the presences of Tarkin and Vader approach, and he pressed a panel on his throne, allowing them in to face up to their catastrophes. Once the two men came close enough to the Emperor, they kneeled at the base of the stairs that led to his throne, and the Dark Lord of the Sith menacingly said, "I trust that the intelligence that you provided for me was worth the loss of so many personnel."
"Indeed, it is, my master." Vader said as he pulled out the Sith holocron that he stole from A'Sharad Hett, which piqued Sidious's interest considerably.
Sidious then looked at Tarkin, and said, "Grand Moff Tarkin, please leave us for the time being. I will summon you when Lord Vader has concluded his debriefing."
Confused as to what the Emperor could be up to, but wishing to survive this encounter, he rose to his feet and said, "By your will, my emperor." He then brusquely walked out of the throne room, leaving the two Sith Lords alone to probe the secrets of this latest acquisition to their great repository of Sith knowledge.
Tapping into the power of the Dark Side, Sidious quickly activated the holocron, and the projection of XoXaan came into view, humbly saying, "Darth Sidious, it is an honor to serve the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, and the one who eradicated the Jedi Order. But, your work is not yet complete, as there is a new Jedi that is the greatest threat to your reign, one which could undo all that you have in store for the galaxy."
Darth Sidious's attention was fully ensnared in what the avatar of the Sith Lady, and said, "Who dares to stand against us?"
"A powerful Jedi from the distant future. More specifically, your descendant, Tau Palpatine." XoXaan simply said, which, for the first time in many years, stunned the galactic emperor into silence.
Once Sidious regained his voice, he commanded of the holocron, "Tell me everything that you know of this 'Tau Palpatine'."
And, that's a wrap on the ninth full chapter of my story. So, what do you guys think of it? I hope that you are enjoying the "Canon" elements that I am throwing in there, as I think that I can make them work into Squasher's saga. Oh, and, before anyone asks, yes, Ahsoka and Tau have stirrings for each other, but, do not worry, this story will not go above the "T" rating, as I want to keep this story clean. How this plotline could go is anyone's guess. Anyway, Viridian and his friends won't appear too often in this story, as he has his own mission to help save Amber's soul on Remnant. But, now Sidious is aware of the existence of another Palpatine, which is, to put it bluntly, bad. What will he and Tau do now that the secert's out? And, how will Sidious take the news of how he travels with a Yuuzhan Vong and several powerful Jedi? Tune in next time for another exciting chapter of Star Wars: Shadow Wars: Foundation. May the Force and Iluvatear be with you all on January 19, 2018, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!