Disclaimer: I do not own any of Star Wars, the right of ownership of Star Wars belong to Lucasfilm and I guess Disney too. The only thing I own is the characters you do not notice and the plot.
Chapter 38: War to Come
It is the 1st morning on Coruscant since Rachelle came back from her first ever mission as a Jedi Knight on Corellia. Rachelle is sitting in the sparring room. Her former mentor Mark is sparring with the Grand Master Yoda. Not many Jedi Knights or Jedi Master spars with Yoda.
Rachelle remember times when she watches them, she was amazed at how well her former mentor, at the time he would be her mentor, stand his ground with their practice duel. Yoda was leaping all over the place to move around as he usually does when he fights, which makes it harder for him to be hit and Mark will duel him into a standstill bunch of times. In her eyes it is an amazing sight to behold.
It seems like this time it the same way. She sensed both Jedi Master was deep within the Force as they duel. Yoda would leap around Mark try to nail him with the training Lightsaber and Mark would not move from his spot he will block every high, low and medium hits easy from various angles.
While Yoda is in a Jedi robe and a tunic, Mark is in gray tank top, light brown pants with black boots. Even through Mark is not moving a lot, his body is reflecting the light because of all the sweat he has.
Yoda made a leap inward and Mark bend down and spins around in a circle. His green training Lightsaber look like a ceiling fan on high as he spins around. Yoda leaps back and than Mark uses the Force to speed behind the elderly Jedi Master and taps him with the training Lightsaber. Yoda than flip over Mark landed on his shoulders and use the momentum to cause Mark to stumble forward. As Mark stumble, Yoda let out a soft laugh.
"Good, I am glad to see you being a Jedi Master did take away from your training not." say Yoda as he deactivates the Lightsaber and used the force to summon the walking stick which was leaning against the wall. Yoda wipes off some sweat from his forehead. "Master Yoda, I take your words to the heart. You told me when I was a Youngling, just because you are good at something it does not means you can no longer train. You said that only way you can be bad is if you fail to train." say Mark lightly. Yoda nods to this. He remembers saying something similar to that, but what Mark is saying is basically the same.
"Very true. When as old as me, you are, hopefully, still be as good as you are now, you will." say Yoda looking up at Mark.
Lillian rubs her head; just trying to understand what the elderly Grand Jedi Master is saying is giving her a headache. It not that he is speaking another language he is speaking Galactic Basic, but how he is wording it just sounds strange. "Does he always talk like that." ask Lillian. Rachelle eyes narrow a bit. "Master Yoda always talked like that. What problem is there?" say Rachelle with slight harsh to it.
"It just that, it a bit hard to understand, that's all." say Lillian. "You will get use to it. It takes a bit, but it not the hard to understand." say Mark lightly. Yoda was standing next to Mark laughing slightly at this. "Drive a Corellian crazy, at least now you know what can. Do that, just having me talk can. Look like, the secret to that, am I." laughs Yoda knowing how Mark thinks sometimes of Corellian and how they act.
Even through he knows Mark is not actually judgmental about anyone base upon where they come or who they are. It is their actions that get judged. He knows that some people from the Corellia drives Mark insane do to how reckless they can be or stubborn, but besides that he respects everyone the same way. Sometimes Yoda think, Mark is just joking around to lighten the mood up as he usually does.
"Oh, Master Yoda." say Mark with a smile on his face as he walks to the door. The door slides upwards as he approaches the door. Rachelle got up and rushes toward him. "Master, can we talk to Senator Zane, about Lillian staying with her for awhile, until she can find a place of her own?" ask Rachelle. Mark stops on the other side of the door and looks at her.
"I told you, mother is busy for the next couple days." say Mark. "That not true, I overheard you talking to Senator Zane over the Holocom in our quarters have you forgotten I sleep on the couch. You are having lunch with her, aren't you?" say Rachelle. "Rachelle it is only a short break from the meeting. I highly doubt my mother would want to be bother about that right now. The only reason why I am meeting her is because she was planning inviting me over for supper last night and I had to leave to pick you guys up from Corellian. That the only reason that I am meeting her for lunch." say Mark as he crosses his arms behind his back.
Rachelle knows how Amelia is about spending time with Mark. She does not blame her, she went years without meeting him that much and then the one she gave birth to died 7 years ago at the beginning of the Clone Wars. So she can see why the Bakuran Senator wants to spend time with her own son, even through it is not the one she gave birth to.
"Sorry, Master. I just really want to help my sister out." say Rachelle. "Quite understandable." say Mark as they walk out of the sparing room. As they walk out of the room, Mark looks down at the watch on his wrist. "I had to go and meet mother. I will be back within an hour and a half." say Mark as he walks a bit faster to the hanger bay where they keep all the Speeders. Mark got into the Speeder he usually uses and takes off flying out of the hanger.
Mark shoot into the traffic and travels to the Senate Rotunda where he will meet his mother. That is the problem with Coruscant; he swears the traffic is the worst on this planet. Even some of the major cities in Bakura it is nothing compare to the traffic on Coruscant.
He arrives at the Senate Rotunda to meet his mother who was sitting by a golden statue that was put up after 19 BBY. It was done by a Twi'lek artist who lives here in Naboo. It has been awhile since Mark been to the Senate Rotunda, he tries to not come back there to often. As he nears the statue he notice it was a statue of him welding a Lightsaber as lightning was travel across the blade. It was depicting his duel in the Senate Rotunda 4 years ago. He wishes they never put it up.
The base of the statue has a plaque on it, which reads Hero of the Republic. "Out of all the places and many statues in the Senate Distract you have to choose this one?" say Mark as he sits down beside his mother who was eating. "Can't you blame a mother being proud of her own son? To be honest, this is one of my favorite statues here." say Amelia offering Mark a sandwich was wrapped up.
Mark took one and opens it up. He looks at his mother a bit. "So what did you have to do yesterday, that made you leave the system right away without contacting me? Where you set on some sort of short mission?" ask Amelia looking at her son before taking a bite of her sandwich.
"I had to pick up Rachelle and Obi-wan from Corellia. Plus a CorSec Inspector who is being transfer to the Republic Security Force." say Mark. "Ah, hopefully she is good. I predict that we need all the law enforcement we need. The Senate is talking about going to war with Empire. Really do not know why they call it an empire, because if you think about it nothing but crazy rebel group." say Amelia.
Mark figure that much out already. They made an attack on 3 Republic space station, they try to take over the Republic by forcing the Supreme Chancellor to sign over the bill. Then add in the less common thing, is that he have been sensing a confrontation as a war might be coming. Plus maybe that what Darth Vader is good at making so much trouble in war. Mark knows one thing the Dark Jedi and the troops under the Empire command is tough.
Still the 3rd Legion and the 501st Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic have faced tough challenges before. There is a reason why the Separatist fear those two armies. The 3rd Legion was strong before Mark even arrived to this universe. There are many more groups that are close to being as strong. Then you throw in the might of the Bakuran Military now that could be a force to be recon with alone. They might not be Clones, but they fight along the same level as the most highly trained Clone Troopers.
"Mom, these crazy rebels, as you called them, gave us a fight on Kashyyyk. It is not droids like in the Clone Wars. Trust me droids are easy and very much stupid, that the funniness of it should be consider illegal." say Mark as he remembers how some of the droids act when he fight them in his universe. They could kill but they were surely the most stupid droids he ever met. The B1 Battle Droids were worst with their stupidity
"For some stupid droids it surely caused a lot of trouble for the Republic." say Amelia as she puts her sandwich down on a tray and pick up her cup of water. "Stupid but dangerous, a very bad combination in my book, if you ask me. You would think that the Separatist would have made them a bit more smarter." say Mark after he shallows another bite of the sandwiches.
Mark then throws the wrapper that came with the sandwich into the nearest garbage can. "The thing is droids are one thing mother. A droid is program to do stuff, but intelligent life forms can adapt. In a battle living creatures are the best to use because if some they can adapt much more better than a droid that is capable of adapting. A droid does not know when it will be good idea to shot or not. I can give a command to the Clones to kill everyone of the enemy, but they could decide rather or not to kill a child among that fleet. A droid will kill whoever without regards." say Mark.
"I do know that, Mark. Don't you know that the Zane family owes a company on Bakura that makes almost any kind of technology? I also know that droids could be very dangerous too." say Amelia looking at Mark as he watches people walking by. People were staring at the Hero of the Republic which was sitting at the base of the statue of the Hero of the Republic.
Mark decide it time to get off the topic of droids. "So you are telling me, that the Senate is actually going to consider going into war with Darth Vader?" ask Mark. "Yeah, and unlike the Clone Wars, it seems to be a lot of people behind it. They thinking about making the Grand Army of the Republic back to how it was in the Clone Wars." say Amelia.
It is common knowledge that most of the Clones within the Grand Army of the Republic have been move to private planetary and sector armies throughout the Republic. It is not as big as it was during the Clone Wars. Mark understand that movement well, the Republic will need a huge centralized military to keep up with Darth Vader and his Empire.
The only problem is that they will have to wait for a strike or the Empire to make a move. Currently they have no idea where in the galaxy they are located. It makes sense that Darth Vader and his Empire is located in three places in the galaxy. The Outer Rim, the Wild Space and the Unknown Regions are most likely the places they could be hidden.
With that thought it did take Mark back to what he said about the universe, people can hide within the known areas of space because there are still some places within those areas that they do not know. Then there is whole lot of unexplored space around them that they could be hiding. The Empire could be located everywhere within the universe and that is a huge area to find something.
"Wouldn't that mean the Jedi is going to become Generals and Commanders of the army once more?" ask Amelia. Mark nods to this, slowly. Most likely they will the Jedi Order does help protect the Republic. "Most likely. This upcoming war could be more dangerous than the Clone Wars. At least this time, I do not have to do any behind the curtains work." say Mark referring to his mission to stop Palpatine during the Clone Wars. He had serve in the Clone Wars as a General but during that time he also was doing a secret mission to bring down the leader of the Republic and ultimately the true leader of the Separatist.
"It will be bad if Vader is on the battlefield. There aren't many Jedi that could stand up to him and live." say Amelia. "On top of my head, excluding me I could think of 3 Jedi. Mace, Master Yoda, and possible Anakin." say Mark. "Basically whoever is on the same level of skills as you are with a Lightsaber and the Force." say Amelia.
Mark nods to this. As he nods an image during of Anakin Skywalker about to behead Count Dooku appears in Mark's mind. He was wrong, there are 4 people excluding him that might be able to stand up against Darth Vader. He is wise enough not to bring that topic up with his mother. She does not like the former Jedi.
Still Mark thinks that Dooku could be some great help. The last time he visits Dooku in his cell. Dooku told him how he wishes he could make up for the evil he has done. He hasn't spoken with Dooku in 2 years due to the Senate. Apparent when the threat of small groups of the Separatist they were afraid that visitors to him might try to break him out. So the Senate restricts those who can see them. Only people approved by the Senate could see him. Not even the Jedi are allowed.
They afraid that he might corrupt a Jedi into helping him escape from prison. A fear that shouldn't even exist, Mark told the Senate that Dooku has no intention of escaping. There are some Senators who want him dead for all the trouble he caused for the Republic during the Clone Wars and the years leading up to the Clone Wars.
After the restriction the Senate will send people in to ask him questions. Even through it have been a few years since the Clone Wars they still try to get a lot more information out about what he knows. He did help them stop some groups that still existed. After that he just would not talk to anyone. It seems like the only one he would talk to was Master Yoda, Mark and Obi-wan.
Amelia got up and hugs him. "I got to go, I have to head back to the meeting." say Amelia. Mark hugs her back and let her go. As she walks away, Mark begins to think, would it be a good idea to let Dooku out. Mark for sure that he is willing to go back to the Jedi. They might need his help in the matter.
Mark was about to get into his Speeder when Amelia came up to him out of breath. "I almost forgot to tell you. Rachelle contacted me while I was waiting for you. She says her sister Lillian needs a place to stay for a bit. She is more than welcome to stay at my apartment in the 500 Republica." say Amelia before running back into the building.
Mark shakes his head with a slight smile. He should have known Rachelle would try to do something like this. Looks like he going to have words with his former Padawan. Still even if he has words with her, she is no longer his Padawan. Oh well at least that is one problem solve. The next problem to solve is rather it would be a good idea to let Dooku out of prison and join the Jedi Order. If what he sensed about the upcoming war is true, they will need all the help they can get. Add to the mix, he needs to figure out what there is between Rachelle and Darth Destria.
With these thoughts battling within his mind, Mark starts his Speeder and took off heading back to the Jedi Temple. For him it seem like he is going to be spending hours and hours on meditating.
Okay this is the final chapter of this story. I did not tend to bring Dooku into this chapter, but than I decide it might be a good idea to put something in on it. I have my ideas for Dooku and I was debating rather to do a poll on the subject, but I decided that whatever I have plan for him, I am going to do.
Still I do want your thoughts on the subject. Should Dooku be release from prison and return to the Jedi Order and should he get his title of Jedi Master back or be a Jedi Knight?
The next story in the series will be called PD: Return to the Order. I have a various ideas going on for the next story and I bet you can come up with at least one base upon the title of the story.
Oh, just to let you know there is a reason why I put PD: before the titles of my stories in this series. See you do not know what the future might hold and I might think it is a good name to use the same title for another story. The PD: stands for Parallel Dimension. It states that this or whatever story is part of the Parallel Dimension Series. Had someone Private message me about that recently.
Till next time, enjoy and keep an eye out for Return to the Order.