3643-Tython, the gates of the Jedi palace.
"Master Shemric, the Grand Master has sent for you!" said a youngling who ran up all out of breath.
Shem nodded and extinguished his saber. "Then I shall go to her." He had been training with some younglings on the practice field.
"At the front gate, sir," said the youngling. "There is a Sith there asking for you."
Shem blinked in surprise and then reached out his consciousness to sense Julienne. Nothing. She was holding herself in. Well, she had said she would come to him on Tython.
He jogged steadily through the temple until he approached the front doors and then slowed to a walk to take in the scene. Julienne was standing a few meters from the steps, hands at her sides, waiting. Grand Master Shan was waiting at the top of the steps surrounded by a dozen Jedi guards who were all gripping their lightsabers with white knuckles.
He started in surprise. Shem had not known that Master Shan had returned. He walked past them all to the bottom of the steps to regard Julienne.
When he saw here, just for a moment, he wondered if he had lost her again. She did not look like Julienne that he remembered. There was something … ominous about her. She was dressed in red and black Sith battle armor with a hood and cape that could be easily discarded and a battle skirt that just covered her thighs.
They stared at each other as if sizing up what they were seeing and wondering if it was going to be enough. Finally, she spoke, but not with her voice.
I told you I would come to you on Tython. It is time.
So you did. Do I need to leave with you or is there more afoot here? he asked.
I need to speak with your Grand Master. We need more allies. I have failed to gather more than a handful of Sith to oppose the Emperor and we are hunted even now.
Shem nodded and turned to the grand master with a bow. "Grand Master Shan, my Lord Darth Monikas requests a moment of your time to discuss a matter of grave mutual importance."
Shan smiled and the other Jedi tensed. She gestured to the others then, and asked them to put the Temple on further alert. "Come then, Master Norm. Lord Monikas. Let us discuss this matter in private." The guards looked shocked but she gestured to Julienne to follow and turned to walk away. Julienne came to him and fell in step.
Nice outfit, he said. Sexy and intimidating.
I am glad you like it, she said. Shem was not the more psionically gifted, but it did not take much to see that Julienne's relaxed exterior covered a storm of emotions underneath.
As they traveled further into the temple, they hardly noticed the astonished looks of the passers-by who stared openly at a Sith accompanying the grand master and Shemric. Finally, she spoke again.
Will she listen, your Grand Master, asked Julienne?
I think she will, said Shem. She has always been quite amenable to persuasion if led to it.
She did not seem overly surprised to see me, said Julienne
We have discussed you.
I told you not to mention this to her, she said sharply.
Discussed you in a general sense, he amended. She senses that something is coming and did not want to be caught off guard.
In a few minutes they were at her office door and the guards there were clearly loath to let the Sith pass.
"Come," said Shan. "I sense an urgency about you. Let us discuss what needs to be discussed."
When they had sat across from each other on the low, hard chairs in her office, Julienne began without preamble.
"I have come to seek your help and that of the Jedi, Grand Master," she said. "There is a very great threat in the form of the Sith Emperor and I have put all the pieces in play that I can muster against him. Unfortunately, few among the Sith agree with me and I brought fewer than twenty allies with me. All Lords or very accomplished warriors, but we need more. We intend to assault the Emperor's citadel and bring an end to him."
Shan just looked at her for several long moments. "How do you plan to actually destroy the Emperor? He is said to have near-limitless power."
"Shemric is the key," said Julienne. "He can drain the Emperor's power so that he can be destroyed."
That is your plan!? To use my parlor trick to destroy the most powerful being in the galaxy!
It is not a trick, said Julienne calmly. It is a gift. And you have been working to make it more effective. Hush now and calm yourself. She needs to see you confident.
"Shem tells me you have visions; have you seen this?" asked Shan.
Now who has been sharing our secrets, asked Julienne with a raised eyebrow?
It came up. They were trying to understand us, said Shem. Julienne's mental snort made his head ring, even without making a sound.
"If Shem told you that much, then he must have told you that he is outside my field of sight," said Julienne. "I cannot see him, but I believe that is what can and must happen. We must breach the outer perimeter, fight the Sith warriors and Lords he will have assembled and give Shem an opportunity to defeat him."
Shan considered first Julienne, then Shem for a few moments before nodding. "Very well, what do you need?"
Julienne's eyes widened. "Just like that?"
"What did you expect Lord Monikas?" asked Shan.
Julienne snorted out loud this time. "I expected to fight my way out of the temple and maybe not even escape the planet."
"Was that a vision or a suspicion?" asked Shan.
"A suspicion," admitted Julienne.
"Well, I have expected something momentous for some time and I thought that Shem would be at the heart of it," said Shan. "So I ask again, what do you need?"
"As many Masters as will come with us on this raid," said Julienne. "I have not seen a great army. Just a handful, really."
"And you seem to be in a rush…" said Shan.
"The Emperor's agents have been tailing us closely," said Julienne. "I suspect they are even now contemplating what sort of incident it will provoke if they make planetfall and attack the Jedi Temple."
"Then give me thirty minutes," said Shan. "I will send word and try to persuade as many as I can. You have a ship, I assume?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Julienne.
"Then please, go with Shem and stay out of sight for a bit," said Shan. "Meet us on the front steps in 30 minutes."
"Thank you, I will," said Julienne, rising quickly and taking Shem's hand.
His awareness of her had been limited until the moment she touched him and then it exploded in his head like a bursting grenade. There was so much swirling around, so many portents of doom that Shem's eyes glazed over for a moment before she steadied him. Stay with me, dear. We have something we need to do while they are discussing this. She was tugging him out of the room before he knew it and even the incredulous stares of the guards, Knights and Masters outside did little to shake his stupor. When he finally came back to himself, he realized they were headed in the direction of his quarters, but she could only lead him there if she had pulled that information out of his brain. Come along, Shemric. Our time is short and I have no intension of wasting it.
Where are we going, he asked?
Your room, of course. I wish you to impregnate me before we leave.
Shemric really did stumble then but Julienne's grip on his arm was a vice.
You want me to do what?
Surely you have heard that babies come when men and women … " she began.
I know that, but why now? What has gotten into you?
My imminent demise. Yours. Neither of us. Both of us. Failure. All of those things are possible, but success is also possible. If that is going to happen, I have to be with your child when we go to face him, she explained. Her grip on his arm had not slackened, nor had her pace towards his room. I must go to this fight with your child in my womb or we will fail. And don't ask me why! I have no idea. We have only one chance at this. Finally, a trickle of amusement seeped through. Well, maybe two; she did give us 30 minutes after all. She must have sensed his confusion but she stamped it out quickly. For once just do what you are told!
Shem's mind was reeling. Having a child with Julienne had been his greatest desire since nearly the beginning, but this rush was a little much for him. She had to be carrying his child for them to win? How was that going to help? What if he died? What if she was killed? This was madness. They jerked to a stop abruptly and Julienne took his face in her hands and made him meet her eyes under the shadow of her hood.
Listen to me, Shemric! You have to trust me. Many things can happen now and I cannot predict all of them. Perhaps my desire to be the mother of your child is shading my visions. It has happened before. But it doesn't matter. I want this! There will be no time in the coming days and we need to focus on the mission. These may be the last 30 minutes in our lives where we can be alone. Together. I want to go into this fight knowing we started our family and protect that dream with everything that we have. I love you, Shemric. I always have, in my way, and I always will.
The oddity of a Jedi, standing in a hallway in his temple, tears running down his face while he stood mere centimeters from a dark-clothed Sith Lord would probably have incited comment had anyone been there to see it. Fortunately for the two of them, there was no one to interrupt the passionate kiss they shared, nor the rib-cracking full-body hug that followed it.
Now, can we go, said Julienne?
After you, my lady, said Shem and still holding her hand, he rushed off down the corridor with something that might have sounded like a giggle bubbling out of him.
Shemric was quite surprised when he jogged through the front doors some thirty-odd minutes later with Julienne in tow, to see that the steps were occupied by only a few Jedi. Master Shan was there and several others he recognized, but there were no more than a handful.
Well that recruiting job went poorly, said Julienne.
When they approached Grand Master Shan, Shem was surprised to see his friend Nofa, the battlemaster, speaking with her quietly.
"Battlemaster Nofa, I hope you are well," said Shemric.
"As well as can be for one my age," said the wrinkled Jawa. "Much better now that I get to meet your lovely Sith yum-yum," she cackled. Shan smiled wanly and Shem could sense Julienne actually blushing, though it was hard to tell beneath her hood. "Come now, young lady, take off that hood and let's have a look at you. I am quite fond of this young man and I should like to make sure he has not made a mistake."
Surprisingly, Julienne obeyed and Nofa smiled broadly as she looked up at the waves of black hair spilling out of the hood. "Oh, I see our dear Shemric was doomed from the start. Well, I hope you two know what you are doing." She elbowed Shem in the thigh and whispered so loudly that everyone could hear her. "She is quite the looker, your yum-yum. I guess I can hardly blame you." And then she reached up her hand to shake with Julienne.
"Julienne, this is Battlemaster Nofa who is clearly pleased with her own cleverness," said Shem.
"It is a pleasure to meet someone who speaks their mind, for a change," said Julienne gravely.
"Well, it is a failing of the old," said Nofa. "So are we all going to die on this little adventure, do you think?"
"That is the most likely outcome," said Julienne.
Nofa cackled in amusement but Shem started. "Are you coming, battlemaster?"
"I most certainly have volunteered," she said. "The others have, oh, about five more minutes to appear before we leave." She leaned closer to Julienne's leg and whispered. "I would not go telling the rest we are about to die. It is bad for morale."
"I will take that into consideration, ma'am," said Julienne. "However, there is some chance that we will win and survive. In fact, it seems to be increasing all the time. You see, it seems that Shem here managed to impregnate me a few minutes ago, even if it took him two tries. That was sort of important in my visions."
Nofa burst out laughing and slapped her knee several times while Shem looked away, his face on fire.
Do we need to be sharing that with everyone, asked Shem?
It is good news; don't most newly expecting parents share that kind of thing, she said innocently?
During the next five minutes their numbers increased dramatically as masters and a few knights hurried up in full battle gear. One of the last was Master Panarch, who actually winked at Shemric, before going to converse with another master out of Shem's sight.
"I think that might be all we are going to get, grand master," said Nofa.
Shem's quick head count said there were somewhat less than two dozen. Is that going to be enough, he asked?
It is just about right, said Julienne. I have to admit though, this is going to be a small army to take on the might of the Empire.
Yeah, and that does not even consider how you think I am going to defeat him, said Shem.
Do not worry, my love, she said. We have to get there first. We might not even make it that far.
Lovely, he muttered.
At that moment, the grand master stepped forward. "I am not going to make any sweeping speeches to motivate you, but I will thank you for coming. Your trust in me is appreciated. From now on, Lord Monikas will be running this mission and I will be following her orders." She nodded at Julienne as Shem heard some low murmuring. They did not seem to like that bit of news. Shem had not realized the grand master was coming until that moment.
"Grand Master Shan, are you sure it is a good idea for you to be leaving," asked Shem? Several of the masters nearby shook their heads and soon all were listening.
"I am not sure if it is good or bad, Master Norm, but if you are right, and we fail, nothing I will be doing here will matter," she said. "As such, I prefer to lend a hand."
Shem bowed as Julienne began speaking into a communicator on her wrist. Less than five minutes later a Sith Dropship sped into view. She stepped forward quickly to address the group.
"My name is Julienne," she began. "Though I have earned the title of Sith Lord from years of hard work and sacrifice, much as you masters have, I do not expect you to use my title, if you prefer not. We are going to be joining a similar number of Sith Lords and warriors under my command who have equally volunteered for this mission. We all need to fight together to get through this and succeed, so please, think of them as patriots to their cause, much as you view yourselves, and treat them with respect, as they will treat you." She nodded and the dropship set down with the ramp already lowering.
They boarded quickly and strapped in and lifted off under heavy G's to speed skyward in a roar of rocket engines. Nofa had chosen to sit next to him, but it was impossible to speak amidst the engine noise. Her craggy face looked quite serene as they left the atmosphere and the ride smoothed out.
"Two minutes to Jump," came a voice over the intercom. "Hold on tight. We have unfriendlies."
The ship lurched under cannon fire and then began to maneuver wildly as the pilot attempted to line up the jump to hyperspace while not being destroyed by the hostile ships. Shem looked across at Grand Master Shan whose eyes were closed and seemed to almost be sleeping. In a few moments the lurching stopped and in less than a minute they had jumped to hyperspace. Master Shan's eyes opened abruptly and Shem wondered what she had done. Influencing someone's mind from a great distance was not a talent of which he had ever heard, but the grand master was a Jedi of skills far beyond Shem's comprehension. She saw him looking at her and nodded, as if he understood.
"You are free to get up and move around if need be," came the pilot's voice again. "This is going to be a short hop before we rendezvous with our other partners in this venture. Basic rations are in the bulkhead at the front. The head is in the back."
Shem loosened his buckle somewhat, but did not get up and in a few minutes, Julienne came to sit next to him. Surprisingly, he reached across and took his hand.
I appreciate your public displays of affection, dear, he said.
Her mental sending was amused. It matters very little what the others think of me anymore. After this, I will no longer be a Sith Lord, just as you will no longer be a Jedi Master. What we were is behind us now. I am sorry for making fun of you back on the temple steps. Our child is not a joke to me. It is our future and my hope is that we meet that future together.
I was just surprised. Women talk about anything to each other, he teased.
Well, your friend seemed to be in on our secrets and she had an entitled sort of way about her as if she deserved to know, said Julienne.
She has been my closest friend since I arrived on Tython, said Shem. I think she views me as the grandson she never had.
She seems sweet. Was she really the Battlemaster, asked Julienne?
Yes, she was, he said. Do not let her size fool you. She taught me a great deal and tested me even further. On another subject, who are we going to meet?
Julienne shifted to meet his eyes and smile. Why, your friend the Mandalorian Champion of course. And a few of his compatriots. That surprised Shem. He had not thought the Mandalorians would get involved. They did not. It is just the champion, Dao Stryver and a few others. They are providing a fighter escort and a few warriors to accompany us.
"You two are giving me a headache, with all you mind-speaking," said Nofa abruptly. "Can we have a conversation like normal people?" Both Julienne and Shemric stopped abruptly to stare in surprise. Nofa rolled her eyes in a very human-like gesture that was even more effective when your eyes were the size of hers.
"Your pardon, Battlemaster Nofa," said Julienne. "We will try to keep things on a tighter string from now on. We don't mean to be a bother."
"You rousted me out of my stupor at the temple for the first time in years," said Nofa. "You are not a bother. But… it would be nice to have a conversation in the normal fashion."
"And what would you like to talk about Master Nofa?" asked Julienne politely.
"How about Nerf steaks?" said the Jawa. "It has been a long time since I had a really good Nerf steak."
"And how do you like your Nerf cooked?" said Julienne.
"Oh, rare, of course," said Nofa. "Why scorch all that good meat?"
"I like mine a little more done, but I don't mind it a bit rare," said Julienne. Shemric found the conversation surreal given their circumstances. "My father used to cook it a bit on one side and then the other and call it good. I used to tease him that his food was bleeding." Julienne took a sharp breath and covered her mouth in a gesture of surprise. "I have not thought about that in twenty years." Shemric was not sure, but he could have sworn there was some moisture in the corner of her eyes.
Nofa reached across Shemric to squeeze Julienne's knee. "That is a good memory to bring up. It helps us to remember the ones we love. Tell me then, what is your favorite memory of Shem, then?"
Shem perked up then and gave Julienne a very questioning look, but she ignored him. When she wanted to shut him out of her thoughts, she could do so. It took her some time to answer, but finally she smiled and looked over at Nofa. "Battlemaster, I have many memories of Shemric and for the most part, they are the only really happy or peaceful ones that I recall. I'm not sure I can separate out one. However, I will tell you his most positive trait; he is and has been unfailingly loyal to me since the day we met."
"Well, that was not exactly the romantic story I was expecting, but then I don't supposed a Sith Lord has a lot of time for romance," said Nofa.
"Not really," agreed Julienne. "But we have managed a few. Once, after he nearly drowned me in the ocean, we did walk back hand-in-hand along the beach under the moonlight, cavort naked in the surf and then he tossed me over his shoulder to carry me back to our bungalow where he thoroughly ravished me."
"Oh, well that is much better then," agreed Nofa and she gave them both a radiant smile.
Shemric shook his head and wondered how many of his secrets the battlemaster would know before this was over.